Keepin’ Things Simple With Your Diet
once again taken from my boys at animalpak ;)
Keepin’ Things Simple With Your Diet
by The Lad
In all of my years of training as a powerlifter and bodybuilder, the word diet has to be the most misunderstood word in the dictionary. The general public thinks dieting means starvation. There are guys go without eating for a short period of time, notice a slight weight loss, then begin eating again. In the end, they splurge and gain more weight than they had originally lost.
Dieting is no more than controlled eating. You can gain, lose or maintain your weight simply by controlling your eating habits. We as a society have been taught to eat three balanced meals a day. What I tell guys who ask is to first break those three meals down into eight smaller meals throughout their day. For instance, take your breakfast and eat small portions every two hours such as 6am, 8am and 10am instead of all at once at 9am.
Next, eat portions of your lunch every two hours such as 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm. Then for your dinner, keep your proteins high and start cutting your carbohydrates at 6pm, 8pm and 10pm (your last meal). By following this schedule for a few weeks, you will notice an increase in all your bodily functions and will genuinely have more energy.
Think of yourself as a high-powered engine. To keep it running properly, you must keep it fueled constantly. Depending on where you are in our training, you need to adjust your diet accordingly. The best way to monitor your diet is to prepare your own foods. In the real world, we both know it’s not always easy. Most of the time, guys tell me they do not have the time to prepare their own foods. It’s not so hard. Here’s a typical menu I might follow when I’m trying to shed some pounds:
6am: Uni-Syn (meal replacement), Hi Protein Bar, Animal Cuts
8am: Boiled egg whites or scrambled eggs, Animal Pak
10am: Ultra Whey Pro (protein shake), small serving of oatmeal, grits or steamed rice
12pm: Small serving of chicken, fish or turkey with green salad or other green veggies of choice
2pm: Uni-Syn or Hi Protein Bar, Animal Cuts
4pm: Small baked potato, small serving of steamed rice, pasta or oatmeal
6pm: Ultra Whey Pro or Hi Protein Bar
8pm: Small serving of chicken, fish or turkey along with a small green salad or other green veggies
Depending on how serious you are about your weight is how serious you should be about your diet. I recommend that no seasonings be added to foods. You should eat your food plain and bland. Avoid frying and try to eat your food steamed or baked. Drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Now for people wanting to gain weight, you’d keep the Animal Pak, skip the Animal Cuts and switch to Animal M-Stak, for example. You would then follow the above menu except you’d need to add more carbohydrates and overall calories. You would also rotate in lean cuts of red beef to replace some of the chicken, fish, and turkey. Again, try not to eat fried foods. If you must eat fast food and burgers are your only choice, eat them plain with no ketchup, mayonnaise or mustard.
The main secret with any type of diet plan is to be consistent with the times you eat to help regulate your bodily functions. Any time you skip a meal, your body goes into a survival mode; it will want to hold onto everything you had eaten earlier. This is why most people who only eat once a day, experience only minor or no weight loss.
Once you reach your goal bodyweight, you can adjust your diet in order maintain that weight you’ve achieved. Splurging or eating your favorite cheat foods can now be a treat once a week. There’s no real secret to dieting. Like I said before, it’s about planning out a diet plan and then sticking to it no matter what.
