Dudes: Nutrition help for my boyfriend
BAMFMeredith
Posts: 2,810 Member
Since being on MFP, I've learned a TON about nutrition and fitness for myself, and I've successfully lost nearly 10 lbs and lowered my body fat % by 1% in about a month and a half. So, I'm on the right track for myself.
My boyfriend, however, is lost. He is not a computer/gadget guy so he'll never use MFP even if I created a profile for him. He is naturally athletic, played basketball when he was younger and played baseball from age 4 to age 20. He knows how to work out, that's not really an issue at all for him.
How to eat properly is a concept that escapes him. When he was younger, he could eat whatever he wanted and still be in shape. He was always the fastest runner on the team, fastest learner athletically, blah blah blah. But now that he's creeping toward 30, all that bad eating is starting to catch up with him. He doesn't need to lose weight at all, he is not overweight, and really by looking at him you wouldn't know he's out of shape. But he has gotten very serious about wanting to get back into shape (which is awesome) and he needs some help.
His goals are to reduce body fat % and increase muscle definition and endurance (he'd like to be able to run distance races with me). I calculated his BMR based on his height, weight, age (5'10", around 170, 28 years old) plus a lightly active lifestyle (he doesn't sit behind a desk at work, he's a locksmith and repairs/installs doors all day), and I got a # around 2500 calories. Any guys want to give me some tips on meal plans I can help him with? He'd never plan out his meals as meticulously as I will, so I'd really like to help him out with this. Thanks!!
My boyfriend, however, is lost. He is not a computer/gadget guy so he'll never use MFP even if I created a profile for him. He is naturally athletic, played basketball when he was younger and played baseball from age 4 to age 20. He knows how to work out, that's not really an issue at all for him.
How to eat properly is a concept that escapes him. When he was younger, he could eat whatever he wanted and still be in shape. He was always the fastest runner on the team, fastest learner athletically, blah blah blah. But now that he's creeping toward 30, all that bad eating is starting to catch up with him. He doesn't need to lose weight at all, he is not overweight, and really by looking at him you wouldn't know he's out of shape. But he has gotten very serious about wanting to get back into shape (which is awesome) and he needs some help.
His goals are to reduce body fat % and increase muscle definition and endurance (he'd like to be able to run distance races with me). I calculated his BMR based on his height, weight, age (5'10", around 170, 28 years old) plus a lightly active lifestyle (he doesn't sit behind a desk at work, he's a locksmith and repairs/installs doors all day), and I got a # around 2500 calories. Any guys want to give me some tips on meal plans I can help him with? He'd never plan out his meals as meticulously as I will, so I'd really like to help him out with this. Thanks!!
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Replies
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myfitfoods.com
helped me - I buy at the dallas store0 -
Research is really the only way if he is not willing to use Technology to his advantage. He needs to learn what his body needs for nutrition, then he needs to research everything he wants to eat to see what nutritional value it provides him.
Or he could use something like MFP to do all that for him and just tell him right up front.
To each his own.
If he's not willing to put at least a little effort into it, the chances are, you are wasting your time trying to push it on him. but I could be wrong, I certainly don't know him as well as you do.
Cheers!0 -
myfitfoods.com
helped me - I buy at the dallas store
I practically live there haha, I eat lunch from there almost every day! We have like 4 or 5 locations in Austin, he grabs food from there on the weekends sometimes, he just doesn't have any way to refrigerate food while he's at work or any way to microwave anything since he's on the road in his work van all day.
I would eat all my meals from there if I could, but that gets a little too expensive.0 -
From your description he sounds similar to me.
I'd suggest just encouraging him to cut out any bad foods and make it simple with plenty of veg, lots of chicken, some steak and gammon, brown rice/pasta, whole foods etc and eat the right amount of calories.
If he wanted to go deeper he could start really working out what his macros etc should be and trying to co-ordinate his food to target those, but I guess for most people starting back on it that's maybe a bit in depth.
Regards exercise if he's hitting heavy weights 2-3 times a week and eating right he should see a massive turnaround. I did. It's all in the nutrition though.0 -
Research is really the only way if he is not willing to use Technology to his advantage. He needs to learn what his body needs for nutrition, then he needs to research everything he wants to eat to see what nutritional value it provides him.
Or he could use something like MFP to do all that for him and just tell him right up front.
To each his own.
If he's not willing to put at least a little effort into it, the chances are, you are wasting your time trying to push it on him. but I could be wrong, I certainly don't know him as well as you do.
Cheers!
He wants to put the maximum amount of effort in, he is just not a technology person. Like he doesn't know how to work an iPhone and I have to charge and put music on his iPod for him haha...just not his thing, ya know? I have more time to do research than he does since my job is in front of a computer and his isn't, so I'm just trying to be helpful
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Oh, and I found it difficult to work out what to eat all the time, so I got boring and just have a selection of 3 or 4 different lunches and 3 or 4 different dinners I know I can make and are decent.
Saves always having to think about what to make.
And what you were saying about not having a fridge or microwave - a good one that I do is to make chicken pasta on a night, and make a double portion. Then I take the extra portion with me the next day and you can just eat it cold and if it's only out from morning to lunchtime it shouldn't need a fridge.0 -
Hey there willing to help. I myself and 31 and will be 32 in a few months here. I weigh 180lbs and need to lose about another 15 lbs. I am also 5'10. Again these are just suggestions from my personal experience. Everyone's needs and bodies respond differently to certain foods,etc. I would suggest keeping each meal rounded out with healthy fats,EG olive oil,avocado,flaxseed,omega 3 fatty acids, slow digesting carbs like sweet potatoes,whole grain brown rice and oatmeal,healthy veggies like spinach,broccoli,healthy carbs as well, and lean proteins such as lean boneless skinless chicken breasts, lean trukey breast,tuna packed in water. Here is an example of my breakfast with contains all of these items:
1/2 cup of Quaker Oatmeal
2 Tbsp of ground flaxseed
1 scoop of protein powder
1/4 cup of almonds
cinnamon
If your man is a bacon and eggs guy and not a fan of oatmeal I would suggest making a quick omelette with Egg Beaters egg substitute, all the protein of eggs w/o the fat and cholesterol or tossing in 1 whole egg with the Egg Beaters. As for the meat turkey sausage or turkey bacon is a healthy alternative,sometimes you can if he would be interested in you can even find veggie sausage patties or veggie bacon. Seriously they taste like the real thing, For lunches a small salad with a can of tuna is another healthy option with maybe some avocado tossed in for flavor and texture.Dinner options can range from anything from a grilled lean steak,sweet potato,small salad to grilled fish and steamed or grilled veggies. The biggest thing I would also recommend would be to drink water everyday along with green tea. Hope some of this helps!!! Good luck to your boyfriendreaching his fitness and nutritional goals!!0 -
He's lucky to have you then. Unfortunately, he doesn't sound very much like me at all, since I tend to obsess over research and technology, so I'm not sure I can recommend any particular books the he would be into.He wants to put the maximum amount of effort in, he is just not a technology person. Like he doesn't know how to work an iPhone and I have to charge and put music on his iPod for him haha...just not his thing, ya know? I have more time to do research than he does since my job is in front of a computer and his isn't, so I'm just trying to be helpful
My only advice would be to look at labels and make sure he understands the amounts of nutrients he needs based on his weight/height. So you could make an account for him on MFP, and even though he never uses it, you can put in his numbers and see what his "goals" should be for a day, then get him to shoot for that by looking at labels. then he can ask you to look up food that don't have a label.
From the research I have read, simply measuring something will keep him in better health. The key is finding something to keep measuring, and that sort of makes it a game to keep healthy.0 -
As far as your boyfriend not having a microwave or a refridgerater a work he could definetly eat the chicken cold as the previous member just posted. Or if he has the option he could invest in a inexpensive lunch tote and pack along a few re freezable ice packs, that is what I do and it keeps everything cold from chicken to yogurt. Hope this helps!! Good luck!!0
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It sounds like he just may need to ease into the idea of being more thoughtful about what he's eating. If what he wants is to just eat the same way he did when he was 18 while doing the same activity and not have to worry about anything, then it isn't going to happen. Welcome to getting older. He may benefit from asking himself at every meal if there are tiny choices that could make the meal better.
How much research, time, and planning he eventually wants to put into his nutrition will probably be affected by his results..or lack thereof. I think it's probably a stage a lot of people go through.0 -
So, he sounds like he's Skinny Fat. Not way overweight but not in great shape and too much body fat. As far as the macros, I'd set him up to be 30% Carbs, 30% Fat and 40% Protein. That'll limit his insulin resistance and increase his insulin sensitiviy and get him plenty of protein. Calculate his BMR and TDEE and that's the amount of calories he should get a day. He doesn't sound like he needs to be in deficit. Just eat better and get more exercise! Hope that helps!0
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Glad hes getting back into, im around the same caloric goals, you can see my diary, but one tip that i have is that he take away any juices and/or soda's. That will help alot.0
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Glad hes getting back into, im around the same caloric goals, you can see my diary, but one tip that i have is that he take away any juices and/or soda's. That will help alot.
Yeah, I'd rather have a piece of fruit. I try to think of juice as liquid candy. It's not quite right because I'm sure there are some micronutritive benefits to various juices, but it's much easier for me to drink a ton of calories than it is to sit down and eat them. Best for me to just avoid it altogether.0 -
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