Hi team
I get a lot of questions about food and dieting and what people should eat to either gain muscle or lose fat, and when I give them the answer they always look disappointed because it is not fancy and sexy.
For whatever body goal you want to achieve the first thing we need to be doing is eating… drum roll please.
A well balanced diet.
We were taught this as kids but as adults we have forgotten what that means because we listen to stupid teenagers on social media trying to sell you their affiliate code supplement or we eat what we eat what makes us feel good.
Kids do what makes them feel good, Adults do what is needed to achieve their goals.
Stop being a child and eat like an adult.
We need to maintain our health and the best way of doing that is eating a well balanced diet because if we do that the body will figure out the rest.
Now this may surprise you but a well balanced diet is:-
Carbs 60% Proteins 25% Fats 15%
(by the way all diets that we have all tried have different percentages of macro-nutrients, Why? its changes the calorie intakes! – that is the most important for fat loss)
Oh my god 60% of carbs that will make me fat!
No, it won’t carbs are important – or brain and nervous system relies on carbs to functions.
Low carb diets suck – you start to feel tired and foggy and feel weak, tense, concentration lacks, and all your friends start avoiding you because you start acting like a dickhead. This is because your body needs the sugar from carbs to work and thrive.
Get your carbs from bread, grains cereals, fruits and veggies because they absorb in your body much better and turn into sugar much slower so you body sustains its overall balance over a longer period of time and doesn’t spike and you end up crashing after eating a whole cake.
Now, if you want to eat a croissant and a piece of cake that’s okay! But remember that that is a treat and not the norm!
How do I eat a well balanced diet?
Eat 2 portions of fruits Eat 2 portions of veggies Eat 2 portions of Bread/oats/cereals Eat 2 portions of Diary Eat 2 portions of meat
A day.
Like Michael Pollen says:-
“Eat food, Mostly Plants Not too much” If you over eat on anything you will get fat. You need to eat a well balanced diet within you calorie allowance to either lose fat or gain muscle.
But it must be a balanced diet for you body to figure things out and make you the best version of you.
Bodybuilder Mike Mentzer says:-
“Eat an adequate well balanced diet, train as hard as you can”
“Eat a little bit of everything, Not too much of one thing”
It’s that simple to achieve your goals. By the way Mentzer trained once a week and it was a hard session, I know some of you are training 6 days a week and don’t even break into a sweat. Are you getting the results you want?
I personally like training 3 days a week.
What about these supplements you are spending money on?
If you are eating a well balanced diet you don’t need supplements!
But we all live in the real world so supplements are needed if they are NEEDED.
To supplement your diet, if you need to grab a protein shake on the go, then that’s fine, do you need 6 protein shakes a day? – NO, eat food! you will feel and look better!
A good multivitamin is a good start to the day just to help get in those nutrients and minerals your body needs at a cellular level that somethings are lacking in modern day food processes.
But if you are eating a well balanced diet you don’t need any other supplements.
Don’t buy into detox teas, fat loss pills, meal replacement shakes as your go to way of eating.
Eat a well balanced diet within your calorie allowance your your body will start to look the way you want it to look and you will feel better!
Remember:-
To lose fat you must be eating less calories than your body needs at the weight you currently are.
If you wanted to eat ice cream only and lose weight you could as long as you are eating in calorie deficit. But it isn’t a well balanced diet and you will feel rubbish.
A calories deficit is how to lose body fat.
A calorie surplus and stimulating muscles by working out hard is how you gain muscle.
How do I workout my calories intake?
Weight in pounds (lbs) x 15 = daily calories to maintain your current bodyweight
To lose weight
Weight in pounds (lbs) x 15 – 400 = daily calories a to lose body fat
To gain weight
Weight in pounds (lbs) x 15 + 400 = daily calories to gain weight
This is probably the best and important post I have done, maybe it gives you some clarity, it will save you some money and help you not stress out about food and dieting.
Chris
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