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Determine Your Caloric Intake

How does one determine which caloric level to follow? It is important to check with your health care provider, but if you do not have any medical condi-tions, you can start with some general guidelines.

If you are physically active, you will need more calories. Also, males tend to need more calories, based on the samelevel of physical activity, than females. There have been many equations developed to attempt to predict caloric requirements, each with their own strengths and limitations. The Mifflin-St Jeor equation is one of the more reliable ways to estimate caloric require-ments in healthy individuals, and you can find Mifflin-St Jeor calculators online.16 Caloric estimation is not an exact science; you are unique and calculating your estimated energy requirements is just a place to start. Use your experience (how full you feel, weight changes) to provide feedback on which calorie level to follow and consult your health care provider. An additional note of encouragement: weight is not the end-all-be-all to health; the health benefits of eating a well-balanced diet go well beyond the scale.

If you follow a plan lower than 1500 kcal,you require very specific instructions from a medical professional. Additionally, if you require any more than 2500 calories, you are likely a high-level athlete and require a very specific dietary plan.

Make a Plan

Every single daily meal plan in the book provides a perfect balance for your dri values. If you follow the daily meal plan for your caloric intake and eat all of the meals and snacks for the day, you will receive all your daily nutrients just from what you eat. With 30 balanced days in total, you can design a meal strategy that best suits your flavor preferences, eating patterns, and family dynamic. This flexibility promotes sustainability because it allows you to adapt meals to fit your lifestyle.

The adaptability allows you to create a realistic schedule. You may decide that you want to adopt a Complete Plate seven days of the week. Or you may just start with a few days of the week. Additionally, you may decide that you want to try new recipes every single day. Or you may choose to pick one or two days and double or triple each recipe, batch cooking the same recipes for the whole week. The options are endless.