Build Your Perfect Nutrition Plan (Step-by-Step Follow-Along)

This is part 3 of a 4-part nutrition coaching series to teach you how to eat healthy and achieve your goals.

By the end of this article, you’ll have a custom nutrition plan to achieve your fitness goals. You can follow along with me as I create a nutrition plan for my own goals. This is not necessary if you don’t want to track your food, but I highly recommend it to better understand nutrition.

Identify your body’s needs

Complete this calorie calculator. From this you get a summary of the macronutrients your body needs.

All of these are estimates because you can never really know exactly how much you need or how much is in any given food. I know from experience that 3500 calories is right for me, so I just estimate what I need based on this calculator.

Nutrition goal per Day (estimate)

• 3500 Calories

• 225g protein

• 320g carbs

• 140g fat

When you first do this, it’s probably going to recommend much more food than you’re currently eating, and that’s ok. If you’ve been undereating and undertraining for a long time, it might take a few weeks for your body’s hunger to increase. Don’t rush, and don’t force-feed yourself. Instead, eat until you’re full, and know that over time with consistent training, your food input will increase, and that’s a good thing.

Create Your Daily Nutrition Plan

Now that we have a daily nutrition goal, let’s create a full day of eating. Divide your daily nutrition goal by the number of meals you plan to have to get to your nutrition goal per meal.

Nutrition Goal per Meal (4 meals):

• 875 calories

• 55g protein

• 80g carbs

• 35g fat

• 1 fist fiber

We’re going to use the nutrition calculator MyFitnessPal to make meals that meet our goals. This is an art, so take your time and build meals that fit your lifestyle.

I eat the same foods almost every day, and I recommend that for my clients because it makes everything easier when you don’t have to think.

Meal 1: Eggs & Oatmeal

6 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup (80g) oats, 1 banana

• 883kcal

• 60g protein

• 86g carbs

• 34g fat

Meal 2: Protein shake

1.25 scoop Jocko Molk, 2.5 cup milk, 1 banana, ½ cup oats, 35g cashews

• 72g protein

• 888kcal

• 80g carbs

• 33g fat

Meals 1 & 2 are a lock because they take very little time to prepare and they set me up for success. For my two remaining meals, I’m going to allow for some variety, and the way I do this is by knowing which foods allow me to reach my macronutrient per meal goals.

Meals 3 & 4: 8oz animal & 2 cups cooked rice

Protein options to get 50g:

• 1/2lb or 8oz of steak/chicken/fish

• 1 cup Yogurt & 2 cups Fairlife milk

Carb options to get 80g:

• 2 cups cooked white rice

Fat options to get 35g:

• ½ cup of cashews or other nuts

Add in fruits and vegetables, or reference video 2 of this nutrition series to add in healthy foods high in micronutrients and antioxidants.

Recipes

Protein Oatmeal

Ingredients: 1.75 scoop Whey Protein Powder, 1.75 tbsp Peanut Butter, 1.25 cup Oatmeal

Macronutrients: 764 calories, 64g protein, 23g fat, 78g carbs

• Mix protein powder into water, pour over oats.

• Microwave for 90 seconds

• Mix, add milk/water, microwave 90 seconds more.

• Add peanut butter and enjoy! (You can also add blueberries or bananas)

Eggs, Egg Whites, & Toast

Ingredients: 3 eggs, 200g egg whites, and 3 slices whole grain toast

Macronutrients: 647 calories, 56g protein, 20g fat, 59g carbs

• Mix eggs & egg whites, salt & seasoning

• Add olive oil to pan, then add egg mix

• Stir eggs until done.

• Cut bread, toast bread

Greek Yogurt, Peanut butter, Blueberries

Ingredients: 400g Nonfat Greek yogurt, 1.75 tbsp peanut butter, 2 cup blueberries

Macronutrients: 575 calories, 50g protein, 17g fat, 63g carbs

• Measure yogurt, peanut butter, and fruit. Mix. Eat.

Chicken, Brown Rice, & Broccoli

Ingredients: 5.25 oz Chicken Breast, 1 tbsp Olive Oil, 325 g Brown Rice, & Broccoli

Macronutrients: 707 calories, 53g protein, 22g fat, 76g carbs

• Add seasoning to chicken**

• Cook chicken in a pan with ½ inch water for 25-35 minutes

• Get a rice cooker and cook brown rice

• Steam broccoli in microwave or in a pan

Shrimp, Brown Rice, Green Beans

Ingredients: 6.25 oz Shrimp, 1.25 tbsp Olive Oil, 325 g Brown Rice & Green Beans

Macronutrients: 621 calories, 49g protein, 19g fat, 63g carbs

• Add seasoning to shrimp**

• Cook shrimp in olive oil until they turn white

• Get a rice cooker and cook brown rice

• Steam green beans in microwave or in a pan

Beef, Brown Rice, & Spinach

Ingredients: 6.75 oz Ground Beef 90% lean, 325 g Brown Rice

Macronutrients: 774 calories, 59g protein, 24g fat, 76g carbs

• Cook ground beef in a pan with plenty of salt

• Get a rice cooker and cook brown rice

• Eat spinach however you like

**Recommended Seasoning: Olive oil, Salt, Pepper, Garlic, Onion, Thyme, Turmeric

Understand Your Nutrition Plan

Conclusion

That is the foundation for how you build a nutrition plan. You get a macronutrient goal and choose foods that you enjoy that meet your goals. This is a constant work-in-progress for you. Don’t expect it to be perfect the first time. In the next article of this series we’re going to discuss how to stay consistent, overcome obstacles, and track your progress.

Until next time! - Tom