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When it comes to proper meal planning, there is a lot more that goes into it than just eating anything in front of you. You must put into account, that there are certain foods that have more nutrients, and less junk, while others are all junk and no beneficial value within it. Each child growing into their adolescent years, begins to grow a lot more with their growth spurts, in turn meaning they need to bring in more food to match the metabolism. Especially if you are a physically active individual that enjoys some sort of exercise more often than not. Adolescents that exercise and eat right, reap all sorts of benefits, from healthier bone structure and density, to more energy to accommodate the hecticness of life. It will also give you a clearer head while working on school work, and assist you in getting them grades you and your parents desire. Higher protein levels can help your musculature for any type of sport or activity that you are participating in, while higher carbohydrates can give you the energy to push a little bit harder in the last quarter.
Some potential risks that the two of you face with your eating habits, and physical activity are as follows. Jacob, you love your sport of football, and you want to continue to play in your later years. However, football isn’t just during the season. You must continue to work during the off season, to keep your body balanced with the activity. Becoming sedentary after school in the offseason, has made you create layers of unwanted body fat, that may have slowed your performance during football season. And it all starts with eating the right diet.
Mollie, you are probably one of the most active 15-year old girls I have seen, which is a great quality to have so that you can establish those roots at an early age. You will be able to bring that with you into your adult years, making you live a long healthy life. It is hard being a lacto-vegetarian and trying to intake the amount of nutrients you need to be able to keep weight on with all your activities. Trying to intake the amount of calories you burn daily, is going to be a challenge, but we will get you a solid plan to be able to get you some more weight, healthy.
The following meal plan is for Jacob, to help him continue growth, yet reach his goal of losing 20 pounds of fat. Even though I would like him to practice intermittent fasting, which would include him not eating anything for 14-16 hours, he needs to have a proper diet that includes breakfast. I want him to have an 8 oz. glass of water before each meal, right before bed, and right when he wakes up to start the metabolism. This will be a plan for three days that are done on his training days for football, and this can continue to be cycled.
| Day 1 (Monday) | Day 2 (Wednesday) | Day 3 (Friday | |
| Breakfast | 8 oz. glass of water. Three egg omelet with bacon bits, ham bits, and sausage bits. Two pieces of whole wheat toast. 8 oz. of apple juice | 8 oz. glass of water. Two over easy eggs with three strips of Bacon. Two pieces of whole wheat toast. 8 oz. of orange juice | 8 oz. glass of water. Four crepes, with strawberries on top. No whipped cream or syrup. Two pieces of whole wheat toast. 8 oz. of apple juice |
| AM snack | Any type of Fruit group, such as a banana, apple, or orange. | Any type of Fruit group, such as a banana, apple, or orange. | Any type of Fruit group, such as a banana, apple, or orange. |
| Lunch | 8 oz. of water. Turkey meat and low fat swiss cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread. ½ cup of plain almonds. Vegie tray with carrots, broccoli, and celery (no dipping sauces) 12 oz. whey Protein shake. | 8 oz. of water. Ham and low fat swiss cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread. ½ cup of walnuts and raisins. Veggie tray with carrots, broccoli, and snap peas (no dipping sauces). 12 oz. whey Protein shake. | 8 oz. of water. 2 cups of shredded chicken with 1 cup of brown rice. ½ cup of trail mix that is high in protein. Veggie tray with radishes, turnups, and cucumber (no dipping sauces). 12 oz. whey Protein shake. |
| PM snack | Any type of fruit, such as pineapple, blue berry, or raspberry. | Any type of fruit, such as pineapple, blue berry, or raspberry. | Any type of fruit, such as pineapple, blue berry, or raspberry. |
| Dinner | 8 oz. of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 8 oz. steak, and 1 cup of mashed potatoes with brown gravy. 1 Cup of corn with no butter. | 8 oz. of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 10 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast. With low fat alfredo sauce, and one cup of whole wheat pasta. Shredded swiss cheese lightly sprinkled on top. | 8 oz. of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. ½ lb. Burger with whole wheat bun and light on ketchup/mustard. Can include lettuce, tomato, and onion if wanted. Sweet potato fries that are baked or fried in coconut oil. Six sticks of Asparagus. |
Since you do practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we are going to pack the beginning of your day with proteins to help build that muscle. The higher level of muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate becomes. We want to avoid carbohydrates as much as possible, but they will still be included in small amounts to help with energy levels. I think you should alternate every 30 days, with doing this diet, and then doing a month of intermittent fasting to help lose that extra body fat, and pack on muscle the other 30 days. Alternating this type of diet will keep you body shocked, so that it cannot adjust too much to one thing.
The following diet plan is for Mollie, to help her keep her energy levels up and gain a little bit more weight with her outrageous activity that she does on a daily basis. Again, with her being a lacto-vegetarian, it is going to be difficult for her to reach her goals, but we will get her there. A lacto-vegetarian is someone who avoids and type of egg based products, but still consumes other dairy (Jolinda Hackett, 2019). I too want her to drink an 8 oz. glass of water before each meal, right before bed, and upon waking up in the morning to start her metabolism. She should follow this diet for three days of the week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
| Day 1 (Monday) | Day 2 (Wednesday) | Day 3 (Friday | |
| Breakfast | 8 oz. glass of water. 1 Cup of normal Oatmeal with a tablespoon of honey. Two pieces of wheat toast. 8 oz. of orange juice. | 8 oz. glass of water. 1 Cup of Grits (hot cereal) with a tablespoon of honey. Two pieces of wheat toast. 8 oz. of apple juice. | 8 oz. glass of water. 2 cups of High Fiber Cereal with Almond Milk. Two pieces of wheat toast. 8 oz. glass of orange juice. |
| AM snack | Strawberry Greek yogurt with ¼ cup od nuts | Tablespoon of Peanut Butter on a celery stick. 8 of those packed in a bag. | Some sort of Fruit such as an apple to promote energy levels more immediate in between classes. |
| Lunch | 8 oz. glass of water. 1 ½ cup of Shredded chicken and ½ cup of brown rice. ½ cup of almonds. Veggie tray with celery, broccoli, and snap peas. 12 oz. rice protein shake. | 8 oz. glass of water. Two 6 oz. grilled chicken breast with ½ cup of walnuts. Veggie tray with carrots, turnups, and radishes. 12 oz. rice protein shake | 8 oz. glass of water. Slices of ham that are cut into 1 oz. slices wrapped around swiss cheese. Two slices of whole wheat toast with avocado butter.12 oz. rice protein shake. |
| PM snack | Any type of fruit such as an apple. Or even an avocado. | Any type of fruit such as an apple. Or even an avocado. | Any type of fruit such as an apple. Or even an avocado. |
| Dinner | 8 oz. glass of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 8 Steak strips in 1 oz. slices. 1 cup of Mashed potatoes with brown gravy. 1 cup of green beans. | 8 oz. glass of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 10 oz grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast with 1 cup of marinara sauce. 2 slices of whole wheat bread with garlic spread. 6 Sticks of asparagus. | 8 oz. glass of water. Chef Salad. 5 Cups of assorted lettuce including spinach leaves. 1 oz. of shredded ham slices. 1 oz. of striped bacon. 1 oz. of cut up peperoni. ½ cup of cherry tomatoes. ½ cup of sliced cucumbers. ¼ cup of chopped onions. And lightly spread with shredded cheese. Can replace meats with one 10 oz. grilled chicken breast, sliced up. |
Mollie, your diet will be fairly easy to follow, and you can expand that to a daily plan with proper meal prepping for your lunches at school. We went high in carbohydrates to help with higher energy levels, so that your energy doesn’t diminish throughout the day. We also included a lot of proteins to help with musculature development to pack on some good lean muscle mass, which in turn will develop weight gain. We want to help you gain the weight, but we don’t want it to be gained in unwanted areas.
For both of you, Jacob and Mollie, I will recommend that you consume 1300 mg’s of calcium daily to help with bone growth since you are around the age or tremendous growth spurts (John Muir Health, 2020). Also, you will need Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins t help with metabolism, energy, and also help promote a healthy heart and nervous system. You should consume 2.4 micrograms daily which can be found in fish foods and eggs, but you can avoid the eggs, Mollie (John Muir Health, 2020). You can also supplement both of these micronutrients.
Please let me know if you have any other questions regarding your diet, and we can expand on this one a bit more. We will track your progress bi-weekly, so we can see if we need to change anything. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to continuing working with you two.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Hackett, Jolinda. (May 12, 2019). What is Lacto-Vegetarian. Retrieved from: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-lacto-vegetarian-3376831
John Muir Health Organization. (2020). Nutrition for Teens. Retrieved from: https://www.johnmuirhealth.com/health-education/health-wellness/childrens-health/nutrition-teens.html
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