Spec me a diet

Evening all,

I'm hoping some of you can help point me in the right direction in terms of diet.

First off i'd say I was fairly fit at the moment, I try to do a mixture of different exercises, slowly increasing distance / endurance on my cardio well doing a small amount of weights in the gym.

General goals: I'd like to lose a bit more more fat, maybe half a stones worth at most, while increasing my muscle mass.

Exercise I currently do:

• I run every day, 2 - 5 miles, slowly increasing the distance
• Gym 3 - 4 times a week. First day legs, second arms, 3rd mixture / cardio.
• From next week I'm starting to tab a few miles every few days. Generally, 4 - 8 miles carrying about 10kg initially, gradually increasing. This will replace that days running.
• From June I'll be MTB'ing a bit (first time, very excited) as well as taking the road bike out.

I've been roughly following a low carb - high protein diet, but sort of making it up as I go along. I think what I need is to sit down and plan my meals and have more structure. I don't have any trouble sticking to diets and I never snack between meals, but at the moment it's always sort of what I can cobble together from the cupboard at dinner time.


My current diet

Breakfast: I never have breakfast, really don't get on with it. I know it's the first thing that will be suggested so I'm going to give it a try, but can anyone give me any recommendations on what to eat? Porridge, scrambled eggs?

Lunch: Whole meal bread with a scrambled egg

Dinner: Brown nice and chicken breast, or salmon and couscous, wholemeal pasta and lean mince etc all with loads of veg and fruit afterwards.


I'm not taking it that seriously at the moment and am quite happy to skip a day if someone suggests going out etc. I'm not trying to become ultra fit or anything so I guess what I need is a strict diet for about month to burn off that fat (2lbs a week is the goal isn't it?) and get some more protein inside me and then to move on to a more general diet that I can live with every day to maintain my fitness?

Also if anyone can point me in the way of recipes and ideas that would be great!!

Thanks!!

1 - Can't burn fat and build muscle at same time.
2 - You say you run a lot and stick to a low carb diet = muscle loss.
3 - You skip breakfast = muscle lose/low energy for the day

If all you want to do is lose fat, then what you are doing should work but isn't healthy or sustainable for a long period of time.

You need breakfast, everyone does. Start with some whole meal toast x 2 then work your way up to oatmeal. You will feel a world of difference starting your day with a bowl of hot oatmeal(slow cooked). Trust me.

I've been into fitness/working out for almost 10 years and the only thing that works is what works for you.

Robert1986 said:

1 - Can't burn fat and build muscle at same time.
2 - You say you run a lot and stick to a low carb diet = muscle loss.
3 - You skip breakfast = muscle lose/low energy for the day

If all you want to do is lose fat, then what you are doing should work but isn't healthy or sustainable for a long period of time.

You need breakfast, everyone does. Start with some whole meal toast x 2 then work your way up to oatmeal. You will feel a world of difference starting your day with a bowl of hot oatmeal(slow cooked). Trust me.

I've been into fitness/working out for almost 10 years and the only thing that works is what works for you.

Click to expand...

Sorry I disagree with all of those points, except maybe the second.

You can build muscle and lose fat with carb cycling and skipping traditional breakfast doesn't lead to low energy for the day, and especially not muscle loss. Where are you finding this information?


Edward01, what's your weight, height and rough bodyfat % estimate?

Mansize_tissue said:

Sorry I disagree with all of those points, except maybe the second.

You can build muscle and lose fat with carb cycling and skipping traditional breakfast doesn't lead to low energy for the day, and especially not muscle loss. Where are you finding this information?


Edward01, what's your weight, height and rough bodyfat % estimate?

Click to expand...

Skipping breakfast causes your body to go into an catabolic state.... If you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time, then please share your secret.

Robert1986 said:

Skipping breakfast causes your body to go into an anti-catabolic state.... If you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time, then please share your secret.

Click to expand...

Educate yourself.

I assume you mean catabolic state, as anti-catabolic would be a good thing. How does skipping breakfast cause this?

Also by breakfast do you mean a meal as soon as you wake? Because breakfast could be at any time.. for example I usually wake at 9am break my fast at 4pm.

Mansize_tissue said:

Sorry I disagree with all of those points, except maybe the second.

You can build muscle and lose fat with carb cycling and skipping traditional breakfast doesn't lead to low energy for the day, and especially not muscle loss. Where are you finding this information?


Edward01, what's your weight, height and rough bodyfat % estimate?

Click to expand...

12 1/2 stone, 5ft 11 and I have no idea I'm afraid. I'd guess about average if there is such a thing?

Edward01 said:

12 1/2 stone, 5ft 11 and I have no idea I'm afraid. I'd guess about average if there is such a thing?

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You sound about right. I'm 6'0 at 12st at around 10% bf. To be honest, height , weight and BF can be misleading... is all about how you look in the mirror.

Bacon sarnie for breakfast. mmmm

Edward01 said:

12 1/2 stone, 5ft 11 and I have no idea I'm afraid. I'd guess about average if there is such a thing?

Click to expand...

Ok that's good, I didn't know if you were overweight or not.

I'm trying to shift a little bit of body fat too but my problem is that I keep getting too hungry and wanting to go over my calorie allowance for the day. Some, including me, find that eating most of your day's worth of protein earlier on in the day will satiate you so you won't be as likely to load up on carbs. As you said though you're not prone to snacking so this might not be necessary.

Still, carbs serve little purpose so keep them as low as possible as you're currently doing. Instead use good fats as an energy source and for the remaining calories you need for the day. They're filling so you should end up eating less calories overall which is what you want if you're looking to shift some fat, and keeping protein high and carbs low will maintain a lean body composition.

If you're ever in need of some reading material then the 'definitive guides' on Mark's Daily Apple are a very good resource, as is Lean Gains if you're interested in intermittent fasting which can be a very effective way of reducing BF% without a really restrictive diet.