*** The 2019 Gym Rats Thread ***

Avenged7Fold said:
I replaced a lot of the carby stuff of my meals with things like chickpeas, which are cheap and have a decent amount of protein/fibre. I also really like them and season with olive oil and other bits. My lunch has pretty much consisted of chickpeas, chicken and veg for months varying the amount of chickpeas depending on my deficit/surplus.
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I don't understand how you can like chickpeas so much, man. I'll give them another shot, but I reckon I'll have to lock myself in the toilet hah.

My lunch today was spaghetti with italian tomato sauce (can't remember what it's called. edit: just remembered - marinara) and quorn meatballs as I'm trying to reduce my meat intake. Problem is, I bought a load of food when I thought I needed to be in a deficit. I don't need to be in a deficit so now I don't have enough food and I'm having to munch on peanut butter and slices of pork luncheon meat...tastes good though.
 
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danlightbulb said:
Yes i do need more focussed ideas because i dont know what to include in my diet. And i dont know how to increase solid food calories in a clean way without needing to fit in too many samey meals during the day. Its not that im not listening but i need some meal ideas comprising foods that i like.

For example, yesterday I ate a rump steak with 2 eggs and a tin of spaghetti hoops. What would I add to this to make it better without making the portion too large that i cant finish it?
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really.....

anything, potatos, rice, sweet potato, cuscus, chick peas.... anything but refined processed carbs dripping in sugary sauce.

You can make portions for 1, you can even make a portion for 2 and stick one in the fridge that can be used for a following evenings meal.

You aren't a fussy eater, you are a lazy eater.
 
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Syla5 said:
really.....

anything, potatos, rice, sweet potato, cuscus, chick peas.... anything but refined processed carbs dripping in sugary sauce.

You can make portions for 1, you can even make a portion for 2 and stick one in the fridge that can be used for a following evenings meal.

You aren't a fussy eater, you are a lazy eater.
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Im sorry but that is what i did do. There would have been too much food if i had added anything else to the meal. Whats wrong with hoops? its 1 of my 5 a day and its pasta (carbs).

On tuesday night i had a steak too, and i had it with a jacket potato then.

Ive been eating the pre prepared chicken rice and veg every day.

I dont understand what it is you are telling me to add. Ive already said i cant add in more meal times as im on 4 already. Theres a limit to how big my portion sizes can be. I therefore need calorie dense stuff that i like so i can actually get it in my belly.
 
I know this might sound like terrible advice, but making a bit too much of something like mash, then eating as much of it as you can (you say you struggle with larger meals)
If you always eat as much as you can, you'll increase the amount you can eat per sitting.

For a packing out food tip, crack an egg into mash potato, comes out nice and fluffy and you've added some calories/protein to the side :)

I'm mostly terrible for advice though, I eat food to live, bland as it comes is fine by me.
Tub of cottage cheese eaten with a spoon..... sounds a good protein intake to me
150g of plain pasta with chicken breast, dry as **** but gets me gains haha
 
danlightbulb said:
What's wrong with hoops?
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I had a quick look at nutritional info...

Half can of hoops (200g) - £0.38 - provides:-

120 cals
7g sugar
3.2g protein

60g of (eg) Myprotein Impact Whey - £0.47 - provides:-

247 cals
2.4g sugar
49.2g protein
 
danlightbulb said:
Im sorry but that is what i did do. There would have been too much food if i had added anything else to the meal. Whats wrong with hoops? its 1 of my 5 a day and its pasta (carbs).
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I actually said what's wrong with them in my post... but the 2 key things is sugar content (35% of the carbs in hoops is sugar) and processed carbs.

A 200g portion of potatoe's mashed with 20g butter is far from huge and is way better then 400g of spaghetti hoops.
P / C / F​
Mash: 4g / 34g / 17g @ 293 cals

Hoops: 7g / 44g / 1g @ 212 cals

You are not talking about a huge portion here, up that to 300g potatoe and 30g butter and you are double the calories of your hoops, and you only add 7g of carbs for your effort. (I would stick at 200g)

danlightbulb said:
I dont understand what it is you are telling me to add. Ive already said i cant add in more meal times as im on 4 already. Theres a limit to how big my portion sizes can be. I therefore need calorie dense stuff that i like so i can actually get it in my belly.
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You also have no supplementation and no snacks except 1 chocolate bar. You don't need to add meals to add 2-3 shakes to your daily routine and you have instantly added
P / C / F
70g / 5.5g / 6.3g @ 355 cals


I feel this is another post of useful information that will just get ignored as that's what you seem to have done with most of the other replies to your questions.
 
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Syla5 said:
I feel this is another post of useful information that will just get ignored as that's what you seem to have done with most of the other replies to your questions.
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Im really not ignoring things, i appreciate this is frustrating to try and help me but i guess my bad food habits need a lot of work to undo.

I had a jacket potato with my steak on tuesday so i didnt want potato again on wednesday. I added the eggs and hoops which werent included in tuesdays meal.

Im unclear on how adding 100 calories by adding a bit of butter is making a dent in getting from 1500 calories of food to 2200 calories of food.

Maybe it is lazy eating but it takes me nearly 15 minutes to eat the chicken rice and veg meal ive been making all for just 400 calories. The protein is great, 55g in one meal, but as i said I cant eat portion after portion of the same thing.

I could have a protein shake in the morning which is great for protein but im dropping calories compared to a glass of milk. i will need to replace those calories somewhere and the more junk i cut out the harder that is, plus the more food i have to cart along to work with me.
 
dirtychinchilla said:
Is there any reason why meal prep wouldn't work for you?
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I have done some meal prep this week but just for one meal per day that i can take to work with me and eat at 5pm.

My issue with prepping more daily meals is the lack of variety. Not sure how i can prep a breakfast? I have a canteen to make use of at lunch and my evening meals can be cooked fresh so im not getting bored of the same thing.
 
Just chime in with my 2c.

To get big and strong or lean really takes an amount of sacrifice in some areas in life. To get both at the same time takes a lot. I've been on a calorie deficit for a couple of months and to be honest, not eating until I'm full is really not particularly enjoyable but I've made a choice and have committed to it. If you want to get in the shape you appear to want to get in then unfortunately this will require you eat a diet full of food which may not be your favourite and some food you may flat out not like at all.

It's completely your choice but you have to decide what you want more and commit to it. The guys on here really know what they're talking about so it may be worth taking their advice.
 
Skillmister said:
I mean if you aren't eating 150g dry weight of a carb source plus 300g+ meat in a meal are you even trying to eat for gains :o
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I can and have been doing that though (ok my steak was 250g not 300g this week but thats the size its sold in from tesco). This is what im not getting unfortunately.

300g steak + a 200g potato is about 700 calories.

Even if i ate that 3x per day its still only 2100 calories.

if i eat 250g of chicken and 150g of pasta that is about 900 calories cos 150g dry weight of pasta is quite a lot.

So lets says my evening meal is 800 calories. That isnt the problem.

The problem is all the other meals which i need to eat, breakfast, lunch, which are hard to get to 800 calories unless its a blended shake of all sorts of things i dont like.
 
danlightbulb said:
I can and have been doing that though (ok my steak was 250g not 300g this week but thats the size its sold in from tesco). This is what im not getting unfortunately.

300g steak + a 200g potato is about 700 calories.

Even if i ate that 3x per day its still only 2100 calories.

if i eat 250g of chicken and 150g of pasta that is about 900 calories cos 150g dry weight of pasta is quite a lot.

So lets says my evening meal is 800 calories. That isnt the problem.

The problem is all the other meals which i need to eat, breakfast, lunch, which are hard to get to 800 calories unless its a blended shake of all sorts of things i dont like.
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Can't you add in two or three snack meals per day? It's going to be hard to hit a bulking calorie goal on only the basic three meals per day. I make a protein shake with vanilla protein, yogurt (either natural or Greek), porridge oats, a bit of honey, peanut butter, flax seeds, ground almonds and milk. Honestly, with the milk in there I barely taste the other flavours, it just tastes like a vanilla milkshake with a hint of peanut butter, you should try it. Also, what about fish? Tinned tuna can be mixed with other things for a quick snack, or you can have a tuna sandwich, etc. Raisins are surprisingly good and barely taste of anything, you could easily add them to a bowl of yogurt along with some fresh fruit (blueberries for example) and you've got a decent snack right there.
 
Can anyone recommend a decent full body workout for a dual cable machine, basically this - https://www.powerhouse-fitness.co.uk/bodymax-cf820-functional-trainer-dual-adjustable-pulley

Got it silly cheap and couldn't say no. However lots of googling and youtubing has pointed me in the direction of many individual body splits but haven't found much in the way of a full body workout.

I could just spend the time and build a routine but if there is something easy to access already, would rather give that a shot. Youtube mostly brings up videos of hot girls doing glute exercises :D
 
danlightbulb said:
I have done some meal prep this week but just for one meal per day that i can take to work with me and eat at 5pm.

My issue with prepping more daily meals is the lack of variety. Not sure how i can prep a breakfast? I have a canteen to make use of at lunch and my evening meals can be cooked fresh so im not getting bored of the same thing.
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I think I suggested it before, but it seems more relevant now. There's an app called MealPrepPro that will calculate all your macros, calories, meals etc for you, and even generate a shopping list. There's a huge variety of recipes on there, including stuff that you could prep for your breakfast (maybe egg muffins or something - not in the app but just a suggestion).

If you're meal prepping, you could have meals on alternate days and that would mix it up a little bit, but I do appreciate that it gets tedious eating the same thing every single day. I personally don't mind it, but I've been eating the same breakfast for months...
 
In other news, I pulled 100 kg for 5 reps yesterday for the first time since my herniated disk a couple of years ago. No major achievement in the scale of things - I know I will be able to lift more - but I'm happy and I think I got over a mental barrier! Same with squats, hit maybe 102.5 kg yesterday so I'm past the psychologically challenging 100 kg mark. I'm excited for the next few months of lifting.

@Avenged7Fold did I see you say you'd been working for 9 months? Are you still on a linear progression or has that dried up a bit yet?
 
dirtychinchilla said:
I pulled 100 kg for 5 reps yesterday for the first time since my herniated disk a couple of years ago.?
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Nice to see there's light at the end of the tunnel. Any advice on recovery?

I did mine in April and it still doesn’t feel right. I did find using the shrug bar made things slightly easier, but tried some normal ones but from just below knee height yesterday and I got two reps in and noped out.

Frustrating because I'm very much in the mind-set of wanted to get stronger at the minute.
 
MoDe said:
Nice to see there's light at the end of the tunnel. Any advice on recovery?

I did mine in April and it still doesn’t feel right. I did find using the shrug bar made things slightly easier, but tried some normal ones but from just below knee height yesterday and I got two reps in and noped out.

Frustrating because I'm very much in the mind-set of wanted to get stronger at the minute.
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I had a microdiscectomy, so they fixed it essentially. I did a lot of low weight high rep stuff to strengthen my back around when I had the operation. Probably better to talk about it in private, but the operation changed my life. The resulting exercise I did (and before, in fact, when I had physio) meant that I was thinner, stronger, fitter, and I almost managed to eradicate the pain I was experiencing just by exercising.

As far as deadlifts go, you have to leave your ego at the door I think. I started on 50 kg and have built up from there. I've tried to improve my form, though I know I'm twisting a bit, and just done my best to do it right!

I feel your frustration. Every time I feel like I'm in the swing of things, something goes wrong that means going to the gym just isn't possible. I'm hoping now that I'm eating better, exercising well etc, I'll be able to limit the number of minor operations I have - I've got Crohn's disease so stuff crops up occasionally.
 
danlightbulb said:
The problem is all the other meals which i need to eat, breakfast, lunch, which are hard to get to 800 calories unless its a blended shake of all sorts of things i dont like.
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lets try something here.

You keep focusing on 4 meals...so lets try and plan around this mentality for you, while cutting down on your milk in take a little and adding in some supplementation to help you avoid stuffing yourself full of carbs, and help hit your protein and calorie targets.

There will be some compromises here, like you will have to sacrifice variety in your daily eating except for dinner, but lets face it, you want a quick and easy breakfast and you want lunch that you can prep once per week.

Breakfast:
Protein Shake + handful of blueberries
Whey: 30g
Instant Oats: 100g
Whole milk: 300ml
(water can be added if shake is to thick)

Macro breakdown: 45g Protein, 82g Carbs, 21g Fat, 715Cals

Lunch:
Chicken: 200g
Rice:50g
Olive Oil: 10g

Macro breakdown: 47g Protein, 41g Carbs, 16g Fat, 490Cals

Snacks:
Wholemeal bread: 1 Slice
Peanut Butter: 30g
Choclate spread: 15g
2 boiled eggs

Macro breakdown: 25g Protein, 29g Carbs, 30g Fat, 505Cals

Intra Workout Shake:
Hydrolysed Whey: 30g
BCAA's

Post Workout Shake:
Whey: 30g
Dextrose: 25g
Creatine: 5g

Macro breakdown: 48g Protein, 26g Carbs, 4g Fat, 322Cals

Average Dinner:
based roughly as follows:
meat portion 200g
Carb options:
200g potatoes
or 50g rice
or 75g pasta portion
Cooking Sauce or Baked Beans (low sugar)
Veg 100g veg and this total goes up by roughly 60 cals

Macro breakdown: 46g Protein, 77g Carbs, 28g Fat, 784Cals

Final Supplement shake: (roughly 2hours before bed)
Caesin Protein: 30g
Whole Milk: 150ml

Macro breakdown: 28g Protein, 8g Carbs, 6g Fat, 206Cals


DAILY MACRO BREAKDOWN: Training Days
239g Protein, 261g Carbs, 104g Fat, 3020 Cals
33% Protein, 36% Carbs, 32% Fats

DAILY MACRO BREAKDOWN: NON Training Days
192g Protein, 236g Carbs, 100g Fat, 2700 Cals
30% Protein, 35% Carbs, 35% Fats



This gives you 3 main daily meals, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then you fill around the rest with snacks and shakes for ease. The quantities are not stupidly high, and this will help you hit your desired targets.
 
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