I need help with regard to getting a meat free bodybuilding diet. I am female, age 24 doing heavy weights. I feel sick when eating meat. I am prepared to force down chicken and protein replacements, but which fruits and vegetables are to be avoided?

Can you please design a diet for me?

You don't have to force down chicken if you don't want to. With all of the protein supplements available today it is not hard to get your daily protein requirements. Here is a listing of non-meat high protein foods that will be great for helping you get the protein you need to develop your muscles:

Low fat dairy products like cottage cheese and skim milk.
Eggs and egg whites
Extra Firm Tofu
Nuts and seeds
And of course Myoplex, Met-Rx, Designer Whey Protein etc. These protein powders taste great and they can be mixed with almost anything!

Now, in regards to what fruits and vegetables you should avoid. Almost all fruits and vegetables are great. As a body builder you probably want to stay away from corn and bananas if you are dieting for a contest. This is because they generally have a higher glycemic index (simple sugar) which can make your body hold a little water. Other than these two foods before a contest there really isn't anything else to avoid!

Let me give you some nutrition responses that I have given to some of our other members at Fitrex.com. I think these can help to give you more information on how to eat properly.

This first response was written to give somebody an understanding of carbohydrate, protein, and quality fatty acid foods. It also mentions the need to read our nutrition section to get a better idea of the amounts of food a person should be taking in. Here it is:

If you have checked out our nutrition section you will be familiar with the specific amounts of carbohydrate, protein and fat you should take in (eat) based off your bodyweight. Remember, in my explanations I mention that you may have to adjust your overall caloric intake based off your activity level. So, if youıre sitting at a desk all day, even though you are exercising, you may have to bring your calorie range down by up to 500 calories per day. However, donıt go below 1,200 calories for more than a day or two at the most. I mention this because you say that you are petite and when you calculate your caloric intake by multiplying your bodyweight by 13 you may already be at a pretty low level!

Now, to give you my type of specific examples, letıs first look at what some great carbohydrate, protein, and quality fatty acid foods are:

Carbohydrate Foods
Whole grain (not just wheat but, WHOLE wheat) breads pastas, and oatmeal
Fruits (apples, oranges, grapes, grapefruit)
Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoıs, lettuce, mushrooms, cucumbers)

Protein Foods
Fish (salmon, tuna, these foods are also great sources of quality fatty acids)
Chicken
Low Fat Dairy products (cottage cheese, milk, mozzarella cheese, yogurts)
Extra Firm Tufo
Pork Chops
Whey Protein Powders
Soy based Protein Powders
Meal Replacement Powders (Met-Rx, Myoplex, Met Max, Lean Body brands)
Egg Whites

Quality Fatty Acid Foods and Oils
Fresh Nuts, Seeds (almonds, walnuts, sunflower)
Olive Oil, Flax Seed Oil, Udoıs oil (check out the recommended reading list for info on Udoıs oil)
Avocados

Now, you really need to ³learn² more about these foods. By learning more, what I am recommending is that you find out the gram content of the macronutrient (carb, protein, fat) levels a serving of these foods provides. In our nutrition section you will see an area that says searchable food database. Click on this to search out what a serving of chicken offers from a protein standpoint, or what a tablespoon of Olive oil has from a fat standpoint or what a serving of oatmeal has from a carbohydrate standpoint etc. Once you become familiar with the foods that you like to eat from the above recommendations you will be well on your way to organizing your daily food intake. If you put a little effort into this you will be much better off than for me to recommend a certain eating plan that may have foods on it that you really donıt care for.

Also, there will be times when you are eating out that you will have to make some decisions about certain foods. If you are knowledgeable about what some of the foods that you like have in them you will have the power in your hands. It should not be in some regimented menu that I may recommend! I know itıs more fun or interesting to think about eating foods like ³Ginger Chicken Stir Fry² or ³Salmon Mousse with Cucumber Salad². But, how frequently do we really eat foods like this or even have the time to prepare them! If I did put a menu together, which I have done many times before, invariably, for whatever reason (taste, time, etc) you wouldnıt be able to eat the dinner that I recommend on Thursday evening or the breakfast recommendation on Monday morning.
This is exactly why I donıt put together meal plans for people. Meal plans are a recipe for failure because they are nearly impossible to follow and to make them more exciting or ³readable² I would have to put in these wild variations of foods that are fun and taste great but donıt work for the reasons that I mention above.

So, what a ³real² menu or meal plan should look like is this:

Breakfast - 50 Grams Carbs
25 Grams Protein
10 Grams Fat
390 Calories

Snack - 20 Grams Carbs
15 Grams Protein
2.5 Grams Fat
162.5 Calories

Lunch - 60 Grams Carbs
25 Grams Protein
15 Grams Fat
475 Calories

Snack - 20 Grams Carbs
10 Grams Protein
2.5 Grams Fat
125 Calories

Dinner ­ 50 Grams Carbs
30 Grams Protein
10 Grams Fat
410 Calories

Menu Total ­ 200 Grams of Carbohydrate (800 Calories)
105 Grams of Protein (420 Calories)
40 Grams of Fat (360 Calories)
1,580 Total Calories
51% From Carbohydrate
26% From Protein
23% From Fat

With this information you know exactly what you should be eating. This is a good, basic diet for a 120 pound person. You just have to know how to meet these macronutrient totals with the foods that you specifically like. Now itıs up to you to become a little more knowledgeable. Remember, knowledge is power!

This next response talks about diet plans, meal variability and, as in the above response, how it's very hard to design a plan that everyone likes or that fits their tastes. Then, I mention the importance of macronutrient (carb,protein,fat) content or breakdown in a diet with the 40 carb, 30 protein, 30 fat being a great start for most people. Here it is:

I can understand your frustration for trying to find the best eating plan. I have searched literally for years to find the best system or plan for dieting. I have found everything from the Anabolic Burst Diet to the Jenny Craig Food System. I can also tell you that when a diet has a huge amount of variability within its menu plan, two things can happen. The first thing is that it becomes difficult to shop for, prepare and cook a different dinner every night for more than 2 weeks in a row. The second thing is that most people won1t even like some of the foods on the menu. This is why most diet or menu plans have somewhat limited variability.

Did you not like some of the foods on the diet plans that were written for you? Was this the reason there was not enough variety? If so, you can see my point. It becomes almost impossible to design a menu plan that has enough variability and include foods that a majority of people will actually like!

Let's go in a different direction for a second. We have talked about diet variability. But we have not said anything about the breakdown of the actual diet or the diet style. The diet that I have found to work for most people is the 40, 30, 30 diet. Very simply, this diet starts the process of blood sugar control, more frequent eating times, and quality protein and fat intake. Now, if you would like to find a huge amount of variability within this particular style of diet