Diet and Food Update

One goal I had last semester was to lean out.  I definitely did to some degree, but not to the extent I planned on.  The biggest reason is I just lost the motivation to get really strict on top of training and my final semester.  I was doing school work constantly, and the times where I wasn't, I was basically training nonstop.  This is not to say I ate sloppy - I never do that for more than a day or two.  But the attention to detail wasn't there, and I drank way too much alcohol way too frequently.  This is a physique killer.  Nonetheless, I managed to drop a few pounds of fat and significantly improve my conditioning and aerobic base, which just makes things that much easier now.

I asked Matt to write me a diet because I just didn't want to think about it.  I knew that most of our nutritional philosophies aligned, so it wouldn't be a huge deviation from what I am currently doing.  My only request was that I didn't want to eat breakfast.  At this point, the whole breakfast thing is more of a lifestyle choice than a decision made for body composition purposes.  I think intermittent fasting completely loses its efficacy after a couple years.  Moreover, at least in my humble opinion, the hormonal shit is basically small peanuts.  Here is the basic template:

Monday
Hamburger w/ Eggs,  Sliced tomatoes or Peppers (optional)
Beef, sweet potato and broccoli

Tuesday
Hamburger w/ Eggs,  Sliced tomatoes or Peppers (optional)
Chicken w/ Green Beans

Wed
Sausage w/ Eggs, Sliced tomatoes or peppers
Beef stir fry with veggies.  White Rice ,  Dessert of dark chocolate (optional)

Thurs
Hamburger w/ Eggs,  Sliced tomatoes or Peppers (optional)
Steak w/ sweet potato, dessert optional (Ice cream is best choice)

Fri
Hamburger w/ Eggs,  Sliced tomatoes or Peppers (optional)
Salmon w/ steamed spinach

Sat
Sausage w/ Eggs, Sliced tomatoes or peppers
Lots of meat for dinner.  Whatever looks good.  Have a beer or two, but keep carbs low otherwise.

Sun
Bacon and eggs, spinach (optional)
Haddock and green beans ,  Dessert of Greek Yogurt and fruit/berries (optional)

The biggest changes for me are carbs on a more frequent basis, and something besides red meat for dinner.  Also, no alcohol and no artificial sweeteners at all.  So far, just these two things have made a huge difference in my mood.

There is a lot more to the diet than the basic template.  For example, I can sub out salads for lunch (per certain guidelines), and I'm drinking tea with coconut oil before my golf and/or low intensity cardio sessions.  I think this is a ingenious idea for many, many reasons. So far so good.  Appetite is fine considering no snacks.

This will be my last run doing IF/Carb Cycling/Backloading type shit for a while. This is the way I've eaten for three years.  I really dialed it in last year and got great results, but I'm starting to feel I have the metabolism of a teenage girl.  I seriously do not eat a ton considering my size and activity level.  One big issue of eating like this year round, is when you want to lean out, what do you change?  There really isn't that much to move around.

After this I'm going to 3-5 meals a day for a while, including breakfast.    I'm starting to believe that nutrition should evolve and rotate just like training. Doing/Eating the same shit week after week eventually will just fizzle out.  You adapt and become efficient with what you got.  That is not to say I won't go back to IF.  I love it for a bunch of reasons, but I don't think I need to be fasting year round.

Anyways, here are some pictures of food from the last week.  I stick by his recommendations for the most part, but I add some flair for my own tastes.  I was 245 when I got back home, and now I'm sitting at 238.  3-4 pounds were by myself just running/walking more, and 2-3 pounds were from this diet (8 days in).  I want to get lower than last time (229), so that I can work to reset my bodyfat again, but this time even lower.

In the past year, I've really morphed my food intake to more "nutritional" choices.  IE, food that is good for me.  I feel great.  I rarely have low energy, almost never have bad training days, and can't remember the last time I was sick.  Maybe its the food, maybe its a coincidence, but it does make me feel good.