I want my muscles to be more defined while maintaining my weight. A nutritionist said to eat more protein and vegetables to boost energy and health.
- A 31-year-old man submitted an average day of eating to be reviewed for Insider's Nutrition Clinic.
- He told Insider he has a busy schedule and wants to create more muscle definition.
He told Insider his goal is to maintain his weight and define his muscles.
Richard works on his feet for nine hours a day, is a part-time care-giver for his partner, and has a three-year-old daughter who "always needs chasing around," he said. He also rides a BMX for a couple of hours a week.
Liam Holmes, registered nutritionist and founder of PH Nutrition, told Insider that eating more vegetables would boost Richard's overall health and energy levels, and eating plenty of protein would help with his goals.
Richard has Huel and yogurt for breakfast
Richard starts the day with two servings of meal replacement shake Huel Complete Protein and one protein yogurt.
Holmes said it's great to be getting a good amount of protein at breakfast as this contributes to overall intake being evenly distributed over the course of the day, which research suggests helps with muscle-building.
"Getting protein in at breakfast can help manage hunger levels across the day as well as improve body composition," Holmes said.
He recommended varying breakfast by sometimes making overnight oats with protein yogurt, oats, frozen berries, flaxseed, and milk; or eggs on toast with the yogurt.
Having regular, decent-sized meals is also a good way to help maintain Richard's energy for his busy days, Holmes said.
Richard has fruit and yogurt for lunch
At lunchtime, Richard eats fruit salad with Greek yogurt.
Holmes recommended a larger meal as Richard has a very active lifestyle so likely requires a lot of fuel.
"It doesn't need to be a sit-down meal, but using leftovers or making wraps might be something that helps," Holmes said. He recommended making wraps with pre-cooked meats, fish, or vegetarian protein, no-cook veg like tomatoes, peppers, salad, and a sauce.
Fruit salad and yogurt is a good snack though, Holmes said.
Richard has two snacks a day
Richard has a couple of snacks every day, such as two malt loaf slices and mini breadsticks with soft cheese, he said.
Both these snacks provide carbohydrates so are great choices for pre-BMX energy, Holmes said, however a more nutrient-dense and balanced choice could be the Huel shake.
Richard eats dinners like vegetarian chilli
Richard's dinners vary, with typical meals including two eggs with one slice of wholemeal toast; roasted vegetable chilli with Quorn mince; vegetarian bolognese with protein pasta; or a vegetarian sausage or burger in a bread roll, he said.
Holmes said it's great that Richard is varying his protein sources, but could try to add more vegetables to his diet, perhaps by adding mushrooms and tomatoes to the eggs on toast, or serving the burger with coleslaw and salad. This would provide more fiber and micronutrients.
"Richard works long hours and with exercise and chasing his daughter around it can create inflammation and stress on the body," Holmes said. "Getting more color in his diet will be an easy way to increase phytonutrients, antioxidants, and polyphenols that will help lower stress on the body and help to him function in his home and work life better."
Holmes also recommended batch-cooking evening meals to save time, and perhaps freezing some.
"Being efficient will mean he has more time to spend with his family," Holmes said. "Meals such as stir-fry, curry, chillies, slow cooker tagines, and cottage pie are all easy to make and can be stored for future meals."
The advice in this article isn't a substitute for a professional medical diagnosis or treatment.