Fixed Menu Experiment:

Have you tried every diet and meal plan under the sun? I have. Over the years I have learned a lot about nutrition, exercise, and fitness. A long time ago, I understood that I knew what to do, but wasn’t doing it. Motivation and temptation are always factors, but it comes down to living in a land of plenty where it is easy to eat junk. Everything tastes better when it is loaded with fat and sugar, so it makes sense that companies whose primary goal is to make money will give us what we want every time. The only way to succeed with nutrition is to be organized, prepared, and committed. Do I want to be fat? No. Have my previous efforts worked? Not lately. Do I want to break out of the downward spiraling momentum? Yes.

How can I do this? By getting organized (I will plan my meals and shop for the food before I need it), by preparing my meals (no more eating out at work), and by being committed (my wife will support me, especially if I take the pressure off her by making my own food). The decision to attempt this experiment and post it on the blog will add some pressure.  

This blog post is not advice; it is an experiment. Today is November 10^th, 2012, at 0100 hours. I have shopped for at least two days of food for this menu. We already have eggs, bananas, and apples in the refrigerator, so this is what I picked up at Dillon's, for $54.55.

 

I plan to eat the following menu every day this week without variation. It will be interesting to see how many days I go before candy bar temptation rears its ugly head.

 

 

 

Here is where I am starting:

Cutting Diet (as recommended by Michael Matthews in his book Bigger Leaner Stronger):

• 1.2 grams of Protein per pound of body weight per day
• 1.0 grams of Carbohydrate per pound of body weight per day
• 1.0 grams of healthy fat per 5 pounds of body weight per day

Body Weight: 195 pounds

• Daily Healthy Fat: 39 grams
• Daily Carbohydrate: 195 grams
• Daily Protein: 234 grams

BREAKFAST:

2 cups of plain Greek yogurt

1 medium banana

Water

SNACK:

Protein Shake (2 servings, in water)

1 apple

Water

LUNCH:

4 egg whites

1 bag of mixed vegetables

Water

SNACK:

Protein Shake (1 serving, in water)

1 apple

Water

DINNER:

2 Chicken breast (4 ounces each)

1 bag of mixed vegetables

1 apple

Water

SNACK:

Protein Shake (1 serving, in water)

1 apple

Water

OVERVIEW:

Calories: 1839

Fat grams: 34

Carbohydrate grams: 206.5

Protein grams: 234.5

Some of the nutritional facts are solid; I pulled them from a food journal I kept recently, hoping that by making myself accountable I would make good choices. This worked for a little while. The rest of the facts are taken from the internet as I planned my food, and are thus approximate. I think they are close enough to get me started. When I begin tomorrow, I will post my body weight, body fat percentage, and BMI (using a basic scale, not terribly scientific, but accurate enough for now as long as I use the same scale every time).

I created the menu by following the ratios of fat, carbohydrates, and protein. The number of calories this generated is a bit on the alarming side, but I am going to give it a go. Right now, I weigh about 195 pounds, approximately 26 percent being fat. Since I would like to reach 10 percent body fat, I am right now, in this very second, imagining what 31.2 pounds of fat would look like sitting on the chair next to me. Wow.