TIP#3.13 - 5 Steps To Constructing A Perfect Nutrition Plan
Training is the only thing that can change the amount of muscle you have but Nutrition is responsible for sustaining, nourishing and repairing that muscle, and without optimal nutrition your improvement will only go so far. This is the first thing you must understand when constructing your perfect nutrition plan. The second thing is that you cannot out-eat Over Training. Your Central Nervous System recovers with Rest, not copious amounts of food. Huge amounts of food can also make Over-Training worse by exhausting your CNS further. You must allow your digestive system to Rest as well. And lastly, you must understand that more calories does not mean more muscle. You as an individual have a muscle building rate unique to you, which cannot be exellerated by over-eating - this will lead to quick fat gain and move you further away from your goals. These are 5 Steps that will help you construct a perfect nutrition plan and help you stay within the optimal parameters of Nutrition.
1. Establish Your Goals
Do you want to prioritise fat loss or prioritise muscle gain? Do not try to do both at the same time. Regardless of your goals if you train hard, consistently and with a good diet you can still build some muscle when prioritising fat loss, but make sure there is a clear distinction in your goals. Note also that you do not need to gain a lot of fat at all when prioritising muscle gain, but food intake will be higher and fat burning will become a preventative measure instead of an outright goal. You must not allow yourself to be blurred between these two, it is not productive and will make it hard to change your composition quickly.
2. It's Not About Calories
Forget the notion that fat burning and muscle building is about calories. Why? It is just not specific enough. Yes Calories do have meaning, but it is Nutrition that you must focus on. How is it possible to build muscle while burning fat? Because you will still be very well nourished during fat burning, and it is from that nourishment that your muscles will thrive. You can build muscle on a low amount of calories and burn fat on a high amount of calories it just depends on where those calories come from. Normally, when people focus on calories they end up losing weight when trying to cut down, but that weight is not all fat, but muscle too. They failed to address the need to stay nourished to maintain muscle and instead dropped their calories to a point where they would be in enough of a deficit to lose weight. Same goes for a common bulking diet, people increase calories to a point where they would gain weight rather than focus on what kind of nutrition their bodies need to build muscle.
3. What Is Optimal Nutrition Then?
Third Lesson, Carbohydrates do not build muscle. For a standard 6 foot tall man with a modern activity level, there is no need to eat more than 200g of Carbohydrate per day (100g for women), preferably a lot less. Obviously there are some exceptions dependant on certain activity levels, height, age etc BUT 200g is the limit for most desk job workers. This does not mean you cannot handle more, it simply means that this amount is enough (again, preferably less). Where does that leave you? It leaves you with having to get the rest of your nutrition from Protein and Fat - the only essential macro nutrients. How much do you need? See below for examples.
FOR MEN
To Lose Fat:
Carbohydrate: 100-150g
Protein: 250-300g
Fat: 60-80g
Start at the top of the estimate and reduce if no change occurs.
To Gain Muscle:
Carbohydrate: 100-150g
Protein: 250-300g
Fat: 100-150g
Start at the bottom of the estimation and increase if too hungry/ no change occurs. Further Increases in Fat can be made when changes halt.
FOR WOMEN:
To Lose Fat:
Carbohydrate: 70-120g
Protein: 180-230g
Fat: 40-60g
Start at the top of the estimate and reduce if no change occurs.
To Gain Muscle:
Carbohydrate: 70-120g
Protein: 180-230g
Fat: 80-100g
Start at the bottom of the estimation and increase if too hungry/ no change occurs. Further Increases in Fat can be made when changes halt.
4. Fat is Your Friend
There are many reasons why Fat is your friend but 3 reasons especially why Fat is number one when building muscle or burning fat. First is satiation, it makes you feel full and stems cravings for sugar. Second is that it's a much more efficient source of energy than Carbohydrates and has more than double the energy per gram. Thirdly and most notably it has little to no effect on Insulin. Insulin is a fat storing hormone and is only significantly stimulated by the ingestion of Carbohydrates. Furthermore, Fat burning itself cannot take place when Insulin levels are high. As a result, when you are trying to build muscle or burn Fat then eating the majority of your Calories from Fat will help prevent Fat gain. This is why Fat consumption is increased when trying to gain muscle, rather than raising Carbohydrates. Muscle Cells themselves are also constructed using Fatty acids, so like Protein they can be viewed as building blocks too.
5. Eat Clean
Macro Nutrients are important but there is also the factor of Micro Nutrients such as vitamins and minerals. Micro Nutrients play a vital role in our bodies too and must be addressed as part of a productive nutrition plan. Supplementation can help with this but we must also get them from our food. This means eating whole natural ingredients, fresh fruit and vegetables, unprocessed meats, nuts, seeds, omega 3 oils and plenty of water. Micro Nutrients are responsible for healthy hormone production, gene expression, bone health and much, much more. Construct a diet plan with the Macro Nutrient levels stated above using fresh whole ingredients from varying sources. This will ensure a healthy digestive system, endocrine system and general well being. Click here for more info on supplementation.
Thank You So Much For Reading
Matt The Trainer
Personal Trainer London
