Okay, I need some advice from the sages of T-Nation. I am 33, and have been training for most of my adult life like a complete moron, now having discovered T-Nation I am getting my act in gear. So here is where I need some help. I’ve got my workout (ABBH), but my nutrition is where I suffer the most. I am in Iraq with the Army and our chow situation couldn’t be better… for getting fat. Army chow is a carboholic dream. Quality fat and decent amounts of protien are hard to come by. I have ordered Spike and Surge. I have an ample supply of Nitro-Tech, which I will replenish with Grow! once that has run out (I understand, accept and believe in the Biotest supremecy). So on to the question:
How can I maximise my nutrion in this situation? The food we have is healthy, just carb heavy. We have available 3 meals a day, which I make most of them, combat operations permitting. Has anyone out there worked around this? Is anyone out there doing it now? Any help and feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Train for the mission at hand. There’s not much you can do about the food unless there’s a good PX there. Just keep an extra eye on your food. I don’t know what you’re over there for, but eat accordingly. If you’re doing lots of patrols and moving a lot (in the range of 10-20+ miles a day), then make sure you have the energy. Not sure what you’re training goals are.
Yeah, I have to agree that you are there for a job and need the energy for the job, thus all the carbs. Worry about a gym body when you get back to where you can control everything like rest, food and working out.
This isn’t to say don’t train, just don’t worry about the food so much. Make do with what you have and focus on the job at hand.
There is a great possibility that he is in a situation where weight gain could be a huge problem. He didn’t say what job he was in (there is a BIG difference between being an infantryman or cav scout and being the vast majority of support personel that make up about 7/8th of the Army, in terms of work requirements and safety/readiness conditions). That said, in the chow hall that I had (in an infantry FOB on the Sadr City border), the staff was very helpful, and we got as much of whatever we wanted. As such, I always asked for two or three meat choices, had a salad, a few apples and some water. Just because spagetti is offered doesn’t mean it’s the only choice. When I was on patrol during meal times (at least one meal a day, often two), I ate raw almonds (had my sister send me about five pounds a month), or protein powder mixed with UHT milk. I guess I was lucky in that I didn’t find any issue with the food, I just didn’t eat what the Army recommends. Finally, hard boiled eggs, take a dozen each morning. If they are not left for grabs, ask the facility manager.