T Nation

Help with Diet

Beginners
#1

I have been trainig consistently for a year. Over the past year I have seen good gains strength wise. I have gone from a 215 bench to 300, around 300 deadkift to 405 and my sqaut is still a little iffy because I have been working on flexibillity and depth but parallel i can probably get a little over 300.(I started 5/3/1 2 months ago and have been getting extra reps using 315 as my max sqaut).

Im 6:1 and weigh about 220. I gave all the information about my numbers because idk body-fat levels and i wanted to give you an idea of my strength compared to weight.
Now over the past year i have gained about 15-20 lbs and am starting to get a gut. Now I know many PL don’t care to much about appearance but i wanna look good naked while still being athletic in other things i like. Parkour,Biking swimming ect…

I train very regularly and have come to the conclusion it is my diet. I eat out way too much because I am very busy. I usually leave at around 8-9 and get home after 11. I tried a while back to prepare some food and take it with me and honestly it was disgusting, i guess im not the best cook.

So my question is what are some of the strategies/meals/recipes you guys use when you wanna maximize strength gain but minimize fat and remain relatively lean and athletic. I dont have to be super cut but i dont wanna have alot of extra fat lying around
Srry for the long post just wanted to give as much info as i could, thanx in advance.

#2

When you drink water, add lemon or drink green tea.

Eggs can be prepared in a variety of ways, add some veg and switch it around now and then. 4 eggs seems to make me full.Takes about 5 mins to make and is foolproof.
Tuna with Mayo or cream cheese. 3 mins prep time

Chicken wrap
Tortilla wraps or any flour based wraps are usually very healthy(at least where I live)
Fry the chicken, add spice
good things to put in them are
Cream cheese, any cheese really
Mayo…(I love mayo) or any other sauce
Assorted Veg

Steaks are easy to fry, spice it and put it in a pan. Flip it over and then eat.
Peanut butter sarmies, easy to make and fulling
Fish, lots of fish(de-boned and skinless).spice, Throw it in the pan and then flip it over…done
Sweet potato, poke holes in it and shove it in the microwave for 5 mins, easy
Snack on popcorn which you just pop in the microwave.
Bulgarian yogurt with chopped up pieces of fruit is healthy and sweet, 2 mins prep time if that.

All these things take minimal time, and I’m pretty sure you could live off what I’ve just posted. Just vary the quantity based on how you look in the mirror.

#3

[quote]Painsama wrote:
i guess im not the best cook.[/quote]
Might be silly to say, but fixing this would improve things in a big way. There have been a ton of threads with relatively-simple recipes around here.

Some general nutrition tweaks:

Ideas for planning meal ahead of time:

Most people like to use a weekend day to do a bunch of big batch cooking - a bunch of chicken breasts, chop a ton of vegetables, make some quick grab’n’go snack bags.

When you’re out and about, use common sense if you have to do fast food. Less carbs, more protein whenever possible. Or, in a pinch, hit a 7-11 and get a pouch of jerky and a diet soda.

#4

First port of call: cutout all sugar. (apart from the occasional piece of fruit)