I
get a good bit of email messages carrying the pleading question, "How
should I eat?" Looking for simplicity in my response, I've listed below
ten laws of wise eating; a concise summary of the rules of self feeding as
logical, as natural as awakening, washing, clothing, working and retiring.
These numbered steps should not be regarded as mean disciplines near impossible
to achieve or maintain. They should be ordinary habits established long ago
that perpetuate blessed living.
Why, I wonder, are they so foreign to so many?
1. Eat breakfast - don't skip.
2. Eat an additional 4-5 meals throughout the day.
3. Space them somewhat equally.
4. Eat a pre-workout meal for fuel, a post-workout meal to rebuild.
5. Assure a protein, carb, fat balance - accent
protein.
6. Supplement with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants.
7. Drink plenty of water.
8. Beware of excessive sugar, fat and salt intake.
9. Add considerable fiber. More green salads.
10. Avoid late eating, stress eating, gulping.
Do we fail to put gas, water and oil into our vehicle, a mere hunk of lifeless
steel that transports us across town? How much more must we consider and
carefully regulate the ingredients we put into our favorite bodies.
Reread the list, considering its worth and simple application. Practiced one
day at a time, this is a piece of cake. Oops!
GENERAL NUTRITION
Good nutrition, like good training, is simple - learn the basics and practice
them consistently. A little knowledge and a lot more discipline is the secret.
Apply yourself diligently - look ahead, don't look back and don't look for
shortcuts. There simply aren't any.
Health and fitness has climbed to the top of
Competition is fierce, the promises are bizarre and we're all confused,
suspicious and eventually numb. We have on our hands a zillion ways to diet, feed
ourselves and live our lives for fitness. Let's clear the air and put some
things in order.
RULE # 1- Stay away from fats, excessive salt and simple sugars. This
eliminates 99% of the fast foods, munchies and soft drinks. Who needs them? In
a few short weeks, you won't want them, wonder why you ate them and feel sick
if you do!
RULE # 2 - Eat a basic breakfast of complete carbohydrates and protein to set
up your metabolism for the day and to provide fuel and muscle building
ingredients. Basically, protein builds muscle and carbohydrate supplies fuel
for energy. Breakfast can be an easy to prepare meal from a quality protein
shake to a bowl of oatmeal, scoop of cottage cheese, fruit and coffee.
Remember, if you don't feed yourself a small wholesome meal in the morning,
your body will draw on your muscle tissue as a source of energy, putting you in
a slump and in muscle deficit. Add a good vitamin and mineral formula each
morning to put order and efficiency in your body chemistry.
RULE # 3 - With whatever effort it takes, feed yourself every three to four
hours throughout the day - each meal consisting again of protein and
carbohydrate. Any combination of the following is perfect: tuna/rice, lean
meat/baked potato, cottage cheese and fruit, chicken/pasta, etc. (Vegetarians -
take particular care in order to get plenty of protein in your diet.)
RULE # 4 - In simple English, to gain weight, eat more and eat more often. Be
ready for solid bulk weight - lean muscle comes slowly but surely. To lose
weight, eat less, still as often, consuming the majority of your calories early
in the day.
RULE # 5 - I have always instinctively leaned toward a higher intake of protein
over carbohydrate to build a lean body. Though contrary to popular opinion,
many doctors and top bodybuilders I've conferred with agree. Emphasize protein.
RULE # 6 - Between meal snacking is okay if the snack is truly nutritious - no
junk! Don't let them be a substitute for a meal or become a habit. Good snacks
are fruits or vegetables, low fat muffins, protein energy bars, nonfat yogurt,
whole wheat bagels, cottage cheese, etc.
RULE # 7 - Simple carbohydrates (sugar and honey) provide us with a quick
pickup but let us down just a quickly. Excessive sugar plays havoc with our
insulin metabolism and leads to fatigue and fat storage. Not good.
RULE # 8 - Fuel up before your workout. Eat a small easily digested meal 30-60
minutes before you train. With complex carbohydrates in your system, you'll
train harder, longer and with more enthusiasm. You won't experience low blood
sugar jitters or dizziness - you will experience a great muscle pump and
probably get that last rep. After a long day's work, protein shakes and BCAAs are the kings. It's also a good time to restock your creatine stores.
RULE # 9 - Similarly, you need to eat a hearty protein meal with plenty of carbs within 60-90 minutes of completion of your workout.
This is necessary to provide the muscle building materials to repair depleted
tissue and begin the process of building new muscle. Hint: A protein drink
works well for this. Again, restore creatine levels.
RULE #10 - The most important nutrient in your body is plain water. The quality
of your tissues, their performance and their resistance to injury is absolutely
dependent on the quality and quantity of the water you drink. Flood yourself
throughout the day, especially during the workout.
RULE #11 - Sleep, rest and relaxation are of prime importance. It's during
periods of sound sleep that our bodies recuperate and build muscle tissue.
I was brought up on meat and potatoes. This diet served me well through my
bulking years - somewhere along the line in high school I learned that proteins
were the building blocks of life - remember that one? - logical - stuck with
me.
By the time I made it to Muscle Beach, California, I was 240...there learned
how to dial in the menu - smaller meals more frequently, high protein, lo carbs, lo fat - as I preach today - not much has changed
over the 35 years for me. A little more strict if anything. Can't
enjoy/rationalize dessert, ice cream, pastry - even occasionally.
None of the diet trends attracted me - no sense to them for my needs. Ok to
jack up the carbs to bulk...good to bulk occasionally
for thorough repair and growth. Just keep animal protein on top.
FAT LOSS - WEIGHT LOSS
You build muscle, you lose fat. You build muscle, you gain strength, energy,
resistance, enthusiasm, creativity, ability, longevity, esteem - you hit the
jack pot.
Most diets don't work for long term fat loss. They're concerned with reducing
weight rather than burning excess bodyfat. They strip
off vital muscle, the body's major fat burning component. When you remain at a
particular bodyfat level for a long period of time,
your body recognizes that as your fat setpoint. Substantial
time (patience, discipline and fortitude) is required to lower your fat setpoint as you seek complete and permanent changes.
The body tissue you have today, good or bad, was built almost entirely from the
foods you have eaten over the past six months. Make a commitment today to renew
your body composition.
Avoid junk food, which contain saturated and trans fats. The big bonus here is
that after a few weeks, your tastes and habits will simply change. It will no
longer be discipline in action; you won't like the taste of high fat foods!
Sugar and salt become less interesting as well.
For an intense fat burning regime, try the following tricks.
With pad and pencil, simply list everything eaten.
Cut fat and salt intake radically.
Consider training in the morning - this raises the metabolic rate throughout
the day. This means more fat burning and more energy.
Drink 1-2 liters of H2O during the day.
An excellent pre workout and post-workout meal is a Bomber Blend protein drink.
And for ideal and aggressive efforts toward leanness, add the following
supplements: two SuperSpectrim vitamin/minerals, two
Amino Ammo or Anabol Naturals Amino Balance, one
Antioxidant & one gram Vitamin C.
Don't scrutinize. Permanent changes take time. Test and record your bodyfat level every two months. If you use a scale, weigh
only once a week. After an initial drop in weight, plan to lose one half to one
pound per week steadily - a realistic goal.
Have your larger meals early in the day, making dinner the lowest calorie meal.
After reaching your goal, be prepared to continue your diet in order to
establish a new fat setpoint.
Remember, protein is king. To assure consistent intake for muscle adaptation
and weight control a protein powder should be on your shopping list along with
the eggs and vegetables.
Always and forever, plan a disciplined low calorie day following any unusually
high calorie days. Enjoy an extended workout and the subsequent high blood
sugar pump.
WEIGHT GAIN
More food, more often. Don't gorge yourself but be prepared to eat and train
hard. Protein from red meat, poultry and fish build muscle most effectively.
Milk by the quarts, containers of cottage cheese and lots of eggs will add
significantly to your muscle bulk and power building.
Whole grain breads, cereals and muffins work well for carbohydrate and fiber
intake, while potatoes, rice and pasta are the most stable and popular sources
of carbs. They burn clean, and with intense training
they're not likely to store as bodyfat. Bring on the
vegetables of your choice, variety here is good. Complex carbs,
fiber abundant, vitamins, minerals and exotic micro nutrients lurk in these
foods.
Between meals shakes of Bomber Blend protein, plus peanut butter and bananas
are convenient and powerful ways to add to your positive calorie count.
Plan your menu daily. You'll need to eat often, upwards of six meals per day.
Don't overload your system, we can expect to absorb about 50 grams of muscle
building protein at a sitting, although this is not a hard and fast rule.
For serious weight gain commit to these principles:
Remember, lots of water, lots of calories.
Keep a training log. Record your meals, training program and poundages.
Only with heavy training will your heavy eating be productive. Add squats and deadlifts to your workouts.
Never allow your nutrition to falter, even for a few hours. Keep extra food,
protein drinks and supplements at work, in your gym bag and in your car. We're
on a mission.
Review the specific supplement section for information on the elite
bodybuilding nutrients.
For advanced training and elite performance, creatine,
BCAAs and glutamine do work, big time.
Don't neglect your aerobic work. 20 minutes, four times a week will keep you
from getting sluggish, increase you blood volume, raise your fat burning
metabolism and maintain maximum endurance for training on the gym floor.
Don't contemplate your navel - to get big and muscular you'll need to carry
bulk. Bulk's fun. Your back, shoulders and arms spread out, tugging on the
seams of your shirt. (This is mostly a "guy thing"...huge, bull,
monster, etc.) With the size comes power. Power enabling to train heavier and
harder and meaner. This training formula plus big eating equals big core
muscle. So ignore cuts and a trim waistline. Focus on the mass, muscle
separation and balance. There's a season for everything. There'll be a time for
muscularizing and getting ripped later.
FOOD SUPPLEMENTATION
Here many of us come to a crossroads. The gathering signposts of information
point in both directions. Yes, good supplements work, no, they don't. Put the
burdensome information aside and listen to your logic and instincts. How can
the body do well without them? At least take a good vitamin and mineral and a
protein supplement, forever and with confidence. They work hard for you and
should be regarded as an essential part of your food budget. Here's what you
can expect: increased muscle growth and strength, decreased bodyfat,
extended endurance, more energy, improved muscular recovery, resistance to
injury and illness and increased metabolism.
I've done a lot of examining and experimenting and comparing with my peers over
the years in both training and nutrition. You learn to glean through the heap
and separate the trash from the good stuff. Here's what was left after
everything else was thrown away. They work. These nutrients, these brand names
are worth their weight in gold.
A high quality vitamin/mineral will improve your body chemistry, aid in muscle
growth, recuperation and resistance and your protein drinks serve the protein
and nutrients you need during your busy, hard-pressed days. They are
inexpensive meals if prudently mixed with low fat milk, and egg, a banana and
ice. Quick, convenient fortifiers that lift you, take you forward or at the
very least, keep you from sliding back. I count on the above food intakes and
don't short change myself by viewing them as costly supplements for the rich
and famous and foolish.
SUPER SPECTRIM VITAMIN MINERAL - Two in the morning, two at night will cover
your vitamin/mineral needs at all levels of performance. Though not a megadose formula, the ingredients are totally absorbed
because of costly cold processing and the patented time release. I've known
these manufacturers for 20-plus years and simply trust them.
BOMBER BLEND PROTEIN POWDER - Formulated to my personal preferences, it's my
favorite and one I know will serve you well.
Like leaves on the tree the landscape is full of protein powders and meal
replacements. Each, of course, by far better than the other. Whey protein from
milk has been underlined as the best and casein has been relegated to a less
important position on the scale.
Marketing and product sales - the buck - has brought about this exaggerated
commentary. Truth is, both whey and casein are very good, often of
complementary biological value. Because of molecular structure, whey protein
seems to be rapidly absorbed, yet often lost to energy provision. Casein on the
other hand is more slowly absorbed and offers a long term amino synthesis.
A recent statement by Jerry Brainum in a research
paper on protein supps and sources sums it up.
"Both whey protein and casein provide beneficial effects. They're absorbed
at different rates and elicit different metabolic responses. In reality they
complement each other and should be consumed together for maximum
benefit." He goes on to say, "I don't think that soy protein offers
benefits for bodybuilders. Also, the amino acid pattern in soy is inferior to
that of milk proteins and not as favorable for promoting growth."
This is good for starters.... and it's the basis for our Bomber Blend formula.
SUPER SPECTRIM AND ANABOL NATURALS AMINO ACIDS - the full spectrim
of amino acids particularly arranged for muscle growth and tissue repair.
Freeform amino acids don't need to be metabolized by the liver and are absorbed
directly into the blood stream, therefore they are immediately ready for muscle
recovery.
CREATINE - I've used creatine regularly for several
years, since it first came on the market as a sports supplement. Having
observed no adverse side effects, I simply enjoy the benefits - maximum muscle
contraction, the strength boost translating into hard, efficient workouts, and
the resulting vitality and muscle pump throughout the workout.
To get to the fax, Jax: creatine
monohydrate is an amino acid derivative responsible in the production of
adenosine triphosate (atp)
in the body's energy cycle. ATP is the spark plug of cellular energy that
enables us to contract our muscles for the initial 10 to 12 seconds of intense
muscular performance. The efficiency of this energy is observed in short term
explosive movements: sprinting, weightlifting, martial arts.
We bodybuilders engaging in sets of 8-12 reps benefit greatly by increasing our
ever diminishing stores of creatine by quality
supplementation. Red meat is the primary source of this ingredient and unless
you are a large consumer, chances are your reservoirs are low.
Creatine's enhanced short term energy is reflected in
increased and enduring strength, maximum pump, the resultant heightened
training spirit and performance, and ultimately muscular growth. BINGO.
Research supports drinking lots of water -mo H2O- while on creatine.
Load as suggested... powder over caps, and to ensure its full benefit, mix creatine in a glass of good warm water. Avoid drinking
caffeine directly with the creatine as it causes the
body to surrender water. The efficiency of creatine
depends on the high content of water and cell volumization
- that tight and firm feeling. Further, don't mix this helper with fruit juice
as this tends to neutralize its activity and produce the waste product creatinine. No thanks.
NUTRITION BRAKES
Let me put on the brakes and coast for awhile. From time to time I'll remind you
that we are an information seeking, info-packed people. This is to our credit
and yet is ironically our great fault. We've become subject to information,
swallowed up by technology and oppressed by the intellect. Nothing comes
naturally, instincts have shriveled and each and every thing has become a
"study."
The more I ready about nutrition and exercise, the less I understand. Do you
notice the confusion, indecision and argument all the "latest data"
provides? Who really needs an encyclopedia of clinically researched reports,
the pages and endless pages of hashed and rehashed details to build muscle,
lose fat and get stronger?
Nobody.
You wanna go nuts, instantly? Read the ads in your
favorite muscle mag. It's like drowning in icy
waters, overcome by sharks and oil spills.
Stop. Look. Listen. It's simple, dear people. Read my keys to bodybuilding.
That's all there is...work, apply the basics, love yourself in a healthy, Godly
way, get to know yourself and persist. Getting to know yourself and humbly supporting
yourself is the greatest attribute of this sport. Ask a worthy peer, a mentor -
steadfast and modest.
I'll prepare sound truths for us regularly. Add to the list of tips and hints,
define the worthy and not-so-worthy latest stuff so we don't feel left out, in
the dark or fooled. Most of all I'll try to encourage, inspire and keep you on
target.
IT'S TUNA AND WATER TIME
April 2004. Warm and glowing. You want to lose some bodyfat
and keep the muscle maybe gain some while you're at it. Why not? It's not an
easy task yet you notice with further daydreaming that it's got a kind of ring
to it, almost poetic. Lose some fat, gain some muscle. Cute. It's like a little
jingle. Lose some fat, gain some muscle. Lose some fat - now you can't get it
out of your head - gain some muscle. By late evening it becomes sort of a
mantra. Whatever. A chant. You try to sleep lose some fat, gain some muscle.
It's ok. You're on the right track. I repeat - this is no easy task but one
worth pursuing. Somehow you've found your way to this site and I presume others
like it. You work out - YES - and are nutrition conscious - good - good - let's
keep the ball rolling. As science has proven, a ball that ceases to roll
mysteriously turns into a square and never rolls again. Sad.
The following technique is one I've strongly wanted to suggest in the past but
hesitated because it's hard-core and doesn't follow the rules. Athletes,
bodybuilders in particular, practice this protein exclusive principle to muscularize before competition. You are going to eat tuna
and water for three days. You see, only the strong shall survive.
Psyche up. Starting Monday you will be consuming water by the jugs - 2-4 liters
a day - and 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of. Back this with your
vitamins and minerals two times a day, branch chain aminos
before and after your workouts and a nightly portion of Metamucil for fiber.
Get hungry? Have another can of tuna.
Forget what you want, what you feel like, what you read. You are in the
trenches on the front lines where you will make the difference. Your energy may
dip before it rises but your body chemistry will soon adapt. Be strong.
As needed, grumble to yourself but master your attitude. This harsh jumpstart
never fails to kick in the metabolism and set the weight tumbling.
Later in the week bring in chicken, low fat cottage cheese and salad or your
favorite steamed vegetable to elaborate your menu without expanding it
significantly. You're feeding the muscle. Here's a delightful bedtime snack . .
. . . tuna outta the can, scoop of cottage cheese and
cool, clear water . . . . .Combine this with some nocturnally released GH
and....Presto.
Exercise with moderate weights for clean reps to accommodate temporary low
calorie strength loss. Press on as the body adapts and you become familiar and
confident. This is a rigid practice to test your resolve, investigate your
chemistry, break some troublesome habits, and narrow ever widening margins. It
will bring you to the doorstep of the ketogenic diet
where protein intake, exclusive of carbs, creates a ketone burning system for energy. Remember, certain aminos combine to form glucose for energy as well.