My Current Diet (Full Eating Plan)

I’m never one to give anyone a completely overhauled diet plan, especially when I barely know their habits, likes, or dislikes. Lifestyle can dictate a ton when it comes to fitness, health, building muscle, losing fat, and any other life-improving action.

I like to instead look at what someone is doing and give suggestions. Here, I’m going to lay out my current eating habits. This is just a current snapshot of what I’m currently doing to build muscle at 45 slightly lose some body fat and stay healthy.

It’s not perfect and may evolve over time, but it’s a good look at how I’ve tried to remain practical and realistic. No pounds and pounds of beef here or perfectly curated photos of my meals for social media, just real-world eating for us regular folk.

Amounts are approximate and I’ve also included some notes at the end to explain myself.

Meal 1 (breakfast)

1/2 cup of organic oatmeal (quick oats) mixed with 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter and cinnamon

1 serving of low-sugar Greek yogurt

Coffee with sugar-free creamer

Meal 2 (lunch)

Turkey sandwich with low-fat cheese slices

Piece of fruit or bowl of strawberries

or

2 whole eggs and two additional egg whites with low-fat cheese

2 whole wheat slices of bread with low-sugar or sugar-free jelly

Meal 3 (post-workout)

Protein shake: 1 serving of veggie protein with greens in water

1 piece of fruit

Meal 4 (dinner)

A variety of meals. Usually fish, chicken, or lean beef with a veggie such as sweet potato, zucchini, mixed salad, and a starch such as rice or pasta.

Notes:

• Breakfast is by far my favorite meal. I wake up hungry and go straight into making it. I also get up early on purpose so I don’t have to run out the door and do the grab n’ go. I like to make my breakfast, sit, and enjoy it.
• Midmorning (between meals 1 and 2) I may have a serving of mixed nuts to stave off hunger. This is important since I could easily cram my gullet with junk.
• Lunch is another predictable meal like breakfast. I just choose from two options and I like it that way. Less thinking is involved.
• Post-workout is about the only time I take sports supplements. Currently, I’m trying out veggie protein with greens and superfoods. I don’t get a ton of veggies in my diet yet so it’s a sneaky way of doing that.
• Dinner has the most variety. We cook for the family but ensure that we are getting in lean meats, low fat, and healthy carb sources. In the past, I would have another predictable meal, but as a man with a family, it’s nice to change this meal up. Plus, it’s a good time to bond.
• If I’m still hungry at night (like after a hard lower-body training day) I’ll snack on a bowl of low-sugar cereal with skim milk), but not often.

Other things to keep in mind:

• I drink a lot of water throughout the day.
• I take vitamin C and vitamin D3 in the morning and a multivitamin at night just for insurance.
• Lately, I’ve curtailed junk foods and cheat meals. Having a sweet tooth gets me into too much trouble. Plus, my training will start to suffer for it.
• For the most part, I don’t think of food as a pleasure, aside from the occasional weekend meal (take out usually).