Struggling with my diet plan

hollieamelia · November 2018

I've been set up with a macro plan from my gym but I am really struggling to find what to do for the meals to meet it! I work an extremely inconsistent roster so I only have time for 3 meals a day at most and they are at random times. Each day I need to have 115g protein, 155g carbs and no more than 50g of fat a day with a total of 8 servings of veggies a day. How the heck am I supposed to meet this and keep my meals as simple as possible? I don't care if my meals are exactly the same each day or really boring. I just want to keep it extremely simple. Also I am vegetarian. If anyone has any ideas or can offer some help, I would be EXTREMELY greatful!!

lynn_glenmont · November 2018

Did the person at your gym have any qualifications in nutrition?

What are your stats and goals?

You don't need to hit specific macros exactly day after day to lose weight (or maintain weight, or gain weight).

Like many others on MFP, I believe in setting goals for protein and fat in grams and treating them as minima, not upper limits, and letting the rest of the calories fall where they may.

For you, that would mean planning three meals with at least 39 grams of protein and 13 grams of fat each, and adding whatever else you want. For a vegetarian (ignore dairy and egg suggestions if you don't eat them), I would recommend a large serving of legumes for at least two of those meals, with cheese or other dairy, grains, nuts, seeds, and veggies to round it out; and for breakfast some combination of eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, soy milk, and/or protein powder, mauve with toast or oatmeal and/or fruit.

TavistockToad · November 2018

Doing meal prep sounds like it would help.

I also pre log my days to make sure I'm hitting my macros.

somethingsoright · November 2018

If this is the macro ratio you want, you'll have to play around with a daily food plan. I did this for my daughter once because hubby was concerned she wasn't getting enough calcium and iron on her vegan diet. Just kept rearranging the food combinations until she had a day's worth of calcium and iron.

stv1520 · November 2018

CICO--easiest way to maintain a good eating routine. Some meals may get boring (I eat the same breakfast and lunch during work week) BUT you can make subtle changes to the meals to switch it up a bit. Working for me.

amy19355 · November 2018

Meal prep is my suggestion. Since I bought an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, I don’t have to lose an entire day in a weekend to prepping meals.

I invested in a box of the 1-pint wide mouth mason jars.(11.50 for 12 jars with lids).

These are freezer safe and a good size for a meal.

Yesterday I made 10 jars full of: 4oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup black beans and a 1/2 cup brown rice, with a few TBS of chicken stock.

Packed in my lunch bag, they microwave up in a few minutes (take off the metal lid before microwaving!!!!!).

I add a bag of frozen veggies to my lunch bag and add them in.

My freezer always has at least 10 meal portions like this , plus I freeze portions of rice or beans by themselves , for when I don’t want meat.

Cahgetsfit · November 2018

Have a look at my diary (it's open) if you like. I'm on a little bit more than you in terms of quantity of food though. Oh - and not vegetarian so you'd need to swap all the meat out.

Meal prep will help A LOT. also "8 serves of veggies" doesn't mean you have to eat veggies 8 times a day. WTF is that anyway? You'd be eating veggies all day long. A "serve" is usually a minuscule little fist sized portion anyway, so if you just pile a stack of veggies/salad in your lunch/dinner you'll be fine. I think the point of all the veggies they're trying to get you to eat is 1) fibre and 2) make you feel like you're fuller on lower calorie food.

Get some vegan protein powder to help you reach your protein goals.

JMBird · November 2018

Protein powder would be a good addition. Also TVP is dirt cheap, shelf stable, and super high in protein. And never underestimate the potato. Holiest of holys. 😂

Struggling with my diet plan

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