My Food Plan

Hey so i'm cooking my own food this semester instead of going to the cafeteria.

Just looking for some advice.

BREAKFAST

Shake
1 scoop casein protein
some oats
creatine
water

Grapefruit

Water

LUNCH

2x
peanut butter and jelly sandwich
natural creamy peanut butter
sugarfree jam
wheat bread

or

2x
wheat sandwich with shaved turkey and mustard

AFTER WORKOUT

whey protein shake. 1 scoop

DINNER

wheat pasta with canned sauce
frozen veggies

or

chicken with bbq sauce
frozen veggies

BEFORE BED

Casein shake. 1 scoop


And throughout the day if I get hungry I eat scoops of peanut butter. Or cheese sticks. Or baby carrots





Sound like enough? Any suggestions for cheap meals I could make to switch it up here and there?

I'm about 195lbs, 21 years old, 6 foot, trying to get more muscle but also cut some fat around my abs.

Originally Posted by whoooty

I'm about 195lbs, 21 years old, 6 foot, trying to get more muscle but also cut some fat around my abs.

Pick one or the other. My advice is post a pic and let us tell you want to do.

Ok i'll take some later tonight. There's just a tiny bit of fat or thick skin that's covering up my lower abs. I kinda think that maybe I just never worked my lower abs and they never really grew that much :/

My weight scale says i'm about 14% body fat

Originally Posted by whoooty

Ok i'll take some later tonight. There's just a tiny bit of fat or thick skin that's covering up my lower abs. I kinda think that maybe I just never worked my lower abs and they never really grew that much :/

My weight scale says i'm about 14% body fat

if you can't see them it's most likely a body fat thing. Ask yourself this. Would you rather be the same size you are with abs, or wait a few months to lose the extra fat and be bigger in the end?

Originally Posted by DylloS

if you can't see them it's most likely a body fat thing. Ask yourself this. Would you rather be the same size you are with abs, or wait a few months to lose the extra fat and be bigger in the end?

you talking about bulking?

Originally Posted by whoooty

you talking about bulking?

He is.

Originally Posted by Green_Shine

He is.

Well for these next few weeks i'm trying to cut cuz it's still swim season, but after champs then I think i'd be down to bulk. I'd need some guidance of what to do though.

Here I am currently

My scale says 192 lbs, 15% body fat.

Subbed, I'm in the same situation

Follow fitmencook on Instagram. His meals are amazing and clean. I have started to attempt to make some of them, he has some great ideas to mix it up.

i'd drop the pasta and bread but, you're young enough not to worry bout it

Originally Posted by whoooty

Here I am currently

My scale says 192 lbs, 15% body fat.

You look pretty good now man. Just cut out some bread and pasta and you should be good

And of course the pic is flexed.

Originally Posted by stevenluczynski

Subbed, I'm in the same situation

Originally Posted by DILLA

Follow fitmencook on Instagram. His meals are amazing and clean. I have started to attempt to make some of them, he has some great ideas to mix it up.

Adding them now, thanks!

Originally Posted by wasp9166

i'd drop the pasta and bread but, you're young enough not to worry bout it

Originally Posted by DylloS

You look pretty good now man. Just cut out some bread and pasta and you should be good

Pasta is just so easy and cheap to make, can you give me some suggestions for what to replace it with that's cheap and easy?

And that looks like the right amount of food I posted in the OP?


Here's my breakfast today

1 scoop casein shake with water
1 whole egg, and some egg whites. I don't have a measuring cup.
Tea with caffeine to help me wake up.
1 Grapefruit

sweet potatoes or regular potatoes. Breads and pastas are pretty shitty foods for cutting.

Awesome breakfast... and I don't think you are @ 15%, where did you get that number? You look like you have about 5 pounds to lose for a pretty decent six pack, I'd say you are more in the 12% to 13% range but could just be pic.

Its not an easy endeavour, my suggestion is track your calories accurately for at least a week, and calculate your maintenance calorie level so you know where you need to be calorie wise... and then focus on limiting your carbs to 100g a day or less. Which means pasta is out! A potato post workout and fibrous vegetables with as many meals as possible is all you'll need, if you find your workouts are lethargic for some reason add some clean carbs back in (potatoes, rice etc). Just make sure you are always eating them with lean protein without a fat source.

Menu I work from 80% of the time off top of my head:

Protein

Ribeye Steak
Beef Tenderloin
Ground Beef (Regular/Lean/Extra Lean depending on how much fat I need for day)
Tenderized Beef for Stir Fry
Chicken Breast
Chicken Thighs
Tuna
Halibut Steaks/Fillets
Wild Salmon
Rockfish
Eggs (Whole or white)
Whey Protein
Bacon

Carbs

Potatoes (White/Sweet/Yams)... make hashbrowns, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, etc
Rice (Any kind)
Vegetables (Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, peppers, tomatoes, etc)
Fruit (Any kind of berry, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple anything goes)

Fats

Most come from the animal proteins like fish, ribeye steaks and chicken thigh & bacon etc, but here are some examples for healthy fats. You'll have to be careful with fats, as they are high in calories and can add up quickly.

Avocado
Butter
Olive Oil (don't cook with it)
Almonds, Walnuts, Etc.
Coconut Oil (great for high temp cooking)

Limit your weightlifting days to 3 times a week, and eat to your maintenance level on those days. This will really help prevent any muscle loss. The other 4 days you need to eat at around a 500 calorie deficit to your maintenance level. If you do some form of cardio, you can eat more... but cardio isn't necessary (But it helps). Weightlifting is mandatory though, with a focus on compound exercises. If you want a routine just ask.

Let me know if you need help calculating an eating plan / calories & macro intake. If you just want a simple diet, I can help with that too once I know how many calories you need in a day.

Originally Posted by dabears

Awesome breakfast... and I don't think you are @ 15%, where did you get that number? You look like you have about 5 pounds to lose for a pretty decent six pack, I'd say you are more in the 12% to 13% range but could just be pic.

Its not an easy endeavour, my suggestion is track your calories accurately for at least a week, and calculate your maintenance calorie level so you know where you need to be calorie wise... and then focus on limiting your carbs to 100g a day or less. Which means pasta is out! A potato post workout and fibrous vegetables with as many meals as possible is all you'll need, if you find your workouts are lethargic for some reason add some clean carbs back in (potatoes, rice etc). Just make sure you are always eating them with a protein and a fat source.

Menu I work from 80% of the time off top of my head:

Protein

Ribeye Steak
Beef Tenderloin
Ground Beef (Regular/Lean/Extra Lean depending on how much fat I need for day)
Tenderized Beef for Stir Fry
Chicken Breast
Chicken Thighs
Tuna
Halibut Steaks/Fillets
Wild Salmon
Rockfish
Eggs (Whole or white)
Whey Protein
Bacon

Carbs

Potatoes (White/Sweet/Yams)... make hashbrowns, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, etc
Rice (Any kind)
Vegetables (Broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, peppers, tomatoes, etc)
Fruit (Any kind of berry, apples, oranges, grapefruit, pineapple anything goes)

Fats

Most come from the animal proteins like fish, ribeye steaks and chicken thigh & bacon etc, but here are some examples for healthy fats. You'll have to be careful with fats, as they are high in calories and can add up quickly.

Avocado
Butter
Olive Oil (don't cook with it)
Almonds, Walnuts, Etc.
Coconut Oil (great for high temp cooking)

Limit your weightlifting days to 3 times a week, and eat to your maintenance level on those days. This will really help prevent any muscle loss. The other 4 days you need to eat at around a 500 calorie deficit to your maintenance level. If you do some form of cardio, you can eat more... but cardio isn't necessary (But it helps). Weightlifting is mandatory though, with a focus on compound exercises. If you want a routine just ask.

Let me know if you need help calculating an eating plan / calories & macro intake. If you just want a simple diet, I can help with that too once I know how many calories you need in a day.

What's the reason for this?

Originally Posted by DylloS

What's the reason for this?

Whoops, thanks for noticing. I meant eating them with a protein source and NOT a fat source.

You want to limit your carb intake to 100g a day or less to ensure your insulin sensitivity is high, and time those 100g a day to be the most efficient. Insulin sensitivity is highest after a workout, followed by first thing in the morning, and then preworkout (you'll use them in the workout itself, but for fat loss I don't recommend this).

If you combine carbs and fat together combined with low insulin sensitivity, you are providing dietary fat + an insulin spike at the same time = fat storage. Think of a sugary donut etc.

You want to combine fats with proteins, as the fats help break down the amino acids in the protein, flooding it to your muscles instead of just sh*tting it out.

So an example workout day for someone who eats breakfast and workouts after 5

Breakfast:
Mix of whole eggs and whites
Bacon (your choice, I love it)
Fruit

Lunch:
Fatty cut of meat (Chicken thigh, fish, ground beef)
Fibrous vegetables

Post Workout:
Couple scoops whey protein and chocolate almond milk or regular milk

Dinner:
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
Fibrous Vegetables
Potato or Rice

Thank you so much for all the help, I think my main problem is not having the smarts, or being too lazy to track my calories, protein, and fat intake. If you can help me understand it and how to do it easily then maybe i'll start doing that.

Quick question, is there any reason why I shouldn't drink three teas a day? One in the morning to wake up, one a couple hours later before the rest of my classes, and the last one with dinner that is decaffeinated?

I am using a scale that measures my body weight, body fat, and water %.