Create a Reasonable Meal Plan by Following These Easy Steps

Staying healthy and maintaining a decent looking body size is important in today’s fast paced world. It seems like every thing we do in the world of today is on the go and in a constant rush. The same goes for our meals, which we rarely plan. Instead, what many of us do is wait until we are starving and then get anxious and just grab to eat anything. And to be frank, even the people who wish to lose weight, most of them go about it the wrong way. Starving yourself is most certainly not the way to do it. The secret? A balanced diet.

Set Realistic Goals

Before you proceed you should know the difference between losing fat and losing weight. Just because your scale says that you weigh less doesn’t mean you are healthy. Loosing weight can mean losing it in the form of muscle mass as well. For example, people in the bodybuilding community tend to reach their desired fat loss goals in 4, 8 to 12 weeks – depending on their fat loss meal plans and how much they exercise. But due to the fact that their meal plan is stretched out over several weeks, they don’t sacrifice any muscle mass along the way. So, before you set any goals you should know that healthy fat loss takes time.

Determine Your BMR

The Basic Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is what determines the number of calories you need for your body to function normally. Knowing your BMR will determine how much calories you need to burn for fat loss. Basically, it is a number that tells you how many calories you would burn if you were resting for 24 hours. To figure out your BMR you need to use the Harris Benedict’s BMR equation. This is very useful as it allows you to calculate exactly how much fat you would lose if you stay on your meal plan. Body builders use fat loss meal plans together with their BMR number all the time – this way they know how long it will take them to lose the weight they want.

Determine Your Activity Level

Now that you know your BMR number you need to calculate how much calories you need on an average day – meaning, how much calories you need to perform your daily routine and exercise. It is very important to be honest with yourself about how active you are throughout the day so that you can precisely predict the amount of calories you will burn once you factor in your meal plan. For a fat loss meal plan to be fully effective, you first need to determine your activity level and BMR number, so that you can accurately predict and track your progress.