When it comes to fat loss or muscle gain, a proper, scientific plan (diet) for success will help you avoid plateaus, inconsistencies and failure.
I understand that food is delicious, its a love language, restaurants and food in general is a massive industry – I get it. There’s just so much out there, why would you limit yourself to lean meats and veggies? Well you don’t have to – you can still enjoy all of your foods without the constant doubt, regret or whatever. Its not a gimmick – its just science.
STEP 1: understand this concept:
Calories = energy, food, metabolism, little gnomes shrinking your clothes, whatever. Let’s just think of calories as purely a numerical value.
100 calories, whether it is coming from ice cream or broccoli is still 100 calories.
Now you may think, as most do right away, that broccoli is healthier and that if you eat 100 calories of broccoli instead of ice cream you will be leaner, healthier, and the gnomes won’t shrink your clothes. If thats the case, then why are you eating broccoli? If its really true, then why how come my clients and I choose to eat ice cream and still find success. The thing is, yes you’re right, broccoli is healthier, but at what cost?
Imagine eating 100 calories of broccoli (about 2,3 cups) instead of eating 100 calories of ice-cream (⅔ of a cup) = yes you will metabolize more nutrients and you might be healthier now. But, what if I asked you to eat 100 calories of broccoli prior to exercise. Now, you will be bloated, gassy and well not satisfied because it is just broccoli. If you had ice cream on the other hand you will get an insulin spike, quick sugar that fuels your workout faster, it might even help you burn more calories because you will bounce off the walls from all of that sugar and its tasty – maybe satisfying. Am I sponsored by ice-cream? No. I am just explaining my approach to food/diet which helps me and my clients. Note: I would be cautious about too much insulin, if you’re diabetic, allergies, etc., but still, 3500 calories = 1 lb of fat.
Remember, if you value calories as number, then you can still enjoy your favourite foods. The underlying message is this: balance, moderation and sanity is very important. Food, fitness and your lifestyle should go hand in hand and you shouldnt jepordize your cultural foods for a set of abs, because you can attain your look either way.
Now that you understand that – here is step 2:
Find out how much food you’re eating on average daily, over the course of 1 week.
Download myfitnesspal, log your food, and log everything. If it enters your mouth, it enters your phone. If you use cooking oil, log it. If you have a bite of a chicken nugget… you get it. You should be measuring, weighing, and scanning barcodes here. Be precise with your food log and most importantly be honest – if you were originally going to go for that coca cola, don’t all of a sudden change to a diet cola. The more honest you are the better your chances of losing fat or gaining muscle. Trust me.
After 7 days, add up all of your calories, then divide by 7. That’s how much food you eat on avg., throughout the week.
Now, this calculator is very general, but find out your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure): https://tdeecalculator.net/
It will help you understand if you’re under eating or overeating and based on your goals, it will give you insight.
Now what’s your goal? Gain or lose?
If you are overeating, then cut by about 250 calories (multiply the course of 7 days and thats half a lb of fat). Vise versa for gaining. When you think you hit a plateau – reassess. Can you afford to cut more calories? Perhaps you need to add more exercise? More cardio? Play around with your carbs and eat more protein? There’s many different methods. One of my favourites is too simply add intermittent fasting (I.F.) methods, a little more cardio and replace some calories from carbs to protein instead. Here’s other benefits of I.F.: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting
But personally, I keep it simple: Eat during the small window time frame (2 pm to 9 pm), it helps me with sleep, lowers my insulin throughout the day (which is whole conversation in itself), less hungry and I can eat more at night!
If you want more information or help – just contact me!
The Markham Gym
The Mall at Langham Square,
8339 Kennedy Road, Unit 2800
Markham, Ontario
L3R 1J5