What's your diet like?

[slyfox]

Let's talk about what you eat! For dudes like me who are building muscle, it's very important that we pay attention to what we're putting in our bodies. A healthy body is a happy body!

This is a good place to ask if you're eating right, if you're eating enough, or just talking about recipes.

[JD7790]

I just started designing a meal plan that I want to start using in the next couple of weeks but I quickly noticed that my choices in proteins are kind of limited.

I am slightly lactose intolerant: I can eat cheese but not too much. I can only drink a glass of milk per day otherwise I'll feel bloated. But, for some reason, I can eat all the Yogurt that I want without problems.

I can eat beef and chicken but I'm trying to find more ways to eat it than just eating it out of the pan.

I don't eat eggs, fish, pork or other kind of meat ATM. I'm working on it but I'm from a family that liked their steaks and chicken just fine so it's an adjustment.

Also, does anyone have any good recipes that are full of proteins? I'm also interested in vegetarian options. I won't switch vegetarian but I like to eat a meal that doesn't have any meat once in a while.

[rigsby]

I'm on the Nutrisystem men's plan for 6.5 days a week, with one meal (typically on the weekend) where I eat whatever I want until I'm full. There's no way I could stay on such a diet without something like that to look forward to. :D

It's ended up costing about the same as the groceries I would otherwise buy in the course of a month.

[JD7790]

[rigsby]

[JD7790]

[WatDo]

I find that it's cheaper to make your own things, but also time consuming too depending on how you do it. I make decent portions for me and my family, but enough for one or two leftovers for myself. Leftovers of any kind can be reheated, assuming you stored it properly. Though depending on the food, it can only last for 2 days after being made or all the way up to 7 days. My goal is to lose fat and gain muscle, and I do not plan to over-feed like most bodybuilders do so I'm not expecting to be massive. Although my stocky build is good for building muscle naturally so I might still be "cheating" a bit without having to take in a lot of calories.

My portions are fine otherwise, I eat about every 180~300 minutes only if I'm feeling hungry. It depends on how much I eat. I usually have 100-300 calorie snack sessions 2 times a day, and actual means 3 times a day that have at least 400 (800 max) calories. The trick is to balance what you love (that you know is bad for you) and what you know is good for you.

Generally in the morning, after fasting for 8 hours, the body can pretty much take anything and be more than happy to use it. Your metabolism is also at it's highest. So this is the time to pack up on things that will give you energy. Baked goods are surprisingly acceptable unless you are extremely strict. But as always, portion control and knowing what's in the baked goods is also necessary. After all, there's a "healthy" kind of baked goods and a preservative filled/fat packed/heavy in calories kind of baked goods. A muffin and greek yogurt for me since I can't seem to eat a lot in the morning. It gives me quick energy to burn off and also keeps my stupid sweet tooth in submission. I used to have a big problem with binges, but I've been doing this for a a few months now. I've lost fat and still gained muscle. AGAIN, I doubt this is OK for a super strict "I wanna be the biggest guy in the world" kind of plan.

Lunch time I go for something with pasta or low calorie multi-grain bread for sandwiches. Fruit. Maybe cottage cheese cups. Soup + salad is always good too, but soups that pack enough protein are hard to come by. High salt intake too. Nothing too hard to make or prepare for.

Dinner is where I usually go all out. Specialized homemade sauces to make the usual chicken/fish far from bland and undesired. Usually made with fresh fruit and chicken stock or water so the calorie amount isn't high. Vegetables panfried in very little olive oil and garlic or steamed. And some sort of healthy carb packed thing. All in all, there's a healthy amount of fat in the entire meal.

Snacks are protein bars, yogurt, cottage cheese cups, or something low in fat but still able to keep the hunger away. I also have my protein shake daily whether I workout or not. I only have 1 or 2 rest days depending how they line up, so I don't feel like I waste my shake mix all that much.

A few months of this diet along with my workout regiment this has made me lose 15~20 pounds (hard to tell with my scale), none of which is muscle because I can actually lift a bit more than I used to. It's easy for me to stick to because of the files and because I don't have to wait for a cheat day to get a little something. Every morning is kind of my "cheat day" and I still get results. No insatiable cravings - no problem.

[BodyBM]

[rigsby]

[BodyBM]

[slyfox]

[rigsby]

[BodyBM]

[JD7790]

[WatDo]

[slyfox]

[BodyBM]