To ask if u go to the gym, what do you eat?

[Anon6713]

Just a rough daily meal plan ?

Loads of chicken and morning porridge. No carbs with dinner. Joe Wicks has good recipes.

Calorie counting

Protein and just a normal diet. I do strength training and I don't train for weight loss, but the achievement in being strong.

This for me too. I'm a powerlifter.

I’ve struggled with disordered eating previously so I just want to focus on being healthy and getting fit, not calorie counting. So I’m looking to make a healthy meal plan to get all the protein etc I need

I dont eat at all til I get home in the evenings. I have quorn, veg, pizza , eggs stuff like that. No meat , pasta or rice. And very little white bread, just on pizzas.

Harshly, I don't think that aibu is safe for someone with orevious issues.
There is a food topic and you could get some advice on exercise topic too.

Good luck!

At the moment I usually have something like ham on toast or porridge for breakfast, for lunch a cheese and ham toastie or eggs on toast, something like sausage and salad in wraps, pasta bake or egg fried rice with meat and veg (it’s not rly fried it’s microwave rice put in a pan with scrambled eggs and meat), and a protein shake throughout the day. I do about 10k steps a day and just do weights at the gym, I’ve just started out. I’m 5’5 and about 65kg. I’m trying to better my diet after pretty much living off potato waffles and instant noodles for the last few months since moving out. I’m 18.

Just posted here for traffic.

Probably 5/6 days a week.
Cake once a week and take away/eat out once a week. Alcohol roughly twice a month.

Breakfasts
Porridge, nuts and seeds with honey
Coconut colab ‘yogurt’, nuts & fruit
Peanut butter on toast
Scrambled egg, bacon medallions and toast
Smoothie - almond milk, vegan protein powder, frozen berries and 1/2 banana

Lunch
Chicken salad wholemeal wrap
Chicken and veg soup
Hummus, roast veg and wholemeal pitta
BLT
Ham omelette
Lentil and ham soup

Dinner
Chicken, soy, chilli and garlic noodles with lots of veg
Chickpea and spinach curry
Fajitas
Steak salad
Three bean chilli and wholemeal pitta
Spiced cod pad Thai

Snacks (2 a day usually)
3 squares dark chocolate
Almonds
Cashews
Banana
Apple & 1tb peanut butter
Bliss ball - local deli vegan protein snack

2L plus of water (I pee constantly)
Sugarfree Almond/Oat flat white
Black tea

Breakfast: Two protein weetabixes and skimmed milk with blueberries

after the gym: snack with protein - eg one of something like a protein shake, reduced fat mini babybel, handful of roasted chickpeas etc

lunch: something like a 3 egg omelette with spinach, mushroom & grated cheese / warburton’s protein bagels with salmon and low fat Philadelphia / tuna, reduced fat mayo and sweetcorn sandwich on whole meal bread / prawn, mayo and cucumber sandwich. All with tomatoes or some other fruit / veg.

dinner: seabass, stir fry veg and noodles / thai curry made with reduced fat coconut milk, veg and tofu with rice / prawn curry & rice

I eat takeaways, the odd ready meal and I snack on nuts, yoghurt, fruit.

I also have no issues with eating a bit of cake etc here and there but not usually more than twice a week.

I’m never hungry and it feels like I eat big portions.

I go to the gym 4-5 times a week - 5pm (weekdays) and 9am (weekends) I calorie count (1500) and IF so only eat between 12-8pm.

Breakfast - coffee
Lunch - soup/crackers/fruit
Dinner - spag bol, chilli, curry, fajitas, pasta, etc.

I snack on nuts and drink 2.5l of water a day.

I think I should be eating bigger portions so that I stop having to eat toast before I go to bed, and just fill up more on protein. Need to stop being scared of being full.

Is that really enough ?? Maybe I eat too much

What you eat really depends on your goals, and what your doing at the gym.
Just 'weights' and 10k steps isn't really enough to go on. Try working out your BMR, to give your baseline fuel needed then go from there. Avoid anything with added 'protein' - it's just expensive shit. Protein bars for example ... avoid like the plague.

Lots of tuna, eggs, leafy greens, omelettes, scrambled eggs, chicken, roasted vegetables, (favourite is cauliflower and chickpeas with some cayenne pepper over the top on a baking tray in oven) with olive oil, actually better to keep repeating some things you like than constantly trying lots of ‘healthy meals’ that use so many ingredients and make too much mess. Keep it simple. I like eggs after a workout. Some fruit before a workout. Stick to dark berries. Hot meal in evening. Don’t deprive yourself, it’s about feeding your body.

You’ll find you can’t actually eat that much if you eat ‘real’ foods. You feel full.

This is really helpful thank you.

No you don't!! That menu is not healthy at all. You've focused in on amounts rather than content.
There are 2 previous posters with fantastic good healthy menus. Focus on those. You've said yourself you're having to fill up on toast before bed - doesn't sound like you're eating enough to me. I never feel like that and I don't even have anything after dinner at 6pm because I'm full up with good stuff.
You need to work on your mind here, you're only 18 You've got a long life to go. Treat your body kindly and look after it - you don't do that by only having coffee for breakfast then a spag bol for tea

. I'm actually annoyed people would read this OP then suggest that - you're trying to better yourself not succombe to disordered eating. Honestly follow someone with a positive mindset and a good menu which is why I mentioned Joe wicks but there's lots of others out there too.

This is really unhealthy for a gym regime, it would be a calorie deficit without exercise and to get the benefits of the gym, there needs to be significantly more protein and also more calories because you're body needs fuel.

Soaked oats or banana on toast, maybe poached eggs and myshrooms

ramen noodles
steak stir fry
chicken black beans and rice

Good advice here OP, and practical too which I'm always a big fan of.

The biggest thing I've always found OP is the comment 'your body needs fuel' which is so important when either trying to put in muscle or simply doing a lot of exercise.

Also, another thing I always repeat and have done since I worked in a gym is 'inches, not pounds' - ignore your weight and focus on your size when training. Take regular measurements at the same day/time each week to see if your workout regimen and diet is effective.

On the days I go to the gym (usually in the evening) I try to make sure I’ve had a protein rich diet - I know that it’s overall diet that makes the difference but feeling that I’m well prepared gives me a mental boost.

Go easy on yourself, it’s hard to leave disordered eating behind. Don’t try to change too much at once.

Don’t assign moral values to foods - no ‘good’ or ‘bad’

You sound like you’ve made some great improvements already!

(ps a slice of toast in the evening is a perfectly acceptable snack)

Is that really enough ?? Maybe I eat too much

No it's not. Your body needs fuel for the gym, eating like that is not going to be healthy.

The go-to amount of protein required is always quoted as 1 g/lb per day... but this is a massive overkill and is no doubt encouraged by the protein powder companies.

Actual requirement is ~0.7/lb... and even that was for elite athletes and powerlifters.

The real key is distribution of those intakes (every 3 hours or so)... so my wife for example (165 lbs) needs about 100 g, and using her numbers, she'd typically have:
7 am - 20 g first thing (coffee and powder) - to replenish overnight protein deficit
Light snack ( e.g. handful of nuts)
20 g midday before gym (say chicken breast/salad/rice... porridge and powder... Huel...)
20 g shortly after gym- protein only
20 g dinner -anything you fancy
20 g complex protein (e.g. casein)

You can eat what you like before and after gym I find... first meal is always light (coffee and powder) as it helps to keep weight down, dinner can be richer the further it is from bed, and again, powder just before bed so there's aren't any carbs to convert to fat.

By no means an expert this is just what I've found has worked for me. I'm a bit of a snacker so if I base most of my meals around pure/lean proteins and/or powders, I usually make up the other required calories 'accidentally'.

100% this!

Healthy fats, complex carbs, lots of protein. Just a very healthy diet with truckload of veg. More fish than meat. Limited fruit, no alcohol and I take Vit D in the winter.