Posts by dhersc

I'm not a nutritionist, so bear that in mind while you read this.  Ask your doctor what he/she thinks of your meal plan.  I would recommend gradually increasing your daily caloric intake from week to week.  At your weight, I imagine you don't eat too much, so you don't want to shock your system by all of a sudden eating tons of food.  Start out with amounts of food that make you comfortably full.

I was slightly underweight, and I followed a similar nutrition program, along with an exercise regimen, to gain about 20lbs of muscle and bring my body fat levels up to normal.  I have reduced the portions for you, since I started at 150lbs.

Though this seems like a lot of food, you'll notice that it is just many small portions.  The idea is to provide your body with constant nutrition throughout the day, rather than a few big meals.  Eating every 2 to 3 hours will seem strange at first, but after just a few days, your metabolism will start to increase, and your appetite will increase.  You will be able to eat more, but your body will naturally start to burn more calories (even when sitting on the couch!).  You are basically just spreading out the food from the normal 3 meals a day over 6 to 7 snacks instead.  Your muscle mass will increase slightly, even without working out.  Your body fat levels will rise to a healthy level, but this does not mean you will get fat!  Did you know that your body needs 4% fat just to survive, and ~8% to function properly?

A good breakfast would be 1 or 2 eggs + 2 egg whites scrambled (or omelette) with veggies, and 1/2 cup (before cooking) of oatmeal.  You probably won't be able to eat this much in one sitting right away, but try to work your way up to that.

2 to 3 hours later, have a light snack... some crackers with cottage cheese or peanut butter, or some rice cakes, or a piece of fruit, or a cup of yogurt, or 1-2 oz of nuts, etc.

Then another 2 to 3 hours later, lunch: 1/2 cup to 1 cup of brown rice (cooked), or whole wheat pasta, or quinoa, or wheat berries, etc. with some veggies and some sort of protein... a piece of fish, steak, chicken, tofu, or even just some beans.  Go for 4 to 6 oz. of meat / beans.  Cheese is a great source of protein as well.  You can also just have a large salad with some meat, cheese, and beans.

In another couple of hours, have another snack like you did in the morning.

Then dinner - follow the same guidelines as lunch.

Have another snack, preferable low in carbs, before you go to bed, if there is time.  A handful of nuts is perfect as it is low carb, high protein, and contains healthy fats that your body needs.

In general, try to eat whole grains (like whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.) instead of white grains.  Try to get most of your fat from "good fat" (unsaturated) sources, like olive oil, avocado, nuts.  The hardest part about eating like this is not missing the meals.  You'll need to make most of the food yourself, and you'll need to plan ahead.  It will all be worth it though - your energy levels will rise, your complexion will improve, and your body will just look and feel better!