I keep nutrition simple. I eat the same types of food
whether I’m adding muscle mass or
cutting down. The only thing that changes is quantity and
proportion.
This guide is organized as follows:
1. Foods and Eating
Schedule – My Maintenance Plan
2. Adding Mass Diet
3. Leaning Down Diet
4. Optimal
Muscle-Building Diet if You’re Deadly Serious
1. Foods and Eating
Schedule – My Maintenance Plan
In a nutshell, I eat as much whole foods as possible , but
supplement a fair amount as
well with protein shakes and creatinine. I avoid foods in a
package. Exceptions will be
boxed cereal on the weekends
and pasta. I also eat lentil soup for lunch from a can
(Amy’s which is pretty healthy). In fact all beans I eat are
from a can. I don ’t have time
to cook beans (chick peas, lentils, etc.).
10 to 20 Stretching Session: (7 a.m.)
Breakfast (8:00 to 8:30 a.m.):
* My homemade muesli
which contains oats, 7-grain mix, dried fruit, a banana,
almonds and milk (2%).
* 1 cup of egg whites
with 1 to 2 whole eggs added – I usually
eat this scrambled.
* A few cups of
coffee throughout the morning.
Lunch (I eat around 11:30 a.m.):
* 2 slices of whole
grain bread (from a local bakery) with peanut butter. I realize
bread isn’t the best, but I love it and eat it.
* 1 can of Amy’s
lentil soup or 1 can of chick peas or plenty of cold cuts (turkey
and beef).
Afternoon Snack – pre workout(2:30 to 3:00 p.m.):
* Fruit plate
(apples, banana, orange and/or fruit in season). You can easily skip
the fruit. I love fruit so I eat it.
* Pre-workout
supplement for energy.
Workout: 4:30 to 5:30
* After workout: Protein Shake with Creatine.
Dinner (6:30 p.m.)
* Protein: Fish,
chicken or beef (ground or steak)
* Starch: Rice,
potatoes, pasta, or quinoa.
* Veg: Salad and a
steamed/sautéed vegetable such as broccoli, asparagus, beans,
etc.
Before Bed (9:45 p.m.)
* Protein shake.
Weekends
On weekends I let loose a little. I may have a bacon and egg
breakfast and/or boxed
cereal. My wife and I usually eat out or get take out once
per weekend. Take out may
include pizza.
I’m not a diet fanatic. I enjoy less than optimally healthy
foods. A little diet splurging
won’t kill you or your workout progress as long as you are
generally consistent with your
diet.
2. My Adding Mass
Diet
When I’m adding muscle mass and weight, I increase portion
sizes from the
maintenance amount.
* I add more nuts and
eggs to my diet.
* I add more cold
cuts to my lunch.
* I drink more milk.
Often I’ll add a second protein shake to my diet.
* I eat more quinoa
as my starch (a protein-rich food).
* I increase protein
portions at dinner.
3. Leaning Down Diet
I eat smaller portions
of carbohydrates.
I substitute my oat cereal breakfast for fresh fruit. I still eat egg whites for breakfast.
That’s about it. It really boils down to portion size and
increased cardio.
IMPORTANT: When
leaning down, you must maintain a high-protein diet so that your
body burns fat and not muscle.
4. If you’re deadly
serious about gaining optimal muscle
fast
That said, if you’re deadly serious about building maximum
muscle as fast as possible,
add more protein to the above diet. I know I don ’t eat
protein in the amount that will
win me the Mr. Olympia title.
The key is limiting carb intake to optimal carbs (still
restricting portion size). The
following is a strict, but optimal diet for building muscle:
6 Meal Diet for 200 plus pound person :
* Protein: 40 grams for
meals 1 to 6
* Carbohydrates: 50
grams for meals 1 to 5. No carbs for meal 6.
* Added fats – 15
grams at Meals 1, 2, 5 and 6.
If you weigh under 200 pounds, adjust protein count down
slightly.
Best carbohydrates for the optimal muscle-building diet:
* Oats
* Rice (not boxed
rice)
* Quinoa
* Yams
* Organic brown rice
pasta
* Shredded wheat
cereal
Best fats for the added fats portion in the optimal muscle-building diet:
* Flax oil
* Udo’s oil
* Hemp oil
* Peanut butter
* Almond butter
Best protein sources
* Chicken
* Turkey
* Fish (Salmon, cod,
halibut, pollock, snapper and sole – I
avoid tuna due to
toxicity levels)
* Beef
* Egg whites (I
usually add 1 to 2 whole eggs – but
consult your physician
regarding cholesterol issues … I have no cholesterol issues
so 1 to 2 egg yolks a
day for me is fine).
* Chick peas/ Lentils
* Bison
* Nuts (almonds and
peanuts are my favorite … but eat in moderation due to highfat content).
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