Food recommendations for the fitness and weight wary

I'm surprised that this sort of thread doesn't exist yet, seeing how many FAKKU! members are in shape or want to be in shape.

So, in this thread, post anything you feel that will help people lose weight, maintain weight, or help people reach a specific goal, as well as diet plans.

So to start off, let me point out some foods that are good for the bodybuilding/fitness/toning minded person. A person who seeks to gain muscle as well as lose extra weight will require some to much of protein and the good variety of fat. Some foods that will help in this endeavor:
1. Peanut butter - surprisingly, though somewhat high in calories, it has a lot of protein and the good variety of fat that will help burn the bad fat away.
2. Cottage cheese - high in protein and low in fat & sugars, something that even surprised me.
3. Tofu - while the protein content isn't particularly high compared to some of these others, it's there, and a much more healthier alternative than meat, especially if you're vegetarian. It also fills you up.
4. Almonds - the best nut variety there is with protein and little to no fat with minimal oils. A fistful of almonds per day is recommended.
5. Avacado - fruit/vegetable, great to put into your salad as it has protein and plenty of the good variety of fat (aka monosaturated fat), and very healthy. Screw guacamole, you want this as is.
6. Chicken/turkey breast - bland and blah, but almost no fat content and protein all around.
7. Egg whites - while not using the yolk which isn't really healthy for you (fats, cholesterol), the egg whites provide high protein content.
8. Protin bars - caution should be excercised here since they tend to be rather high in calories, but usually they come with fiber which helps the digestion of sugars.

*On that note, fiber is a very important component of ANY diet since it contains many benefits such as slowing the intake of sugars and regulation of sugars, fills you up more (lowers appetite), lowering of cholesterol, etc.

So these are some recommendations by me through my experience of eating, dieting, biology/health knowledge, consultations with fitness trainers, and extraneous media knowledge. Feel free to share any type of food or dieting plan that will help a person get healthier in any shape way or form.

I'm about 50-70% vegetarian since my parents are vegetarian, which is why I focus a lot on knowing what foods contain protein, something that vegetarians tend to miss out on.

Totally fine, as long as it's food/health related, that's all that matters. Great tips though, a few things I would have mentioned myself (I know a shitload of things about food and the body since I used to prime for a pre-med major.) but for the sake of discussion.

If you want to lose weight/fat, eat foods with very little carbohydrates and sugars like meat. Eat lots and lots of meat like bacon because bacon is the best kind of meat.

Avoid trying to eat wheat oriented foods as well because wheat has a lot of sugar.

Also animal fats are GOOD for you not bad for you, its the processed fat that is bad for you. Most types of oil are also NOT fatty at all so don't be scared to eat a little oil.

This is a diet for losing fat not necessarily for staying healthy

I agree with everything but this statement that I quoted, GameON. I don't believe under ANY circumstance should bacon be consumed due to the following reasons: it's high in fat, high in sodium, high in grease, and there's some cholesterol. Not a protein alternative, believe me. Steaks, sausages, bacon, fatty portions of chicken, red meats, and some others should be avoided to stay healthy because those foods I mentioned are high in fat and cholesterol.

But then again meats have needed nutrition's that are needed for the body to function properly. Also depends on the quality of the meat and how it is prepared and cooked.

True, but there are always better alternatives than you think, and the seven top choices I provided for protein consumption are way better and healthier than "meat" can provide. I can also understand my parents' reasoning for eating vegetarian because on a general basis, meat isn't actually very healthy besides being Buddhist. Also, bacon is just bad no matter how you spin it - I've never heard of bacon that did not originally have a lot of fat, cholesterol, sodium, and grease. Nor have I heard of any bodybuilders eating bacon either.

I'd like to mention another piece of food that's excellant for people doing sports or body building.

Banana: soft, easily chewable fruit that allows easy absorption of the calories and contains one of the highest amounts of potassium, which is good for your muscles at preventing cramps (a rumor, but not without base), preventing hypertension, additional electrolytes, and a few other health benefits.

Yay, thanks a bunch. I love tofu so that's just great.I've got more foodstuff to add on to my existing, boring list of diet, healthy foods. I got one problem though I'm still hungry as hell despite a known fact that when you exercise you're less likely to think about food. I've got a crazy schedule right now and I wonder if it's caused by my increasing activity level. To indulge in a little bit more or not?

@CreampieHoney: I haven't seen you in a while, nice to see you're still active.

Regarding hunger, if your current lifestyle is more active than the old, it is best to intake more calories to meet the demand that your current lifestyle imposes. I find that cutting off a significant portion of food and skipping meals is just purely ineffective unless for a short term period. A trainer I consulted with also agreed with me and mentioned that starving yourself severely will bend your body's health out of shape, and will give you less energy for you to work with.

Since I live with my parents and I don't cook, I usually can't control specifically what I eat, otherwise I'd have cottage cheese, avacados, and almonds out the wazoo. But I can definitely recommend something for those with more food freedom. In an earlier post, I mentioned that food containing fiber will fill you up - this is a good answer for your hunger pains. Legumes like peas, soybeans, and beans will help, bananas are good for a quick snack, vegetables like broccoli, carrots, celery, cauliflower, and onions are great, as well as whole grain foods and wheat/corn bran. In fact, the plus side to whole grain foods is that they contain enough calories to get your body moving. One piece of bread with a dab of peanut butter is an awesome snack, or celery sticks with peanut butter in the middle and raisins on top is a more fun if not healthier alternative as well.

One thing to note about bread: do not get the common white bread because that is chock full of calories and little to no fiber. You'd be better off with 6-grain+ breads that have oats, barley, flax seed, rye, chia, etc. Might not be too tasty, but sure is damn healthy.

^^ I try to stop by the forums once in awhile when time permits.
Thanks a lot for the heads up and it'll definitely be benificial for me to try and include more fibre to stay fuller longer, though seriously I feel like chomping on some solid meaty stuff.

You get my +rep for the day.

hey, nice posts. this topic is of interest to me as i'm training for a half-marathon :o

also, chicken doesn't have to be bland! i like to marinade mine in some lemon or lime juice (or try key lime) with various herbs - i like rosemary, sage, thyme, etc. Put a bit of oil (a good olive oil is nice), sea salt, some pepper.. let that sit for however long you feel like. then wrap the chicken in aluminum foil and stick it in the oven on a cookie sheet. delicious. and you can add chopped vegetables right in there as well. i love zucchini, carrots, and those little red potatoes. easy, flavorful, healthy.. and cheap :D

Who needs all the above?? Just go will all out ramen. :)

Just a heads up, if you have high cholesterol, I'd avoid eating the Avocados.

@tsujoi: I don't think avocados have cholesterol in them, but it has high fiber, potassium, and monosaturated fat that helps burn the bad fat off.

Hmm, I was sure I heard something about avacadoes raising cholesterol levels, but the internet says otherwise.

If you aren't into the whole atkins thing (no carbs) try this:
Eat a ratio of roughly 2:1:1 of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This gives your body the basic fuels it needs to work, build muscles, have a healthy influx of fat, but not enough to hinder the fat burning process.

Eat better carbohydrates, use complex carbs, like starches for lasting energy, but start with quicker ones, like fructose in apples. STAY AWAY FROM HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP--your body has a chemical dependency on it, and it is too quick-meaning you will "crash" after the sugar is spent.

Let yourself be. You can eat roughly what you want, so long as you don't over-do portions. A good sized serving of anything amounts to about the size of a playing card. Don't be afraid of decadence, just do unhealthy things less often, and working out will pick up the slack.




^Disclaimer:
This is written for a reasonably active person. I don't know how to tell regular people to eat, so couple this with good workouts, and your body will adjust accordingly.

I don't follow the playing card thing. It's good for desserts and fatty meats, but I do well beyond the prescribed work out time, so I end up eating more per day.
The ratio thing is gold, though.


Also: Take a multi-vitamin. I don't care if you eat nothing but greens all day, you will not get enough.

Good for those who masturbate everyday. ^^