Meal Plans For Building Muscle And Losing Fat (At The Same Time!)

Looking for a meal plan for building muscle and losing fat?

Look no further! Today, I’m going to give you a:

• • 1,200 calorie meal plan
  • 1,500 calorie meal plan
  • 1,800 calorie meal plan
  • 2,000 calorie meal plan
  • 2,500 calorie meal plan
  • 3,000 calorie meal plan

..all of which are designed to help you build muscle while losing fat!

I’m also going to go over exactly what you need to be doing in addition to using meal plans for building muscle and losing fat.

Let’s build some muscle and burn some fat.

Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time?

In the fitness world, there used to be a lot of debate as to whether or not you could build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

The reason is that at first glance, it seems like you shouldn’t be able to do both at the same time. 

To build muscle, you need to be eating enough to fuel your workouts in the gym and have leftover calories to go towards building muscle. Usually you need to be in a caloric surplus, or consuming more calories than you’re burning.

In order to lose fat, you need to be in a caloric deficit. This means that you’re burning more calories than you’re consuming.

So how can you do both at the same time?!?!

By setting your calories to maintenance or a slight deficit, you can actually use your body fat as energy to build muscle while you lose fat at the same time. This is something called body recomposition.

Usually, you’ll see the best body recomposition results when you’re relatively new to training or you have a lot of weight to lose.

There is some research showing that well trained people can build muscle and lose fat at the same time as well (1). However, the longer you’ve been working out and the leaner you are, the harder it is going to be to build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

There are 3 things that you need to be doing if you want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time:

1. 1. Eating the right amount of calories
   2. Strength training
   3. Getting enough protein

#1: Eating the right amount of calories

The first thing you need to do is make sure you’re eating the right amount of calories to build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

If you’re relatively new to working out, or you have a lot of weight to lose, you can put yourself in a slight calorie deficit and you will build muscle and lose fat at the same time. You don’t want to be in too much of a calorie deficit, or it’s going to be very hard to build any muscle.

On the other hand, if you’ve been working out for a long time and you don’t have a lot of fat to lose, you’re going to want to set your calories to maintenance. This is the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight. This will give you enough calories to build muscle, but allow you to lose fat at the same time.

To find out how many calories you should be eating to build muscle and lose fat, you can use my free calorie calculator below. Just enter in your information, and I’ll email your calories to you before you finish reading this article!

Cal’s Calorie Calculator

#2: Strength training

In order to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, you need to give your body a reason to build muscle.

Strength training is going to send a signal to your body that building muscle is a priority, and to signal something called muscle protein synthesis. Muscle protein synthesis is the creation of new muscle tissue.

Your workouts should be focused on building muscle and getting stronger! You should NOT be in the gym trying to burn as many calories as you can.

I have a free workout manual with 50 different workouts, as well as how to build yourself a workout plan that fits your schedule. Simply click the link below and I’ll send it right over to you!

Strength training 3-4 days per week is going to be plenty to build muscle while losing fat.

#3: Getting enough protein

The last key to building muscle and losing fat at the same time is going to be getting enough protein every day.

Protein is what’s going to actually build muscle, and signal muscle protein synthesis.

How much protein should you be eating?

As a general guideline, shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of goal body weight.

So if you’re 180 pounds and your goal body weight is 150 lbs, you would simply eat 150 grams of protein every day.

If you read that number and you’re thinking there’s no way you can possibly eat that much protein, don’t worry. The meal plans for building muscle and losing fat I’ve written for you have plenty of protein in them 😉

Do you need meal plans for building muscle and losing fat?

You might be wondering if you need a meal plan to build muscle and lose fat.

The answer might surprise you..

As long as you’re eating the right amount of calories, strength training 3-4 days per week, and getting enough protein, you absolutely don’t need a meal plan!

You can eat whatever you want, provided you’re getting enough protein and staying within your calories.

However, meal plans for building muscle and losing fat can be extremely helpful because you don’t have to think about what to eat. Everything is 100% done for you!

The downside of having a meal plan is you have much less freedom. By having someone tell you exactly what to eat, you don’t have the choice of picking foods that you want to eat.

These meal plans for building muscle and losing fat are also not personalized to you. They are just examples to get you started.

All my online and in-person clients receive what I call “meal plan examples”. 

These meal plan examples are templates just like the ones below, except that they are customized to them. 

They are based on the calories they need for their goals, what kind of workouts we are doing and the individual foods that they like and prefer.

If you want some meal plan examples that are 100% designed for you, you can apply for coaching to see if we’d be a good fit for each other.

How do you know if you are building muscle and losing fat?

In order to know if you’re losing fat and building muscle at the same time, you need to be tracking your progress. 

There are three main ways I have clients track their progress:

#1: Weighing yourself every day

Your weight is going to fluctuate throughout the day. By weighing yourself every day, you can account for these fluctuations and get an accurate picture of what’s going on. I recommend looking at the average of your weight week to week. 

Keep in mind that if you’re building muscle and losing fat at the same time, your weight on the scale might not change that much!

That’s why it’s important to use all three methods of tracking progress, especially if your goal is to build muscle and lose fat.

#2: Taking measurements

I have all my online and in person clients who want to build muscle and lose fat take measurements every two weeks. 

They measure their biceps, their waist (right around their belly button), their hips (around the largest part of their butt) and their thighs.

Measurements are going to show what the scale can’t. When you’re building muscle and losing fat at the same time, you’ll probably see your waist and hip measurements going down faster than your bicep and thigh measurements.

#3: Progress photos

This is another great method to track your progress and make sure you’re building muscle and losing fat at the same time.

Take your pictures in the same or similar clothes and in the same spot with similar lighting. I usually have clients take progress photos every month.

My friend Chris lost 30 pounds and gained a TON of muscle. Without taking progress pictures, it would be hard to see how much progress he made!

Meal plans for building muscle and losing fat

Without any further ado, here are your meal plans for building muscle and losing fat!

These meal plans can be for men or women, it doesn’t matter. They go by calories, so find the meal plan for you based on how many calories you need.

I tried to make these as practical as possible, so you’ll see some options from chain restaurants as well as options from well known supermarkets. 

It will probably be helpful to look at all the meal plans, even if the calories don’t fit your needs. Most of the options on these meal plans for building muscle and losing fat are high in protein and low in calories so you might get some ideas you haven’t thought of!

Remember that these are just examples, and in no way am I saying that these are the only foods you can eat to build muscle and lose fat at the same time!

Enjoy 😁

1,200 calorie meal plan

Breakfast: Egg omelet- eggs (3 egg whites, 2 whole eggs), veggies (spinach, tomatoes, onions- as much as you want!), cup of coffee with french vanilla sugar free creamer (Coffee-Mate, 1 tbsp)

Lunch: Bagged salad (Taylor Farms mini “Green Goddess Ranch”, 1 bag), jerk grilled chicken breast (Chicken Pound*, 4oz)

Snack: Zero sugar strawberry yogurt (Chobani, 1 container)

Dinner: Baked salmon (4oz filet, Good and Gather frozen), jasmine rice (45g uncooked), frozen California veggies (¾ cup)

Dessert: Greek yogurt bar (Yasso Mint Chocolate Chip, 1 bar)

TOTALS: 1,212 calories, 108 grams of protein

1,500 calorie meal plan

Breakfast: Spinach, feta, & egg white wrap (Starbucks, 1 wrap), Iced Caffé Americano (Grande, Starbucks)

Lunch: Tuna salad sandwich- bread (647 white bread, 2 slices), tuna (Bumblebee, light tuna in water, 1 can), mayonnaise (Hellmann’s Light Mayonnaise 2 tbsp), lettuce & tomato (as much as you want!)

Snack: Protein pudding- Greek yogurt (Fage 0%, 1 container), protein powder (Legion chocolate whey, 1 scoop)

Dinner: Rotisserie chicken (Stop & Shop, 6oz), baby Yukon Gold Potatoes (Stop & Shop, 1 cup uncooked), green beans (100g, uncooked), olive oil (for cooking, 1 tbsp), sugar-free barbecue sauce (G. Hughes, 2 tbsp)

Dessert: Dark chocolate peanut butter cups (Lily’s, 2 pieces)

TOTALS: 1,525 calories, 134 grams of protein

1,800 calorie meal plan

Breakfast: Frozen protein waffles (Kodiak, 2 waffles), sliced strawberries (50g), scrambled eggs (1 whole egg, 2 egg whites), black coffee (Nespresso, 1 pod)

Lunch: Bagged salad (Taylor Farms mini “Caesar”, 1 bag), balsamic grilled chicken breast (Chicken Pound*, 4oz), apple on the side (1 honeycrisp, hands down the best kind of apple!)

Snack: Low fat cottage cheese (Good Culture, 1 container), blackberries (50g)

Dinner: Chipotle bowl- white rice (ask for half serving), chicken (ask for double chicken), fajita vegetables, mild salsa, sour cream, lettuce

Dessert: Red wine (Barefoot Cabernet Sauvignon, 1 glass)

TOTALS: 1,828 calories, 150 grams of protein

2,000 calorie meal plan

Breakfast: Protein dark chocolate overnight oats- overnight oats (Mush, 1 container), protein powder (Legion Dutch Chocolate, 1 scoop), peanut butter (Smucker’s Natural, 1 tbsp), top with sliced strawberries (100g)

Lunch: Chicken sandwich- bread (Dave’s Killer “Powerseed” Bread, 2 slices), balsamic grilled chicken breast (Chicken Pound*, 8oz), Chipotle lime mayonnaise (Primal Kitchen, 1 tbsp), lettuce & tomato (as much as you want!)

Snack: Protein shake (Legion Dutch Chocolate, 1 scoop), 1 banana on the side

Dinner: Sweet potato bison chili- sweet potato (200g), ground bison (Great Range, 6oz), topped with avocado (½ avocado) and chopped red onion (get the recipe HERE and adjust as needed!)

Dessert: Sea salt caramel gelato (Talenti, 128g)

TOTALS: 2,069 calories, 160 grams of protein

2,500 calorie meal plan

Breakfast: Instant oatmeal (Quaker Maple & Brown Sugar, 1 packet), peanut butter (Smucker’s Natural, 2 tbsp), scrambled eggs (3 whole eggs, 3 egg whites)

Lunch: Grilled chicken sandwich (Chick-Fil-A, 1 sandwich), grilled chicken nuggets (Chick-Fil-A, 8 ct.), fruit cup (Chick-Fil-A, 1 cup)

Snack: Protein shake (Legion Dutch Chocolate, 2 scoops), 1 banana on the side

Dinner: Baked salmon (4oz filet, Good and Gather frozen), sweet potato (300g), olive oil (for cooking, 1 tbsp), bagged salad (Taylor Farms mini “Nashville Hot”, 1 bag)

Dessert: Oreos (3 cookies)

TOTALS: 2,514 calories, 176 grams of protein

3,000 calorie meal plan

Breakfast: Greek yogurt (Fage 0% fat, 170g), protein powder (Legion Dutch Chocolate, 1 scoop), top with granola (Bare Naked Banana Nut, 54g), toast (Dave’s Killer “Powerseed” bread, 2 slices), peanut butter (Smucker’s Natural, 2 tbsp)

Lunch: Chipotle bowl- white rice (1 serving), black beans, chicken (1 serving), guacamole, fajita vegetables, mild salsa, cheese

Snack: Beef sticks (Chomps Original, 2 sticks), 1 honeycrisp apple

Dinner: BBQ chicken (Chicken Pound*, 8oz), jasmine rice (90g uncooked), frozen California veggies (¾ cup), avocado (½ avocado)

Dessert: Gelato layers cookies and cream (111g)

TOTALS: 3,013 calories, 200 grams of protein

*A few of these meal plans use frozen chicken from the Chicken Pound. I don’t have any affiliation with them, I just use their frozen chicken and love it. You can check them out HERE!

Wrapping up

Well there you have it!

Keep in mind that these are just examples. Your individual needs are going to vary based on the foods you like, whether you prefer more carbohydrates or fats, your training goals and your specific allergies or sensitivities.

You also don’t have to follow these exactly as written. Feel free to swap out similar foods that you enjoy. These should help give you some ideas on how to create meal plans for building muscle and losing fat that are personalized to you.

As long as you are eating the right amount of calories, strength training consistently, and getting enough protein, you should see the results you want.

If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email or leave them below!