My nutrition
Ah, nutrition. If only three hours of lifting weights would be enough to keep us sexy and fit.
First off, (and I learned this the hard way and thus can’t stress it enough): if you want to do those hard workouts, you need to eat for it. If you’re a diet adept and used to living on 1200kcal, you have some changes to make. It took a while, but I managed to get my metabolism up and can now eat a nice 2000kcal at maintenance. Right now i’ m eating for weightloss, though, so about 1600kcal on normal days, and 1800 on workout days.
I’ve tried a few high maintenance ways of eating (carb cycling, for example), but now I’ve relaxed a bit and try to just stick to a few base rules. They’ll be very familiar to you, I’m sure:
- Get about 1gram of protein per pound of bodyweight
- Get your 20grams of fiber (25 if you’re a guy)
- Don’t fear the (healthy) fats
- Eat clean, unprocessed foods.
- Avoid most grains, some starches (white potatos), sugar and sugar-substitutes
- Limit (but don’t avoid) fruits, and wholegrain products (whole wheat spaghetti, brown rice, etc.)
- Load up on vedgetables
- Count calories (once again, Fitday is your friend)
That’ll leave you with a diet that’s a bit higher in fat and protein and a bit lower in carbs (they work out to about 150-200 grams per day). Very workable, easy to keep up. There’s no need for refeeds or cheat meals, and if a piece of chocolate occasionally comes upon your path, it’s no disaster.
When I feel like having a not-so clean food (a steaming plate of risotto comes to mind), I make sure to have it after one of my after-work workouts, so i know the carbs go to the right place.
I really like to cook though, and will try out a new recipe for dinner two or three times a week. There’s no reason you can’t eat healthy*and* tasty food!
I’m also a big fan of Intermittent Fasting, in the leangains way, 16 hours of fasting, and an 8 hour eating window.
Hey, thanks for your comment, I’m not offended. Most of the time, if I have a complete day, I try to eat 3-4 times and it usually pans out to somewhere around 1300-1500 calories. I just started a little over two weeks ago, and one of my biggest concerns is learning how to control my eating. The reason I eat so few calories is or, was at first to strictly control my eating habits, but eventually what I was eating became a habit all in itself. Yesterday was an example of a day when I just didn’t really have the time or energy to eat all the food I wanted to, and since I spent a majority of the afternoon sleeping, I didn’t get to eat. I wasn’t happy with it but sometimes it happens. I also plan for the worst, because I know I’m not perfect… so when I do sleep up eventually, I won’t be over what I need for the day. Suffice to say despite a few drinking episodes, it has not happened yet. I try to eat at least every 6 hours to avoid starvation mode, which occurs when your cells atrophy (this takes several days to a week) but, like I said, I didn’t quite make it yesterday. Honestly I probably could eat more and be just fine, the problem is I’m just not hungry all the time, my problem is that I’m an impulse binger. And I’m piss poor, being in college, lol. But thanks for your concern, I might make a post about it or attempt to change my diet.
And, I like your food choices, they don’t sound boring at all!
I think I’m gonna post about what you said, so if you want to check it out, my website is http://www.thecancerofamind.blogspot.com