MAKE ANIMAL PROTEIN AT MEAL 1, NON-NEGOTIABLE
Once you start doing this, it’s hard to go back to just eating cereal. It keeps you full and tastes great – everyone loves a cooked breakfast. Opt for animal proteins.
Animal proteins positively affect your neurotransmitters, increasing focus, drive, and determination. They also provide zoonutrients such as creatine and carnitine, essential for strength and fat burning and positively impact muscle protein synthesis and sex hormones.
Some breakfast suggestions include:
- Eggs with smoked salmon or mackerel
- Whey protein, fruit and nut butter smoothie
- Oats with scrambled egg whites
- Poached eggs and toast
- Omelette with prawns and avocado slices
- Chicken sausages
Pair these with low glycemic berries such as apricots, blackberries, blueberries, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, raspberries, and strawberries.
30 g of protein ensures there’s enough amino acids for the liver to spare some for muscle protein. The liver uses many dietary essential and non-essential amino acids for cell functions and detoxification, leaving few essential amino acids to circulate into the system.
If we choose high-quality protein sources rich in the branch chain and essential amino acids, we need less protein. These sources are bioavailable and stimulate muscle tissues at all levels due to their leucine content.
Examples of high-quality sources are whey, milk, eggs, egg whites, chicken, turkey, beef, lean pork.
Examples of low-quality sources, peanuts, wholegrain bread, oats, soy
- Leucine intake creates a healthy response in muscle protein synthesis. However, if we take any amino acid alone, the body still needs to “build” protein, meaning it will pull any necessary amino acids from other ‘pools’, the gut, muscles, organs, and liver.
Different meats have varying amounts of leucine but 3 g of leucine per meal is ideal.
This is why bodybuilders often eat chicken, eggs, and beef.
HAVE A POST-WORKOUT NUTRITION PROTOCOL
Ideal workout nutrition yields the best results.
One common mistake is believing the need to starve around a workout.
Eating before and after your workout offers a prime opportunity to enhance your fitness, muscle building and fat loss.
Avoid loading up on fibre or spicy foods, you may omit your green veggies in the meal directly before training, as long as you are getting a broad range over your day.
Keep it simple, flavoured and plain.
For muscle and strength, use a whey protein.
Studies repeatedly show that optimal muscle development comes from the right dose of amino acids, especially leucine, and whey protein has a high amount.
If you are an endurance athlete or doing a large volume of training, you must replace muscle glycogen, the stored energy in the body. This means you should definitely include carbohydrates in your post-workout meal.
Avoid caffeine after a workout as it inhibits recovery and elevates stress, which should be reduced as quickly as possible. Include foods with some vitamin C in your post-workout routine to help reduce stress.
Examples include:
- Vegetables such as peppers and greens
- Fruits, especially berries and citrus
PLAN FOR A MEAL OUT
A zero-tolerance approach to your nutrition will fail at some point. You can’t expect to go months without indulging in your favorite foods. Once per month or week, plan to eat a meal out. You’ll be leaner and more muscular for it.
The frequency of these meals can be adjusted as you track your progression. Start with one big meal out every 30 days, then try reducing it to every 20 days.
Don’t wing it and don’t binge – look at some menus and plan a really nice meal. Enjoy something great at your favorite restaurant with your favorite people. It’s far better than snacking on junk food in front of the TV.
Ensure the meal has ample protein and carbohydrates and finish with a dessert if you desire.
Remember, the next day’s first meal should be right back on track.
If the next morning you find that you’re visibly heavier and not more muscular, you probably ate too much. Next time, try having a little less or skip the dessert.
You can also make better choices about those foods. For instance, plan a meal using my survival guides, eating out with a calorie or protein goal in mind.
Eat the vegetables first, then the protein, to help reduce significant blood sugar spikes that can occur after eating a lot of carbohydrates.
Remember, the leaner you are, the more carbohydrates you can eat without gaining weight.
