You can LIVE life, or you can EXIST through it.
I choose to live it to its fullest and BRING IT as hard as I can....EVERY DAY! Fitness is a journey, and Beachbody provides you with the vehicle to take you to where you want to go!! -Mark Briggs-
Posted on April 26th, 2009 27 comments
My Daily Diet
This is more of a food journal entry than it is an actual article today. One of the biggest topics that so many people struggle with is their diet. I mean, lets face it, when most of us average around an hour a day for our workouts, that leaves us 23 hours to be doing other things, like sleeping, working, and through it all, EATING.
In one of my prior posts, I covered the basics on eating; what to eat, when to eat, and figuring out your nutritional requirements to keep you on track in reaching your fitness goals. Since that article, I’ve received numerous emails from people, asking me specifically what I ate throughout the day, so I will answer that question below. Another question I received from several people was “How do you eat in order to bulk up, but keep lean mass?”. That question I will answer right now.
In order to bulk up, you obviously have to take in more calories than you burn. Unless you are a bodybuilder, preparing for an event, the easiest way to accomplish this is by upping your caloric intake by as little as 300 calories per day! Don’t feel like you have to shift the content of your food, just add to it. Its really that simple. Now, typically, for weight LOSS, I suggest a 500 calorie per day DEFECIT in your nutritional intake – but for adding, I suggest the slightly smaller increment of 300 calories. This is what I have done to add bulk in the past, and going slower has taken a bit more time to add the mass, but its also kept all of the gains lean (no bloated look or feel – just solid muscle).
Ok, now I’ll go into a staple of my daily intake. Let me start by saying that I no longer count calories, and I don’t measure the amount of food I eat, so these are going to be ballpark estimates on quantities.
Now, this is just a staple of one day, but I eat very close to the same things on a daily basis. Breakfast, for example, is always the same for me, and ALL of the ingredients are mixed together. When it comes to fluid intake, I drink either water (1 liter per 50 lbs of bodyweight), green tea, and occasionally (but rarely) 1 cup of coffee.Breakfast
- Oatmeal (approx. 1.5 cups)
- Whey Protein Powder (varied brands), 2 scoops, 48 grams of protein
- Creatine Ethyl Ester powder (4 grams)
- Flax seed (2 tablespoons)
AM Snack
- Fruit (apple or banana – any fruit is fine)
- Cliff Energy Bar or Cascadian Farms organic granola bar
Lunch
- 1 lbs of vegetables (varies from day to day)
- (2) Morning Star Vegetarian burgers
PM Snack
- Protein Shake (mixed with water/ice), 2 scoops, 48 grams of protein or Greens Plus Protein Bar
- Cascadian Farms Organic Granola Bar
Dinner
- Bag (1 lbs) of Spinach
- 1 can of Albacore tuna or salmon
- 1 cup of diced tomatos
- 1 cup of Black Bean Pico De Gallo
- Salsa or Balsamic Vinegar
PM Snack
- Shakeology
- 2 scoops of Whey Protein Powder (48 grams of protein)
*NOTE* I would like to point out that quantities above may vary slightly from day to day based on how I’m feeling. In time, you will learn to read your body and know if you need to increase or decrease your intake slightly. On days that I train in double sessions (for example), my food intake is almost always higher – simply because of the additional caloric burn.*
On occasion, if I’m really hungry within that 3 hour window of bed time, I’ll have one additional Protein Shake (always mixed with just water and ice). Because I eat a Pescatarian diet (fish and veggies), and I do not consume dairy, I supplement quite a bit as well. Without getting too specific, below is a summary of my supplements:
- P90X Multivitamins
- Flax Oil Capsules
- Thermogenic Fat Burners
- Calcium with Vitamin D
- CLA
- Ginko Biloba
- St. John’s Wort
- Alfalfa (for joints – VERY cheap alternative to Glucosamine/Chondroitin)
There you have the summary for a day of my nutritional intake. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post them here and I’ll get them answered for you.
27 responses to “My Daily Diet”
-
Awesome! Thanks Mark, you’ve given me some great food choice alternatives. I am also Pescatarian (most of the time) and seeing what works for you is a huge help for someone like me.
Thanks for sharing!
Now I’ll search your site to see what workout you’re doing now days. Hope I find it!
-
Tibbs May 5th, 2009 at 13:36
Hey Mark,
Do you also take the P90X recovery drink?
Thanks
-
I absolutely take the Recovery Formula – but only one intense workout days!
-
Doug – I’m glad to have been able to help!
-
PIER PIMENTEL May 12th, 2009 at 14:22
Mark, I am currently doing p90x+ after 2 rounds of p90x. My results are great, but ofcourse once I have achieved a certain level of fitness, I’m still looking to improve. Do you incorporate cheat meals into your diet, or do you always eat clean? I ask this because I actually allow myself one cheat meal a week, if in your opinion this is counterproductive I will reconsider. Thanks for being an inspiration!
-
Steve24 May 13th, 2009 at 18:48
Hi Mark,
I’m so glad I found your site. I’ve spent a lot of time sweating with you on the PLUS, had the good fortune to meet you at the Vegas camp last July, and now I know where to come to get fitness and diet advice from somebody who obviously knows his stuff.
Do you use any artificial sweetners at all, like agave nectar? Thanks so much.
-
Greg Staggs May 18th, 2009 at 17:11
Mark,
You mention “thermogenic fat burners”… I’d love to know which one you’re taking.
I’m looking at a supplement that contains 543.3 mg of green tea extract, 50 mg of yerba mate extract, 50 mg of birch leaf extract, and 17 mg of coleus forskohlii extract.
All of these of course are all-natural herbal extracts…
How does this compare to what you’re taking, and can you let me know which one it is exactly?
Thanks a ton; keep inspiring us brother!!
-
I am going to start a round of p90x+… just saw the videos… and I am a big fan of you already! You can really workout man!!
Thank you so much for listing your daily food intake… this totally helps! Couple of questions… you seen to be getting almost all of your protein from protein shakes… is that OK and what protein shake do you have?? What is your calorie break-up… protein:carbs:fat?
-
Raj – Its perfectly fine to use protein shakes to supplement your protein intake. Following a Pescatarian diet (fish and veggies), my main sources of natural protein come mostly from fish and beans (and other legumes), so the protein shake makes it easy. I’m currently drinking a shake made by Dymatize. It utilizes Stevia as a sweetener (instead of sugar or surcralose), it mixes great in a shaker cup, tastes great, and is very clean sourced!
As far as your question about the ballpark breakdown of Protein/Carbs/Fat – its about 30/60/10
~Mark
-
Greg – I rotate fat burners as I go through a bottle of them. A lot of the fat burners on the market contain similar ingredients, but my theory is that there is enough variance between them that, by switching brands with each bottle, my body will never really adjust to them. I’ve been doing this for about 5 years straight, and it seems to be working quite well.
I have a friend that owns a supplement store, so whenever new stuff comes out, I generally get to sample it. Right now, my current rotation is: Lipo 6, Amp2, Torch’d (the original AMP composition), Redline, and Xyience Xelerate. I also recently tried a sampler of BRN-2 Extreme (I’ll be adding this one once it hits the market and is more readily available).
The fat burners that I’m taking currently DO use caffeine in some form, and I’m going to take a look at some brands that contain no stimulants to see how they compare (once I finish the bottle that I’m on now – which is Torch’d). I’ll keep you posted!
~Mark
-
Steve – Thanks Brother! On the sweetener topic – Agave nectar would be a NATURAL sweetener!
I use that every now and again, but my main sweetener has become Stevia. Its become much more available (you can even get it at Walmart Superstores now!~Mark
-
Pier – I don’t know that having 1 cheat meal per week would have any negative impact on your goals, but I have all but stopped having them. It used to be, I would have pizza once a month (that’s my favorite splurge food) – but I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I had one. I’ve noticed that the longer I go eating clean, the less and less I have the cravings for that stuff anymore. I say if you are craving a cheat meal – have it! Life is too short to completely limit yourself. Rest assured, when the pizza craving hits me again – I’ll be having one!
The more fit you are, the faster your metabolism becomes. That cheat meal will be incinerated quickly!
~Mark
-
Hey Mark
I have a supplement question what kind of whey protein do you take and why ,currently I use the BB whey protein but the protein is lower then others,I’ve tried the GNC wheybolic extreme,that is very pricey stuff
Thanks for your time
Troy -
Kimber June 25th, 2009 at 19:02
Mark,
I was wondering how you take the alfalfa as a joint supplement? Is it in tablet form or powder? How much would you recommend? I’ve been trying to find a joint supplement now that I’ve hit 40 and still love to run and do Plyo!
Thanks for your time!
-
Alfalfa tablets. You can pick them up at Walmart for under $5. One bottle will last you more than a month. Take 2 tablets, 3 times daily.
-
Troy – I currently am using Optimum Nutrition’s Pro Formula – 60 grams of protein per serving, and you can pick up a 5 lbs tub for around $53
-
Hey Mark,
I’m really interested in starting up a breakfast meal like yours. When you say all the ingredients (oatmeal, protein, creatine, and flax seed) are mixed together, what exactly do you mean? And what kind of oatmeal do you eat? I know some of the tastier ones are generally high in sugar, so I’m looking for a healthier alternative. Thanks!
-
Will,
Just what I had mentioned: I start out by adding some plain Quaker oats to the bottom of a bowl, then I add in flax seed, my creatine powder, 2 scoops of whey protein, and then more oatmeal. I add water, and mix it all in together. From there, its into the microwave for 90 seconds. I don’t use any flavored oatmeal, just the old fashioned Quaker Oats (or you can use minute oats as well). The only difference between them is that the 1 minute oats are cut into 4 pieces to cook faster..
Mark
-
Hey Mark,
Sorry if this question/thought sounds retarded. But how do I go about my day looking like I do when I first get up in the morning (when I look the most ripped)? I figure it is because my stomach is empty that my abs are the most visible, but that’s led me to not eat before I go to the beach or pool so I don’t look too bloated. Is there any way to keep the lean look that you have all day long? I’m almost done with p-90x and I’m about 8.5% body fat, and I like the way I look when I’m flexing and waking up, but I just hate feeling and looking bloated after meals. Any thoughts?
-
Alex – ALL of us gain water weight as the day goes on…..just part of life. If you are at 8.5%, you are already much leaner than 90+% of the population, so hold your head high Bro!!
-
Awesome! Thanks Mark!
-
PIER PIMENTEL August 31st, 2009 at 07:42
Mark, I have a question on the bulking phase you wrote about in your post. You mentioned just adding to your daily intake as little as 300 calories. I was wondering if you cut back on your cardio during your bulking phases. I’m currently doing a hybrid mix of p90x,p90x+ one on one & insanity. I want to get some more muscle mass & since I’m doing insanity on my cardio days, wondering if I should cut back a little on that to help with mass. Thanks!
-
Pier – I don’t cut back on my cardio at all during bulk phases, but I try not to do any extra cardio stuff either.
If bulking up (lean mass) is your goal, you might want to stop doing P90X+. That workout is more about muscular endurance and leaning you out. P90X is better suited for adding mass.
~Mark
-
Brian June 2nd, 2010 at 20:04
Hey Mark, I noticed that you consume a lot of protein in your diet! I used get the majority of my calories from protein, but during P90X I read in the nutrition plan that I should be consuming 60% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and 20% fat if my training is intense. Do you think I should consume more than 20% of my calories from protein? Thank you in advance for your help!
-
Brian – you are only hitting that high for protein in phase 1. I shift my intake a bit (lately 45/45/10), but it varies depending on what I’m doing. If my energy levels start to take a hit, I shift the carbs upwards.
~Mark
-
mbx777 July 22nd, 2010 at 10:14
Is there a reason you stopped using dymatiz and went back to using brands with artificial sweeteners?
-
Angela – it was really more a matter of what I had available at the time. I’m back on the Dymatize Elite now, and should have enough of it stockpiled to avoid having to use the others.
Leave a reply
