Do I have to strictly follow the meal plan doing body Beast?

[crazz2323]

I have been doing free weights at home for a few years now and had found a 2,800 cal diet (calculated by the TDEE on this site) 40% Protein 40% Carb 20% fat diet worked for me. I eat about 6 or 7 times a day.

I want to start Body Beast but want to know how critical it would be to stick with Body Beast's recommended eating plan vs my current style of eating? I do plan to follow the percentages listed for each phase. I will just change my meals around to match. For example, the 1st phase of Body Beast (Build Phase) calls for 25% Protein, 50% Carbs, and 25% fat).

Before starting Body Beast, this is what I currently eat meals like the following:

Breakfast:
6 Egg whites, 1/2 cup Oatmeal (cooked with 2% milk), and one slice whole Grain toast

Snack:
2 cups 0% fat Greek yogurt w/ some stevita and frozen blueberries

Pre-lunch:
Premier 30% Protein Shake

Lunch:
16 oz (1 pack) of 98% fat ground turkey w/ 1 and 1/2 cups of Jasmine Rice, and a cup of cooked frozen spinach

Pre-dinner:
2 scoops Whey Protein + a banana

Dinner:
2 cups (uncooked) whole wheat penne pasta and 4oz 85% chop meat - note this is one sample meal I do not have pasta every day

Snack:
Green apple with Pb2 peanut butter

So can I stick with this or do I need to change more to match Body Beasts portion charts?

[AlexSays]

Forget the meal plan, forget ratios, forget eating 6 times a day (unless for some reason this suits your schedule).

None of those things are necessary. Ratios are a myth, minimum fat and protein requirements are the only things you should worry about (in grams, not percentages). 0.8g of protein per lb of lean body mass (shoot for 1g per lb of weight if that's easier for you), fat i believe is around 0.4g per lb but don't quote me on that one. Meet those minimums but otherwise eat however you you want within your calories. It will not affect your composition or progress.

Read the stickies in the nutrition forum, do not build your knowledge around someone who is trying to sell something/themselves. Eat things you enjoy, try and get a decent amount of your calories whole foods with a decent dose of micronutrients for the sake of your health, but do not obsess over this. Nutrient timing and number of meals have been scientifically proven to have absolutely no impact on performance except based on personal preference (eg some people prefer to eat at a certain time before working out so they have more energy, some people train better fasted. Beyond this level - zero impact).

Please, please, please do not fall for the bro-science you have been fed

[jaxqen]

1 You are asking if you have a 25/50/25 macros ratio. You can calculate and see if it is so. From what I see, you don't have many foods with fats in them. What does
"fat ground turkey" mean?
2 Like AlexSays says, it doesn't matter. Enough protein to build/maintain muscle, some healthy fats for the hormonal functions, carbs for energy.
3.The food you are eating looks OK. You plan to eat the same meal every day, except dinner?