It is a common stigma that to be in shape you have to eat super “clean”. “Healthy” foods have their benefits, but even living as a bodybuilder, you may be surprised how much of a foodie I am or how much I like to enjoy a few beers. When it comes to eating, I personally am all about balance. I try to make sure I eat food that is going to fuel me and my fitness goals, but I also have my fair share of highly palatable foods. My all time favorite meal is a BBQ smoked meat plate with all the sides and cold beer. But in that same breathe, I also eat fruits and vegetables at every meal and ensure I get enough protein throughout the day.
In a few other articles I have on my site, we dive into eating for fat loss, along with learning how to track macros. So I thought it would be a cool idea to show everyone what I kind of eat on a daily basis. I do pretty much each close to the same thing every day for breakfast and lunch, but for dinner and any snacks I have usually changes daily or at least weekly.
Breakfast:
So I actually have a real hard time eating in the morning. I typically get up around 6-7 but don’t feel hungry until about 10:30. So instead of going this whole time without any food, I make a protein shake with a minimal amount of water. It’s usually no more than about 6oz, if that, so I can have something in my system. On the occasion I do feel a little hungry, I’ll try and include a piece of fruit, usually a banana. I follow this with 2 cups of black coffee on my drive to work.
Lunch:
So because of my current job I don’t take a specific lunch break. Instead I munch on individual items as I pass by my cooler throughout the day. I typically consume my lunch in the time period of 10:30-1. Some days if I am real hungry or busy I’ll eat it all at once, while others I’ll just eat one at a time as I happen to pass my cooler like I said.
My lunch is typically made of the same contents every day. I start with a sandwich, then will build the other items listed.
Sandwich: Bread, extra meat, then if I have the calories - mayo, honey mustard, sweet and spicy pickles
1-2 pieces of fruit: apple, banana, orange, cup of pineapple, clementines
Yogurt: Either greek or yoplait light
Granola bar: I buy different kinds every few weeks
Chips: I don’t bring one every time, just the individual bags
Enlightened Broad Beans: They are perfect little snack packs
I usually keep a few extra granola bars, protein bars, or peanut butter crackers in my lunch box in case I get really hungry
Dinner:
So my dinners are usually different almost every day and even week to week. But this doesn't mean I blindly pick something off a whim when it comes to dinner time. Instead before I go grocery shopping, I look to see what I have at home, think about what dinners I do want, and make a list of what ones I am going to make for the week. After my dinner list for the week is made I then shop accordingly. Having a meal list for the week helps me make sure I stick to any calorie/nutrition goals.
So here is an example of what a normal week of dinners looks like for me.
Monday:Grilled BBQ ChX (which was marinating from the night before, fried potatoes, green beans
Tuesday: Hamburger Helper with salad
Wednesday: Popcorn chicken, broccoli, rice a roni
Thursday: Baked Flounder, cauliflower, instant side noodle(butter herb)
Friday: Grilled Cheeseburgers, sweet potatoes fries
Saturday: Bang Bang Shrimp, over noodles, with salad
Sunday: Orange Chicken, asian rice, green beans, pot stickers
*Salads*
So I only put a salad officially on two of my meals, but I love to utilize them on days when I don’t know what kind of vegetable I want to have with my meal, or on days when I know my vegetable intake is low. Most people think of boring bowls with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers when a salad is mentioned, and if that's your thing props to yuh… but mine are something so much more. To really make them enjoyable I load mine up with all kinds of vegetables, so much so you usually see more vegetables than lettuce or spinach. A typical salad for me will consist of tomatoes and cucumbers, but then I’ll add beets, avocado, colored peppers, mushroom, onion, olives, snap peas, sometimes even a few slices of boiled eggs, and finally I put it on a little bit of a spring mix or spinach. If I am watching my calories I’ll maybe exclude the avocado, olives, or a high calorie dressing. The great thing about salads is you can pre-chop all the individual vegetables and keep them in individual containers for a few days so you can assemble your salad quickly. If you try to mix a huge one all together at once and bag up pre-made salads they tend to get soggy and kinda gross especially after a day or so. If you individually keep all the vegetables in their own containers they stay fresher for much longer. You can even throw some chicken or cottage cheese on the side to make a whole balanced meal that hit all your macronutrients.
Snacks:
These are totally random and pretty much whatever I can fit into my calories.
I love ice cream, so that gets consumed pretty regularly.
Chex mix is another one of my favorites if I have some extra calories.
If I’m low on protein I’ll just eat a few slices of lunch meat, it's not the best “snack” food, but it does the trick to help hit my protein numbers. Sometimes I will roll it up around a pickle spear to make it more “snacky”.
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
Trail/Snack mixes
Fruit