I'd take a multi with minerals if you are concerned about micros.
What is your current height/weight/age and last two week's worth of programming?
Ever since COVID struck, I’ve been in a difficult position financially, which has required me to make some cuts to my diet. I've made the following adjustments:
-Switched from fresh to frozen veggies
-Replaced eggs for breakfast with Greek Yoghurt
-“Pre-workout” & “Evening snack” below had ground beef/chicken as the protein source, replaced these with Greek Yoghurt
-Quinoa/pasta were my main source of carbs, replaced these with Oats
-Used to supplement with Fish Oil & Curcumin, these have been cut
Recently, I've also begun to notice a decline in energy levels—lifts haven't stalled, but each rep feels like a grind & I feel depleted at the end of a training session. This could be a mental thing (not used to training alone/at home), but I'd like to make sure that the diet is not the culprit.
My main concern is that I may be lacking micronutrients—I used to eat different veggies every week, now I’m only eating what I can find in the freezer section (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Peppers, Onions, Peas, Carrots). My second concern is substituting yogurt for beef/eggs—the protein I'm getting is the same, but is this optimal from a micronutrient standpoint?
Below is my usual diet. I prep. everything at the start of the week & keep meals in the freezer.
Breakfast -8AM
350g Greek yoghurt
80g Steel cut oats
25g PB (natural)
150g Mixed berries
1 Banana
Pre-workout -11AM
250g Greek yoghurt
80g Steel cut oats
25g PB
Lift -12PM
Post-workout
250g Greek Yoghurt
80g Steel cut oats
25g PB
1 Banana
Lunch -3PM
200g Ground Beef 90% lean
1 Avocado
400g Mixed veggies, weighed frozen
80g Steel cut oats
25g PB
Evening snack -6PM
250g Greek Yoghurt
80g Steel cut oats
25g PB
Dinner -9PM
200g Chicken breast
400g Mixed veggies, weighed frozen
80g Steel cut oats
25g PB
20g Olive oil, drizzled
500ml Whole Milk before bed
Current Macros: 150gF 450gC 200gP, 3800-4000 calories daily
Additional info:
21 year old male
187lb, estimate 20%BF
7-8 hours of sleep per night
Lifts:
Bench 205lb
Press 128lb
Squat 305lb
Deadlift 355lb
Apologies for the lengthy post and many thanks for any advice
I'd take a multi with minerals if you are concerned about micros.
What is your current height/weight/age and last two week's worth of programming?
Apologies for the late reply,
21 year old male
5'9, 187lb, estimate 20%BF
7-8 hours of sleep per night
Switched from LP to Texas Method mid-May
Lifts:
Bench 205lb
Press 128lb
Squat 305lb
Deadlift 355lb
Note that the lifts are still going up—but I'm lacking the energy & intensity from two months ago. Warm-ups feel heavier then they should, I feel drained at the end of a session etc. I'll definitely take the multi, that option completely slipped my mind for some reason.
So those numbers are current numbers? Try adding another 50-100 g/carbohydrates per day on all days and see what happens
Will do—thanks again for the help!
If you're worried about micros, you can use the Cronometer app (it's free). It tracks micronutrient intake so you can rule that out or adjust fire accordingly.
Just make sure you look up the generic version (aka just Greek yogurt, not Kirkland brand Greek yogurt) and then select the NCCDB database as your data source. That's the database that has the micro info.
I also wonder if Greek yogurt just isn't a complete enough protein source for you as THE protein source. But Cronometer also tracks amino acids (that's one of the main reasons I use it) so you can check on that also.