Taz - that's an easy question...
Actually in the book Bill Phillips does have some sample menus for three days. The only problem I have with the menus in the book is that three of them are meal replacement shakes (Myoplex). Personally I like to keep my MRP meals to two a day at most.
Here's what Dr. Hussman has to say about the Nutrition-for-Life plan on his site (
www.hussman.com/eas):
Quote:
The core of the Nutrition-for-LIFE aspect of this program is to eat 6 limited, high quality meals a day. As Bill says, "A meal doesn't mean you have Mom lay out a napkin, and put a fancy plate of food out there. A meal simply means a portion of protein and a portion of carbohydrate. So a meal for me may mean a protein drink and a piece of fruit." If your goal is fat loss, remember: frequent, but limited (particularly in terms of refined carbohydrates).
Bill's advice seems to target about 40% carbs, 40% protein, and 20% fat (which is largely contained in the whole foods you eat, even "lean" meats). Since you'll be doing weight training, shoot for at least a gram of protein per pound of lean weight daily, regardless of your specific goal.
As for how much to eat, Bill's "portion rule" is simple, and gets the job done. To keep it as simple as possible, Bill advises scaling your portions by the size of your open palm or closed fist. If you feel that you must count calories, or you want to do the calculations once just to make sure you're on track, see the section about "How calories work" on my main fitness page. You'll also see fairly quickly why Bill didn't include that discussion in his book. That said, try to keep it simple. The Body-for-LIFE program will work just fine using the "portion rule", as long as you're not holding your hand under a magnifying glass.
Basically, all you need to do is choose a food from the protein list (make sure it's the size of your palm); a food from the carb list (the size of your fist - my fist equals 1/2 cup of brown rice); add a veggie for at least two of your meals and that's it! The exception to the palm protein rule is eggs and cottage cheese - since they are 'fluffier' you need more than a fist-size portion usually.
Here's a typical day for me on my first two challenges:
Meal #1 - Myoplex Lite w/Udos or Flaxseed oil (1 Tbsp).
Meal #2 - Cottage cheese and fruit (usually melon)
Meal #3 - Grilled chicken breast w/ brown rice and veggies
Meal #4 - Cottage cheese and 1/2 banana or 1 apple
Meal #5 - Salmon, cous-cous with veggies
Meal #6 - Myoplex Lite w/ Udos (just before bedtime)
If you haven't already done so, do check out
www.leanandstrong.com. Most of us here hang out there as well. During the week, Tall Jen (TJ) posts a daily menu thread, where you can post your daily menu for her to critique. Even if you don't post your menu, you can still learn a lot from just reading the thread and seeing what she says about others' menus! Check it out!!
PS - I almost forgot - check out the Cooking Library at L&S as well for some great BFL recipes - including my Joe's Special recipe!
