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This is Day 4 of Live a Healthier Life in 21 Days Challenge, Jan 2012 run. Subscribe to the free newsletter for lifetime access of personal development articles and future challenge announcements like this one.

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! After calculating our TDEE yesterday, today's task is about creating your ideal meal plans - from breakfast, lunch, all the way to dinner.



Why is it important to have our ideal meal plan? The thing is, more of us probably eat based on what's around us. Feel hungry? Let's see what's there in the fridge. Want to grab a bite? Let's head to the fast foods and get something quick. Is there food right there on the table? Let's munch a little on it - it wouldn't make a difference.

What we're doing here isn't eating based on what we truly want to eat, but merely eating because it's convenient and accessible. And the thing is, this will keep happening all the time simply because we subject ourselves to what's there in the environment. The pattern keeps looping over, and over, and over again, repeating and never stopping.

The only time when it stops is when we put a stop to it. And for that to happen, we have to first be aware of what exactly we want to eat in our ideal diet. And that's what we're going to do today!

Step 1: Write out your ideal meal plan for a normal day (15 min)

Imagine you are in your ideal day now. What's your ideal meal like, the meal that will bring you to your highest pinnacle of health and wellness? What would you want to be eating when you wake up? What would you be drinking? What would you have for lunch? How about in between meals? What would you have for dinner? Lastly, would you be eating anything in the few hours before sleep? If so, what would that be?

Write down all the foods that you'll be eating in your ideal meal plan, including serving sizes where possible. Keep working on it until you're 110% happy with this meal and you know that this is a meal plan where you'll absolutely feel the happiest, the healthiest and most vitalized.

Feel free to look up recipes of healthy meals online for inspiration!

Step 2: Do a nutritional check with your plan (15 min)

Here, we'll be doing a quick check on the calories and nutrition level with your needs.

Ensure the calorie intake matches your TDEE or daily caloric target based on your weight goals (Day 3).

You should have a range of vitamins and minerals in your diet too. (Click on this link and scroll down a little for a chart of important vitamins and minerals, and the role they play in your diet.)

If you feel it doesn't meet your caloric/nutritional needs, go back and make adjustments to the plan until it does and you're 110% happy with it.

With your ideal meals now set, tomorrow we will be doing grocery shopping - creating a list of the items we need to create our ideal meals, then heading to the supermart to get the ingredients. So stay tuned!

Day 4 of Your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan

What are your tasks listed for today? Do them with excellence and report them in your 21DHL Journal.

Also, read your group mates' 21DHL journals and cheer them along! Pick a few members' journals and make it a point to post meaningful replies there.

Update Your 21DHL Journals

Once you are done for the day, update your 21DHL Journal. You are also welcome to update your 21DHL Journal multiple times throughout the day. Post all your results for today's task and your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan directly in your journal.

If you have any questions specific to today's task, post them here.

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Hello everyone

I found that myfitnesspal.com has a very comprehensive food database which you can search and enter the serving size to you meal plan. Furthermore it is compatible with most smartphones so you can check calories live when you have internet connection (it is helpful when eating out, too!)

I'm using it to track my daily calories and you can enter meal plans there too (which I am planning to do)

Thanks for the link - very helpful

Do you have a vegetarian/vegan version of it? There's things like B12 and iodine that could end up deficient for vegans. Not a problem for milk/eggs/fish eaters though

"The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable."