The microwave diet!

[artrius]

Ok, so I now live in barracks and we don't have a galley to eat in, so they therefore give us money to buy food. Due to the rules of the barracks, however, you are not allowed to have any heat generating devices other than a microwave. Hell, I don't even have a real sink.

So here it is, what I'm doing. Keep in mind, I'll be 22 in a month, 5'10.5", approx 20% bf (+/- 2%); I should be somewhere around 240, but I haven't had a scale in a while (I won't until they deliver my stuff from storage). Goals: Maintain lbm/gain lbm, stay @ same bf% or drop. That's pretty generic goalwise, I know, but it does at least count out serious bulking cycles in which you gain fat. I lift 4-5 days (2on/1off type schedule) and do 30 min of mod-high intensity cardio 4-6 days per week.

**Note: this is a template of what I eat, its not exact. Workout times change due to the nature of my job and thus my eating changes a bit, but follows the same basic structure.

meal 1:
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
6 slices fat free turkey lunchmeat (prepackaged) (120 kcal total; 1 slice = 20 kcal, 5g prot, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
1 apple or 1 banana (100-120 kcal)

meal 2:
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
8 oz fat free turkey lunchmeat (deli) (160 kcal, 36g prot, 4g carbs, 0g fat)
1 large can of green beans (140 kcal, 28g carbs [14g fiber], 0 fat)

meal 3: (pwo meal 1)
Protein shake approx 300 kcals, 40-50g protein, 20-30g carbs, 0g fat (using 1.5 cups skim milk)

meal 4: (pwo meal 2)
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
8 oz fat free turkey lunchmeat (deli) (160 kcal, 36g prot, 4g carbs, 0g fat)
1 large can of whole potatoes (300 kcal, 65g carbs [not sure of the rest of nutrients])

meal 5:
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
6 slices fat free turkey lunchmeat (prepackaged) (1 slice = 20 kcal, 5g prot, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
1 apple or 1 banana (100-120 kcal)

Somewhere in the day, I eat an ounce of peanuts because I don't get very much fat out of this. (That's an extra 14g fat) Also, I snack on raw broccoli at some point. Not a whole lot, mabye about a cup. I drink 1-1.5 gals of water.

So this ends up with a little over 2000 kcal, 220-250g prot, somewhere around 150-200g carbs, 30g fat. (The math is a little sketchy, i know) Some days I get more, up to 2700-2800. Anyhow, I'm looking for suggestions for improvement on the diet. I don't want to add too much more fat as I'll have to drop something else to keep a slight caloric defecit.

 

[artrius]

oh and btw I know its an ass ton of fiber (60g fiber + )

 

[6_pak]

Ok, so I now live in barracks and we don't have a galley to eat in, so they therefore give us money to buy food. Due to the rules of the barracks, however, you are not allowed to have any heat generating devices other than a microwave. Hell, I don't even have a real sink.

So here it is, what I'm doing. Keep in mind, I'll be 22 in a month, 5'10.5", approx 20% bf (+/- 2%); I should be somewhere around 240, but I haven't had a scale in a while (I won't until they deliver my stuff from storage). Goals: Maintain lbm/gain lbm, stay @ same bf% or drop. That's pretty generic goalwise, I know, but it does at least count out serious bulking cycles in which you gain fat. I lift 4-5 days (2on/1off type schedule) and do 30 min of mod-high intensity cardio 4-6 days per week.

**Note: this is a template of what I eat, its not exact. Workout times change due to the nature of my job and thus my eating changes a bit, but follows the same basic structure.

meal 1:
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
6 slices fat free turkey lunchmeat (prepackaged) (120 kcal total; 1 slice = 20 kcal, 5g prot, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
1 apple or 1 banana (100-120 kcal)

meal 2:
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
8 oz fat free turkey lunchmeat (deli) (160 kcal, 36g prot, 4g carbs, 0g fat)
1 large can of green beans (140 kcal, 28g carbs [14g fiber], 0 fat)

meal 3: (pwo meal 1)
Protein shake approx 300 kcals, 40-50g protein, 20-30g carbs, 0g fat (using 1.5 cups skim milk)

meal 4: (pwo meal 2)
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
8 oz fat free turkey lunchmeat (deli) (160 kcal, 36g prot, 4g carbs, 0g fat)
1 large can of whole potatoes (300 kcal, 65g carbs [not sure of the rest of nutrients])

meal 5:
1 Carbdown flatbread (110 kcal, 3g fat, 9g prot, 24g carbs [15g fiber])
6 slices fat free turkey lunchmeat (prepackaged) (1 slice = 20 kcal, 5g prot, 0g fat, 0g carbs)
1 apple or 1 banana (100-120 kcal)

Somewhere in the day, I eat an ounce of peanuts because I don't get very much fat out of this. (That's an extra 14g fat) Also, I snack on raw broccoli at some point. Not a whole lot, mabye about a cup. I drink 1-1.5 gals of water.

So this ends up with a little over 2000 kcal, 220-250g prot, somewhere around 150-200g carbs, 30g fat. (The math is a little sketchy, i know) Some days I get more, up to 2700-2800. Anyhow, I'm looking for suggestions for improvement on the diet. I don't want to add too much more fat as I'll have to drop something else to keep a slight caloric defecit.

Your calculations are very much incorrect. You only count protein from whey, dairy, all meats, casean, nuts. The rest of the protein is classified as incomplete protein, protein that does nothing for building muscle. In acuality, you only have 130grams of protein. This is way too low. Your carbs add up to be somewhere around 250-280. This may be a little too high. Seeing as your not being specific enough its hard too say what your actual nutrient count is, which would also give me the total cals. If your trying to cut, i would suggest having only 3 carb meals, breakfast, pwo, meal after pwo(ppwo). The other 3 meals, utilize fat sources(efa, olive oil, flax seed, almonds, peanuts, all natural PB, omega 3,6,9. I also recommend not mixing carbs and fats. You need more carbs in your pwo, shoot for 2:1 ratio of carbs/whey. You didnt list the type of carbs used in pwo. This is very improtant info. Most people think any carb will do. DEAD WRONG. You need a simple fast acting/digesting carb that will replenish muscle glycogen. Fructose, which is in some fruits, does nothing to replenish glycogen. Lactose, which is in the skim milk, also does nothing to replenish muscle glycogen. I suggest using dextrose or maltodextrine mixed with whey and water for pwo. Ideally, you need different sources of proteins such as chicken, steak, tuna, salmon, other fish. I dont know the availability of these, but im sure if you can get turkey, you can at least get chicken and tuna. IMO you need 1-1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Remember, the more muscle you gain, the more fat you'll burn, and the higher your metabolism will be. So, you need at least this much protein, and if you can get 2g/per lb then do it. If your going to drop any cals from your diet, drop the cals from carbs. You also need to up your fats as you drop your carbs. Eating enough good fats, like the ones i mentioned earlier, sends a message to your body to release the stored fat. Once you correctly get a total of cals,pro,carbs, and fats you can figure out the percentage of carbs,pro,fats from the total calories. This will help you be more accurate and effecient with your diet. When bulking for example, I like using a 40/40/20 split of carbs/protein/fats. When dieting, i use a 50/25/25 split. You need to reformulate a diet utilizing these variables that you are lacking.

 

[artrius]

I think i wrote it a little confusing... without the flatbread, at least, its about 180g prot. What the lunchmeat should read is this: 120 kcal, 0g fat, 30g prot, 0g carbs. What was posted before was the nutritional content for one slice. I'm going to have to look it up, but the added protien in the flatbreads should be a complete source (the non-carbdown version has 1g or so instead of 9g). Not sure, though, I'll get back when I find out.

As for PWO shakes, I stay away from dextrose (even though I know I should have it). I went through two 10lb boxes of dextrose and found that it wasn't good for me to have around.

Also, my carbs aren't that high. You DON'T count fiber, as your body does not turn fiber into glucose, nor does it absorb energy from it.

If you know of good, cheap, pre-cooked sources of protein, though, I'd love to hear them.

 

[Elite_Fry]

fuck ive never heard of a barracks without a mess. where are you at?

 

[artrius]

That's the thing. I'm not really on a base. I'm in the Newport News, VA shipyard (because I'm on a boat that's being built, its still in the shipyard). Its like 20 minutes away from the Norfolk base, but still no cigar. My barracks is a renovated high school. They won't even let us use the kitchen.

I'm thinking about sneaking in a foreman or something...