Example Meal Plan for 3000, 4000, and 5000 calorie diets
One of the things I hate most about meal plans from popular bodybuilding magazines is the fact that they always push large amounts of supplements with each meal. Although I am a firm believer in proper supplementation to support any diet I think realistically most people don’t have the money to take 5-6 different shakes, pills, and powders a day.
My solution to this problem is to present 3 different meals plans that consist of primarily calorie dense whole foods that are simple and easy to set up. You’ll notice as the number of calories increases, the frequency of meals and snack increases as do the number of calorie dense foods.
All 3 of these meal plans are high in carbohydrates and this is key for Hardgainers because if we do not feed ourselves with adequate amounts of carbohydrate protein will be used to help fuel the body and this takes away from its main job of protein synthesis for muscle repair.
Take a look at these meal plans and see if you find any use for them
3000 Calories
| Meal/Snack | Food/Beverage | Carbohydrate Content |
| Breakfast | 2 cups raise bran
1 cup skim milk 1 banana |
94
12 28 |
| Lunch | 4 oz turkey and cheese sandwich
6 oz low fat yogurt 1/4 cup trail mix 1 plum 1 apple |
27
34 23 9 21 |
| During workout | 20 oz sports beverage | 48 |
| Postworkout snack | 1/2 peanut butter sandwich
12 oz chocolate mil |
15
39 |
| Dinner | 2 cups pasta
3/4 cup marinara sauce 6oz chicken breast 2 cups steamed broccoli 12 oz skim milk |
78
15 0 9 18 |
| Total Calories = 2973 |
.
4000 calorie
| Meal/Snack | Food/Beverage | Carbohydrate Content |
| Breakfast | Smoothie:
2 frozen bananas 2 cups skim milk 2 scoops protein powder |
55
24 27 |
| Snack | Orange
Granola Bar |
15
29 |
| Lunch | 2 cups chili
4oz roast beef sandwich 2 cups fruit salad |
54
25 61 |
| During workout | 32 oz sports beverage | 76 |
| Postworkout snack | 6 oz yogurt
1/2 cup dry cereal |
34
13 |
| Dinner | 6 oz salmon
2 cups wild rice 3 cups salad with dressing 16 oz skim milk |
0
70 17 24 |
| Snack | 1 1/2 cups frozen yogurt
½ cup frozen blueberries |
73
9 |
| Total Calories = 4016 |
.
5000 calorie
| Meal/Snack | Food/Beverage | Carbohydrate Content |
| Breakfast | 2 egg omelet with cheese
2 pieces of toast with 1 T butter 12 oz orange juice |
5
47 39 |
| Snack | 1 cup mixed nuts and raisins | 67 |
| Lunch | Smoothie:
2 cups frozen mixed fruit 1 cup pineapple juice 8 oz yogurt 2 scoops protein powder |
42
35 46 27 |
| During Workout | 48 oz sports beverage | 114 |
| Dinner | 2 pieces lasagna
2 pieces garlic bread 2 cups green beans and carrots 16 oz skim milk |
75
26 22 24 |
| Snack | 8 oz skim milk
3 oatmeal raisin cookies |
12
23 |
| Total Calories = 4992 |
.
Now that you have these meal plan head over to one of my older post (Click Here, or Here) and determine how many calories a day you’d need to put on 1 or 2 pounds and get started!
2 Responses to “Example Meal Plan for 3000, 4000, and 5000 calorie diets”
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Great info. What would be nice is some related article that sheds light on how much such diet regimes would cost on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.
To help hardgainers budget their diet program.
Hey Dave,
It’s very hard to determine how much money it would cost because it depends on where you buy your food, how you buy your food (in bulk for instance) and where you live (US, Canada, or elsewhere) What I will do is touch on related topics this week that will shed some light on these topics