So I want to become properly informed on exercise nutrition. I’ve been lifting for a while, albeit inconsistently, but the one (and most important) part of exercise I’ve neglected is becoming properly informed on nutrition. I know some of the handy rules of thumb (like 1-1.5-2.0gg of protein / lb of bodyweight) and things like foods to avoid ( I don’t eat junk food at all) but aside from that I don’t really have much structure.
I’d like to know where one goes to find nutrition resources. I’m sure there are plenty of articles online with plenty of information, but more often than not I find some essential…“why?” missing within the article, which drives me nuts.
My goals are as follows:
I’m currently at about 13-14% body fat (closer to 13% from the last measurement). I weigh 168 lbs. I’d like to drop to about 10-11% body fat, but at the same time, I don’t want to inhibit muscle growth. It is important for me to note that I don’t particularly care for becoming bigger, just stronger, though I will take whatever size comes as a product of increasing strength. My workouts are geared towards becoming stronger rather than hypertrophy anyways. As far as muscle growth, I’m primarily concerned about my legs, as they lag behind my upper body, though not significantly so.
Here’s a look at what my typical daily eating routine looks like:
Breakfast: 2 whole eggs, 1 egg white, scrambled, with a side of veggies. Maybe a few pieces of ham, glass of orange juice and water. I used to eat two slices of toast in the morning but read somewhere(can’t find the article) about substituting that for veggies, which I like the change.Orange juice typically, or water. If I happen to run out of eggs, I typically have oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder and a bit of brown sugar.
Muscle Pharm Chocolate Milk Protein shake between breakfast and Lunch.
Lunch: Typically chicken (drum sticks of a breast, occasionally chicken thighs). I’m in college and stopped buying red meat because that junk’s expensive. Vegetable source (typically same as from the morning as I cook in enough quantities to last through the day) and some sort of carb souce, often potatoes or white rice. I used to buy brown rice but the rice wouldn’t cooperate with me cooking it so…yea lol.
Between lunch and dinner:
Typically one of these:
sandwich consisting of deli meat, some sort of cheese, a sliced tomato or so.
Protein shake again
Dinner:
Chicken again in some sort of style, vegetable, carb source.
Here’s a breakdown of what my grocery cart looks like.
Carrots, white potatoes, sweet potato, zuccini, corn, tomatoes, onions, celery, bananas, often some canned tomato sauce/paste, chick peas, black/red beans, asparagus, snap peas, green beans…typically sauteed in olive oil with whatever kind of condiment I feel like using. Salt, pepper, chicken stock, lemon juice, something like that.
chicken: either thighs, quarter chicken, or a bunch of drum sticks. Mostly drumsticks as they’re the cheapest. Also when I cook chicken, I take the skin off.
I don’t buy any red meat(aside from ground beef) or fish anymore(though I do have canned tuna)…kind of waiting on my college disbursement to come through before I do some more grocery shopping lol.
I’d like to think that I eat fairly healthy, but I can’t ever seem to slim down just a bit to feel a bit…leaner? My goals with fitness aren’t primarily about aesthetics, but it would be nice to just be a bit slimmer. I’m sorry if this is a lot of information, but I wanted to be sufficiently comprehensive.
To whomever answers…thanks for the help!