I need help with my diet to succeed at weight lifting goals.

Deedsie

I need help with my diet to succeed at weight lifting goals. I don't want to lose or gain weight really, I just want to be healthy, strong and have the energy requirements to lift weights three days a week between 5 and 8. Times change on the different days. Below is my current diet, it's boring and crap. I want to change/improve it as much as I can. I spend about €70 on groceries/lunch in work, and I'm never satisfied with my meals.


2 x weetabix 7:45
Porridge/scone 10:00
12:30 sandwich
3 fruit
5:30 dinner e.g 4 chicken breasts, 2 peppers, carrot mixed with uncle bens sweet Thai chilli sauce. This is dinner prepared for two days. No rice with it.
7:00 protein shake
9:30 tea and a couple of biscuits* obviously should be cut out, but talk about a habit of a lifetime.

I know my diet is rubbish, but any suggestions that might improve it are welcome.

Bottle_of_Smoke

Deedsie wrote: »

I need help with my diet to succeed at weight lifting goals. I don't want to lose or gain weight really, I just want to be healthy, strong and have the energy requirements to lift weights three days a week between 5 and 8. Times change on the different days. Below is my current diet, it's boring and crap. I want to change/improve it as much as I can. I spend about €70 on groceries/lunch in work, and I'm never satisfied with my meals.


2 x weetabix 7:45
Porridge/scone 10:00
12:30 sandwich
3 fruit
5:30 dinner e.g 4 chicken breasts, 2 peppers, carrot mixed with uncle bens sweet Thai chilli sauce. This is dinner prepared for two days. No rice with it.
7:00 protein shake
9:30 tea and a couple of biscuits* obviously should be cut out, but talk about a habit of a lifetime.

I know my diet is rubbish, but any suggestions that might improve it are welcome.

Jsut first off. To become strong you need to build muscle. To build muscle you must consume a sufficient amount of protein and a sufficient amount of calories above what you use in normal daily life.

So you will be heavier if you're going lift heavier weights.

I'd get a bit more protein into your breakfast. Have two eggs or make a milk protein shake and use it for the milk in your weetabix(drink the rest)

What do you have in your sandwich? MAke sure to have a good helping of Chicken or tuna. Or else some cream cheese/ham etc.

I'd have some rice with your dinner too. Could also do with some green veg.

I wouldn't bother cutting out the biscuits. If you're lifting weights you can do with the calories. I'd also try and drink a litre of milk throughout the day.

When you gain this muscle you will inevitably gain some fat alongside it. Though your body will be looking better from doing the weights. Also once you have gained some muscle it becomes very easy to lose weight when you reduce your calories back down.

Deedsie

Hi again,

It was easy at the start, but the weight is starting to creep up now, on a lifting day, what and when should I be eating to maximise energy out put when I lift?

Today I will be lifting at 16:15, so is there any particular thing I should eat at a particular time to give me some extra energy?

TommyKnocker

Have a read of this atricle from the stickies on the Health & Fitness forum

Deedsie

I'm only getting around to look at the nutrition side of things now. I have calculated my daily calorie requirements as 4000 per day. Minus 15% equals

3400 cals per day. I really want to lose the spare tyre around my waste and as I can't run at the moment I may try and get the diet right. Retrocalcaneal bursitis, I'd never heard of it!

Would this be more or less than 3400 cals:

2 weetabix at 7.00
Porridge at 10.00
Brown roll at 12:30
Fruit and nuts at 3.00
Protein shake with milk and banana at 5.00
Dinner chicken,veg and stir in sauce at 6.00

Then prob have a snack at eight. Tea and a biscuit, boiled eggs and toast, crackers and cheese, brown bread and cheese kinda thing.

Well is that an awful or improving diet?

rocky

4000 per day seems on the high side, what's your weight and daily activity like?

Use www.fitday.com to track precise quantities, we cannot really estimate how much you're eating, it depends on portion sizes.

Deedsie

rocky wrote: »

4000 per day seems on the high side, what's your weight and daily activity like?

Use www.fitday.com to track precise quantities, we cannot really estimate how much you're eating, it depends on portion sizes.

I am about 81kg, I lift weights Monday, Wednesday & Friday... I work in an office, so my daily work activity is fairly minimal.

rocky

How did you come up with 4000 maintenance? If I was to guess, I'd go with 2900 as a first estimate, track calories and weight for a week and adjust from there.

Deedsie

I am obviously calculating this wrong. How did you get 2900 cals? Should I be eating 6 meals of 480 cals per day?

rocky

Deedsie wrote: »

I am obviously calculating this wrong. How did you get 2900 cals? Should I be eating 6 meals of 480 cals per day?

Well my maintenance is 2800-2900 Calories and I eat 3-3.2k a day trying to gain weight, and I'm 87kg, so not an awful lot heavier than you.

Understand that 2900 is not THE absolute exact numer you need for your goals, but you have to start somewhere and adjust after tracking calories and weight over 1 or 2 weeks.

Eat however many meals you need to keep the energy and lifts up in the gym. If this means 6 small meals a day, or 3 larger ones, or 1 huge one, it's all a matter of preference. The number of meals won't affect your results if the calories and macro composition is the same.

For example I don't count my meals. I don't normally eat breakfast, and eat from 1pm to 10pm (not constantly (:) ). How many meals? However many I need to reach my caloric and macro target.