Work Out & Diet Advice Thread

SEANoftheDEAD

I think this could be a good idea for people lookng to improve there pysical fitness and diet to help them be more healthier and be a better martial artist etc.

In my own case, I've hit a brick wall. I'm currently training in Jiu-Jitsu once a week and I'm feeling more sluggish now, than when I started over a year ago.

I joined a gym in March and up until two weeks ago I was flying, I was full of energy and lost nearly a stone and built some muscle up. But over the last two weeks, I've struggled to get energy and motivation to keep going.

I'll admit my diet could be better, but anything I try to find online about advice is basically calorie counting, and I havent got a clue how to read nutrition labels on things.

Would anyone here have any advice on a training program/diet advice, that would help shed another half stone, flatten the stomach and build and tone muscle?

Thanks.

Doug Cartel

You'd probably be best off taking this to the Health and Fitness forum.

SEANoftheDEAD

No problem. Will do.
Apologies.

Peetrik

Knowing what food to eat without having to calorie count is easy, everyone already know what they should be eating. Fresh fruit and veg, as much as you want. What people are usually looking for is ways to cheat on that because as a diet its boring as feck

Also, if your serious about it then you should consider training more than one day a week.

SEANoftheDEAD

Well I'm hitting the gym 3-4 times a week on top of the martial arts training.
Its just, over the last fortnight, my energy levels are at an all time low. And I cant fihure out why...

In regards the diet, so basically live on fruit and veg, water and fresh meat, thats grilled cooked?

Peetrik

Ah apologies, I thought you were just training Jiu-Jitsu once a week.

On the diet, if your goal is a flatter stomach and to feel better (more energy, more healthy longterm) and to shed weight then eat as much fruit and veg as you can and avoid processed foods (anything in a packet or made by people). Yep grill the meat if you can. I don't get a lot of meat in but just because I would only eat organic/free range and it's too pricey for me, the cheap meat that I could afford is packed with garbage (antibiotics to keep it from getting sick in the poor living conditions, steroids to grow the animals bigger etc) so I try and avoid it.

If you're looking to put on muscle/bulk up or for short term performance then you're better off asking someone else.

That's just what works for me, everyone is different so finding a good diet for you is something you have to play around with and research with lots of trial and error. Hope that helps.

SEANoftheDEAD

Cheers man, thats good advice. I can make a start on where to go and what to avoid.
Processed foods really do seem to be the enemy!

Out of curiosity, would u be strict on your diet? or do you allow room for a bit of take away, sweets from time to time...

Peetrik

When I have a fight then I'm an absolute diet Nazi. I stick to it religiously and never cheat because I know its only for 2 months. The differance that eating completely clean makes to my ability to train/proformance levels just couldn't be put into words. I usually drop about 6kg cleanly in weight in that 2 months, and thats with the trade of (light) fat for (much heavier) muscle.

As soon as my fight is done I pig out and eat all the crap that I missed when I was training. When your fat stores go below a certain level your body just craves calories, its mad, again I couldn't put it into words but anyone who has had to make weight will know what I mean lol.

iLost

utopianruins wrote: »

I'll admit my diet could be better, but anything I try to find online about advice is basically calorie counting,

Forget about calorie counting, it's very OCD.
Just eat healthy, you can't go wrong.
Foods you should eat regularly are,
Vegetables, Fruits, Chicken, Fish, Rice, Oatmeal, Eggs, Nuts, Seeds.


A typical day for me would be....

Breakfast.
Oatmeal with almonds, blueberries & banana,
wholegrain toast with almond butter or peanut butter.

Lunch.
Grilled Fish or chicken with rice & leafy greens.
lots of fruits.

Snacks.
Eggs, bananas, yogurt, nuts, seeds.
Fruit smoothies (home made, not in a bottle)
Water/berries/banana/peanut butter/spirulina powder/hemp seeds.


Dinner
Grilled fish or chicken, with lots of steamed or roasted vegetables.
lots of fruits.

I drink lots of green tea, oolong tea, and of course plain water.

If i want something sweet,
I have some very dark chocolate, organic 85% cocoa,
it's very bitter, but much better then normal milk chocolate.

iLost

Peetrik wrote: »

When I have a fight then I'm an absolute diet Nazi. I stick to it religiously and never cheat because I know its only for 2 months. The differance that eating completely clean makes to my ability to train/proformance levels just couldn't be put into words. I usually drop about 6kg cleanly in weight in that 2 months, and thats with the trade of (light) fat for (much heavier) muscle.

As soon as my fight is done I pig out and eat all the crap that I missed when I was training. When your fat stores go below a certain level your body just craves calories, its mad, again I couldn't put it into words but anyone who has had to make weight will know what I mean lol.

What kind of diet do you follow when you prepare for a fight?
What is a typical day, breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Peetrik

iLost wrote: »

What kind of diet do you follow when you prepare for a fight?
What is a typical day, breakfast/lunch/dinner.

Typical day would depend if I'm ahead of target or behind target weight wise. It would also be influenced by what my training schedule was that day, as in I eat breakfast after running but if I'm doing morning padwork then I get up 2hrs early and get carbs (porridge) in so that I have energy for explosive training.
Also I try avoid 3 big meals and try spread my food out as much as possible so 'lunch' or 'dinner' is a rough timeframe more than a sit down meal.

I know I know I'm an awkward bollix haha


Wake up
Check my weight (find first thing in the morning to be the most accurate time of the day)
Morning exercise: Run (alternating daily between sprints, very fast 5k, slow 8k) or morning padwork (if there is a coach available)
Breakfast: Fruit or porridge.
Lunch: fruit, steamed veg, portion of carbs (usually boiled rice), meat if I can get decent quality (baked organic salmon etc)
Evening exercise: Training, sparring etc
Dinner: fruit, popcorn (with loads of salt - body would usually be on a deficit of salt from eating clean, body needs it for retaining water, sweating etc)

I have 'extensive' logs you can have a look at, pm if you like. I'll just say again, this is just what I've found works for me, everyone is different and not everyone's goals are the same so it's something you have to play around with.