How to Calculate Your Daily Meal Plan for Weight Loss

Let’s say you want to maintain your protein goal and proportions of carbs and veggies, but your calorie target is different (like 1,300, 1,500, or 1,800 calories). You can calculate servings in a few simple steps:

Step 1: Determine Your “Reference Calories”

Use this baseline plan as the reference:

• Example: 1,200 calories/day

• Protein: 100g (~33% of calories)

  • White proteins with very little to no fats: White fish, Cottage Cheese, Greek Yogurt, Egg Whites, Chicken Breast, Tuna Fish, etc.

• Carbs: 1 fist serving (~100 calories, ~8%)

  • Grains and fruits (even vegetables that are like fruits: tomatoes, zucchini, squash, cucumber, etc.) and NO Wheat!!! You want things like rice, rice pasta, rolled oats, zucchini, fruit, etc.

• Veggies: 3 fist servings (~45 calories, ~4%)

  • Focus on green leafy veggies. NO carrots, beans, seeds, squash, or pumpkin.

• Remaining calories: IF anything is left under your goal, then have a cups worth of fruit and another protein serving.

• What you cannot have: Any fats (healthy or otherwise) and any drinks, sauces, or seasonings with calories.

  • Note: Items with small amounts of calories like black coffee, lemon juice or soy sauce are calorically negligible and you may use them.

Step 2: Calculate Your Scaling Factor

Scaling Factor = Your Calorie Goal ÷ Reference Calories

Example:

• Your goal = 1,300 calories

• Reference = 1,200 calories

• Scaling factor = 1,300 ÷ 1,200 ≈ 1.083

This means you’ll increase all portions by ~8% to match your calorie goal.

Step 3: Scale Your Protein

• Reference: 100g protein → multiply by scaling factor:
  100 × 1.083 ≈ 108g protein/day

• Divide into meals as usual (palms or shakes).

• Each “palm serving” now represents slightly more protein (or add an extra small serving).

Step 4: Scale Carbs and Veggies

• Carbs: 1 fist serving × 1.083 ≈ 1.08 fist → you can round to 1 fist or slightly increase portion.

• Veggies: 3 fist servings × 1.083 ≈ 3.25 fist → round to 3–3.5 fists.

Step 5: Meal Structure

NOTE: This is still based on the daily calorie goal of 1,200. Go to step 3 & 4 to adjust accordingly.

• Meal 1: 1 Protein Serving, 1.5 Veggie Servings, and 1 Carb Serving

• Meal 2: 2 Protein Servings and 1.5 Veggie Servings

  • Note: See the rest of my recipe blog to view meals labeled Meal 1 & Meal 2 for your meal planning!

• Post-Workout Protein Shake: To make sure you are building that muscle and not wasting a workout!

  • Note: Whey protein is my recommendation as there are a variety of brands and flavors and it mixes well in water. I prefer the ISO500 Dunkin line by Dymatize for staying within a reasonable serving/cost ratio and for getting a product that tastes GREAT.

• Again, IF anything is left under your goal, then have 1 serving worth of fruit (additional carb serving) and another protein serving.

Quick Plug-and-Chug Formula for Any Calorie Goal

1. Scaling Factor = Your Goal ÷ Reference Calories

2. Protein Goal (g) = Reference Protein × Scaling Factor

3. Carb Servings = Reference Carb Servings × Scaling Factor

4. Veggie Servings = Reference Veggie Servings × Scaling Factor

5. Extra Calories = Your Goal – (Calories from Protein + Carbs + Veggies) → use for another carb and protein serving

Example

• Reference: 1,200 cal, 100g protein, 1 fist carbs, 3 fist veggies

• Goal: 1,500 cal

• Scaling factor = 1,500 ÷ 1,200 = 1.25

Adjusted servings:

• Protein = 100 × 1.25 = 125g

• Carbs = 1 × 1.25 ≈ 1.25 fists

• Veggies = 3 × 1.25 ≈ 3.75 fists

• Remaining calories for fats/snacks ≈ 1,500 – calories from scaled protein, carbs, veggies

✅ This method works for any daily calorie goal, keeps the proportions consistent, and lets readers customize without memorizing numbers.