Typical Day - Glimpse into my Diet & Training

I though some of you might be interested in seeing my guide based on a typical day what I eat and how I train. This might be useful for a few out there looking to eat cleaner or even gain a glimpse into the sort of foods you should be looking to eat to maintain / grow.

My diet is pretty strict and does not change much from day to day (this includes weekends) whereby I average 2600 – 2950 calories per day. Following appointments with sports nutritionist I looked at me improving my diet and ways i could tweak my intake alongside my training prior to the transition of a cutting diet into a lean bulk with my end goal being to maintain as much definition as possible.

For anyone who is starting out and real does want to make changes quickly or really wanting to make the transition into eating correctly not just turning up at the gym and lifting weights I highly recommend going along to see qualified sports nutritionist. I wish I had known some of the stuff we discussed 2 years ago, instead of reading around.

The most valuable piece of information I could pass on that was drummed into me during my visits was it is as vitally as important to eat at the correct times as much as the food itself. You should be aiming to eat between every 2 – 3 hours.

The Diet –

Firstly fluids - when you consider that your individual muscle fibers are made of 75% water keeping your body well hydrated is a must! You want to put each muscle group in the best position possible for gains. I personally consume and recommend that your goal be no less than a gallon of water per day – 4.5 litres.

Wake Up 7:00am

Optimum Nutrition Superior Amino 2222 Caps x2
Omega 3 Fish Oil 1000
1 Scoop - Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Whey


First Meal: 7:15am

75g Mornflake Superfast Oats
Semi Skimmed Milk
Second Meal: 10:30am


Second Meal 10:30am

2 large chicken breast
1 large sweet potato chopped
half cup broccoli & half a cup of green beans
Optimum Nutrition Superior Amino 2222 Caps x2


Third Meal: 1:00pm

2 large chicken breast
125g Brown Rice


Fourth Meal: 3:00pm

3 Scoops - Optimum Nutrition AmiN.O. Energy mixed with 1 litre of water
handful of Whole Almonds


Fifth Meal: 5:00pm Pre-Work

2 Scoops PhD Synergy ISO – 7
Muscletech NeuroCore

Sixth Meal: 7:30pm Post –Workout (consumed with 10 minutes of completing workout)
2 Scoops PhD Synergy ISO – 7


Seventh Meal: 8:00pm
2 Steak Medallions roughly 250g
1 Large Sweet Potato
Optimum Nutrition Superior Amino 2222 Caps x2


Eighth Meal: 10:30pm (bed time)
Optimum Nutrition Fitness Fiber (1 large spoon)
1 Scoop Optimum Nutrition Gold Standard 100% Casein

At the moment it’s a little difficult to write a detailed guide into my training sessions as of the 1st January I have changed the way I train. From day one I have always done body splits e.g. Chest / Tri on a Monday. 6 days a week
I have decided to change things up for the next 6 months due to a small competition that is running in my gym in relation to the Body Power Expo in May. I have decided to conduct single day splits whereby I can concentrate on a single body part per day and spend more time on isolation.

At the moment the training plan is looking something like the following;

Monday: Shoulders & Abs
Tuesday: Arms
Wednesday: Legs
Thursday: Chest & Abs
Friday: Back
Saturday: Compound / Full Body
Sunday: Rest

Each session changes every week so it is difficult to provide a detailed breakdown of my exercises but I am happy to post here on regular occasions my training routine as it changes. Here is an example of Monday’s Training Session.

Rotatary curls
Vertical push ups

Weighted Muscle-Ups
Machine shoulder press
Rear Delt machine
Dirty 30s front raises, lateral raises, bent over lateral raises

Cable knee tucks
Cable rope crunchs
Cable woodchops

A burning question is always how much Cardio; due to diet i have decided to stop Cardio all together until 12 weeks out before the completion. From there on in i will be doing 30 minutes in the morning before work and 30 minutes at the end of each training session.

kai said:

The most valuable piece of information I could pass on that was drummed into me during my visits was it is as vitally as important to eat at the correct times as much as the food itself. You should be aiming to eat between every 2 – 3 hours.

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I'm sorry but no

Also i can't believe you're only getting ~2700 calories from all that. I eat 1 less meal than that a day, with way less shakes, and am on more like 3500. I get a lot more fats by the looks of it.

what you mean - No ?

yeah - i did a full breakdown on here a little while ago detailing everything in terms of Macro. Its not a million miles away from above;

By no i mean, that's the pinnacle of broscience! If it works for you fair enough but it's becoming a lot more widely known that it isn't necessary to eat every couple of hours.

Skillmister said:

By no i mean, that's the pinnacle of broscience! If it works for you fair enough but it's becoming a lot more widely known that it isn't necessary to eat every couple of hours.

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I'd agree with this. For some people it works and is the best method, for others it isn't. I deffo wouldn't say it's a hard and fast rule to abide by.

I'm glad I'm not paying your supplement bill! ON's not cheap

alx said:

I'd agree with this. For some people it works and is the best method, for others it isn't. I deffo wouldn't say it's a hard and fast rule to abide by.

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I have seen lots of people consume their calories in 2 - 3 big meals throughout the day, i have used small meals but often method for so long my body has adopted this approach. I dont think i could sit there and eat big meals any more

tom_e said:

I'm glad I'm not paying your supplement bill! ON's not cheap

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I know at the moment is around £80 - 100 per month

kai said:

I have seen lots of people consume their calories in 2 - 3 big meals throughout the day, i have used small meals but often method for so long my body has adopted this approach. I dont think i could sit there and eat big meals any more



I know at the moment is around £80 - 100 per month

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Fair play, requires some serious dedication and planning to do that many meals a day, kudos - if it works for you carry on

Would be interesting to see if there is any difference in stomach size between people who ate 2-3 big meals a day or 5-6 small ones. Your comment seems to suggest your stomach may have shrunk due to eating small meals rather than big ones......who knows.

Skillmister said:

By no i mean, that's the pinnacle of broscience! If it works for you fair enough but it's becoming a lot more widely known that it isn't necessary to eat every couple of hours.

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+1

Also I highly recommend standard psyllium husks as a fibre supplement, as I expect they'll be far, far cheaper than the stuff you're using. I got a 1kg bag ages ago and it's lasting me aaaaaages.

Also considering how control you have over your diet, your fat:carb ratios are a bit off I'd say.

A nice read though, I always appreciate looking through logs such as this. I hope you keep it up.

alx said:

Fair play, requires some serious dedication and planning to do that many meals a day, kudos - if it works for you carry on

Would be interesting to see if there is any difference in stomach size between people who ate 2-3 big meals a day or 5-6 small ones. Your comment seems to suggest your stomach may have shrunk due to eating small meals rather than big ones......who knows.

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I'm eating much smaller meals while i'm at home and i know it affected how much i could eat on xmas day. Felt like i ate no more than a typical meal while at uni but was so full i felt really ill

Mansize_tissue said:

+1

Also I highly recommend standard psyllium husks as a fibre supplement, as I expect they'll be far, far cheaper than the stuff you're using. I got a 1kg bag ages ago and it's lasting me aaaaaages.

Also considering how control you have over your diet, your fat:carb ratios are a bit off I'd say.

A nice read though, I always appreciate looking through logs such as this. I hope you keep it up.

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Any chance you can link me to that fibre supplement?

in terms of fat:carbs ratio as i say it's not a million miles away although my fat content is increased since that macro count was done near enough 3 - 4 months ago. But the whole thing is a learning process. I read so much contradiction on the internet one person says this while another says a the complete opposite.

I think i have found a good balance and understand my body' but there is ALWAYS room to tweak!

Looking good Kai
I wish I could eat as strict as you, but life isn't always so structured. Do you live by yourself? The reason I ask is when you live with wife/GF/whatever things become more tricky. If I was single I'd have no problem being as strict as you.

LiE said:

Looking good Kai
I wish I could eat as strict as you, but life isn't always so structured. Do you live by yourself? The reason I ask is when you live with wife/GF/whatever things become more tricky. If I was single I'd have no problem being as strict as you.

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No i live with my girlfriend; i could have never done this while living at home as I had no control over the shop!

When i do my weekly shop i buy basically two sets of food; one for me and “normal food” e.g. ready meals, pizza, etc for the other half. Food is pretty straight forward whoever is home first will cook me a pack of chicken / turkey or Steak ready for tomorrow’s meals. Evening meals are made fresh.

Food is never an issue; i can quickly fry a steak or chicken and oven bake a sweet potato while a pizza or something is in the oven.

Ah my wife wouldn't be happy eating different meals to me, besides I like the variety of dinner. Also there is no way I could hit strict meal timings on the weekend.

Just my two pence, but that looks horrific! And £80-100 on supplements? Have any of them any evidence for actually working?

I appreciate what you're trying to do, and congratulations for doing it but it does seem like a huge amount of hard work for a benefit which I cannot see.

I'm at the tail-end of my recovery from a big car accident and will be getting back into the gym for big muscles (strength/mass - I'm not shy about it) and I'm quite happy about eating my standard diet^2. But as I've posted before, I enjoy my food and like eating, so the gym just gives me an excuse to have more and benefit from it.

But I don't eat crud (very rarely have sugary/greasy food/drink) and my diet is balanced, so I'm happy. As long as yours works for you and you can stick at it, then fair play! I would stick more carbs/fats in, but it's your house/your rules.

I must say, your diet doesn't look particularly appealing.... Must be pretty costly as well with all that chicken?

Appreciate you putting this together though. Made an interesting read.

kd

yeah i don't think i could even afford to eat 4 chicken breasts a day even if i wanted to

Too many supps for my liking, and not enough cruciferous vegetables! I'm surprised the macros are so low for total cals. Not enough fats and too many carbs for me and I don't like your breakfast However as you say everyone's different.

With regards to fish oils, if you are going to supplement with them you need to take more than just 1 to make it worth while, and you should take it after a bit of substantial eating else you'll be wasting most of it.

However, it's clearly working for you - so keep at it. I'd personally spend less on supps and more on food since you can clearly afford it.

I hope you're sponsored by ON!

Have you considered looking at buying bulk aminos from somewhere like MP? Their EAs actually seem to have better ratios than ON's amino products.

"AmiN.O Energy" is just some BCAAs with some typical "pump" aminos, plus green tea extract and caffeine. There are cheaper alternatives available.

kai said:

Monday: Shoulders & Abs

Here is an example of Monday’s Training Session.

Rotatary curls
Vertical push ups

Weighted Muscle-Ups
Machine shoulder press
Rear Delt machine
Dirty 30s front raises, lateral raises, bent over lateral raises

Cable knee tucks
Cable rope crunchs
Cable woodchops

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Love hand-stand pushups, hard stuff! What are rotatory curls though?

Muscle-ups are a bit of a bros exercise, and there are certainly exercises that more directly target the shoulders.

Also, cable woodchops need to stay in Scott Herman Fitness videos

Good luck in the comp, I'm sure you'll do well.