My fiance decided he was fed up with his unhealthy lifestyle and decided to join in with me. I have a problem - is this a good meal plan for the day for his calorie needs? He's 6", 245lbs, big build. Works out 5x a week.
Here's a sample meal plan:
Breakfast:
2 cups special K red berries
sprinkle of sliced almonds
1 cup skim milk
1/2 toasted bagel, buttered
Snack1:
1 packet oatmeal
Lunch:
2 slices whole grain bread
1 slice ham, 1 slice turkey, 1 slice American cheese
mustard
1/2 cup grapes
Light & Fit yogurt
Snack2:
3oz baby carrots
2 tbsp light ranch
Dinner:
2 servings crock pot pork chops with chopped potatoes & carrots
Snack3:
Fruit (usually 2 clementines, banana, or apple) with 1oz mixed nuts
+ he drinks about six 8oz glasses of water daily.
He is picky, so his choice in vegetables and fruits are limited. Would he be allowed to have 2oz of mixed nuts divided among 2 snacks?
Last edited by WormwoodDoll; 01-06-2009 at 02:39 PM.
You know, he's not getting enough calories in general, and not enough protein in particular, on that meal plan.
I went to Freedieting.com and put in his numbers--it said for fat loss he should eat 2471 calories per day, and for extreme fat loss, 1960 calories per day. That's not nearly what I see in that menu.
Also, the protein--especially working out that much--very important to get enough. One slice ham? One slice turkey? Dear me! 6 feet tall! Try 4-6 ounces of ham or turkey per sandwich, have three eggwhites and one whole egg as an omelet for breakfast along WITH the cereal, etc. (Myself, I eat whole eggs.) Nuts are good, but he can have more than 1 ounce, and for snacks he could also have tuna and/or cheese (lowfat). What about--protein shakes with whey protein or soy protein?
He's already eating enough carbs, I think. But the main thing I'd suggest is, more calories, more protein.
Protein! Like Jay that is what I saw as well...too few calories too, but mostly the protein.
My husband is 6'2" and started his weight loss a couple of weeks after I did. He weighed a little over 260. Like your guy, he is built big in general...very broad shoulders, big, muscly thighs and calves, lots of natural lean muscle mass. Anyway, now, six months later, he is down to 218. And I can say that I have had the EXACT same problem with him as you are having with your guy--especially when he first started. He did not eat enough, and he definitely didn't eat enough protein. After a couple of weeks of it, he started getting light headed. He felt hungry. His energy levels were low. He got cramps in his legs. And, after a couple of months, he hit a plateau...nothing budged for a few weeks. I FINALLY convinced him to use a good calorie calculator to see what he needed to be eating calorie-wise and I printed him off a couple of articles about the importance of getting enough protein to build and maintain lean muscle mass. Finally he listened to me, upped his calories and his protein and almost immediately started losing again and his energy level went up.
He still, occasionally, does not eat enough -- but I have him calculate his calories at the end of the day, and usually he will grudgingly eat a snack iF he has not had enough. He is, however, much better about the protein thing than he used to be.
I talked to him about the whey protein. He said he doesn't want to do that because he is afraid too much protein will cause him to gain more weight. He said he wants to lose weight FIRST before doing weight training. He said he wants to get to 170lbs then get up to 200lbs with lean muscle.
How many grams do you suggest he gets? Today I calculated all of his calories and how many grams of protein he will be eating today. He was at about 2,000 calories and 101g of protein. I know he can eat about 300+ more calories which I am working on getting him.
Well, on 2,000 calories, he could have up to 150 g of protein, again according to freedieting.com. You should check out their calculators.
The problem is, if he restricts protein and works out a lot, he'll be losing muscle mass as well as fat. He needs to have protein to keep his muscle. His plan of losing first and then building lean muscle may not work well.
Did he get his plan from a reputable source, or is he just figuring it out on his own?
He could do OK on 2000 cals, although that is kinda low. I'd still encourage him to get 25% to 30% of his calories from protein.
Also, adding 30 lbs of muscle will take LOTS of time. Muscle builds SLOOOOW, even in men who have the right hormones and such to build it up...its just a slow process.
1. The weight on the scale does not really do a good job of indicating how "lean" we look...if he began some strength training, nothing crazy so that he gets super buff or anything, he would look leaner much faster than if he just tries to use calorie restriction and cardio. My husband, at 218 and age 37, has around 19%-20% body fat, and he looks pretty darn good...his BMI would tell you he is still "overweight", but he isn't...he just has a lot of solid lean muscle mass which takes up a lot less room than a sedentary 218 pound man. While he is hoping to take his weight down to 205 or so...he is already in pretty good shape. Oh, and he lost his weight over the last five months...with moderate strength training as part of his routine.
2. Also, if he does some moderate strength training and eats his protein, he will achieve his weight loss FASTER. Lean muscle mass raises your metabolism and so you burn more calories 24/7 because muscle is "active tissue", unlike fat, and it requires more calories...even when you are sleeping. If he just restricts calories, does some cardio and doesn't get enough protein, he will loss too high a percentage of lean muscle mass with his fat as the weight comes off. This will make it harder and harder for him to take off the pounds.
I've modified his meal plans a lot. He likes the chicken breast in a can instead of tuna, and most brands have 36g of protein for 6oz. I've also added 3 slices of turkey/3 slices of ham and 2 slices of cheese to his sandwiches which gives him about 22g of protein. He has agreed to try and find a protein bar that he likes to eat before or after workouts for that added boost and extra protein.
I'm aiming for 150g of protein and between 2,300 - 2,500 calories a day.
I'm trying to figure out how to get more food in my husband too. He's not overweight but wants to build more muscle. He's 6'5" and 210lbs. He already needed about 3000 calories a day without working out at all. Now he's going to need much more. He's going to eat us out of house and home.
Is he getting enough calories?
Try 4-6 ounces of ham or turkey per sandwich, have three eggwhites and one whole egg as an omelet for breakfast along WITH the cereal, etc. (Myself, I eat whole eggs.) Nuts are good, but he can have more than 1 ounce, and for snacks he could also have tuna and/or cheese (lowfat). What about--protein shakes with whey protein or soy protein?
