Diet Advice Needed

Hey guys, so I’ve been working out for about a year and a half (more like a year with actual time spent at the gym) but have always had trouble with my diet.

Currently I’m working in construction and need about 5500 Calories a day to go above my maintenance level of 5000. Due to the strenuous work, I need a lot of calories.

Anyhow, now comes the tricky part. Because I’m partial to ‘natural’ diets, I’ve become convinced that a diet without wheat, dairy, and processed foods is very important for my health.

I came across the ‘Cave Man Diet’ which sounds great, but it’s too sparse. If I were to go on that diet, I fear I would get VERY sick and risk death because it lacks any real feeding.

Anyhow, more to the point, what are some good, natural, non-processed and non wheat/dairy foods I can add to my diet?

Currently my daily intake looks something like this:

Morning:

6 eggs
2 oz smoked salmon
1 oz almonds

10:30 am:

1 cup ground beef
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 cup potato salad
50 g tortilla chips
1 oz almonds

1:30 pm:

1 cup ground beef
1/8 cup olive oil
1/2 cup potato salad
50 g tortilla chips
1 oz almonds

4:30 or 5:30:

4 oz Almonds

About 6 pm:

1 cup ground beef
1/2 cup potato salad
50 g tortilla chips


Now, according to my nutrition calculator (FitDay.com), this is only about:

4,917 Calories with 219 g of protein (200 is my target).

So yeah, I could always increase the quantities, but I want some variety.

Any suggestions on preferably high-calorie foods that fit the following:

  • No Dairy
  • No Wheat
  • No Peanuts (I get sick if I eat these)
  • Non-processed
  • No Carbohydrates
  • No pure-sugar

Thanks!

Why no carbohydrates? I see no logical reason to avoid it, especially given how active you are.

[quote]DAVE101 wrote:
Why no carbohydrates? I see no logical reason to avoid it, especially given how active you are.[/quote]

Well, I’m trying to stick to the Cave Man Diet guidelines for what food I eat, while ignoring the rest of it. I have tried going off and on various foods (such as wheat, dairy) just to see if there was anything to it, and for me at least, the changes were quite noticeable, so I believe the guidelines are based on a sound theory. They are also against carbs.

Having said that, I do eat corn chips and potato salad which have some foods that are “taboo” according to the diet, so I’m not completely against adding something that may be against the rules, however, dairy and wheat are absolutely non-negotiable since I’ve proven them to be adverse.

Sarge, I agree with DAVE101. Get ye some carbs! And where are your vegetables? I’m going to tell your mama. Try some gluten-free oatmeal, for starters (while I’m not on the anti-gluten train, I accept the beliefs of those that are). Oatmeal by itself doesn’t have any gluten, but it’s usually manufactured in facilities that do, so generic oatmeal often has some gluten in it. However, there are certified gluten-free oatmeals available.

[quote]TC wrote:
Sarge, I agree with DAVE101. Get ye some carbs! And where are your vegetables? I’m going to tell your mama. Try some gluten-free oatmeal, for starters (while I’m not on the anti-gluten train, I accept the beliefs of those that are). Oatmeal by itself doesn’t have any gluten, but it’s usually manufactured in facilities that do, so generic oatmeal often has some gluten in it. However, there are certified gluten-free oatmeals available.[/quote]

My vegetables are in a supplement called “Greens Today”.

As for oatmeal, it makes me full and I eat even less food than I can when I don’t eat it. Any other foods you can recommend? Why are carbs so important anyhow?

Thanks.

My restrictions are similar - up until recently one answer was chili.

Former recipe:

  • 3 packages gluten-free, natural spice mix (or DIY).
  • 1 package each of ground beef, buffalo, turkey.
  • 2 packages of salsa - the kind that is basically just pre-cut vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, etc).
  • 3 cans of beans, each a different color (black, red, etc).
  • 3 cans or so of tomato sauce as suggested by the spice mix.

You are already having some carbs (tortilla chips, etc). Cavemen weren’t sitting around grinding up acres of corn to make tortilla chips - that came after the agricultural revolution. If you really want to follow a caveman diet, those carbs would be in the form of fruits and vegetables. Veggie supplements are nice but cannot mimic all the attributes of fruits and vegetables - they only contain what we have found in food, not what we haven’t discovered yet. Even then, they don’t even include all the beneficial properties we’ve discovered.

Other suggestions:

  • Mix up the meat more. The beef we eat today is nothing like what cavemen ate. Try adding other sources. Try venison. A bigger breakfast with a big slice of pork (ok, also not caveman) could work.
  • Add a fruit at breakfast - just grab something quick.
  • Get some mixed seeds. Packets are available online. Very caveman.
  • Add something other than almonds. Almonds are great but not the only great nut out there.
  • At snack time, have some raw vegetables instead of tortilla chips - even just chocking down one piece of broccoli.

[quote]CLewis wrote:
My restrictions are similar - up until recently one answer was chili.

Former recipe:

  • 3 packages gluten-free, natural spice mix (or DIY).
  • 1 package each of ground beef, buffalo, turkey.
  • 2 packages of salsa - the kind that is basically just pre-cut vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, etc).
  • 3 cans of beans, each a different color (black, red, etc).
  • 3 cans or so of tomato sauce as suggested by the spice mix.

You are already having some carbs (tortilla chips, etc). Cavemen weren’t sitting around grinding up acres of corn to make tortilla chips - that came after the agricultural revolution. If you really want to follow a caveman diet, those carbs would be in the form of fruits and vegetables. Veggie supplements are nice but cannot mimic all the attributes of fruits and vegetables - they only contain what we have found in food, not what we haven’t discovered yet. Even then, they don’t even include all the beneficial properties we’ve discovered.

Other suggestions:

  • Mix up the meat more. The beef we eat today is nothing like what cavemen ate. Try adding other sources. Try venison. A bigger breakfast with a big slice of pork (ok, also not caveman) could work.
  • Add a fruit at breakfast - just grab something quick.
  • Get some mixed seeds. Packets are available online. Very caveman.
  • Add something other than almonds. Almonds are great but not the only great nut out there.
  • At snack time, have some raw vegetables instead of tortilla chips - even just chocking down one piece of broccoli.[/quote]

Thanks for the suggestions, however, because of my schedule, time is a factor.

I eat tortilla chips because of their high calorie count and relative ease to eat.

I’m actually thinking of buying a blender to make a good meal and then just drink it all because I just don’t have the time to eat big meals. Then again, I don’t really have the time to put everything I need into the blender in the right amounts and put it all back in the fridge. Very time-consuming, that.

I only have 3 hours free time during a work day all week due to my work. On sunday or saturday is when I prepare my food for the week, so anything that can be easily made and kept would be ideal.

I like the seeds suggestions, will be getting some today for sure.

I can’t have peanuts, but I’ll look into cashews or whatnot. What’s the optimum nut for calories and protein?

Venison sounds good too, where do I get that, the butcher’s?

Also, vegetables sounds like a good idea. How about baby carrots? I’m trying to get the most nutrients for the least amount of time to eat or things to buy, money is also a factor here.

So yeah, what other vegetables could I add? And any other suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks for the advice!