Hi, Wasn't sure whether this was the ideal section for posting but here goes...

I need to get myself into shape as quick as possible as I have let go after being out for a while with a shoulder injury. Started my weight training 3 times a week and then football and cycling two other days with the weekend off for working my part time job.

Looking for a good diet plan that will support my muscle but also allow me to burn fat and lose some weight. Got the Maximuscle 2500 Calorie plan from the website and looking to tweak it slightly to work with my lifestyle (I'm studying final year in Uni at present.)

I've decided to use supplements to help results and give me motivation - I do know that these are not essential but I do believe they will help along with the proper training and correct diet…

8AM - Breakfast
Bran flakes
Skimmed Milk
ProMax Shake - Is this needed here or is the cereal enough?

10.30AM
MAX-Meal Bar

1PM - Lunch
Wholegrain Bread 2 slices
Low calories mayo
Tin Tuna in Brine

3PM
ProMax shake - Should I take this or is there a natural alternative that's quick and easy? What about fruit?

5.30-6PM - Dinner
Chicken or Sirloin Steak
Potatoes and some 3 Veg
(This is my main dinner that I get made and is usually very healthy. How disciplined do I need to be here? Is a dinner ok or should it be strictly meat and baked potatoe?

8-9PM
Need some suggestions here. Is Weetabix ok or is there something else asides protein?

Supplements I would be taking apart from Maximuscle ProMax & Max-Meal bars are EFAs (fish oils) 3 times a day and possibly Lean System 7 to aid the fat burning. Have always been wary of fat burners but these seem to be safe and don't contain Ephedrine or Ephedra.

Any comments or advice on the above?

Thanks
Scott

I think you need more fruits and veggies. Make sure you're getting in good fats, proteins and carbs in each meal.

Thanks Derwyddon,

I have taken your advice on board and spent a good hour reading through the two articles and some other things I found online.

My proposed diet doesn’t look to healthy now I must say! I should really mention that I love fruit and eat lots every day – mainly bananas, kiwis, apples and oranges - but didn’t know when to eat them and thought they were bad when dieting because of the effect on blood sugar levels?

I would be more than happy to add these into my diet. Would it be right to say the morning/afternoon is the best time for these?

I love veg and eat usually three to four types a day as part of my evening meal. I will usually have meat and veg along with potatoes. I was thinking of taking say 2 scoops of potato and the meat and veg every night.

I guess where I went wrong was looking at the Maximuscle website and going by one of their planners. I do realise that supplements are grand but I would much prefer to get my energy from ‘real’ food if possible. I just didn’t know enough about it to design a diet plan.

I have looked at LVs shopping list and can see a lot of things I normally eat when training properly. I just got a bit carried away and wanted to try the Maximuscle diet but can now this isn’t the way to go. I usually take cottage cheese and eggs. I also enjoy peppers in my tuna so guess I could introduce some of these everyday to improve it?

The main area I’m not too good at is at timing and when to eat certain types. I’ll have a look at what I’ve eaten today and see how I can improve and then post back for your thoughts if that’s ok? I think I’ll generally find it easier to stick to the ‘protien/carbs in the morning’ and fats & proteins in the evening so will go with this to start.

Also the BMR post was very useful! I’m probably not eating enough calories when training, so I’ll know to up these.