Protein questions

IMO the food journal is dependent on how quickly you want results and how dedicated you are to your diet and training. As for the protein if your primary goal is to lose weight I'd stick to getting your protein from the foods you eat and stay away from the extra shakes and supplements. If in the future you're looking at bulking up and building more muscle then you'd want to look into extra sources of protein to promote muscle growth.

 

I agree, very good points.

I too would recommend getting protein only from whole foods, rather than shakes. Stick with the lean meats (fish and chicken mostly, but beef and pork would be a good mix once or twice during the week).

Make sure to get your green vegetables and eat some fruits as well.

 

Get away from the frozen dinners!

If you're serious about changing your eating habits you need to start purchasing fresh foods and cooking for yourself.

For the breakfast I'd add in some fruit and eggs or some other form of natural protein such as peanut butter (all natural is better). It's important to get most of your energy in the morning since you just woke up and your body needs calories to start off the day. You could also throw the extra stuff in as a small meal/snack in between your breakfast and lunch to keep the metabolism up.

For the lunches and dinners you want to be getting portions of lean meat such as chicken as well as a hearty serving of the green veggies. If you're having problems eating healthy at work you should try and cook your meals at night in portions of two. You can eat one portion and then throw the other into a container to reheat at work which is much better than the frozen stuff. For carbs you definitely want to go with whole grains whether it be pasta or bread and keep the portions smaller on days that you're not doing cardio at the gym. Your body uses carbs as an initial energy source before it starts using the fat so a little boost will help to start off your cardio workouts.

Basically try and get away from those frozen meals.

 

depends on what you want to do.

take protein supplements if you want to get in shape (get toned or bulk up) and it varies with your excerise routine, if a person is quite over weight and the aim is to simply down size in the quickest amount of time, then i'd suggest eat healthy, cardio everyday, and keep up with vitamin supplements should give the cut one needs.

take protein when you have lost the weight and wanted to start tone/bulk up.

 

It's mainly the huge amounts of sodium that are in them. If they could find a way to package food without the ridiculous amounts of sodium they wouldn't be as bad for you. The veggies don't necessarily have to be raw, steamed or cooked are perfectly fine as well.

 

Dude, you need to eat a LOT more than that. Don't forget, you need to eat fat to lose fat. A diet like yours is simply going to turn you into 'skinny fat'. I've been there, and trust me, it's not fun.

I notice a lot of flaws with your diet.

Firstly, you need to eat something when you wake up. Waiting a couple of hours is too long. Don't forget, your body is fasting all night because you're sleeping. You also need to be snacking between your meals. Your metabolism is like a fire - you need to keep fueling it. Also, if you're not consumer protein after your workout, what's the point of working out in the first place?

Here's my diet (mind you my goal is to put on muscle, but I am trying to do it as cleanly as possible):

7am: 1 scoop casein protein w/ skim milk, 2 fish oil pills, 1 multi
8am: 2 cups rolled oats, 1 apple
10am: Fat-free turkey breast on whole wheat, 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
12pm: 10oz chicken breast, 1 cup broccoli, 1 cup brown rice
2pm: 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese, 10 almonds
4pm: 1 scoop isolate whey w/ skim milk & oats (pre-workout)
6pm: 1 scoop isolate whey, 1 banana (post-workout)
7pm: 2 cups greens w/ vinigarete
9pm: 1 cup cottage cheese
11pm: 2 scoops casein protein w/ skim milk

Great diet to trim down, build TONS of muscle (I'm probably getting over 1.5g protein/pound).

If you're trying to lose weight quickly, I would suggest researching the EC stack. I took it for a month or so and cut about 8 pounds.

 

if just tone up, 1g protein/pound is enough. and plus it all depends on the amount of workouts and genetics as well, if he does a good amount of cardio + compound workouts, then i think good amount of protein is good, pure weights doesn't burn fat as effective.

 

That's 100% incorrect. You shouldn't consume carbs or sugars before bed, but protein (preferably slow-release like casein) is recommended as it fuels your muscles while you're asleep.

 

Protein helps muscle recovery as well as tissue recoveries. not losing weight.

 

You need to eat something when you get up. Hard boil some eggs and have 3 egg whites and one whole egg. And add a banana. Or eat a bowl of cereal. Something like Puffed Wheat has practically nothing in it. And you can get the store brand for $0.99.

Then eat again at 10.

You need to look at eating whole foods and not the frozen dinners. They just have so much sodium and added sugars.

Look at grilling/baking skinless/boneless chicken breast on Sunday afternoon (I do mine on Saturday) for the entire week. That's 10-12 breasts, 2 per day. Also cook your veggies. Seperate into zip lock bags and put in the fridge. Grab before you leave for the day and you're good to go.

 

Part 1

Part2

Two good articles for you to read about protein and nutrition in general.

 

You have no meat after midday until 10am the following morning??

Mine:

Meal 1: 4 eggs, bowl of oats, fruit juice, multi v tab, glucosamine+chondrotin tab, teaspoon fish oil (equivalent to about 10 caps), toast + pb if im really hungry

Meal 2: Protein shake, fruit

Meal 3: chicken breast/fish/beef, rice/pasta, veggies

Meal 4: Protein shake, fruit

Meal 5: chicken breast/fish/beef, rice/pasta, veggies, fruit juice

Gym

Meal 6: Protein shake, fruit, yoghurt

Might thrown in some cheese, yoghurt, cashews, almonds and extra fruit between meals if i feel like a snack