Help me pick a Diet (or at least point me in the righ direction)

[Covert Ops...]

Hello All

I am new here.

I am 6'6 and currently 244 lbs. I play volleyball semi-competitavly. We practice once a week for 2 hours, and then go to tournaments over a few weekends (althought not every weekend)

My goal is to get back to my playing weight. I played volleyball when I was in university and was 6'6 and 201 lbs. I would like to get back to that weight (or close to it) without losing any muscle mass.

I plan to work out 3 times a week, in addition to the 2 hour volleyball practice each week

Can anyone recommend a good starting point for a diet for me?

[drs]

Decrease simple carbohydrates from white flour and sugary food by 250 calories per day.
Track and document your intake and exercise.
Maintain quality protein sources. Lower fat meats and dairy will also help you trim calories.
Make sure that your exercise routine includes resistence exercise to maintian the muscle mass.

[Cynic]

What kinds of foods do you NOT eat? Any foods you won't give up?

There are three generally accepted diet protocols: low-carb, low-fat, low-cal.

Know what foods are allowed on each and choose one.

[gobbla]

pm "Buk"

[Covert Ops...]

I will not eat Mushrooms. I cant stand them. Other than that I'll eat almost anything

I'm not the biggest fan of Salmon/fish but I will eat it from time to time. Althought I do love tuna!

I am aware of the different types of diets, but I guess I'm just not sure which one will suit my goals best.

[Dhocott]

The TNT Diet is a good option to think about. There is a thread about it here.

[drs]

Many of us here like a lower carb diet because it continues to provide enough protein to maintain muscle mass and a little fat in the diet helps satiety ( and maybe muscle mass - see the thread in the health section).
It's all about making good choices with your carbs, fats and proteins both in terms of food selection and quantity.

[mrroach]

The starting point for all good diets is: sufficient protein and EFAs.

The basic steps are: pick how many calories you want to consume daily. Get at least 1 g/lb of protein (and ignore BFG when he comes in and disagrees), get your fish oils. From there, it is up to you how you make up the rest of your calories.

Going too low fat is probably a bad idea from a hormonal perspective, going too low carb is probably a bad idea from a performance/recovery perspective.

Plan a diet break before you start your diet (6-12 weeks out). During that break, repeat the above steps to plan for your next diet period.