It’s great to have you back.

I just had someone ask me what my daily meals looked like in a nutshell.

This person is overweight and trying to combat knee pain with strength training exercises, stretching and losing weight.

First, I congratulated them for taking the best approach.  Losing weight, improving flexibility and getting STRONGER.

Then I gave them a quick rundown of what my meal plan looks like.

I thought you may benefit from getting a general idea to base your own food intake on.

So, here goes:

Breakfast

4 ounces of salmon

1 apple

1/2 cup walnuts and pecans

1 cup spinach

Snack

Banana

When I’m home for this meal, I’ll throw in some added protein (fish, beef or poultry).

Lunch

5 ounces of steak or fish

1 cup broccoli, cauliflower or brussel sprouts -Most of the time, a mixture of 2 of them

1 apple

1/2 avocado

Snack

Banana, grapes, apricots, dates or pineapple

Dinner

5-6 ounces steak or fish (usually the opposite of what I ate at lunch)

2 cups broccoli, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, carrots, beets

This, of course, is a general guideline.  You need to base your caloric intake on your build and how many hours of exercise you complete each week.

Here’s a calculation you can use to figure out your daily nutrient/energy requirments:

Calculating Daily Caloric Intake

You’ll need to know:

a) Your goal weight in pounds

b) The number of hours you workout per week

For someone who wants to be 150 pounds and exercises 3 hours per week…

Daily Calories = Goal weight x (workout hours per week + 9.5)

Daily Calories = 150 x (3 + 9.5)

Daily Calories = 1875

Protein = goal weight 150

Fat = half goal weight 75

Carbs = [Daily calories – (protein calories + fat calories)]/4

Protein = 150g

Fat = 75g

Carbs = 150g

Hope this helps you dial in your nutrient/calorie intake.

Just remember, small organic is best.  Just say NO to boxed products and processed food.  You’ll probably never eat enough vegetables, so keep shoveling them in.

Until next time…

Get strong and stay strong,

Rochelle Gravance