Non-expensive nutrition plan?

Hi there, I understand the basics of what I need to eat to lose weight and build muscle, but I'd really like a definitive plan... my friend recommended a guy who does these but it's £300 and I just can;t afford it. Are there any good, free or cheap ones out there? Thx.

so you want a meal plan to follow ??

I'd recommend creating your own meal plan inspired by other example plans. If you create your own plan you're more likely to stick to it cause you adapt it to your lifestyle and your preferences.

That's at least what I believe.

^^ This definitely

You are probably best creating your own meal plan based on healthy foods you know you like and will stick too.

Here is an example, this website does meal plans based on your desired calorie intake which you could look through and give you ideas of what you can eat each day.
http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans

With regard to exercise I find it easier to stick to it if you train with someone else. Maybe speak to someone at your local gym with regard to a personal trainer who can keep you on the right track and create an exercise plan for you.

Its not as quick as paying someone £300 and getting an instant plan, but I think taking the time and creating it yourself for you is more beneficial than some stranger, who doesn't know you or your taste preferences giving you a plan you may struggle to stick with.

I hope this helps and good luck with your plan

Find the receipes of the meals that are created by these meal plans. It's usually 50% cheaper and you can make enough to last you a few days. I use to be apart of a local program here and paid $500 a month to have meals prepared for me. I realized I can spend half of that and have more food prepared to eat.

Add a ton of friends, have a nosey at their diaries, write down the stuff you like and make your own plan.

Yes, you might have "newbie gains" on muscle at a deficit, but primarily you're talking about a muscle-sparing weight loss (making sure that as much of it is fat as possible, while retaining as much muscle as possible).
I would suggest this:
1. Figure out what a reasonable approach to a moderate rate of loss is for you. Lots of help here on that. I use the MFP settings for losing a pound a week, I eat the majority of my exercise calories back, and I'm losing at about 1.5 pounds a week.
2. Custom-set your macros. 40/30/30 is a pretty middle-of-the-road setting, but, again, lots of advice here on that too.
3. Make a list of: 3-5 sources of leaner protein that you really like (ie, chicken breast, tuna, ground turkey, eggs), 3-5 vegetables you really like, 3-5 fruits you really like, 3-5 healthy fats that you really like (olive oil, nuts, avocado).
4. Buy a lot of that stuff and eat primarily those for the first few weeks and work from there.
5. Use the MFP logging to tinker with and test our your day in advance. This gives you all of the comfort of a "plan" but allows you to adjust and pick what YOU like to eat. Don't be afraid to work in little things that don't "sound" healthy, if the majority of what you're eating gets in the basics and your macros are solid.
6. Pick a good basic strength plan -- like stronglifts or starting strength. And do it consistently.
7. And this is key for me -- stick with the plan in 1-6 for long enough to give it a fair chance (like 3 months) without tinkering.

There is SO much help here that it's unbelievable, and there are a lot of people who really know their stuff. Probably more than the average trainer selling "plans"...

Good luck!!! Feel free to add me as a friend if you like. The friend accountability is one of the big things that has made a difference for me so far!

The best nutritional meal plan is one that is based on a diet rich in a variety of plant based, non-processed foods -- eating clean, nutrient dense vegetables, whole grains, fruits, and lean protein. We all have to experiment with foods that are normal, but oftern over-looked unless you are trying to eat healthy.

Are you already eating lots of vegetables? raw or cooked?
Are you already eating lean dairy (no fat greek yogurt, non fat milk, etc?)
Are you already eating eggs or non-fat egg substitute or whites?
Boneless breast of chicken, turkey, salmon, white fishes, tuna, etc?
Colorful, flavorful fruits -- like cantelope, apples, grapes, bananas, avocado, grapefruit, etc?
Whole grain breads, crackers, nuts, edamame, etc?

There is SO much to eat, that the only people who find success with powders and supplements are those who don't eat a good enough variety due to time constraints or physical limitations: intolerances to entire food groups.

Cost can be an issue, which means to endure/benefit from the lowest cost, you have to purchase foods in as close to the natural state as you can manage to prepare. Take chicken, for example, an excellent source of lean protein. Here's a look at least expensive to most expensive:
whole chicken >> quartered chicken on bone >> split breasts on bone >> boneless breasts >> boneless thin cutlets >>individually packaged, perfectly portioned breast

Same goes for fruits and vegetables -- you pay more for pre-cut, pre-washed, convenient foods. A whole canteloupe is just about the cheapest, most nutrient dense, low calorie, fiber-filling food you can eat.

Look at some wesites based on eating food items that are low on the glycemic index, and fill your diet with a wonderful variety of plant-based lovelies, and very lean proteins. Good luck to you. Once you successfully change to this way of eating, your body will crave the healthiest stuff, you just have to break the habit and addiction to processed, high fat, high sugar, high sodium foods.

Do you want to lose weight or build muscle? You won't build muscle in a calorie deficit.

Aim for about 1 gram of protein per lb of lean body weight. Aim for 0.35g fat per lbs body weight

E.g. If you 130lbs aim for about 110g protein and 45g fat.
(110 x 4) + (45 x 9) = 845 calories.

Say you're aiming for fat loss and you're eating 1600 calories per day, you can fill the remaining 755 calories with whatever you want - carbs, more fat, more protein.

So I know how many calories I need to eat to lose steadily... but then I get a bit lost when it comes to what to eat to build the lean muscle. It can't be THAT simple can it, otherwise why are people paying so much for nutrition plans :indifferent:

It seems you should eat around 2g protein for each kilogram, so do you work your carb/ fat around that figure?

So are you looking to lose fat and build muscle?
Or Just focused fat loss?
Or just focused muscle gain?

I'm getting conflicting messages.

Muscle gain is a caloric surplus.
Fat loss is a slight caloric deficit.
Recomp is eating high, up to 20-30% above TDEE on lift days, and eating low -10%-20% below TDEE on rest days.

In any event a good plan is as follows:

A pound of chicken a day.
or a pound of beef a day.
or a pound of turkey a day.
1/4-1/2 cup almonds or walnuts a day.
Plenty of green veg like broccoli, asparagus, spinach etc.
2-5 cups fruit of various types, apple a day etc....
Olive oil and coconut oil are both in my pantry and both are very good for you.

Get 1g protein per pound of lean mass.
.30g-.70g fat per pound of lean mass.
Fill the rest with complex carbs.

PM me if you need help.
;D

Thanks for that - thanks to everyone, in fact. So basically, I lost a few stone last year through running and calorie counting (anything went, no macros, just calories) but I got kind of thin and wobbly. I have put a few lbs back on again and had a few to go anyway so I want to lose those, but I want to build lean muscle rather than just burn up fat/ muscle because I prefer the look.

So, I guess I need to have a calorie deficit in order to lose the weight... but up my protein intake to preserve the muscle... is that right?

Yup, that's the long and short of it.