Create Your Weekly Menus Following a Healthy Diet Plan

Following a healthy diet plan can seem to be a daunting task amidst a busy lifestyle, but some organization, planning and background information can actually make it quite easy and effective. There are as many fad diet plans out there as there are people to think them up, and this vast amount of (often conflicting) information can also seem overwhelming. A good rule of thumb is that fad diets do not work in the long run because most of them are too restrictive and cannot be maintained over a lifetime. Some of the more extreme ones can even pose some serious health risks, and the same goes for many advertised diet aid supplements. The goal is to plan each of your meals with a balance of each of the food group recommended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Nutrition

In recent years, the recommended food groups have been updated from the traditional four groups to seven groups, and these are calibrated to be able to translate into a custom food pyramid for each individual based on age, gender, height, weight, and daily level of activity. These new seven food groups are listed and described as the grain group, the vegetable group, the fruit group, the milk group, the meat and beans group, the oils group and the discretionary calories group.

What used to be called the "empty calories" group has been renamed "discretionary calories" because small amounts of them are acceptable once the needed daily nutritional objectives are met through the healthier food groups. Depending on the individual criteria, there is a recommended number of ounces of each group for each individual per day. For example, the recommended amount of grains for most people within a normal weight range is five to six ounces. The same applies to the rest depending on the recommended amount of total calories from each group for each individual.

Meal Planning

Some additional nutrition advice is "the more color on the plate, the better." This means that the greater the variety from each of the main food groups—namely meats/beans, vegetables and fruit—the more essential nutrients and less discretionary calories are there in each meal. For those who have weight-loss goals and increased activity levels as part of a weekly meal plan, it is advised to consult a physician or dietician to determine how to best reduce discretionary calories and other less beneficial food components while still maintaining adequate nutrition intake. A goal to keep in mind for each meal of each day is to include a vegetable, a grain, a fruit, a dairy, and a meat/bean serving in every one.  

Use Tools

There are now plenty of technology aids from many sources that are intended to make your healthy meal planning a seamless part of your day. These include downloadable recipe cards, blank menu templates, electronic food diaries and databases, fat percentage calculators and much more. The use of these depends on what will work best for you. Most of us utilize a desktop daily calendar in our normal workdays, and it is recommended to try incorporating meal plans for each day into this, if possible. When creating a healthy meal plan each week for your family, the option of calendar-sharing is also there, allowing input and suggestions from everyone. Doing so can be a valuable educational experience as well, especially for the younger members.