So this is what a typical week’s worth of food looks like for this individual:
- Weight: 180 pounds
- Height: 70 inches
- Workout Frequency: 5-6 times a week
- Sex: male
- Age: 27
There is an Example Workout Progression article detailing his exercising progression available here if you would like more information on his workout that is accompanying this diet.
The goal of any diet should be to provide enough nutrients to fit your body’s needs. This individual needs somewhere between 3300 to 3700 Calories due to his active lifestyle.
He provided a little information on his thoughts behind his food choices:
“I tried to make my own food most of the time, but like any typical week, stuff comes up. This week had valentines day, my parents wanting to go out to eat, and life in general. You know, a typical week. One thing I tried to keep consistent every day I exercised though was to consume my pre, post, and post post workout drinks. On day three I decided to have a burrito instead of the post workout drink, though I did have the pre and post post workout drink. The tortilla is a high glycemic sugar which meets my needs for the increase in insulin and replenishing the lost glycogen. The burrito also contains an abundance of protein, one of my other needs. In this case I substituted food for my beverage.”
Day 1
“I was really good on this day. I had my three workout beverages and a solid four meals with a few snacks thrown in there mostly of tangerines I had picked off our tree.”
Day 2
“Also a great day. I had five solid meals in addition to my three workout beverages and a snack. Not as many snacks but an extra meal kept my blood sugar from dropping too low.”
Day 3
“I notice I tend to eat less meals when I go out to eat or pick up food from a restaurant. My hypothesis is that I get more calories from food that’s prepared by others than I do at home so I don’t need to eat as many times. There are a few unfortunate side effects that occur because of this. I tend to eat less often and larger meals, which is not as helpful for constant energy. I also tend to consume more calories from foods I don’t want, namely highly refined sugars and fats. There also is generally a lot of salt in prepared food which leads to dehydration and bloating. This day I only had three meals and two drinks, though one of the meals consisted of one and a half burritos.”
Day 4
“Valentines day. My lovely girlfriend made me a fantastic breakfast that was delicious. Then we went to an Indian buffet for lunch. I realized after I had consumed my first plate of food that I had completely forgotten to take a picture, so I’ve included two to indicate how much I ate. The first plate was slightly bigger so this is close, but not as accurate as it could be. I had 2 meals, one that was enormous, and my three workout beverages.”
Day 5
Again I ended up grabbing some food on the way to drop my girlfriend off at the airport. Broke it into two meals, finishing her quesadilla later in the day. Had three meals and my three workout beverages.
Day 6
Rough day, had to run some errands and didn’t end up managing to eat until way past when I should have. A few snacks in the morning held me over. Had an early dinner and then went to sleep early.
Day 7
Did pretty good this day. Had three meals and two workout beverages with a couple of snacks.
It’s really hard to eat perfectly. Now what you can do is adapt to the situation and try to eat as well as you can. If you have to go to dinner or lunch with someone, try to plan your workout so that the meal will fulfill your high glycemic workout beverage needs. This wont be doable all the time, but making the little effort to make the change can have huge dividends over the long term. Best advice is to cook for yourself. You know what’s going in the food which already gives you a huge measure of control over what you are eating. It’s really hard to estimate your calories in a real world situation where you have stuff to do and can’t weigh every ounce of food you consume. It’s nigh on impossible when someone else makes it. They may be helpful and add calories to the menu, but these are just estimates and don’t include things like your beverage, if you had any of the complimentary bread, if you tried your friends pizza, or if you requested extra salad dressing. That’s assuming that the Calories are accurate to start with. Do your best to realize how you consume food and if there are little changes you could make that would increase the effectiveness of your eating habits. If you want more information about some adjustments you can make, check the Three Keys to a Healthier Diet article for a place to start.