Food and Supplement Question

Diet and Nutrition
1

I have been working out for the past 3 months and I am starting to realize more and more that my calorie intake is not enough. My main goal is to stay fit/lean and gain muscle as I work out. I always thought that if I ate less and worked out, that I would lose more body fat and be able to reach my goal sooner.

The more and more I read and forums and listen to my body, that is not the case. From the 3 months of working out I have gained some strength and it seems like I am losing weight little by little but during an intensive work out I get dizzy after 20-30minute into the workout and I have to stop at times.

I am starting to think that it is my minimal calorie intake and something needs to change in my diet.

My current eating schedule is as follows…

Breakfast: I take a scoop of protein powder as soon as I wake up. Then 30min later one fish oil, multi-vitamin, yogurt, non-salted almonds, and 2 hard boiled egg whites.

Lunch: I eat out all the time. So it really depends on the day. I also take one more fish oil after lunch.

5:00 before work out: I eat a premier nutrition protein bar which has 30g of protein.

After working out for one to two hours (around two hours if i do cardio) I take one more scoop of protein powder.

Dinner: Chicken stir fry(w/ brown rice), salmon, or steak. Sometimes i get subway(no cheese and mayo) or sushi if I am lazy to cook. Also I have fruit as dessert.

That is my regular routine right now. I know it’s terrible because people recommend 5-6 servings a day, while I am only having three servings a day. It’s really hard since I work all day and I dont have a kitchen to cook nor the time.

So…I am posting because I would love open criticism and some help with my eating pattern. Now I have couple question which may relate to some improvements you might have.

  1. What are some good snacks or mini-meals I can have at the office that is pretty simple to make?

1a. Related to the first question. I see lots of people eating peanut butter sandwiches, and I think that would be a good snack. What kind of peanut butter do I buy? And I’m assuming I buy wheat or whole grain bread?

  1. The multi-vitamin and fish oil i take is from costco. I bought the kirkland preformance vitamin, and the extra strength fish oil. Are these okay? Or do you recommend something else?

  2. I see lots of people eating carbs in the morning. Why is that? I was thinking about not eating the yogurt and going with oatmeal instead.

  3. Any more suggestions or inputs?

I�??ve posted here couple of times, and every time you guys are really helpful. Thanks for the help and input guys!

2

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=459493
TESTOSTERONE NATION - 7 Habits of Highly Effective Nutritional Programs
http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1793585
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Nutrition for Newbies, Part 1 http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1795045
TESTOSTERONE NATION - Nutrition for Newbies, Part 2

Read those.

Pre cook and prepare your food. Cook chicken breasts, lean beef, fish, buffalo, etc. then put in some pyrex. Take pyrex to work, add some frozen vegetables, microwave, eat.

You probably do need to increase your calorie intake, instead of eating “mini meals” (what the hell does that mean?) eat a real meal 6 times a day.

Serving of protein, a serving of vegetables, serving of healthy fats, carbs at the right times (or all the time if you have trouble gaining), repeat every 3 hours you are awake.

3

Thanks PozzSka for those links. I must have missed those articles. Answered lots of questions.

6

Try some fruit about an hour before workouts, should help with productivity and potentially your dizziness.

Judging by your carb intake later in the day you aren’t doing a ketogenic diet, so I would incorporate some carbs in at breakfast. Otherwise you are being potentially groggy and irratible for no reason. Carbohydrates are an easy source for energy in your body, and a couple of tissues(like your brain) need carbs to function optimally. Otherwise if carbohydrate levels are too low you will start producing more ketones to feed your brain from amino acids.

Oatmeal for yogurt, I like that idea, especially for you. Depending on your bodyfat level, you will be able to be more liberal with your carbohydrates. The best times for carbohydrate intake is breakfast(breaking the fast) and around your workouts.

Good luck.

7

I appreciate the help guys!

8

[quote]Zagman wrote:
and a couple of tissues(like your brain) need carbs to function optimally. .[/quote]

And yet somehow the eskimos(or insert other group of people here) learned to survive. This is a myth.

9

I believe you brain needs glucose/sugars to survive or you would go hypoglycemic.

10

[quote]Scott M wrote:
Zagman wrote:
and a couple of tissues(like your brain) need carbs to function optimally. .

And yet somehow the eskimos(or insert other group of people here) learned to survive. This is a myth.
[/quote]

eskimos are imaginary duh.

11

Eskimos did not, in fact, eat 100% protein and fat.

If you search the internet, you can find information that they also consumed berries, which contain carbs. And no, its not impossible to grow berries in Alaska, and if you say that its impossible in Antarctica, well, nobody lives there, so there you go.

12

[quote]Scott M wrote:
Zagman wrote:
and a couple of tissues(like your brain) need carbs to function optimally. .

And yet somehow the eskimos(or insert other group of people here) learned to survive. This is a myth.
[/quote]

Our brains need glucose to function optimally, key word optimally. When we consume to few carbohydrates our body begins to enter a ketonic state, i.e. ketogenic diet. While in a ketonic state our body breaks down proteins for the amino acids and turns them into ketones(something that can pass through the blood brain barrier) to nourish our brains.

Symptoms of a ketogenic diet are, low blood sugar, irritableness, mental fogginess, lack of hunger(non optimally functioning hypothalamus). Our body will also create glucose to aid in the functioning of our brains through gluconeogenisis (gluco - glucose, neo - new, genisis - to create) = creating new glucose.

The Eskimos tend to live for long periods in a ketogenic state.

13

[quote]bad bowtie wrote:
I believe you brain needs glucose/sugars to survive or you would go hypoglycemic.[/quote]

The brain needing glucose doesn’t cause us to enter a hypoglycemic state, but the brain does like its glucose to function optimally.

14

[quote]djsk wrote:
. . .during an intensive work out I get dizzy after 20-30minute into the workout and I have to stop at times. . .

5:00 before work out: I eat a premier nutrition protein bar which has 30g of protein.

After working out for one to two hours (around two hours if i do cardio) I take one more scoop of protein powder.
[/quote]

You are not eating nearly enough before your workout. I am surprised you haven’t fainted and been carted off to the hospital. :wink:

Drink half a serving of Surge before your workout instead of the protein bar and see how you feel.

15

[quote]Scott M wrote:
Zagman wrote:
and a couple of tissues(like your brain) need carbs to function optimally. .

And yet somehow the eskimos(or insert other group of people here) learned to survive. This is a myth.
[/quote]

I don’t see too many eskimos rocket scientists.