Constructing a Diet Plan, Part. 1

I've gotten a ton of requests to write up meal plans for various people lately. Since I can't really do that free of charge anymore (it wouldn't be fair to my paying clients) I decided to do the next best thing. 

There are a series of criteria and a step-by-step process I go through every time I design an eating plan or template for myself or for a client. For the sake of simplicity I won't disclose all of them here, but using myself as an example, here are some of the main ones: 

Main Metabolic Indicators

Metabolic Type: Slow Oxidizer, 

Parasympathetic Dominant

Blood Chemistry

Blood Type: A

Blood pH: ~6.2 over 7 days, indicating acidity

Zinc Tally: No Taste, indicating low zinc

     

 -----> From this data (which can be done easily at home) as well as other indicators that cannot be done without lab work, we can conclude that there is likely a disbiosis in gut ecology, which shapes our supplementation plan and allows us to emphasize certain foods in the meal plan. 

Goals: 

Maintain weight and fuel performance during a period of heavy training and high activity. 

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Now that we have an idea of the makeup of the athlete, we need to calculate the ideal macronutrient profile of each meal. 

Caloric intake calculations: 

4370 kcal/day. 

I use a formula that takes into account resting metabolic rate, the thermic affect of food, lean body mass and activity level as well as type of activity. It would take forever to type out here, but can be found here.

It's important to note that I don't count calories myself or recommend counting calories for experienced trainees. This is because energetic needs are different on a day to day basis and once you are healthy your body has a way of communicating it's needs very well. Thus, for experienced people these numbers simply serve as a guideline to shoot for. However, with those who are just starting out, I feel that it's important to count calories in order to make sure you are not over or under eating. I can't count the number of skinny guys who have told me "I eat all day long, until I'm stuffed!" But every time we go ahead and count out everything they are eating, the calories they are taking in wouldn't feed a starving pigeon. 

Macronutrient Ratios:

60 % Carbohydrate

25 % Protien

15 % Fat

When calculating these ratios we need to take into account Metabolic Type and activity level above all other things. This is the ratio I have simply found to work best for me, and it can be fine-tuned on a day-to-day basis. I have seen the ratio swing dramatically in the other direction as well, and no two people are equal. In fact, the ratio above is unlikely to work for a large majority of the population, since Slow Oxidizers don't generally exist in nature. Again, it is simply what works for me and my Metabolic Type. 

Now that we have the main indicators and guidelines for the makeup of the athlete, we need to figure out specifically what foods are best for their individual makeup, at what ratios, and what times of the day to emphasize them. We also need to cover their activity level, peri-workout nutrition, and supplementation. 

Part 2 will deal with selecting specific foods for each individual. 

Stay tuned!

- T