Quote:
Originally Posted by John Tanglewood
Side question, do you have a girlfriend? Would you post up some of your meal plans, snacks, and what a typical week might look like?
I ask about the girlfriend because for me that changes everything. It's fairly easy (kind of) to restrict yourself and your own diet, but when you have another person in the equation who you must eat meals with, etc, I feel like it becomes an infinitely harder task.
Add to that my girlfriend is a pescatarian, so I can never share my easy protein meals (chicken, turkey meatballs, etc.) with her.
Any advice is helpful. I have been really active in crossfit for a couple months. I'm almost 5'-10" but have been stuck around 185lb due to my sugar and late-night eating addictions. I also drink pretty regularly, having at least one drink every other night. I have seen some awesome gains in crossfit, but I think they are all hiding under the extra 15-20lb of fat I have been sustaining, so I really want to start seeing the results of my labor.
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I'm married but my wife is into fitness in a big way too... it absolutely makes it easier.
I don't really have a meal plan. I track macros and calories only. Right now I'm eating at around 350g carbs, 185g protein and about 60g fat. When I'm cutting, I up protein to about 200g, drop fat to about 50g and have carbs for the balance subject to how many calories I eat in a cut (say, 2,100 per day).
I think people over think this. First, pick up and put down heavy weights 4-5 times a week. Get a couple of 30 minute HIIT sessions in if you want. Timing of when you eat is no where near as important as calories and macros. Timing matters around workouts to ensure you have energy and protein after but, otherwise, way less important unless you are entering a competition and every little thing matters. Likewise, low carb, keto, intermittent fasting, etc, etc... again, not saying they don't work but they aren't needed either. At the end of the day, they work because they restrict calories in their own way... if you eat more energy over time than you burn, you gain fat. If you eat less, you lose fat. If someone has a 2,600 calorie maintenance level and eats 3,500 calories on a keto diet, they gain weight. If they eat 3,500 calories of brocolli, they gain weight. The diet strategy (fad) is less important than the energy balance.
In order of importance to me...
1. Calorie balance (calories in/out based on exercise, age, bf%, metabolism, etc).
2. Macro nutrients
You could stop there if you want but if not...
3. Meal timing and other things like low carb, keto and other strategies.
To me, do what works and what has worked for me is tracking my macros and eating what I want. I eat very healthy, nutrient dense food 80% of the time. Have fun snacks and other stuff from time to time as long as it fits in my calorie and macro total (and sometimes I miss the macro target). I've been adding lean muscle and maintaining sub-10%BF for months and months without much struggle.