Eat lean protein with each meal
Eating lean sources of protein is essential to building muscle. When you perform strength training and cardio, you are creating small, micro tears in your muscle fibers. This is the reason why, after an intense workout, you feel sore. As your muscles are repairing themselves, if you eat quality sources of protein after your workout, the muscle will rebuild a bit stronger than before the workout.
When you eat foods that do not have a lot of unhealthy fat and sugar, you build back up the muscles without adding unwanted fat into your body. In order to build your muscles back up bigger and stronger, you must feed your muscles proper nutrition. Muscles need protein in order to rebuild properly.
The International Society of Sports Nutrition recommends that healthy people who exercise 3 to 5 times per week should consume about 150 to 200 grams of lean protein each day. This is about 1 gram of protein per pound of your ideal bodyweight. For example, if your current weight is 255lbs, and you know your ideal weight is around 200 to 210, then aim to eat around 200 to 210 grams of protein each day. To paint a visual of what 200 grams of protein looks like, it’s about eight, 4oz skinless, boneless baked chicken breast.
That’s a lot of chicken! No worries, I will not recommend that you eat 200 grams of chicken per day.
Although baked, boneless, skinless chicken breast is a very healthy, lean source of protein, it is not the only source of lean protein. Healthy, lean sources of protein range from seafood (fish, shrimp), 90%
lean beef, eggs/egg whites, beans, nuts, quinoa, skim/fat free milk, soy products, hummus, cottage cheese and much more. Not all sources of protein are created equal. Some sources of protein contain high amounts of sugar and fat, which if consumed in high amounts daily, will lead to high cholesterol, fat gain and low energy. Look for relatively low fat sources of protein.
Recommendation:
I currently weigh about 200lbs. To ensure that I get my 200 grams of lean protein in each day, I pre-cook my meals and eat 4 to 5 protein based meals each day. I eat protein with all of my meals and snacks. Since I cook my meals, I know exactly what ingredients I am adding and exactly how many grams of protein I am eating. I also leave room in my diet for protein supplements (Protein Bars), which I consume when I am on the road or between meals when hungry and protein shakes (post workout Whey and Casein protein),
Ideal food portions are listed in the picture below. Ensure that each meal includes lean protein, complex carbs and healthy fats. Consumption of healthy carbs should occur primarily after a workout and early in the day. Healthy fats keep your hormone level stabilized. Avoid consuming a lot of carbs later in the day, to ensure you will not exceed your calories and gain fat. As the day proceeds, eat less and less starchy carbs and more vegetables. If you are hitting your weight loss goals each week, you may have 1 cheat meal for lunch on Monday as a reward for your hard work.
Also, consume about 30 grams of whey protein after your strength-training workout. Whey protein is a fast-absorbing protein that will allow you to recover from your workout much faster than not supplementing with Whey. Consume Whey within 30 minutes after your workout.
G.Y.M. - Shopping list of healthy sources of Protein, Carbs and Fat
Slowly cut back on fast food, restaurant food and processed food (white sugar, white bread and white pasta)
To lose weight, I slowly cut back on eating fast food, restaurant food and processed food. The key term here is SLOWLY. I did not change my eating habits overnight, but slowly started to swap out fast food for fresh fruits and vegetables. Now, after years of changing my eating habits, the temptation to eat fast food has all but died. In previous years, I ate fast food at least once a day. Now, I’ve cut that down to once per month. I can testify that abs are revealed by choices made in the kitchen by what you eat and drink. Look for low glycemic food choices. Low glycemic food choices are foods that will not spike your insulin, and will keep your body in a fat burning mode, and out of a fat storage mode.
When you consume a lot of processed carbs (above you’re recommended food intake range), and you fail to workout, your body will likely store that food as fat, rather than energy. Low GI Foods are food that will not spike blood insulin too high.
Here are some general guidelines when it comes to making smart food choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Choice high quality, low glycemic, lean protein for breakfast. This would include whole eggs, egg whites and whey protein (if you are exercising). Most breakfast cereals score high on the glycemic index. Old-fashioned oatmeal made from rolled oats is a good healthy carb choice. Whole-wheat toast is low glycemic, and milk, soymilk and low sugar yogurt are good dairy choices. Many fruits are low glycemic, including cherries, grapefruit, peaches, apples, pears, oranges, strawberries and kiwi.
Think meat and veggies when it comes to lunch. Salads are a great choice for lunch, but a few low-glycemic additions take salad from simple greens to main entree. Traditional salad ingredients, such as lettuce, tomato, carrots and mushrooms are all low glycemic. Add some protein and fiber with beans or cooked lentils. Skinless chicken, tofu, salmon or cheese provide low fat protein and, added to a vegetable salad, make a complete meal. Make sandwiches with whole grain bread. Have soup with your salads and sandwiches. Tomato, lentil and bean soups are low-glycemic, and you can make chicken noodle soup with egg noodles. Brown rice, boiled potatoes and boiled yams are also a great choice for starchy carbs.
As your day whines down, you want to consume less starchy carbs and more protein. Grilled, baked or broiled lean meats, or seafood with plenty of vegetables and a low-glycemic starchy side dish, make for easy dinners. Egg noodles, yams, whole-wheat spaghetti and brown rice are all low-glycemic. Boiled potatoes, wild rice and couscous fall in the medium range of the glycemic index. Keep your servings of starches small and offer two vegetable dishes with dinner from low-glycemic choices, such as broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots and eggplant.
Snacking is an important part of a low-glycemic diet. Several small meals a day helps keep blood sugar stabilized, so eat small meals and have a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. Fresh fruit is a simple choice. Hummus with raw vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli and cauliflower, is very low-glycemic. I like to eat a egg white/veggie omelet as a late night snack. I also like low carb, low sugar protein bars as a snack. Just ensure that whatever you eat, you are not exceeding your caloric intake range.
You don't have to give up dessert on a low-glycemic diet. Use alternatives to processed sugar, such as stevia, raw honey and maple syrup. Fruit trays are easy to prepare, but consider spicing things up with baked apples or poached pears. If you want something other than a sweet dessert, cheese trays with dried fruits, nuts and whole-wheat pita bread is a satisfying end to a meal. If you absolutely must have sugary snacks, like cookies, you can divide up the pack and hide them in the freezer. Put 3 to 5 cookies each in a small Ziplock baggie. Allow yourself only one baggie every other day, and store the rest of them in the freezer. Out of sight, out of mind! I believe in moderation of treats and snacks, not the total avoidance of them.
In keeping with the theme of this book, when it comes to food, it’s best to keep things simple. Keeping your food choices simple, fresh and consistent will be a key factor in your fat loss efforts. Before I began my fat loss journey, I was eating nearly all the wrong types of food. My weekly diet consisted of food with high fat, high sugar and hardly any real nutritional value.
Prior to my fat loss journey, I can count on one finger how many times per week I consumed fruit and veggies. I had two goals when it came to food, find it and eat it. Frankly put, my diet was terrible. I ate fast food nearly every day, multiple times per day. After leaving the military at 185 pounds in 2001, packing on 47 pounds of fat in 9 years through unhealthy eating, I knew it was time for change in my eating habits and food choices. Make smart choices and you too can lose fat and build muscle.
Track the food that you eat on a app, like Loseit! Or MyFitnessPal. You can even track it on the Food
Track Page.