ruechaos

Hey everyone! Long time onlooker, but never really involved (pretty much all my questions have been answered in the archives). I've been trying to put together a diet that will help me accomplish a few goals and would like to ask for your opinions on it. An IDEAL diet for me is one that fuels me adequately for training and improvement on the bike, promotes fat loss, and reduces muscle loss. I have about 20-25lbs. of body fat to lose before I'd consider myself in optimal cycling fitness. I can afford to lose a little upper body muscle mass, but want to minimize core and leg muscle loss. So here's my diet idea based on a typical day with a 1-2 hour training ride. Half that time spent around LT, the other half at tempo.

Meal 1: V8 - Low sodium
Slimfast Shake


Meal 2: 1 Pint Skim Milk
1.5 scoop whey protein powder


Meal 3: Chicken Breast
1/2 cup carrots


Meal 4: Yougurt
V8 - Low sodium


On bike: Water


At 1 hour on
bike or finish: Banana


Post Ride: 1 scoop Creatine
1 scoop vinillia whey protein
10oz. OJ or Apple Juice
1 cup frozen blueberries

Meal 5: Chicken Breast
3 cups romaine lettuce


Meal 6: 1 cup Skim Milk
1 scoop cassin protein powder


Good Night.....

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Nutrition Facts:


Calories: 2140

Fat: 31g
Sat: 11g
Poly: 4g
Mono: 8g

Carbs: 238g
Fiber 23g

Protein: 230g
-------------------------------------------------------

I have other diet plans based off of this for longer rides (up to 5hrs. for my centuries) and one plan for my weight training days. Biggest difference is more carbs for longer rides, fewer carbs for weight days. If you guys see any obvious problems or have any suggestions, PLEASE don't hesitate to comment.

Thanks in advance!

-Tony B

ModoVincere

all the protein powder supplementation...expensive.
Probably low on vitamins and minerals as well.

mateo44

More fruits and vegetables, methinks.....

Snuffleupagus

Less protein powder and more poultry/fish.

ruechaos

Good idea on the fruits and veggies, good antioxidants and starchy carbs, yum yum. I forgot to mention that I take a men's multi vitamin in the morning along with 18 fish oils and 18 desiccated beef liver tabs throughout the day. So that's another 180 calories from fat (fish oil) and an extra 144 calories from protein (beef liver).

I also forgot to mention my vitals: 25yo, 177lbs., 5'9", 15%bf

Thanks again!

ruechaos

<----Huge fan of tuna! I'll do some substituting. Great idea!

jamesstout

bread pasta oats rice potato yam mmm

Pedal Wench

I would starve without more filling 'real' food.

donrhummy

Agree 100%. You need more real food in there, and in particular fruits/veggies. Don't worry about the fruit sugar (technically a simple sugar) as it has a very low glycemic index of about 22 (compared to glucose which is 100).

aikigreg

get rid of the slimfast and make it a regular casein containing shake. Slimfast is HORRIBLE. I would also suggest that you're not getting much healthy fat at all. Put a tablespoon of ground flaxseed in the am protein Add in a few tablespoons of quality fish oil. Throw a half of an avocado in another shake. Get rid of the apple juice and put those calories to good use with a meal with more real fruit and veggies.

And ignore those who say get rid of the protein powder. It's cheaper than whole food and gets you a lot of protein per meal, which is necessary. I would even go so far as to add in a half or full scoop into the yogurt in meal #4.

Once you balance in some healthy fats you should be rocking. You didn't mention how much you weight but even while dieting you're likely coming in too low calorie-wise and will need to adjust upwards. Adding in the healthy fat will take car of that and take care of your brain and joint function at the same time. Fat is also thermogenic and anabolic, so you got that going for you, which is nice.

slowandsteady

Slim fast is pure sugar plus fiber and a vitamin pill. You might as well down a few packets of sugar while filling up on Metamucil. Try eating really food. Vegetable soup can be very filling. Eat more chicken and fish.

ruechaos

What would be a better juice in your opinion? I like to use it in my post exercise creatine shake. How about V8 Fusion? Tastes pretty good and has a full serving of both fruits and veggies.

I am getting quite a bit of good fats (in my opinion) from the butt-load of fish oil that I take. Is Flax really any better than fish oil? I also like to throw in some cod liver oil to my creatine shake.

My vitals are: 25yo, 177lbs., 5'9", 15%bf

Thanks for the good ideas everyone!

ruechaos

OKAY!!! No slimfast. I also just learned that it contains trans fats! WTF!? A drink for dieters that contain trans fats... Odd world we live in.

donrhummy

You really seem to want a non-food solution to your problem. Why? Trust me on this: stick to foods that are the least processed and you'll lose fat (with exercise). Every suggestion someone gives you, you come back with a proessed alternative. Stay away from all that and make your diet 100% real/whole foods.

bac

A quick look shows this as your calorie ratio:

Fat: 6%
Carb: 48%
Protein: 46%

Generally speaking, you should be looking at more of a:

Fat=15%
Carb=60%
Protein=25%

You're looking at WAY too much protein, and not enough carbs for hard riding. You also need some healthy fats in there.

aikigreg

I'm saying get rid of the juice entirely. Empty calories. You should never consume something when dieting that won't have any effect other than raise blood sugar! Replace juice with good carbs that will have a positive benefit such as green veggies or such. You need a bit more whole food anyway.

Flax is not better than fish oil - it's simply a different source. And you didn't mention it in your list before, so be sure you count those as calories.

VanceMac

Disagree with aikigreg on the juice. You have those simple carbs exactly where you need them: post ride.

EJ123

What's your take on mayonnaise?

rodrigaj

Food pyramid

Small portions (i.e., moderation)

Excercise

cslone

I just checked my wife's bars and shakes and it says 0 Trans Fat on both.

ruechaos

Check the ingredients, the shake contains hydrogenated soybean oil.

Richard Cranium

Didn't have to check your diet, the fact that you are asking about it is proof you have problems.

Normal people usually learn how to eat by the time they learn how to type.

aikigreg

I'd agree with you if he had enough carbs coming from veggies. If he'll add a half cup veggies to every meal, I'll give you back the juice

aikigreg

The food pyramid is the worst invention EVAR. What kind of person trusts the government to dictate the proper way to eat?

rodrigaj

I do. I'm 57 years old, 5'8", 155 lbs. No cholesterol problems, no high blood pressure, no diabetes. I bike 6000 miles a year. No gel paks, no energy drinks, no whey blah blah blah.

Just the food pyramid, moderation and exercise. I feel great, have lots of energy for kids (I teach Chemistry) and I coach Science Olympiad.