Whole foods only meal plan

[jeffd]

Hello. I've recently spent hours of my time learning about nutrition. Most of this learning was on these forums, but I also learned from other various web sources. I have developed a meal plan based on this information. One specific aspect to this menu is that it is all whole foods with no protein powders or supplements. The menu is designed to be Paleo. I know this is less than ideal, but this is how it is.

First just a little about me. I am 172 lbs. and 6 ft tall. My workout schedule is Monday Tuesday Thursday Saturday. My workout consists of a ten minute warm up, twenty minutes of skill development, SSC FSP, and then the GB WOD. My goals are to increase my muscle definition, improve my performance in the WOD, and become stronger. I have a real important goal of increasing the definition of my six pack, however shallow this may be. (it's currently there but could definitely be more defined.)

On to the meat of the post....(pun intended)

I wake up at 6:30 am and go to bed at 9:30 pm. All of these meal times before 2:00 pm are the only times I can eat because of my school schedule.

Breakfast (7:00 am)

- Banana (10 min before)

- 4 egg, spinach, cheese omelet

- Cup of skim milk

Lunch (10:30 am)

- Ham sandwich (about 8 slices of ham, 1 slice of cheese, 2 pieces of wheat bread) (not much I can do about this because it is what I bring to school.)

- Mixed nuts (almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, macadamias, and walnuts)

Pre workout (2:00 pm)

- Berries

- Apple or banana

- Raisins

During workout (2:30 pm)

- Raisins

- Water

Workout ends around 4:45 pm

Post workout #1 (5:00 pm)

- Apple or Banana

- 2 cups of skim milk (Chocolate or not?)

- Nuts? (fat source?)

Post workout #2 (5:30 pm)

- Can of tuna or ¼ to ½ breast of chicken

- Vegetables

Post workout #3 (6:00 pm)

Salad:

- Spinach

- Tomatoes

- Beans ( Red kidney, Chick (garbanzo), Cannellini, Black, Pinto)

- Cucumber

Post workout #4 (6:30 pm)

- Meat (Chicken, hamburger, tuna)

- Vegetables

Bed time snack (9:00 pm)

- Serving of 2% fat cottage cheese

I know that the amount of dairy I am consuming may not be ideal for the goal of a defined six pack. However, I am concerned about the amount of calcium I get, to prevent problems such as osteoporosis. Also, milk, to me, is the most easily accessible source of liquid protein which seems to be best for right after the workout for quick absorption.

Now what I hope to gain from YOUR knowledge and experience:

1. Your opinions on this menu. Is it missing anything? Anything I should take out?

2. What are your opinions on chocolate milk versus regular milk for post workout? I do not see the benefits of adding all of those unhealthy aspects in chocolate syrup/powder. I am fine with the taste of skim milk because I have grown up on it.

3. Do I need some fat post workout? Should I add this to my PWO meal #1? What would be a good source of this? My thought is nuts but these are not absorbed quickly.

4. What type of beans are most beneficial? I have access to the types of beans that I have listed, but I can probably get another type but it depends. Should I even be eating these? I believe they are a good source of fiber and some protein so that is why I included them.

5. What is my menu supposed to looks like on recovery days? I believe it should basically be the same breakfast and then throughout the day, all vegetables and meat. Please correct me if I am wrong.

6. I do have the materials to make some sort of shake with the Magic Bullet. Would this be beneficial do working something out for a PWO drink instead of milk? I like the idea of the same 2 cups of milk but blended together with various fruits/vegetables. Let me know your thoughts please.

Bonus!

Not nutrition side question: Is it ok that I typically do Friday's GB WOD on Saturday? I am usually busy on Friday and do not see harm in taking an extra rest day here.

Thank you for taking the time to read my entire post. Any and all comments will be greatly appreciated, and you can sleep well tonight knowing that you have done a good deed. I will be sure to repay the deed. Although, I'm not sure how much I could help you with on gymnastic related topics. If you even need some math help though, I'm your guy. =)

[Joshua Naterman]

Friday workout on saturday is NOT a problem!

Beans: Mung beans. You can't beat them. I've tried... they hit back hard.

Milk: 1% chocolate milk is the best thing to have after your workout. I would use glucose powder or crystalline dextrose (same thing) instead of chocolate syrup though, the point is to have milk and sugar. You want 20-30g of glucose mixed into that shake. If you can't do that, and you don't want chocolate syrup (I don't know why you wouldn't want chocolate syrup, that stuff tastes so good!) just drink some fruit juice. You NEED the carbs to be liquid so that they get in your system ASAP, at least for maximum results. If this is not practical, don't worry about it. What you have is not half bad.

I don't see any massive problems. You might be getting more fruits than veggies. It should be slightly opposite. The easiest way to do this, at least to me, is to buy a whole bunch of yellow and green squash (AKA zucchini) and chop them into chunks. Add chopped sweet potato, drizzle olive oil all over it, put freshly ground peppercorn medley (you know, the cheap grinders full at the store) and some kosher salt (or grind sea salt at the largest setting, which would taste better). In that order. Now insert into 350 degree oven and bake for 45 minutes or so. You will have a ridiculously tasty, large quantity of veggies. Outside of that, eat lots of greens.

Also, all of your fruit choices are like the highest in fructose! berries are great, but sub out the apple or banana for peaches, nectarines, apricots, or something else with a pit if you can. Less fructose makes that final cutting a bit easier. You don't really need raisins pre-workout, I'd stick with lower fructose foods and save those for the actual workout. Even apples and bananas are better than raisins for pre-workout. Don't flip out over that, if these changes are too inconvenient just keep what you've got. It's a good base plan.

If you are already in decent shape and you aren't trying to do fat loss full speed, I think what' you've got going on should work well. Stay away from fructose and sugar that is not in veggies or fruits, which basically means don't eat anything that comes in a box or sealed bag (or a takeout window) and you should be fine!

SInce you seem to have your dietary ducks in a row, I would suggest that you use fat burning pills if you are looking for faster fat loss. Usually these are a waste of time because peoples' diets suck but yours is good so they should give you a noticeable boost in fat loss. If you use them, stick to what works. Lipo 6, hydroxycut, or something with small amounts of ephedra if that doesn't scare you. more than 27mg of ephedra per dose is a bad idea, and more than 3 doses (about 80g, though technically 100g is the safe limit) is absolutely retarded. You will quickly find out, if you try it, that just 1 dose will be all you can handle at first, and maybe not even that. Ephedra is powerful.

Of course, the cheapest way is to just drink 1-2 cups of coffee (8-16 oz) 30 minutes before your workout.

[Rafael David]

Of course, the cheapest way is to just drink 1-2 cups of coffee (8-16 oz) 30 minutes before your workout.

I always do it and i feel like a fat-burning machine

[jeffd]

Slizzardman thank you for your quick and helpful response. Your opinion means a lot to me because this diet was largely built off of your essays on this forum.

I will definitely look into Mung Beans.

What I am consider for my first PWO drink is to be 2 cups of skim milk and various fruits blended together into a drink. I believe this will give me the protein (milk) and those carbs and sugars (fruit) that you were talking about. Also, I will be able to replace those apples and bananas with pitted fruit soon now that it is getting warm out. I will be sure to add more veggies instead of fruits, and that recipe sounds like a good idea. I'll be sure to try it.

I am currently in "good" shape, and it is not my goal for just fat loss. I do not have much fat to lose and don't believe I need to use any of those fat burning pills or coffee. Thanks for the tips tho!

Should my meal plan be basically the same for days when I do not work out? I believe it should be some fruit in the morning but then the rest of the day just meat and veggies. Is this correct?

What is your opinion on melons such as watermelon, cantaloupe, and green melon. I have tried searching to find which types of sugars these are made of but to no avail. Also, if you could teach me how to fin this information that would be great. Then, I won't have to ask you about every new fruit that comes up. (You know that whole give a man a fish and he eats for a day, teach a man to fish he eats for life thing)

Thanks again!

[Joshua Naterman]

Melons are pretty universally very high sugar AND high GI, so they are really only suitable for post workout or a small portion of breakfast. Of course I suppose that means they're good for eating DURING the workout as well hahaha!

Like I said, you seem to be pretty dialed in so you should do pretty well on that diet. If, for some reason, it feels like you need certain things and you don't know why (like more milk or extra peppers or greens or something) indulge that and see what happens. Sometimes it may not add much but usually your body will be able to tell you what you need. I have found that as long as this doesn't lead to me eating a box of graham cracker cookies that it always helps.

[jeffd]

Great. Thanks.