Research points to eating small meals regularly in order to boost your metabolism. And, eating protein is important to help recover and build muscle mass. You may have read in another of my posts, I believe having more muscle fibres raises your metabolism.

Therefore, I decided I would eat five to six times a day, every three hours, and each meal would contain more protein and less carbs. It wasn’t the Aitkin’s diet, but the protein based foods did tend to keep me fuller for longer.

A typical day’s meal would be:

Morning – scrambled eggs and baked beans for breakfast.

Mid morning snack – half a tuna sandwich about an hour before the gym.

Lunch – something like a tuna steak, high in protein if I completed a gym session.

Mid afternoon snack – the other half of the tuna sandwich.

Dinner – steak or chicken with some carbs.

Just before bed – a yoghurt.

I did take protein shakes post workout or if I missed a meal.

Portion control was also important; I started eating of side plates rather than dinner plates – making the meal look bigger. I evoked the twenty minute rule, if you stop eating and are still really hungry after twenty minutes then have a bit more. However, there is no substitute for self-discipline or the thought I would have to work out extra hard in the gym to compensate.

My mentality shifted from living to eat, to eat to live. I began seeing food as fuel.

Disclaimer: This is what worked for me. You should always seek advice from a qualified person before embarking on any fitness or dietary changes.