Meal Plan Guidelines
Hooray! Great job on choosing our meal plans to guide you on your weight loss journey. We might be a little bit biased, but we think they’re fantastic.
They will always contain some of our newest, healthy, weight loss friendly recipes combined with some of our tried and tested classics.
The plans have been designed with weight loss in mind, but below is some extra advice for you along with some handy tips and tricks at the end.
The basics
The meal plans on their own usually average between 1200-1300 calories per day (but you can check the nutrition facts for yourself if you want!).
The average intake of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats) have been designed to meet the minimum daily requirements.
So, if you decide to just eat the recipes we’ve suggested without any snacks, you’ll still be following a healthy meal plan.
Do I need snacks?
We would advise about 1,500 calories per day for females who are trying to lose weight and 1,800 for males. However, this recommendation is based on someone who follows the widely accepted guidance of 30 minutes of exercise for 5 days of the week.
This means that in general ladies should add up to about 200 calories per day in snacks, and gents should add up to about 500 calories when using our meal plan.
If you are over 65 years of age then you may need a calorie intake of less 1,500 calories per day as a female or 1,800 calories per day as a male to lose weight.
The same is true if you are sedentary and do not exercise regularly. In these scenarios, it may be appropriate to omit snacks and just use the recipes in the meal plan.
What if I exercise regularly?
The guidance of 1,500 calories per day for females and 1,800 calories per day for males takes into account about 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week.
As the meal plans average roughly 1200-1300 calories per day, it’s important to add snacks to your day.
If you exercise more than 30 minutes 5 days a week then you may need more calories. If you know how many more calories you need per day then great!
If not, why not send us an email to daveandhauke@hurrythefoodup.com and we can give you some further advice.
Handy tips and tricks
Time savers
- Use parboiled (or microwave or frozen) rice
- Use canned lentils or beans
- Freeze extra portions for future quick meals
- Buy pre-chopped vegetables (if they’re available)
- Potatoes can be microwaved (don’t forget to poke holes in them first)
Tips
- Don’t be scared of store-bought hummus/other sauces to save time (as long as they aren’t full of sugar!)
- When frying, if food starts to stick add a little more hot water instead of oil
- When you do use oil, use a spray instead of pouring in oil
- Buy frozen vegetables so you always have some available
Snack ideas
- Hard boiled eggs
- Wholemeal bread with topping of your choice – low fat cream cheese, nut butter, marmite
- Low fat greek yoghurt with berries
- Low fat cottage cheese with berries
- Hand sized piece of fruit (E.g. Banana, apple, pear)
- Small handful of nuts
- Roasted chickpeas