Alpha nutrition

[JishyB]

First post!

Alright, my moment is over. Business time.
Well, I work ou consistently, but my diest is something I need to really iron out. I'm quite fit, but not as muscular as I'd like to be. I know that taking my workouts to the next level requires a healthy meal plan. So, what do my brothers suggest for a good breakfast, lunch, and supper diet?

[Neo]

First of all, welcome JB.

Really it depends on how you are training. Give me a rough idea of your training plan as it is at the moment and I'll give you some pointers. Please bare in mind though, I'm not a nutritional expert and I am not trying to be. I have done a lot of research on this topic though as I like to keep in shape myself and have seen good results coming from my meal plans.

Stay Alpha dude!

[JishyB]

For starters, I run a mile. Then I head to the weight room and work upper body: Biceps, Brachialis, Forearms, Triceps, Pecs, Delts Lats & Traps, then I move onto lower body/abdominal area. Generally this includes Abdominal muscles, quads, lateral thigh muscles, and then calf muscles. This is done 3 - 4 times / week.

[Neo]

JB, you have great motivation! That's quite an intense workout. You may want to look at it if you do all of that in one shot, braking it up into different muscle groups per day might allow you to work those groups much harder and get improved gain / results. However, if it's working for you then that's great, don't stop!

Right, you want to be getting protein into your system if you are weight training, I'm sure you are already aware of this. There are three times which are crucial to your muscle gain for protein intake, when you awake in the morning, pre-workout (about 20g) and post-workout (about 45g).

When you go to bed at night you are effectively fasting for around 8 hours. This is when your body begins to feed off whatever it can to function - even though you are sleeping. You want to put a sudden stop to this as soon as you awake with some protein.

Carbs are equally as important, again at the right times. A small portion of carbs with the protein intake in the morning - this will give your body the energy it needs. Some slow burning carbs pre-workout - slow burning carbs steadily fuel your body during your workout - getting maximum benefit. Fast digesting carbs post-workout. After exercise your body's insulin levels are low. Having fast digesting carbs here will spike your insulin levels thus getting the protein into your system much much quicker - perfect!

Again, please note that I'm only speaking from my own experience and from what I've read. Please do your own research too as you will gain a much better insight as to what will work for you personally. Also, I incorporate protein shakes into my plan - you don't have to, you can get protein from food, I just choose to use shakes to get it into my system more quickly.

Here is a rough idea of a day's meal plan whilst cardio / weight training, you don't have to eat everything in the list, it's just to give you an idea. The idea is to eat smaller meals every 2 hours or so, this keeps your metabolism ticking over. Drink plenty of water too, can't emphasize this enough!

Breakfast:
Eggs, cooked oatmeal, orange, banana, protein shake

Late morning snack:
Mixed nuts, apple, banana

Lunch:
Chicken breast, sweet potatos

Afternoon snack:
Low-fat/fat-free yogurt

Pre-workout (within 30 minutes of workout):
20g whey protein skake and a banana (slow carbs)

Post-workout (within 30 minutes of workout):
45g whey protein shake and 3 slices of white bread with jam (fast digesting carbs (sugary foods))

Dinner:
A nice portion of fish, cooked brown rice, green salad and fat-free Italian dressing

Night-time snack:
Low-fat cottage cheese or casein protein shake

The night-time snack is very important. Remember I mentioned about your body fasting overnight? Well cottage cheese contains what's called casein protein. Your body takes a very long time to eat away at this type of protein so it's perfect to stop your body eating away at those muscles during sleep.

Trial and error is always a good way to learn. See what works for your body and training programme. The basic gist is to get that protein in to help those muscles repair themselves. Have the complex carbs to raise the energy levels and the sugary carbs (post-workout only!) to raise insulin levels and maximise protein intake. Don't forget to look after your joints with fish oil too! Cod liver oil is meant to be great for that!

Hope that helps. I'm sure there are others on this board who would like to contribute too. I for one would love to hear others' comments / meal plans as well.

Neo

[JishyB]

I'll see what works for me of course, but this is a nice foundation to start off from. Props to you. I'll write this down and keep it with me during my days at university. Thanks!

[Neo]

No problem! Be sure to keep us updated as to how you are getting on and what results you are getting.

Neo

[JishyB]

The restults have been extremely positive so far, Neo: I go through the day with maximum alertness, stamina, energy, and I'm never hungry. I follow your diet pretty closely, with a few substitutions (Some of the food you mentioned is not served on a nightly basis by the university.) I'll keep this updated frequently. Any other foods you might suggest for meals?

[UC]

Originally Posted by JishyB

The restults have been extremely positive so far, Neo: I go through the day with maximum alertness, stamina, energy, and I'm never hungry. I follow your diet pretty closely, with a few substitutions (Some of the food you mentioned is not served on a nightly basis by the university.) I'll keep this updated frequently. Any other foods you might suggest for meals?

Jishy, You'll get valuable information here

[JishyB]

Yes, so I have already.

[carlosx]

I am also experiencing a good boost of energy from taking B12 pills. They seem to be working to get me up to my usual energy when I'm feeling a bit "pulled down."

CX