***The 2020 Gym Rats Thread*** ᕦ( ͠°◞ °)ᕥ

[PermaChanged]

At the moment I'm trying to drop fat. I have very sedentary lifestyle in my 9-5, so my eating compensates for that by being very low carb until dinner, currently nutrition looks like;

Upon waking - Pre-Workout, when having a 6:30am gym session

Breakfast - Whey isolate with a scoop of "Amazing Grass" and whole psyllium husks

Mid Morning - 0% Greek yoghurt with a scoop of whey isolate

Lunch - Either a 3 egg omelette with cheese & ham or straight up meat

Late afternoon - Pre-Workout + a banana when having a 5:30pm gym session

Dinner - One of the "HelloFresh" meals (my main source of carbs)

I'm 6ft3 and 110kg right now, roughly 20% bodyfat, lost around 5kg so far. Fat Free Mass of ~84kg according to an InBody body composition scanner https://www.inbody.com/global/intro/Technology.aspx

Edit: I take daily supplementation of a high quality fish oil, a multi vit and a magnesium & zinc tab.

 

[Freefaller]

Doesn't seem a lot of calories - but ultimately are you enjoying it? Can you stick to it?

 

[LiE]

I've been slowly transitioning to vegan as of July, prior to that I was still eating fish, seafood and dairy. I'm now following a fully plant based diet.

Hitting about 3000cals per day with around 150-180g protein, I weight 81-82kg with a low enough body fat to see abs and separation in the chest/shoulders. I'll give you some typical meal ideas.

Breakfast
1. Muesli with added chia seeds and served with oat milk. A vegan protein shake with water.
2. Porridge made with water and a scoop of vegan protein powder. Add in a ton of berries and some walnuts.

Pre-workout
I usually have 150-200mg of caffeine and a piece of fruit.

Post workout lunch
1. Lentils, chapatis and a serving of greens.
2. Rice, some mixed beans (kidney, pinto, black, etc), greens.
3. Crispy tofu with rice and greens.
4. Vegan burger and sweet potato.

Usually hits around 600-800 cals with 40-50g protein.

Mid afternoon
1. Cinnamon bagel with peanut butter and a piece of fruit and a vegan protein shake
2. Vegan protein shake, bowl of nuts + seeds and a piece of fruit.

Dinner
This varies a lot as I each my with wife and son but the goal is ensure 30-40g protein and around 600-800cals. I will sometimes have some vegan ice cream or yoghurt as a treat.


So easy to follow a plant based diet.

(no dairy though - dairy is really not good for you - I would urge people to stop drinking / eating high levels of dairy, if anything for your gut health).

Das it mane. No more cow breast milk.

 

[Freefaller]

It's doubtful I'll go vegetarian let alone vegan - though we do eat a lot less meat than we used to. Still eat fish 3/4x a week. Our meat consumption has reduced. Mainly for ecological reasons rather than purely the fact an animal is dying - I can live with that - but it's just the right thing to do. It's actually helped diversify our meals a bit - more creative now, plus you do eat more veg as a result which is never a bad thing!

 

[LiE]

I watched a few documentaries and did some research and that was it for me. I always had this unease when eating an animal and what I saw cemented going vegan.

Some enlightening things to watch:
Earthlings
Cowspiracy
What the health
Forks over Knives

 

[PermaChanged]

Doesn't seem a lot of calories - but ultimately are you enjoying it? Can you stick to it?

Sorry, should have mentioned it's a bit of a 5:2 diet - weekends are a lot less restricted calorie wise, eat plenty of whole foods plus one true cheat meal/junk meal.

It's working for now, but isn't something I'll maintain long term - looking to get to ~100kg and see where I want to go, photo below is at 102kg, me on the right. At 110kg I feel a bit heavy and sluggish.

https://imgur.com/a/VTGxOjp

I watched a few documentaries and did some research and that was it for me. I always had this unease when eating an animal and what I saw cemented going vegan.

Some enlightening things to watch:
Earthlings
Cowspiracy
What the health
Forks over Knives

The one documentary which made me give more consideration to what I was eating is Game Changers - I do not believe I could ever go vegetarian or vegan however.

 

[LiE]

The one documentary which made me give more consideration to what I was eating is Game Changers - I do not believe I could ever go vegetarian or vegan however.

Game changers is good, but that focuses on health and performance mostly. I don’t think health is a strong motivator for many. I used to be a massive meat eater and if you said a year ago I’d be vegan I’d have laughed.

It’s very easy to go vegan these days. The reason it’s easy is because more people are voting with their wallets.

sorry to derail the thread, I’ll leave it at that, but I’d encourage you to watch some of those documentaries mentioned. Start with 73 cows, it’s on YouTube and 15 minutes. It’s moving and not distressing to watch.

 

[B&W]

Love my steak too much, could live without chicken probably. But I need my eggs, fresh milk, lamb and beef.

 

[LiE]

Love my steak too much, could live without chicken probably. But I need my eggs, fresh milk, lamb and beef.

I used to think the same rare steak was my go to.

 

[GiraffePencils]

I eat mostly vegan.
Though I will have milk in a latte, and cheese on things on occasion almost all our meals are vegan.
I feel I eat meat responsibly and when I do I buy from the best source I can (local farm produce)

 

[LiE]

I eat mostly vegan.

Awesome

 

[Freefaller]

I could potentially go vegetarian, couldn't do vegan as I won't stop eating eggs, and I would probably still have leather stuff, and I also like fish too much to forego that completely.

 

[LiE]

I could potentially go vegetarian, couldn't do vegan as I won't stop eating eggs, and I would probably still have leather stuff

Gradual change is key, sounds like you've already made quite a few changes already.

and I also like fish too much to forego that completely.

I was pescatarian before July, but that changed when I did some digging.

 

[Freefaller]

It's just the health benefits of oily fish that are hard to overlook (not ignoring the fact it is an animal, and does create ecological issues).

Eggs also mean, cakes, quiches (without cheese of course), and other wonderful baked goods that are just too enjoyable!

I have made quite a few changes, and we have significantly reduced our meat consumption. For example we used to get 2 muscle food boxes per month. We now maybe get one every 2/3 months. That's pretty dramatic.

I'm thoroughly enjoying more asian-style food which is largely more vegetarian as well.

I think I'm just more mindful - and just less gluton-like than I used to be.

Saying that, I discovered beetroot burgers a while back, and I'd have those over a beefburger any day of the week.

 

[kaptainmarc]

I have been vegetarian for 2 and a half years.

Majority of the time I eat vegan as so is the wife but I have the odd egg here and there and some chocolate.

nice to see more people making small or big changes .

nuts and tofu are the savior when trying to bulk.

May be absolute horse tripe but I dont get DOMS anywhere near as bad if at all since the switch, but that may be down to time ive been training.

 

[Pigeon_Killer]

I just got a MF box delivered yesterday, 5kg of Chicken for £15 along with some mince and pork strips will last me a couple of months.

I eat meat most days, for lunch and dinner, but one chicken breast or 400g of mince will make 3 days worth of meals for me.

 

[tom_e]

I'm eating around 3000kcals a day at the moment, it's the most I've ever eaten in a cleanish manor.

3 eggs, couple of toast with butter, 80g oats, 30g whey

175g chicken, green salad, banana

175g chicken, 300g oven chips, salad/veg

150g lean mince,20g butter , salad/veg, banana

30g whey, 20g pb, 200 free kcals of whatever I fancy.

Changes slightly on a Wednesday lower protein/higher carbs/more free kcals then cheat meal on Saturday.

There is a lot of cardio/lifting to support losing fat while on that level of kcals but it's nicer than starving myself and forgoing the cardio.

That's with me sitting at 110kg 5'5

 

[Freefaller]

I avoid soya based - phytoestrogens are a thing, and not a good thing.

 

[LiE]

I avoid soya based - phytoestrogens are a thing, and not a good thing.

The research on phytoestrogens is pretty inconclusive. Still I wouldn’t include a large amount of Soy anyway even though many vegans do with no reported issues.

The containments in fish, that looks far more nasty.

 

[Freefaller]

As ever in this world of science arguments can be put forward which supports and / or refutes.

The avoidance of soya evidence wise was significant enough for me to completely avoid it - and similarly the body of evidence for meat and its ecological impact is hard to refute hence my decision to reduce it. I don't really care about killing animals, I still will go hunting this season, but it's just the quantity of meat / industrialisation of it that is damaging for me.