Nutrition
**I know y’all don’t like to read too much so I’ve made it as short as I can with as much value as possible. And although this whole document is based upon a general framework for you, the best advice I can give you is to take this and tailor it to your own specific lifestyle - that is probably the single best way of staying consistent; making it sustainable for you and your life and fitting it in with everything else you want to do.
There is always going to be a lot of debate and information about what is the most ‘optimal’ or best method, and that is with everything in this industry (training, bulking, cutting, sleeping etc.) but what you have to understand is that living and training in the ‘most optimal’ zone is very very difficult and extremely unsustainable, and for 99% of people it is not even close to the best choice of how to go about things simply due to the amount of sacrifice you’ll have to make. Anyways, here’s the framework**
Step 1: Framework & Mindset
- Introduction:
There are a lot of ways of doing this, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY WAY.
But this is my way, and I know it works because this is what I do and it works for me.
This essentially makes up at least 80% of when trying to lose weight. Not really an exaggeration. As with most things, with the right framework and mindset, it is pretty straightforward. Not straightforward in the sense that the process is going to be easy - but instead. in the sense that there is a protocol, structure, layout and where if you follow exactly the plan you will yield exactly the results. You’ll understand why that is later on.
I like to think of things as you get out as much as you put in, and unlike pretty much everything else in life - this is actually one of those things. Most times people fail to lose weight not because they’re not doing the right thing but because they’re not sticking to it.
- The ‘Why’:
But with that being said, it’s still a lot easier said than done to stick to the protocol right to the end - and that’s where mindset comes in. There should be a reason why you want to do this, and that reason whatever it might be must be more important to you than not achieving your end goal. - because if it is not, then you probably won’t adhere to it. Understand that essentially all this comes down to consistency, discipline, adherence and accountability; you are doing the right things you just aren’t consistent enough with them right now. It’s really up to you how quickly you want to make this process - the more consistent you are the quicker it becomes. Self-explanatory.
Essentially, it boils down to if you really want to or not and if you have a good enough reason for yourself to go through with it. If you do, then keep reading.
Step 2: Maths
- Calories:
Your body’s metabolic function can be simplified down to addition and subtraction. Once you understand that it's not about the different diets to follow, which type of workouts to do or the special recipes to make - but instead just about maths, this will become extremely simple. The framework for a diet is almost identical but at the same time unique for everyone, let me explain:
Calories IN vs Calories OUT - (that’s it).
The universal rule is that if you are consuming more calories (Calories IN) than you are expending (Calories OUT) you will GAIN weight. And the opposite is also true - so in this case, you want to be expending more calories than you are consuming. Once you understand that, then we can get started. (I have linked a way to track your calories at the bottom of the document)
3.5 How to get started:
Your ‘maintenance calories’ is your baseline, that is ur TDEE or in other words, the total amount of calories you expend per day. If you are consuming at that exact amount of calories, your weight will stay the same, anything under that and you’ll lose weight, anything over that and you’ll gain weight - and that’s for everybody.
Use this link to calculate your ‘maintenance calories’ and go from there.
https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html
The number the calculator gives you is an estimate, it will be pretty close but it is still an estimate, therefore for the first week or two when you first get started, we are essentially just trying to turn that estimated number into an exact number. This is important: eat at that number of calories every day and weigh yourself every morning as soon as you wake up before you drink water and after you pee (so weight is consistent), and if your weight is going down then increase your calories until it doesn’t and same if your weight is going up. (And you need at least 2 weeks for this as weight fluctuates (more about that later)).
Once you have found your maintenance calories or in other words, your weight is now consistent then you can start your weight loss journey
Here is the world's most generic calorie protocol that works for nearly everybody.
- Week 1: Eat at 100 calories under your maintenance calories (e.g. 2400 if your maintenance is 2500)
- Week 2: Eat 200 calorie under your maintenance calories
- Week 3: Eat 300 calories under your maintenance calories
And keep going etc. (literally that simple)
If you are lazy and just want to follow that then do it, it will work, this is what I do and you don’t even need your scales for this (at least I don’t use them at all) and you just follow a protocol. But in an ideal/‘optimal’ world you want to milk as much weight loss as possible at a certain amount of calories before you drop calories and i’ll explain that now.
If you eat at a 100 calorie deficit -2400 (and your maintenance is 2500) and you are losing weight (slowly), then keep eating at 2400. Don’t decrease your calories because your impatient or want to lose weight quicker just keep eating at that number until your weight STOPS moving down for at least 3 days, then move it down 100 calories (NO MORE THAN THAT) and then do the same thing - eat at that amount until the number STOPS going down.
The reason for this is that if you drop your calories too much or too quickly, yes you will lose a lot of weight very fast, but because of your body’s homeostasis you will eventually stop losing weight and hit a plateau, and because your calories are already dropped so low, you won’t be able to drop any more calories and you won’t be able to lose any more weight. (Hence why people quit because it gets too hard too quickly and they can’t make any more progress) So slow and steady wins the race.
At this point, you might be thinking, so this means I can eat whatever I want (pizza, doughnuts, ice cream) and still lose weight as long as the total amount of calories I consume is under my maintenance calories??? Yes. That’s how it works - it's just maths.
But although it will work in theory it does not mean it’s very practical and that you should do it and I’ll explain that later on.
- Macronutrients (Protein):
So far we’ve talked about losing weight. But weight consists of a lot of things: water, glycogen, muscle, fat etc. (another reason why I don’t like using scales)
And In an ideal world, you want to lose fat and not muscle, and here is where macronutrients come into play (as well as your training)
Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats. These are the 3 main macronutrients and the only ones you need to look at. DO NOT completely avoid any of these 3 as they are ALL essential to normal human function, but instead you can manipulate the amounts you eat of each instead.
Even then I never really worry too much about getting the exact amounts of each right, as long as you are in the right ball park it works.
Generally speaking, carbs and fat give you fuel and bodily function and protein provides growth, (maintains muscle tissue in this case). So in order to do what we talked about earlier, you want to keep your proteins high (a surplus of 1.1/lbs bodyweight if you weight train, this matters less if you don’t’). What I do is I make sure I hit my protein targets for the day (for me that’s anything above 150g) and for the rest of the calories I have left I’ll eat whatever I want to eat essentially. Basically if your just starting out, don’t think too much just do this.
So now you know the theory, and if you stick to this framework, you will lose fat quickly and consistently. But as we know in practice it's a lot easier said than done so here are the below tips to help you stick to this protocol.
Intermittent fasting and eating in volume:
Intermittent fasting:
Probably my favourite ‘tool’ when looking to diet. Without much explanation needed, the main reason people fail is that they are hungry and they fail to eat under their maintenance. Here is where this is especially useful.
This ‘tool’ essentially just means that you make your eating window smaller. So in the window that you are eating you are eating more food more frequently - instead of spreading your limited amount of calories in a 24-hour period, spread them out in a 12-hour period instead, so now instead of getting 2400 calories in 24 hours, for example, you get it in 12 hours.
A good example of this would be if you're not eating until 1 pm that day, then from 1 pm onwards you still have 2400 calories for that day (for example). But if you’ve been eating since 9 am then when 1 pm comes around you have a lot fewer calories for the rest of the day. Pretty self-explanatory diet model, just save as many calories for as late as possible, so at the end of the day you will feel fuller.
(I’m sure there are also a lot of benefits to fasting but I use it mainly as a tool for caloric restriction)
Reversal of this: Again, this works in theory, but not always practically, and that’s because you may workout early in the morning etc. or need energy (calories) earlier on in the day, which is fine, tailor your calories to your daily needs and go from there, this is just a general framework. You could also reverse this and eat during the first 10 hours or so early on and fast later on the day instead, I prefer the opposite.
Eating in volume:
We talked about how you can eat whatever foods you want and still lose weight. Although that is true, it’s hard to practically do that, as you can probably figure out at this point - eating 1500 worth of pizza in one go early on in the day will leave you with very few calories for the rest of the day - therefore people fail. See your calories like a budget or currency - you have for example 2400 to spend for the day and when your out your out. So save your budget and eat things that are ‘worth more’ - what I mean by that is eat foods that are high in volume but low in calories.
A good comparison of this would be 1 chocolate bar (low volume) is equivalent to 150 grams of chicken and 150 grams of rice (High volume), obviously thats not accurate to the gram but you can understand what I mean - spend your budget wisely and eat things that fill you up while having the less calories possible to make it easier for yourself. - I actually eat ‘more’ food on my cut than I do on my bulk.
Cardio:
Outside of popular belief, cardio doesn't burn fat, it is just a tool (like intermittent fasting) to help put you in a caloric deficit. It does that by burning calories/energy and just like all the other tools here it doesn’t necessarily have to be used but might be helpful at certain points. Just like with everything, there is not a set amount of minutes, distance or the amount you have to do - they all work. Just tailor it to your needs and however many calories you need burning that day to hit your specific caloric goal.
There is also a lot of debate surrounding which type of cardio works best and is the most optimal, but in the most basic terms - they all work, and if you’re just getting started - just pick any one and stick to it. Everything down to the number of steps you do to the amount of distance you run when you play football will count as cardio and help you increase your TDEE (maintenance) and to put you in a deficit. (More DOES NOT = better)
Links:
- How to track your calories and macros: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/
- How to find out your maintenance calories: https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html
- Benefits behind intermittent fasting: https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2016/07/07/intermittent-fasting-fad-or-science-based-diet/
*Only once you’ve done all this and understand the basics at an intermediate to advanced level, then contact me if you want me to help with your training and nutrition*
Supplements are called supplements for a reason, they are meant to ‘SUPPLEMENT’ your already existing diet, not to replace it. But with that being said, they can be very useful tools to help you reach your nutritional goals. Against popular belief, the right supplements can in fact be extremely helpful. I always recommend taking single ingredient supplements instead of ‘multi-vitamins’ so that you are able to manipulate the correct doses for you and to pick and choose only what your body needs.
Ones you may consider (probably the only few essential ones)
- Protein powder: Although it is better getting it through foods, many people struggle to hit the 1g/1.1 lbs target in the foods they eat in the day, and this is where protein supplementation can help, although I would try eat your proteins instead of drinking it on your cut to help you keep more satiated and to reduce hunger through the day.
- Creatine Monohydrate: This is the most researched supplement on the market. USE IT. Helps with strength, ATP Production, recovery etc. (DRINK WATER WHEN YOU TAKE IT)
- Pre-workout/caffeine: Think of it as a tool that gives you energy to better perform your workouts. It is very effective on a cut when energy levels are especially low and you need to train hard. I personally use it but you don’t HAVE to. There are also some evidence to show that it increases endurance in workouts etc but a down side is you might get reliant on it.
Other ones that you can look into:
- Vitamin D: Especially if you live in countries where most days are overcast/cloudy you might want to or even need to use this supplement. Many consider vitamin D as one of the most essential vitamins that people require, but at the same time it is also the most common one in which people are deficient from. Helping you to regulate your mood, reduce inflammation, and reduce risk of cancer etc.
- Tongkat Ali & Fadogia: Two safe and effective natural testosterone boosters that help stimulate the body's production of testosterone and improve how your body uses it. Containing high levels of naturally occurring testosterone precursors, this helps to ensure that the body's hormone levels remain in balance.
- Ashwaganda: A drastic amount of research has been done on this supplement in the recent years - helping with fatigue, mood, libido, stress and general well being, I’d recommend looking into it
- Magnesium: Momentous Magnesium Threonate supports brain health and normal cognitive function. It is a highly bioavailable magnesium demonstrated to cross the blood-brain barrier and support brain health. Note that magnesium is also helpful to help and regulate your sleep
Bulking is a lot less sophisticated process in terms of protocols and rules, as you probably understand at this point, if you are eating over your maintenance calories you will be gaining weight. And because its pretty ‘idiot proof’ - meaning that there is a lot of leeway in which you can do things, I’m gonna keep it pretty straightforward for this. Ideally you want to track your calories as well on the bulk and just like the cut, you want to increase slowly to maximise the amount of muscle you put on compared to fat. But again, although something might be ideal it doesn’t mean its practical. I like to see the bulk as a period in which i get more freedom in what I eat, and that includes eating out which makes it extremely difficult to track. Anyways I’ll keep this part simple and explain how to make your life easier.
Recipe for shake 1 (holy grail): 1000 calories with 50g+ protein
- 1 Banana
- 1.5 Scoops of whey
- 350ml Whole Milk
- 1.5 Scoops PB
- 150g oats
One of these a day puts you 1000 calories up and on top of everything else you eat, drinking your calories is a lot more efficient way to get your meals down compared to eating, especially when your push your calories a lot higher.
Recipe for shake 2: 350 calories with 50g protein
- 300ml milk
- 1 cup blueberries
- 1 cup spinach
- 1 banana
- 1.5 scoop whey protein
This shake is a lot less lower calories but very good in terms of the ratio of macros and a good way to get your micronutrients in. Although the foundation of gaining weight and losing weight comes down to calories, I strongly suggest that you don’t neglect your macro and micro nutritients. A cleaner diet leads to significantly better bodily function and health, in the long run translating to better workouts and more consistent growth (I shouldn’t have to explain to you why health is important?)
Framework and Timeline:
Nobody really highlights this in any online course or e-book and its a very overlooked piece of advice. If your looking for a timeframe or how long you should bulk for, here is your answer: Bulk as long as you possibly can and delay your first cut for as long as you possibly can, let me explain why. Body dysmorphia is a very real thing and a very overlooked thing in the industry. In a world in which social media is filled with influencers under 10% body fat means that many people strive to achieve that lean physique. However what a lot of people don’t realise is that if you are under 16% body fat, cutting is a waste of time - in the sense that not only are you not progressing, you are actually losing strength and size along the way. With that being said, the general rule is if you can’t see your abs - cut first and then bulk. But if you are just desperate for that lean physique, bulking for a significantly long period of time means that your physique will look 10xs better in the long run than if you hopped between bulking and cutting cycles.
Minicuts:
However, mini cuts on the other hand can be used as a very useful tool to allow you to bulk for a longer period of time. The main reason in which people stop bulking is because they are uncomfortable with how they look at higher body fat percentages, which is understandable. Therefore, minicuts whenever necessary helps keep body fat under control, which in the long run allow you to bulk for longer periods of time. The other major benefit of a minicut is to help you reset your appetite. It is extremely difficult to continue to increase calories and to hit those calorie targets when you are deep into a bulk - to the point where food becomes no longer appealing. By going into a sharp deficit for a short period of time, you can reset your appetite (not completely but still significantly) which makes your life a whole lot easier when going back into a surplus again.
Cardio on a Bulk:
Contrary to popular belief, cardio during a bulk can be not only extremely beneficial to your general health and well being, but also extremely helpful towards your appetite for food. And if you’re worried about losing/burning too many calories when your supposed to be consuming more - don’t be, I’m not suggesting you to run a 10k or a marathon, just a reasonable distance, where you can build up a greater appetite to consume a lot more calories than you burned during your cardio.
