My Nutrition Plan
In this program I will give you a breakdown of what to eat, when it is critical to eat, and what supplements that will best suit you. I will briefly go over working out and the types of workouts, but the type of workout is up to you to choose for the type of physique you want to achieve.
I also want to state that I am not an expert; I am creating this program from my 10 years of experience in body building, training, and the knowledge of nutrition that I have learned in the classroom and on my own.
Nutrition
It is critical to follow a strict diet, or nutritional, plan in order to achieve the body that you really want. Ask any body builder or just someone that is extremely cut… nutrition is the hardest and most important part of your program. “Dieting” doesn’t mean you’re going to be starving yourself and be miserable. Sadly, the people who cannot stick to a diet or nutrition plan are not doing it right and usually eat too less and become too hungry to maintain the diet. Knowing what to eat is easy once you understand the different food groups. I’ll list and explain them below:
1. Carbohydrates
Everyone will tell you carbs are the enemy when you are on a diet or when you’re trying to get a cut or slim physique. They are wrong… so wrong. Your body literally cannot function without the use of carbs, and eating them at the most critical times will benefit. Maintaining the Leptin levels in the blood will maintain a healthy metabolism in order to cut off fat. Therefore, when you eat no carbs your metabolism actually becomes slower, so when you eat more carbs or eat carbs in splurges on “cheat days” you will generally see that people will gain the weight back quicker due to a lack of carbs and decreased Leptin in their blood.
“Yeah, but if I eat no carbs my body will break down my fat in my body.” Yes, your body will break down the fat in adipose tissue (fat cells) in order to use as an energy source, BUT the conversion rate of ATP from fat to a complex carb is about 1:1000 (give or take). This means the breakdown of fat is extremely slow compared to consumed complex carbs. You will be light headed, weak, or malase, and you DO NOT want this especially when you are working out. There are three major types of carbs:
simple, complex, and fibrous.
Simple carbs are your “bad” carbs, and the carbs you want to stay away from. They are the carbs that are extremely catabolic (fast digestion) and always spike insulin levels in your blood which will in turn transfer those unused catabolic carbs and store them in the adipose tissue (fat cells). This is what truly makes people gain weight, not fatty foods. Simple carbs are bad, BUT can help only at certain times. Those certain times are in the morning as soon as you wake up, and immediately after a workout. Why? Because those are the times your muscles and body are literally starving for nutrition (glycogen). Glycogen is a major part of building lean muscle mass. Therefore, if you eat a simple carbs at those given times, you can benefit by replenishing the glycogen levels in your muscles in order to maintain healthy strong muscles.
Here is a list comprehensive list of simple carbs: sugar, candy, white bread, white flour products, white potatoes, white pasta, corn syrup, corn flour, cereal, sugary drinks, fruit juice, yogurt, milk, honey, jelly, and fruit.
Now, complex carbs are your best friend when on a diet. These are the carbs you will eat primarily before your workout for that needed energy boost and nutrition. If you look at complex carb nutrition charts on the side of a product, there should be fiber and
0g sugar. Checking the sugar content will let you know right away if it truly is a complex carb vs. a simple carb. Complex carbs are extremely anti-catabolic (slow digestion), meaning they are digested at a very slow rate compared a simple carb. It usually takes anywhere between 4-8 hours to fully digest complex carbs, whereas, simple carbs usually are digested within 30 minutes to an hour. This slow digestion rate avoids spiking insulin within the blood, therefore, avoiding the storage of unused those carbs in adipose. You will use these carbs throughout the day especially during your workouts. I will list a full meal plan below after explaining the major macromolecules groups.
Here is a comprehensive list of complex carbs: wheat bread, wheat flour products, whole wheat products, wheat pasta, whole grain products, rye bread, pumpernickel bread, brown rice, sweat potatoes, yams, all types of beans (dry), and dry oats.
Fibrous carbs are your vegetables. You can combine fibrous carbs with your complex carbs, but these are the carbs you are going to eat after your workout at night because they contain important nutrients and vitamins, and are a form a carb that will not be stored in adipose. I’m not going to list vegetables because you can just eat your favorite ones.
Here are the best vegetables to eat: broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, asparagus, and Brussels sprouts.
2. Protein
Protein is a no brainer when it comes to dieting. You need to eat protein in order to gain muscle mass. Try to portion your meals so that they have at least 10-40g of protein. You will most likely ingest about 1g of protein a day per pound body weight, which is normal for wanting to gain lean mass. You can find protein in major lean meats, protein shakes, and meal replacements. There are two forms of protein when it comes to protein powders (shakes), and they are casein and whey protein. Majority of meat and food sources of protein are a mix of them both. Avoid lunch meats as they contain too many preservatives and sodium in them.
Here is a comprehensive list of lean protein sources: steak, chicken, turkey, turkey bacon, eggs, egg whites, lean white meat pork, tenderloin, ground turkey, and ground beef (drained).
3. Fats
Fats are not always bad for you, as I said before, most major weight gain come from simple carbs, not fat. Your bad fats and unhealthy fats are trans and saturated fats. These fats are found in unhealthy processed products like microwavable dishes, fried foods, fast foods, hamburgers, hot dogs, cheese, butter, grease, and certain oils used for cooking. Your good fats are mono- and polyunsaturated fats seeing as they actually lower your cholesterol levels in your blood, and aid in reducing the risk of heart disease. When cooking, I usually only use
cooking spray as it is the lowest amount of calories per serving among oils. You should have some form of fat in each meal, but try to maintain it to about 10-20g. I usually eat 0-10g of fat a meal.
Here is a comprehensive list of healthy fats: olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, peanut oil, sesame oil, avocados, olives, nuts (almonds, peanuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews), peanut butter, fish, fish oil, flaxseed oil, and egg yokes.
Meal Preparation
Now that you know which foods are good for you and which are bad, I will get down to the meal aspect of dieting. Like I said before you really want to eat every 2.5-3 hours. This will reduce your overall hunger level, reduce cravings, and increase your metabolic rate. It is critical to stick to your nutrition plan. It is acceptable to cheat once, but try not to go too far off track from your nutrition plan because after a while it’s not a diet; it’s a change in life style. Also, your body becomes so adapted to your diet, that any meal that are not portioned or too many calories than your used to, your body will not know how to react to the increased ingestion of food and will store those unfamiliar extra calories as fat.
Prepare your meals! I usually cook about 10-20 meals at a time so I can bring them anywhere I go especially to work. Meal preparation is key because it will ensure that you always have a meal, and you don’t have an excuse to cheat on your diet. Here is a generally prepared meal: 2 pieces of tilapia, and 1 cup of brown rice, and/or 1 cup of spinach. I usually eat one carb at a time to reduce my calorie and carb intake. I eat my carbs, but not as many as someone that has less fat than me. I eat 1/2 cup of a complex carb in a meal, you should eat 1 cup and if that’s too much ¾ cup.
Mix your meals up! Mix up what you eat every week so you don’t get bored of a certain meal. Believe me, you will get bored. I ate chicken for 3 weeks in a row, and I was so bored of it to the point I was gagging eating it every day. Some meal great choices are chicken and brown rice, steak and sweet potatoes, eggs and oats, fish and beans, turkey on wheat, ground turkey and brown rice, and wheat pasta with meat sauce. Also, your meals don’t have to be bland and disgusting. I make my meals as delicious as I can. There are so many ways to make your meals taste good. Use spices like pepper, Mrs. Dash’s seasonings, Goya seasonings (as seen above in my brown rice), and low sodium seasonings. You can use hot sauce, but not too much as it is high in sodium. Sodium is good for staying hydrated, but too much can raise your blood pressure. That’s why you should stay away from lunch meats, microwavable dish, and processed foods! There is plenty of natural sodium in the meats you eat.
Here is a deliciously healthy dish... It’s my own Garlic and Lemon Zest shrimp over
whole grain pasta:
1 cup wheat pasta
16 pieces of jumbo shrimp
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp bay salt
1/2 pepper
(6g fat, 52g carbs, 62g protein).
Track your meals! It is important to track your meals – what you eat, and when you eat… even down to your supplements. This will let you track your progress, and so you will know when to eat next, and again, allowing you to maintain your 2.5-3 hour meal plan. It’s not as important to track your calories per meal as it is to just track your meals so you know when to eat because your meals should be similarly portioned anyhow. The easiest way to track your meals is to use your phone. I track all of my meals in my iPhone under the Notes app. I have all of my meals tracked for the past 21 weeks in my phone, so I can see my progress.
I would highly recommend eating
15 calories per pound of body weight in calories if you want to gain lean muscle mass. Eat
10 calories per pound of body weight in calories if you want to slim down. For example, I am currently 201 lbs. So I would want to eat 3015 calories a day to gain lean muscle, and 2010 calories if I wanted to slim down. I eat over 3200 calories a day because I want to lose body fat while gaining lean muscle mass. Plus, you have to remember you will be burning 1500-2000 calories while working out, so you’re really only giving your body 1000 calories to work with.
You can always modify your diet too. You don’t have to eat the same portions each meal. If you have one cup of a complex carbs for 2 weeks in a row and it’s too much - go down to ¾ cup of brown rice. Try to portion your meals the same so your body can get used to it. If you’re going to modify your diet, don’t do ¾ cup of a complex carb and then the next day do 1 cup of a complex carb… let your body maintain a balance for a week or so.
Supplements
Dieting should be your focus, but supplements are an important aspect when working out. There are so many supplements on the market that it may be hard to choose the right one for you. I, personally, take all of the following on a daily basis: BCAA (Branched Chain Amino Acids), glutamine, green tea extract, green tea, digestive enzymes, Orange Triad multivitamins, fish oil, flaxseed oil, CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acids), NO2 Explode (creatine, beta-alanine, and nitric oxide), Glycofuse post-workout carb, 100% whey protein, and 100% casein protein.
As a beginner, I would not recommend all of these supplements. The most important supplements you will want to take are a multivitamin, fish oil, CLA, a pre-workout, creatine, a post-workout carb, 100% whey and casein proteins. The best multivitamin on the market is Orange Triad; it is a natural multivitamin and joint lubricant allowing for increased amounts of synovial fluid to help your joints glide. Multivitamins will increase your immune system and general health. Next are the fish oil pills. You can get fish oil pills anywhere, but my favorite is Optimum Nutrition Fish Oil. It’s cheap and enteric coated so it will only release in the large bowel where those oils are critically absorbed. CLA are double bonded linoleic acids that will aid in lowering blood pressure and help break down fats within the digestive tract. A pre-workout is a mixed powder of multiple supplements such as creatine, beta-alanine, nitric oxide, and some amino acids. Creatine will increase your muscle volume, beta-alanine is a muscle stimulator which will make you feel anxious and tingly, and nitric oxide is a natural vasodilator which will increase the diameter of your blood vessels in order to get blood throughout your body and muscles quicker resulting in less fatigue. My favorite and most potent pre-workout powder is NO2 Explode. I HIGHLY recommend only taking ½ a scoop for the first week, and then one after the first week. It is very strong, and will give you crazy energy, so ONLY take it 30-45 minutes before your workout and no other time of the day.
Post-workout carbs are extremely important when trying to gain lean muscle mass. As I said before, after sleeping and working out, your body is starving. It is completely depleted of glycogen which is the muscle’s energy source and building block among amino acids. A post-workout carb can be any type of simple carb like candy! YES! You can have candy, but only immediately after your workout. This will spike insulin in your blood and now transport the “sugar,” or glycogen, to your muscles and not your fat cells. Now that your muscles are replenished and happy, they will now gladly take up protein in order to recover and get stronger. I, personally, don’t recommend simple sugars because they are just generally not good for you even though they will be all used up by your muscles. I recommend a post-workout waxy maze product (dextrose) that doesn’t have sugar in it, but does spike insulin. My favorite post-workout carb is Glycofuse, but there are better ones with more carbs which I recommend for you. Do your research! PROTEIN!! Proteins are amino acids in which your muscles use to repair and grow bigger. Protein powders are either 100% whey or 100% casein, or both. I don’t recommend getting a protein powder that has both because it is not as concentrated as 100% whey or casein products. Plus, you can always mix your 100% casein into your 100% whey if you want.
Look at the nutritional facts chart on the protein container. When the protein has more fat and carbs in it, it is less pure. Yes, there are purity levels when it comes to protein powders. Whey protein is a catabolic amino acid which should be taken after sleeping or working out because it is so fast acting. The best is hydrolyzed whey protein, or Hydrowhey, because it is so concentrated and pure that it will be transported to your muscles extremely fast. This is the most expensive whey though. Although, I do take hydrowhey for maximum results, I would suggest general 100% whey for you. ON Gold Standard 100% Whey is the best for the price and most delicious. Casein protein is the opposite of whey; it is anti-catabolic. It is so slow acting it takes almost 4-5 hours to fully digest. This should be taken before sleeping at night so your body can feed off of it and build and repair muscle while you sleep. Casein is very thick though. You will have to blend it because it has the consistency of cake batter if not blended. It also doesn’t taste that well; this is normal. I take one scoop of casein every night before going to bed. I blend it with water, 10g of glutamine and 2 ice cubes. ON Gold Standard 100% Casein is the best casein protein powder.
In conclusion, your meals and supplements will be expensive, there is no way around it, but it will be worth it when you see your results. I have been following an extremely strict diet plan and workout routine for the past 8 weeks, and I had lost 21 lbs. and gain a lot of lean muscle. It will be easier for you to gain lean muscle simply because you are naturally skinny. Your muscle will show in 2-3 months. Fat does not turn into fat; I hate when people say that. The more muscle mass you gain, the easier it is to burn fat. So keep at what you’re doing and don’t give up.
Use bodybuilding.com for workout programs and buying supplements. Let me know before you order supplements because I’ll help you shop for them and give you a 10% off coupon. I only get my supplements there; it’s the best. Plus they have a bunch of free workout programs. I follow Kris Gethin’s 12 Week Hardcore program. I highly recommend it to you or Jim Stoppani’s Shortcut to size program. These two will put lean muscle mass on you quick. They are extremely hard, but stick with it!
