Believe 2024 - Forging the Unlikely Pro Champion: Episode 7, Full Day of Eating

Hey 3DMJ'ers! Welcome to my 2024 vlog cataloguing my first offseason as a pro, where I document how I try to do the unlikely...become a top WNBF pro bodybuilder.
This 7th video is an example of a full day of eating. This is around 13 weeks into my 2024 offseason after my 2023 season ended Nov 19th at WNBF Worlds. My bodyweight was ~86kg at 6 foot, training 5 days per week, for 6-7 hours in total with a 9k average step count per day. I consume on average 200g of protein and 2600kcals at this stage which has been sufficient to put on some very lean gains.
Here are the specifics of what I ate on this day, with kcal range at breakfast showing variation due to preparation differences at various cafes (eg low fat milks vs soy, different fruit/sweetener in the porridge, and portion size), variation at dinner showing different dinner choices, and variation for the whole day showing the range where I land 95% of days:
8am
3/4c oats, 200ml soy milk, fruit/honey/sugar/nuts, 100g chinook/king salmon
700-800kcal, 35g protein
12pm
2 fruit & carrot, protein bar, Plantasy Protein+ 630kcal, 50g protein
Train 2pm
330pm
Protein & creatine 120kcal, 25g protein
7pm (600-900kcal, 30-60g protein)
2 farrahs low carb wraps,1 laughing cow, 10g Plant based topper, 1/2 bag Quorn, 1tbsp Yogurt, hot sauces, chilies, vinaigrette, Olive oil, 1/3 capsicum, 1/3 red onion, 20g spinach leaves, 1/3 large carrot, 8 baby tomatoes, 1tsp crushed garlic 650kcal, 40pro
10pm
500g Skyr 300kcal, 50g protein
Total: 2350-2750kcal, 190-220g protein
Further details as to how my diet changes day to day are in the video, enjoy!
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[@DJcs187]

Really enjoying this series.

[@ryanhailey401]

I second this comment

[@ericrhelms]

Glad to hear it! Thanks@@ryanhailey401

[@ericrhelms]

Glad to hear it!

[@sammctavish787]

Thanks Eric super informative. Also very cool seeing some of the NZ product you use. Being a kiwi to it’s always great to see other bodybuilding friendly options

[@RachaelStronger]

thank for you taking the time to make these videos!

[@ericrhelms]

My pleasure!

[@emilybarry9410]

LOVING this series and you content and educational info Eric!! I learned so much and put into practice a lot of your advice:)

[@ericrhelms]

So glad to hear it!

[@ultra_combo]

Free million dollar idea - set up a company that just imports that exact brand of skyr and sell it in the States

[@Ask-Ali]

Damn that skyr sounds phenomenal. I LOVE skyr/greek yogurt. My favorite go-to. So good with pb2 or almond butter + fruit or cereal

[@ericrhelms]

Yeah it's pretty bomb

[@georgesxuereb]

Really enjoying this series. I wanted to see the finished rolled-up wrap though! :D

[@ericrhelms]

It looks better before it's wrapped, not exciting when you can't see the inside haha

[@georgesxuereb]

@@ericrhelms I was just wondering how it all held up together. My wraps taste good but end up with a strange shape or tear up at the angles.

[@ericrhelms]

@@georgesxuereb ahh I see, the keto wraps are also good because they are fibrous and tend to survive getting wet from yogurt and hot sauce

[@georgesxuereb]

@@ericrhelms gotta get me some keto then :) cheers! And looking forward to the future episodes!

[@wesrobinson7506]

Thank you for sharing this! I think we have the same countertops lol. Those wraps and the lunch meal looked good. I may want to experiment with some more plant based protein options to add some variety and extra fiber too. Is the cost of meat and fish pretty high in New Zealand?

[@ericrhelms]

yeah, but food in general is pretty expensive, and enjoy there are a lot of good options these days :)

[@AdamIsMyNameO]

A surprisingly low amount of calorie compared to what I would have imagined for someone your size, I guess it goes to show how different everyone is.

[@ericrhelms]

yeah for sure, been that way for years now *shrug*

[@gokukakarot1855]

For the algorithm

[@ryanhailey401]

I'm curious Eric. Are you intentionally choosing more plant sources of protein for health reasons, or is it more of just a dietary preference?

[@Ask-Ali]

I believe he mentioned on MASS office hours that he’s lacto-ovo vegetarian at home and pescatarian when he goes out.

[@ryanhailey401]

@@Ask-Ali appreciate it!

[@ericrhelms]

@@Ask-Ali Correct I am and it's largely ethical

[@Ask-Ali]

@@ericrhelmsI’ve been thinking about including more plant protein to mix up my lunches. I googled Plantasy and they ship to the US but is there something similar I should just google to find similar options. I fear the shipping cost may be a lot. Textured plant protein?

[@ericrhelms]

@@Ask-Ali definitely check out the grocery store, there are similar options, it's textured pea protein, and lentils and dehydrated vegetables, I know there are similar options. Plant based proteins are expanding all over

[@amygulliver9039]

What's your fat intake ?

[@ericrhelms]

I don't track it specifically just kcal and protein, but probably 60-80g/day

[@NopeNope78]

Unfollow because of the Pepsi. Coke is so much better (lol). Thanks for the video :)

[@Heluctis]

I understand we are all different and that you are still lean but I think that with the amount of training you do, the calories should be higher.

[@mrdisco8616]

That seems like a hard point to argue to me, his bodyweight tracking shows he's clearly gaining a little bit so more calories would just make him gain faster and the data we have so far on faster rates of gain isn't that encouraging (including some Eric published himself very recently). How would you argue calories should be higher?

[@ericrhelms]

No offense, but think you might not understand how "we are all different" applies in practice. The metric of determining how much I should be eating is based on my rate of weight gain, and I'm steadily gaining weight, so I'm in a surplus, regardless of the intake relative to my size and training volume per normative values. But yeah, I'm on the low end of things in terms of how I compare to most. *shrug*

[@Ozchuck]

LAO GAN MA MENTIONED!