I normally charge for this but if you're motivated enough to
sit down and write out the steps YOU need to take to reach your goal, props to
you. Just make sure you've read all the referenced links in this post to know
the hows and whys before you ask me questions. If you feel the urge to ask me
something that's already clearly explained in this post, hire me and I'll
repeat it for you.
This is 1 of 4 nutritional approaches I use for my clients
to eat for maintenance and fat loss. The idea comes from Lyle McDonald’s Rapid
Fat Loss Diet. It’s basically a diet that’s set up around meeting the body’s
essential needs to maintain as much muscle mass as possible (given that you
train with resistance) while everything else non-essential are just calories
that you get to play with depending on your goal and deadlines.
If your goal is fat loss then you reduce the intake of the
non-essential calories (or I call them flexible calories) from your diet to
lose the weight. If you goal is to make your diet as flexible as possible, you
eat whatever foods you like as long as it fits that caloric budget (allowance)
you have.
I wrote about it here for calorie counters but this post will make
it a little easier to follow for those who hate tracking everything.
Find out what is the most
appropriate rate of fat loss and approach most suitable for
you before you proceed with the diet set up.
How you use your caloric budget will depend on your goal and
preference: rate of fat loss, food options, workout schedule, allergies,
dieting experience, and many, many other factors.
Here it is.
The Tracking Protein-Only Approach
the research shows that as long as you ingest 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight (a very general and doable recommendation), you can maintain or increase muscle/strength on top of resistance training.
the research shows that as long as you ingest 1g of protein per 1lb of bodyweight (a very general and doable recommendation), you can maintain or increase muscle/strength on top of resistance training.
I wrote about it here.
Most of these protein sources will
come with dietary fat (cheese, ribs, milk, shrimp) that will cover our needs
for essential fatty acids, already.
I wrote about it here.
Since a diet rich in protein and
some added fruits and vegetables will cover the body’s most basic needs to
function healthily under normal conditions, the rest of the calories can be
used to 1) support training and recovery, 2) offer flexibility in your food
choices, 3) reduce overall energy balance to lose body fat, or 4)gain
muscle mass with resistance training.
As long as you meet the numbers for
your essential amino acids (protein) and your essential fatty acids (tag along
dietary fat that comes with the protein), everything else really doesn’t
matter. Doesn't matter, as in, cut it if you're trying to lose weight
or be it cookies and ice creams as long as it's within your overall caloric
allowance to maintain your current weight.
Since you already met your essential needs (EAA and EFA), it
doesn't matter what the rest of your calories come from.
My Pizza Diet will further elaborate this point.
If you’re already a calorie counter and prefer it, you’re
better off counting everything and make sure you’re doing it right. Here are 2
articles for you calorie counters to get started. Here & Here.
If you hate the idea of counting EVERYTHING but still like
to have a good idea how many grams of protein you’re consuming to ensure muscle
retention and good health, the guidelines below will help you better prepare
and structure your diet.
Guideline
If you feel that tracking everything you put in your mouth
is too much work, this approach will work best for you. For those looking for
more flexibility, you can just track protein alone and take care of the
essential fat by eating fish products couple times a week or take fish oil
(3g/day).
As long as your proteins are lean, there is no point to
count your fat intake. You will meet the 20g
minimum for EFA easily unless you’re following a misguided
plant-base diet.
Since your carbs intake will be generally low, too, not
counting carbs isn’t a big deal. Do understand that they are not essential to the body and you can reduce your
carbs as much as you want to get faster results or as little as you want to
support training and have more flexibility in your diet.
Allow
yourself couple pieces of fruit, moderate the sugary condiments on your meat
items, stay away from soda and juice products (stick with diet or low sugar
stuff) and you should be able to keep carbs under 100g/day. This can be even
more easily achieved if you do I.F.
How to implement I.F. here.
Pick your
hardest 1-2 workouts of the week to have the starch, if you must have
them. Do not give yourself this flexibility if all you’re doing is cardio or
attending boot camps where they don’t encourage lifting heavy weights. You
don’t deserve it.
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/06/cardio-how-much-do-you-really-burn.html
Earn your carbs through weight lifting and you can have potatoes, yam, rice, corn, soy, oats, or processed carbs like chips, cupcake, bread, pasta, or cookies. Again, carbohydrates are not a part of the body's essential needs so if you rather eat more meat or simply want faster results, take in less carbs.
If you're an alcohol drinker, have some self-control. 1 or 2 glass/can a day is acceptable if you can't live without it, although they are still just calories that you don't need to sustain life. You don't have to count them either.
Read about it here.
Earn your carbs through weight lifting and you can have potatoes, yam, rice, corn, soy, oats, or processed carbs like chips, cupcake, bread, pasta, or cookies. Again, carbohydrates are not a part of the body's essential needs so if you rather eat more meat or simply want faster results, take in less carbs.
If you're an alcohol drinker, have some self-control. 1 or 2 glass/can a day is acceptable if you can't live without it, although they are still just calories that you don't need to sustain life. You don't have to count them either.
Read about it here.
Minimum Protein Requirement.
The fatter you are and more carbs you allow yourself to eat (more than 11g),
the less protein you’ll need. Aim for 0.5 - 0.7g of protein per pound of
bodyweight per day and play with that number to see how well you adhere to your
diet. Men above 15% bodyfat or female above 25% should use this formula.
Estimate your bodyfat here
Estimate your bodyfat here
The leaner and more active you are or the less carbs that are willing to
tolerate in your diet (less than 60g/day), the more protein you’ll need to consume to spare muscle
loss. Aim for 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight if you fall into this
category.
To ensure you get enough protein, below is a chart for
figuring out how to hit your target while making your grocery shopping/meal
planning experience as painless as possible. Print is out and stick it to the
fridge if it helps you.
• Hamburger patty, 4 oz – 28 grams protein
• Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
• Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce
• Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
• Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce
Chicken:
• Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein,
• Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
• Drumstick – 11 grams
• Wing – 6 grams
• Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams
• Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein,
• Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
• Drumstick – 11 grams
• Wing – 6 grams
• Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams
Fish:
• Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
• Tuna, 6 oz can - 40 grams of protein
• Most fish fillets or steaks are about 22 grams of protein for 3 ½ oz (100 grams) of cooked fish, or 6 grams per ounce
• Tuna, 6 oz can - 40 grams of protein
Pork:
• Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
• Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz – 29 grams
• Ham, 3 oz serving – 19 grams
• Ground pork, 1 oz raw – 5 grams; 3 oz cooked – 22 grams
• Bacon, 1 slice – 3 grams
• Canadian-style bacon (back bacon), slice – 5 – 6 grams
• Pork chop, average - 22 grams protein
• Pork loin or tenderloin, 4 oz – 29 grams
• Ham, 3 oz serving – 19 grams
• Ground pork, 1 oz raw – 5 grams; 3 oz cooked – 22 grams
• Bacon, 1 slice – 3 grams
• Canadian-style bacon (back bacon), slice – 5 – 6 grams
Eggs and Dairy:
• Egg, large - 6 grams protein
• Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams
• Cottage cheese, ½ cup - 15 grams
• Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
• Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
• Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
• Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz
• Egg, large - 6 grams protein
• Milk, 1 cup - 8 grams
• Cottage cheese, ½ cup - 15 grams
• Yogurt, 1 cup – usually 8-12 grams, check label
• Soft cheeses (Mozzarella, Brie, Camembert) – 6 grams per oz
• Medium cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss) – 7 or 8 grams per oz
• Hard cheeses (Parmesan) – 10 grams per oz
NOTE:
An ounce of meat or fish has approximately 7 grams of
protein.
A pound of meat weighs around 16oz.
1lb of meat = 16oz x 7g = 112gram of protein.
Sample Set Ups
If you’re a 160lb female who sits
around and don’t train, you would take your bodyweight (160) times 0.5 to find
out what is the minimum protein requirement you need (while keeping
everything else low) to diet down your body fat in a healthy way.
160 x 0.5 = 80g/day. That’s
11.5oz of meat a day. So if you shop 1x a week, you’ll need about 80oz (5lb) of
meat a week to cover your needs for essential protein and fat.
If you’re 250lb male and is currently training 2-3x/week,
you would need 250 x 0.8 = 200g/protein a day. That’s roughly 1.8lbs of
meat a day or 12.5lb a week.
So, if for one day you planned to eat tuna, pork chop, and
eggs and let's say you only need 120g of protein that day. You can eat 3 pieces
of pork chop which gives you 66g of protein, 6oz of tuna to get the 40g, and 2
eggs (12g). That comes out to be 118g of protein which is pretty close to the
target.
Grocery Shop
To make grocery shopping easier for you, that’s a little
more than 1lb of meat you should try to consume a day to meet your MINIMUM
protein needs. So if you shop 1x a week, you’ll need about 7-8lb of meat a
week.
Remember, 120g is the MINIMUM, so if you want to ensure satiety
eating a low fat, low carbs, and low calories diet, always increase the protein
first before adding the rest of the calories from other macronutrients to keep hunger at bay.
The Minimum and the Minimalists Approach
The lowest overall calorie a short female would need would be around 700kcal and men around 900-1000kcal a day depending on body frame, training experience, and current fatness. That's basically the lowest caloric intake I would ever recommend someone to hit if they're trying to meet a deadline without losing too much muscle, experiencing health issues, or lose their mind.
Obviously there will be hunger issues and probably won't support most HIIT or performance training eat at that low of caloric intake but then again, this is mainly for fat loss. If you train intensely, you can eat a little more carbs.
To sum up, eat your lean protein (120g), take your fish oil
(if you’re not a fish eater), take couple multi-vitamins a day and drink plenty
water and coffee. Keep your meat lean and eat your non-starchy carbs. Eliminated everything else that is not 'essential' will help you reach the greatest caloric deficit you
need to lose body fat.
At any point you get hungry 1-2hrs after you just had a
meal, you probably didn’t eat enough protein and fiber in that meal.
Since counting calories every day is
not sustainable (although some people are perfectly fine with counting all the
way until they reach their goal), after a week of doing this,
you’ll get better at eyeballing food portions and intuitively know how much you should eat to hit your protein needs to keep
seeing results.
1. Allow yourself couple pieces of fruit a day and moderate the sugary condiments on your meat items.
2. Stay away from soda, juice products since they don’t do
much for satiety. Even protein shakes. I rather you eat a 60g/protein steak
then drink a 60g whey. The steak will carry you longer. Stick with diet or low
sugar drinks if you must have them.
3. Sugar and starches should mainly be consumed after a
workout. None if you don’t train or is still a beginner (6-8 weeks experience)
in the weight room. You have to earn your carbs. Keep in mind
that when eating for post workout, this is not the time to binge, for most recreational trainees, 100g/day is
enough if you’re tracking. Bsically
give yourself a fistful size of carbs if you're a female and 2 fistful if you're a dude.
4. For very overweight dieters (20lbs over your ideal weight), you don’t need post
workout carbs or shakes. The fat on your belly and thighs is the best post workout fuel you'll ever need, so
let it be used.
5. Skipping breakfast (and lunch if
you can) and eat less frequently overall can also help reduce caloric intake
spontaneously while making each meal portion bigger to enjoy. Just drink
coffee, instead.
6. If you don’t see the result you’re looking for or that the
scale is moving too slow, consider buying leaner cut meats because it’s likely
that your dietary fat is still too high. Many Atkins and
Paleo dieters often fall for this.
Here are some fatty meats you might want to
watch for when trying to meet your protein requirement: ground beef, beef ribs,
pork loin, pork chop, pork ribs, baby back ribs, bacon, and most dairy
products will contain more fat. Here are some vegetable sources that may still
be too high on starches if you tend to eat these a lot: beets, carrots, squash, yam, potato. Here are fruits that are low on fiber and pretty high on
sugar: grapes, papaya, peaches, watermelon.
7. If you're struggling with hunger and having already given yourself lots of flexible calories (carbs/fat/alcohol), you're probably not sleeping enough (8hrs), too stressed out from work, school or family, or you're doing too much cardio. If those things are not taken care of, don't expect to lose fat easily.
Read this about stress and the danger of excessive cardio
At the end of the day, if you don't get hungry, wouldn't it be nice to not eat much (or at all) until you're at your ideal weight? Master your hunger hormones and make your diet as painless as possible.
Read this about appetite and hormones that regulates it.
8. Could just be a water retention issue. Read this to not have a mental breakdown over it.
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/11/water-retention-messin-with-your-head.html
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2011/11/water-retention-messin-with-your-head.html
9. If you're freaking out about whether your diet is clean enough, read this and relax.
10. If your issue is with the last bit of stubborn fat and not fat fat, read this
http://jyfitness.blogspot.com/2012/05/why-are-stubborn-fat-so-stubborn.html
Training
Here are some good workout routine and tips on training to
maximize your muscle retention as you embark on a caloric reduction diet. The less you train, the more muscle you'll lose as you lose weight. For long term weight maintenance, building muscle will help you increase your metabolism and prevent fat rebound.
Why you need tension for your muscle to develop muscle
Fitness Goals you should have
A Very Simple Workout Routine:
How to Shop For a Qualified Trainer to Guide You Through Lifting
Let one of these stories inspire you to keep going
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