Noob looking for diet help

[Basikstylz]

Okay, so I have been trying to read as much as possible... but the more I read the more confused I get. I am trying to lose fat and build muscle. Im not trying to bulk or get huge, just get healthy and in shape.

Right now Im 5'6, 175lbs, 27. I have been lifting off an on for several years. I am pushing my self to go consistently now. Lifting 3 days a week(MWF) and playing basketball or other sports at least 2 times(TTh) and sometimes on the weekends.

Here go the questions.

With all the diets I see.... No one really mentions eating sandwichs, or lunch meats.... are they bad for you? I like to have a wheat tortilla with some turkey, chiken breast and ham as snacks.

When people refer to "oats" are they refering to "oatmeal" or is it something different?

Do you grind up, or blend the oats/oatmeal into the shake? or is it eatin seperatly?

When people give thier diet plans and say "at this meal I'm having a scoop of protien" is this generally a protein/water shake? or are you mixing the powder in with your food?

Is there a specific type of Peanut Butter I should be looking for? I'm assuming skippy and the like aren't the best choices for PB.

Does the brand of protein powder matter? Is one type better than another (aside from the amount of protein per serving)? Basiclly can I get any cheap protein powder off the internet or are there specific things I should be looking for?(I currently just use the GNC brand)

Also, I work all day as I'm sure several of you do, Do you prepare your food in the morning? night before? a few days ahead of time? I find it hard to keep a good eating schedule with out feeling like I am bringing my whole fridge to work. Any advise?


Sorry for all the Noob questions but thanks in advance for all the help.

 

[poysyn]

Okay, so I have been trying to read as much as possible... but the more I read the more confused I get. I am trying to lose fat and build muscle. Im not trying to bulk or get huge, just get healthy and in shape.

Right now Im 5'6, 175lbs, 27. I have been lifting off an on for several years. I am pushing my self to go consistently now. Lifting 3 days a week(MWF) and playing basketball or other sports at least 2 times(TTh) and sometimes on the weekends.

Here go the questions.

With all the diets I see.... No one really mentions eating sandwichs, or lunch meats.... are they bad for you? I like to have a wheat tortilla with some turkey, chiken breast and ham as snacks.

Eh, sandwiches are OK, but there are certainly better options. Lunch meat is a sub par choice..if you are eating a sandwich, id go with grilled fresh chicken breast on whole wheat bread..


When people refer to "oats" are they refering to "oatmeal" or is it something different?

Do you grind up, or blend the oats/oatmeal into the shake? or is it eatin seperatly?

yea, oats = oatmeal. get the old fashioned kind. it can be blended in a shake (or with egg beaters and cooked into a pancake type thing) or it can be eaten seperately



When people give thier diet plans and say "at this meal I'm having a scoop of protien" is this generally a protein/water shake? or are you mixing the powder in with your food?

Definitely water, or milk for some depending on goals. the milk will slow the digestion down of whey, though, so water is optimal pwo imo

Is there a specific type of Peanut Butter I should be looking for? I'm assuming skippy and the like aren't the best choices for PB.

get natural peanut butter, doesnt have the trans fats - typically it will have oil on the top layer and it will need to be mixed in

Does the brand of protein powder matter? Is one type better than another (aside from the amount of protein per serving)? Basiclly can I get any cheap protein powder off the internet or are there specific things I should be looking for?(I currently just use the GNC brand)

Some are better than others, taste wise and quality wise. I personally love ON Whey/Casein protein powders. taste great and quality stuff

Also, I work all day as I'm sure several of you do, Do you prepare your food in the morning? night before? a few days ahead of time? I find it hard to keep a good eating schedule with out feeling like I am bringing my whole fridge to work. Any advise?

lol, well..I get some weird looks with what I eat at work/class. I prepare about 3 days worth of food at a time.. I preweigh bags of nuts, precook yams/pasta/chicken/beef/turkey and just heat it up in the microwave. you can probably fit most of it in a lunch box. eating as often as you should is a pain in the ass, but worth it

Sorry for all the Noob questions but thanks in advance for all the help.

lift hard, eat ENOUGH and you shall succeeeed

 

[Donnie Darko]

I think you could get away with eating a sandwich (one a day), but make the bread as healthy of a choice as you can. The only lunch meats I'll touch are roasted chicken, turkey, sometimes 97% lean ham, and roast beef. I generally prefer to eat sandwiches less often than once per day though. Oatmeal is good and makes for a decent item for post workout when your body can take extra carbs or twice per week in a clean cheat meal. Eat clean, work out hard, and you'll replace fat with muscle. You may even see weight go up but bodyfat down (depending on how much bodyfat you have starting out) which is a great thing.

I'm a board sponsor as well, so give a look at www.proteabody.com and you can find some excellent products to help with dieting. The Carb Free will be a huge help at blocking the absorption of extra carbohydrates while dieting, XPLOSIVE BURN which is an excellent fat burner and 8and20, a mentor on Elite Fitness is testing that product and posting his results in the anabolic section. There are also two targetted fat burning lotions that work very well too.