Meal Plan Design Extras
Welcome to the online resources for ‘Body Transformation Meal Plan Design’!
We have tried our best to make writing a meal plan as simple as possible, but it does involve completing some basic calculations.
To help with this, we have the created the following calculators:
You can also download the following templates:
- Weekly meal planning template (pg.84) download it here
- Ultimate Performance progress tracker (pg.104) download it here
Navy Body Fat Calculator
The meal plan calculations are based on lean body mass (LBM), rather than total bodyweight.
As a result, you will need to estimate your body fat percentage before you can start writing your meal plan.
We recommend using the Navy method, which we explain in detail in the ‘Progress Assessment’ chapter (pg.88).
Note: If you have access to another form of body fat testing, e.g. skinfold calipers or DXA scan, you can use this instead.
How to Use the Calculator
- Select your gender and preferred unit of measurement.
- Following the best practice for taking tape measurements (pg.93), MEN need to input measurements for height, neck and navel.
- Following the best practice for taking tape measurements (pg.93), WOMEN need to input measurements for height, neck, natural waist and hips.
Meal Plan Calculator
The meal plan calculator will guide you through the calculations outlined in the ‘Transformation Numbers’ chapter (pg.30).
How to Use the Calculator
STEP 1: Estimate Maintenance
- Input your total bodyweight in kilograms or pounds.
- Input your estimated body fat percentage.
- Select your activity multiplier.
- If you perform some combination of 3-5 resistance training and cardio workouts per week and average above 10,000 steps per day, select 1.5.
- If all the above applies and you also have an active occupation that involves day-long physically active work, e.g. construction worker or farmer, select 1.8.
- If you average less than 10,000 steps per day and do not have an active occupation, select 1.3.
Note: You can select any value between 1.3 and 2.2
STEP 2: Set Calorie Target
- Select your weekly weight loss target.
Note: We recommend using 0.75% to calculate your initial nutrition targets, but you can select any value between 0.25% and 1.5%.
STEP 3: Set Macronutrient Targets
- Select your protein multiplier (g per kg of lean body mass).
PROTEIN INTAKE RECOMMENDATIONS Recommended lower limit for individuals who resistance train but struggle to eat a lot of protein 2.0g per kg of LBM Recommended starting point for the average trainee 2.4g per kg of LBM Recommended upper limit to leave enough calories for fat and carbohydrates 2.8g per kg of LBM - Select your fat percentage target.
FAT INTAKE RECOMMENDATIONS Recommended lower limit for individuals who prefer a higher carbohydrate (and lower fat) diet 25% of total calories Recommended starting point for the average trainee 35% of total calories Recommended upper limit for individuals who prefer a higher fat (and lower carbohydrate) diet 45% of total calories - Once you have set your protein and fat targets, the calculator will automatically allocate all remaining calories to carbohydrate.
Bodyweight Calculator
Bodyweight changes provide valuable feedback, but you need to interpret them carefully.
The progress review system outlined in the ‘How to Make Changes’ chapter (pg.107) is based on changes in your weekly average bodyweight.
The aim throughout your transformation is to lose on average between 0.5-1% of your total bodyweight per week.
How to Use the Calculator
- At the end of each week, input your morning bodyweight readings to calculate your weekly average. During your transformation, aim for seven readings per week and a minimum of three.
- From the end of week 2 onwards, you will be able to calculate the percentage change between your latest weekly average bodyweight and the previous week’s average, e.g. week1 vs week2, week 2 vs week3, and so on.
- Enter your latest bodyweight average in ‘New bodyweight average’ and the average you want to compare it to in ‘Old bodyweight average’.