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How the meal plan builder works

A guide for nutritionists who are new to the tool: what it calculates, what it changes automatically, and what is still up to you.

New here? A guided tour of every part of the tool, then a full plan built step by step with a practice client. Or read the training guide first.

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For doctors and partners · 12 pagesNewKind Nutrition BlueprintOur calculators, condition protocols and food standards, with references. Open and download

Sample meal plansEach opens a full week built and fitted by the builder, so every day lands on its calorie, protein, carb and fat targets. Opening one replaces the plan you are working on.

1. The five steps

1 · ClientNutritionist, individual or couple, month, cheat meals, cuisine, early morning, body stats, diet and non-veg days, allergies, purpose, conditions, foods to include or avoid.

2 · TargetsBMI, maintenance calories, target weight, and calorie and protein targets from the rules below.

3 · Meal planA week built from library recipes and simple items. Click any item to change its portion or swap it. Week totals sit above the plan.

4 · RecommendationsA guidelines template for the program plus automatic health condition tips. Edit freely.

5 · PDFPreview in the NewKind format, add an optional note for the cover, and download. Couples get one PDF each.

2. Targets

Maintenance calories: Mifflin-St Jeor BMR (10 × weight + 6.25 × height − 5 × age, +5 for men, −161 for women) × activity: 1.2 sedentary, 1.375 light, 1.55 normal exercise, 1.725 heavy weight training.
Target weight: suggested at 0.5 kg a week over the chosen months, never below BMI 22. You can type your own.
Deficit: 1 kg of body fat ≈ 7,700 kcal, so 0.5 kg a week ≈ 550 kcal a day. Loss is capped at 1 kg a week; if the target needs more, you get a warning and a realistic target.
Minimum intake: 1,200 kcal for women, 1,500 kcal for men.
Protein: 1 g per kg of current body weight; 1.2 g per kg for GLP-1 support; 1.5 g per kg for heavy weight training.
Fat and carbs: fat is 25% of calories for weight loss and 30% for everyone else; carbs make up the rest.
Safety warnings: pregnancy, clients under 18 or over 65, BMI under 18.5, and diabetes on insulin or sulfonylureas get a warning to build the plan with the doctor.
Overrides: you can change calories or protein on the Targets step. The card shows “Adjusted by nutritionist” next to the rule value. More than 20% off the rule shows a warning, and you confirm before downloading.

3. Building the week

Library only: every item comes from the recipe library. If a dish is missing, add it there first.
Months: Enter the client’s current weight each month; targets recalculate.
Cheat meals: pick any days and lunch or dinner on the Client step. Each counts as 500 kcal (19 g protein, 56 g carbs, 22 g fat), and the rest of that day is sized to what’s left. In the plan you can move a cheat meal or turn it off for one day.
Non-veg days: for egg and non-veg clients, days you switch off are vegetarian (no eggs, chicken, fish or mutton) and show a “Veg day” tag. You can still add eggs to a veg day by hand.
Cuisine preference: at least 60% of breakfasts, lunches and dinners come from the chosen cuisines.
Early morning: pick the drink and whether to add soaked nuts. If both are off, the column is left out of the plan and the PDF.
Foods to include or avoid: included foods appear at least twice in the week; avoided foods are never used.
Couples: both start with the same dishes, each with their own portions. If one is veg, paneer or tofu replaces chicken or fish for that person. Any change you make (swap, add, remove, portion, cheat meal) applies only to the person you’re viewing.

4. Portions and “Fit portions”

Already fitted: a new plan is sized to the targets when it’s generated. You don’t need to press Fit portions.
When to use Fit portions: after you swap, add or remove items, the day can drift off target. Fit portions resizes that day’s portions to bring calories, protein, carbs and fat back near target, keeping the dishes.
Colours: a day total is teal when calories are within 7%, protein is between 10% under and 30% over, and carbs and fat are within 20% of target. Rose means check it.
Careful: fitting overwrites portions you set by hand for that day.

Every portion uses a household measure (ICMR-NIN serving sizes; 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tbsp = 15 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml).

Protein (paneer, chicken, fish, tofu)

Raw weight, in 25 g steps: 50, 75, 100 g… never below 50 g.

Eggs

Whole eggs or egg whites, by the piece. 1 egg = 50 g, 1 egg white = 33 g.

Milk, drinks

By the glass: milk and soy milk 200 ml, buttermilk and coconut water 250 ml.

Protein powder

By the scoop, in half-scoop steps. 1 scoop = 25 g powder ≈ 20 g protein.

Fruit

1 whole (apple 150 g, guava 100 g, orange 130 g, pear 180 g) or 1 cup (pomegranate 150 g, papaya 145 g, pineapple 165 g, berries 150 g).

Dals, curries, sabzis, salads

Cooked dish, in cups or bowls in halves: ½, 1, 1½. Recipes are built from raw ingredient weights, then shown per cooked serving.

Grains

Rice and quinoa in cooked cups (1 cup cooked = 50 g raw). Roti, wrap and bread by the piece (roti 30 g flour, wrap 40 g, bread slice 30 g).

Dairy

Greek yogurt in 25 g steps (default 100 g); curd by the cup in ½-cup steps; raita 1 cup; buttermilk 1 glass.

Nuts and seeds

1 Brazil nut (5 g), 4 walnut halves (8 g), seeds by the tbsp (10 g). Mixed nuts/seeds = 2 tbsp seeds + 5 almonds.

Oil

About 1 tsp (5 g) per serving in curries, dals, sabzis and stir-fries, which is 1 tbsp for a curry that serves 3–4. Up to 8 g for tawa-cooked or shallow-fried dishes (paratha, thepla, 65, Apollo). No more than 4 tsp a day per person.

5. Diet, allergies and conditions

Diet is strict. Items outside the client’s diet are never used. Non-veg can be limited to any of eggs, chicken, fish and mutton.
Allergies are strict. Any item with a selected allergen is never used and is hidden from the swap list.

Diabetes / Pre-diabetes

Blocks High GI recipes, sets fat at 30% so carbs are lower, and adds blood-sugar tips. Fit portions keeps carbs similar across breakfast, lunch and dinner.

PCOS / PCOD

Fat at 30% so carbs are lower, low-GI and cycle tips, listed under Health Concerns.

GLP-1 support

Protein target 1.2 g per kg to protect muscle; protein-first, hydration and greasy-food points.

Pregnancy

No weight loss: maintenance calories, +350 kcal from the 2nd trimester, and +9.5 g (2nd) or +22 g (3rd) protein a day (ICMR-NIN). Targets show the recommended total weight gain for the pre-pregnancy BMI (IOM 2009: 12.5–18 kg underweight, 11.5–16 normal, 7–11.5 overweight, 5–9 obese), which includes the baby. Blocks fish and seafood, liver, raw papaya, raw sprouts and coffee; no caffeine at all. Tips: well-cooked food, pasteurised dairy, iodised salt, no alcohol, little added sugar or fried food. Always build with the doctor.

Breastfeeding

+600 kcal (baby 0–6 months) or +520 kcal (6–12 months) and +17 g or +13 g protein a day (ICMR-NIN). No weight loss while the baby is 0–2 months (milk supply settling); after that, loss capped at 0.5 kg a week, never below 1,800 kcal. Tips: about 3 litres of fluid, protein and calcium at every meal, low-mercury fish 2–3 times a week, caffeine under 200 mg, no alcohol.

Hypothyroid, Fatty liver, Anaemia

Add tips to the recommendations and foods to avoid. They don’t change food choices.

Weight loss / gain

Sets the deficit or surplus (see Targets).

6. Recipe badges and tags

Badges are worked out from the ingredients, never typed, and you can filter the Recipes page by them.

High GI / Lower GI

Base foods with GI 70 or more in standard GI tables are tagged high-GI: white rice, rice flour, maida, white bread, sabudana, potato, banana, pineapple, mango, watermelon, dates, raisins, honey, jaggery and sugar. A recipe is High GI when these foods supply more than half of its carbohydrate, so a teaspoon of sugar in a dal doesn’t count but a rice dish does. High GI recipes are blocked for diabetes. The IFCT tables don’t give GI, so this is an estimate, not a measured value.

High protein

15 g or more per serving (per 100 g for ingredients), and at least a quarter of the calories.

Lower carb

Carbs under 30% of calories.

Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Soy-free

No ingredient with that allergen.

Tags are extra labels on base foods, like dal, millet or greens. Foods to include or avoid match a recipe by its name, its ingredients or these tags, so “onion” catches every recipe with onion in it, and “greens” catches spinach and methi dishes. The high-gi tag is the only one that acts as a rule: it gives the High GI badge and blocks the food for diabetes.

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7. Adding recipes and base foods

Required: name, category, photo, servings, and every ingredient with its weight in grams from the base foods list. Codes: B (breakfast), SN (snacks), L/D (all lunch and dinner dishes), SA (salads), AD (add-ons); the next free number is suggested.
Nothing is typed: each ingredient’s IFCT values per 100 g × its weight, summed and divided by servings. kcal = 4 × protein + 4 × carbs + 9 × fat.
Missing ingredient? add it as a base food first.
Simple items: single foods with a set portion (fruit, roti, toast, curd, milk, cooked millets, protein shake). They’re under Recipes → Simple items and need no photo. To make any base food usable in plans, admins click “+ Use in plans” on it in the Ingredients tab and set the portion.
Type matters: it decides what replaces a dish for a veg or allergic partner, and which dishes the cuisine preference can swap. Add cuisine and oil within the 1 tsp per serving rule (8 g for tawa or fried dishes).

8. Checks, roles and saving

Off-target warning: if any day’s calories are more than 20% off target, protein is more than 20% under or 30% over, or a target is overridden by more than 20%, the PDF step lists the problems. You can fix them or download anyway after confirming.
Roles: admins add and edit recipes, base foods, photos, templates and accounts. Nutritionists build and download plans using the library.
Saved in this browser: recipes, accounts and templates. Plans aren’t saved, so download the PDF before closing the tab.
Sharing with the team: admins export the data files (accounts, nutritionists, recipes) and upload them to the data folder on Hostinger.

9. Every formula the builder uses

BMI

weight (kg) ÷ height (m)². Under 18.5 underweight, 18.5–24.9 normal, 25–29.9 overweight, 30+ obese (WHO).

BMR (Mifflin-St Jeor)

10 × weight kg + 6.25 × height cm − 5 × age, then +5 for men or −161 for women.

Maintenance calories

BMR × activity: 1.2 sedentary, 1.375 light, 1.55 normal exercise, 1.725 heavy weight training.

Plan length

weeks = months × 4.345.

Suggested target weight

Weight loss (purpose, or BMI 25+): current − 0.5 kg × weeks, but not below the weight at BMI 22. Weight gain (purpose, or BMI under 18.5): current + 0.25 kg × weeks, up to the weight at BMI 21 (never below current weight). Rounded to 0.5 kg.

Weekly rate

(current − target) ÷ weeks, capped at 1 kg a week.

Calorie target

Loss: maintenance − (rate × 7,700 ÷ 7), so 1 kg a week = 1,100 kcal a day. Never below 1,200 kcal (women) or 1,500 kcal (men). Gain: maintenance + up to 550 kcal. Rounded to the nearest 50.

Protein target

1 g per kg of current weight; 1.2 g per kg for GLP-1 support; 1.5 g per kg for heavy weight training. Rounded to the nearest 5 g.

Fat target

25% of calories for weight loss; 30% for everyone else, including PCOS and diabetes. Grams = calories × % ÷ 9.

Carb target

(calories − protein × 4 − fat × 9) ÷ 4.

Recipe nutrients

Each ingredient’s values per 100 g × its grams, added up and divided by servings. kcal = 4 × protein + 4 × carbs + 9 × fat.

High GI recipe

High-GI foods supply more than half of the recipe’s carbs.

High protein / Lower carb

High protein: 15 g+ per serving and 25%+ of calories. Lower carb: carbs under 30% of calories.

Cheat meal day

The cheat meal counts as 500 kcal: 19 g protein, 56 g carbs, 22 g fat (a typical restaurant meal). Day targets stay the same; the rest of the day is sized to what’s left (calories − 500, protein − 19 g, carbs − 56 g, fat − 22 g).

Day colours

Teal when calories are within 7%, protein between −10% and +30%, and carbs and fat within 20% of target.

Download warning

Shown if any day’s calories are more than 20% off target, protein is more than 20% under or 30% over, or a target is overridden by more than 20%.

Fit portions order

Every portion is nudged up or down one step at a time (25 g, ½ cup, 1 roti…), keeping whichever change brings the day closest to all four targets. Calories count most, then protein (no penalty from 3% under to 25% over), then fat, then carbs. Dishes never change; portions stay between the minimum step and 2.5× the usual serving.

Oil in recipes

Capped at 5 g per serving (8 g for tawa or shallow-fried dishes).

Portion steps

Protein 25 g steps, at least 50 g. Cups and bowls in halves. Eggs, rotis, fruit and nuts whole.

Foods to include

Each appears at least twice a week.

Cuisine preference

At least 60% of breakfast, lunch and dinner dishes come from the chosen cuisines.

10. Every rule the builder follows

How the builder decides what goes in a plan. Formulas are in section 9.

Building the week

Source

Every item comes from the recipe library. Base foods are only ingredients; they can’t go into a plan unless a recipe uses them.

Meal patterns

Lunch and dinner are built as real meals: roti or rice with dal and sabzi, roti or rice with a curry, a one-bowl meal, grilled protein with salad, or soup with grilled protein. Each day tries several combinations and keeps the one that fits the targets best, with as few repeats in the week as possible. Regenerate gives a different set.

Early morning

For each person set to Include: a drink (default lukewarm water; methi water for PCOS and diabetes; lemon water in pregnancy) and soaked nuts, alternating Brazil nuts and walnuts. Change the drink, nuts or a fruit in the meal plan. If nobody has it, the column is left out of the plan and PDF.

Cuisine

At least 60% of breakfasts, lunches and dinners come from the chosen cuisines. Indian (both) dishes count as North and South; choosing Indian (both) accepts all three.

Foods to include

Each appears at least twice a week, swapped into a meal it suits. Only accepted if a recipe with it exists and suits the diet. In a couple with different lists, it goes only into that partner’s plan.

Portions

After the week is built, every day is fitted to the targets automatically (see Fit portions).

What gets blocked

Diet

Veg: no egg, chicken, fish or mutton. Egg: eggs allowed. Non-veg: only the chosen types (eggs, chicken, fish, mutton), and only on the chosen non-veg days; other days are vegetarian.

Allergies

Any recipe containing the allergen (milk, gluten, nuts, soy, egg, fish, shellfish…) is never used.

Foods to avoid

Any recipe whose name, tags or ingredients match is never used.

Diabetes, pre-diabetes

High GI recipes are blocked (high-GI ingredients give over half the carbs).

Diabetes carb spread

For diabetes and pre-diabetes, Fit portions also keeps carbs similar across breakfast, lunch and dinner (each within about 8% of an equal share). Day totals show carbs per meal and mark them “uneven” if any meal is more than 15% off.

Pregnancy

Fish and seafood, liver, raw papaya, raw sprouts and coffee are blocked. Weight loss, weight gain, fertility, PCOS and GLP-1 purposes are locked.

Breastfeeding

Fertility and GLP-1 are locked. Weight loss is locked while the baby is 0–2 months.

Couples

Shared dishes

Both start with the same dishes, each with their own portions.

Different needs

If a dish doesn’t suit one partner (diet, non-veg day, allergy, condition), that partner gets a replacement: the recipe’s listed alternative, or another dish with the same role in the same meal.

Edits

Any change in the meal plan (swap, portion, cheat meal, early morning) applies only to the partner you’re viewing.

Targets and checks

Cheat meals

On the chosen days at lunch or dinner, for everyone. Move or remove per person in the meal plan.

Week totals

Shown above the plan: daily average and week total for calories, protein, carbs and fat against target, and how many days are on target. Same colour rules as day totals.

Day colours

Teal when calories are within 7%, protein −10% / +30%, carbs and fat within 20%.

Download warning

If any day is more than 20% off on calories or protein, you’re asked to confirm before downloading.

Safety warnings

Pregnancy, age under 18 or over 65, BMI under 18.5, and diabetes on insulin or sulfonylureas show a warning to build the plan with the doctor.

Recommendations and PDF

Guidelines template

Picked in this order: Pregnancy, Breastfeeding, Fertility, GLP-1, PCOS, Weight gain, Weight loss, General. You can switch it.

Health condition tips

Added automatically for each selected condition, and listed on the PDF’s first page.

Pills

The PDF tips strip. For pregnancy, the tea-time pill becomes turmeric milk or jeera water (no caffeine).

Access

Roles

Admins add recipes, base foods and front-page templates. Nutritionists build plans and use the library.

Admin

Team access

Everything you update lives in the data folder on Hostinger: accounts.js, nutritionists.js and recipes-added.js (new recipes with their photos). recipe-photos.js holds the guidebook photos and is uploaded once. Each download already has the right name, so just upload it into the data folder and replace the old file. Nothing else needs touching.

AccountsChange passwords, add or remove accounts here, then click “Download accounts file” once and upload it to the data folder. Passwords are stored scrambled, so an existing password can’t be shown. A password you set here can be shown until you reload the page, so note it down.

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Add an account

Role

Add account

Download accounts.js

Nutritionists in the dropdown

Add

Download nutritionists.js

Upload it to Hostinger to save the list for everyone.

Exports for Hostinger Changes are saved only in this browser. Export what you changed and upload it to the data folder on Hostinger, replacing the old file.

If you changedClickFile Recipes, base foods, photos of new recipesExport additions (Recipes page)recipes-added.js Front-page templatesExport templates (Templates page)templates-added.js Login accounts, passwordsDownload accounts.js (above)accounts.js Nutritionist namesDownload nutritionists.js (above)nutritionists.js

Photos of new recipes travel inside recipes-added.js; there is no separate photos file to export. If a download is named “recipes-added (1).js”, rename it before uploading. Then ask the team to reload once. Plans are never saved, so download each PDF before closing the tab.

Recipes website translations New recipes show on the patient Recipes Repository straight away, in English. For Hindi, Telugu and Tamil:

1. Send Claude the recipes-added.js you just exported. 2. Claude sends back translations.json. 3. Upload it to the recipes/data folder on Hostinger, replacing the old file.

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Client details

Targets

Weekly meal plan

General recommendations

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How the meal plan builder works

1. The five steps

2. Targets

3. Building the week

4. Portions and “Fit portions”

5. Diet, allergies and conditions

6. Recipe badges and tags

7. Adding recipes and base foods

8. Checks, roles and saving

9. Every formula the builder uses

10. Every rule the builder follows

PDF preview

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General Recommendations

Foods to avoid

Sweet craving alternatives

Daily guidelines

Serving guide*

Measures

Front page designs

Team access