Last week I discussed some of the staples in my breakfast meal stack and their numerous benefits. Of course, oatmeal, egg whites and bananas are not the only breakfast items – just a typical example.
This week I will disclose what’s typical on my menu at lunch time. Good nutrition is key to maintaining a lean, athletic physique year round, so it’s important to watch what you eat. I tend to keep it clean and simple.
Let me reiterate that there is no secret formula or compounds found in the ingredients that make up my meals. Whatever I consume can commonly be found in any household.
You would agree that most Guyanese have lunch comprising rice or pasta with chicken/fish/beef on a daily basis.
It’s almost the same for me:
As I am typing this (Wednesday), I am eating chicken breast, rice and some egg whites. Yesterday, I had chicken breast and sweet potatoes.
So what are the benefits of what’s on my menu for lunch?
Chicken Breast
Loaded with protein and other less-celebrated nutritional gems, chicken breast (often called the white-meat wonder) is convenient, versatile and low in fat. It’s the most common muscle-building food found on lunch and dinner plates of gym rats everywhere. I typically pot roast or grill my
chicken breasts
Sweet potato is pretty much the same….
Whether in a salad, baked or steamed, sweet potatoes feature in many athletes’ daily diet.
Alongside rice, potatoes, oats and pasta, sweet potatoes are a top source of carbohydrate, meaning they’re a good source of energy for anyone hitting it hard in the gym. In addition to the carb content, sweet potatoes have numerous other benefits for bodybuilders.
The average-size serving of sweet potatoes has fewer calories than an average-size serving of white potatoes, containing 112 calories versus 168. Additionally, the carbohydrate content is a little lower in sweet potatoes — 26 grammes compared to 38 grammes in white potatoes. This difference can benefit bodybuilders who are dieting. Eating lower-calorie sweet potatoes makes it easier to maintain a calorie deficit and burn fat.
Glycemic index, or GI, is a measure of how quickly a food raises your levels of blood sugar. Eating lower-GI foods tends to sustain your energy levels as these foods digest more slowly. Since sweet potatoes have a lower glycemic index and glycemic load than white potatoes, they’re a better choice for your pre-workout meal to help give you that boost needed to push through a hard session.
Whole eggs
Any list of ‘best bodybuilding foods’ is sure to include egg whites. They are rich in protein and have hardly a trace of fat. But for a long time, the yolk has been deemed utter trash.
In fear of the fat and cholesterol content of the yolk, athletes everywhere have been straining, scooping and tossing them down the kitchen sink. But to the surprise of many, the yolks are far more nutritious than the whites.
Additionally, the fat in the yolk is largely unsaturated. So unless you’re aiming to reduce calories via dietary fats, keeping those yolks isn’t so bad after all. And several research studies suggest that dietary cholesterol of whole eggs does not affect blood cholesterol or triglycerides. It’s the saturated fat content in food that drives up cholesterol levels.
I typically fry and use them as a side with the sweet potato and chicken breasts.
Pasta
A substantial body of research over the past few decades has consistently shown that carbs are essential for optimizing intense anaerobic exercise (weight-training).
Pasta is rich in complex carbs, and while most people think of pasta as a high GI food or refined carb made with white flour, it’s not. Most pasta is made with durum wheat flour, which breaks down slowly, providing a sustained release of glucose for fuel. Pasta also packs higher levels of protein than many traditional carb sources, which makes it hard to beat for adding quality mass.
In next week’s issue, I will continue the nutrition series with what I consume for dinner. Stay tuned, friends.
If you need help on building muscle or losing body fat, shoot me an email: emmersoncampbell@gmail.com
