Basic Pursuits

If you still eat out once a week and spend your lunch time at the local Subway, then forget about getting that well-defined six pack. Although Subway or Panera bread or many of the other healthy fast food restaurants out there are better than McDonalds or Taco Bell, it is not your path to a lean physique.

I first realized this when I started logging my food on theDailyplate.com, a diet tracking website. A foot-long Garden Subway is approximately 780 calories, with 528 of those calories coming from carbs. I normally do not put any dressing on my sandwich, but for those that consume meat, put extra cheese, eat bread other than whole wheat, and ask for mayonaise or other dressing, those calories can add up.



The first thing I did was eat a 6-inch sub rather than a foot-long. I was usually eating subway approximately 3 times a week. I now consume a 6-inch once a week, and am ready to give it up for good. Giving up subway was not like giving up Taco Bell, which contributed to 15 lbs of fat loss last summer. Due to a higher metabolic rate, I need to keep my calories hovering around 2000. However in order to continue to lose fat, I need to keep my carb consumption at bay.



Healthier Options



Being a vegetarian, I was having a difficult time finding high-protein options that were both accessible (fast-paced lifestyle), and low-carb. Soybeans were my first discovery. Just half a cup provides you with 10 grams of protein with only 7 grams of carbs. I usually eat 1 cup of raw Soybeans per day. What I do is fill up a full cup of soybeans right out of the package and microwave them for about 2 minutes. Then eat up! Soybeans are also surprisingly filling. I've also introduced peanut butter back into my diet. I gained 7 lbs of pure fat eating peanut butter sandwiches a year and a half ago in my quest to gain muscle mass. The problem was the amount of bread I was eating, not exactly the peanut better. I know consume gluten-free sprouted bread, which only has 15 grams of carbs per slice, as opposed to 25 to 30 grams in a regular slice of whole wheat bread.



Future Plans



I will continue to make changes with my diet. The following are some foods that I plan to give up:

1. Oatmeal - This is a great source of carbs, however, if the goal is to reduce carbs to moderate levels, then the oatmeal must go.

2. Indian Food - Indian food is amazing for bulking up, however not that great for losing fat. Although the food I eat is nutritious, it's still involves eating a type of bread, which is something I want to phase out of my diet. I will still be consuming the vegetable aspect of a typical Indian diet.

3. Sprouted Bread - Still attacking the carbs here. At the end of the day, bread is bread.

4. Muscle milk - I consume a ready to drink protein supplement called Muscle Milk. Since it's ready to drink, you never really know what's in it. I have no clue how people can drink two to three protein shakes per day. It's too much for me and I want to reduce my dependence on them as a source of protein.

5. Ketchup - condiments are great for spicing up your food, but they can add up. Ketchup is the only condiment I consume these days, but it must go.

Don't worry, I am not depriving myself. I'll be replacing many of the lost calories with increased protein and fat from healthy sources. I have been doing tons of research lately and have developed a long-term diet plan. I do not want to reveal it or talk about it in detail right now. Let me go through with it, and I will talk about my experiences once I am ready.

About the Author

Parth Shah is a Strength Consultant based in New Hyde Park,New York and is currently going through his own personal physiquetransformation. Check out his website: http://shahtraining.com/