How to Build a Meal Plan Based on Your Weight Goals
Meal plans are essential to any healthy diet, although sometimes it can be hard to know just how to prepare balanced meals every day. But don’t worry, we’ve got you.
At Herbalife Nutrition, our dietitians and physicians have created create easy and effective Meal Builder Plans that have built-in calorie counts and are designed to provide you with the protein your body needs every day to function at its best.
Just follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Meal Plan Selection Tool
No two people are alike, and everyone’s protein and calorie needs vary. So how do you know which meal plan is right for you? Start with the Meal Plan Selection Tool. The charts will help you determine the suggested meal plan for you, and your plan is designed to match your individual needs for protein and calories.
The Meal Plan Selection Tool will guide you to the recommended Meal Plan based on your gender, weight and height. Each Meal Plan has four options (A, B, C and D). Once you know which plan is recommended for you, you’ll go to Step 2 to see your suggested plan.
Step 2: Meal Plans A, B, C and D
Each Daily Nutrition Meal Plan has three options: weight maintenance, weight loss and weight gain. Choose the option within the plan that best suits your personal goals.
This Meal Plan chart shows you what a typical day will look like, with recommended meals, snacks and shakes to choose from each day. Meal Plans are created by choosing items from the following categories:
- Balanced Meals (25–40 grams protein, 400–600 calories)
- Protein Snacks (10–30 grams protein, 150–300 calories)
- Shakes (20–30 g protein, 250–300 calories)
Weight Maintenance
When coupled with an appropriate exercise program, this option replaces one meal per day (typically breakfast) with a shake.
Weight Loss
This option promotes weight and fat loss when coupled with an appropriate exercise program and replaces two meals per day (typically lunch and dinner) with a shake.
Weight Gain
Using this option, get more protein and calories by supplementing with up to three additional shakes per day. When coupled with an appropriate exercise program, you can gain healthy weight as lean body mass.
Step 3: Meal Builder Tool
The Meal Builder tool is a simple, step-by-step approach to putting together healthy meals. Meals are made up of foods from five categories: Protein, Vegetables, Healthy Carbohydrates, Healthy Fats, and Seasonings.
Depending on your Meal Plan, you will create meals that have either approximately 25 grams of protein and 400 calories, or 40 grams of protein and 600 calories. Using the Meal Builder, you can select the exact foods you need to create your healthy, balanced meals:
- Choose the vegetarian meal builder or the one that incorporates meat.
- Choose the column that corresponds to the meal you are going to build.
- Select the amounts of food that are listed in each food group and combine items in a variety of ways to create healthy, balanced meals.
Free Resources to Achieve a Healthy Weight
When you have the right resources, it’s so much easier to achieve your weight management goals. Here is a complete set of tools we developed, plus some additional resources for meal and snack recipes.
- Meal Plan Selection Tool
- Meal Plans A, B, C and D
- Meal Builder (Meat and Vegetarian)
- Healthy Meal Suggestions
- Healthy Recipes
- Protein Snack Recipes
- Get started now and enjoy all of the benefits of improving your wellness. Download the Complete Guide to Meal Plan Building today!
If you’re looking for some additional inspiration, here is an example of a three-day 1800 calorie meal plan:
Example: A Three-Day Healthy 1800 Calorie Meal Plan
An 1800 calorie meal plan allows for an extra snack and a bit more starch than lower calorie diet plans, in order to meet the body’s needs for protein and carbohydrate. This plan calls for three meals and three snacks to help you take in 1800 healthy calories each day at regular intervals.
Here is the basic breakdown of the 1800 calorie diet plan:
- Breakfast: 1 Protein + 1 Fruit (+ vegetables if desired)
- Snack: 1 Protein Snack
- Lunch: 2 Protein + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 1 Starch/Grain + 1 Taste Enhancer + 1 Fruit
- Snack: 1 Protein Snack + 1 Fruit or Vegetable
- Dinner: 2 Protein + 1 Starch/Grain + 2 Vegetable + Leafy Greens + 1 Taste Enhancer
- Snack: 1 Fruit
Daily Totals: 5 Protein, 3 Fruit, 4–5 Vegetable, 2 Starch/Grain, 2 Protein Snack, Leafy Greens — no limit, 2 Taste Enhancer,
DAY 1
Breakfast
- 1 cup (250g) nonfat cottage cheese
- 1 cup (80g) strawberries
- Sprinkled with cinnamon
Snack
- ½ cup (125g) nonfat vanilla yogurt
Lunch
A large salad made with:
- Leafy greens (lettuce, spinach) — any amount
- 2 cups (160g) chopped mixed vegetables (carrots, peppers, tomato)
- 6 ounces (170g) grilled chicken breast
- ½ cup (150g) cooked white beans
- 2 tablespoons (30g) reduced-calorie salad dressing
- 1 tangerine
Snack
- 1 ounce (30g) soy nuts
- Carrot and celery sticks
Dinner
- 8 ounces (200g) grilled salmon with lemon
- 2 cups (160g) steamed green beans with garlic
- ½ cup (150g) cooked brown rice
- large leafy green salad — any amount
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie salad dressing
Snack
- 1 orange
DAY 2
Breakfast
- 1 whole egg + 4 egg whites scrambled in nonstick pan with pan spray
- Topped with tomato salsa
- 1 cup (80g) cut melon
Snack
- ½ cup (125g) nonfat cottage cheese
Lunch
A chicken and veggie stir-fry. Sauté together tofu, chicken, and veggies:
- 5 ounces (125g) firm tofu, cut into cubes
- 3 ounces (85g) chicken breast, cut into strips
- 2 cups (80g) broccoli florets
- Large bunch fresh spinach leaves
- 2 tsp. (10 ml) oil to stir-fry
- Season with soy sauce, garlic, pepper and ginger
- ½ cup (150g) steamed brown rice
- ½ medium mango
Snack
- 4 Tablespoons (60g) prepared hummus
- 1 cup (80g) baby carrots
Dinner
A grain salad with protein. Toss together:
- 8 ounces (200g) grilled shrimp
- ½ cup (150g) cooked quinoa
- 2 cups (160g) chopped mixed vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cucumber, onion)
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie vinaigrette dressing
- Place on a bed of leafy greens
Snack
- 1 fresh orange
DAY 3
Breakfast
- 1 cup (250g) plain nonfat yogurt
- 1 banana, sliced
- Sprinkle with nutmeg
Snack
- 1 ounce (30g) low-fat mozzarella cheese
Lunch
- 8 ounces (200g) grilled halibut
- 2 cups (80g) steamed asparagus with lemon
- ½ cup (150g) whole grain pasta
- Mixed leafy greens salad– any amount
- 2 Tablespoons (30g) reduced calorie salad dressing
- 1 cup (80g) berries
Snack
- ½ cup (125g) nonfat cottage cheese
- 1 cup (80g) chopped mixed raw vegetables
- season with salt, pepper, dried dill or chives
Dinner
- 6 ounces (170g) grilled lean steak
- 2 cups (160g) roasted Brussels sprouts (halve, toss with olive oil, roast at 400 F / 205 C for 20 minutes)
- 2 tsp. (10 ml) olive oil (for Brussels sprouts)
- Steamed kale, spinach or Swiss chard with vinegar
- ½ small sweet potato sprinkled with ginger
Snack
- 1 cup (80g) diced fresh pineapple
For more on healthy nutrition and other topics, visit Herbalife Nutrition.
Author: Susan Bowerman
Senior Director, Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training
Herbalife Nutrition
Susan Bowerman is the senior director of Worldwide Nutrition Education and Training at Herbalife Nutrition. Bowerman is a registered dietitian, holds two board certifications from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a certified specialist in sports dietetics, and a certified specialist in obesity and weight management, and is a Fellow of the Academy.
