Sport My diet. Need input!!!!

[oicdn]

First off here's my work out plan:
http://training.fitness.com/weight-training/my-routine-my-plan-my-diet-my-goal-41786.html


I'm looking to fuel all of this and although soreness is not an indicator of a "good workout", I'm deathly ****ing sore, mostly my legs. The upper and core stuff wasn't too bad, but the legs are dying, lol.

Here's a fairly vague schedule of my meals:



-Meal 1 - Usually some sort of cereal in the morning when I first wake-up.
-8am gym session
-Meal 2 - The cereal again post work-out with a protein shake.
-Goto work at 10am
-Meal 3 - Protein shake and a fruit sometime around 1pm
-Meal 4 - Lunch, usually consisting of a sandwich and pasta around 2pm
-Meal 5 - At 5pm-ish snack like bagels or probars (heh, meal 5 at 5)
-Get off work at 7 and relax until about 830-9 when I bring the GF to work
-9pm evening gym session
-Meal 6 - Post session shake and pasta
-Meal 7 - Around 11ish another shake and something to eat for nightly sleep recovery, like a peanut butter sandwich
-Goto bed or rest til 1:45am then pick up the GF at 2am.



The picking up the GF at 2am isn't an everyday thing, maybe once or twice a week, but I had to factor it in.

The 1st meal is usually like a cup of cereal, something to have in my stomach.
The 2nd meal , sometimes I can't seem to down the cereal WITH the protein shake, especially after eating just an hour ago. I'm using semi skim milk, or whole milk, depending what was on sale.

I am curious as to what I can fit in here? I need sleep, so breakfast and those meals have to be fast so I can fit everything in in before work and not feel rushed at the gym. Anything I can sub for cereal that's quick and easy?

Meals 3, 4, and 5 aren't quite as structured since I'm at work. I'm in a sales environment, so the schedule is erratic. I'll also find sometimes that several hours have passed before I even realize I'm hungry cause it's so hectic. That's my biggest problem, is eating while at work. Sometimes I'm only able to kill one massive meal instead of 3 small ones. Are there foods that I can prepare and just chomp down on throughout the day? Say something like grilled chicken breast fingers or something?

Meal 6 (post gym session, around 10pm)I think I need to change up to rice and some sort of dense meat or chili. I tried it last night, but I effed up the rice and ended up only able to eat a couple spoon-fulls before losing my appetite.

I've also found that I cannot eat a PB sandwich before bed, so I ended up just downing 2 heaping tbsp of the peanut butter which was much easier.

I've been loosely counting the protein intake and with 2-3 shakes it comes to around 250-300g per day. Is that sufficient?

As for supplements, I'm taking:
1000mg of Vitamin C
1200mg of Omega-3 Fish oils
50mg of Zinc
Daily Multi-Vitamin
Nitric Oxide

I take the first 3 every morning when I first wake up. The 1st two days of the regimen I had an intense headache. The kind where I wasn't able to sleep at all literally. I slept MAYBE 2 hours of the 7 I laid in bed. I thought it was the nitric oxide so I stopped taking it (it was the only thing I could think of out of the supplements). My headache went away after eating more and drinking a crap load of water throughout the day, until about 15 minutes ago, I am taking it again. The headache probably was a result of my body reacting to being worked so hard and possible dehydration. I've been drinking significantly more water (both in volume and replacing other drinks, no more sodas) and the eating is now almost on auto-pilot as at first it felt like I was stuffing my face, but am now hungry almost every two hours or so. Question though, is the NO supplement worth a ****? Waste of moneys? Did it cause my headache?

Double sided sword though, as I'm hungry, but don't want to stuff my face like junk like I was previously accustomed to, which is why I need help in finding some foods that are quick to prepare as well as good for my diet as a small meal. I don't think I can afford or even want to keep eating only freshly grilled chicken.

Whoa, long post....appreciate the help in advance!

 

[Kian]

Hey,

I'm going to work backwards. NO will always be junk, it's an untested publicity stunt. The method of action scares me too. So you should probably stop using it and give it to one of your buddies who swears by it, let him be the guinea pig.

Looking at your diet I'm guessing you're trying to bulk up, right?

If the cereal is making you throw up switch it out for an apple and peanut butter, much better for you in the long run. Is your pasta whole wheat or regular? If you're going to be eating it that soon before bed and you don't want to pack on a lot of excess weight (fat) then make sure it's not a lot and whole wheat. For sure only eat the protein shake and PB at night before bed, bread before bed is not a good choice. Cottage cheese is also something that I like. if I am eating at that time of night.

What you need to do is put one day aside each week to plan out meals, cook things you're going to bring to work, shop etc. If you just go at it day by day you're going to have a much tougher time on your hands. Put protein powder in little baggies in your work desk, portion off trail mix with a lot of good nuts in zip locks, tupperware and ziplock bags are your best friend. make a huge batch of pasta then mix in chicken or lean beef with some veggies and portion it off in tupperware so you will have a good healthy snack/meal at all times.

Do you know how many calories you are eating? If you don't know how to calculate how many give me your height and weight and if you know it BF% and I'll run the numbers for you. Looking at your workouts you're going to need to be downing a ton of good clean food.

As far as protein intake goes, that really depends on your weight and goals. Unless you're a 300 lbs man though you can cut down a little bit on the protein.

How many veggies you eating a day? Didn't see too many on your list.

Also how much water are you drinking exactly? That's important.

If you're looking to add anything to your supplements I would recommend selenium (it helps regulate your thyroid) and glycine (small amino acid that is easily absorbed by your muscles). 1-2 of each a day.

How about caffeine intake and energy levels?

 

[oicdn]

Hey,

I'm going to work backwards. NO will always be junk, it's an untested publicity stunt. The method of action scares me too. So you should probably stop using it and give it to one of your buddies who swears by it, let him be the guinea pig.

Ok. I read in almost every place that it increases blood flow to the muscles, which can help AID in getting the nutrients to the muscles quicker. Increased blood flow obviously would make the muscles LOOK larger, even though they're really not, but I was taking it simply for the nutrient delivery end of it all. I guess I'll cut it and give it to a buddy, hahaha.

Looking at your diet I'm guessing you're trying to bulk up, right?

If the cereal is making you throw up switch it out for an apple and peanut butter, much better for you in the long run. Is your pasta whole wheat or regular? If you're going to be eating it that soon before bed and you don't want to pack on a lot of excess weight (fat) then make sure it's not a lot and whole wheat. For sure only eat the protein shake and PB at night before bed, bread before bed is not a good choice. Cottage cheese is also something that I like. if I am eating at that time of night.

Yup, bulk up is the goal. Not trying to get massive, but athletically bulk up.

Apple and peanut butter? 2 tbsp I assume? What does that do for me in replacement of the cereal? I chose cereal because it had a mix of other nutrients and it was simple. An apple and PB sounds much easier!!!

What you need to do is put one day aside each week to plan out meals, cook things you're going to bring to work, shop etc. If you just go at it day by day you're going to have a much tougher time on your hands. Put protein powder in little baggies in your work desk, portion off trail mix with a lot of good nuts in zip locks, tupperware and ziplock bags are your best friend. make a huge batch of pasta then mix in chicken or lean beef with some veggies and portion it off in tupperware so you will have a good healthy snack/meal at all times.

What nuts should I be looking to get? I have cashews and macadamias right here. My two favorites that I can probably eat 5 lbs of before thinking twice, lol. Suck part is, those are the most freakin expensive nuts out there.

I have been eating LOTS of grilled chicken breast. Just yesterday I ate a pound of it (split into two meals). But I dunno if I can stomach a pound of chicken everyday for the next two months solid.

Do you know how many calories you are eating? If you don't know how to calculate how many give me your height and weight and if you know it BF% and I'll run the numbers for you. Looking at your workouts you're going to need to be downing a ton of good clean food.

No idea how many calories I'm eating. With the amount of meals I'm eating, it was something I figured I could overlook.

As far as the numbers needed, I'll let you run it. I'm 6'0" 160lbs. My bodyfat is definitely under 10%, I think. I really don't know. LMK if you can "guess".

http://training.fitness.com/photo-gallery/starting-anew-41805.html

As far as protein intake goes, that really depends on your weight and goals. Unless you're a 300 lbs man though you can cut down a little bit on the protein.

My goal is to add 8-15 LEAN lbs by the end of 2 months. The trainer I saw today wasn't really too in depth or seemed to care much about what I was really doing. He kinda just skimmed over my stuff. He shoulda been happy that I didn't want to do a sesh with him and just wanted to do a diet and plan overview. He said something about take my bodyweight in kg and double it, then that's how many grams in protein I should be eating a day to build mass.

How many veggies you eating a day? Didn't see too many on your list.

That's where I run into problems. I don't eat veggies. I can eat about half a cup of a salad with ranch drizzled all over it and that's about it. I'll eat lettuce, carrots, potatoes, corn, and not much else...

Also how much water are you drinking exactly? That's important.

I'm definitely drinking about/over 2 gallons a day.I have these 1L bottles that I fill up with water. I drink a 3 liters alone during my sessions (1 liter before, during and after)

If you're looking to add anything to your supplements I would recommend selenium (it helps regulate your thyroid) and glycine (small amino acid that is easily absorbed by your muscles). 1-2 of each a day.

Supplements. I have a question about the Zinc. I was reading you should avoid taking the Zinc whenever taking other minerals like iron, copper, manganese and calcium as the interfere with the absorption and may even make you fully pass it and take on NONE. My multi vitamin already has all those in it (obviously), in addition to 8mg of zinc which is apparently 78% of your RDA. Should I take the zinc in the afternoon to fully see it's benefits for maximum absorption?

What will be the benefits of taking the extra selenium? I'm also taking Vitamin C. Doesn't that kinda do the same thing that those other minerals do to zinc? Good balance?

How about caffeine intake and energy levels?

Caffiene, honestly, since I've started this regimen, I used to drink 32oz of coffee in the morning. Granted it was plastered with creamer and sugar, it was what I normally drank, but I don't anymore. Almost everything has been replaced with water, and SOMETIMES Gatorade. I can do shots of espresso (Stok shots) for free as we have TONS of it at work. I can do one or two of those and be good and it's much easier than drinking an entire cup of coffee!

As far as energy levels, I think I'm abnormal in that category. I feel good all day, with the exception of being effin sore. Just yesterday I rode over 10 miles on my bike with super sore legs. All the cardio/blood to them made them not feel so bad, until I was done for the day. Granted I had NO EXPLOSIVE energy or power. I would stand on the bike to take off from a stop or sprint and it was almost like I physically could not explode out. Understandable though. I have not ridden my BMX bike as I want to keep my upper body in complete recovery as I have a feeling next week will not be fun, hahah.

Thanks for the time your taking! Much appreciated!

 

[Chillen]

No idea how many calories I'm eating. With the amount of meals I'm eating, it was something I figured I could overlook.

One cardinal rule in behavioral medicine is that unless it is interfered with, your body knows exactly what it is doing and always does the best thing it can do under the circumstances.


Change the circumstances, and the body changes what it does.

To win you, is a path of adjustments, the path to winning you.

There are some in the position (because they have been adjusting the numbers from their own personal premise), where they do not have to track their calories/macro nutrients; they can just eyeball what they eat and have a good idea what they are consuming, and are able to make adjustments (on-the-fly) if the bodily feedback isn't what they want (like accumulating too much body fat on a bulk, and then adjusting calories and/or carbohydrates for example).

Are you in this type of position? What are you going to do when things do not turn out right? Guess? Why guess? When you can have personal data to support our efforts, and "a reason base" to make appropriate changes?

Adjust your personal opinion on this one. Really, think this one over.

You need to have an idea of the amount of calories (and/or macro nutrients) you are eating in order to make adjustments, in the event you are not gaining "enough" appropriate weight (such as an increase in muscle) or accumulating too much fat.

This begins by using known formulas that approximate the amount of calories one needs (calculated from personal particulars), and making adjustments from this base premise, and learning (or having a solid idea of) servings and calories/macro nutrients within food.

Going blind with one of the most critical components of your personal goal is not wise. Learning what you need and making adjustments, is a learning process, and is as valuable as the testicles swinging between your quads.

The simple physiological fact is that, to gain muscle, you have to provide not only the proper training stimulus, but also the building blocks for the new tissue, and knowing your calories/macro particular to you, is the starting premise. To the average......healthy person, (IMO), the number one reason one doesn't gain quality tissue, is simply not eating enough, when they........."think" they are.

As far as the numbers needed, I'll let you run it. I'm 6'0" 160lbs. My bodyfat is definitely under 10%, I think. I really don't know. LMK if you can "guess".

No, you need to calculate them for yourself, and then apply the principles of adjustments to your lifestyle.

My goal is to add 8-15 LEAN lbs by the end of 2 months.

This is VERY unrealistic (at least toward the high end of your statement), and the amount of lean muscle one gains can depend on many personal factors, subject to but certainly not limited to: Genetics, dietary composition, length/quality of training perimeters (such as if the person is new to training or coming back on after a layoff, how many years training, etc, etc), biological efficiency of organs producing important hormones, etc, etc, etc.

With the above said, (and keeping things equal in "quality with diet and weight training"), 20 pounds (and in some cases more) per year is more reasonable, which equates to about 2 pounds per month (assuming one in their prime, and all grounds equal); the variances in this come from years of training (and I mean "proper" training, not on again, off again, type of inconsistency), diet, quality of training stimulus (consistency, etc, etc).

Note that these are averages and make a few assumptions about proper training and nutrition and such. As well, age will interact with this; older individuals won’t gain as quickly and younger individuals may gain more quickly, etc. For example, it took me a complete year (approximately) to put on 8 pounds of lean mass, and I tend to gain strength more than packing on muscle mass, and I have been training for 3 years, and I am very meticulous with my diet and training. Additionally, my body is more than willing to shred the BF at certain points, but at other points it can get terribly mad at me and resistant. And, I learn how to "deal" with this, through adjusting the perimeters from my base premise, of which "teaches" me what works and what doesn't.


I can post some thoughts and models from Lyle McDonald and Alan Aragon, if you wish.

That's where I run into problems. I don't eat veggies. I can eat about half a cup of a salad with ranch drizzled all over it and that's about it. I'll eat lettuce, carrots, potatoes, corn, and not much else...

Eat the veggies you like, and learn new ways to cook the ones you don't necessarily care for, and you just may be surprised in what you like.


I wish you much success in your personal goals.

Chillen

 

[malkore]

potatoes and corn aren't veggies. they are starch carbs.

your diet seems high in carbs, and low in protein, especially for your lofty goals.

stir fry is a good way to get the veggies in...hide that nasty veggie flavor with meat! just be aware that most sauces are sugar heavy or trans fat laden...stick to dry spices, hot sauce, low sodium soy sauce, and peanut oil when cooking stir fry.

baby spinach salads are good too (lettuce is kind of nutrient void, spinach is more hearty)

 

[Jason Salamone]

Here's a fairly vague schedule of my meals:

-Meal 1 - Usually some sort of cereal in the morning when I first wake-up.
-8am gym session
-Meal 2 - The cereal again post work-out with a protein shake.
-Goto work at 10am
-Meal 3 - Protein shake and a fruit sometime around 1pm
-Meal 4 - Lunch, usually consisting of a sandwich and pasta around 2pm
-Meal 5 - At 5pm-ish snack like bagels or probars (heh, meal 5 at 5)
-Get off work at 7 and relax until about 830-9 when I bring the GF to work
-9pm evening gym session
-Meal 6 - Post session shake and pasta
-Meal 7 - Around 11ish another shake and something to eat for nightly sleep recovery, like a peanut butter sandwich
-Goto bed or rest til 1:45am then pick up the GF at 2am.

Meal 1: Cereal like certain Kashi cereal are really good for you, but a lot of cereal are high in sugar, and provide caloires that are "empty calories," meaning they lack the nurishment that your cells need. If it's high in complex carbs and fiber, and low in sugar, I would still eat it before a work out, but I would also incorporate some egg whites into your breakfast as well.

Meal 2 - It's good to have complex carbs and protien within 60 minutes after your workout. For complex carbs, instead of cereal, I would recommend a couple servings of veggies. It will help regulate your insulin levels much better than cereal.

The rest of the day, I would eat foods that are high protien, low-fat, and stick with complex carbs that are lowest on the glycemic index.
The protien shakes are good. Drink plenty of water too though.

If you are going to eat fruit, stick with fruits like blueberries. Avoid high sugar fruits like bananas. Bananas are good for you, but for weight loss they are not. The sugars in bananas are very hard to process and take a long time for your system to break down.

Jason Salamone

 

[oicdn]

I talked to a Crossfit instructor today and I told him about my plan and diet. He's a good customer of ours that is in CRAZY good shape, and his body is in akin, if not identical shape/cut as yours Chillen. He even offered me a couple free sessions too!

Some of the things we went over was that mixing milk with my protein shake was bad. That it throws off your testosterone and estrogen levels. He said he mixes Hammer brand whey with OJ, frozen fruit, and some honey and it's TONS TONS TONS better for you than most any kind of protein shake mixed with water or anything else. He said that's the turning point for most of his students is because they found a drink that they actually look forward to drinking instead of dreading. He said many people even drink that with every meal and it has most of the macros needed that you're looking for in a quality shake.

Pasta is BAD. Even the wheat. Because of Gluten? He went over a bunch of things about it that I can't specifically recall, but it was definitely something he said to avoid.

He said the stuff I should be eating since I'm a hard gaining ecto is things that are super high in fat like goat milk, or fully organic fed cows milk. Replacing almond butter for my peanut butter. Eating apples, and that a little spinach and baby spinach on a sandwich isn't really that bad tasting if I don't like veggies. If I can stomach them, varieties of the 3 bell peppers.

Pretty much, he broke down my diet and told me it was all crap except for the frequency and how much water I'm drinking. That if there's days I can't bring my lunch, or forget, the Subway down the road always get the chicken breast sandwich as it's the closest thing to having something that's prepared and is decently high in protein.

He said 26-27 is peak age since my testosterone is peaking, and gains will likely be very optimal IF my diet promotes it.

Does all this sounds correct?

As far as calories, I calculated my calories today and am sitting at the 5400 mark. Most of it coming from the chicken breast and breads(and shakes). It's very different from the diet I was eating when it was in high calories and carbs, but it was all garbage carbs and calories. I'm eating much cleaner, and finding it's much harder to eat as much as before when it's clean, rather than just stuffing calories down my face.

 

[TytMyk]

oicdn,

Although a little older and little lighter, I'm in a very similar position as you are in, with a lot of the same types of questions. Just wanted to give you props for posting good stuff... and props to those answering. Hopefully this will bump the post back up and pull in some responses to your last post. You have some excellent nutritional info/questions in there that I'd love to see validated as well. Thanks and good luck man!

TM

 

[Chillen]

I talked to a Crossfit instructor today and I told him about my plan and diet. He's a good customer of ours that is in CRAZY good shape, and his body is in akin, if not identical shape/cut as yours Chillen. He even offered me a couple free sessions too!

That sounds great. However, it doesn't make one able to train others. How one looks (IMO) isn't an indication how they can or can not train another person.

Some of the things we went over was that mixing milk with my protein shake was bad. That it throws off your testosterone and estrogen levels. He said he mixes Hammer brand whey with OJ, frozen fruit, and some honey and it's TONS TONS TONS better for you than most any kind of protein shake mixed with water or anything else.

I haven't seen any (valid quality studies) making this conclusion.

He said that's the turning point for most of his students is because they found a drink that they actually look forward to drinking instead of dreading.

Manipulating the contents of ones diet, isn't anything new. Replacing certain contents that better suites the taste of the dieter (is of course good) when it also makes it permissible to stay within their diet perimeters.

Pasta is BAD. Even the wheat. Because of Gluten? He went over a bunch of things about it that I can't specifically recall, but it was definitely something he said to avoid.

Any weight loss (for one with this type of goal) is probably because they reduced their overall calories and/or manipulated macro intake—not because they cut out gluten--specifically. What‘s more, there’s currently no science (that I am aware off, and if there are QUALITY studies, please direct my attention to it/them) that indicates you’ll lose weight by replacing a gluten-filled food with a non-gluten food that has the same number of calories. I do not buy this Gluten-Free BS---UNLESS the specific person we are talking about has certain allergies to Gluten, then of course, I can see a diet inhibition.

He said the stuff I should be eating since I'm a hard gaining ecto is things that are super high in fat like goat milk, or fully organic fed cows milk.

If this trainer is proposing a diet around you being an Ecto, then (if were me), I would find another trainer, short and to the point. I never really bought this Somatotyping Thing. IMO, its by and large garbage.

One of the assumptions is that somatotype correlates with underlying biology (and amusingly I have recently seen work that finally ties some of this together) but with training and diet you change where someone scores on somatotype,--------->has their biology changed?

I don't like your trainer to be honest with you. And, may I ask if this trainer is a nutritionist or has some experience/education behind his guidance? I may ask if he had dozed off in class on basic fundamentals such as tailoring a program "specifically" to the persons personal variables (screening), and not some half-baked somatotyping.

Pretty much, he broke down my diet and told me it was all crap except for the frequency and how much water I'm drinking.

Meal frequency has "certain benefits" to the dieter. As does water of course. No complications here.

That if there's days I can't bring my lunch, or forget, the Subway down the road always get the chicken breast sandwich as it's the closest thing to having something that's prepared and is decently high in protein.

And, Gluten is not a concern with the bread eaten? :biggrinsanta:

As far as calories, I calculated my calories today and am sitting at the 5400 mark.

Could you explain how you came to 5,400 calories? What is this calorie figure to you? MT-Line with activities included? What? Please explain.




Best wishes for your success,

Chillen

 

[oicdn]

Here's the coach:



I have not taken a class with him, and he's not training me. We talked for about 15 minutes at my shop. According to his stats there (Doug Lane is the guy), he's pretty knowledgeable.

As far as the Gluten thing, I didn't look much into it, but I'm not looking to lose any weight. It seemed most of the articles I saw online were about losing weight...I'm wanting to gain. I've cut back on pasta considerably since I've been turning to fruits and other clean foods anyways. It was just something he went over.

The Hammer protein is readily available at our shop. Almost EVERY tri-athlete that does take protein sups swears by it. It was him that suggested it as a quality protein mix where I really took note. A lot of the fitness nuts that come into our shop (we're near by several personal training gyms) come into our store because of certain things like salt tablets, electrolyte mixes, Gu gels, etc. Seems like alot of the trainers are pointing people towards the hammer stuff. Granted, they're tri-athletes just looking for recovery and performance, but that's sort of going hand-in-hand with what I'm after...or so I'd think. If it's something I can buy at wholesale price, and there are several personal trainers (that almost specifically train IronMan competitors) that recommend it as a quality protein mix, as ignorant as it sounds, that's a good enough reason for me.

5400 calories came from the three protein shakes(that day, I only had 2 shakes), 2 chicken bagel sandwiches with cream cheese, 2 bowls of Kashi Almond Flax cereal with whole milk, 3 apples, 2 chicken breast sandwiches, and misc other snacks throughout the day like Probars and trailmix or nuts. I used to be able to down almost 8K calories a day, but it was all garbage empty calories. This time around it seems much harder for me to down as much food because it makes me feel fuller longer since it's actual food, not just stuff getting stuffed down my face.

Not really an indicator, but my GF that was gone for a week came home and immediately noticed a difference. She didn't even know I started training. After I told her I was eating that many times a day, and going to the gym 10 times a week, she kind of written it off as "oh, no wonder". She told me today that she was surprised I was this dedicated and got up early in the morning to go to the gym. She has my support, and it's a nice feeling :valintines: