Who doesn't follow a set meal plan in the offseason?

[ljp]

I was reading the "What do you eat when you wanna put on size?" thread which got me thinking about offseason meal plans. How many of you follow a set meal plan in the off season?

I do not compete (at least not yet) but I do take bodybuilding seriously and bust my ass in the gym. I also enjoy food, eating out and trying out different restaurants and I realise bodybuilding will never put a single dollar in my pocket so following a set meal plan would just make miserable as f*** without any good reason.

Following a strict diet might keep my bodyfat lower but then again I feel mentally much better (no food cravings and more energy) when my bodyfat is a bit higher. I don't think this approach is holding me back in terms of muscle growth either, I eat when I'm hungry and the only thing I really count is protein. I try to get about 200-250g/day but I'm not worried if it's lower on some days as I believe it's good for your body to vary it.

Anyway I'm just curious to see how many of you follow this approach. I don't really have an "off-season" since I don't compete but when I diet I do have a set meal plan that I follow, with 1-2 cheat meals / week.

 

[Pumped Up Ya]

No plan.. the plan is to grow, which to me means eat, so i am seefood diet

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[little slice]

i didn't start making good progress until I started following a plan.


It's like training. You have to find out what works for you, implement it, and then progress.


I don't see how you can do that without tracking your meals.

 

[burst]

No plan.. the plan is to grow, which to me means eat, so i am seefood diet

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isnt your BF level around 25% though?

 

[flexdurden]

isnt your BF level around 25% though?

Dayyyyum lol

 

[ljp]

i didn't start making good progress until I started following a plan.


It's like training. You have to find out what works for you, implement it, and then progress.


I don't see how you can do that without tracking your meals.

You said it, you have to find out what works for you. You can track your progress and if you are making progress then whatever you're doing is working, whether you have a set meal plan or not.

Your caloric needs are different each day and I think if you eat a well balanced diet (= minimal processed foods and sensible amounts of protein/carbs/fat) your body is pretty good at telling you what it needs. You can also incorporate a lot more variety into your diet which gives your body more micronutrients.

However I think it helps if you've used to weighing foods and tracking your intake. Usually if you've done that you can estimate pretty easily how many calories you're consuming even if you're not weighing your food.

 

[mytreefiddy]

i didn't start making good progress until I started following a plan.


It's like training. You have to find out what works for you, implement it, and then progress.


I don't see how you can do that without tracking your meals.

This.... i'm currently bulking for the 1st time where im tracking everything... if I don't I just get unwanted fat gain....just eating lots of clean food (a lot for me anyways)... if I see im struggling to gain then i'll bring in a cheat or two... every 2 weeks my dose will increase as will my calories.... hopefully this approach will work better than what ive done in the past

 

[Pumped Up Ya]

isnt your BF level around 25% though?

No its like 15%

When i say i dont have a plan it doesnt mean im eating complete frikin garbage. I dont have a diet of macros or meal prep. Ill cook a brisket one weekend and eat brisket, beans, mashed taters, green beans and cornbread like 3x a day for an entire week, burgers, porlchops, deer meat, spaghetti, pb sandwiches, gallon milk a day, im not on a schedule or a plan, my plan is to eat good ass food alot of times during the day, im always thinking of eating

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[Pumped Up Ya]

This.... i'm currently bulking for the 1st time where im tracking everything... if I don't I just get unwanted fat gain....just eating lots of clean food (a lot for me anyways)... if I see im struggling to gain then i'll bring in a cheat or two... every 2 weeks my dose will increase as will my calories.... hopefully this approach will work better than what ive done in the past

This.... this will work pretty much everytime for anybody.. im not knocking it im just saying thats not what i do.

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[jayl19]

I have a plan but probely only sticking to it 70% of the time, started t3 for the first time an it's made a massive diffenece in keeping me leanish, must be eating 4k of good food an 2k of crap from cakes mainly

 

[Marvin Martian]

Don't worry about silly percentages... I think they give people a false sense of being "not fat".. Look in the mirror - jump up and down and all that nasty shit that's juggling is FAT... Doesn't matter what % you call it...If you aren't competing I don't think you have " seasons" other than the weather... Unless you just like saying it and think it makes you sound like a "real bodybuilder"..
This is just my opinion - I understand others think differently.. I just think that if you train well and eat well - you will be obviously a bb to the general public.. I actually hate it - but almost every day someone wants to talk about weight training or diet or something related.. Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this sport and lifestyle - and I love talking about it.. I just don't feel like I am remotely qualified to give advice even after 20 years.. More importantly - when I am tslking business - I don't want to get sidetracked..I am every bit as passionate about business and sometimes I get frustrated by the distraction..
Back to the OP ?? - if you have zero structure to your eating you more than likely will get fat and definitely will not optimize muscle growth.. Doesn't have to be insane strict - carry Tupperware everywhere and look retarded - but you need to be constantly conscious of what you consume..

 

[kubes]

I stay on a strict nutrition plan year round. Doesn't matter if I am cutting or bulking but I also like to stay lean year round as well


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[buck]

over the last couple decades i have seen that most guys that don't watch what they eat usually put on much more fat then muscle. and most guys that bulk up don't ever compete and rarely diet down very far.

 

[Growman]

I dont compete so there is no on or off season for me, but obviously i live in the northeast so its favorable to look good in the summer.

During the fall and winter i have no set meal plan, just set meal timing. So i never go more than 3 hours without a shake or meal, but i dont know exactly what ill be eating. I just make sure it consists of 40-60 grams of protein and i try to eat good carbs (but sometimes dont).

Then when im ready to cut the timing stays the same but my only carbs are from oatmeal in the AM. But this year i might see how i react to keeping carbs around workout time. Its just been so easy in the past for me to drop bodyfat when i have no carbs in my body when i train, but im sure it sucks for muscle growth and recovery.

 

[TrinityD]

technically, there is no set offseason plan for me
however meals pretty much always look the same...

breakfast-oats,peanut butter,eggs
lunch - beef or fish, noodles or brown rice
dinner - same as lunch

with vegetables,some kind of sauce or dressing added,etc
i don't feel like there's a whole lot to choose from once you learn to stick with the basic kind of physique/bodybuilding diet
most people don't run around cooking lasagnas, crazy ethnic dishes and carrot cakes lol

i'll add an in-n-out burger here and there...i cant resist

 

[Growman]

technically, i dont have a plan in the offseason
however meals pretty much always look the same...

breakfast-oats,peanut butter,eggs
lunch - beef or fish, noodles or brown rice
dinner - same as lunch

with vegetables,some kind of sauce or dressing added,etc
i don't feel like there's a whole lot to choose from once you learn to stick with the basic kind of physique/bodybuilding diet
most people don't run around cooking lasagnas, crazy ethnic dishes and carrot cakes lol

i'll add an in-n-out burger here and there...i cant resist

He kinda hit the nail on the head. There is not too many options. Im not following a plan but lunch is usually like chicken or Turkey with Rice... Blah, Blah, Blah....

If i cooked i would have a lot more cash and be more jacked but i eat out a lot, and try to stick to the basics.

 

[philosoraptor]

I'm kind of like TrinityD. I don't "plan" meals but when you do something for so long, the days just look similar. I plan when I diet which isn't often but week in and week out, not really.

My diet consists of protein-rich foods, low fat, reduced gluten, light on the dairy, vegetables and fruits and so forth and I've just been eating that way for so long, it's just what I grab at chow time. Actually, it's all I have in the house really.

I don't have chips and pepsi and all that other crap even in the house and only buy it when people are over. Sure, my girls want their chicken nuggets and fish sticks but I don't even like that crap. Truthfully, sometimes I eat something way out of character like a whole pizza or something and I'm not having fun on the toilet. It's just a lifestyle change I think.

Put it this way. When you can taste the sweetness in a bowl of oatmeal or a potato, I think that's a good thing. I like to hear about others' eating habits though. Some people can just eat anything. ANYTHING. I wish that were me. I gain 2lbs just driving by an KFC sign.

 

[kubes]

At the end of the day it all boils down to individual goals. As I see it there really isn't a right or wrong way to do it as ling as you have a plan. There are many people that want to leave no rock unturned as they do not wish to miss an opportunity for growth. As I have gotten older I just prefer to not put on the extra weight and then have to diet the fat back off. I prefer to take the smaller leaner gains even though it takes longer I am ok with it. I have the rest of my life to train and grow. If I was wanting to compete then my plan would change for sure


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[bmm5530]

With me, I have to be very particular with what I eat, even when in the offseason because I tend to overeat if I don't. I need to weigh all my food and have each meal measured for my offseason diet to work. If you guys don't have to do that you're lucky but it works for me and what I need to do.

 

[TrinityD]

I'm kind of like TrinityD. I don't "plan" meals but when you do something for so long, the days just look similar. I plan when I diet which isn't often but week in and week out, not really.

My diet consists of protein-rich foods, low fat, reduced gluten, light on the dairy, vegetables and fruits and so forth and I've just been eating that way for so long, it's just what I grab at chow time. Actually, it's all I have in the house really.

I don't have chips and pepsi and all that other crap even in the house and only buy it when people are over. Sure, my girls want their chicken nuggets and fish sticks but I don't even like that crap. Truthfully, sometimes I eat something way out of character like a whole pizza or something and I'm not having fun on the toilet. It's just a lifestyle change I think.

Put it this way. When you can taste the sweetness in a bowl of oatmeal or a potato, I think that's a good thing. I like to hear about others' eating habits though. Some people can just eat anything. ANYTHING. I wish that were me. I gain 2lbs just driving by an KFC sign.

I like the reduced gluten and low dairy

Also lold @ the 2lbs driving by KFC sign ..

I gain 5lbs just by eating at IN-N-OUT once every 1-2 weeks