Hey everyone! My diet has been pretty solid(I think), but I changed* it up a bit and was wondering if it was REALLY bad(specifically meal 5, and 6).

I have been doing this for a long time now, and my results were good. Some of my specific muscles grew(like biceps), but I think my overall(MUSCLE :d_frown: and fat) size has gone down. I am definitely in the best shape of my life, but now I just want to look good.

So my question is:
What would you change in my routine if your only goals were to LOOK good???

I am thinking that I am going to drop the HIT and do some longer, lighter cardio for pure lipolysis?(from SwoleCat). Drop the free day, and replace it with a cheat meal. Any other ideas/recommendations are welcome.

Exercise:
Morning workout(body for life style - 3X cardio(HIT) and 3X weights(pyramid - BFL) a week), then wait an hour before eating.

Meals(except sunday=free day):

MEAL...............................CAl.Prot.Carb.F at
MEAL 1(9:00)
Sugar Twin X2...................4 0 1 0
Oatmeal ...........................117 4.2 20 2.1
ON Protein Powder..............110 23 4 2
*Peanut Butter...................88 3.6 3 6.8
total.................................319 30.8 28 10.9


MEAL 2(11:00)
Sugar Twin X2....................4 0 1 0
ON Protein Powder...............110 23 4 2
Orange...............................80 1 20 0
total..................................194 24 25 2


MEAL 3(1:00)
Tuna................................128.5 30 0 1
1 Pita................................64 3 14 0
Mayo(2 tbsp)......................34 0 5.6 0.8
Green Beans.......................48 2.2 10.4 0.2
total.................................274.5 35.2 30 2

MEAL 4(3:00)
ON Protein Powder..............110 23 4 2
*Choc Waffers(BFL EFL).......120 0 23 4
*Peanut Butter...................88 3.6 3 6.8
total.................................318 26.6 30 12.8

*MEAL 5(6:00)(fried??? put into a pan with a light coating of Pam and cooked for about 10 minutes)
Shrimp..............................150 30 0 3
Potatoe.............................150 5 30 0
1/4 Onion..........................50 2 10 0
1 garlic.............................20 0 0 0
2 TBSP Dressing.................44 0 1 4.5
2 TBSP Dressing.................44 0 1 4.5
Pickles..............................20 1 5 0
total................................478 38 47 12

*MEAL 6(8:00)(prepared the same way as above)
1 Egg whites.....................15 4 0 0
1 Egg whites.....................15 4 0 0
1 whole Egg......................75 6 1 5
1 whole Egg......................75 6 1 5
Eng Muffin........................120 5.1 23 1.4
total................................300 25.1 25 11.4


that puts the total to?

CAl=1884 Prot(43%)=179.7g Carb(45%)=185g Fat(12%)=51.1g

MEAL...............................CAl.Prot.Carb.F at
MEAL 1(9:00)
Sugar Twin X2...................4 0 1 0
Oatmeal ...........................117 4.2 20 2.1
ON Protein Powder..............110 23 4 2
*Peanut Butter...................88 3.6 3 6.8
total.................................319 30.8 28 10.9

this meal is fine, good start to the day! maybe replace the whey with a natural protein source, optional only

MEAL 2(11:00)
Sugar Twin X2....................4 0 1 0
ON Protein Powder...............110 23 4 2
Orange...............................80 1 20 0
total..................................194 24 25 2

dump the protein powder, you take in too much of this stuff daily, have some tuna or cottage cheese, a lean, good source of protein
also get a better carb source, apples are better than oranges, or you may want something completly different, like rice, a good complex carb source
also add some vegies to this meal, its a pretty small meal and you need more food here, and your diet is lacking alot of vegies

MEAL 3(1:00)
Tuna................................128.5 30 0 1
1 Pita................................64 3 14 0
Mayo(2 tbsp)......................34 0 5.6 0.8
Green Beans.......................48 2.2 10.4 0.2
total.................................274.5 35.2 30 2

i wouldnt have a pita, their GI can get pretty high (up to 70-80) they are very processed and dont have alot of goodness that grains have, perhaps make a tuna sandwich, make sure the bread has tons of grains in it, like linseed and soy or multigrain

MEAL 4(3:00)
ON Protein Powder..............110 23 4 2
*Choc Waffers(BFL EFL).......120 0 23 4
*Peanut Butter...................88 3.6 3 6.8
total.................................318 26.6 30 12.8

i think this is the meal you should be worried about! choc waffers!!! come on, also more whey?? you should try to minimise whey intake, and stick to natural foods as much as possible

*MEAL 5(6:00)(fried??? put into a pan with a light coating of Pam and cooked for about 10 minutes)
Shrimp..............................150 30 0 3
Potatoe.............................150 5 30 0
1/4 Onion..........................50 2 10 0
1 garlic.............................20 0 0 0
2 TBSP Dressing.................44 0 1 4.5
2 TBSP Dressing.................44 0 1 4.5
Pickles..............................20 1 5 0
total................................478 38 47 12

frying is fine as long as you use non-stick, make sure the potato is sweet and not a white potato, they have a HIGH-GI (sometimes up to 100) maybe cut down on the dressing, you seem to be using tons and its mostly sugar!

*MEAL 6(8:00)(prepared the same way as above)
1 Egg whites.....................15 4 0 0
1 Egg whites.....................15 4 0 0
1 whole Egg......................75 6 1 5
1 whole Egg......................75 6 1 5
Eng Muffin........................120 5.1 23 1.4
total................................300 25.1 25 11.4

scrap this meal for some cottage cheese and peanut butter, much better bed time meal

that puts the total to?

CAl=1884 Prot(43%)=179.7g Carb(45%)=185g Fat(12%)=51.1g


ok more comments, where is your pre/post workout nutrition, not eating untill 1 hour after your workout is about the worst thing you can do in a diet

having a cheat meal instead of a day is always good, you can easily destroy alot of hard work, also maybe only cheat when you feel you need to, rather than every week

and i dont really belive in fasted cardio, your body cant just use ONLY fat as a fuel, it cant get glucose from fat, it has to get it from body-proteins, then it can mix it with fat to create and energy source

thanks for the response taffer!!!

Yea, I know there is a bunch of protein powder in there, but it is soooo easy to prepare...I will buy some more cottage cheese, and try to eat that again(tried before but I really didn't like it). The last two meals I can cook anything, but the first four are at work, so I don't have a lot of time to prepare things during those ones. What other proteins would you recommend that don't require alot of prep time?

"choc waffers!!! come on" :d_redface HA HA...yea, I just added this one?? I don't know what I was thinking, but I saw them in the eating for life cookbook(that recipe had whiped cream too though)???

"where is your pre/post workout nutrition": there is none. Up until very recently, I thought this was the way to go...I have no idea what or when this would be? thoughts?

before your workout, have complex carbs + protein (about 30g protein, 40-60g carbs)
i have oats + cottage cheese + milk in the morning before my workout, you can have some meat if you want

after your workout is very important, have about 0.4g of protein per kg of bodyweight and 0.8g of carbs per kg of bodyweight, dont skimp on this meal, even if it means lowering your calores for the whole day!
its good to have it in a shake, so you get a higher-GI, also using high-GI foods is always good
blended oats + whey is a popular choice, you can throw in some banana and milk if you want (milk is good for creating a better insuln spike, also it has a good amount of carbs and protein) also mix in some dex/maltodextrin if you want, but dont use this as the ONLY carb source PWO, as it lacks micronutrient density

also no more than 2 hours later(usually 1-1.5hours), have another meal that consists of a good protein source (meat is the best choice here) and complex carbs, such as brown rice, or a sweet potato

After reading the board for the last week or two, I thought it's been mentioned time and time again not to eat anything before a workout (?). But I see here you're mentioning different. Could you clarify this please?

That "rule" is not a rule, but rather is goal-specific.

~SC~

Any ideas on what would be the timing on the pre/post meals for weights? Is it right before and after, or should there be a bit of time between them? I am trying to revamp my schedule/diet above?

Also, would it help for fat loss if I did slow cardio(65-75%) everyday first thing in the morning, and then did the weights 3 times that week(like Monday/Wednesday/Friday) at night(especially if time is need between pre/post workout meals)? or is that overkill?

frying is fine as long as you use non-stick, make sure the potato is sweet and not a white potato, they have a HIGH-GI (sometimes up to 100) maybe cut down on the dressing, you seem to be using tons and its mostly sugar!

So Tom Venuto (Burn The Fat) was suggesting that the whole white-potatoe-HighGI thing is a little overblown because the potatoes are generally eaten with protiens and fats that lower the overall GI index of the meal. He still thinks Yams are king, but all potatoes are ranked highly

Any thoughts?

yeah it does lower the GI if eaten with proteins and fats, but its not going to lower it from 100 to 30, im not sure how much proteins actually lower GI, but i dont think its a huge amount (well not enough to make eating sugar have a GI of 40 :p)

besides, wouldnt it be better to lower the GI of a potato with a 40 GI, rather than a potato with the GI of 70-100, still more advantageous to eat the lower-GI food, i reckon sweet potatoes taste tons better too :)

besides, wouldnt it be better to lower the GI of a potato with a 40 GI, rather than a potato with the GI of 70-100, still more advantageous to eat the lower-GI food, i reckon sweet potatoes taste tons better too :)

I agree with you its better, but as far as I'm concerned, yams and creamed corn are the two most disgusting things in the universe. I think it has to do with the fact that I was force feed them as a child :(