General tips during the day (on weight training days, if you're dieting)
- High protein, low carbohydrate, moderate fat breakfast- It's not as important what the food is, as long as it contains these guidelines, I understand it sux cooking egg white omelets or egg white scrambled eggs, but your waist will thank you.
- High protein, low carbohydrate, moderate fat snacks throughout the day- You should be striving to drop carbs from all meals except pre and post workout.You should be having 4-6 meals/snacks- breakfast, snack 1, lunch, snack 2/pre workout meal, post workout shake, dinner, snack 3. Reduce portion sizes and increase frequency of intake.
- Vegetables with every meal- This, you should be doing anyway, but by having vegetables at every meal you are providing your body with a variety of nutrients, fibre and minerals. This helps it run better, and burn fat better.
- Moderately high carbohydrate meal 1-3 hours prior to training- While you're on a low carb diet, you will need to load up on some carbs prior to your workout. Preferably brown rice/pasta or sweet potato, no white versions of these.You should still have moderate protein and no fat during this meal, and the meal shouldn't be too large.
- Lots of water during the day and workout- You should have a cold bottle of water with you at all times, but this is especially important during a workout as dehydration affects performance and recovery, both of which you want to maximise. Results come after you leave the gym, not during the workout, so what you do outside of your workouts is what counts.
- High carbohydrate post workout shake- The ratio of carbs to protein should be higher in this meal/shake. For women around 40g of carbs to 20g of protein, for guys 60g of carbs to 30g of protein. Think of it this way, don't bother training if you don't have a protein shake immediately after.
- High protein, low carb meal for dinner- About 1-2 hours after training have a high protein, low carb, moderate fat meal, with lots of vegetables and water, we all should be doing this anyway, I shouldn't need to say it.
- If you're still hungry before bed have a protein snack- Some cottage cheese, cold meats, whatever, but if you're hungry eat, never starve yourself. If you're getting 6-8 hours of sleep a night, and not eating a few hours before you go to bed, that means there is up to 6-10 hours you're not eating. This means loss of muscle mass, decreased capacity to burn fat, and you get fatter!
