What healthy foods do you eat?

[mossman]

I'm trying to build a "kung-fu" body and would like to know what kinds of foods you guys eat. Please feel free to post receipes and links to cooking guides. What combinations work well? Thanks guys

[FooFighter]

I am on the warrior diet and i like to keep it simple, friend. I am not into body building and this warrior diet works for me. I 5'8, an ectomorph, weight 170lb and my body fat is 7-8%. I eat raw fruits and veggies in the morning and one big meal at night. The big meal is mostly protein and low carbs.

[Shaolinlueb]

lots of chicken, vegetables, fruit, banana's. some beef now and then. tofu, drink a lot of water during the day.

[trevorstalker]

mossman,

I try to keep it healthy, lot's of fruits, juices, milk, fish, tea, some red meat... I avoid eating junk food too. No soft drinks and NO alcohol (beer, scotch, cachaça... I've been sober for 52 days now).

Also it's a good idea not to skip meals and keep them as regular as possible. Watch your caloric intake, and if you ever find yourself on a caloric deficit, you may supplement it with powders.

Try to have as many meals as possible (don't go postal on the calories, but try not to put much time between them), for instance, from my 09:00 breakfast (just after working out) till lunch time (12:00) I will eventualy eat some apples, bananas and have a glass of tea.

That "kung-fu like / marble physique" is not only a function of nutrition, but also of your training regimen, keep that in mind.

FooFighter,

I've read about this Warrior Diet book, on dragondoor if I'm not mistaken. Can you elaborate more on what it covers and fundamentals? :)

[Nick Forrer]

I just posted this in response to someone else and then saw your question so ill repost it here:

Protein- avoid mince meat, burgers, bacon, sausages etc. Stick to chicken, turkey, ham fish etc. Also whey protein powder is good (it has a better amino acid profile than milk/egg or soy protein)- I mix it with milk, yogurt and banana. Eggs whites are another source of protein (avoid the yolks).

Carbs- stick to brown rice, brown bread - its okay to have pasta and potatos- just dont go over the top. Avoid processed, refined 'white' carbs.

Drink skimmed milk and water. Avoid soft drinks. Diet drinks contain Aspartame (in the UK)- which is linked to cancer - so avoid.
Try not to go OTT with fruit juice either-it has high amounts of sugar.

Avoid caffeine.

Eat loads of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Dont eat any of the following- crisps/chips, chocolate, soft drinks/soda, sweets/candy- in fact any fast food or junk food whatsoever.

In short wherever possible try and minimise saturated fat and simple sugars (unfortunately these are the two things that taste good!) as well as processed/prepackaged/frozen/fried foods.
The fresher the better!

Eat small meals throughout the day- liitle and often!

Dont eat a lot late at night.

Do your cardio first thing on an empty stomach. It should be low intensity high duration i.e. about forty minutes- I recommend either cycling or swimming- running may hurt your knees/ankles (especially if you are overweight), skipping is too high intensity to be properly aerobic.

Persevere- Rome wasn't built in a day.

In terms of weight training I think anything from a 6-12 rep range is okay but you must go to failure on every set you do i.e. to the point where you literally cant lift any more. Also less is more- dont do loads of sets- 2 or 3 is sufficient per body part- Ater 10 years of weights I just do 1 work set plus a couple of strip sets when i have reached muscular failure.

Make sure you have good lifting technique- dont rely on momentum or ancilliary muscles to take the work load of the target muscle- lift slowly and under control- emphasis the negative protion of the lift/range of motion as much as the positive portion

As a general rule never work the same body part two days in a row- in fact I would avoid doing weights two days in a row- it will depend on other individual factors though i.e. recovery ability, stress levels, hours of sleep, diet, MA training schedule etc.

keep a training journal of your reps/ sets/ poundages- this will allow you to monitor your progress and measure the effect of any changes you may make.

Keep it simple - avoid fancy routines- stick to bread and butter compound lifts-squat, bench press, dead lift, chin ups and a few isolation excercises - hamstring curls, bicep curls, calf raises.

A good book is 'Brawn' by Stuart McRobert or 'High intensity training' by Mike Mentzer.

[Serpent]

Dayum... go to the Fat, Help! thread and see my response to this. I think that between us me and Nick could start a pretty good nutrition business! ;)

[Vash]

The young of my enemies.

[Gangsterfist]

Put yourself on an eating schedule. My sifu is somewhat obcessive with his diet. He is vegetarian and eats on a schedule. He eats small portion meals every 5 hours or so.

Eat cold foods, cold foods take more energy to digest, thus you burn calories digesting them. Do not saute your veggies, eat them steamed. Eat some rice and bread as well. Drink lots of water and keep the body hydrated.

Fish oil is great for you. You can get protien from fish, beans, and supplements. The whole low carb craze is not the answer. You need carbs, carbs give you energy. Just eat proper portions and never over eat. Over eatting is really bad for you.

Cut out all the bad habbits like smoking, drinking, staying up all night, eating junk, etc.

Disipline is the best diet. If you can disipline yourself to eat the right diet, then the hard part is already over.

[Merryprankster]

eat whatever you want. exercise like an animal :)

now, if you ask about me cutting weight, it's higher protein and more nutrient dense food, and avoiding certain things i'm known for doing on occasion...like eating 38 soup dumplings BEFORE a full meal.

please see the 30 day mcdonald's diet, for my point.

I once ate a whole larege pizza at work when Ms. Fatty McFatback walked by and said "gosh, i wish i could do that, you just have a fast metabolism."

i put my last slice down, wiped my mouth and said, "not really. actually, i work out for about 4 hours a day."

her face fell. she wanted to hear it wasn't her fault and that i was just "one of those." you've never seen such a dejected fatty slink away to find twinkies.

but i can do those kinds of things because i bust my ass and avoid junk, generally. i don't have a sweet tooth and mostly drink water....

[FooFighter]

I follow the Warrior Diet because I am pretty lazy about eating small little meals during out the day. I am a new yorker and time shouldnt be wasted on counting cals and etc. As long I am healthy and strong, I like to use same philosophy used in my martial art and fitness philosophy in my eating habit. The philosophy is to keep it simple, direct, and fun-ctional.

The warrior diet is based around under-eating and over-eating. During the day, you under-eat, fast, and clean your system. The hunger keeps me alert and working out during this time period
also helps me to keep lean. The first 15 hours, I drink coffee, water, and fresh fruits and juices. I only eat raw fruits and veggies. No sugars, milk, and or anything in that nature. You have to make you get plenty of diverse raw fruits and veggies in because you will need for bath room reasons. <wink> Then the 15 hours of under-easting, you start to go into overeating mode.
I eat like a pig but healthy tho. I have some miso soup, salad, a large lean pork/beef or fish, a little carbs such as rice, potato, and desert like ice cream. I eat until I full and I sleep like a baby.

This diet has worked for me has not weaken me at all and for those who are interested please go read the book for free at your local bookstore.

[Ford Prefect]

A good guideline is to not to eat anything you couldn't kill or grow yourself.

[trevorstalker]

A good guideline is to not to eat anything you couldn't kill or grow yourself.

Oh man, I'm $crewed...

My diet is gonna be limited to golden fishes and pot... :D

Peace!

[Nick Forrer]

'golden fishes'

mate

i think you've been on the pot already today!

the non stoned call these gold fish:D