Cut the B.S. Diets: Part Deux
What I would recommend for a meal schedule is something like this, for a ‘normal’ day – adjust the times as I go … since I’m just writing to the average person. This is more in tune with my personal goals at the moment but you can adjust to fit your life. Or not use it at all. It’s up to you.
6:15 – Morning cardio Meal ~200 cals– Protein shake, or something high in protein and low carb, either before or after your morning cardio. Depends on your stomach.
* 6:30 – Hop on treadmill for 30-45 mins, low speed, full incline *
8:00 – Breakfast, ~500 cals – heavy on carbs, with protein and fish oil or other supplement for fats.
10:15 – Mid-morning snack, ~300 cals – moderate carb, high protein, little fat
1:00 – Lunch, ~600 cals – moderate carb, high protein, little fat
4:15 – Pre-workout meal ~600 cals – mass/weight gain protein shake OR high carb snack with some fat and protein
* 5:15-5:30 WORKOUT *
7:00 – Post workout shake ~400 cals – My recommendation is a protein shake, with 2-3 scoops of dextrose (or gatorade powder) for quick absorption of calories.
8:00 – Post workout meal ~500 cals – Protein and healthy fats! Boiled chicken, vegetables, lightly oiled with virgin olive oil or something similar. Your body will convert excess carbs into fat, you don’t want very much after your post workout shake! Vegetables, maybe a small portion of rice for some carbs.
10:00 – Before bed – this is a good time for casein protein, low-fat yogurt or cottage cheese, steak, something high in protein to help keep you anabolic instead of catabolic while you’re asleep.
That’s about ~2800 calories a day, adjust your meals accordingly (if you’re trying to gain weight, lose weight – of course, this is dependent upon your basal metabolism and not the recommended 2,000 calories a day!) Average person burns about 2500 calories, in my opinion, so this would work well for an above average person who does both cardio (going for a jog or treadmill), and does a weight training workout to maintain muscle, lose fat, and overall just get fit.
This is a very flexible plan and if you need more calories simply add more meals, I feel it’s better to consume food more often rather then bigger portions. +/- 100 calories over 8 meals makes for 800 extra calories a day, over a week that’s 4,000+ calories – and if your body doesn’t use them, what does that become? Fat! One pound of fat equals 3,500 calories – so think, for all the extra you eat gets added up over years, day in and day out. That could equal to 20-30 pounds a year (some days you’re active, some you’re not, Christmas you eat huge portions, but summer time you may never take the time to eat). Over 10-15 years, this number just keeps getting bigger and bigger until you’re very unhealthy, and unhappy with yourself. Make the change sooner, rather than later!
I talk about pretty bland meals, but you can spice things up accordingly … just think of what you’re trying to accomplish, staying high-energy (eating more carbs), staying lean (eating more protein), or pre/post workout if you don’t like shakes!
Remember, everyone has there own thing that works for them. The above may not work for you, but you won’t know that until you try.
What does your nutritional breakdown look like? Maybe you can share with us what you eat?
“6:15 – Morning cardio Meal ~200 cals– Protein shake, or something high in protein and low carb, either before or after your morning cardio. Depends on your stomach.”
I do the exact opposite. I like to be able to get up, eat just enough to have the energy to get through my run, and then get back and eat a substantial breakfast. As a result I usually drink two cups of water, eat two servings of watermelon and one banana. I let it sit for about 20-30 minutes while I get stuff in order and then I hit the road.
When I get home I load up on protein (usually eggs and turkey bacon)
Why? I’ve found that a protein shake before a run doesn’t give me the energy I need to push through the tough points of my runs and my body crashes quicker. Plus, it certainly doesn’t sit well on the stomach.
Yeah, some peeps can’t run or do cardio with a stomach full of protein. To each his own.
If i could wake up at 6:15am I’d be all over this plan. What do you do in the evening for 15 minutes as a workout? I know something is better than nothing, but I’ve always thought you should warm up for 5 minutes cool down for 5 minutes, and heck, that only leaves you with 5 minutes to work out.
It’s not a 15 min evening workout, it’s a 15 min gap for you to have your shake. although, my current weight lifting workout takes only about 30 to 35 minutes.
Good call with the casein. It’s really good because you don’t starve your body overnight and you don’t wake up very hungry. Esp beneficial to people looking to build.
Thanks for laying this out. I don’t wake up that early, but I think you’ve laid it out so it’s relatively easy to adjust. My one question about exercising is, is it better to do cardio in the morning and lifiting in the afternoon, or is it a matter of preference. I tend to do them both at the same time where I warm up with some light to moderate cardio, and then weight-lift. Is splitting them up optimal?
Adjust the times too. Who wakes up at 6:00? I am supposed to be at work at 7, but I don’t wake up until 7:30. 🙂
Hehe. 6 am is the name of the game. I am a busy person so I need to get started early, as hard as it can be. It just takes forming a habit. Oh, and having my wife give me the nudge in the morning helps too.
This diet chart is an impressive one. get up at 6 am is terrible.
But whatever you have given in your instruction, I will try.
Zane, feel free to mix it up according to your schedule.
Why am I counting this as ~3100 calories (not including the before bed protein)… Seems like a lot. To each his own and if it works for you do it.
I feel that most people would gain weight on this diet. The calorie count in the diet is more that what John Stone took in with his bulking cycles. It is also about 1000 calories over his cutting diet. If the goal is to lose fat, then it seems that cutting back on the calories would be a good thing.
I don’t recommend my diet, but could post what I had eaten over the last few days. It has been a diet that I have been able to maintain weight with.
Hood, it is a lot of calories, but like I said in the post, you should adjust accordingly. If you want to lose weight, eating 3K calories a day isn’t what you should be eating. Just adjust the above to fit your needs. I don’t take 3K calories in. I hover around 1500 to 2K calories a day.
Please feel free to share your diet.
getting used to this routine takes about 2 weeks to a month. Once you do that, your body will adapt.
that sure is quite the schedule there… although i like the ideas. i just need to find a good place that sells those protein supplement thingies.
-Jake
What’s a good amount of calories to eat to lose weight? I’ve heard as low as 1200, but that seems too low. What are your thoughts?
BigTyme
You should ask your doc since you visit him. I am sticking to 1400 to 2K calories a day though.
Due to my lifestyle with work, my eating plan is to keep things to a minimum.
I get a breakfast and everything else is basically optional. I may get a lunch.. and may get a dinner depending on how the day is and how flippin busy I am!
I do however concentrate on eating frequently. So I bring lots of ‘snacks’. Everything from the Quaker Oats Oatmeal Bars to go, Kellog’s special K bars, Nature Valley’s granola and peanut bars, etc.
I try to keep the bad, fatty, sugary stuff to a minimum if I can.
A great post with some good thoughts and suggestions.
Thanks
Hmm, you need some nutrients my friends. If you know your days are busy as heck, place ahead. Prepare your meals in advance…
“1:00 – Lunch, ~600 cals – moderate carb, high protein, little fat.”
At lunch time I usually take three chapatees and a bowl of either pluse or curd. I take cucumber, radish, tomato, cabbage or onion as slaad. Some may find it ridicules but really does a lot of benefit to your body. Whenever my stomach is upset, I take gruel,soup and fruit juice. After taking lunch, I take a snooze for half and hour then I start working. This routine has helped me a lot to keep myself fit and active.
I prefer tabats Dumbbell clean press first thing in the morning, i find it really revs up my metabolism. Its done 6 days a week only takes 15min with a warm up and cool down