Muscle Loss - Nutrition Guide for Leaning Down and Building Muscle Mass

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).