Getting serious about working out.

[el scrapdog]

Hi all,

I've been working out off + on for the last year, I've just recently gotten back into working out again and am currently trying to learn as much as possible.

As i've been reading on the boards, diet is obviously one of the biggest (if not, the biggest) factors to working out -- and whilst i've been trying to improve my diet, i'm finding it hard to find what things i can eat that are beneficial for me.

I have 4 protein shakes (48g each)
dinner is usually either chicken/steak + veg.


those are the only things i can actually commit too, during the day i wake up for work at 6am + don't get home until about 6pm.

I know i could make lunch for the next day at home, but being that i only get 30 minutes for lunch at work - i would need something that is high in protein + fairly easy to re-heat, i'm thinking of something like pasta - but what can i put with pasta? .. also, what else can i be eating between meals that is going to help?

I want to build a solid base before i start looking at taking AAS, I know i will see just as much gains if i improve my diet + lift properly than if i took AAS and went in half-heartedly, so i wanna get as much boost as i can naturally before i start looking at Juice


I'm 22 years old, 6'0 + 164lbs.
so, i know i have a huge learning curve ahead of me.


Thanks for the help.

[gbrice75]

Welcome - you seem to have a good attitude and lookout on this, and with that you can go far. I have a similar schedule to yours. I get up at 4:30am, in they gym by 5:30am, go straight to work after and don't get home until 6pm, earliest.

I precook all my meals ahead of time - usually on Sunday's and Wednesday's. I eat pasta every day for one of my meals - multi grain pasta with 4.5oz of lean ground chicken. You need to get creative with this kind of stuff.

Why don't you post up your exact current diet and I will try and help you out with it?

[el scrapdog]

thanks for replying man,

getting up at 4.30am? wow -- pretty dedicated, haha. I'm lucky if i can wake up for work at 6! I really think pre-cooking my meals for the week on sundays would help alot, chicken + pasta does seem like a smart option.

I was also thinking of sandwiches too, during the day. but again, if there are better alternatives, i'm happy to try.


My diet is really pretty poor at the moment,

I wake up at 6am - protein shake.
between then and about 10am, i eat nothing.
10am roughly, it's either small portions of fruit.
12pm/1pm - lunch usually varies.
2pm - protein shake
6pm - steak + veg / chicken + veg.
9pm - protein shake.

That's rough, but pretty accurate.

[gbrice75]

thanks for replying man,

getting up at 4.30am? wow -- pretty dedicated, haha. I'm lucky if i can wake up for work at 6! I really think pre-cooking my meals for the week on sundays would help alot, chicken + pasta does seem like a smart option.

I was also thinking of sandwiches too, during the day. but again, if there are better alternatives, i'm happy to try.


My diet is really pretty poor at the moment,

I wake up at 6am - protein shake. How about adding in a couple eggs here, and 1/2 cup of oats. After sleeping all night, your body needs real food and a protein shake won't really do jack for you by itself

between then and about 10am, i eat nothing. You need to be eating every 2.5 to 3 hours, so your next meal is now at 9am.
10am roughly, it's either small portions of fruit. 9am meal - drop the fruit. Protein source and a complex carb here.

12pm/1pm - lunch usually varies. With what?! This doesn't tell us anything - you need to start making and bringing your own food, something you can calculate all the nutritional info for. Either way, with your previous meal at 9am, this meal def. needs to be at 12pm now

2pm - protein shake Is this a PWO shake? If not, drop it, make it 3pm and do more lean protein and complex carbs here. Chicken, fish, lean beef, etc. - brown rice, sweet potato, etc

6pm - steak + veg / chicken + veg. First decent meal! Cook the veggies in olive oil to get some good fats in. Make sure they are fiberous veggies such as broccoli, asparagus, spinach, etc. No corn, peas...

9pm - protein shake. Is this right before bed? What kind of shake is it? Add a tbsp or 2 of natural peanut butter to this meal to bring the good fat up in the evening. Helps slow digestion and keep you from going catabolic while you sleep

That's rough, but pretty accurate.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. We need to see the diet listed with macro info - protein/carbs/fat/calories for each item or at least each meal (yes, this means you will have to calculate and count EVERYTHING you eat). Then we can figure out what to drop, what to add, etc.

Also need to know when you workout during that schedule, and when you're doing your cardio. Without having the macros, it's pretty tough to do anything with your diet, but I gave it a shot above - just some rough suggestions in bold.