--- title: "Start a meal plan" slug: "start-a-meal-plan" updated: 2022-04-21T16:02:03Z published: 2022-04-21T16:02:03Z --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.carbmanager.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Start a meal plan [Premium members](/docs/en/subscribe-to-carb-manager-premium) can [create custom meal plans](/docs/en/create-custom-meal-plans-1), use [meal plans curated by Carb Manager’s chefs](/docs/en/find-foods-recipes-and-meals#view-premium-curated-meal-plans), and have Carb Manager [generate meal plans](/docs/en/generate-meal-plans). Meal plans can help you meet your goals by enabling you to plan and shop ahead. When you start a meal plan, a menu of meal choices is available for each daily meal and for any number of days. Once you have a meal plan, you can [generate a custom shopping list](/docs/en/generate-and-print-shopping-lists) of the ingredients in those meals. Start a meal plan today or schedule it to start on a future date. **Important:** If you want to change the number of meals, the meal headings, or the order in which meal sections appear in the daily log, [change your meal settings](/docs/en/customize-meal-sections-in-the-daily-log) before you start a meal plan to ensure Carb Manager plans meals based on your preferred settings. ## Start a plan curated by Carb Manager [Embedded content](https://www.youtube.com/embed/N97C-6JdyZY?&list=PLFyerNxZYby93kWs8b5mkjIiDtFGlXqGt&index=9&rel=0&wmode=opaque&rel=0) Complete these steps to start one of Carb Manager’s curated meal plans. 1. Select ![](https://cdn.document360.io/39f753db-7167-486f-a297-e9dee7536f7d/Images/Documentation/meals.svg) **Meals** in the main menu, then select the **Meal Planning** tab. 2. Select a meal plan to view details about the curated plan. 3. Optional: To change the curated plan’s meals or servings, in the meal plan’s detail screen, select ![](https://cdn.document360.io/39f753db-7167-486f-a297-e9dee7536f7d/Images/Documentation/more-options-vertical.svg) **Options** > **Copy to My Foods**, then complete the steps in the [Start a plan that you created, generated, or copied](/docs/start-a-meal-plan#Start-a-plan-that-you-created-generated-or-copied) section of this article to open the plan from [My Foods](/docs/en/find-foods-recipes-and-meals), change its details, and start the plan. 4. Optional: In the meal plan’s detail screen, turn on or off **Scale to fit my macros**. When you turn on this option, Carb Manager adjusts the amount of food in your meal plan to help you meet your goals.**Note:** Sometimes Carb Manager cannot scale your meal plan to fit your macros and will suggest foods that you can add to your meal plan to help you accomplish your goals. If Carb Manager suggests that you add food, select **Add Suggested Foods** to see the suggestions or select **No Thanks** to keep your meal plan unchanged and not scaled. When Carb Manager suggests foods for your meal plan, you can start the plan with the suggested items, select **Refresh** to see other options or select **Remove** to delete the additional item from your plan. If you add suggested foods to a meal plan that was curated by Carb Manager, only your current meal plan is changed; the original meal plan in our database is not changed. If your meal plan is drastically different from your macro goals, Carb Manager asks you to edit your meal plan and add or delete foods before scaling the plan. Alternatively, you can regenerate your meal play and use the option **Let Me Pick Meals** so you can ensure the recipes fit your macro goals. 5. Complete one of the following steps to start your plan. - To start the plan today, select **Start Plan Today**. - To start the plan on a different day, select **Modify Start Date**, select a date from the calendar, and select **Start Plan [date you selected]**. When the meal plan begins, the items you planned appear on the daily log for meals or snacks and are ready for you to log. See [Log meals from a meal plan](/docs/en/log-meals-from-a-meal-plan) for details. **Tip:** You can [stop the meal plan](/docs/en/stop-a-meal-plan) at any time before the plan’s scheduled end date.**Important:** If you [hide, rename, or reorder a meal section in the daily log](/docs/en/customize-meal-sections-in-the-daily-log) after you start a meal plan, Carb Manager will still plan meals based on your settings at the time that you started the plan. To ensure Carb Manager plans meals based on your custom settings, [stop the plan](/docs/en/stop-a-meal-plan), and restart the plan. ## Start a plan that you created, generated, or copied Complete these steps to start a plan that you already [created](/docs/en/create-custom-meal-plans-1), [generated](/docs/en/generate-meal-plans), or [copied to My Foods](/docs/en/copy-foods-recipes-and-meals-to-my-foods). 1. Web app users: Go to the ![](https://cdn.document360.io/39f753db-7167-486f-a297-e9dee7536f7d/Images/Documentation/home.svg) **Daily Log**. 2. Select ![](https://cdn.document360.io/39f753db-7167-486f-a297-e9dee7536f7d/Images/Documentation/add.svg) **Add Item** > [Embedded object](https://cdn.document360.io/39f753db-7167-486f-a297-e9dee7536f7d/Images/Documentation/add-food-btn.svg) **Add Food**. 3. Select the **My Foods** tab, then select the **My****Meal Plans**button.**Tip:** You can also select ![](https://cdn.document360.io/39f753db-7167-486f-a297-e9dee7536f7d/Images/Documentation/meals.svg) **Meals** in the main menu to search in My Foods. 4. Select a meal plan to view details about the plan. 5. Optional: To change a plan’s meals or servings, in the meal plan’s detail screen, select ![](https://cdn.document360.io/39f753db-7167-486f-a297-e9dee7536f7d/Images/Documentation/more-options-vertical.svg) **Options** > **Edit Meal Plan**, make your changes on the Edit Meal Plan screens 1 and 2, then select **Save & Finish**. For more information, see [Edit meal plans](/docs/en/edit-meal-plans). 6. Optional: In the meal plan’s detail screen, turn on or off **Scale to fit my macros**. When you turn on this option, Carb Manager adjusts the amount of food in your meal plan to help you meet your goals.**Note:** Sometimes Carb Manager cannot scale your meal plan to fit your macros and will suggest foods that you can add to your meal plan to help you accomplish your goals. If Carb Manager suggests that you add food, select **Add Suggested Foods** to see the suggestions or select **No Thanks** to keep your meal plan unchanged and not scaled. When Carb Manager suggests foods for your meal plan, you can start the plan with the suggested items, select **Refresh** to see other options or select **Remove** to delete the additional item from your plan. If you add suggested foods to a meal plan that was curated by Carb Manager, only your current meal plan is changed; the original curated meal plan in our database is not changed. If your meal plan is drastically different from your macro goals, Carb Manager asks you to edit your meal plan and add or delete foods before scaling the plan. Alternatively, you can regenerate your meal plan and use the option **Let Me Pick Meals** so you can ensure the recipes fit your macro goals. 7. Complete one of the following steps to start your plan. - To start the plan today, select **Start Plan Today**. - To start the plan on a different day, select **Modify Start Date**, select a date from the calendar, and select **Start Plan [date you selected]**. 8. Select **X** to close the meal screen. When the meal plan begins, the items you planned appear on the daily log for meals or snacks and are ready for you to log. See [Log meals from a meal plan](/docs/en/log-meals-from-a-meal-plan) for details. **Tip:** You can [stop the meal plan](/docs/en/stop-a-meal-plan) at any time before the plan’s scheduled end date.