The Foods I Used To Meet My Health/Fitness Goals
I was asked elsewhere specifically about the types of foods I ate and why in reference to my previous two articles. This article about the types of foods to eat to lose weight, and get the most benefit from an intense workout routine will serve as a companion to my two previous articles. If you haven’t read them take a look:
Part 1: https://medium.com/@Retroact1ve/my-journey-from-250-lbs-to-a-built-175-lbs-2da5e7cc563
Part 2: https://medium.com/@Retroact1ve/my-journey-from-250-lbs-to-a-built-175-lbs-370580785892
No matter how specific anyone tries to be on a certain subject there will always be room for questions and I understand that. In this article I will list exactly what I ate. I will post the pictures of the packaging as well so it’s easier for people to identify.
Keep in mind I am NOT a nutritionist or Doctor. If you are concerned about trying anything consult your family Doctor if you are unsure. I do not take anyone’s word when it comes to my health and that includes Doctors. I am skeptical on almost every subject that interests me, and it is that skepticism that has allowed me to learn as much as I have. If I would have taken another’s word over my interest in learning I wouldn’t have gotten as far as I have in any hobby.
I have managed to accomplish things on my own that many other people thought was ‘impossible’, even when it came to my health and weight. I have even baffled my own physicians. One doctor thought I must have had a disease to lose the amount of weight I managed to. Another doctor couldn’t believe the physical change I made when I went from flabby/unhealthy looking to physically fit and muscular in such a short span of time.
Learning on any subject is part academics and part experiential. You can read all day long but if you don’t have a plan of action, and you do not seek to learn through firsthand experience you will not make it very far. To make the most of this list of foods below, make sure you choose an at-home workout routine. I wrote what I think are important guidelines on my second article I linked to at top. The purpose of the foods I ate were to maximize the amount of protein I took in (190 grams of protein per day broken up into 5 small meals), while keep calories low, and fat/cholesterol low. That means I avoided red meat altogether. Just make sure whatever you do that you do take a multi-vitamin that contains a daily dose of Iron. I chose instead Turkey, Chicken, and Fish for the main meats that I ate.
Some may be groaning at this thought. I don’t know what to tell you, I approach any of my ideas optimistically. One thing I can’t help you do is change your attitude. I am no different than anyone else, I grew up eating tons of red meat and burgers. I am just lucky enough I prefer the taste of Turkey and chicken over beef. That is not to say that beef doesn’t have benefits, it is high in iron. However too much of anything is not good for you. I was concerned about changing my weight, and fitness goals. For that I knew red meat had to go for a while, and it didn’t bother me a bit. Onto the list:
Pre-cooked Chicken Breasts:
I chose precooked chicken breasts for a variety of reasons. When they are packaged they are weighed and the estimates on the Nutrition label helped me plan my meals. Another reason was that cooking raw chicken takes a good amount of time, and is greasy. Buying it precooked I saved on time, had a good idea of the amount I needed to eat to get the right amount of protein, and didn’t have to worry about draining grease from cooking it from it’s raw state. Also another point to make is that in order to stick to your food plan, you should have your food at hand when you are hungry. When you are on a workout plan your body will burn the calories you eat, and breakdown the food more efficiently… especially true if you are eating healthy.
If you aren’t careful you will get stuck in a situation where you are hungry, are away from home and feel like if you don’t eat you will starve. I never felt any kind of hunger until I started working out and eating healthier. I was still trying to get the timing right of when to eat my meals and I went too long without eating a meal one day. I was at work and had to wait until lunchtime… employees near me could hear my stomach growling. Having meals that only take a few minutes to prepare is pretty important. You don’t want to be caught off guard, and decide for something immediate like fast food. Worst thing you can do.
Store Brand Turkey Burgers:
Turkey Burgers are not something I ate daily so keep this in mind. They are very high in protein but also higher in calories. This is something I would eat every once in a while when I craved a burger. For the most part during dinner I ate chicken. If you are a burger person this is what you want to substitute a beef patty with.
Fish:
Salmon is high in protein and it happens to be my favorite fish. You want to make sure you eat something that has the good types of fat. Fish is something you want to add to your meals, just keep in mind like anything else too much of anything including fish can have a negative health impact. Fish also contains mercury so just a couple of times a week is what I stuck with.
Turkey Bacon:
With Breakfast I added 3 strips of turkey bacon to boost the amount of protein I ate during breakfast. Be careful with this one, because it is extremely high in sodium. If you follow the types of foods I am listing it is not a problem because a healthy person does need to take in sodium, it is necessary to be healthy… however too much of it like anything else is not healthy. The other foods I ate daily were really low in sodium so it was not a concern. I stuck to 3 with breakfast, if you weigh less than I did at the time (which was around 195 when I started working out) you want to cut that down to 2 or 1 strip all depending.
Egg Whites:
When it came to breakfast for the most part I stuck to scrambled eggs. I used ¾ cup of egg whites and I mixed one whole egg in. Whole eggs are great for you in small amounts. However the cholesterol amongst other things in whole eggs are so high making enough eggs to make you full would actually be unhealthy. Egg whites don’t have that drawback. If you want to be healthy you should cook your own breakfast. If you are trying to lose weight, and get into shape stay the heck away from Cereal. Period.
1 Dozen Large Eggs:
Eggs are great for you if you eat them in the right amounts. In my opinion and personal experience, 1 large egg a day is healthy. I would add one whole egg to ¾ cup of egg whites to make scrambled eggs. Remember to take the time to cook your breakfast, for the love of god stay away from cereals if you are trying to lose weight, and become fit.
100% Whole Wheat Bread:
One other thing I added in for breakfast was a slice of 100% whole wheat bread to boost the protein count of my breakfast. A very important tip is that you will see packaging for a lot of breads say “Made from Whole Wheat” and it is partially true. When you see that it is a ploy made to make people think it’s 100% whole wheat and it is not. There is more than enough breads that are not healthy to add to your diet. Some can contain as much as 110 calories per slice! My lunches depended on the bread I used to be very low in calories and high in protein.
I stuck with Nature’s Own brand because it was exactly what I needed, and it is in most stores. If you used a run of the mill wheat bread that isn’t 100% whole wheat it would could quickly throw off your diet plan for the day. Imagine 110 calories per slice x 2 slices alone would be 220 calories just for the bread in your sandwich alone, not including whatever you added to the sandwich. The type of Nature’s own bread I used was 60 calories per slice, and contained about 5 grams of protein per slice. Since my lunches depended on it, it was very important.
Tuna In Water:
Most lunches I made included tuna salad sandwiches. I’d use 1 can of tuna, 1 Tablespoon of mayo, 2 tablespoons of relish and mix it together to make two sandwiches. This was my lunchtime favorite because 1 can of tuna contains around 30-32 grams of protein but calories is extremely low around 120 calories per can.
Kroger Lite Greek Yogurt:
Another thing I added to my lunch was Greek Yogurt. Like most other things I am listed it is very low in Calories, and very high in Protein. I bought Kroger brand lite Greek because it was lower in Calories than Chobani brand greek yogurts, it was higher in protein than Chobani, tasted better and costs less. It worked well for me. You also want to include things like this, even if you don’t like it because it’s easy on the stomach helps calm it and also plays a role in helping you stay regular especially when you are eating higher amounts of protein. At least that is in my experience.
Bananas:
You also want to make sure you add things in your diet such as fruit, and vegetables. I did not use canned vegetables or fruits, I would steer clear of things like that. For lunch I added a banana as well. You do need a normal level of sugar in your blood and most of the foods I used were low in sugar and fat. So I added a banana for one of my lunches because they are high in sugar, but there are health benefits to bananas. One of those benefits is they have a good amount of fiber which a healthy diet needs, they also contain potassium which is necessary.
Broccoli:
I mentioned steering clear of canned vegetables. I would also not cook my vegetables (with a few exceptions) because in my opinion it destroys part of the nutritional value. I opted to eat most of my vegetables raw. For instance with dinner I would rinse and add 1 cup or less of raw broccoli for dinner. It was a personal preference but just make sure you eat around a cup of vegetables a day if you can help it.
Another thing that is high in protein but on the lower end of calories are beans. At times I would add lima beans to some meals. Also I loved the taste of black beans so for the most part I went with that when I wanted to add beans to a meal. There are times as well that I did not have time to cook a meal. In those times as odd as it might sound I would take a cup of black beans, heat it up in the microwave and add a little bit of salsa, Mix it in a bowl and just eat that. It is high in protein (around 35 grams depending) and low in calories. It would keep me on track for protein during a busy afternoon.
Black Beans:
Another thing you definitely want to add to your daily diet is a multi-vitamin if you aren’t already. These changes to your diet will be healthy but no matter how hard you try you may miss taking in certain nutrients, compound this problem with the fact that stores barely sell ‘actual food’ these days and you can still end up with a nutrient deficiency of one type or another. Make sure you take a good multi-vitamin that covers a lot of ground, including iron. The best one from my experience is a multi-vitamin powder I found at a Vitamin Shoppe. It is powdered form that you mix with a drink (I mixed it in my carrot juice in the mornings) and will be more easily absorbed compared to a compact pill.
Multi-Vitamin:
When it comes to drinks I had a rule. Only with a few exceptions I would not drink anything with calories. The reasoning is if you waste calories on drinks you can go over your calorie limits you place on yourself, and even if you don’t you can end up hungry a lot quicker. An example I gave in an earlier article was that you could drink a tall glass of orange juice, or eat an orange. Adding an orange to a meal will keep you fuller, for longer plus contains a good amount of fiber. A tall glass (16 oz.) of orange juice will contain around 200-220 calories , an orange contains about 45 calories. It is for that reason I only drank water.
There are a few exceptions here which were carrot juice, and my recovery drink for post workout. Carrot juice is very low in calories, but very high in Vitamin A which most people lack in their diet. I would drink only 1 measured cup of carrot juice once a day with breakfast. The only other exception was that once in a while I would drink some diet soda, in small amounts it does have zero calories. The benefit for me was that after so long of not drinking any kind of caffeinated beverage my tolerance to caffeine was next to nil so it helped me power through workouts if I drank half of a 20 oz bottle or a little less about 45 minutes before a workout.
Water:
I live in an apartment and with the build-up on my faucet of minerals I was worried that my tap water might be too hard to drink in the amounts I needed to drink. I was more worried about kidney stones than the downfalls of drinking from a plastic container. I chose to get cheap bottles of water from my local grocery chain. It is also really convenient as well to toss the entire thing into the fridge and be able to have cold water without worrying about hard water.
I had a bottle next to me during everywhere workout. Before every single meal I drank an entire 16 oz. bottle of water. The benefit of this is that you will stay full longer, and the water will also help your body break down your meals more efficiently. It also decreases the chance of you becoming irregular when you are changing your diet. You also want to decrease any chance of blood clots and to do that you need to drink the right amount of water daily. Just don’t over consume water because that is dangerous as well. If you are working out daily and doing an intense hour long workout as I suggest then you will need a lot of water throughout your day.
100% Carrot Juice:
I love some kind of juice with breakfast in the morning. Knowing that most people including me are deficient in Vitamin A, I decided that I would use Carrot Juice in the morning with breakfast. I measured 1 cup of carrot juice, mixed in my multi-vitamin as well, and added ice.
The list above may not seem like a whole lot of variety, and that was the way I intended it to be. I wanted a food plan that was feasible for me to stick to. I don’t mind not having a huge variety of food. I forced myself onto the state of mind that food was just a tool to become fit. I was eating to live, not living to eat. Not having a gigantic variety also enabled me to go grocery shopping very quickly. I could get what I needed for an entire week, know that it would help me become healthy and not having to worry about second guessing myself. I knew the nutrition labels of these products inside and out. I could run into the store and be out within 15 minutes because it became so routine, which is a good thing. Making something this healthy become habit is a plus when you are trying to stick to it. Habits are hard to quit, if you turn things like working out and eating healthy into a habit sticking to it will not be a problem. Use a calendar to plot out your plans for working out and grocery shopping. After 3 weeks you will not have any problems.
There are times when the situation is not ideal for eating healthy. Let’s say you are away from home you are late on your meal, and you can’t make it home for hours. I have been in those situations and it does suck. If you are working out daily your body burns through the food rather efficiently, especially if you are eating the right amount of calories. This is where most people screw up and they make up an excuse to go through their favorite drive thru. If you want to achieve the kind of results I managed to achieve in under 3 months, you cannot allow yourself to make up excuses to eat unhealthy. There are things you can do in this type of situation that won’t affect your progress. I will give two examples that will work in most towns or cities.
Oven Roasted Chicken Sandwich at Subway:
While you wouldn’t want to do this every day (mainly because of the type of bread they use) this will not throw you off track from your goals. It also contain 23 grams of protein (or close to it). Obviously you don’t want to do this every day, and you don’t want to go overboard with dressing. I simply added spinach, onions, tomatoes, and mustard as the dressing (Mustard has next to no calories). Add a small protein bar from any nearby gas station and you will be just fine.
Let’s say that you don’t want a full meal and just want something to hold you over until you can get home to make a meal. Just go to any place that offers a salad. Most places have a pizza hut, you can go inside and order a salad without getting pizza. Once again go easy only the dressings. I am very strict and hard on myself when it comes to perfecting my meals and meeting my goals.
When I ordered salads I would only put Apple Cider vinegar on as my dressing. It has next to no calories, and provides other benefits aiding in weight loss, lowering blood pressure, can help acid reflux sufferers. It also has positive benefits to the skin, immune system and digestion… in the right amounts of course.
I would like to add that safety is everything. You want to make sure before you go on any diet plan or workout plan that you consult a doctor. I suggest that before you begin anything you make an appointment with your family doctor for a physical. The benefit is that if you have anything wrong, or are developing any kind of problem that will be affected by intense workouts or a diet plan you will know before you begin and can adjust according to your needs. High blood pressure is more common these days than we would like.
I had high blood pressure at the start of my workouts and diet. I just told myself if I died during a workout then so be it, at least I would die trying to better myself. Regular exercise and eating healthy obviously turned my high blood pressure around very quickly. The first few weeks my heart rate was off the charts while working out, but over time my resting heart rate became lower and lower until I no longer had high blood pressure with high heartbeats per minute.
As a matter of fact a lot of illnesses or onset of diseases can be attributed to poor diets, lack of exercise and vitamin deficiencies. If you follow these guidelines you will be surprised at what kind of health problems you can turn around. Very quickly. Over the course of eating healthier, and exercising I reversed my high blood pressure, rapid heartbeats, my eyesight improved to the point I had to receive a lower prescription for my contact lenses.
You will cause a lot of doctors to scratch their heads if you have enough will power to follow through with everything. Make sure at the start of this you have your eyes checked, and get a physical done by your physician. After about 6 months to a year depending on your concerns return to have another physical and eye examination. It will help relieve any concerns you have, and it promotes safety. It can also be a huge motivator to keep going once you realize how much you have improved your overall health. Another good motivator can be to see how much others have improved their-selves. In that spirit here is my before and after picture following the food and workout guidelines I put forth in this and previous articles. Keep in mind this is in under 3 months:
Above: Before and after diet/workout schedule
Good luck on your journey to a healthier you. If you find this article or my previous articles helpful please pass the links for them to your friends and loved ones that want to turn their-selves around as well.
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