I Could Use Help with a Basic Diet...

Diet and Nutrition
1

I am 6’0, 225, somewhere in the mid-to-high 20% BF range. I’m trying to drop down to around 10-12%… Abs would be nice, but I’m more concerned with simply not feeling overweight. I lift weights 3-4 times a week and I play basketball 2-3 times a week as well.

Anyway, I understand the basic concepts of getting all my carbs from fruits and veggies with the exception of after workouts and all that good stuff. My concern is that I’m trying to put together a diet that consists of easy-to-prepare foods that don’t go bad too quickly. I’m in college, and I have three roommates. We share a pretty tiny, crappy kitchen, and I don’t have a car so getting to the grocery store more than once a week is not exactly straightforward.

So… yeah, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

2

Two thoughts:

  1. Search function. Make use of it.

  2. 220 at 6’? How strong are you? In general, most will probably advise that you get strong. If you just want to be ‘average guy,’ maybe Men’sHealth forums or something. This site is generally directed at people who want to get strong.

  3. As a general thought, it’s strange that people come here for just weight loss advice. That stuff is all over the internet, while this site seems to be much more specialized.

3

  1. I did do some searching around and found some great topics and advice. The thing is, while I was able to get a pretty basic understanding of what I need to do (eggs, chicken, tons of fruits and vegetables), I just wasn’t really sure exactly what other kinds of foods are easy and worthwhile.

  2. Uh… Not super strong or anything, but not prohibitively weak by any means. I never actually 1 rep max in anything, but based on my heavy days, I’d say I can max bench between 225 and 240, max squat around 300, max deadlift around 350-375. And this is after just getting back into the weight room a couple of weeks ago after an extended layoff. Can’t do more than one pull-up though. My cardiovascular endurance is pretty solid though, I could run around hard playing basketball for hours at a time pretty easily.

I am looking to get stronger, but I’m pretty satisfied with my lifting routine as it stands. I’ve got a pretty decent basis of knowledge regarding lifting, it’s my nutrition knowledge that’s a little lacking.

  1. Yeah, I could see how that might be annoying. The thing is, this site has a reputation as pretty much the best forum for lifting and nutrition knowledge on the entire interwebs, so that’s probably why you get riffraff like me coming around.
4

canned tuna , cannned sweet corn , canned peas , canned tomato juice , bagged fibre . mix all together n eat .
cheap not perfect but you asked for something easy that dont go off quick so there you go .

5

Rice and Oats: they come in big portions, are cheap and don’t go bad quickly.
Tuna is good, cheap and lasts (as stated above)

I’m the same height/weight as you, and I’d suggest lifting heavy. Us tall guys gain more from that.

Good luck.

6

Ummm
Protein powder
Walnuts, almonds, and cranberries. Mix them.
Take shit from the cafeteria
What the others said.

7

rice + tuna
ground beef in scrambled eggs with toast
oatmeal with protein powder

i find those the cheapest and most convenient. adjust portions til you reach your bf% goal.

8

Bags of frozen vegetables are cheap and easy to prepare if you have access to a freezer.
Canned chopped tomatoes can go with anything
Cook bulk stuff like chili and reheat as needed

9

So I’m a little confused. Based on what some of you are saying (rice, oats), it sounds like I should be getting carbs from other places than just fruits and vegetables?

Also, when I say easy, I don’t mean it has to literally be something that requires zero preparation. I just don’t want to dirty six different pans every night and take up our whole kitchen.

10

Okay, how does this look? I kept track of what I ate today, and every day will be pretty similar to this:

Meal 1:

2 Egg/4 servings of Liquid Egg White Omelette w/ Peppers, Spinach, Tomato, and Olive Oil: 491.5 Calories, 9.9 Carbs, 38.25 Protein, 32.5 Fat
Apple: 95 calories, 25 carbs

Meal 2:

1 serving of chicken: 138 Calories, 27 Protein, 3 Fat
Salad consisting of Baby Spinach, Mixed Nuts, Lettuce, Tomato, Pepper, Feta Cheese, and Olive Oil: 254.5 Calories, 12.3 carbs, 6.25 Protein, 20.5 fat

Pre-Workout Shake:

Skim Milk and Protein Powder: 210 Calories, 16 Carbs, 32 Protein, 1 Fat

Post-Workout Shake:

Protein Powder, Natural Peanut Butter, Banana: 325 calories, 32.5 Carbs, 29 Protein, 9 Fat

Meal 3:

Ground Beef: 240 calories, 0 Carbs, 31 Protein, 12 Fat
Olive Oil: 180 Calories, 21 Fat
Brown Rice: 108 Calories, 22.5 Carbs, 2.5 Protein, 1 Fat
Spinach, Lettuce, Tomato, Pepper, Feta Cheese: 89.5 Calories, 12.1 Carbs, 5.25 Protein, 1.5 Fat

Meal 4:

Apple: 95 Calories, 25 Carbs
Cottage Cheese: 70 Calories, 5 Carbs, 13 Protein
2 Eggs: 142 Calories, 12 Protein, 10 Fat

Totals: 2438.5 Calories, 111.5 Fat, 196.25 Protein, 160.3 Carbs; 25% F, 43% P, 32% C

Does this look good?

12

So drop the skim milk and toss the banana in my pre-workout drink instead of post? And then I guess outside of that, maybe drop down to only two servings of fruit a day instead of three? Or maybe just axe the brown rice in this case? Sound about right?

13

If you don’t care about sodium intake:

Canned tuna
Canned chicken
Canned Hormel chili (no beans)

You can mix the chili with the canned chicken and have a cheap , easily stored high protein meal.

14

simply eat less if you want to lose fat. Eating more healthy is good but everything has a calorie value.