Sample Diet

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Hi,

I have been training of and on for a year or so. And I really need some help. I am from New Zealand, but am currently living in Japan. I dropped my body weight from 227lbs (103kgs) to 198lbs (90kgs), with (what i call) an ok increase in muscle mass, nothing to write home about though.

I was lower than that in the middle of the year, around 187lbs (85kgs), but due to a lack of money, I was out of the gym for a couple of months, and put a bit of weight back on. I am 19 years old, and I am in the gym 3 to 4 times a week. Just weights, no cardio. I get enough of that running around this mad place.

I am confident in my weights routine, but am not too sure in my diet. I have never really taken notice of my diet before, but have recently started to eat right. I keep a journal, and right down everything that i eat everyday. To be honest i have only just started this diet, and i dont expect results yet, but what i really want to know is if a im doing anything wrong anywhere, so i can change it before it become a habit.

My goal isnt to get any bigger, i just want to, get my weight down a bit more (around 176lbs (80kgs)), and then tone up. So enough of the bullshit, and here it is:

Morning: 2 scrambled eggs, with a little milk. A glass of vegetable juice. A fish oil cap, a fibre supplement, and a piece of fruit, whatever it may be.

Lunch: Lettuce, boiled chicken breast, and a little ham. Then olive as dressing.

Then 30 almonds.

And later on, jerky.

Dinner: Usually salmon cooked with no oil, or a chicken breast again. With lettuce and dressing again. And either brown rice, or sweet potato and pumpkin. Sometimes i eat ham steaks, but i try not to. And as the beef here in Japan is fairly high in fat, i try to steer clear of it.

Also, whenever i go to the gym, i down a protein shake before hand, and sip on an amino drink while working out. I also take creatine after my workout.

I have a free day once a week (on the weekend), but still eat the same for breakfast(bar the fish oil and fibre) and lunch, but i let go a little when it comes to dinner. I am living with a host family, so i kind of have to accomodate to the food the mother cooks for me, but she is really good about it and helps me out a lot.

Any advice and/or criticism (constructive) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

2

I cannot see why yow want to get your weight down from 90kgs. For most people that is quite a nice weight so unless you have the lean body mass of a chicken; it’s not neccessary.

Firstly, eat more at breakfast. Breakfast is your most important meal of the day (the tales are true.) I would advise ditching the fibre supplement, replacing it with a multivitamin and eating a bowl of oats, and perhaps a tablespoon of peanut butter extra. Eat the piece of fruit later on with your jerky.

Also, dont just down a protein shake on the days you go to the gym. And see if you can fit an extra meal in in between breakfast and lunch. As well as after dinner. This could just be an extra protein shake, as well as a glass of cottage cheese with nuts and a fruit. The bottom line is you are not eating enough.

Basically you can drop BF and gain LBM at the same time, despite all the shit you hear about “bulking” but you need to eat clean in order to do this. Since I am confused about your goals I have given you an outline that you would need to follow in order to gain mass. If you are trying to cut get rid of the milk and jerky, replacing with some egg whites or nuts.

3

Read Christian’s article: http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=811783

I’ve tried it for several weeks now and it seems to work. Ok, I don’t cycle the carbs, but the main idea is to eat protein and carbs in the morning and after workout and protein and fat in the evening. And to avoid the combination of fat and carbs.

4

As mentioned, don’t just reserve protein shake for workout days. In fact rather than consume the protein drink before and sipping aminos during, I’d eat a small meal 1 hour before, such as
a couple of apples and some cottage cheese or some oatmeal with milk and protein powder. Then afterwards have the protein shake with some carb powder. Don’t train stuffed, but similarly don’t train hungry.

This helps recovery and growth as the body is more able to use nutrients at this time (post workout). You can also chuck in some creatine too. I weigh about 245 and typically consume about 80-100g of carbs such as maltodextrin with about 30 g of protein powder, a whey blend). This is the only time I take whey on its own, other times I mix it with a caseinate or put in in food like oatmeal.

Pre workout meals like braeburn or cox apples are favourable glycaemic index before training and help you avoid blood sugar discrepancies like slurping sports drinks or banging back whey protein on its own.

The amino thing during a workout can be anti-catabolic, but taking Branched Chain amino acids, isoleucine, leucine and valine was touted as most favourable a few years back. They have the blood sugar stabilising thing going on too.

I don’t know too much about the actual mechanism but the post workout carbs and protein is a must in my book. Avoid fats though at this point as it slows the absorption and reduces the overall effectiveness of the carbs and protein

Utilising antioxidants such as vitamin c, e, selenium and N-A-C is a good idea.
I take about 5-6 grammes of fish oil per day, and the above plus a multivitamin, then Magnesium and pyridoxine (b6) before bed.

5

Tried to add this to my last post, but it had not ‘appeared yet’. Personally I would avoid ham, its not a good protein source and contains crap like sodium nitrite. Most processed meats and ‘lunch’ meats are crap really. In fact most meats are injected with stuff, most chicken has sodium caseinate or similar injected in it. Nice bit of organic beef now and again goes down well, just depends on your budget and sourcing it

If you do eat a lot of processed meat, you do really IMO need to increase your intake of antioxidants. Also make sure you are drinking at least 2 litres of clean (not tap) water a day. I use a britta filter or drink bottled water.

6

Thanks for the advice. I am working on the idea that the calories i need to maintain in one day is 3000, so in order to lose weight, i am limiting it to 2500 a day. And trying to keep to a ratio of 30% carbs, 30% fat, and 40% protein. Will adding things like cottage cheese, and oatmeal change that too much? And how the hell do you eat cottage cheese? Just out of the pot? and how much at a time? Also, will start to eat oatmeal with protein at breakfast. Also, will drop the amino drink, and try to teach myself to eat 5-6 meals a day, havent quite got the hang of it yet. Maybe i need to re-evaluate my goals. If im over 2500, or even 3000 calories in a day, ill be gaining weight though, right? I know it will be good` weight though.

Thanks.

7

[quote]Rochey wrote:
Thanks for the advice. I am working on the idea that the calories i need to maintain in one day is 3000, so in order to lose weight, i am limiting it to 2500 a day. And trying to keep to a ratio of 30% carbs, 30% fat, and 40% protein. Will adding things like cottage cheese, and oatmeal change that too much? And how the hell do you eat cottage cheese? Just out of the pot? and how much at a time? Also, will start to eat oatmeal with protein at breakfast. Also, will drop the amino drink, and try to teach myself to eat 5-6 meals a day, havent quite got the hang of it yet. Maybe i need to re-evaluate my goals. If im over 2500, or even 3000 calories in a day, ill be gaining weight though, right? I know it will be good` weight though.

Thanks. [/quote]

40% Carbs would be more attainable and that could include a good amount of NSP (non starch polysaccarides)or fibre to you and me which you need in good amounts. Oatmeal can be mixed with protein powder and chuck some fruit in.

You eat cottage cheese straight out the tub, its like lumps of tangy milky cheese. You may not like it, I like it with pineapple. Its a slow digesting protein made up of Casein. Casein represents about 80% of all milk proteins and is good for eating before bed as it can keep you in a positive nitrogen balance for longer than ‘faster’ proteins like egg or whey.

The difference between 5 and 6 meals can be quite a difference, particularly when training hard, try and use liquid meals if pressed for time. Avoid Caligulan style feasts where you eat a days calories in one sandwhich because you feel very hungry. Don’t forget the water too.

8

Ok, thanks for the advice and i have changed my diet around a bit now.

I am waking up earlier in the morning (6:30) and eating a bowl of oatmeal with protein powder in it. (P&C)

Then around 9:30 i eat a chicken breast/fish/prawns with either brown rice, or sweet potato and pumpkin. I also have vegetable juice with that. (P&C)

For lunch, around 12-12:30 i am eating a cut of meat, with salad and dressing. and 2 scrambled eggs. (P&F)

After school, around 3:30, i`m eating a tbsp of peanut butter, almonds, and jerky. (P&F)

After my workout, or when i get home from work, i have a protein shake made with milk and yoghurt, and chuck in a banana. (P&C)

And then before i sleep, im eating cottage cheese and pineapple, or other tinned fruit. (P&C)

Does this look any better? And just a couple of questions; the syrup/juice in tinned fruit is pretty damn high in sugar, is it best to drain all or most? And the days i work, im not getting home until around 10 at night, so is the gap between my 4th and 5th meal too big?

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

9

Oh yea, and im trying to drink a HELL of a lot of water too.

10

Sorry to sound impatient fellas, but some replies would really help.

11

Where do you find your cottage cheese and what kind do you get? I live in Tokyo. The only kind I can find is the snowbrand or whatever, comes in the little 200g containers for about 300y. I’d love to get cheaper stuff or at least larger containers.

What kind of protein and supplements do you get and where? Have you found dextrose/maltodextrin in Japan and if so, where? I dont mean to highjack your thread but I’ve finally found someone in Japan to ask. Thanks.

12

I think Biotest ships to Japan. The only protein supplement you’ll need is Grow!, the Classic or the Low-Carb version. Most people like the Low-Carb Grow! better.

I use it in my oatmeal on workout days (hard to get protein in oats otherwise), and on non-workout days, as part of my shake and protein bar (as snacks).

Don’t use it more than once a day, basically.

13

[quote]Rochey wrote:
Ok, thanks for the advice and i have changed my diet around a bit now.

I am waking up earlier in the morning (6:30) and eating a bowl of oatmeal with protein powder in it. (P&C)

Then around 9:30 i eat a chicken breast/fish/prawns with either brown rice, or sweet potato and pumpkin. I also have vegetable juice with that. (P&C)

For lunch, around 12-12:30 i am eating a cut of meat, with salad and dressing. and 2 scrambled eggs. (P&F)

After school, around 3:30, i`m eating a tbsp of peanut butter, almonds, and jerky. (P&F)

After my workout, or when i get home from work, i have a protein shake made with milk and yoghurt, and chuck in a banana. (P&C)

And then before i sleep, im eating cottage cheese and pineapple, or other tinned fruit. (P&C)

Does this look any better? And just a couple of questions; the syrup/juice in tinned fruit is pretty damn high in sugar, is it best to drain all or most? And the days i work, im not getting home until around 10 at night, so is the gap between my 4th and 5th meal too big?

Thanks, any help would be appreciated.

[/quote]

Can you swap the tinned fruit for fresh at all ? If eating tinned always get the stuff canned in juice.

14

Im in the same boat (only im in osaka), can only find cottage cheese in 200g for around that price too. Buying anything in bulk here (apart from rice) is pretty much impossible. Im taking weider protein, and Golds Gym creatine. Any drug store stocks it. Not the best, but it will do until i get home next year.

Also, is it possible to get stuff shipped internationally off this site? Havent looked into it much, but i`ll be interested when i get back home. Also, some feedback on the diet, would kick ass too.

Also, can substitute tinned fruit for real fruit. What goes best with cottage cheese? I have been turfing the juice that comes in the tin anyway, should cut most of the shit sugar out of it.

Cheers

15

Ok, A really uneducated question here, but how good are HOT-ROX and Alpha Male? I mean, like how good are they really?

Their description sounds pretty damn impressive. Ive been on the EAS thermogenics before, and also ones made by a brand called Metaphysics. Ive never tried anything that affects testosterone levels (well not that i know of).

And im not looking to use Alpha Male just yet, but am definitely looking at getting me some of those HOT-ROX, and Low-Carb Grow!! Is it really as good as they, and everyone on here is saying it is? (im guessing it is…)

16

Yes they are quality products and when combined with quality trainng and nutrition can help put you over the top that final little push.