Meal plans without the spreadsheet
How we build meal plans that fit each client, and where AI actually helps.
4 min read
Most coaches we talk to build meal plans the same way: a spreadsheet, a calorie target and an evening spent swapping recipes until the macros line up. It works, but it doesn't scale past a handful of clients.
Start from the target
A meal plan starts with a daily calorie target and a protein floor. Those come from the client's age, weight, height, activity level and goal. Get these right first. Everything after that is arithmetic.
Split the day into meals
Decide how many meals the client actually eats and how the calories are spread across them. Four meals at a quarter of the day each is a fine default. If the client skips breakfast, plan for that instead of fighting it.
Give options, not a menu
Clients stick to plans they can live with. Two or three recipes per meal, all in the same calorie range, give them room to choose without breaking the plan.
Where AI helps
Finding recipes that fit a meal's calories and macros is the kind of work software is good at. In Vikt, you set the targets and the AI suggests recipes for each meal from the recipe bank, with portions scaled to the client. You review, swap what doesn't fit and activate the plan. Nothing reaches the client before you do that.
Use real nutrition data
We don't let the AI guess nutrition values. Recipes in the Vikt recipe bank are calculated from the Swedish Food Agency's food database, with USDA data as a backup. If a value is missing, Vikt flags it instead of estimating it.
The result is a plan that takes minutes instead of an evening, and that you still stand behind.
