Usually I like to give people advice on diet based on what they already are eating, and what their goals are. There is no single diet that is correct for everyone. However, I also keep getting asked what my diet is, so here it is.
A couple of notes before I go into it:
First: I tend to switch between a bulking phase and a cutting phase over the course of the year. It’s very important that changes in diet happen very gradually, so as not to confuse or freak out your metabolism. So I’m going to present an example of a 1 day diet during the peak of my “cutting phase” (i.e. least calories) and during the peak of my “bulking phase” (i.e. most calories), but please remember that I don’t switch quickly from one to the other. I ramp my calories down and up gradually over time. What I’m going to show here is only the two extremes.
Second: I’m going to provide you charts for a “typical” day. Remember that once a week I also give myself a cheat meal, during which I eat whatever I want, and however much I want. There are literally no limits on this, so I won’t bother charting it out. But sometimes I’ll have an entire box of cookies, sometimes a whole pizza, or third helpings of pasta… whatever. The whole point of a cheat meal is to eat so much you don’t want to cheat again for another week.
Third: You’ll notice, in the chart below, that I tend to switch between two brands of protein powder for my protein shake supplements: IsoPure and Syntha-6. Isopure is more pure protein and fewer calories, and Syntha-6 has more carbs, sugar, and more calories over all. That’s why I shift toward the Isopure during leaning: it’s a great way to cut calories without changing the volume of food I’m putting in my body (it’s still one shake). In both cases I simply mix with water.
OK, with that said, here we go.
| LEANING PHASE | BULKING PHASE | |
| 8:00 am | 1 serving ” Isopure” (300 cal) ¼ cup oatmeal, plain (75 cal) |
2 servings “Syntha-6” (400 cal) ¾ cup oatmeal, plain (225 cal) |
| 10:00 am | 1 chicken breast, 12oz. (480 cal) | 1 chicken breast, 12oz. (480 cal) ½ cup brown rice (116 cal) |
| 12:00 pm | 12 egg whites (206 cal) | 12 egg whites & 2 yolks (306 cal) 1 handful cashews (150 cal) |
| 2:00 pm | 1 serving ” Isopure” (300 cal) | 2 servings “Syntha-6” (400 cal) |
| 3:00 pm | WORKOUT | WORKOUT |
| 5:30 pm | 1 serving ” Isopure” (300 cal) ¼ cup oatmeal, plain (75 cal) |
2 servings “Syntha-6” (400 cal) ¾ cup oatmeal, plain (225 cal) |
| 8:00 pm | 1 chicken breast, 12oz. (480 cal) steamed veggies or plain salad (32 cal) |
1 chicken breast, 12oz. (480 cal) ½ cup brown rice (116 cal)steamed veggies or plain salad (32 cal) |
| 10:00 pm | 1 serving ” Isopure” (300 cal) | 2 servings “Syntha-6” (400 cal) |
The total calories per day during my leaning phase is about 2500, and the total during bulking is about 3600.
Again, I just want to emphasize: this is tailored to my needs: my age, my weight, my fitness level, the fact that I work out 1-2 hours a day 5 days a week. 2500 calories is way too much for some people for learning, and 3600 is way to little for some people to put on muscle. So please don’t just take this as some kind of template to copy.
However, this does give you an idea of the overall pattern and the kind of thinking that I use when figuring out what to eat.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
