Hi all. I wanted to get some input on meals people eat in order to get ripped up. I am 22 years old and in very good shape -I run atleast 4 miles a day and do a good ab routine as training for soccer. My question is this: I dont think at this point I could maintain some of these rigorous diets, such as fat fasting, eliminating carbs, etc that many of the more serious bodybuilders do. I am 5’9/10 , ~158 lbs and am ripped except in my abdominal region and really just want to lose the body fat there and I will be happy. I know that one cannot spot remove but I have basically no fat in my legs, arms, or chest. I watch what I eat and try to reduce my cars but I want to know specific meals that I can eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, midday and nighttime snack that will help me achieve losing body fat while keeping the exercise routine I follow. I lifted for a few months but now that I am preparing for season, I want to focus strictly on cardio. Anyways, if people can write out fairly simple,specific meals for all these different time of the day, that would be great. What do you guys do at night if you get that sweet tooth and need something sweet?
I am a former collegiate level soccer player who is playing indoor right now. Let me tell you that you are making a huge mistake if you only do cardio. I understand the need for conditioning, but are you going to tell me that speed isn’t important out on “the pitch?” You need to look into Coach Davies’ articles. Do the olympic lifts (snatch, cleans, etc.) w. short rests and watch your speed as well as your endurance go through the roof. Diet-wise…forget the really low-carb stuff and stick w. John Berardi’s Don’t Diet for your calorie levels. Use the 50/35/15 ratio or whichever the highest carb one is. I used 30/40/30 and it has been working like mad. Meltdown would be a good choice too for weights…I’ve been on it for three weeks and it’s more intense than any cardio you could ever do. Last week we played a team and had only a starting five-no subs, yet we won 17-6. If you’ve played indoor you know how difficult it is to play w. no subs. I can’t even say I was overly winded, and I attribute this to the Meltdown training along w. proper diet, of course. Good luck!
Lift weights, lose fat. Lifting will only iumprove your performance on the field.
My Question is about specific meals not about my training - any ideas. I am very fast and strong- justw ant so good meals for losign the body fat
Look up Berardi’s Appetite for Construction column where he laid out the “Don’t Diet” plan – there are some sample meals there. I can’t remember the issue in which that specific column appeared – just run a search through the old issues for Berardi and Don’t Diet and you should be able to find it in no time. You can do the caloric calculations and figure out what you need, but for meals Berardi said that for cutting up he thought that having 3 Protein + Carb meals followed by 3 Protein + Fat meals, spaced every 2-3 hours, had superior results for him when he was cutting. Personally, I’ve had decent results with that general rule (I haven’t been hard-core enough yet to do the food log and more closely estimate my daily kcals, though I mentally tally my protein grams.
Dude, unless you’re totally new to training you should already know what to eat. Read “Massive Eating” parts 1 and 2 by John Berardi and “Foods That Make You Look Great Naked.” If you want to lose fat, use the Massive Eating principles but the Don’t Diet calorie figures. I keep carbs at 100 g. or under on all days except game day which is Sunday…and I do the protein/carb meals for all meals pregame and the first post-game meal. Usually totals around 200 g/day. Working well for me. You’ll need to figure your required calorie level (found in the Massive Eating article). Now get to reading, dammit!
Like I said lifting weights will build muscle, which will increase your metabolism ,which will help you burn the fat. I am a chef at a french restaurant and eat lots of high fat foods. I am 34, 5’10, 160 lbs and stay around 8-10% bodyfat without dieting. i do ZERO cardio. If i were to stop lifting and only do cardio i have no doubt that my bodyfat would increase signiicantly (i know this because one summer i was lazy and got a little chubby. I used to do a lot of martial arts and did not lift, and i never got really ripped.
Oh yeah – you wanted some meals. For breakfast: 1/2 cup of Quaker Oats cooked with 1/2 cup of skim milk, topped with 1/2 cup of frozen blueberries, and sprinkled with cinnamon and Splenda, and a serving and a half of Low-Carb Grow mixed with H20; or a bowl of All Bran w/ extra fiber, skim milk and blueberries and scrambled eggwhites or egg substitute (equivalent to 4 eggs). For Lunch or for a post-workout meal (an hour and a half or so after drinking a post-workout shake), some homemade chili (search for the Berardi Bros. recipe for chili on the old articles – I add beans, tomatoes, onions, garlic and green peppers when I make it); or 2-4 oz. of whole wheat pasta with a can of albacore tuna and about 1/6 jar of no-fat spaghetti sauce and some fat-free cheese. For dinner, a frozen chicken breast or salmon filet (or 2)cooked on the Foreman Grill, with some broccoli on the side, topped with some salad dressing I make up with Good Seasons Italian dressing mix, olive oil, canola oil, and balsamic vinegar. For a late-night meal, I like a bed of spinach topped with 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs, a can of albacore, the same salad dressing, and a sprinkling of parmasagn (sp?) cheese. My pre-bed meal is usually either low-carb Grow or a bowl of cottage cheese and some fish-oil capsules. Snacks are also usually cottage cheese, with a glass of milk if its P+C or fish-oil caps if it’s P+F.
Refrain from eating carbs within 90 minutes of going to bed. This will maximize the nocturnal GH surge. GH is a fat-burning hormone. And dont disturb sleep until the second half of the night. Otherwise GH output will be reduced or aborted.