Food ideas Needed for lunchtime @ Gym

Peeperpat

I am working out @ the gym during my lunch hour. I drink a protein shake with 24g of protein, and eat an 80 calorie high-protein Greek Yogurt in between cardio and strength training. However, I feel this is not enough to sustain me throughout the workouts, and I would like to have some food ideas for this situation.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can remedy this situation? Because of my morning schedule, I am unable to get to the gym any earlier then the time I go. I do eat a breakfast containing at least 65g of carbohydrates, and 35g of protein. Usually around 375 calories.

Thanking you in advance for your answers.

sixxpoint

You do not need to structure protein shakes or other foods around your workout routine. Timing nutrition that precisely is not going to help you and any advice to the contrary is likely a marketing scheme; as is the illusion that an active person needs to drink protein shakes every single day or suffer no results.

Your muscles will not tear or atrophy without feeding them immediately with protein. What matters is total intake from all foods, i.e. consistency in daily/weekly calories as it pertains to your cutting, maintaining, or bulking goals.

The reason you are lethargic

Peeperpat wrote: »

I feel this is not enough to sustain me throughout the workouts

is because you are undereating day by day... or perhaps it is just something we all inevitably deal with in old age. You are a 64 year old female. If the volume and intensity of your workout routine is anywhere close that of a 20 year old, then you will tire quickly, especially if undereating.

I would suggest making whole food nutrition the prime focus in your life. Don't fall for any advice that appears to sound far too complicated or too good to be true. Just eat wisely and focus on consistency.

Peeperpat

Very good advice, sixxpoint!!

sixxpoint wrote: »

You do not need to structure protein shakes or other foods around your workout routine. Timing nutrition that precisely is not going to help you and any advice to the contrary is likely a marketing scheme; as is the illusion that an active person needs to drink protein shakes every single day or suffer no results.

Your muscles will not tear or atrophy without feeding them immediately with protein. What matters is total intake from all foods, i.e. consistency in daily/weekly calories as it pertains to your cutting, maintaining, or bulking goals.

The reason you are lethargic

Peeperpat wrote: »

I feel this is not enough to sustain me throughout the workouts

is because you are undereating day by day... or perhaps it is just something we all inevitably deal with in old age. You are a 64 year old female. If the volume and intensity of your workout routine is anywhere close that of a 20 year old, then you will tire quickly, especially if undereating.

I would suggest making whole food nutrition the prime focus in your life. Don't fall for any advice that appears to sound far too complicated or too good to be true. Just eat wisely and focus on consistency.

Peeperpat

@ sixxpoint: Sounds like I need to balance out my whole food nutrition on a daily basis, and rethink my eating habits. Do you think my body could possibly be going into starvation mode, due to my lunch just being a protein drink and yogurt??

sixxpoint

Composing A Rational Diet

Energy balance is the primary dietary driver of body weight and it also impacts body composition. A chronic surplus of calories will result in increased body weight and a chronic deficit of calories will result in a loss of body weight.

In other words, in order to gain about one pound of tissue weight (as opposed to transient flux in water weight), you need to consume a total of about 3,500 calories more than you expend. And to lose about one pound of tissue weight, you have to do the opposite -- consume about 3,500 calories less than you expend.

Thus, the first step in constructing any rational diet is to get a sense of how many calories per day, on average, you should consume in order to progress towards your goals.

The average number of calories you expend per day -- called total daily energy intake (TDEE) -- is a function of your basal metabolic rate (BMR) and your average weekly activity level.

To estimate your BMR, it's important to have a sense of how much lean body mass (LBM) you carry. If you're not sure, post a photo or two and we can estimate your percentage body fat and, from this number and your total body weight, it's easy to estimate LBM by using the following formula:

LBM = body weight * (1 - percentage body fat)

To estimate BMR, use the Katch-McArdle formula:

BMR = 370 + (9.8 * LBM in pounds)
or
BMR = 370 + (21.6 * LBM in kg)

The next step is to estimate average weekly activity using the following guidelines to calculate an activity factor (AF):

• 1.1 - 1.2 = Sedentary (desk job, and little formal exercise)

• 1.3 - 1.4 = Lightly Active (light daily activity and light exercise 1-3 days a week)

• 1.5 - 1.6 = Moderately Active (moderately daily activity & moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)

• 1.7 - 1.8 = Very Active (physically demanding lifestyle & hard exercise 6-7 days a week)

• 1.9 - 2.2 = Extremely Active (athletes in endurance training or very hard physical job)

To estimate TDEE (the calories at which you will neither gain nor lose tissue weight), use the following formula:
TDEE = BMR * AF

Now that you've estimated your TDEE, it's important to refine that estimate empirically. To do so, consume an average amount of calories equal to estimated TDEE for two weeks, monitoring weight change. The results will confirm your actual TDEE.

Once you know your actual TDEE, set your caloric intake to match your goals as follows:

To maintain weight, consume an amount of calories equal to TDEE.
To lose weight, consume 10% to 20% less than TDEE.
To gain weight, consume 10% to 20% more than TDEE.

Monitor weight change via the scale and also body composition via the mirror and how clothing fits, making adjustments as needed biweekly.

Macronutrient Intake

Protein: ~0.6-0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight -- the highest amount justified by research for active individuals.

Dietary Fat: ~0.40-0.45 grams per pound of bodyweight -- the lowest amount implied by clinical observation (unless obese).

Remaining caloric budget: whatever mix of macronutrients you prefer, notably a rich variety of nutritious foods and high fiber items.

JayRuby84

I would suggest keeping snack size bags of almonds/ nuts on hand. They will give you a nice protein/ fat boost that you need. Incorporate more where you can.

iLoveMyPitbull1225

Quest Bars are fantastic.