Nutrition plays an important role in fitness and can have a profound impact on results. For this reason, creating a meal plan can be challenging for nutritionists and fitness professionals.

The first step to creating a meal plan is getting to know your client. This includes gathering information about their goals, history, and habits.

Identify Your Goals

If you're looking to create a fitness meal plan that works for you, start by setting meaningful goals that will help you reach your ultimate health objectives. These will inspire you beyond superficial wants and needs, and fuel your determination even when things get tough.

Make sure your goals are measurable and attainable, says Kabiri. For example, it's unlikely that you'll want to go from an average of 2,000 steps a day to running a marathon in one month, but a goal of increasing your steps by 1,000 each week can be more realistic.

You should also consider the rewards you will give yourself if you accomplish your goals. These may be a new workout top, an episode of your current TV show or a long hot bath. Make sure that these rewards are meaningful to you, so they will keep you on track even when you need to push yourself a little harder in the gym.

Lastly, your goals should align with your personal values and lifestyle. For example, if you're passionate about making a difference in the world, a fitness goal of becoming stronger and more confident can help you do just that. Write down your goals and review them often to see how you're progressing toward reaching your desired health outcomes. If you encounter any roadblocks, reassess your goals and set more manageable mini-goals to keep you on track.

Create a Menu

When creating a meal plan for your client, you want to start by identifying their goals. This will help you create a nutrition plan that is targeted to their fitness needs. You’ll want to take into account their calorie goal, dietary restrictions, and food preferences. It’s also important to get to know your clients. During the initial assessment, you’ll want to ask them about their eating habits, history, and any allergies or dietary restrictions.

Overly complicated meal plans will make it harder for your clients to adhere to them, so it’s best to keep things simple at the beginning. The nutrition feature in FitSW makes it easy to assign simplified meal plans that meet your clients’ macro goals. Then, you can follow up with your clients to see how they are doing and address any roadblocks that may come up along the way. This will ensure that your clients are getting the most out of their meal plan.

Create a Shopping List

Creating a shopping list can help you stay on track with your budget and meal plans. It can also prevent you from buying unnecessary items that might not fit into your fitness goals. Be sure to include any dietary restrictions and food allergies. You can make a list using the Notes app on your phone or another program, such as Excel. It can also be a good idea to cross off items you already have in your pantry.

If you are working with clients, it’s important to follow up to see how their meal plans are going. This allows you to identify any roadblocks they might be experiencing and offer tips for getting back on track.

Using the nutrition feature in FitSW, you can easily assign simplified meal plans to your clients that will assist them in hitting their macro goals. You can also create more detailed nutrition plans for clients that are based on specific foods, or meals they might be eating. This helps ensure that they are getting all the nutrients they need to be healthy.

Make a Checklist

When you make your list, use an app or a notepad on your phone, your computer, a piece of paper or any other method that works for you. You’ll inevitably forget something if you try to remember it all off the top of your head, so it’s important to plan ahead.

Identify Your Goals – What are you trying to accomplish with your workout plan? Are you working to lose weight, build muscle, prepare for an event or improve your flexibility? Identifying your long-term goals will help you create the smaller, more manageable short-term goals that will lead to your success.

Conclusion

Just as I ask my clients about their fitness goals, history and habits, you should do the same. This will allow you to create a plan that’s unique to you and will work for your specific needs. It also helps you stay on track and make progress. Staying hydrated before, during and after your workout is also important.