Looking for some good meals for toning up and building muscle. Anyone know any good cook books?

Hopefully I’ve come to the right place. I am very new to healthy eating and eating regularly and am looking for advice on how to improve. I’m coming from a very high fat, high carb, ultra processed diet trying to focus on weight loss by eating mindful portions and learning how to cook for myself. The above photo is an example of one of my meals. It is 2 pieces of sourdough bread with chicken breast, caramelized onions, Greek yogurt and arugula. I used a poultry seasoning for the chicken. I have this sandwich for lunch. As I am in a plateau I was wondering if meals like these could be getting in my way. I have over 100lbs left to lose and was advised by my dietitian to shoot for 90g of protein per day and lower my fat intake. I’m trying to shoot for 3 meals ~500cals and 2 snacks ~250cals. Water retention is one of my biggest issues as of now making the scale not budge as well as low fiber intake.

Hi everyone, I'm new here. My name is Alex and I'm a shut in. I'm trying to improve myself bit by bit to give myself the confidence I need to be able to get our there again. I struggle with weight at the moment I'm 24,5'11,290lbs. I also struggle with cardiophobia because I get things called pvcs that makes my heart do weird things, so it makes exercise stressful. I want to lose weight and eat healthier and be able to exercise like a normal person so I thought I'd start with eating healthier. If you guys have any tips for meals or anything like that that's could help please leave a comment! Thank you for taking the time to read my post and I wish you the best!

Thanks to the words of kindness in my last post here:

https://www.reddit.com/r/fitmeals/comments/1i8hi9g/is_a_bowl_of_raw_spinach_and_1_tomato_a_solid/

and the weird aggressive private messages telling me to go "fuck myself", telling me I have dysmorphia/or eating disorder and to seek therapy. Therefore, I decided to change up my diet plan a little.

https://preview.redd.it/17nvv9wsqdge1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8e4997a206681b1b9cdfe3c19594bacd0d0d145d

For breakfast I've rounded out my brown sugar instant oatmeal with added raspberries and blueberries

2 fried eggs

1 whole banana

1 whole avocado

Handful of almonds

https://preview.redd.it/fhe0r1iwqdge1.jpg?width=5712&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=094496e709c5090021a27b89f444fdf03e1192d0

I then take a bunch of supplements I randomly grabbed at costco.

https://preview.redd.it/ehoex9nzqdge1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=51b487cab517e44c0f43093a3d531cc9fee9c27e

For lunch I start with a spring mix base, cut up a whole tomato and a couple big pieces of cucumber. I throw in a cut up whole chicken breast I cooked the night before, then top it off with some italian dressing and a touch of organic extra virgin olive oil.

On the side I put fresh mozzarella with some almonds.

https://preview.redd.it/8dpz9mucrdge1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f74b7ff88b0357cd163c3e7c14be0c0cf6d89271

For dinner I have a whole chicken breast, decent sized salmon filet, this rice shrimp pouch thing from costco, 2 pickles, 2 olives, and a freshly squeezed whole lemon into sparkling water.

This diet is cheap, and doesn't take much time to prepare.

I usually have 1 or 2 whey protein shakes per day depending on how much activity I'm doing, which usually comprises of per day:

80-100km bike ride

30 minute jog

30 minute speed rope

1 hour of gym (chest/tri's, back, bi's, or shoulder/legs)

I'm starting to see some results. My BF% is steadily going down a little and my weight is hovering between 170-175 lbs.

Thanks for the past input people.

hey all! i know its a long shot, but worth a try, i suppose.

i have a super sensitive stomach, allergic to all forms of dairy, dairy supplements, even hydrolyzed collagen peptides :( but i feel my best cognitively and physically on these supplements!! So after doing some research i feel like i should give Ape nutrition´s beef protein a shot - however they dont have samples (i checked with them) and ordering this + shipping for something my stomach will reject seems expensive (well i have already wasted so much money doing this for the last year or so, i dont wanna do it again). So if anyone is living in barcelona is reading this and interested in this protein too, you can re-buy it from me if my stomach cant digest it? i only need a scoop or two to know this. or if you already have this protein and willing to lend me a scoop to try? Thanks for your time

Has anyone ever tried this? What is it like? I'm thinking of trying it....

I always get a bag of the thin sliced chicken breast 10 pounds from Costco. (112g serving size = 20g P, 1.5g F, 90 calories)

I cook it all at once and obviously after cooking it looses weight and water.

I did a general rule of thumb from online research that food looses 25% - 30% weight after being cooked.

So with that I started eating 300g of cooked chicken a day which I thought was around 80g of Protein. After doing some math and deducing 25% weight and calculating cooked chicken weight. It would take me 7 days to finish the 10 pounds of cooked chicken, I usually eat 150g before the gym and 150g after the gym. (and if anyone else asks, yes I eat other stuff through out the day, beef, eggs, etc.)

But if I do the math another way, 10 pounds = 4545 g. If it takes me 7 meals, that means each meal was 4545/7 = 647g of frozen chicken. Wouldn't this math be better and a more accurate reading for how much protein and calories I'm consuming; Which is around 100g of Protein and 500 calories. Am I correct to assume this?

Through a bit of reflection, I've found that I tend to respond to stress through food and I am reaching out to see if anyone else does rhe same, and how you managed to get around this issue? Many thanks

Lately I love this combination so much and can't get enough of it. Rice cooked with turmeric, cumin, paprika. Air fried salmon with a few spices (usually paprika and garlic), avocado and full fat cottage cheese. All topped with sage (maybe too much on this one) and sriracha. Keeps me satiated for so long 🤤

Hoping you can help a fitness newbie. I (27f) go to the gym 3 times a week to lift weight to build strength. I see that you're supposed to eat 1.3-1.6 gs of protein per kilo to build muscle but I'm 105 kg and that seems like a lot? Does this equation have diminishing returns past a certain point or am I really meant to eat that much proteins?

We got a nice extra garage fridge from my in-laws who are moving. Fridge and freezer both work great. My plan is to plan meals a month at a time. Print out a calendar and have meals on there. Does anyone buy their meats all at once and freeze? Drinks for the month (juice boxes, sodas, frozen fruit for smoothies)?

Hi everyone. I started lifting weights around five months ago now. My goal is to cut down body fat and gain muscle, then go on a mini bulk starting the beginning of May. I

I’m 26F and 5’9”. I’ve been staying under 1350 calories and my target protein is 1g per pound of goal weight, so 150g/day. I usually get somewhere between that and 130g.

I’ve been successful thus far and have been losing a pound a week while gaining muscle. I’m only posting here because it’s been HARD and I’d love to hear if there’s any meal ideas or general tips and tricks to make things a little easier.

The challenges I’ve been having can be summed up with three main points:

1. It’s been impossible for me to hit the 60g of fat recommended per day for women. I usually hit between 10-40g.

2. It’s hard to hit my protein target. I think I’ve been managing reasonably well, but I’d like to hit 150 more consistently than I am right now.

3. This varies week by week, but some weeks I am HUNGRY. This week has been especially difficult as I’m quitting cigarettes. I’ve been pounding diet sodas which helps a lot.

Please let me know your thoughts!

224g 93% lean ground beef, 4 eggs, 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar, meat/eggs seasoned w trader joe’s green dragon sauce & umami seasoning, plus 1/2 cup black beans and 1 small avocado. 86g protein! so yummy too 😋

224g 97% lean beef, 1/2 cup black beans, 4 eggs w ~1/8 cup shredded sharp cheddar, on top of 1 cup low fat cottage cheese seasoned w sriracha 108g protein! a little heavy, pretty difficult to finish this whole serving ngl but this is a great lunch/dinner if you don’t have time to eat both separately!

I was losing weight for a while, mainly through steady state cardio. My cravings for carbs were pretty minimal during this 8 week period. However, after switching to maintenance calorie intake, I’ve added in a decent amount of strength training and one session of HIIT per week. With that, I’ve noticed a sharp uptick in my hunger, especially for carbs. This has mostly been in the form of dates/fruits, sweet potatoes, etc. is this normal and is it generally okay to eat until feeling satiated and full? I am still maintaining a very high protein intake of at least 1 g/ pound bw. Often times I go over that ratio, even without supplementation. With my recent cravings for carbs, I’ve noticed I’m starting to get into a small surplus of calories every day (around 100-250). I calculate CICO using resting and active energy from my Apple Watch, and then subtracting that from the calories I intake, which I track through a kitchen scale and notes. Is it possible that my watch is actually underestimating my caloric needs, not accounting for things like muscle growth or the increased energy demands of new muscle? As you might be able to tell, I have a lot of questions on this topic. Any insights are appreciated, thanks!

Chili-lime chicken with fire-roasted peppers and onions and a Greek yoguet/salsa Verde sauce. 464 calories and 47 grams of protein. The only thing I would do differently is put the sauce in a separate container so that it stays cool while the rest of the food gets microwaved.

if i mixed greek yoghurt, protein powder, chia seeds , some milk - put it in the fridge.

my question is - will this last in the fridge for 5 days?

Trying to incorporate quinoa and looking for suggestions to cook and possibly store for few days.

1 cup 2% milkfat cottage cheese w trader joe’s green dragon hot sauce mixed in, 1/2 cup black beans, and 3-4 eggs (leftovers from a brunch my dad made this morning & gave me) w 2tbsp salsa mixed in soooooooo yummy and ~50g protein (if i only had 3 eggs, which it doesn’t feel like lol)

Hopefully I'm not breaking any sub rules here. I just want a conversation.

As per the title, I started eating much better about 12 months ago. Recently, I've allowed myself a 'treat' of having a Greggs mocha/bacon and egg sarney. I know it's ridiculous, but that's how religiously I've been eating my food. Pretty strict.

Anyway, what is weird is, I enjoyed my mocha today, but I've found it hasn't blown me away. I found the longer I've gone, the less I've really found myself excited or blown away by fatty or especially sugary food. I made a mental switch about 6–12 months ago where I just saw things like crisps (which I used to religiously eat) as just terrible food designed from the ground up to be as easy and cheap to make and taste as nice as possible yet be as unhealthy as however much the makers care.

On a side note. I find myself 'annoyed' sitting next to someone eating crisps. I think it's partially jealously (I think) but also the fact they're really obnoxiously loud. The crisp pack and the loud crunching. Is that just me or am I being overly sensitive?