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Diet and nutrition are one of, if not the most important part of, getting the body you want. You have to eat good to look good. But if you got that extra mile and eat great ... you guessed it, you can look great! No matter what your goals are, one thing is the same. You need protein, and you don't need fat. That’s the most important rule here. Stay away from fatty foods. Cookies, chips, candy, chocolate, cake, fast food, fried food etc. Not all fat is bad for you though . There is a healthy fat. this fat can be found in fish, nuts and some oils such as flax seed oil. Protein, why do you need it? Protein is the building block for muscle. Without protein, don't even bother going to the gym. To gain muscle mass, you need to eat protein. Some people say eating 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. I disagree. I say stick with 1 gram per pound. So if you weigh 150 lbs, eat 150 grams of protein. And that means everyday, whether your going to workout that day or not, you still need to supply your muscles with the protein they need to recover for the next workout and to grow. Some high protein foods are: • chicken All of those foods are low in fat, if any fat at all, and very high in protein. A can of tuna has no fat, and 30 grams of protein. Not bad huh? Don't like these foods? Don't have time to eat all that protein? Protein powders can be a solution but sound nutrition is best not supplementation. As you might have guessed, fruits and vegetables are very important to your diet. Besides the fact there’s no fat, they have the vitamins and minerals you need! DRINKS The best thing to drink is water, and a lot of it. I drink a little less than a gallon and a half a day. You need it. It will give you the fuel you need to kill yourself in the gym getting the body you want. Another good drink is low/non-fat milk. Milk has a lot of protein in it, but personally I hate the taste of milk. But if you like it, non-fat milk is great for you. But don't forget about the water! DIETS You have to make yourself a diet. Whether it’s a weight gain diet or a weight loss diet, you have to get organized. Plan what you’re going to eat before you eat it. I know that almost every Monday night I'm going to be eating chicken breasts, and that after every workout I'm going to have a protein shake, and that I need to go to the store and buy some tuna fish because I will be eating a can every day. Make yourself a diet as low in fat as possible and high in protein, and then get yourself organized so that eating isn't a problem anymore. It becomes as easy as walking, to the point where you’re used do it without thinking. This way, there’s no time to think about eating those potato chips, or not eating enough protein. CARBS People trying to lose weight should eat a diet very low in carbs while someone who’s trying to gain weight can get away with eating the extra carbs. Specifically, your diet should be filled with complex carbohydrates if your goal is to gain weight … primarily the complex ones from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. 60% of your diet should be carbs. That's 1,200 calories on a 2,000-calorie diet. FAT The total amount of fat in your diet should not exceed 30% of the calories you consume each day. In other words, if your daily diet is about 2,000 calories, no more that 600 calories should come from fat. Incidentally, if you’re lifting those monster weights, you are utilizing carbohydrates to perform the motion. However, if your diet provides more carbohydrates than you need to produce this amount of stored calories in the form of glucose and glycogen in your cells, blood, muscles and liver, the excess will be converted to fat—the ultimate energy bank. And that's how your pasta ends up on your hips. Questions, comments or feedback? Feel free to email me at trainerjoe101@yahoo.com. |
