an important lesson (from a nutrition noob)

This is directed to those like myself who are, for the first time, SERIOUSLY putting effort into long term nutritional discipline...

While I have been involved in fitness training and competition sports for years, and have a good handle on how to TRAIN my body and how it reacts, I am for the first time in a position to take my long term nutrition seriously. And today I learned such an amazing lesson I felt compelled to share because there has got to be others that are in the same position.

We see it, and we all do it......we jump on the nutrition forum, post our cry for help from the endlessly generous and patient veterans and wait for some magic reply that will make our abs suddenly pop out....If we have at least done SOME homework and read the stickies, we can present the vets with something to work with...and if we dont, they humor us by reminding us what we need to do and wait for our replies to then give us direction.

For ME, one of the most frustrating and confusing pieces of advice lied in what any responsible vet will close their reply with.... "stick with it for awhile, see how your body responds, and make adjustments"....

I panicked! lol "well how will i know?" "how long will it take".....then every day..."how do i feel, do i normally feel better?"........i overanalized EVERYTHING......paralysis by analysis....its a muthurfukker.....and i know im not the only one who is subject to its woes...


Then....i figured it out......today i woke up feeling like shit....groggy and slow.....all day i was off, it just wasn't happening for me.....went to the gym...FLAT AS CAN BE...couldn't even finish the way i normally do......SO WHATS WRONG WITH ME i said....

the LESSON.......

JUST PICK A PLAN AND STICK WITH IT........and here's the kicker.....you MUST record EVERYTHING.....i did....so when i got home from the gym utterly disgusted with my day, I had a place to go for answers....A veteran can't tell you why you feel like crap.......even guys like G Brice who have forgotten more than most of us will ever learn, can't tell you why you are off your A game (and when we still ask he politely directs us back to what he told us from the beginning)........there is a certain amount of work YOU have to do, and that diet journal is one of the keys......

So i looked at my food log....and wouldn't ya know it....i was able to clearly see a change in my eating pattern over the last couple days...while it was sublte, it wasn't complicated.....now i KNOW how my body feels when i eat a certain way and even more importantly now, WHEN I DONT....i had my answer....now I can make an EDUCATED decision on how to proceed.....


We come to the nutrition forum because we want to learn how to eat to achieve our goals.....if you dont know your goals, if you don't have the discipline to follow the protocol so generously provided bythe vets here, and if you aren't willing to keep a simple food log........you will NOT get what you want....

more valued to me isn't the fat ive lost, but the itty bitty piece of knowledge i learned about my own body, and THAT is how I will achieve MY goals......


nutrition noobs.....be honest, be humble, listen, listen, and when you're done listening listen some more.....keep your journal, stick to your plan.....it will all make sense soon enough


today's my no carb day, so it's time for some turkey breast burgers with yummy mustard and more steamed broccoli than a hungry hippo can swallow

be ez all

Nice post!

Damn u just guilted me back into keeping a better food diary, much needed however... :)

Great post.

Great post beast, and thanks for the shout brother! Since this feels like a 'sharing' type thread, I'll share my own experience regarding your post:

I found this forum like so many others, looking to transform my physique. I had the slight advantage of some level of nutritional knowledge; with a mother who's been a PT for over 30 years, and a father who was an amateur bodybuilder, I learned a few things over the years. The one thing I had yet to learn (and the key to all of this), that nobody can actually 'teach' us, is discipline. Therefore, I was out of shape, and looking for the 'magic answer'.

I remember seeings before and after's of a member who I became friendly with. It was nothing short of an amazing transformation in 12 weeks... he went from roughly 20% bodyfat to 10%, possibly lower. I asked what he did and he told me he followed a 'Nark diet'. I had no idea what that was, but I wanted it!! I mean, look what it did for him - it MUST be the magic formula!!! (he also mentioned that he was 100% perfect and didn't cheat at all for 12 weeks straight, but I conveniently blew this bit of info off).

I ran diet after diet, making little to no progress - not because what I was doing didn't 'work', but because I wasn't exercising any consistency. I'd cheat on weekends, 'slip up' during the week, etc. I eventually became friendly with Narkissos (remember that Nark diet?) who years later I had the pleasure of working with and training under his supervision. To say he taught me a great deal would be an understatement - but moreso about my own mindset than training/nutrition itself. I ran this 'Nark diet' (personalized for me), WITH CONSISTENCY - and saw dramatic results. Was this because Nark's diet/training regimen was so spot on, or due to my discipline? A little of both - but one without the other is useless.

Like you (Beast), I was too busy overanalyzing everything, trying to perfect every little macro to a tee (splitting carb/fat meals, timing this, timing that, etc.) instead of actually just DOING. My mind was getting more of a workout than my body. On top of that, I wasn't exercising discipline. When I finally relaxed, and realized that the REAL key is consistency, even with a imperfect diet, results were easy to come by. AND I was much happier.

I've quoted this before, but as it suits this topic, I'll say it again:

"This is the perpetual bodybuilding paradigm: Every(intelligent)thing works (once aptly and consistently applied)"

"Here's a little-known-secret, that most people won't tell you: In the sphere of fitness, everything works. It doesn't matter if you're following 'If It Fits Your Macros' (IIFYM), Intermittent Fasting (IF), Carb-timed diets, UD 2.0, Paleo, Atkins... or what have you. What matters is that you pick ONE well-thought-out style of dieting, and you stick to it. It really is that simple." ~Nark

^^ profound. All of you dieting noobs should read this over and over until it clicks.

thanks for sharing that Gbrice....it means alot to know that everybody had to start somewhere!!

Nice, I have no disipline but one thing I know is that it is there, we just have to do it. I enjoyed that Beastmaster, thanks for sharing.

Question: Did you just write down your diet and see how you felt everyday or did you used something like fitday/calorie counter?

I like to use the calorie counter cause I have a better understanding of the macros going in.

great read. Trying to teach a few friends how to train their minds in goal achieving esp diet is never ending. Ima forward a link to this. So so soooo important n u can take this outlook on diet and put it to work in every single aspect of life. Great stuff

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Originally Posted by Romanbrand

Nice, I have no disipline but one thing I know is that it is there, we just have to do it. I enjoyed that Beastmaster, thanks for sharing.

Question: Did you just write down your diet and see how you felt everyday or did you used something like fitday/calorie counter?

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i LOVE fitday...BUT they dont have an Android app....so i bought the MyNetDiary app....i monitor using that one...no way id be as organized if i tried to write it down lol

Wise words GB.

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Originally Posted by Romanbrand

I like to use the calorie counter cause I have a better understanding of the macros going in.

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I love using the calorie counter as well!

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Originally Posted by Dadstrength

Wise words GB.

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Thx buddy.