This year I turned 46 and nutrition has become less about quick fixes and more about supporting strength, metabolism, and long-term health. Something I can (and will) actually do trumps the latest “scientific” recommendation these days. Extreme diets and complicated macro charts aren’t the answer for me. Gone are the days where I tried silly BS diets like:
“Eat like a caveman”
“Eat 1 meal per day”
“Eat all your carbs right before bed”
“Don’t eat any carbs”
To be fair, any of these silly marketing gimmicks can (and do) work, the problem is that most folks struggle with sticking to these dietary “rules”. To further complicate the matter, none of these “rules” provide any unique benefit whatsoever, making the “sticking to the plan” quite cumbersome. Here’s what really works in nutrition.
Eating adequate protein, no BS, you don’t get to skip this.
Eating the correct calories based on your goal.
A really simple way to set this up is what I call The 316 Meal PlanTM. Just kidding, I don’t have a trademark 😊, that’s just more marketing BS but here’s what we want to get done on the 316 meal plan:
Lose fat without losing muscle
Improve energy and recovery
Support hormonal and metabolic health
Build a stronger, more resilient body
Keep nutrition simple and repeatable (this is the key)
Why I Like this Plan
Stability (less cravings and poor nutritional choices)
Fewer decisions (increased consistency)
Flexibility (wiggle room is useful)
Supports strength training (healthy aging)
Daily Calorie Targets (how much should I eat)
Yes, you can use an app that will tell you what you’re supposed to eat. You could also use a complicated equation like the Harris-Benedict, or you could log your current intake for a week and then adjust accordingly.
I’m here to tell you if you just want to skip all that BS and start working productively, use the numbers below. Are they perfect? No but the precision of these numbers won’t be the problem, the problem will very likely be your behavior (willingness to comply).
In any event, here are the numbers I use, and they are plenty accurate enough to START. Because that’s really all caloric targets are … starting points. Here is the layout:
Muscle Gain (16 to 18 calories per pound of body weight)
Maintenance / Re composition (13 to 15 calories per pound of body weight)
Fat Loss (10 to 12 calories per pound of body weight)
What if you use these numbers and you aren’t seeing results? First, if you actually stuck to the plan for 2-4 weeks then just adjust the numbers. It’s not that serious. Take the targets down or up, depending on what’s happening.
Meal Structure
This couldn’t be easier; each day you’ll eat 3 meals and 1 snack.
What’s the difference between a meal and a snack?
On this plan, meals are structured and snacks are flexible. That’s about it, in reality snacks and meals are the same, we’re just using these names to segment our calorie intake goals.
The easiest way to set up the meal plan is to use an “isocaloric” approach. That just means that the macros for each meal are the same. It could look like this for a 200lb male wanting to re comp:
750 calories per meal
50g protein
20g fat
90g carbs
If our athlete is eating 3 meals, that brings our “meal” total intake to:
2,250 calories
150g protein
60g fat
270g carbs
Assuming our athlete is aiming to hit 2,600 total calories (13 calories per 1lb of BW) for his re comp, that means he would have about 350 calories left for his “snack”.
The snack can be whatever the athlete wants it to be.
The table below is nothing special, it’s just a sample of how you might lay out a meal plan for a 200lb male and 150lb female respectively. Each athlete is consuming 12 to 13 calories per 1lb of BW, making it a great intake for re comping.
Meal Pattern
Meals/Day
Calories/Meal
Snack
Protein x Meal
Male Plan (2600)
3
~ 700
500 cal. “macro-flex”
~ 50g
Female Plan (1800)
3
~ 500
300 cal. “macro flex”
~ 35g
Snack Options: Choose anything you enjoy. I’ve set up the numbers above for each athlete to hit their protein targets during their 3 meals so the snack can be whatever, just stay within calories for the day.
What Should I Actually Eat?
This is pretty easy to do in 2025. Just use an open AI source and type in your calorie / macro targets along with some food items you actually enjoy. You’ll get an endless list of meals that fit the structure you’ve created. Here are some easy ideas:
Meal 1: Breakfast
200 lb. Male (~700–750 cal.)
150 lb. Female (~350–500 cal.)
4 eggs
2 eggs + ½ cup egg whites
1 cup egg whites
½ cup Greek yogurt or cottage cheese
1 avocado
½ cup berries
1 cup berries
Optional: 1 slice toast or ⅓ cup oats
1–2 slices whole grain toast
—
Meal 2: Lunch
200 lb. Male (~700–750 cal.)
150 lb. Female (~350–500 cal.)
6–8 oz grilled chicken/turkey
3–5 oz chicken, tofu, shrimp
1–1.5 cups rice or potatoes
½–1 cup rice or potatoes
1–2 cups vegetables
1–2 cups vegetables
1–2 tbsp olive oil/dressing
1 tsp olive oil or light dressing
Meal 3: Dinner
200 lb. Male (~700–750 cal.)
150 lb. Female (~350–500 cal.)
6–8 oz lean beef, pork, fish
4–5 oz lean beef, pork, fish
1–1.5 cups rice/pasta/quinoa
½–1 cups rice/pasta/quinoa
Vegetables
Vegetables
1 fruit
Optional fruit
Please don’t assign any special or unique value to those sample meals plans, they literally just “fit the numbers”. Plug in what you enjoy and will actually eat on a regular basis.
What’s With the 6?
Ok, we’ve covered the 31 part of the plan. Now let’s talk about the 6 in the 316 meal plan. The 6 applies most appropriately when the athlete is working on a fat loss goal. The idea would be to stick to the plan for at least 6 days and on the 7th day (if you saw progress), you would relax a little bit and eat more liberally. Why? Because caloric restriction is HARD and getting a routine break from that is useful for long(er) term adherence.
What if you didn’t see progress? Stay on the plan until you do. If you’ve been executing the plan for at least 4 weeks and have not seen progress, it’s time to adjust your numbers. Take the calorie target down (this will come in the form of less carbs and/or fat), keep the protein target the same.
Why This Plan Works for Busy Adults Over 40
After 40, muscle naturally declines. The 2 levers we can pull to combat this decline are dietary protein and strength training. This plan aims to keep protein intake high, regardless of the goal.
Balanced meals result in more stable blood sugar which creates better decision making around intake.
Three balanced meals keep appetite in check.
Finally, my favorite, simple plans beat perfect plans every time.
Need some help putting together a nutrition and exercise plan that could actually work for you? Book a Meeting with one of our coaches and we’ll get you moving in the right direction.
