This thread will be for people who are getting in shape, in shape or just want to discuss different ideas relating to health/fitness.

I will add videos and stories as I go along. Please share your stories/ideas....

Someone asked what you guys eat at work throughout the day that doesnt require a lot of prep.

I eat fiberone bars and bananas as snacks but lunches are still a weak spot.

For lunch Ive been eating a lot of wendys chilli and side salads.

some coworkers here eat a cup of wild rice and 2 chicken breasts for lunch everyday. I might try that soon too

 

If you click on the link I provided for my program it details it out pretty well but here is a short list

Proteins
Chicken Grilled or baked
Lean Beef again Grilled baked
Fish White fish is lower in fat grilled baked
Buffalo Grilled, baked (I think your getting the point here)
Turkey

Veggies
Any green veggie. Avoid putting oils or butter
Other veggies really depends. Carrots for example are high in sugar but good for you avoid if on a low fat low sugar diet

Fruits
Ok in moderation but again very high in sugar. Avoid if really trying to cut sugar out but ok to maintain afterward.

Carbs
Brown Rice
Whole Wheat bread or pasta (make sure it is 100% whole wheat because alot of it isn't)
Rice Cakes (Brown rice ones if possible)
Sweet potatoes or Yams

The best ways to prepare all of this is to either grill or bake them. Use Pam spray to coat the pan and don't add oil. Really all the seasoning you want. I like the Mrs Dash no salt seasoning because cutting back on salt also helps your body not retain so much liquid.
Veggies are the same just add seasoning and bake or heat in the microwave with some water.

Condiments and sauces are generally something your should avoid as they often have huge amounts of sugar, oil and salt and really have no nutritional value what so ever.

Booze should be avoided all together if you are dieting. That includes wine. It all just turns into sugar and is bad.

 

What I do for meals at work. I should note that it is fine to cook things in a pan on the stove but use the Pam spray not oil to do so.

So pretty much every night I makes dinner and I also make extra for the next day. That way you are just making it all at once. I'll try to explain the best as I can. For this example I'll use chicken because it is very very easy to cook.

3-4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts thawed.
Take Glass cooking pan and spray with pam
Put chicken in and season with whatever you like. I usually season 2 with one flavor and the other 2 with another for some variety.
Heat oven to 450. Cook chicken for 20-30 minutes or until fully cooked.
Place individual chicken breasts into small Tupperwares and cut them up (for some reason this helps them heat up better in the microwave the next day and they are a little more juicy.

Frozen broccoli. Put in microwavable container with some water and seasoning. Heat in microwave until hot. Put in tupperware with chicken.

Brown rice bowls from costco. These are LIFESAVERS! Takes 1:30 in the microwave and each has 2 servings. Split up and place in tupperware with other food.

Now does this take some time? Yes. Can you make meals for a few days all at once? Sure. I have generally found that I can make enough food for 2-3 days and have it still taste ok when reheated. Beef is the exception where if it is more than a day old its not very good when reheated.

Here is a recipe for egg white pancakes that I have also used because these can be a meal by themselves and are very easy to make and taste pretty good.
1 cup water
3/4 cup oatmeal
1 tsp baking powder (optional)
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
4 large whites
1 tsp cinnamon, ground
2-4 scoops of protein powder
Maple syrup flavoring (found in the baking aisle by the vanilla)

For everyone wanting alot more information or a place to get some healthy recipes or ideas just look here.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bbma...od-and-recipes

The bodybuilding.com site has pretty much everything you could ever want or need to know in it someplace.

Ben stop eating at wendy's. Nothing in that place is healthy. Nothing

 

Just remember this. There is no sliver bullet, magic diet, or easy way to do this. In order for it to work and I mean really work it takes a lot of dedication and effort to make it happen. If you are serious things like working out and eating right should be priorities not things that get dropped if something comes up.

 

This is great info!! I'm hoping to do this myself, get from 220 to 175 and tone/bulk up a bit.

Good luck Ben! You can do it!

 

I agree with you its not the most ideal place to eat. But when you budget yourself and have a busy schedule sometimes you dont have any other choices but to eat out. This weekend I will be shopping with the wife for some better goods to make for lunches

this was my lunch today- Minus the huge amounts of salt and fat its not that bad.


I definitley could make something quite a bit better at home. But considering a month ago I was downing large #2s(double cheeseburgers for the non-fat kids) with cokes everyday for lunch and grubbing out late at night with the guys, this is a huge step forward.

 

i wont touch heavily on the food part of it as everyone has an opinion and i tend to agree with most of the ideas that if you eat clean foods youll be healthier. i feel that you can get away with eating some junk food, and found that if you deprive yourself of it youll be more likely to fail your set goals. this doesnt mean eat candy bars and soda, but you can have a small amount of sugar at some point in the day, better right after a work out or first thing in the morning.
as far as setting a goal i think that " weight loss" is too general for setting a goal. i think setting a body fat percentage goal basing youtr progress on your bmi ( body mass index) allows for more desirable results especially if weightlifting is incorporated into the exercise routine.
i found that if you eat the things you enjoy in moderation and reasonable amounts , you have a productive workout routine, and not over thinking the whole fitness idea one will be more likely to succeed.
also for any beginners out there try not to model your workout routines after body building routines. start with 3 days a week with full body work outs with one exercise per body part. after 4-6 weeks switch the order you do the exercises or switch up the exercises all together. incorporate cardio in on the days in between and give yourself one full day a week to recover.
everybody is different and reacts differently to routines. try different workouts and exercises and track your progress to see what works best for you. most of all find something that is enjoyable. if you cant have fun doing something or you think of it as work you will most likely fail.
im no expert but i enjoy the subject. if anyone ever needs any advice feel free to contact me.

 

Sentence makes no sense.

Trust me I know it is hard to stick to this but you cannot tell yourself "oh its not that bad." Sure smoking half a crack rock isn't as bad as smoking 10 rocks but its still bad. Extreme example but you get the point. This weekend go to costco and get a crap ton of stuff. Then you have no excuse because you spent the money and have the food to do it.

Also order some of the protein powder. Just do like 5 lbs to start out with. Take some to work. If you really cannot eat a good meal have a shake and then eat good food when you have time.

If you are trying to lose fat you have to drastically cut out fat from your diet. You will still consume some because the protein you eat will always have some in it. Otherwise you body will burn the fat you are eating not the fat you have stored.

I wanted to suggest something to you guys. At my work we did a challenge where everyone put in $20 and who ever lost the most weight won (it was based on the % of weight lost so it was fair). That was enough to motivate me and keep me on track (plus the upcoming wedding helped). Just a thought maybe have an S2ki biggest loser or something.

 

manga, i disagree with your fat statement. your body needs fat in its diet. remove fats from red meats but maintain fats from olive oil, flaxseed oil, nuts and any other poly and mono unsaturated fat source.

 

Interesting comments. This is such a difficult topic to obtain consensus on because every person is different.

To those of you in the maintenance stage, how long have you been maintaining your results, and have you had your body fat measured?

I had a body fat test done in Bod Pod 6 lbs ago and it said I was at 12% body fat. My scale at home currently says I'm around 7%-8% body fat. I think I'm probably older than most of you, having just turned 40 earlier this year, and this is what I currently look like. I've been in maintenance mode for around 10 years. I really wish I had a workout partner sometimes!