Hey guys, im 18, I workout basically everyday and play hockey, so im in pretty good shape, but recently ive been wondering how my eating habits have been effecting my workouts i wake up in the morning, workout, then ill eat a small snack and my family ALWAYS goes out to dinner basically, mcdonalds, wendys, you name it, we usually get it at night and thats usually all I eat through the course of the day the thing is I still have a six pack and im in great shape so what im wondering is it okay that im eating fast food? I have a really quick metabolism, I feel like I eat it and then it just gets burned off, what do you guys think? any advice appreciated
obviously going out everynight to fast food places isn't going to be healthy. as long as your daily calories is less then what you use you're going to lose weight. being skinny or looking fit doesn't always = healthy.
Is just a small snack and late night fast food all you are eating? If so, you must have a really good metabolism/aren't eating enough calories. If you want to gain muscle faster (or at all), you need to consume more calories than you are using, and get ~1 gram protein per lb of body weight. Yeah, there are different diets out there that will affect this, but this is considered the general rule of muscle building. edit: Also, working out on an empty stomach is probably making your body use muscle for energy instead of fat/carbs (since your body has nothing to run on besides whatever it has stored), which will drive you in the opposite direction of gaining muscle. If it's just a light jog or something, then you are probably ok though. Also also (lol), anyone who has a low enough body fat % will have a six pack...
i work out right when i wakeup and its usually a pretty high intensity workout, so im hurting myself by not eating enough for sure
You should really read the nutrition guide, I use this one: Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide - Main Page Honestly they give all the info you need and doesn't take long to read the sections. If you started eating healthy meals more often in the day (but still staying in your calorie intake range) you'd make incredible progress. Go(or have your parents) stock up on healthy food that you can prepare fast and enjoy eating. Most people who don't eat healthy are too lazy to put the effort into cooking or making the food, and would rather microwave or throw something in the deep fryer. As I type this I'm eating steak (cooked on George Foreman, took about 10 mins ) in a whole wheat pita wrap. Threw a little shredded cheese, green peppers, onions, and salsa on there. Fairly healthy and fast to prepare, and tastes better than fries and burgers.