# Anyone got a simple 4,000-4,500 calorie diet with 6-8 meals to hand.



## cudsyaj (Jul 5, 2011)

Hi Guys,

I'm really struggling with working out a diet that:

A: I can follow

B: will give me enough variety to not get bored or waver...

Ideally it needs to be fairly simple so I can follow it.

Can anyone help please


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## 3752 (Jan 7, 2005)

thing is mate if you cannot create one knowing what you can or cannot follow and having the foods you like how does anyone else able to do this??

you know what you like so use some basic protein foods like Chicken, lean red meat, shakes, eggs etc combined with some good carbs like Basmati Rice, sweet spuds, oats, fruit etc and good fats like egg yolk, coconut oil, EVOO etc....then make the meals up to accomadate your daily routine.


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## Bull Terrier (May 14, 2012)

The way to go for me personally is to be really strict and eat the usual bodybuilding fare at breakfast, lunch i.e. eggs, whole-wheat bread, tuna fish, protein shakes, salads etc. Boring stuff for sure, but at least I know that I'm getting in the stuff which is good for me and is really quick to prepare. For dinner I strongly believe that it helps psychologically to eat a proper meal as such which satisfies cravings for eating something which actually tastes good. Good choices for my personal taste would include home-made chicken tagine with couscous, beef and vegetable stew with rice, chilli con carne with rice, and a few others. I know and have calculated all of the macros per portion and the nice thing is that the overall macros for the day still work out absolutely right, whilst satisfying desire for nice meals and not wasting too much time preparing food.

Can't stress enough however the need to cover all nutritional bases - not just macros but also nutrient-rich foods to ensure adequate intake of vitamins and minerals.


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## cudsyaj (Jul 5, 2011)

This is the bit I'm struggling with... I can't seem to work out multiple macros across multiple meals. Even with a calculator I get lost easily.


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## Bull Terrier (May 14, 2012)

To be honest I know what you mean actually. Have a look at this website:

http://ndb.nal.usda.gov/ndb/foods/list

I created a file in excel in which I inserted all of the foods which I habitually eat, inserted in other columns the values of protein, carbs, fat, calories. It was then very easy to create the formulas in which for any proposed diet I write in the amount of each food which I want to eat (let's say 200g of lean beef mince) and then bingo out come the values of protein, carbs, fat and calories for that amount.

Because I've listed all of the foods which I eat (and I've also inserted overall meals for which I know the nutritional content) I can quickly see the daily totals for any diet which comes to mind.

It becomes very easy like this.

PM me if you want my file just to have a look at it.


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## swampy9785 (Sep 27, 2008)

www.myfitnesspal.com works well for me. Just make sure you select the brand or as close to it that you'll be using or will be pointless


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## cudsyaj (Jul 5, 2011)

I knew this wasn't going to be very easy... I'm going to work backwards through the process... this is what I got so far.


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## cudsyaj (Jul 5, 2011)

Pscarb said:


> thing is mate if you cannot create one knowing what you can or cannot follow and having the foods you like how does anyone else able to do this??
> 
> you know what you like so use some basic protein foods like Chicken, lean red meat, shakes, eggs etc combined with some good carbs like Basmati Rice, sweet spuds, oats, fruit etc and good fats like egg yolk, coconut oil, EVOO etc....then make the meals up to accomadate your daily routine.


I've managed to get this with a shocking amount of effort  I've had to keep working stuff out, low fat vs full fat etc etc... but anyway I gots this now but struggling to tweak that matches my macros at the bottom.


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## User Name (Aug 19, 2012)

cudsyaj said:


> This is the bit I'm struggling with... I can't seem to work out multiple macros across multiple meals. Even with a calculator I get lost easily.


That's what I was struggling with (and still am). It seems you have to put in a real effort - especially at the start.

I'm okay with food that has the nutritional values listed (easy to work out 1g and then use kitchen scales appropriately). Where I fall down is with 'liquids' like yoghurt, spreads (margarine, peanut butter etc.) and loose fruits and vegetables.


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## Big_Idiot (Feb 14, 2012)

cudsyaj said:


> I've managed to get this with a shocking amount of effort  I've had to keep working stuff out, low fat vs full fat etc etc... but anyway I gots this now but struggling to tweak that matches my macros at the bottom.
> 
> View attachment 93539


You could add a pint of skimmed milk into that mate? Would add like 0.5g fat, ~190 kcals, 19g protein, ~25g carbs


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## cudsyaj (Jul 5, 2011)

Big_Idiot said:


> You could add a pint of skimmed milk into that mate? Would add like 0.5g fat, ~190 kcals, 19g protein, ~25g carbs


Right I've hit all the macros now... here is a final training day meal plan (made up with 100g dextrose before and after workout, hope that won't kill me or make me diabetic!!!), I'm going to have to do this again for a non training day and also weekends (basically I'm not the brightest button and need to have things to follow).

So here it is:


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