Hi guys,

Below is my current diet. My aims at current are to currently 'trim', so not quite a full on cut as I'd like to focus on strength and possibly gain a little mass too. Currently on around 2500 calories a day. Every third day I burn around 600 calories on the X-trainer over 40 minutes with random hill intervals. I'm also considering adding in some 'Tabata Protocol' after my upper session. Currently using a 'chest/back, legs, cardio, shoulders, legs, cardio' split, so upper lower if you will.

My problem lies in that I'm going to be spending more and more time in the workshops. Preparing food beforehand isn't an issue. Though as I'm on my feet constantly moving around I get very peckish and feel the need to eat, even though I don't really need to. I also have a 15-20 minute walk uphill all the way which makes me hungry in itself.

A coursemate had some soup with him. Whilst soup is filling there's very little calories in it so I'm looking for a snack that remains 'neutral' if you will. So as not to increase my intake too much, bearing in mind moving around all day will be increasing expendature.

Breakfast:
8/8:30AM - 2 whole eggs, 50-100ml SS milk, knife of margarine, salt & pepper. 1 Wholemeal slice of toast, ketchup.

10AM: Snack - usually an apple.

12:30 Lunch - 1 Whole Tomato, 1 Can Tuna Mayo, 2 slices of wholemeal toast
or - 1 Whole Tomato, Roughly 1 Chicken breast, 2 slices of wholemeal, lettuce & mayo. (Chicken cut & cooked breast then kept in the fridge. Sometimes I'll use half of a short wholemeal baguette instead of wholemeal slices.
- Sometimes a Morrisons Fruit & Grain bar too

2PM: Snack - Usually a 'Morrisons Fruit & Grain Bar'

3PM: Pre WO Shake - 1 scoop whey, 1 scoop oats, teaspoon of cinnamon.

4PM: Train

5:30ish : Post WO Shake- 1 scoop whey, 1 scoop oats, teaspoon of cinnamon.

7PM: Dinner - 200grams brown pasta, Napolitana mix, 1 can tuna (packet mix uses about 300mls of milk, butter & tomato puree.
- 250grams minced Turkey, Beef, Lean Steak, 300 grams mixed veg, ketchup
- 1 Chicken/Turkey Breast, 100 grams brown rice, 200 grams mixed veg, 1/2 jar chicken tonight sauce
- 2 Fishcakes, 300grams mixed veg, ketchup
- 2 Chicken Breasts, Lettuce, 2 brown pitta's or 2 flour wraps, 250grams mixed veg, ketchup

10PM: 2 scoops Phd Pharma Blend, 3-500mls SS milk.

As boring as I am I generally do eat those same meals (breakfast & lunch) everyday. The meals for dinner will be chosen on what I fancy/have previously had and try to get as much variety of meat as possible.

I want to ditch the fishcakes and look at getting some fillets. I did used to do this but found they made a bit of a mess on my george foreman (even in tin foil) so stopped, though it's ****ed now anyway so don't care anymore.

I've left my other supps out which include 2 tripple strength omega 3's upon waking/sleeping with about 2/2.5 grams Leucine. SP250 before training along with around 9grams of EAA's.

Critique/improvements for the diet welcome. Also ideally suggestions for healthy, quick, filling snacks for when I'm in the workshops. I do have some Phd Flapjacks which I'll use if I'm heading out last minute and will be 'caught short' as such. I don't really want to use these as whilst they're not expensive they aren't exactly cheap either.

So far I can think of soup and possibly a pitta with something. I'm not sure If I like humous so will buy some when I go shopping on Saturday and find out.

Thanks in advance,

Benny

I have no idea mate, but you've aked the right people, although I'd guss that Chicken Tonight was a no, no!

Do you have access to a mcirowave and fridge at work?

simon m wrote:I have no idea mate, but you've aked the right people, although I'd guss that Chicken Tonight was a no, no!

Do you have access to a mcirowave and fridge at work?

Forgot to mention we do have a microwave and a fridge (as of yesterday).

It's not work, University workshops. So I can't really get a bollocking for preparing food Unless they want to start paying me to be there!

Instead of the morrison's fruit bar thing perhaps some real nuts? Calorie danse and you'll have more energy for longer without the crash a syruppy cereal bar will give you?

GymBunny wrote:Instead of the morrison's fruit bar thing perhaps some real nuts? Calorie danse and you'll have more energy for longer without the crash a syruppy cereal bar will give you?

Good shout. They aren't actually a ceral bar, very much like the kellogs multigrain things. Though these ones are kind of like eating glue and can be picked out of teeth for a good half hour after

I've never been really tried nuts. My dad used to eat peanuts and I never liked peanuts(from what I remember) or peanut butter so think that might have put me off nuts alltogether!

Deffinatley open to trying new things.

I don't wan't to be cracking teeth! but also would be good if they tasted nice. Which nuts would you recommend? I know you can get salted versions, guessing to steer clear of these?

Lots of room for improvement here mate.

Generally speaking I think your macros could be better balanced in light of your goals. Fewer carbs (especially processed grains which are best avoided altogether), more good fats (nuts, avocados, olive oil, walnut oil, hemp oil, coconut oil) and more protein will help. You also need to eat more veg - ideally some with every meal.

Nuts (almonds and walnuts are best) are great for snacking on - the fibre content and fat should help with satiety. Best bet is to get some raw ones from a health shop - you can get them in larger quantities and way cheaper than they are in the supermarkets. Houmous is good - just chop up some carrots/celery/cucumber and you're set.

Tuna's not the best choice as it sits at the top of the food chain and as a result accumulates mercury deposits. Once in a while is ok, but I wouldn't make a habit of eating it.

My choice would be to make up a big container full of food each morning (e.g. lots of raw veg, chicken, mackerel/sardines, quinoa/rice, oils etc) that you can stick in the fridge and eat throughout the day.

I reckon you could just clean up your diet and drop a lot of fat quite quickly.

Best to stay clear of the salted ones as they'Ve usually been corrupted with vegetable/palm oil.

Cashews, almonds, pinenuts, walnuts, macademia nuts. You can also get cashew, almond and peanut butter, without sugar and associated rubbish. Only problem with cashew butter is you can literally sit and eat a whole pot with a spoon...well at least I could if I didn't have to fight my brother for it.

I never used to like peanut butter either, but as long as I get the unadulterated version its fine.

If you're looking to lean up I'd drop the carbs down and up the good fats.

Thanks for the reply ollie.

Forgot to mention I do usually cover whatever I'm grilling in olive oil. Sometimes I toss a bit in with my eggs in the morning.

I'll see if I can grab some cashew nuts and almonds, perhaps tomorrow as I might be passing the supermarket.

Tuna is usually only a few cans a week no more than 3 maximum usually. It did used to be alot higher.

Hopefully if I really like nuts I can ditch the fruit and grain bars all together.

Gymbunny- I'll see what I can find in morrisons to see which I like and will then look at grabbing them from other sources.

In general where should I be dropping carbs from? I can ditch the scoop of oats pre-workout. Also ditching the bars would help though other than that I'm a bit stumped? Unless I should ditch slices of wholemeal for more pitta's?

Edit: I could also half the amount of rice/pasta but generally find this just about fills me up, so what could I pack it out with (pasta dishes). Also could someone suggest some alternative sauces to use? Unfortunatley due to an awfuly small kitchen and lack of storage space I'm a bit limited in regards to making them myself.

Sorry I'm not entirely clued up on the diet front and macro's of particular foods!

Thanks for the help so far.

Keep carbs only around sessions, 100g in total. I go for 100g pwo, but you may prefer some pre or during or whatever. If you must have extra carbs, have WG rice, quinoa or other superior carb sources. Drop the bread, milk and pasta.

Definitely have days with 'zero' carbs too, these will really ramp up fat loss. Today i've basically had chicken, beef, eggs, nuts, bit of cheese and lots of veg.

Karlos wrote:Keep carbs only around sessions, 100g in total. I go for 100g pwo, but you may prefer some pre or during or whatever. If you must have extra carbs, have WG rice, quinoa or other superior carb sources. Drop the bread, milk and pasta.

Definitely have days with 'zero' carbs too, these will really ramp up fat loss. Today i've basically had chicken, beef, eggs, nuts, bit of cheese and lots of veg.

Blimey. Seems quite extreme. Though I guess if I'm going to do something I might as well do it full on and proper.

A little milk would be okay for my scrambled eggs? I'm quite happy to eat more eggs as I don't really see 2 eggs being enough breakfast to satisy me! especially with no base (toast).

Where I've had a sandwich with bread I could sort of make a salad, throw in some chopped cucumber, carrots maybe some peppers too to replace the bread. That's not a problem I quite like that idea

I think I'll limit brown rice/pasta to 100 grams and again pack it out with a mixture of carrots, cucumber etc. Obviously no packet mix.

What should I do for flavouring if chicken tonight sauces are a no go?

It's felt like I've not been eating a great deal since I dropped off my bulk in January and cut down to the diet in my OP. Can I make up for the drop in carbs with extra protein/fats?

I was thinking about making my 'special mix' salad and keeping it in the fridge, which should be okay to last 6/7 days until the next shop?

Benny wrote:Blimey. Seems quite extreme. Though I guess if I'm going to do something I might as well do it full on and proper.

If it's fat loss you're after - you bet! Carbs are the numero uno naughty thing to avoid when doing so. It sucks hard, which is why I seldom do much cutting!

A little milk would be okay for my scrambled eggs? I'm quite happy to eat more eggs as I don't really see 2 eggs being enough breakfast to satisy me! especially with no base (toast).

Yeah a little eggs with eggs is fine, and only 2 eggs for brekkie?! Seriously?! Dude!

This morning I had some smoked mackerel with 2 poached eggs - gorgeous! However I love porridge so I also had a small bowl

Where I've had a sandwich with bread I could sort of make a salad, throw in some chopped cucumber, carrots maybe some peppers too to replace the bread. That's not a problem I quite like that idea

Here's an idea, and something I used to do.

Get a big tuppaware box, and get some nice green mixed leaf salad (watercress, lettuce, spinach, cress, etc....), some tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, beetroot, avocado or whatever combination you want, boil some eggs, and cut them up into the salad, fry up some lardon's, or some chicken cut into small cubes or whatever meat of choice and roast some pine kernels and toss them into the salad as well. Or you can use some tuna (which a lot of people boo-hiss, but a couple of cans a week's fine IMO.). And mix it all together. Add a bit of salt and pepper lots of olive oil (and some olives if you like 'em Yum yum!) - and you have a nice big wholesome salad with plenty of protein, some fats, and minimal carbs. You don't have to reheat it and you can eat it as and when. Doesn't sound very filling but ig you get a big box of it it'll keep you satiated.

Also, thinks like smokes mackerel is great, and you can have any time. Or tinned sardines/mackerel as well.

How about some hoummous, and carrots?

Make some mince beef the day before (w/ tomato sauce, onions, chillies and whatever you want to add to it), then you just need to reheat it. Again minimal carbs./

I think I'll limit brown rice/pasta to 100 grams and again pack it out with a mixture of carrots, cucumber etc. Obviously no packet mix.

100g of rice is not equivalent to 100g of pasta in volume when cooked and not equivalent in terms of carbs either. Wholemeal pasta isn't too bad IMO, and wild/longrain rice is also fine. Don't forget cous cous is an acceptable carb. For 100g's worth it'll be quite filling - in fact it'll probably be too much!

What should I do for flavouring if chicken tonight sauces are a no go?

Tomato sauce, or lemon sauce, herbes de provence/oregano and other spices etc..., olive oil, salt pepper, some chillis, peppers and so on can add flavour to the chicken.

It's felt like I've not been eating a great deal since I dropped off my bulk in January and cut down to the diet in my OP. Can I make up for the drop in carbs with extra protein/fats?

Bang on - replace the cals from the carbs with protein and fats and you're on your way.

Personally I don't see anything wrong with a little carb reload for a couple of days, IF and I mena IF, you've been strict. However there are people here that know more than me and will probably disagree.

I was thinking about making my 'special mix' salad and keeping it in the fridge, which should be okay to last 6/7 days until the next shop?

Just be sure it doesn't go limp and rubbish - nothing worse than soggy salad!

Yeah, it may seem that way, but once you get used to carb restriction, it really is the best way imo.

Yeah, don't worry about the bit of milk with eggs! I have 4/5 eggs, fried in a little Anchor butter with spinach, seasoned with Himalayan salt and balsamic vinegar. May not be to your taste, but it's a tasty, ideal low carb meal to start the day.

Salad definitely a good idea. Get some fat in there, i like a walnut oil and apple cider vinegar dressing.

Again, chop up chicken breast, fry in some anchor butter, garlic powder, turmeric, cumin, chille, natural salt, pepper, oregano, cayenne. They're my weapons of choice when flavoring meat. Next to no cals, very tasty and some other benefits too (anti-inflammatory, immune boosting etc).

That's exactly the idea, bump up fats and protein, reduce carbs.

-will beat me to it.

Humus is great, it actually makes celery nice!

Low carb is not for all but for some it works great. Karlos does it the sensible and non hysterical way (not omg, 5g of sugar is gonna kill me!) and focuses the carbs he does take around times of activity exercise - which even carb friendly diets should do.

Good alternatives to rice and pasta are quinoa, couscous... and if feeling a bit more adventurous millet or barley. One way to make good old rice more filling though is to mix half and half with black wild rice. It takes longer to boil up (about 45 mins - add your white or brown rice after about 25-30 mins) but is slightly less calorific, slightly higher in nutrients and definitely more saiting.

Cold rice with chunks of cold cuts of meat, saltanas, almonds, red grapes or cherry tomatoes, chopped carrots, cucumber, a bit of spinach etc (loads of options - mix and match to taste) and a little healthy oil drizzled over makes a good snack meal you can keep in a tub. Tins of oily fish like mackeral and sardines are also good for protein and omega 3 fats.

Nuts are best bought raw and unprocessed in any way then soaked before being eaten. Sounds like a hassle but isn't really - just chuck em in a bowl for the required length of time then pad dry and are ready to eat. Doing this removes the antinutrients they contain to prevent premature sprouting that can affect your own enzyme production if not removed.

LOL! 3 identical bits of advice, just with different je ne sais quoi added to them!

I think anything up to 2g/kg is pretty moderate in terms of carb intake. Personally I'm like Karla in that I function best on that sort of quantity. I think it's good to cycle for days on/days off.

Benny - Get rid of the bread, pasta - anything grain-based.

Replace with:

Sweet potato
Rice
Quinoa
Lentils
Low-sugar fruits/berries

Bread and pasta are virtually devoid of nutritional value in terms of micronutrients, plus we don't digest them well.

Yeah I go by 2g/kg - which is handy as that puts me close to 200g

Dtlv74 wrote:Low carb is not for all but for some it works great. Karlos does it the sensible and non hysterical way (not omg, 5g of sugar is gonna kill me!) and focuses the carbs he does take around times of activity exercise - which even carb friendly diets should do.

Good alternatives to rice and pasta are quinoa, couscous... and if feeling a bit more adventurous millet or barley. One way to make good old rice more filling though is to mix half and half with black wild rice. It takes longer to boil up (about 45 mins - add your white or brown rice after about 25-30 mins) but is slightly less calorific, slightly higher in nutrients and definitely more saiting.

Cold rice with chunks of cold cuts of meat, saltanas, almonds, red grapes or cherry tomatoes, chopped carrots, cucumber, a bit of spinach etc (loads of options - mix and match to taste) and a little healthy oil drizzled over makes a good snack meal you can keep in a tub. Tins of oily fish like mackeral and sardines are also good for protein and omega 3 fats.

Nuts are best bought raw and unprocessed in any way then soaked before being eaten. Sounds like a hassle but isn't really - just chuck em in a bowl for the required length of time then pad dry and are ready to eat. Doing this removes the antinutrients they contain to prevent premature sprouting that can affect your own enzyme production if not removed.

Bolded bit is my favourite quote of the day. Didn't know that about nuts Det (or rather forgot again )

Benny, everyone has given good advice, but seriously. 2eggs is not enough for breakfast unless you are squirrel.

You can always pad out the scrambled egg with mushrooms or onion so it stays low carb.

One thing I will say, is that lots of advice has been given but don't go crazy and try and do everything at once. Too much change often ends in failure. Implement a little at a time. It takes ~5weeks to make something a habit, so if you can stick it for 5 weeks you'll probably be able to make this a permanent change.

Thanks. I did used to eat 4 eggs for breakfast but cut them out for some reason when beginning my cut, can't remember why. Could somebody also clarify eating 28 eggs a week as being okay? provided plenty of exercise is present? My grandma freaked when I told her that at X-mas

Right, my new and improved diet! providing I like nuts and can get hold of some avocado's! My cupboards going to be like being at the market!

Breakfast:

4 whole eggs, 50-100mls SS milk, small amount of butter, olive oil, salt & pepper, ketchup

Snack: Nuts/apple

Lunch: Special Mix of, Lettuce, Cucumber, Cress, Peppers, Avocado, Tomato's, Carrots, Tuna, Chicken, Turkey.
With - Olive oil, Maybe some Salad dressing?

Pre Workout: 1 Scoop Whey, teaspoon cinnamon. 1 scoop oats - water
Post Workout: 1 Scoop Whey, teaspoon cinnamon. 2 scoop oats - water

Dinner: Meats coated in olive oil before hitting the GFG.
Always 300 grams of mixed veg with:
-250 grams minced beef/turkey/lean steak
-2 Chicken/Turkey Breasts.
-Fish fillet (shall see what I can find at the fish counter)

Pre Bed: 2 Scoops Pharma Blend - water

Occasionally for dinner: -100grams brown pasta with Tuna Mayo - packed out with greens from 'special mix'
-a portion of couscous/rice depending on energy levels.


I realised I picked up Olive Oil with 'extra virgin' or something last week. Any difference? good/bad?

How's that looking?

Also how many nuts a day should I limit myself to? This way I can weigh them out and spread them out over the day.
I figured I'd just toss the meats/fish I'd eat for lunch into the special mix and end up with a small amount of each every day.

No massive change but deffinatley going to be a lower calorie intake with now nearer to 100grams of carbs.

Whilst I've gotten used to gradually eating less carbs than I've been used to over the past few months I don't feel I depend on them and as long as I've eaten I generally feel fine.

For the record during a bulk we normally aim for around 1-1.5grams of protein per lb of mass. Does anybody know the ratios per lb of mass for protein/fats when cutting?

I have some pictures just after X-mas, I'll take some when I return home for easter and hopefully there should be some significant change!

Once again a massive thank you!

Looks much better. 28 eggs a week is fine - the cholestrol they contain has almost no effect on plasma cholestrol, as your liver regulates it very efficiently. The balance and quality of fats you consume is the biggest factor.

Extra virgin olive oil is the first press of the olive. Make sure you buy cold-pressed, and from a dark bottle or ideally tin. Light massively reduces its phenol content (which is bad). Oh and don't cook with it! Only drizzle.

Yeah cooking with virgin is not recommended!

What I've been doing to stop it sticking to my grill is tossing some into a bowl and then throwing the chicken/turkey in and coating it in it/rolling it around. This is a no no?

I generally find the majority of it runs off, if not all of it. It's not sat in it as if it were in a suace/frying pan

Agree on making changes slowly - sometimes the short sharp shock works, but usually people (well me certainly) slip back as soon as something goes a bit wrong.

Two eggs isn't much I agree - I usually go for three or four. Weirdly am really off eggs at the moment though and really struggled with two for brekkie today... which leads me to another point about diet - Variety.

A nutritionally shit hot meal plan can fall apart if it's too restrictive... is good to have several options of roughly similar nutritional value that can easily be swapped around. I think you do need to have solid unchanging calorie and macro targets, and set meal times helps loads, but having flexibility within that is vital i think.

GymBunny wrote:Bolded bit is my favourite quote of the day. .

lol, you know I had a feeling you'd like that GB

To be honest we've a few low carbers on here and imo they all do it sensibly, know exactly what they are doing and why they are doing it, eat balanced diets and are non hysterical about those who do eat higher percentage carbs. I have no probs with low carb diets at all... just the way some people (not anyone here) talk about them and dis more carb friendly approaches.

Couple of quick tips and ideas that may help.

Add green veg and a little avocado oil to cooked brown basmati rice to help make it more interesting and filling. Broc, Spinach and minted Peas are my regular additions.

Try not to add oil while grilling meat but drizzle oil on afterwards instead. I posted a dressing not too long ago that was lemon juice, olive oil, mint and oregano as it's base which works very well. If you're going to cook with an oil for things like eggs then make sure it's coconut oil.

Keep some healthy cheat foods in the cupboard and fridge as there will be times when you'll want to use them. For me oat cakes with almond nut butter and good quality 70% or higher cocoa dark chocolate work well for me.

Nice little read about the [url+http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_nutrition/food_nazi_nuts_to_you?utm_source=weekly_dose&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=tmuscle]benefits of nut[/url]s, specifically almonds on T-Nation. Oh how I wish this extended to marzipan.

Also I know eating clean on a student budget can be a wee bit tricky as it can get expensive, but after a while you'll figure out the best places to get things cheaply...e.g. for me my local Asian supermarket has things like wild rice, coconut milk and various nuts for peanuts (bad pun I'm still at work) compared to my local "cheap" supermarkets.