Pretty much every article I've had the misfortune to read breaks the concept of eating for size and decreasing body fat down into a confusing menagerie of carbohydrates, proteins and farts -- sorry, I meant fats -- amino acids, chain-branch-thingies, the usual supplement they're being paid to push, complex carbs versus simple carbs, X-amount of protein per Y-amount of body weight and worse yet, having to measure what you eat each goddamn meal for the rest of your miserable, dirt-scrabbling life.
Mate, I just want to eat my food: not measure it, weigh it and give it a meme.
Here's a question: have you anywhere at any time on any site on the internet come across a legitimate article run by oh, I don't know, lesbian sadomasochists with a penchant for donkey fur, who have conducted a well-researched and well-documented series of articles (or just one fucking article for that matter) tracking a selection of weight trainers doing the same routines over the same time-frame whereby one group is eating XY-meals whilst the other is eating YZ-meals so as to measure the impact of their diets?
Because if there is one remotely like this online, I've never seen it.
It doesn't exist...but hey, get those chicken breasts, steamed broccoli and sweet potatoes in 6-times daily because that's what bodybuilders do. Problem is though, I'm not a bodybuilder and I bet you're not either. Look, don't get me wrong: I love working out, I love strength-training, and I love finding out about anything to do with this lifestyle. But. I don't earn a living from it. It's a part of my life, not my life in its totality which is one reason why I no longer buy into this whole carbohydrate-slash-protein-slash-fats line. It's simply not necessary for you and I.
Sure, you can get into that side of strength-training if that's you but for the over-riding majority of us, we are not -- and do not want to be -- like that. We just want to have a simple but effective work out program that fits into our lifestyle, end of fucking story. So when netspurts with their charts, apps, percentages and programs are trying to tell you how to eat, what to eat, when to eat and all the rest of it you need to ask yourself this: am I going to be an amateur bodybuilder with the long term goal of becoming semi-professional or something like that?
If the answer is no (and I hope it is) then stop reading their goddamn articles.
It's just pressure you don't need, mate.
...fuck their be-all-you-can-be-lines. Who are you is fine.
Here's my eating plan which will liberate you completely and nope, it's not based on scientific proof, laboratory research or years of observation with a telescope (which is my disclaimer by the way). You choose who to believe but if we're not bodybuilders then why would we want to eat like bodybuilders? Hm? Or even train like bodybuilders? I happen to have a job and guess what, it ain't bodybuilding. I bet yours isn't either. So think a little here. Step back and look at the big picture.
Firstly, does anyone remember what Michael Phelps the US Olympic swimmer used to have for breakfast? I'll tell you what he used to have for breakfast: a fucking heart-attack. He was eating eggs, cheese, tomato, onions, pancakes -- all the good stuff we're told will clog us up and kill us. Point is, good 'ol Mike was busy swimming his ass off daily, which flies just a little in the face of the oft-repeated you-can't-out-exercise-a-bad-diet line you continually hear smug netspurts regurgitating. Keep that in the back of your mind as you read further.
My recommendation is simply making the majority of your food (think 80-90%) natural. By that I mean buy rice, potatoes, mince and chicken y'know, normal stuff that's pretty damn hard to provide a man-made substitute for without shoppers looking at it sideways and reaching for their mace. If you want to make it even higher then knock yourself out -- the more the majority of your meats, grains, vegetables and fruits are exactly that as opposed to some man-made substitute jam-packed with SMGs, preservatives, colourings, stabilizers and left-over felch creme, the better off you'll be.
Let the other 10-20% of your food intake consist of your sauces, drinks, tinned shit and spreads that probably contain nuclear isotopes, botulism and fatal toxins but fuck it, if it's good enough for the kids it's good enough for me! In all seriousness though, an 80-20 ratio is pretty damn achievable for everyone and you've probably been doing it for years anyway. But it's not just what you eat its also how much. Did you know if you're overweight you will lose weight eating less of the same shit daily because you're eating less of the same shit daily? You heard it here first.
If you eat less than you need, this is a caloric deficit. This means you're not getting enough calories so your body will look to other sources for sustenance, the idea being it starts gobbling on fat storage. Could even be true. I work-out in the morning before I eat. I like to think my body draws on fat reserves for energy. It sure as hell doesn't draw on my love-handle reserves, though.The above is the normative approach proffered by the overwhelming majority of online netpsurts who will then start you down the road towards what sort of diet you should be on and what sort of supplements you should include along with it. Whilst the above is important to know, know this too: not everyone will respond to the above three "standards" the same way. Plenty of people build fantastic physiques with no additional dietary anything apart from eating more. Why? Because exercising makes you hungry and there's even a word for this: normal.
If you eat what you need, this is a maintenance diet. Well, it's not really: you're just eating what you need i.e. when you're hungry you eat. Normal stuff. This is what 99% of the population does, unless you're a third-world fucker. Aroha mai, e hoa.
If you eat more than you need and/or burn, this is a caloric surplus. The theory here is you'll feed your muscles but gain more fat (possibly/probably). You may get bigger but you could be fatter -- unless you're one of those guys who work out, eat lots, get bigger and don't get fat.
In fact, you might be one of the many who can make decent gains eating good, basic food with the occasional take-out and pie here and there. Do you see the point I'm making? Just eat a well-balanced diet. Get your salt in. As you exercise more and get hungry more, you'll eat more. Good. Don't over-eat. Bad. Netspurts will complicate your shit and you'll buy into it. Stop. Trust yourself. Understand that strength-training will slim you down, increase muscle mass and most likely increase your appetite as your metabolism speeds up. Then again, maybe your metabolism won't speed up.
So what?
If you're deadly serious about losing weight --specifically getting shredded i.e. achieving 10% body fat or less -- it should be clear to you by now I am definitely NOT the go-to person for this, especially since I think it unnecessary and over-rated, particularly for our age group. Yeah, a flat gut looks good but abs? What for? If you must know, to see those abs again you need to reduce over-all body fat which is a whole new level and lifestyle choice and to be honest, it can be achieved. To do this though you must diet. You have no other choice than totally revamping your food intake. Usually.
This could involve intermittent fasting, eating specific meals only, strict calorie counting, restricted intakes of this and that, set eating periods -- a mate of mine only ate between 10:30am-6:00pm and really leaned out -- and will definitely impact both your social life and enjoyment. Think no beer. So. Can you eat to increase size and decrease body fat? The long answer is with expert nutritional planning (not me) and a specific weight-lifting program which may or may not include cardio then yes, yes you can increase size and decrease body fat when these are all on point.
But.
Diet alone will not increase your muscularity and decrease your fat stores. Sure, there are certain foods like taro which contain a natural steroid and which may, over time, increase some of your musculature to some neglible level. Maybe. Truth is, you have to strength train to increase muscle size and combine this with cardio and diet so as to lose fat. Worrying about eating to get big -- which plenty of netspurts espouse -- should be ignored. Don't nit-pick stuff thats not important.
Eat when you're hungry. Follow the above advice. Keep it simple. Don't get caught up and side-tracked because next thing you know, you'll be one of those supplement-buying 50yr olds wearing tight, cut-off tees dying your beard and hanging out in teen chat rooms. If you must have one take home point then increase protein intake: this benefits muscle very well. Eat more eggs, have more cheese, enjoy Greek yoghurt, spread your toast with cottage cheese. All contain high protein, especially eggs. Kia ora whanau.
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