There are many approaches to diet. I’ve found that the best ones are those that we can maintain.
I like having a great physique year-round. I’m not a guy that diets or cuts weight at certain times, then bulks at others. I eat the same way all year (except for Christmas time). I cheat on my diet. Actually, I don’t even follow a diet; rather, I eat certain food groups at certain times to ensure that I maintain the muscle mass I have – if I want to gain a bit of lean mass, I’ll simply add more food – without gaining fat.
Here are the rules I follow to accomplish this. These rules will also help you to start burning fat a lot faster than you had previously, with one key change:
You’re going to maintain and even gain muscle at the same time.
Why is this so important for fat loss?
Muscle is a fat burning machine. The more we have, the higher our metabolism. That’s why you see those massive bodybuilders eating crap but staying ripped. Aside from the massive amounts of drugs they’re using, their muscle makes their bodies a fat burning furnace.
Alright, so the rules…
Rule #1
Eat vegetables – and moderates amount of fruits – with every meal.
Vegetables are often neglected from our diets because we tend to focus more on types of calories when we’re after a goal like burning fat or building muscle. We see foods as “proteins”, “slow carbs”, “fast carbs”, “good fats, and “bad fats”. So vegetables often get left in the dust.
We need veggies. Have a variety of them in your diet, and ready to eat around your house or appartment at all times during the day.
Rule #2
Focus your fast carbs around your workout.
Fast carbs are fruits, “white” carbs, and sugars. These are usually a “no-no” with most fat loss “diets”, but they’re actually great for us and our fat loss goals – WHEN focused around our workouts.
They include: white pastas, white rice, fruits, fruit juices, breads, and all sugars.
By keeping these close to our workouts, we feed our muscles, and help our bodies avoid using our muscle as fuel. Fast carbs are a blocker of cortisol – a stress hormone that makes our bodies store fat, and burn muscle and bone as our primary fuel source.
Rule #3
Have the rest of your day filled with slow carbs.
I keep things simple and only eat oatmeal or brown rice as a carbohydrate source outside of the 1 hour before my workout, and the 3-4 hours after a workout when I allow myself faster carbs.
That is, IF I have carbs at all. For breakfast I usually have 4 eggs, a source of meat, and some fruits as well as vegetables to start my day as a way to naturally raise testosterone levels, and give my body a slow, steady rise in energy (meat helps quell the rise of our blood sure, so it’s great to start your day with a source of meat).
Rule #4
Keep your proteins lean when paired with a fast carbohydrate, and have a source of protein with every meal…
… Especially with breakfast.
You should be starting your day off with protein. That’s a big rule, but you should also include this metabolism-boosting food group with every meal.
In your post-workout shake, include fast carbs, with a lean source of protein (protein powder ideally). The carbs will spike insulin, an absorption hormone, which will help usher the proteins you’re consuming to the areas of your body where your blood is pumping.
After a workout, those areas are the ones you’ve just finished training.
There are a few other rules that pertain to supplementing, but we’ll cover those in the future.
For now: