What does your diet look like and what kind of snacks do you have? Finding 2-3 or more snacks each day to eat that are more than calorie fillers is very hard; I only eat 1 snack and 4 meals since the past month because of this.
I'd like to look at other people's to see if I can get any ideas.

Just curious, if you have 2 snacks a day, is it okay if 1 is a protein shake even on days you don't workout?

I think a protein shake is a great snack. If you have it with milk, and add a little peanut butter or flax oil, it is a good bit of calories.

I eat nuts, protein bars, beef jerky, cottage cheese, egg white omelletes, brown rice and beans.

I always consider "snacks" to be calories you didn't preconsider, e.g. you're some type of party or social situation where food is all around. When I'm on the go, I always make sure I have beef jerky (the lean kind without the sugar garbage) or a shaker with protein and some fish oil caps. Other options are tuna or chicken out of a can, but people always bitch about the smell.

sugar free jell-o is a great snack. Crystal light is another staple in my diet. Natural peanut butter on a piece of whole wheat bread with a pack of splenda sprinkled on top is another snack food I turn to frequently. Alot of my unplanned meals or snacks are usually whey protein isolates with fruit flavors, such as Nectar or ErgoPharm's GF Pro. I drink these things constantly throughout the day.

Natural PB on low carb bread is one of my favorites.

I also frequent beef jerky (with moderate sodium).
I have a quick question though. When the fuck is somebody going to make a cereal with Splenda as the sweetener? Damned I would buy tons of low carb Golden Grahams, that would just be great! I think I would start a collection, paychecks would be wasted. Come to think of it, my diet would consist of low carb cereal, sesathin and whey protein. My grocery bill would be reduced greatly.

I use low carb protein bars as "out" meals i.e when I'm not at home to prep a meal. If I need carbs with the meal, Ill go with either raw oatmeal (which I can chow down extremely fast through practice) or wholemeal bread. I hear you about the people always bitching about the smell. I remember cooking up some turkey one morning, wrapped it up in some foil and took it to class. Towards the end of the lecture I took the foil covering off and *nothing* could describe the smell, seriously it was horrible, half the class were moaning about it, I still ate it though.

I haven't got the time to post my whole diet right now, but it consists of:

Carbs
Wholemeal bread,
Oatmeal,
Brown rice,
Yams.
Dextrose & Maltodextrin (when appropriate)

Protein.
Turkey
Chicken
Tuna
Cottage Cheese
Extra Lean Steak (every other day)
Eggs
Milk
Whey (when appropriate)

Fats
Natty PB
Flax
Fish Oil Caps
Nuts in general.

Don't eat snacks. 6-7 meals a day is enough as is. As for eating on the run...I just plan ahead. Regular diet Ill pack sandwiches on WW bread, sweat potato and jerky or chicken. On CKD its easy. Cheese and nuts.

Other than th snacks I listed previously, my diet consists of the following.
Lean beef
lean cuts of steak
boneless skinless chicken breast
tuna
turkey breast
walleye (baked, not fried)
oatmeal
brown rice
whole wheat pasta
whole wheat bread (Dempsters)
whey isolate
flax oil/fish oil/olive oil
dextrose (post workout)
organic strawberry/blueberry baby food (tastes great on oatmeal with splenda)
eggs
baked potatoes
salad

Methinks that's about it?

One of the best high calorie (say 500+) and publicly-consumable-without-getting-funny-looks kind of snack I've come up with is to simply mix oats and a protein blend (prefrebly vanilla) with water so you get a pudding like consistency. Then, let the whole thing soak over-night and fill it into resealable snack yoghurt or pudding tubs.

For more "on the run" eating I sometimes fill the above mixture (this time with a choc protein blend) into a pita pocket or add some gelatin and put it in a flat-bread wrap.

scottyo, when I say snacks I mean all the meals you eat other than the traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner.


Delphinus, what kind of oats do you use; the raw stuff like Quacker oats?
Do you mix that with muscle milk powder or something similar to it?


Jimmy_magix, what are Flax and Fish Oil Caps?
I have never had those before.
Would those be a good meal to have daily?

As for nuts, what kind do you eat?
I tried to have nuts before as my snack, but I still felt hungry after 3 handfulls.
How big is your serving size for nuts and many servings do you take?


As for PB, is there any significant difference between natural and other forms of PB for nutritional purposes?
If I have a PB and whole bread meal using a PB other than natural, will it really be a problem?
For example, the PB I have right now is 'skippy' superchunky with Carb Options.
The brand contains 17 grams of fat (3.5 saturated),
130 milligrams of sodium,
5 total grams of carbohydrates (but only 3 net grams) 2 of the grams are dietary with 1 gram being sugar,
and 7 grams of protein.

Is my PB brand Skippy natural? Is it good stuff?


I had read that PB was bad for you as it has it too much fat which can lead to fat problems. I guess that's a false rumor?
Thanks for your help.





If I were take to the flavored fruit yogurt I find in the store, the kind with 8 grams of protein, 20 grams of carbs, 15 grams of sugar, and no fat, would that be good a meal along with fruit?
What if I added oats to it?

low carb pancakes.
use very little butter and use low carb milk for batter. use egg whites mainly (oen yolk at most)

calories--150-200 for a few stacks of pancakes topped with low carb syrup and whipped cream

Yeah, "traditional" (not instant) oats. Steel cut are good too, they just need to soaked for a day or so.



I prefer EvoPro (or ProPepetide, LC Grow! etc.)

I know this is the basics section, but you really should get reading. T-mag.com, though I loath to suggest it, is probably a decent enough place to start ("foods that make you look good nekkid" for example).

A good breakdown of the benefits of flaxseed oil is outlined
Here.

The reason natural PB is better than some of the rest is the sugar content of the alternatives, luckily I found a natural PB that my local supermarket carries which is 97% peanuts.

Everyone has been conditioned to think fats are bad, this is, to some extent true. Saturated fats and trans fats are bad and a good breakdown of the different types of fat can be found
Here.

I don't normally take lots of fish oil, I tend to rely on the other sources.
Nonetheless, a good article on fish oil can be foundhere.

Sorry if some of these links aren't informative as they could be, I didn't have much time to trawl the internet as I have to get to the gym. Upper leg day baby!

Typically, if I'm at home, I'll make "Chicken Parm"

- Mix 2 tsps. Olive Oil, Egg Beaters & Oatmeal powder with Seasonings for "Breading"

- Bread whatever # of Chicken Breasts depending on how many grams of protein you feel you need

- Bake/Microwave

- Cover with Natural Tomatoe Sauce & Parmesean or FF Cheese

Tastes damn good, covers all the nutritional bases, and you can make it pretty damn quickly once you get the technique down. If you're restricting carbs, just nix the breading and use whole Cheese instead. I usually only eat 4 times/day now, so basically Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & one of the two once each day.

This and Choc. PB Protein Pudding (Natty PB + Splenda + Chocolate Whey + BSL Chocolate Flavoring Powder) are hands-down my two favorite "Bodybuilding snacks."

If it's on the go, yeah, just down a Shake & some Olive Oil...

Snacks? People still snack?

Redsky "Same 6 meals, 6 and 5/6ths days per week while bulking."

I'm a big munchie guy so I have a bowl of this as my mid-afternoon snack at work.

50g cereal (usually cheerios or something whole grain)
30g raisens
1/2 serving almonds
1/2 serving cashews

Totals out to

Calories: 520
Protein: 15g
Carbs: 75g
Fat: 19g

- Fletch "I've got 3700 calories to work with....i gotta eat something for those calories"

Oh man Derek wrote that, he is secretly trying to get everyone to take flax, because he called me last night and said "D1, if everyone consumed as much flak as me, they too will have big quads". He want to start an epdemic of big qauds.

Ted is lying. He usually eats 10 Snickers a day. Go look at his pic and see his abnormally high BF. His contest prep is like this every time. His body will get so sick of "junk food" and start using it for energy and the BF too. The secret is out.

After finding out what those Detour Bars consisted of last year, I would've been just as well off eating 2 Snickers bars a day with a whey shake for the first 6 weeks of my contest prep during the baseball season.

Lee Priest has patented this method of contest prep where he makes the switch from Krispy Kreme and KFC to anything made by MuscleTech + his assorted androgens.

- Fletch

I eat olives, almonds, string cheese, cashews, sunflower seeds and protein bars.

Once in a while, I'll buy some hershey's minatures and eat a couple at time to satisfy any chocolate urges.

ROFL.

My diet is not diverse at all. It consists of very few foods:

egg whites, steel cut oats, salmon (an ungodly amount), beauregard yams (an ungodly amount), cottage cheese, and at least 1 green per day (mostly asparagus or brussel sprouts in olive oil). I eat a lean meat for dinner that isn't salmon usually, since its not uncommon for me to eat salmon 3 times a day.

snacks: natty PB, string cheese, and green tea... and sometimes an apple

my dirty secret: I keep "carb smart" klondike ice cream in the freezer. I will eat one if/when i want- i have nothing to hide- my diet is freakishly clean and when i want one... i'll chomp that shit up. the way i see it is that my unsat/monounsat to sat ratio is tilted wayyyy towards the good fats side (with all my freakin salmon), and notice that beauregards have 1800mg potassium in a single yam so if i want 80 calories of some peice of salty atkins crap I can have it --- oh i forgot that must be why i'm such a lard ass wubwub ninja

I make eggwhite and raw oatmeal "pancakes", sometimes with mushrooms and onion. they keep good, and you can eat them on the go (or frease them)

I also take tuna salads anywhere when I dont care about stench, and raisins/bananas pwo.

Can you all tell me if the meals I ate on Friday are any good?

noon: 2 packets of oatmeal w/milk, 8 oz orange juice
3: footlong subway steak and cheese, lowfat chips, 8 oz milk
6: 6 peanut butter (skippy) cracker sandwichs, 8 oz milk
8:20: 1 can Arizona Green Tea
9:00: saled, 1 slice of garlic bread, spaghetti w/ tomatoe sauce and sausage (restaraunt take out size if you can visualize it), 8 oz milk
12: 1 banana

I'm 5 11 185 looking to gain muscle, is this a good diet?

A couple notes:
- I had low fat chips simply because I did not know what else to have with my sandwich.
I already was planning on having crackers on later, so I didn't think this would be that big a problem.
-You can see that outside of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I have problems getting enough food for the other meals.
In particular, I did not know what to have for 12 meal besides a banana.
I did not want to have more milk, yogurt, or dairy because I already had enough dairy and do not want to overeat it as it causes fat problems.
-I had tuna yesterday and will probably have it tomorrow



I'd really like help filling out the meals besides breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I used to rely heavily on dairy products to fill out those meals, but I still was not getting nutrients and my weight was getting too high because of it.

Would a protein shake be a good meal on workout and non workdays?

man that's like the worst diet i've ever seen bro. You got about 40g of protein in there, a lot of shit carbs and shit dairy. In fact i'd scrap the whole plan and start from the ground up. Seek help.. no offense wubwub ninja woot

Wow, I actually thought I did a good job yesterday.
Honestly, I'm angry at this. I have done everything I can to make a good diet, and it keeps failing each time.
What the heck I am supposed to do, this just seems impossible to live a normal life without 10 MRPs a day and eat right.
Is there 10 step plan, I have no confidence with my diet.

a pack of sugar free gum(dentyne ice) and a bottle of carb free bl;ueberry arizone green tea, thers a hitload of liquid in it and no calories, takes me a good 15 minutes to sit down drink and eat all the gum and after that i had forgotten i was hungry

I am a newbie so I am sure someone else has a better answer than myself.

But here is what I am doing and I am starting my new Life (Diet) this monday. Spending this entire weekend Shopping for everything I should need.

I am going to use TwinPeaks Carb Cycling diet and use the foods he has listed there to plan my meals around.

I also have no clue howmuch or what to eat when so I am hoping that plan will give me a good structure to start out with.

Being that I am no nutrionist and have no Idea what I am putting in my body at the moment. Someone gave me a link to a good place for planning my meals .. http://www.fitday.com

So far I like it, the Only problem I am seeing so far is I dont think I can eat all the dang food I am supposed to on this diet. I am used to only eating 2 to 3 times a day right now and I am not a big eater (even though I am about 70 pnds overweight). I am supposed to eat 270 grams of Protein (SHEEESH thats alot of protein to come from only food sources) So I am going to add Whey protein shakes to help bump up my Protein intake + my normal meals.

A question for some of you people with more knowledge than myself. Any reason why Shrimp isnt a staple in your diets being that it has a even better % of Protein to Fats comparison than say Chicken?

Don't know about everyone else, but for me it has to be price, the cost per gram of protein.

Serious question, how do those of you who are in college have a diet that causes growth while living a regular life not in a test tube?

The most frustrating and hardest thing about improving my diet has been that in a lot of articles I have read, they suggest completely unrealistic diets that are to the point of obsessive in order to follow correctly.

I am talking about diets which call for eating 8 eggs a day, tuna everday, chicken breast everyday, steak everyday, all of that kind of food.
In the course of a week I know I eat those foods at least once, but there is no way I can have that strict a diet today.

Everytime I read a nutrition article with hope, it gets crushed when I have to see just how out this world these diets are.
I am looking for good muscle improvement, not to be the worldest strongest man.

It is unreasonable for to have a diet that requires constant 24 hour planning and limits me to only a few foods over the whole week of eating.
I can add supplements, add more tuna, but I can't have it where I can't eat takeout ever again, or have to have eggs, tuna, chicken breast, and steak everyday at all times.
That is compeltely unreaslitic, and I am unprepared to break with mainstream society and my family by saying I can't go out to eat or join them for takeout because of it.

I know people who have the physique I want, and while they don't eat garbage each time, they do have takeout and other normal foods.

What can I do to get a diet that lead to muscle growth but will be compatible in the real world?
I have the commitment, but I can go all out with some of the outrageous requirments that are more fitting for an olympic contestant and not a regular person trying for muscle growth only/

Maybe this isnt your cup of tea then. I am not going to water it down for you. This sport/lifestyle takes work, time, and effort. While you might not have to be OCD about it depending on goals, its not just "eat healthy". Suck it up or step aside.

Also, regarding the "I know people that have a body I want" bit.....for those who can get away with eating whatever its called Genetics, and if you don't have good ones, too bad.

Sorry if I came off as a prick but I dont beat around the bush.

hear, hear scottyo!

So let me get this straight, in order to have any kind of sizable muscle growth, not just for a competetion or magaizne photo, but for anybody looking to look strong, unless you have genetics you have to make a tremendous diet sacrifice?
You must give up takeout and restaraunt food, you must eat eggs, tuna, steak, and chicken each day.
You have to plan your day and your life around your meals and when and what to eat, is this what your telling me?

How do you live a normal non test tube life if you have to have such a rigerous diet that elimnates the choices that 98% of the population uses?

I find it hard to believe that all strong, lean people have to do this, I mean what do you at your job or with friends and family?
Tell them you can't eat out, EVER, because of your diet?
I'm sorry, but I hope and don't think you need to make that much of sacrifice, I see plently of strong people at the restaraunts and those places.

what on earth are you talking about?
having a proper diet really isn't too hard
eat 1 gram of protein per pound of lean body mass if you want to gain weight
eat ~200-500 calories over maintenance if you want to gain weight
eat 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass if you want to lose weight
eat ~500-1000 calories under maintenance if you want to lose weight
take fish oil
work out 3-6x per week

meet these requirements, and you will progress. the more time you spend focusing on details/obsessing over your diet, the better the progress. but it will still come if you don't worry too much.
note that i said weight, not muscle or fat. that is because, when bulking, that weight will be mostly fat if you eat shitty foods, and when cutting the weight will come from mostly muscle. is that simple enough?

It does take a certain type of person. It takes sacrafice and conscious trade-offs. Some are more extreme than others, but most are much more disciplined than the general populous. Just because it doesn't enter your mind as an option, doesn't mean that it's not. The easiest way to manage yourself socially is to pick bodybuilder friends who can tolerate your eccentricities. Many girls are pretty damn restrictive in their diets as well- so it could work out pretty good if you surround yourself with the right type.

I will be eating a small piece of cake on my birthday this weekend without thinking twice about it. Gluttony is not an option, ever- indulgence is for the meek and weary. "Special occasions" for me are reserved for times that would seem socially unacceptable to outcast myself.

Like it or not, maintaining a presentable phenotype is more socially magnetic than gluttonous eating and alcaholism. It's all about the tradeoffs you are willing to make in your life.

What the hell does giving up takeout or restaurant food have to do with anything. You can get a great bbing meal at almost any restaraunt. Also, it all depends on whether your bulking or cutting and how YOUR body reacts.

And whats this bullshit with "test tube life". Who lives in a test tube and what the hell is that supposed to mean. If you can't get around regularly eating chicken, tuna, steak, turkey or other lean meats in significant quantities Im not sure what to tell you.

Like entic mentioned, you don't have to be OCD about it, but you have to make efforts and some sacrifices. Unless you have something meaningful to add, or legitimate questions to ask, I am done with this thread.

I dont know if this matters or not but it sounds like you are fairly young. So maybe I can give you a little insight from someone who is slightly older.

When I was 16-23 I was in Very good shape. My goal was to be a navy diver ever since I was about 12 years old because my best friends father was one.

I trained with him alot and he taught me alot about my body and the theories back in that day and age of how your body works burning fuel. Back then the theory was Fat = logs and Good Carbs = twigs . Twigs burn faster and easier and logs are a slow long burning fuel that is how he put it to me in the simpilist form.


My work out for those 8 years or so consisted of this. Each morning I would run 2 miles EVERYDAY. Each after noon I would do some form of stretching + calastenic (Sp?) Situps/pushups/jumping jacks for 1hr and every evining I would lift weights every other day on off days I would swim/run/bike.

During that time I stayed around 167 pounds very lean and very healthy. The only suppliment I used later during that period was called Hotstuff when I finally got in the navy at the age of 18.


I am now 34 years old and have lived I guess you could say a "Normal" Life for the last 10 years or so. I havent been really over eating but I didnt really watch what I eat either. I didnt really follow any strick training program, I did do manual labor which was pretty strenous for a long time there.

I am now 6ft 270 pnds and although I am not REALLY obese I am deffinately overweight. I am now starting to feel it affect my life. My energy and body just dont want to do the things I used to do, my body has become lazy. My phisique is deffinately not anywhere what it used to be. I am getting ready to go to my first class reunion in almost 20 years and I am sad to say "embarrased" of what I look like now compared to back then.

Monday starts my new "life" I have one year to get myself to look more lean and the rest of my life to fix the damage I have done over the last 10 years. But I will change, I will not succumb to obesity anymore, I will not allow myself to be a victem to degenerating dieseas which have been in my family (Heart disease, Cancer and mostly Diabeties).

I guess what I am saying is, if you give up, I could be your future. I wish I knew now what I knew then. I wish I had thought about it. Anyway good luck on finding your happy medium.

Of course there are the obvious protein diet snacks. Protein shakes, protein bars etc. Here are some other choices though.

Pro Chips by Metrx (more of a wafer texture than a chip. Each bag has about 35g of protein, under 10 carbs mostly fiber and moderate fat. Nacho cheese is pretty tasty.)

Doritos Edge (just started to enjoy these. You can get them for about $2.50 -$3 a bag. Each bag has 60g of protein and they are very low in carbs. They taste just like regular doritos accept the texture is much thinner and lighter.)

Of course Natural PB with Low Carb bread always hits the spot. You can also find low carb jellies out there as well.

Breyers Carb Smart Ice Cream. This stuff is awesome. A big reduction in the total carb count over regular breyers. Not alot of protein added but still worth it. The fat has also been reduced alot as well. Most grocery stores sell it for about $5 for a half gallon but Wal Mart has it for $3 a half gallon. By the way Wal Marts that have small grocery sections have great prices on food. For example lately they have had 18count large eggs for $1.37.

Speaking of beef Sams Club is the best. Since just about every regular grocery store is selling even the lowest quality 73%lean beef for over $2.20 per pound I went and got myself a Sams Club membership. Now I get 90%lean beef for $1.88 per pound. Can't beat cheaper and leaner.

To continue on the low carb, high protein and saving money thing, while at Sams Club get Hood brand low carb milk. This stuff is awesome. At Sams you pay just $2.30 or so per half gallon and at regular stores you can sometimes find it for as low as $3. Here is the best part. Each half gallon has 96grams of protein total. So basically for the price of one MRP packer from most brands you can get the protein of 2 packets and it is already mixed and tastes awesome. They use real milk plus added casein and whey isolate. The chocolate milk is incredible and has still has only 3g of carbs per 8ounce glass.

Here is a simple basic tasty milk shake. 16ounces of Low Carb milk with 1scoop of vanilla or unflavored whey concentrate. Mix in a shaker cup for a decent tasty thick drink or for full on milk shake feel blend it with or without ice for about 45 seconds. Fucking delicious with at least 44grams of protein.

Also for more great protein snacks keep alot of stuff made up. For example every sunday night I make huge bowls of egg salad and chicken salad. I also make a big amount of deviled eggs and keep some additional hard boiled eggs ready to eat as well. Get hungry and go wolf down some chicken salad and a few deviled eggs.

I also like to keep a big tray of chicken legs or mixed chicken parts cooked up and ready to eat cold or warmed in the micro. If using chicken legs like I usually do just remove all the skin and some of the larger chunnks of fat before cooking. You can find at alot of stores lately 10lb bags of whole legs for as low as 40cents per pound. I cut the legs apart first and then remove skin and fat. Lay them out in a large tray or two, season with some salt, black pepper, oregano and garlic powder. Like this they taste awesome but when in the mood add whatever sauce you like. ATkins makes some great low carb sauces or just go ahead and use regular stuff. Most of it won't stay on the meat and it reduces in the heat of the oven anyway so it really isn't that bad. Save money as well and buy Wal Marts Great Value brand honey bbq sauce. It is super cheap and tastes fucking great. With the skin and fat removed even dark skin chicken is not that bad for you.

You can also get some tasty keto bread crumbs from Keto brand. They are loaded with protein and fiber and great for making breaded chicken or fish. Personally I like to use it to make chicken parm. Get the perdue frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast at Sams Club for $2 a pound. Defrost and dipp in egg only, then coat in Keto crumbs. You can bake them but go ahead and fry them using Enova's Dag cooking oil. Bake up a whole bunch, put as much marinara sauce on as you like and smother in low fat mozerella. Make up a large amount at once. Enjoy some that night for dinner and save the rest for meals during the week or for snacks. Great with low carb bread as a sandwhich.

I have more ideas but this is all I have time for right now.

The Hood brand low carb milk is no longer at my Sam's Club. They said that it is a specialty item and won't be around as often.

- Fletch

Exactly.

I dont know what to tell you bro. This sport is about sacrifice, its about overcoming obstacles and it's about dedication. That (as well as other factors) is what seperates the men from the boys, the bodybuilders from the preppys. I sure as shit don't lead a test tube life, I go out with friends, just today I hit the beach with my crew 11 miles away for a tan and a game of soccer. But what did I do for my diet? Did I get a greasy bag of shit from some backwoods burger stall? No. I planned ahead. I cooked up my turkey and chicken, put my oatmeal and wholemeal bread in a tupperware boxes before I went and I had a great day. If you aren't prepared to get your diet in order, take the 10 mins (if that) it takes to get it planned out for the coming day(s), you may want to re-consider your involvement in this sport.

I'm not trying to be too harsh, just realistic.

This sport is easily 85% of your diet and 15% lifting. You dont eat properly, and you dont even need to bother picking up weights.


Living off logs and twigs? The are both comprised of wood. I'd be skinny too if I ate wood.

Yep.

Snack foods:

Cheetos
Doritos
Goldfish crackers
Cheese Nips
Kettlecorn
Chocolate covered raisins
Pasta with Alfredo sauce wiht garlic bread
Beer
Anything that looks like a fried pastry stuffed with something

oh...and protein shakes