Naps, Jeff asked some good guiding questions, I'll see how much I can add too, I'll start with this "novel" first, and thanks for the remarks within your questions.
I thought I'd done a "average daily intake" type post where I posted an optimal day of eating, where I totaled the cals up and all, but perhaps that was in a wordpad doc still. I could have sworn I'd posted a basic list of food sources I switch up, but you could be right, maybe I never got to it. Hmm. Sorry 'bout that. I'll do that here for what I can eat as of now, according to the foods I can tolerate and my current goal of bulking back up (the pics in my signature are from a couple years ago right before this flareup, but by Nov I predict I'll be similar at this pace)...I'm about at 185 now, also 5'11", and was about 185-190 in those pics, but I was carrying Id guess about 5-8 pounds less fat. I am about 2-3 months away from having that much muscle again at this rate, based on my own experience and pace as of late, but will then have to trim off that 5-8 less fat, as that's the standard "cycle" to add muscle, then trim the extra fat, repeat.
A normal selection of food lately comprises 3 frozen beef and bean chimichangas that's about 30 grams of protein and 900 calories...that's breakfast, believe it or not, it costs me just a bit over a dollar for the 3 when bought in 8 packs at Walmart, and they bind well and help with D...they agree well for me and are a quick microwaved meal in the morning to eat in traffic on the way to work. Breakfast is generally the biggest meal for me, as it should be for most people, Crohns or not.
A couple hours later, I'll eat on break, a handful of peanuts, chewed up REAL well, again, as of now, no issues doing just a handful, and as long as I chew them up, no issues. I'm about 85% to remission, and have gotten this well eating moderate amounts of fiber/nuts chewed up. That's about 200 calories, maybe 8 grams of protein.
Couple hours later, I'll usually have a packet of tuna with some crackers, or, because of mercury restrictions, a MetRx Colossal Big 100 protein bar, they're under $2 at Walmart, I usually have the cookies and cream ones. No issues with these either. 32 grams of protein, and about 400 cals.
Few hours later I need to start eating more carbs for my work outs (4 days a week currently, no cardio as of now), so I might eat a can of Chef Boyardee shell/beef pasta or Beefaroni (hey it's cheap and serves the need), which is about 24 grams of protein, and about 500 calories. For more slow burning carbs on top of the pasta, I may add in some pretzels, 2 bananas/apples (chewed up well they're okay lately), or baked potato chips, which adds negligible protein, and about 200-300 calories.
About 30 minutes before the workout, I actually might have about 16 oz or more of gatorade, or even a handful of marshmellows with lots of water (trust me, it gets burned off in the gym and doesn't make me any worse, I've done that for years, long before the Crohns, and it's almost necessary for the intensity in the gym I expect of myself). The goal here is some quick energy to blast me through the next 60-90 or so minutes, and be done with my workout before any rebound comes from the slight sugar spikes, as my postworkout nutrition will take over then. The point is also excellent hydration, although I drink at least 64 oz of water a day and up to a gallon some days anyways, I really focus on the 2 hours prior to the workout, so my stomach isn't bloated when I'm parched later during the workout. This is only about 100 calories or so either way.
Following the workout, I immediately drink my shake when I get home, which has about 20-30 grams of Isopure protein, 50 grams of sugar (Gatorade usually), and creatine and L-Glutamine. This is about 300 calories or so.
30 minutes after that I eat something from Wendy's I may have picked up on the way home, often a side salad and 2 spicy chicken go wraps or even a double stack or Jr. bacon cheeseburger. The salad has actually helped me, even when I was a bit worse, and I need those nutrients. This is around 40 grams of protein, maybe more (the point is to actually give my body so much protein it's possible my protein synthesis will have excess, which isn't unhealthy at all, I just want to saturate the protein requirement as it's post-workout)...this is cheap too, about 4 bucks for a salad and meal. LOTS of water too. This is often around 600-800 calories or so, depending on the chicken/burger. I usually have fat free ranch on the salad or balsamic vinegarette.
Finally, before bed a couple hours later, I have maybe 3 cheese sticks or cheese slices, low-fat cheese, and this adds about 200 calories and about 20 grams of protein. No issues, mozzerella string cheese usually.
Total (remember this is bulking and the point is to out-eat your metabolism by about 500 calories or so per day to net about 1 pound a week in "gains") is about 3700 calories, give or take 100 or so. Protein hits about 180 or so, which is just shy of my bodyweight for the 1 gram/pound of weight mantra (~185 lbs. or so). I used to be able to eat more around 200 grams of protein, but certain things had to be adjusted as I slowly upped food as I got healthier lately. Things like milk and more protein powder could be added before Crohns, and I used to eat more than 1 handful of peanuts etc... This has kept gain steady for about 5 pounds a month, and most of it has been muscle. I still have all my measurements from the chest pic below in my signature (July of 2007, 1 month before this current flare I'm in started) and I'm not too far off, progress and pace seems acceptable if not optimal with this "diet", and Crohn's doesn't mind it either.
