Need Help with Meal Plans for Fat Loss

46yr old male 5’7 237LBS no idea on meal planing or nutrition. Would love to have help on a program that is inexpensive , nutrition and
Exercise. Live in Kenosha wi

Welcome… Since you seem like you are starting from scratch, the best thing you could do is hire a nutrition coach and follow their advice to a T. Many people have success with online coaching (myself included). If that is not an option, go to the articles section on T-Nation, search “Nutrition” and pick a diet plan. At your weight, a slight change in your diet habits will go a long way in producing results. Good luck!

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I recently, started to eat a Mediterranean style diet. Basically, it revolves around a plant based foods, olive oil, and the main protein sources are fish and chicken. I started this diet, because I wanted a healthier life style, I was eating beef 7 days a week and lots of eggs and dairy. When I started this diet I was 225lbs, with some fat. Now, I am down to 220 and I have toned up quiet a bit. I do not compete any sport or competitions. I just enjoy lifting heavy and focus on the big 3. Google the diet and then modify it to fit your needs. For example, I added more eggs and beef then recommended, but drastically reduced it from what I was eating. I also use the “meatless meals” as my cheat meals, and typically will make a homemade whole wheat thin crust pizza with feta cheese and veggies or will make a bunch of “tappas” while watching the game. Like I said research it and let me know if you have any questions.

Dear cheesehead:

Stop spending so much time at the Brat Stop and lay off the cheesecurds.

Fondly,

SIB

This works well…

You could take a look at this thread I made a few months ago.

There’s some general tips in there and I made some great progress with the macro counting plan I built for myself. Since I don’t like the idea of counting calories and macro balance on a daily basis, I created 2 meal plans which I alternate and basically ate exactly what was on the list – with some minor adjustments depending on energy expenditure, etc.

The one major piece of advice I could give you is find something you can stick with, because failure in the dieting realm usually happens because you hate what you’re doing day in/day out. Also, DON’T be one of those guys who wants to lose 20 pounds in 2 months. Be the guy who will change his body composition over a year (or more). That means focusing on building muscle. I’ve found as a general rule – and this is what I tell most people who asked how I got ripped – focus on getting more protein than any other macro, as long as it keeps you inside your BMR calorie limit. Having more muscle will help solve the fat problem. Some would say you can’t built muscle while trying to lose weight, but I think that mostly applies to super lean people.

Here’s my plan…I don’t use it now because eating this way strictly has trained me to eat intuitively for my current stage which is lean bulking. Eating from a pre-defined list really works. It removes all the guesswork and the list consists of foods you enjoy, which helps the chances of being successful. I had peanut butter jelly sandwiches or ice cream every day while getting ripped because it fit into my macros.

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If you want to make your own list, you start by writing down all of the foods you enjoy eating. But it should be predominantly good foods with a couple of “treats” in the mix. Find you BMR (plenty of calculators online) to get your calorie limit for losing body weight. Keep in mind that one gram of protein equals 4 calories. One gram of carbs equals 4 calories. One gram of fat equals 9 calories. Using that as your guide, build your list using the foods you’ve chosen with a balance of around 40% protein, 30% carbs 30% fats – or something close to that. There’s no magic number really, but make sure it’s mostly protein.

This may be too advanced for you, but I can guarantee it will work great if you follow it. I’ve had awesome success with it, as well as a few people I’ve been “coaching”. I’m not a pro, but I’m in better shape than half the trainers I see in my gym.

What are your goals?

First lose around 50 lbs , lose the fat in the gut and face then tone and add definition to arms and midsection