Meal plan for energy and weight loss for 7 days

If you’re constantly feeling tired, overwhelmed and like you need to lose some weight, this meal plan for more energy and weight loss is exactly what you need. It includes healthy weight loss recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner that will energize you and that you can meal prep or easily make in 10-30 minutes.

We definitely need more energy and losing weight over the last few years has been a struggle for us, especially since our life became more sedentary. We're working on that and this meal plan is one drop in the bucket. So, keep in mind that this is a sample meal plan, we made it for what we feel like we needed. Feel free to use it as inspiration and to adjust as needed for you.

Also, if you want to lose a substantial amount of weight or want to improve your energy to optimum levels, seven days will not be enough. So, think of this 7-day energy-boosting meal plan as just the start. As we said – one drop in the bucket.

Use it as the time to learn what you like, what you don’t like and then take it from there and build on that. There are plenty of healthy recipes online and we have many other meal plans on the blog, that can help you eat clean after the first seven days. And, then if you need more recipes without having to go to the blog and scroll, you can go ahead and check out our clean eating recipe binder right here. Print the recipes you like, sort them in a binder and start making your own meal plans. But for now, start with this plan.

So What Are We Going To Eat?

Well, you’d be surprised but the foods that will keep your energy levels high are the same foods that can help you lose weight. If you don’t want to lose weight – you just need to eat more.

We did some research and it turns out some of a reliable foods to eat for better energy and mood overall are raw fruits and vegetables. Not cooked, not processed – raw. Raw fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber and water, but more importantly rich in several vitamins and minerals that are crucial for our bodies like vitamin C, folate and other B vitamins, carotenoids (provitamin A) and magnesium. There are many studies linking better mood, creativity and happiness to the consumption of fruits and vegetables. (1, 2, 3)

Raw fruits and vegetables will also support your gut health, by nurturing a healthy and diverse gut microbiome. Healing your gut, along with the fiber and antioxidants in these foods will also help reduce chronic inflammation, which could be one of the reasons we’re tired all the time. Furthermore, inflammation is linked to weight gain and insulin resistance as well.

We’ll also, of course, have some protein and cooked legumes, grains, cooked veggies and nuts and seeds as well. Basically, everything else in moderation, but in essence, this meal plan for more energy comes down to eating raw vegetables and fruit for at least two of the meals of the day. We’ll leave room for some cooked food in the evening.

Healthy Recipes For Weight Loss And Energy

So here are some great healthy recipes for more energy and weight loss. These are light, yet satiating and nutritious! Some, but not all are in the meal plan below.

• Savory Vegan Breakfast Toasts
• Healthy Fried Rice Breakfast Bowls
• Our Favorite Green Smoothie
• Detox Kale And Berry Green Smoothie
• High-Protein Green Smoothie
• Mediterranean Avocado Egg Toast
• Healthy Shredded Chicken Salad
• Mediterranean Roasted Chickpea Salad
• Avocado Chickpea Wraps
• Avocado Black Bean Salad
• Mashed Avocado Chicken Salad
• Healthy Tuna Avocado Corn Salad
• 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowls
• Simple Salmon Salad Bowls
• Mashed Avocado Shrimp Salad
• Healthy Chicken Cobb Salad
• Avocado Shrimp Salad
• Sweet Potato Black Bean Power Bowls
• Mediterranean Salmon Bowls
• Salmon Wraps
• Leftover Chicken Gyros Bowls
• Healthy Ground Turkey and Veggie Bowls
• Home-cooked Chicken Barley Soup
• 15-Minute Spicy Shrimp and Quinoa
• Beef and Broccoli Fried Quinoa
• 15-Minute Quinoa Fried Rice
• Simple Lentil Spinach Soup
• Anti-Inflammatory Chicken Soup
• Healthy Ground Beef and Veggie Stir-Fry
• Chia Pudding Parfaits

7-Day Meal Plan For Energy and Weight Loss

Feel free to change things up depending on what you’re hungry for on that particular day! But keep the priority in mind (more raw vegetables and fruits). For us, we prefer to not cook or have warm meals during the day, because we find warm food makes us cozy and sleepy. And that’s the opposite of being energized. As mentioned, this is the sample meal plan for more energy and weight loss that we'll be following loosely over the next 7 days.

To Make Ahead / Meal Prep

For days 1-3:

• roast peppers, sweet potatoes and cauliflower (use these whenever you need roasted vegetables)
• cook chicken (we prefer boiled, but you can also roast the chicken)
• hard boil some eggs
• dressing for this salad

To meal prep on day 4 (for days 5-7):

• cook quinoa
• make hummus
• make tzatziki

This 7-day meal plan for energy and weight loss will be for two when you adjust the servings as described next to the linked recipe.

1 Day:

• Breakfast: Detox Kale And Berry Green Smoothie (double the recipe for two, It makes two servings, but we usually have the entire smoothie within the first few hours, so we need to double it.) or Our Favorite Green Smoothie – Make a big batch of this one (you’ll need to quadruple for 2 people). For us, we usually double the recipe and will sip on the smoothie throughout the next 1-2 hours.
• Lunch: Mashed Avocado Chicken Salad – you can use leftover chicken or cook the chicken ahead of time and assemble this within 10 minutes. If we go to the office, we usually make our lunch salads in the morning. Serve on your favorite bread or in a wrap.
• Dinner: Sweet Potato Black Bean Power Bowls

2 Day:

• Breakfast: Mediterranean Avocado Egg Toast – double the recipe for two (you can also use pre-boiled eggs to save time)
• Lunch: Healthy Shredded Chicken Salad – make the dressing and the roasted vegetables ahead of time.
• Dinner: Simple Lentil Spinach Soup or this bean soup. We usually have seconds here and so we'd double the recipe to have for the next day too.

3 Day:

• Breakfast: Mediterranean Avocado Egg Toast – double the recipe for two (you can also use pre-boiled eggs to save time)
• Lunch: Healthy Chicken Cobb Salad – either assemble by using the cooked chicken and eggs, or make in the morning for the office.
• Dinner: Simple Lentil Spinach Soup or this bean soup (use leftovers)

4 Day:

• Breakfast: Detox Kale And Berry Green Smoothie (double the recipe for two) or Our Favorite Green Smoothie (you’ll need to quadruple for 2 people).
• Lunch: – Avocado Chickpea Wraps. You can make the filling in the morning or the day before to make it easier. You can serve them with some vegetables on the side (cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage…we'd sometimes also make some of this cabbage salad, the lettuce salad or tomato cucumber – whatever we have).
• Dinner: Mediterranean Salmon Bowls. Double the recipe to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Tonight is also a great opportunity to meal prep some more food for the rest of the week. So while you’re making the bowls, prep some extra hummus, tzatziki and cook quinoa.

5 Day:

• Breakfast: Detox Kale And Berry Green Smoothie (double the recipe for two) or Our Favorite Green Smoothie (you’ll need to quadruple for 2 people).
• Lunch: Mediterranean Salmon Bowls (leftovers)
• Dinner: 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowls (double recipe)

6 Day:

• Breakfast: Mediterranean Avocado Egg Toast – double the recipe for two (you can also use pre-boiled eggs to save time)
• Lunch: Mediterranean Salmon Salad (double for two)
• Dinner: 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowls (double recipe)

7 Day:

• Breakfast: Mediterranean Avocado Egg Toast – double the recipe for two (you can also use pre-boiled eggs to save time)
• Lunch: 8-Minute High-Fiber Salad (if you have any leftovers you can enjoy them with dinner)
• Dinner: 15-Minute Quinoa Fried Rice

Snacking and Calories

If you do want to know the calories and the macros of the recipes, check the 7-day meal plan for energy and weight loss using an app you like and also adjust the meals according to your needs. You won’t “break” anything if you change things up by adding some more protein or a little bit of quinoa or rice here and there. Remember, this is your meal plan and it should be satisfying to you. Just don’t forget the priority that we set in the beginning (hint: it’s raw fruit and veg).

We try not to snack, but we love having something sweet after dinner or lunch. So, if you’re feeling like you need something sweet or a snack in the afternoon, here are a few great simple ideas for this 7-day meal plan for more energy and weight loss:

• Raw almonds or cashews with seasonal fruit – tangerines, oranges, berries, apples, pears, peaches will be great too when in season. These are simple to get, no need to prep and will load your body with energy, as well as carotenoids and the vitamins C and E, essential for cellular health.
• Chia Pudding or if you want to take it a bit further – Chia Pudding Parfaits (need some prep). These are full of fiber, protein and, of course, omega-3’s. The solid dessert after lunch or dinner or a sweet snack.
• This healthy ice cream

Grocery List

You can find a sample grocery list for the meal plan here.

What Else To Do For More Energy and Weight Loss

Unlike most of the meal plans on the blog which specifically focus on eating healthy, this one needs to be more of a lifestyle challenge. Why? Well, because eating isn’t the only thing we do. There are many things we do every day that rob us of our energy and simultaneously make us gain weight. Energy vampires and fat makers are usually one and the same.

So to reap all the benefits from this healthy meal plan, we’ll also need to make some lifestyle changes. We're a big fan of being honest with myself and that’s why we often write down how we spend our time. We often remind myself of how we went for a walk for an hour and how we did a workout and cleaned and did some gardening. But at the same time we're blind to the fact that we spent 4-5 hours in the evening watching something on a screen. And then we wonder when we can’t fall asleep or am feeling tired.

So we recommend observing your behaviors for a few days (you probably already know what you need to improve on, but this will open your eyes more). Then challenge yourself for the next week to not just do the meal plan, but also to do better with some of those bad habits. So for us, here’s what we need to do, maybe it’s similar for you:

• Stop eating at 5-7 pm (lately, we tend to eat mostly at night, which has a negative impact on so many things, including sleep, so naturally we're tired and bloated (sounds like a blog name to meee))
• Spend at least 2 outside being active. Walking, gardening, playing (no phone, no podcast, no book) This is because we tend to sit indoors for more than 8 hours a day.
• Exercise and stretching – that’s additionally to the 2 hours outside. Through the sitting we tend to be tense and have weak back, core and neck muscles and we noticed 30-minute workouts in the morning or in the evening help. Within a few days we have almost no neck pain when we get into a good routine.
• Less screens, more hobbies and fun. That’s mainly for the evening. We're thinking of signing up for different classes, doing something fun or learning a language or an instrument. We're pretty sure 7 days are more than enough to become fluent in Spanish and a pianist.
• Drink enough water! Don’t forget about that fountain of youth and energy!