Day 37: How I Eat (249 lbs)

No one would take a picture of me working out last night. The boys piss and moan whenever I ask now, so I'll talk about my dieting strategy instead. Diet, in my opinion,  is probably more important than exercise.

I follow a strict diet for three reasons:

1. To manage my weight:
   First, I do not want to get fat again. I've been as high as 305 pounds in my tubby days of old and was wearing a 46" waist. The inside of my thighs were chaffed because they rubbed together. Secondly, one of the best ways to make your muscles bigger is to make your fat smaller.
2. To grow my muscles:
   I have to eat properly if I want my muscles to grow. They require fuel and fertilizer.
   
3. To be healthy:
   I had a triple bypass in April of 2009. One of my left ventricles was completely clogged and it is an absolute miracle that I am still alive. My cardiologist said that the bypass added another 25 years to my life. I'm going eat healthy and not blow this second chance.

These are the diet rules I follow:

1. Know what you're eating:
   Know how many calories, carbs, fats and proteins you are consuming. Last year I started keeping a food journal because I was frustrated with my lack of weight loss. My weight started dropping immediately and I lost almost 50 pounds. Not only did I learn how many calories were in the foods I was eating, but I started making more intelligent food choices. I'm not going to eat at 360 calorie donut because that takes over 30 minutes of P90X just to burn it off. It just ain't worth it. Currently, I use http://mynetdiary.com to track everything I eat. This is a great tool and it has an excellent iPhone application which synchronizes with the website (see the picture).
   
2. Always take your food with you:
   If you're on a strict diet and don't want to cheat, take your food with you. If I'm on the road and starving and don't have anything healthy to eat, I'm 10 times more likely to eat something I shouldn't...like Taco Bell...or Wendy's...or Mickey D's.
3. No alcohol:
   I don't presently drink alcohol because I don't want the empty calories and it tempts me to smoke cigarettes. That would just be plain stupid after what I've gone through.
   
4. No sugar added:
   I just stay away from stuff with sugar in it and use artificial sweeteners instead. Some people blow me crap about using the sweeteners but they're better than sugar. I can't be perfect down to such detail anyway.
5. Healthy fats:
   I eat food that contains or is prepared with healthy fats. For example, I love broil salmon coated lightly with olive oil.
6. Nothing fried:
   Do I really need to explain why?
7. Have a cheat meal every one to two weeks:
   You've got to live a little and it shocks your body into burning calories again when it's adapted to your diet.
8. 3500 calories per day:
   After doing some research and talking to my personal trainer, I feel comfortable that I can lose fat and build muscle eating 3500 calories per day. Your calories per day will be different based on your age and activity level. Do some research and find out what is right for you. Track what you eat so you don't go way over or way under.
   
9. Eat 5-6 small meals per day:
   This keeps your metabolism burning and you'll drop weight faster.
10. Low carbs:
    Don't go crazy on the carbs even if they are the complex variety. I am currently trying to keep mine under 100 grams per day but it is tough. Everything has carbs. Even air it seems.
11. Easy on the red meat:
    I don't eat a lot of red meat. When I do I eat it in moderation and stick to the lean cuts. I do eat lots of fish and chicken, however.
12. Supplement with protein powder:
    I need to get lots of protein in my for muscle growth so I drink lots of protein shakes. I try to find the low carb variety and stick to whey protein.
13. No other supplements:
    To be honest, when I read labels on these supplements that imply some benefit and then the label states that the claim has not been evaluated by the FDA, it pisses me off. I think most of these supplements are simply overpriced rip-offs. If the stuff works, conduct medical trials and prove it.