Poor diet

stuhow61

Hello
I have been working out for a solid two years regularly. My problem is my diet is not the best and looking for a diet program. I am an avid weight lifter and do about 20-30 minutes of cardio 5x a week. Please comment and add me if you would like. Looking to lose 20-30 lbs and be cut. Currently 235. Thanks for reading!

kommodevaran

I don't think you need a diet program. How do you know your diet is not the best? Start there. Then ask specific questions.

TavistockToad

if you want to lose weight, just eat a bit less than you are doing now.

LivingtheLeanDream

Why do you think your diet is poor?

lemurcat12

kommodevaran wrote: »

I don't think you need a diet program. How do you know your diet is not the best? Start there. Then ask specific questions.

This.

If you think your diet is not good, you probably have a sense of what a good diet is. Are their steps you can take to improve your diet?

AnnPT77

Log what you're eating right now.

First, tweak what you're eating to hit calorie goal. Review your food log every day or two. Notice foods that "cost" too many calories for the tastiness, nutrition or satiation they bring you. Reduce or eliminate those, replacing them with foods you enjoy that better meet your goals.

If you feel weak, fatigued or have other negative health symptoms, gradually increase your calorie goal slightly to find a point where the problems subside.

Next, work on your macros. Daily, strive to eat (just my opinion):

- At least 0.6-0.8g protein per pound of healthy goal weight (approximately equivalent to 0.8-1g per pound of lean body mass). More is fine, within reason.
- At least 0.35-0.45g fat per pound of healthy goal weight, as much of it as possible from healthy sources like olive oil, avocados, nuts, etc. More is fine, within reason.
- An absolute minimum of 5 servings of varied, colorful fruit and veggies. 10 is even better.

Use diary review in the same way to get there.

If needed, experiment with timing of eating and what you eat (within nutritional goals) to find optimal satiation.

Let carbs fall where they may, unless there's a problem. If your energy seems low, increase carbs to see if that helps. If cravings or hunger persist, experiment with low carb, to see if that helps.

Once you're comfortably hitting calorie and nutritional goals, having good energy levels, and feeling satiated most of the time, work on optimizing practicality, social factors, and general happiness.

Throughout, fit in the occasional treat. Recognize that there are no "bad foods", just bad overall ways of eating.

Throughout, happily let yourself relax your goals occasionally, such as for true celebrations: Your birthday, major celebratory holidays, special family events.

That's a 100% customized, personal, workable, sustainable diet program.

MegaMooseEsq

If you're looking for some practical guidelines, I'm a fan of the Brazil nutritional guidelines: http://www.fao.org/nutrition/education/food-based-dietary-guidelines/regions/countries/brazil/en/ (English summary), https://www.foodpolitics.com/wp-content/uploads/Brazilian-Dietary-Guidelines-2014.pdf (full English version).