How to set up diet

[donnajo]

what is the simplest way to set up a diet . I am helping a friend out and I have figured out calories and macros. The hard part for me is picking out the foods and dividing them up into 5 or 6 small meals. What is an easy way to do this?

[OldGuy]

1. Make a list of what they like to eat.
2. Pick.

[donnajo]

Originally Posted by OldGuy

1. Make a list of what they like to eat.
2. Pick.

Funny. No what I mean is getting the right macros and calories in each meal. That is what I am having trouble with.

[OldGuy]

Take the amount of calories per day and divide by the amount of meals. Same with your macros splits.

Have the counted calories or calculated macros before?

[donnajo]

Yeah , I get that but then fitting in the foods and matching to the macros is seeming tedious for me. I may be making this more difficult.

[OldGuy]

Exactly the point of the post you thought was "funny".

What about portion control? Protein = size of a deck of cards, carbohydrate = a closed fist. Add in good fats and you should be good to go.

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by donnajo

Yeah , I get that but then fitting in the foods and matching to the macros is seeming tedious for me. I may be making this more difficult.

Use fitday.com(I use this) for a while or calorieking.com(I've never used) to log the meals. The macros and calories are automatically broken down for you. Once you get a "feel" for what is in the foods, you will get better at meal planning.

Personally, I don't worry so much per meal as I do how the days totals look.

[galya]

You got some solid advice from Jimbo.
I think using something like Fitday would be the last step, and I didn't get an idea about how far in the planning process you are. You need to know how you structure the foods at different meals and have a general approach to the diet plan (for example if you choose to do P+F, P+C meals your macros will get arranged in one way and if you choose to go low carb, high fat, the macros will be different). Usually, if you choose the quality and type of foods based on your goal and then set up the calories, and the protein, everything else seems to fall into place. It's very hard to mess up your macros if you have protein and vegetables at every meal or you have your first meal and PWO meal with carbs and then stick to protein and veggies the rest of the day.
So: 1) figure out your goal 2) estimate calories 3) estimate and spread protein throughout meals 4) check on Fitday/Calorieking/whatever, as you add the other foods.

[donnajo]

Originally Posted by galya

You got some solid advice from Jimbo.
I think using something like Fitday would be the last step, and I didn't get an idea about how far in the planning process you are. You need to know how you structure the foods at different meals and have a general approach to the diet plan (for example if you choose to do P+F, P+C meals your macros will get arranged in one way and if you choose to go low carb, high fat, the macros will be different). Usually, if you choose the quality and type of foods based on your goal and then set up the calories, and the protein, everything else seems to fall into place. It's very hard to mess up your macros if you have protein and vegetables at every meal or you have your first meal and PWO meal with carbs and then stick to protein and veggies the rest of the day.
So: 1) figure out your goal 2) estimate calories 3) estimate and spread protein throughout meals 4) check on Fitday/Calorieking/whatever, as you add the other foods.

Thanks. That makes sense.

[rem1956]

I don't really count mine. I take a more simple approach, using basic portion control. I eat 6 small meals per day, with a protein source for each meal. I eat by color, picking each day 3-4 fruits of different color and 3-4 vegs of different color. Then I throw in a few complex carbs...couple of slices of dark multigrain bread, brown rice, oatmeal, some beans, etc to balance out the day. Usually about 3-4 servings worth. That usually gets me through the day, without counting calories and thinking about macros. I also have a protein shake on workout days, multi-vitamin, fish oil caps every day.

I read food labels and avoid like the death anything that has HFCS listed, anythin processed, or high in sodium/sugar. I avoid deep fried foods, enriched flour products, potatos, white rice and pasta (unless it's whole grain). Skim Milk, tea and coffee, lots of water. No sodas nor juices.

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by rem1956

I don't really count mine. I take a more simple approach, using basic portion control. I eat 6 small meals per day, with a protein source for each meal. I eat by color, picking each day 3-4 fruits of different color and 3-4 vegs of different color. Then I throw in a few complex carbs...couple of slices of dark multigrain bread, brown rice, oatmeal, some beans, etc to balance out the day. Usually about 3-4 servings worth. That usually gets me through the day, without counting calories and thinking about macros. I also have a protein shake on workout days, multi-vitamin, fish oil caps every day.

I read food labels and avoid like the death anything that has HFCS listed, anythin processed, or high in sodium/sugar. I avoid deep fried foods, enriched flour products, potatos, white rice and pasta (unless it's whole grain). Skim Milk, tea and coffee, lots of water. No sodas nor juices.

I think that's good, solid, nutrition there. And, not to start another debate on the whole - to track or not to track - thing, I still think there is some real educational value in tracking your nutrition/macros for a while. I know I learned a lot. I'm feeling more confident now and I'm not tracking either. I think that once you have done it a while you get a sense of what to eat and not to eat. You also get some sense of how much to eat. But it's still hard for me to nail exact daily caloric intake by just feeling my way through. Tracking helps in that sense for me. But, I believe, eventually I will even be able to know my daily calories, or close to it, without tracking.

God that was long. Sorry. All that to say, there may be some value in tracking for a while just to "get a handle" on things and get educated about the foods you eat.

[rem1956]

Thanks. It's working for me. I did count macros earlier, and got many surprises. Things I thought I was doing right were extremely wrong! There is a need for counting. But like you suggested, after you have done it for a while, you kinda get to know what you can and can't eat. Also didn't mention but being in a pre-diabetic condition, I tested my BG alot. That's really the basis of my current diet. My blood sugar response to certain foods told me what I should and shouldn't eat. I just added portion control to that and eliminated the "common sense" bad things.

One really nice thing about my approach is my plate is always colorful and appealing!