Sample (simple) diet plan

This is my last installment on the series “Nutrition: How to Build Your Own Customized Diet Plan” started in March. I tried to cover pretty much all you will need to know in order to be able to prepare a sound diet plan for yourself and not pay somebody a hefty price without even knowing if he has the required knowledge to do it correctly. I wanted you to also take the guesswork out of the whole process if you decided to do it yourself.

I will finish the series by giving you a simple lay out of a diet plan that I give to my clients so it’s easier for them to carry in their wallets and pull out every time they need it be it in restaurants or at home.

It’s based on the exchange plan from the “Meal Exchanges and Macronutrient Groups” article (don’t forget to download my e-book “Macro and Micronutrients Reference Guide” by clicking on the banner in the top right corner, it’s free).

The total calories are 2,000. It’s also based on 5 meals per day (post workout shake being one of them).

185 grams protein / 7 grams per exchange ~ 27 protein exchanges

195 grams carbohydrates / 15 grams per exchange = 13 carbohydrate exchanges

50 grams fats / 5 grams per exchange = 10 fat exchanges

Meal Carbohydrates Proteins Fats

1 2.5 (40gr.) 6 (40gr.) 4 (20gr.)

2 5.5 (80gr.) 5 (35gr.) 2 (10gr.)

3 2.5 (40gr.) 6 (40gr.) 4 (20gr.)

4 2.5 (25gr.) 6 (40gr.) ---------------(Post w/o shake)

5 0.5 (10gr.) 5 (35gr.) -------------

That was just for your information. And this is the actual plan:

1 meal: Prolab’s Naturally Lean Complex (2 packs)+ 1 tsp Natural peanut or almond butter
or: ~ 3 items from green list + 5 items from red list + 4 items from yellow list

2 meal: ~ 5 items from the green list + 5 items from red list + 2 items from yellow list

3 meal: Prolab’s Naturally Lean Complex (2 packs)+ 1 tsp Natural peanut or almond butter
or: ~ 3 items from green list + 5 items from red list + 4 item from yellow list

4 meal: 2 scoops CFM whey protein + 1 medium banana (shake)

5 meal: ~ 0.5 item from the green list + 5 items from red list

You remember if it says 5 items from the green list you can pick 5 exchanges from the same thing or 3 from one and 2 from another, or 1 from one and 4 from another and so forth. Same with the red and the yellow lists.

And now to make things even easier along with the above table all you need to remember is approximately 3 green exchanges look like your fist if it’s cooked grains; approximately 4 red exchanges are the size and the thickness of you palm (fingers not included;-) if it’s cooked meat; and finally 2 yellow exchanges are an almost full table spoon of oil (flax, olive, etc.) or 6-8 almonds. Don’t forget there is some fat in the meat regardless of how lean it is.

Also I’m giving you a choice to use a meal replacement pack in meals 1 and 3 if for any reason you can’t find or don’t carry solid food with you. Don’t overdo those, though. It’s just for convenience but it should be done as an exception only and not more that in once a day.

That’s it. If you have any questions, comment here and I will answer.

Good luck;-)

-Ivan