How to Design a Meal Plan Eating Things You Like

When people think about healthful eating and meal plans, they tend to think of dieting and eating plain salads and tasteless food. Nothing could be further from the truth. Almost any food can be adapted for inclusion in a meal plan. If you open your mind and are willing to try new things, you can eat a wide range of delicious foods while sticking with a solid meal plan. With a little thought and diligence, you can design a meal plan that allows you to eat things you like.

Things You'll Need

• Calorie calculator
• USDA Food Pyramid Plan calculator
• Calorie counter

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Instructions

• 1

  Establish the goal of your eating plan. Are you looking to eat healthier, lose weight, gain weight or address a health problem like diabetes? Your goal will help determine the number of calories you consume and the serving sizes you plan.

• 2

  Find out how many calories your body burns per day. The percentages used on food labels are based on a diet of 2,000 calories a day, but that's not a one-size-fits-all diet. The calorie needs of a sedentary woman, for example, are significantly lower than that number, while a 225-pound male athlete needs more than 2,000 calories a day. Internet resources will help you establish a good estimate of your needs.

• 3

  Use the USDA Food Pyramid Plan to find out how many servings you need to eat from each food group daily.

• 4

  Become familiar with what constitutes a serving size of each of your favorite foods. You can find the calorie counts and nutrition information for most foods, raw and prepared, on the Internet.

• 5

  Make a list of the foods you like for each category, including meats, grains, fruits, vegetables and dairy. Think outside the box when identifying foods for each category. Maybe you think you dislike leafy green vegetables or root vegetables, but you love coleslaw and sweet potato casserole.

• 6

  Look at your daily calorie goal, your recommended servings and the nutrition information for your favorite foods. Disperse your favorite foods so that you get to eat some of them every day---maybe one at each meal. If they are higher-calorie or fattening, balance them out with lower-fat, lower-calorie options to round out your day.

• 7

  Save decadent favorites for once every two weeks or once a month, and make sure you eat controlled portions. You can eat anything as long as it is balanced out in your overall eating plan and is eaten in moderation.