Reaching a weight (contest like). Runners diet.Help me out and critique

[Big_Dan]

I know, not much protein. BUt hey, its a runners diet, and im naturally muscualar and i decided to once and for all start up on running.
Got the diet from Runners world magazine this month.

Breakfast
11/2 cups cooked nine grain cereal. 1 cup soy millk. 2 tbsp almonds andraisins.
1 C OJ

Snack
2 ounces trail mix (soy nuts almondsand driedcranberries

Lunch
Tna sandwich with ,low fat mayo on two slices oat bread.

Snack
1/2 whole pita filled with 1 tbsp PB and drizzled with2tbsp honey and 1/2 banana sliced

Dinner
Portion protein (salmon) and whole wheat something (rice/pasta)
Salad w/ 1tbsp olive oil

Might add in as apost workout meal fresh fruit
My workout is40 mins running
I hope to get good critiques.
Peace out

[MIKE_XXL]

My honest opinion is this diet is not that good. i hope you are running about 20km a day, because that's what you will need to keep the fat gains from coming. However i am looking at it from BB prespective where protein is the key, so i might be off here but i know i would still go with something more balanced maybe a zone diet, 40gm-protein, 30gm-fat & 30gm-Crabs, or even make the carbs 40%. So there that is just my opinion based on my knowledge about nutrition for BB not runners so take it for what it is...peace...XXL

[Big_Dan]

What can I do then? Im in school. I cant wolf down a <a href="http://www.allsportsnutrition.com/listproducts.php?style=category&value=PROTEIN" target="_blank">protein</a> shake I dont have the money. I can get <a href="http://www.allsportsnutrition.com/listproducts.php?style=category&value=PROTEIN" target="_blank">protein</a> after running, in the morning, at lunch and at night. WHat do yousuggest?
The trail mix is there to stay, and I have plenty of EFAs from natty PB and olive oil?? So help me out here. I appreciate it!

[MIKE_XXL]

There has got to be some cheap source of protein where you live, either Tuna, Cottage Cheese, egg whites, try buying your protein from proteinfactory.com (i think that's the web address) they sell in bulk and the prices are just right...i hope that helps a bit...XXL

[Big_Dan]

I know I can get proteinsources cheap. The thing is, I really dont want a protein powder. Its bad on my budget and I simply detest the taste of all protein powder, cheap or good, and good is prohibitively expensive anyway. Optimum whey is cheap, and taste is pure chocolate water or vanilla water - tried both.
What Im asking is, considering I have SOME protein in there, (twice a day, could add eggs in the morning to make it three) and considering I have lowered calories than my AMR, and considering I have good EFAS from natty pb and olive oil, WHY WOULDNT I LOSE FAT AND KEEP MY MUSCLE?
Im naturally muscular and considering I keep my muscles in work (running) and an occasional workout, I dont see how I wont lose FAT.

Help me out here MIKE, I hate eating protein. I like to run and Im ready to make an effort. But tuna, powder and protein really isnt what I wanna be eating.
Is this a good diet? Will I lose weight? Im around 25% bf!!!
What to do? Help me out here man, I appreciate the help!!

[Big_Dan]

Hows this then mike

Granola or similar whole cereal with 1%milk
1C cottage cheese

1 C trail mix

Tuna sandwich (1 can with miracle whip light on whole wheat)

Post workout
FRUIT (banana/apple, 1 C cottage cheese)

DINNER
1 fist size portion <a href="http://www.allsportsnutrition.com/listproducts.php?style=category&value=PROTEIN" target="_blank">protein</a>
1 fist size portion whole carbs
1tbsp olive oil with vinegar insalad

SNACK
1 pita with 1tbsp natty pb and 1tbsp honey (no need for this insulin spike? I want it so bad
So tell me mike, or anyone, what are your suggstions? BTW< merry xmas!

[Maytag]

OK exactly what is your event? are you an untra marathon runner? a sprinter, a mid range runner like the 800m even or what?

and what is the portion size in your meals?

the diet you've posted this time is much better than the one the nutritionist made for you (the one you posted in the workout forum)

if you are constantly training for long endurance events you need a heck of a lot of protein and you need to keep lifting as heavy as possible in the gym...you definitely can stripp fat on this diet ... even though you are naturally muscular, chances are you won't keep a lot of that muscle mass

long distance endurance athletes...im talking about 3 hour events, you'll find yourself "hitting the wall" quite a bit (totally exhasting your glycogen stores)....not very good for building muscle

hence thats why we have long distance runners being as skinny as heck and sprinters being somewhat muscular

[Maytag]

who said you need to use protein shakes.....Mike just said you can find cheap protein source like tuna, cottage cheese, heck legums....beans and nuts are pretty cheap

[Maytag]

personally i alway like to go with 7 balanced meat, rice, veggie meal....its easy to prep, takes the guess workout of the calculations when im doing my nutritional analysis

so one of my typical meals would be

5oz salmon, 1cup brown rice, 1cup chinese bok choy
or
5oz steak, 1cup brown rice, 1.5cups broccolli
or
2cans of tuna, 1cup brown rice, 1tomatoe

i've got a lot of combinations...carbs i choose from, rice, whole grain bread, oatmal or i would even stack my leafy greens to my carb allotment

<a href="http://www.allsportsnutrition.com/listproducts.php?style=category&value=PROTEIN" target="_blank">protein</a>, i've got steak, salmon, tuna, chicken breast, cod, cottage cheese, skim milk powder

all of the above you will find a very wide array for nutrients...the meat, fish and poultry will contain a very nice quantitiy of, zinc, iron

the brown rice and wholegrain bread, bok choy combo you will get your array of magnesium, potassium, calcium
the

when i did a nutritional analysis on this combo it was matching the upper tolerable intake in the DRI in evey micronutrient....


as a full time student myself, i can tell you this preping the above meals are pretty darn easy....don't even have to think about it because its simple to prep and i've layed it all out for myself in advance

i eat pretty much the same thing when i cut as when i bulk, its just the portion size that is different......i'll cut the rice way down and jack the veggie up

the key is to establish more controll over you blood glucose/your blood insulin level to prevent them from spiking....to do that you need to spread your meals out more

[Maytag]

with the rice, i cook a large container full of it with an instant rice cooker on the weekends and then put it in the fridge all i need to do to pack my meals to take with my to campus is microwave it to head it up

i have a george forman grill that i cook the meat on...the salmon is done in 5min tops...the steak and the chicken breast a little longer

the veggie wash it just boil some water and SLIGHTLY steam them soften them up and to get rid of any bacteria

when im cutting, low on carbs, id add some more seasoning to the meal....since my body will most likely have low aldosterone production anyways

when im bulking, with an abundant amt of carbs, i'd go easy on the seasoning

[MIKE_XXL]

You would loose fat however youwould also lose muscle tissu, since muscle is the only metabolicly active tissue in the body, eventually you would reduce your metabolic rate and loosing fat would be very dificult and any increase of carbs at that point or calories would cause you to gain unwanted fat. I am with Mayteg here, balanced meals all the way, even my mom eats balanced meals now, she went from size 14 to size 8, about 2-3 years ago and she has not gained an ounce back, all she does is eat 5 small bablanced meals, some protein, carbs and flaxseed oil in each. Eating carbs alone will most deffinitely make an insulin spike which can be decramantal in your weight loss. I am sorry Bro but 1C of trail mix is not a meal in my books put some protein in that and com oatmeal and it might become one, i really do not know what to say, but balance is the key here...peace...XXL

[Big_Dan]

Mike,
Im in school man i hope you understand that. 1C of trail mix canniot be mixed with cottage cheese or a protein drink. Number one i dont have the cash, and the taste buds. Now, I have understood that something i sbetter than nothing. So in that time frame where my metabolism might plunge, I could take the cup of trail mix and keep it high , and the insulin wont be high anyway because it is not high glycemic.
Now basically I can add protein in many other meals.
Try this
New Diet
1C of granola
1%milk
1C cottage cheese

1 C trailmix (no protein here)

Tuna sandwich on whole wheat

Post workout (cardio)
Gatorade mix
1C cottage cheese

Dinner
1 portion fist sized protein
1 portion fist sized whole carbs
1tbsp olive oil for omega fats.

Snack
1/2 pita with natty pb.
1 fruit
1 C cottage cheese

[Big_Dan]

Now Im open to suggestions on the last snack as to what to sub for the cottage cheese.
No protein drinks please.
Mike, what do you think.
Anyone else with feedback, remember, im doing 30mins cardio, 3 miles non stop.
Peace out

[MIKE_XXL]

Ok looks better now, let me ask you one thing Dan what is your goal are you trying to reduce BF or gain muscle? The only thing i can think of changing is this i would go with skim milk instead of 1% and i would go with protein drink after workout, but you say no protein drinks, then cottage cheese will have to do, how about 3 hard boiled eggs with that trail mix, just a though that's all, i know what you mean about taste buds, i hate tune more then anything alse, yet i eat 1.5-3 cans a day, and have for as long as i can remember, sometimes we all need to give something to get something, good luck Bro, it looks better then the firt try...peace...XXL

[primodonna]

Whatever your goal is, running is the most catabolic form of cardio you can do...well, maybe except for a 3 hour spinning class

About the taste buds, all i can say is that if any of us ate for taste, we'd all be 300 lbs of lard most likely