Critique me PLEASE!

[Captain Gwen]

K girls, I've never asked to have my diet or routine critiqued before as I've always felt I was doing good on my own...but I think I realized maybe some advice from those looking from the outside in could give me comments regarding my diet.

I am 33, 5'4" and 122lbs

I will list, in no paticular order, what I have daily. I usually switch it up a bit, but what I am about to post is basically how I eat each day.

My calories range from 1500 to 1900, protein is anywhere from 173g-211g a day and carbs are usually between 80-120 daily.

1/4 c oats w/ 1/4 c 1% milk
or
1/2 c oats w/ 1/2 c 1% milk

1/4 c non fat cottage cheese w 11 blueberries
or
1/2 c non fat cottage cheese w 22 blueberries

1 scoop whey

1 chicken breast

2 turkey burgers

2-4 oz salsa

1/2 oz to 1 oz almonds or walnuts

1/2 c non fat yogurt w 2 oz Kashi Go Lean cereal

1 scoop whey (most times add 1/4 mango)

4 PB on cheese crackers
or
1/2 serving of Muscle Puffs

1 chicken breast or 2 turkey burgers and 1 cup green veggies
or 1 cup yellow squash

1 scoop casein


...ok, let the lashing begin!

[Khsmile]

it would be easier to critique your diet if you put what exactly you ate at each meal time, and how far apart they are spaced...i cant tell if you eat oat, milk, and cottage cheese for meal one, or if that is 2 seperate meals, or what...

[Captain Gwen]

7:30am- 1/2 c oats w 1/2 c milk and 1 scoop whey(27g)

9:30/10am- 1/2 c cottage cheese and 22 blueberries

somewhere between the cottage cheese and lunch I have a turkey burger

12:30- Chicken breast(sometimes with 2-4oz salsa), 1/2 c rice or 1/2 sweet potato or small salad w/ salsa (if not eaten with chicken)

1:30-2pm- another turkey breast and a snack like the pb crackers or muscle puffs

3/3:30 1 scoop whey with 1/4 c non fat yogurt, diet juice and 1/4 c mango made as a protein fruit smoothie

4:30 workout

IMMEDIATELY following workout- 1/2 c non fat yogurt and 2 oz Kashi Go Lean

Dinner- Chicken Breast, 1 cup veggies

Before bed- 1 Scoop Casein(21g)

[sportyhp]

Originally Posted by Captain Gwen

My calories range from 1500 to 1900, protein is anywhere from 173g-211g a day and carbs are usually between 80-120 daily.

that's a big range, id say try to keep your caloric intake mostly equal for the whole week. if your goal is to gain some muscle, id say you need to eat some more (up those carbs too). your diet also looks low on fats (if its fat free cc?), try to put some nuts in maybe at night? or put a low fat dressing on those veggies at dinner. your pwo meal could use some tweaking too (thinking it needs more protein but im not sure on what the count is w/ what you already have)

[Khsmile]

i think everything looks really good, except the post workout meal. I would try to replace it with a protein shake..yogurt doesnt have that many grams of protein, mostly a carb source. I normally do a whey shake and a banana. And as noted above, i would make everyday as close as a could with cals and macros, consistency is what will get you results.

[Captain Gwen]

Originally Posted by Khsmile

i think everything looks really good, except the post workout meal. I would try to replace it with a protein shake..yogurt doesnt have that many grams of protein, mostly a carb source. I normally do a whey shake and a banana. And as noted above, i would make everyday as close as a could with cals and macros, consistency is what will get you results.

yeah, the higher cal days are usually my cheat days, but I rarely exceed 1700 yet always maintain a minimum 1500-so I am pretty close daily. the higher days are usually steak days.

sometimes I do drink a shake after my workout, but I've also read that eating carbs within 30 minutes post workout is beneficial as after vigorous exercise-that's when the body will act like a sponge and absorb the nutrients to help in recovery.

a combination of carbs and protein can also help the body recoup. Protein helps repair muscle damage, but carbs are king when it comes to replenishing carbohydrate stores.

so I eat the yogurt and Kashi (total 10g protein) for the triple benefit of a post workout meal, carbs and protein.

at this point, since I am getting about 211g protein by day's end, I don't really feel the need to add another shake IMMEDIATELY following the work out. however, I am open to arguement and being proven wrong.

[sportyhp]

Originally Posted by Captain Gwen

at this point, since I am getting about 211g protein by day's end, I don't really feel the need to add another shake IMMEDIATELY following the work out. however, I am open to arguement and being proven wrong.

just take out a bit of protein somewhere else and put it pwo. pre and post workout meals are most important in my mind

[nacersusaf]

Originally Posted by Khsmile

And as noted above, i would make everyday as close as a could with cals and macros, consistency is what will get you results.

Actually I disagree with you both. I think that a great deal of success in both bulking and cutting can be found with calorie and carb cycling. It keeps the body guessing and keeps you from becoming bored with your diet. Also, you can eat more on your more strenuous workout days and a bit less when you are resting or doing cardio and don't need as much food.

Eating the same amount and exercising the same way day in and day out is generally what causes people to plateau.

[sportyhp]

Originally Posted by nacersusaf

Actually I disagree with you both. I think that a great deal of success in both bulking and cutting can be found with calorie and carb cycling. It keeps the body guessing and keeps you from becoming bored with your diet. Also, you can eat more on your more strenuous workout days and a bit less when you are resting or doing cardio and don't need as much food.

Eating the same amount and exercising the same way day in and day out is generally what causes people to plateau.

hmm i actually never thought about that, interesting thanks nacersauf.
....can carb cycling be worked into a maintenance diet too? i have kind of thought about doing it, but in the past have decided not to because i get a little hesitant that i wont have as much energy if i drop the carbs on certain days

[nacersusaf]

Originally Posted by sportyhp

....can carb cycling be worked into a maintenance diet too? i have kind of thought about doing it, but in the past have decided not to because i get a little hesitant that i wont have as much energy if i drop the carbs on certain days

Absolutely, in fact, that's what I am doing now.

I figured out about how much I would need to eat to maintain (while still working out) and use that as an average. On my rest days or days that I do cardio only I subtract about 200 calories worth of carbs, and on my heavy lifting days I add about 200 calories worth of carbs. On regular lifting days where I do a bit of cardio at the end I eat at maintenance.

For me, it ends up breaking out to;
Sunday - Low
Monday - Medium
Tuesday - Medium
Wednesday - Low
Thursday - Medium
Friday - Low or Medium depending on cardio intensity
Saturday - High

I also do a refeed instead of my high day every other week (which is basically just extra high)

Obviously you would want to structure yours based on workouts and caloric needs, and figure out where to add in your treats too.

Captain Gwen... sorry to hijack your thread! I hope this helps you too though!

[Captain Gwen]

Originally Posted by nacersusaf

Captain Gwen... sorry to hijack your thread! I hope this helps you too though!

no no no...this is EXACLTY what messageboards are for!

it doesn't so much help on the critiquing of my "current" diet...but again, as I stated, I am open for being proven wrong as well as being open for options and suggestions.

I have considered carb cycling myself, but not sure on how to do it.
Any suggestions?

[Captain Gwen]

Originally Posted by sportyhp

just take out a bit of protein somewhere else and put it pwo. pre and post workout meals are most important in my mind

GOOD POINT! Guess I can skip the morning shake, continue with my pwo shake and add in the post workout shake.

...till I can figure this carb cycling business out.

[sportyhp]

Originally Posted by nacersusaf

Absolutely, in fact, that's what I am doing now.

I figured out about how much I would need to eat to maintain (while still working out) and use that as an average. On my rest days or days that I do cardio only I subtract about 200 calories worth of carbs, and on my heavy lifting days I add about 200 calories worth of carbs. On regular lifting days where I do a bit of cardio at the end I eat at maintenance.

For me, it ends up breaking out to;
Sunday - Low
Monday - Medium
Tuesday - Medium
Wednesday - Low
Thursday - Medium
Friday - Low or Medium depending on cardio intensity
Saturday - High

I also do a refeed instead of my high day every other week (which is basically just extra high)

Obviously you would want to structure yours based on workouts and caloric needs, and figure out where to add in your treats too.

Captain Gwen... sorry to hijack your thread! I hope this helps you too though!

awesome info repped!

[Khsmile]

The cycling may work for you and your body..i do have a cheat meal once every week or two, which throws my body for a loop, but other than that im very consistant with things, and i have not hit my plateu yet, although im sure im due for one, then i will switch things up, but i will be consistant with the new change until i plateau again And the cycling seems to complicated for me..i get tired of write everything out everyday and figuring out macros, ect.

[ohtm27]

one of my questions is "are you still going to compete?" What are your goals? More muscle mass? You are almost 4wks out from your first show. Did you go back on your 6wk out diet?

[urstrulyhb]

i think you eat a little bit to much dairy

[robin_sinclear]

Originally Posted by ohtm27

one of my questions is "are you still going to compete?" What are your goals? More muscle mass? You are almost 4wks out from your first show. Did you go back on your 6wk out diet?

That was going to be my question... is this a competition prep diet, a maintenance diet, or a bulking diet? That's what will really determine whether you are on the "right" diet or not.
Overall, though, I agree with urstrulyhb that your dairy intake is high. I also agree with the girls that your pre and post w/o meals need tweaking. It seems that you could do away with the turkey burger that you eat between your am snack and lunch (makes your meal timing too close together) and do a whey isolate shake with a high glycemic carb like a banana or 2 rice cakes.

[Captain Gwen]

Well, right now my diet is a little bit both maintenance and bulk-with less emphasis on the bulk as my next competition is 8/25/07. Not sure if I go into a bulking diet that I will have enough time to clean it up for August.

Too much dairy? Really? If I removed the milk from my morning oats and used water, would that make my dairy intake more acceptable? NOTE: all my shakes are made with water or juice, I NEVER use milk for the shakes.

If I removed the turkey burgers from the diet, I'd be dying of hunger. Guess I can add in the banana and rice cakes but then am I adding too many carbs?

THANK YOU ALL!

[Captain Gwen]

still wondering about my question regarding the suggested high dairy intake and whether or not removing the milk from my oats is acceptable to lower the high intake...

also note that all my shakes are made with water...anyone?

[Christine_23]

Even if you leave the a.m. milk in your oats, you're only eating 1 3/4 cups of dairy products total. I don't personally see why this would be too much, unless you have an intolerance to lactose.

[Captain Gwen]

Originally Posted by Christine_23

Even if you leave the a.m. milk in your oats, you're only eating 1 3/4 cups of dairy products total. I don't personally see why this would be too much, unless you have an intolerance to lactose.

That's why I'm confused as to why a couple of the other posters suggested my dairy intake was too high...I assumed that was because they assumed my shakes were made with milk???

[twinnett]

What's wrong w/ dairy??

[Captain Gwen]

Originally Posted by twinnett

What's wrong w/ dairy??

LMAO...again, I too am still waiting for answers