Tim Noakes Diet Menu Plan: A 7-Day Sample Menu (With Free PDF)
A real, day-by-day LCHF menu based on Tim Noakes' Real Meal Revolution principles — with a free printable PDF.
If you've searched for a Tim Noakes diet menu plan, you're probably past the theory stage and want to know what to actually put on your plate. This page gives you a real 7-day sample menu built around Prof. Tim Noakes' low-carbohydrate, high-fat (LCHF) approach — plus a free printable PDF version you can keep on the fridge. For the full green and red food lists behind these meals, see our complete Banting green list guide.
What Is the Tim Noakes Diet?
Professor Tim Noakes is an Emeritus Professor of Exercise and Sports Science at the University of Cape Town. After developing Type 2 diabetes despite a conventional low-fat diet, he adopted an LCHF approach himself and became one of its most prominent South African advocates. For the full background on the diet's origins and principles, see What Is Banting? and Banting Rules.
Get the Free 7-Day PDF
Want this exact menu on your fridge, not just your screen?
Download the free, printable 7-Day Tim Noakes Menu Plan PDF — a condensed, print-ready version of the meals below. Enter your email and we'll send it straight to your inbox.
Looking for the full 4-week meal plan with shopping lists instead? See our 28-Day Banting Meal Plan. By submitting, you agree to receive emails from PaleoPower and can unsubscribe anytime. See our Privacy Policy.
7-Day Tim Noakes Menu Plan
A sample week following the Tim Noakes diet menu plan. Portion sizes and choices should be adapted to individual needs — see the disclaimer below.
Monday
- BreakfastScrambled eggs cooked in butter, with avocado and grilled tomato
- LunchGrilled chicken salad, olive oil dressing, macadamia nuts
- DinnerPan-seared hake with roasted broccoli and cauliflower mash
Tuesday
- BreakfastFull-fat Greek yoghurt with a small handful of berries
- LunchTuna salad in lettuce wraps with olive oil mayo
- DinnerGrass-fed steak with green beans and garlic butter spinach
Wednesday
- BreakfastBacon and eggs with grilled mushrooms
- LunchBiltong and full-fat cheese with cucumber and olives
- DinnerRoast chicken with a Greek salad
Thursday
- BreakfastOmelette with cheddar, spinach, and mushrooms
- LunchCold roast chicken with avocado and olive oil
- DinnerLamb chops with roasted cauliflower
Friday
- BreakfastCottage cheese with almonds
- LunchEgg and bacon salad
- DinnerBraai — lamb chops or boerewors (no-filler), green salad, no pap
Saturday
- BreakfastSteak and eggs
- LunchCold cuts, cucumber, olives, full-fat cheese
- DinnerBaked salmon with courgette
Sunday
- BreakfastEgg, meat, and vegetable scramble in butter
- LunchChicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, avocado salad
- DinnerSlow-roasted lamb with green vegetables
A Note on Food Lists
This menu draws from the same green-list foods used throughout Noakes' LCHF approach — meat, fish, eggs, full-fat dairy, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables — while avoiding grains, sugar, and starchy foods. For the complete, detailed green and red food lists (including South African-specific items like biltong and boerewors), see our dedicated Banting Green List guide.
What the Research Says
Evidence on low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets is genuinely mixed, and it's worth being upfront about that rather than overselling the approach.
Some meta-analyses of randomised controlled trials have found low-carbohydrate diets produce modestly greater short-term weight loss than low-fat diets, along with favourable changes in cardiovascular risk markers.2 Other research comparing low-fat, high-carbohydrate and low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets has found both approaches broadly effective for weight control and cardiovascular risk factors, without a clear winner.3
However, a formal review of the existing systematic reviews found that the highest-quality analyses — as opposed to lower-quality ones — tended to show little or no meaningful difference between low-carb and low-fat diets for weight loss.1 Harvard Health has similarly reported that a low-carb, high-fat approach helped obese older adults reduce visceral fat and improve insulin resistance and cholesterol in an eight-week study, while also noting that outcomes vary by individual and long-term data remains limited.4
The honest summary: LCHF/Banting-style eating works well for many people, particularly in the short-to-medium term, but it isn't uniquely superior to other whole-food approaches for everyone, and long-term, individualised evidence is still developing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A free, printable 7-day version of this menu plan is available above via email download. A more comprehensive 28-day plan with shopping lists is also available on our Banting Meal Plan page.
A typical day includes eggs or full-fat dairy for breakfast, a protein-and-vegetable lunch, and a dinner built around meat or fish with non-starchy vegetables — see the full 7-day menu above.
Yes — this page offers a 7-day Tim Noakes-specific PDF. For a full 28-day plan with weekly shopping lists, see our Banting Meal Plan page.
This page gives a focused 7-day sample menu tied directly to Tim Noakes' LCHF principles. Our Banting Meal Plan page covers a fuller 4-week programme with shopping lists and beginner guidance.
The diet centres on meat, fish, eggs, full-fat dairy, healthy fats, and non-starchy vegetables. See the complete green and red food lists for full detail.
Not exactly. Both are low-carb and share overlap, but keto is typically more carb-restrictive, while Noakes' LCHF approach is somewhat more flexible on daily carb allowance.
Key Takeaways
- The Tim Noakes diet is a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) eating pattern built around whole, minimally processed foods.
- This page's 7-day menu gives a realistic, day-by-day starting point — the full food lists live on a dedicated page.
- Biltong and no-filler boerewors are naturally compatible, easy South African options.
- Research on LCHF diets is mixed: some studies show modest short-term advantages over low-fat diets, while the highest-quality reviews show little meaningful long-term difference.
- The diet overlaps significantly with general Banting but isn't identical to strict keto.
- A free printable 7-day PDF is available for download above.
Continue Reading
Sources & References
- Naude CE, Brand A, Schoonees A, et al. Low-carbohydrate diets for overweight and obesity: a systematic review of the systematic reviews. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2018. PubMed
- Dietary Intervention for Overweight and Obese Adults: Comparison of Low-Carbohydrate and Low-Fat Diets. A Meta-Analysis. PMC
- The effects of low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets vs. low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets on weight, blood pressure, serum lipids and blood glucose: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed
- Low-carb and high-fat diet helps obese older adults. Harvard Health Publishing. Harvard Health
Morgan Bell
Morgan founded PaleoPower after years of unexplained fatigue, allergies, and digestive issues turned out to be undiagnosed coeliac disease. Removing gluten and shifting to whole, ancestral-style foods brought about a dramatic personal turnaround — an experience that shaped PaleoPower's approach to LCHF and paleo content ever since.
Read Morgan's full story →