Restrictive meal plan from PT

Short term low carb diets work well and as long as you realize that that is exactly how you should treat this particular diet, short term, then fine, use it to get started. Overall it's a pretty standard diet that many trainers use because they can't think of anything better, and I do mean "can't" lol

Not sure what your height/current weight is? This is similar in calories/protein intake to what I consume. I'm 5ft 4 and 199lbs and on a very restrictive diet prescribed by my doctor. I eat tons of spinach and chicken and eggs etc because they fill my macros and give me lots of food volume for the calories. It helps to add spices to foods and mix up the flavors so things don't get too boring.

Some diet plans are set up based on what you should be eating when you reach maintenance...(They're doing this so the diet/calorie change happen 1x rather than gradually over time with multiple calorie intake drops like weight watchers or other plans) and that means its pretty drastic and hard to manage for the first few months.

Its pretty much a guarantee you'll lose weight doing this plan...and you might surprise yourself at how much better you'll feel eliminating processed foods after your body adjusts.
However, there is a risk of boredom and burnout. Have you asked your PT if there's a chance for a cheat meal 1x per week or an opportunity to add back in some other foods down the road when you reach a mini goal?

Have you been seen by a doctor recently to ensure this type of diet/exercise regimen is appropriate and healthy for you?

It's not actually that low calorie tbh, if you ate the full 150g protein in meals 3/4 (if you even could) and a reasonable amount in the shake/protein meal it could easily be over 2k.

It's still terrible though, would cost a fortune!

JulsiePie wrote: »

So a little bit about me. I have a lot of weight to lose (130ish pounds now) and have started with a PT. I love the workouts and I am great at getting cardio in as well.

All is good until now - I got a "meal plan" and it's very restrictive and I don't think it's doable. If any of you have experience with this type of plan, please let me know! I am starting in a week and I'm miserable just thinking about it.

Here's the plan:

Meal 1 - 4-5 egg whites with 1/2 cup cooked oats and 1/2 cup blueberries

Meal 2 - 1/4 cup almonds and protein powder mixed with water (ew.)

Meal 3 - 100-150 grams of protein and 1-2 cups green vegetables

Meal 4 - same as meal 3

Meal 5 - 1-2 cups of green vegetables and 7-8 egg whites

Protein - white fish, white meat chicken or turkey, tuna

Add in 5 fish oil pills a day.


And that's it. Everyday.

I know I have a lot of weight to lose and my training sessions have been awesome, so am I just being a baby about this? Is this a good/normal meal plan to follow? Obviously I have no idea, but it seems horrible.

I have been counting calories before and have lost some weight already, but I guess this is just a different approach?

I know your PT means well. But are you this dedicated? Do you want to eat this restrictive? All I can tell you is one thing i've learned.. How you lose the weight is how you have to maintain the weight. And there is no way you could live like this. You can still lose by reducing your calories and working out. And something will happen along the way.. you will naturally want to eat better and do more along the way. But it will be real change..not imposed change.

BTW..good for you for taking the first steps to getting fit and healthy.

This is the kind of cookie cutter diet that bodybuilders and fitness models use to cut pre-competition. Would it work, definitely? But will you be able to stick to it? What works best for long term weight loss is a diet that you can stick to. This kind of diet for the majority of the population is unsustainable but also completely unnecessary. Figure out how much you should be eating to lose weight and what ratio of macronutrients you need and then eat foods that meet these requirements.

Try this http://iifym.com/iifym-calculator/

Basically what happens on this plan if you decide to eat out or you don't have x food in the house. What happens if you crave some chocolate. IMHO a good meal plan should have some in-built flexibility with substitutions and room for treats. It has to be something you can stick to for life otherwise you'll lose weight, go back to eating the way you were before and gain it all back (and likely more).

That looks just miserable.

Go enjoy your workouts with him and do your own thing diet wise. A small deficit, sensible macro split and the occasional treat would be better IMO.

When I've used PTs, I've gone to a separate nutritionist / dietian. Basically go to each person for their own specialty. Let each know about the other. The nutritionist needs to know about your workouts for an appropriate calorie requirement. The best situation is if they work with each other and you. The diet above is something, I personally would never stick to, so whether it is good or bad, it's useless if I don't stick with it.

sympha01 wrote: »

How much experience does your PT have working with the obese? Can he provide references from clients who are or were obese who had good results from his methods?
...
And that's on the exercise side. IMHO a lot of PTs are just full of absolute CRAP information when it comes to nutrition, even for non-obese clients. ...

Conclusion: your PT is a bro, has clearly not taken any time to think about what is going to work FOR YOU, and is trying to shoehorn you into the same plan he gives everyone.

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. Hmm ...anything I can add .. thinking ... Nope. You NEED enough calories for energy for getting through the day, doing you job and housework and repairs and kids and not getting dizzy while driving.

I am just wondering what the heck else he has suggested in terms of exercise and lifestyle. I would tend to drop that person.

Time to ditch the food part of the training. If the trainer cannot handle your decision to do what is best for you. Find a better one.