Sport My diet 'vices' - please help

Sport Fitness
hi all

Ok, so ive been training now for around 6 months, mainly cardio at first, then some more weights, now onto a mix of weights and circuit training. my aims is to be athletic but not bulky, toning is most important, but i have some fat burning to do to chip away at my backside!

However, the biggest uncertainty i have involves what i eat, so ill list the unknowns and if anyone can help at all it'd be very much appreciated.

1- milk, i have this with cereal and protein shakes/smoothies. i have the semi skimmed (half fat) milk as ive always believed it to be very healthy. But is the fat content too high? hope not.

2- cereal, (weetabix, shredded wheat, porridge, original cheerios) i eat every morning but also late at night before bed. i have heard you should sleep hungry in order for muscles to repair etc. is cereal ok or should i cut out completely?

3- peanut butter - wholenut variety, yay or nay?

4- bread - how much is ok? i only have pita bread or wholemeal/granary, pita is quite high in protein so i tend to choose them at lunches.

5- houmous - v good for you but high in fats, although i usually have the lower fat variety. equally with nuts and mackeral, will the higher fat content conflict with fat burning?

6- how big is a small dinner when eating 6 smaller meals a day? its hard to break the big meal tea time habit. plus i eat a bit later as im at the gym till 8.30 to 9.

7 - whats the best way to arrange a diet so as to tone muscle but also burn fat? do i eat more on weight training days and less on fat burning days? should i always have the whey protein after every workout inc. fat burning?

8- if i do cheat occasionally (ie snickers bar, extra bowl cereal, couple of sweets/mints etc) does it write off all the good work done that day? this isnt often but the cravings come and go!

9- whey protein - all the magazines promote its use - i have one scoop after training and sometime half a scoop before. is it best for toning up or more for bulking?

I understand this is a bit long and tedious but if anyone could answer 1 or 2 points thatd be fantastic. Its time to clear up those doubts that dominate my training life.

I may add more on as i think of them.

Thanks
ben
 
You should not go to sleep hungry, it's usually good to eat something before you go to sleep, something that is high in protein, cottage cheese is good, other dairy products (stick to the nonfat stuff). Your body needs to be fed as much as possible.

Continue your food intake on all days, training and resting days, the protein is more important immediately after you lift because that is when your body absorbs the best, so to speak. However, a protein shake on cardio days will probably be beneficial as it's hard to get enough protein.

It's ok to cheat sometimes, everyone does, if they say they don't, they're lying. As long as your cheating doesn't become the norm.
 
I am not a doctor or personal trainer, but here is my opinion.

1- milk: semi-skimmed or 2 percent is fine. The benefits of drinking it outway the fat content.

2- cereal: original cheerios are fine. I' am not familure with the nutrition facts of the other cereals that you listed. Just check the sugar content, whole grain cereals are the healthiest.
Here is a list of some other good ones:

Cheerios - General Mills
Chex, Wheat - General Mills
Grape Nuts - Post
Healthy Choice Toasted Brown Sugar Squares - Kelloggs
Mini-Wheats, Raisin Squares - Kelloggs
Mini-Wheats, Frosted, Bite-Size - Kelloggs
Mini-Wheats, Frosted - Kelloggs
Nutri-Grain, Golden Wheat - Kelloggs
Nutri-Grain, Almond-Raisin - Kelloggs
Oatmeal Crisp, Almond - General Mills
Oatmeal Crisp, Apple Cinnamon - General Mills
Oatmeal Crisp, Raisin - General Mills
Oatmeal Squares - Quaker
Organic Healthy Fiber Multigrain Flakes - Health Valley
Puffed Wheat - Quaker
Shredded Wheat - Post
Shredded Wheat & Bran - Post
Shredded Wheat, Frosted - Post
Shredded Wheat, Spoon Size - Post
Wheaties, Crispy 'n' Raisins - General Mills

3- peanut butter - all natural is the healthiest

4- bread: whole grain is the healthiest bread. Pita bread works too. Just using it for your sandwiches is fine.

5- houmous: I am not familure with this.

6- portion size: keep the foods at dinner to a size of a deck of cards each. You can also drink a couple glasses of water before you eat, this will help you fill up faster an not eat as much.

7 - An extra protein shake on training days never heart anyone.

8- The way I think of cheating is that it negates the whole days work. That way I don't cheat as much, because one candy bar isn't worth a days work.

9- whey protein - It depends on your diet and caloric intake. You can use the protein to bulk up by increase you daily caloric intake with the protein. If you find yourslef bulking up more than you want just decrease you coloric intake. Whey protein is good, don't worry about taking too much. Do not go to bed on an empty stomach, have a protein shake before bed.

Hope this helps.
 
Back
Top