Struggling with meal plan

One way to think about it is cook your different food groups, then put them into meals through the week. Think what kind of meat you're going to have through the week, then cook enough for the week. Think what vegetables you're going to eat for the week... then roast, boil, or saute enough for the week. Think what carb you want through the week.... rice? Potatos? Corn? Beans? Cook enough for the week as appropriate for which you chose. Then put them all into big separate containers. Use as needed through the week. Think of it like the kitchen prep you would come in and do in a restaurant in the morning.

Even thought I have lost weight and maintained for years I have never had a meal plan where what I eat from one day to another is pre planned any further than a couple of days in the future.

If you want a set plan to follow try google.
A quick scan and I see there are plenty of sites that will give you a meal plan for your daily or weekly calorie intake. Have a look through them and copy any days that works for you in a mix and match fashion doubling or tripling a couple of the days recipes so you can food prep as needed.

Cheers, h.

sollyn23l2 wrote: »

One way to think about it is cook your different food groups, then put them into meals through the week. Think what kind of meat you're going to have through the week, then cook enough for the week. Think what vegetables you're going to eat for the week... then roast, boil, or saute enough for the week. Think what carb you want through the week.... rice? Potatoes? Corn? Beans? Cook enough for the week as appropriate for which you chose. Then put them all into big separate containers. Use as needed through the week. Think of it like the kitchen prep you would come in and do in a restaurant in the morning.

This is exactly what you need to do. You've worked in a restaurant - just apply those skills a little to figure it out.

How I used to do it - one Sundays, I would bake 4 meals worth of chicken thighs one way (K's Thai-Indian fusion), 4 meals worth of chicken thighs another way (Mom's recipe), enough steamed jasmine rice for Chicken 1, and enough baked potatoes for Chicken 2. I'd have Chicken 1 and rice for lunch, and put in some frozen peas into the container that AM. Dinner was potatoes, Chicken 2, and broccoli, which I'd make fresh, as I don't like microwaved broccoli. I'd also make hard boiled eggs for snacks on Sundays. I'd also have nuts, cheese, and baby carrots available for snacks in the frig at work.

I made protein powder, peanut butter, banana, and egg smoothies for breakfast. I had almonds, cheese, and apple for a bedtime snack.

On Fridays, I would get a large take out for lunch and save half for dinner. I cooked on Saturdays and Sundays, so, twice per week. (The time spent making smoothies and broccoli is so inconsequential that I wouldn't consider it cooking.) I had more salads and fruit on the weekends.

I wasn't counting calories at the time, but with the right sized portions it could easily come to 2200 calories.

(Or smaller portions, and 1500 calories, for someone reading who is intrigued but has lower calorie needs.)

We are here to help, that's why I told you how to do it. You can do it.

perilomo1285 wrote: »

LenGray wrote: »

Honestly, a person's meal plan is going to be very specific to them (their budget, goals, calorie needs, etc) so it's hard to say, 'Boom, here's a meal plan for you.' Sollyn and Kshama have given you good advice for figuring it out on your own, but I'd also suggest maybe trying a subscription box or something similar for ideas. Another source of ideas is the 'Recipes' sub-forum and finding some people here with open diaries. There are also a lot of cookbooks that have meal plans included in them, which can help you with developing a grocery list and workflow if that's the trouble.

For me, figuring out a viable meal plan has been a huge experiment and is constantly being tweaked. My current one (for inspiration purposes) is about 1,600 calories and usually takes me a few hours to prep on Sunday. It looks something like:

Breakfast- Oatmeal with fruit(baked or stovetop) or banana protein pancakes, coffee with soy milk
Lunch- Veggie soup (varies) with vegan sandwich/side or grain bowl (varies)
Dinner- Casserole (usually shares ingredients with soup) or veggie burger with roasted veggies
Snacks- 1 small dessert, 1-2 kinds of fruit

I also keep a lot of insta-foods (chik'n tenders, canned soup, vegan corndogs, etc) on hand for convenience and variety, instant mac n' cheese, and a TON of sauces and spices to season/switch up my options as needed.

I don't need anybody to tailor anything for me.

I am looking to copy a meal plan that somebody else's use and adjust the way I see fit. The only thing that needed to be included is the fact that it's 2200 calories.

Pretty sure there's plenty of people who make meal plans for themselves in this calorie amount per day (Or adjecent)

Thanks for your plan though. But it's some 600 calorie short for my needs

Appreciate it regarldess

I suspect that's not as common as you're thinking.

I think I'm not that unusual: I "just cook" (rarely recipes), different food every day, though there are patterns. It is around 2200 calories most days, on average, by coincidence - but I'm vegetarian.

I have a couple of standard breakfasts, because I'm comatose in the morning so need to be on autopilot. If I'm going to work out right away, it's an Ezekiel pita with peanut butter, hot skim milk with vanilla extract (to trick my body into thinking it had coffee, which is too diuretic if I'm going out on the river), and plain kefir. If I'm not working out, it's old-fashioned oats with plain Greek yogurt, thawed frozen mixed berries, some blackstrap molasses, hemp hearts, flax seed, walnuts, peanut butter powder, and on the side coffee with frothed skim milk.

If I didn't have oatmeal for breakfast, I usually eat it for lunch. (I love my oatmeal.) Otherwise, lunch and dinner both vary wildly, different every day. There are some types of things on repeat, but the details differ. (Examples: Red lentil pasta with sauce, cheese, veggies. Tostadas with beans. Tofu and veggie stir fry. Salad with beans, cheese, pumpkin seeds and lots of veggies. Soups or stews, mostly with beans featured. Scrambled eggs or omelet with veggies & calorie-efficient cheese.) Almost always a huge serving of veggies in the meal or as a side dish. Fruit, too.

There are a few people who come here looking for fixed meal plans as you're doing, but I've only seen a tiny number asking for meals they can prep once a week then just repeat and repeat. I think that's unusual, statistically speaking. I don't have any solid data, but anecdotally it seems like a lot of people vary what they eat more dynamically, log it, and stick with their calorie goal.

I'm not trying to be unhelpful. I'm trying to be informative about maybe you're not getting much of the kind of response you're looking for.

Best wishes in finding a mix that works for you!

P.S. There is a free site that will give meal plans for different calorie levels and eating styles, but it doesn't have the prep/repeat aspect you're looking for. It's:

https://www.eatthismuch.com/

I've played with it, it looks reasonable, but I haven't personally used it because even that much planning/structure is anathema to my style, honestly. But that's the closest I know of to what you're asking.

ETA: Like I said, I usually eat in the vicinity of 2200 calories/day (it's really 1850 + exercise calories, so in practice 1850-2500, averaging 2100-2200ish). I can't imagine that looking at my highly variable eating would help you, but if you want to look at my diary, it's open to friends and I do accept friend requests (even though I'm a seriously sub-par MFP friend, more active on the Community side). I still log most days, even though I'm in year 7+ of maintaining. Since you're male and active, and I'm female/5'5"/130ish pounds/age 67/active, I'm guessing you want more protein than my usual 100-120g daily, besides.

kshama2001 wrote: »

sollyn23l2 wrote: »

One way to think about it is cook your different food groups, then put them into meals through the week. Think what kind of meat you're going to have through the week, then cook enough for the week. Think what vegetables you're going to eat for the week... then roast, boil, or saute enough for the week. Think what carb you want through the week.... rice? Potatoes? Corn? Beans? Cook enough for the week as appropriate for which you chose. Then put them all into big separate containers. Use as needed through the week. Think of it like the kitchen prep you would come in and do in a restaurant in the morning.

This is exactly what you need to do. You've worked in a restaurant - just apply those skills a little to figure it out.

How I used to do it - one Sundays, I would bake 4 meals worth of chicken thighs one way (K's Thai-Indian fusion), 4 meals worth of chicken thighs another way (Mom's recipe), enough steamed jasmine rice for Chicken 1, and enough baked potatoes for Chicken 2. I'd have Chicken 1 and rice for lunch, and put in some frozen peas into the container that AM. Dinner was potatoes, Chicken 2, and broccoli, which I'd make fresh, as I don't like microwaved broccoli. I'd also make hard boiled eggs for snacks on Sundays. I'd also have nuts, cheese, and baby carrots available for snacks in the frig at work.

I made protein powder, peanut butter, banana, and egg smoothies for breakfast. I had almonds, cheese, and apple for a bedtime snack.

On Fridays, I would get a large take out for lunch and save half for dinner. I cooked on Saturdays and Sundays, so, twice per week. (The time spent making smoothies and broccoli is so inconsequential that I wouldn't consider it cooking.) I had more salads and fruit on the weekends.

I wasn't counting calories at the time, but with the right sized portions it could easily come to 2200 calories.

(Or smaller portions, and 1500 calories, for someone reading who is intrigued but has lower calorie needs.)

That's so organized! I'm trying to emulate this kind of behavior.

perilomo1285 wrote: »

AnnPT77 wrote: »

perilomo1285 wrote: »

LenGray wrote: »

Honestly, a person's meal plan is going to be very specific to them (their budget, goals, calorie needs, etc) so it's hard to say, 'Boom, here's a meal plan for you.' Sollyn and Kshama have given you good advice for figuring it out on your own, but I'd also suggest maybe trying a subscription box or something similar for ideas. Another source of ideas is the 'Recipes' sub-forum and finding some people here with open diaries. There are also a lot of cookbooks that have meal plans included in them, which can help you with developing a grocery list and workflow if that's the trouble.

For me, figuring out a viable meal plan has been a huge experiment and is constantly being tweaked. My current one (for inspiration purposes) is about 1,600 calories and usually takes me a few hours to prep on Sunday. It looks something like:

Breakfast- Oatmeal with fruit(baked or stovetop) or banana protein pancakes, coffee with soy milk
Lunch- Veggie soup (varies) with vegan sandwich/side or grain bowl (varies)
Dinner- Casserole (usually shares ingredients with soup) or veggie burger with roasted veggies
Snacks- 1 small dessert, 1-2 kinds of fruit

I also keep a lot of insta-foods (chik'n tenders, canned soup, vegan corndogs, etc) on hand for convenience and variety, instant mac n' cheese, and a TON of sauces and spices to season/switch up my options as needed.

I don't need anybody to tailor anything for me.

I am looking to copy a meal plan that somebody else's use and adjust the way I see fit. The only thing that needed to be included is the fact that it's 2200 calories.

Pretty sure there's plenty of people who make meal plans for themselves in this calorie amount per day (Or adjecent)

Thanks for your plan though. But it's some 600 calorie short for my needs

Appreciate it regarldess

I suspect that's not as common as you're thinking.

I think I'm not that unusual: I "just cook" (rarely recipes), different food every day, though there are patterns. It is around 2200 calories most days, on average, by coincidence - but I'm vegetarian.

I have a couple of standard breakfasts, because I'm comatose in the morning so need to be on autopilot. If I'm going to work out right away, it's an Ezekiel pita with peanut butter, hot skim milk with vanilla extract (to trick my body into thinking it had coffee, which is too diuretic if I'm going out on the river), and plain kefir. If I'm not working out, it's old-fashioned oats with plain Greek yogurt, thawed frozen mixed berries, some blackstrap molasses, hemp hearts, flax seed, walnuts, peanut butter powder, and on the side coffee with frothed skim milk.

If I didn't have oatmeal for breakfast, I usually eat it for lunch. (I love my oatmeal.) Otherwise, lunch and dinner both vary wildly, different every day. There are some types of things on repeat, but the details differ. (Examples: Red lentil pasta with sauce, cheese, veggies. Tostadas with beans. Tofu and veggie stir fry. Salad with beans, cheese, pumpkin seeds and lots of veggies. Soups or stews, mostly with beans featured. Scrambled eggs or omelet with veggies & calorie-efficient cheese.) Almost always a huge serving of veggies in the meal or as a side dish. Fruit, too.

There are a few people who come here looking for fixed meal plans as you're doing, but I've only seen a tiny number asking for meals they can prep once a week then just repeat and repeat. I think that's unusual, statistically speaking. I don't have any solid data, but anecdotally it seems like a lot of people vary what they eat more dynamically, log it, and stick with their calorie goal.

I'm not trying to be unhelpful. I'm trying to be informative about maybe you're not getting much of the kind of response you're looking for.

Best wishes in finding a mix that works for you!

P.S. There is a free site that will give meal plans for different calorie levels and eating styles, but it doesn't have the prep/repeat aspect you're looking for. It's:

https://www.eatthismuch.com/

I've played with it, it looks reasonable, but I haven't personally used it because even that much planning/structure is anathema to my style, honestly. But that's the closest I know of to what you're asking.

ETA: Like I said, I usually eat in the vicinity of 2200 calories/day (it's really 1850 + exercise calories, so in practice 1850-2500, averaging 2100-2200ish). I can't imagine that looking at my highly variable eating would help you, but if you want to look at my diary, it's open to friends and I do accept friend requests (even though I'm a seriously sub-par MFP friend, more active on the Community side). I still log most days, even though I'm in year 7+ of maintaining. Since you're male and active, and I'm female/5'5"/130ish pounds/age 67/active, I'm guessing you want more protein than my usual 100-120g daily, besides.

Thank you. By far the most helpful thing so far.

I'm actually surprised that people would not do meal prep? I mean it's the basis in any restaurant, and I can't see how any working person has the motivation and time to cook every day each meal and then wash the dishes.

While I understand that eating the same thing each day might be unusual, that does not take away from meal prep. You can prep different meals several days in advance.

None the less, looks like I'll have to look elsewhere.

Unfortunately Youtube is going to be it for now =/
Not ideal, but at least something is better than nothing

People do meal prep. Some of the folks above talked about how they do that, and you'll find other past threads in the Food and Nutrition part of the Community about prepping, if you use the search function.

Maybe I've got this wrong, but I feel like you're asking for something much more specific: A weekly prep, consistent foods, for one person, specifically 2200 calories, with prep all in one day on the weekend.

Anecdotally, it seems like quite a few people here who prep are cooking for a family, so the 2200 calorie thing is out the window. It seems common for folks to prep for a week or so, but to vary from one week to the next in what they prep and how they use the prepped stuff in meals. Some of them prep some stuff on the weekend, but mix in some cooking during the week for variety. (Not everyone is as willing as you to eat the same things over and over.)

I think you can learn here (with the search function) what you want/need, and get a good routine going that suits you personally, but I don't think it's realistic to think someone will give you an exact, complete, tailored formula.

I hate meal prep. My fiance does too. But, I cook up a batch of chicken for him every week. This would work for you -

breakfast -
2 hard boiled eggs, 2 packs of oatmeal, 1 banana - approx 500 cals
snack -
1 apple, 1 jif to go pack, 1 chobani greek yogurt - approx 450
lunch -
6 oz chicken thigh, microwaved california blend vegetable bag, salsa/hot sauce/ mustard/ sugar free bbq sauce/ soy sauce etc. - approx 450
snack -
1 3oz bag of beef jerky, 1 oz almonds - approx 340 cals
dinner -
6 oz chicken thigh, 1/2 brown or white rice, microwaved california blend vegetable bag, salsa/hot sauce/ mustard/ sugar free bbq sauce etc. - approx 500 cals

That'll get you pretty close to your goals and includes all the food groups.

I thought of this thread the other night when we had leftovers for dinner. My partner's meal was the same as when we first had the meatballs - with spaghetti and sauce. I had mine with sautéed onions and peppers, rice and sazon seasoning and chipotle in adobo. Our steak dinners vary wildly on day 1. He has his with no seasoning other than salt, potato salad, and a green salad. I have mine with lots of seasoning and a sort of Thai salad.

Personal preferences is the main reason why I think asking we random internet amateurs to provide a meal plan for another random internet person is not realistic.

When other considerations like calories, macros, and prep time are thrown in it's not reasonable to expect this for free.