The Meal Building Formula

As a registered dietitian for over 8 years and having been in the life-changing profession for over 12 years, I have counselled tens of thousands of people, however the bulk of the questions that are asked boil down to dozens of questions repeated over and over again (with slight variations).

Interestingly, one of the main issues that consistently arises, especially in newbies is what is a good formula for building meals.  Obviously, there are many camps around this issue. Various diets & meal planning strategies focus on certain combinations of a + b, while others only look at calorie content and pay no regard to anything else.  The truth is that all of them have their merit and of course people can be successful for a time on all of them, as long as they get themselves to comply (fancy word for sticking with it).

However, over the years I've noticed some major trends and they've led me to what I consider the optimal formula for meal building for leanness, health and fitness.  The main reason that this formula is so effective, is that based on the bias towards nutrient dense, low calorie containing foods, it all but eliminates the need for measuring and weighing items, which is what often causes newbies to curl up into the fetal position on the floor or freeze like a deer in the headlights. I hope to detail this formula more in a future ebook.

Formula for meal planning success:

1) Build your meals from the lean source protein out. Choose grass fed meats, poultry or wild caught fish and seafood.

2) Focus on non-starchy vegetables to primarily accompany your lean source protein (as much as you can handle). Remember that we are shooting for 10 fist of fruits and vegetables per day.  In this case because I'm assuming you are trying to lose weight, we should emphasize the bulk of those 10 fist coming in from non-starchy vegetables. For a period of about 1-4 hrs after workouts, this post workout snack should include either starchy vegetables or fresh fruits in addition to lean source protein.

3) Use healthy (olive, macadamia, coconut and avocado) fruits & their oils, as well as seasonings for cooking and to flavor things.

4) Non calorie containing hydration of choice - could be water, coffee, espresso, teas.

5) Avoid using white sugar or white flour as these will completely destroy your progress. Ideally, expunge them from your life!

6) Remember other healthy lifestyle changes & make those also.

• Exercise regularly.
• Sleep well.

Ideally, that's it. By building all your meals in this way and you will be significantly limiting your exposure to carbohydrate-rich foods and especially process foods that are essentially designed to turn on your appetite and not turn it off.

Just try this approach for 1 month to start and see how it goes. Remember to take baseline measurements and repeat them monthly (or at most weekly).  Take a quality multivitamin during any weight loss program and obviously check with your doctor before undertaking a new weight management program.

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Take care and see you next time.

Dan