An Effective Diet Plan From a Reader

Nick, a long-time reader of the blog, recently communicated to me about looking at his diet plan. He had seen at a few diet plans of mine in other articles and needed a little advice about if he was on the right track or not.

At the risk of sounding overly simplistic I wrote back that I thought he was definitely on the right track. After ruminating on his plan I started to think about the why. Why his plan wasn’t in need of an overhaul.

Here is what he sent me:

Hey Brad,

Was wondering if you can take a look at my diet and let me know if I’m in the right track. Now, I’m 40yrs old, married, two kids and two jobs some of the items are out of convenience, but mostly I’m able to stay CONSISTENT with this approach.  I’ve tried eating 5-6 cooked meals per day but it’s just not practical given my lifestyle and I’m not a professional bodybuilder and my wife hates it….

Here it is,

1) 3/4 cup oats, 2 eggs, 1/2 cup egg whites, banana 

2) protein bar or 2oz of turkey jerkey,  1 oz almonds, apple

3) 2 whole wheat bread, 5 oz lunch meat, 1 slice lowfat cheese, banana 

4) 2 whole wheat bread,  2 tbsp PB , 1 scoop protein, apple

5) 5 oz chicken,  1 cup rice, 1 cup veggies 

6) 1 cup yogurt,  1/2cup granola, 1 tbsp PB, 1/2 scoop protein 

It’s based off of the diets I’ve seen you post in other articles.  Ive been told my lunch and snacks are not high quality but again it’s not practical for me to eat fish, chicken and beef 5 times per day … Although this works I just wanted your opinion on it. Should I be using chicken breasts on my sandwiches or is the lunch meat ok?

Thanks Brad. Still doing the 3 day split but saw the new push/pull/legs program you just posted. Definitely have to try that sometime. 🙂

Nick

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Obviously, he read a few of my earlier diet plans and catered them to his own lifestyle. I couldn’t find much in his plan to adjust only the issue of the quality of lunch meat. I found a few commonalities and patterns that made this a good plan.

1. It’s practical. He’s like me and probably you too: family, kids, job, and other obligations that can sometimes limit extensive cooking and prepping. He’s taken a real-world approach to his diet plan.
2. It’s balanced. Sure, he’s not eating some sort of wild tuber from Central America that claims medicinal value, but he does include lean proteins, complex carbs, healthy fats, and some good sources of fruits and vegetables.
3. It’s simple. He includes easy to prepare foods, meals that are easy to transport, and enough meals throughout the day to stave off hunger. It isn’t some sort of extreme diet that promises miracles. In other words, a layman can see the value in it.
4. Supplements are used sparingly. He distributes his supplements carefully to accommodate his workday and training. Supplements are just that: things that support an already solid diet. His diet focuses on real food first.
5. It works for him. This is probably the most important point. Aside form a few adjustments over time (which is natural) he finds this fits his lifestyle and can easily adjust anything, if necessary, from there. And most-importantly he states he’s been consistent.

I just wanted to highlight Nick’s message and diet and drive home the point that you can have an effective diet plan that supports your training efforts and still be practical and realistic.

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