Calories, calories, calories.

Calories give us energy. They also give us a headache.

Trying to figure out how many calories you need each day, how much is in your plateful of food, counting the numbers on food labels. Yawn.

Okay, calories are important and the general consensus is that if you eat too many you’ll pile on the pounds. If you don’t eat enough you’ll lose weight. We get it.

In the previous article in this Weight Training Diet 101 series, we focused on when to eat – and showed why meal frequency is irrelevant when it comes to building muscle and losing fat. Whether it’s one huge feast or 8 small platefuls, it’s getting in the right nutrients and calories over the course of the day that counts.

“No need to count calories like some sorta maniac mathematician.”

This article is more about what foods to eat, to avoid, and why. We’ll look at five key steps to nailing your diet…without having to count calories like some sorta maniac mathematician.

Actually, there’s a simple method to measuring your meals…and by training in the right way you can manipulate your metabolism to burn even more fat than you normally would. I’ll show you them all later.

We’ll then look at macronutrients – protein, carbs and fats – in your weight training diet and how to get the mix right for building muscle and staying lean. What good guys to eat and what to avoid.

And that was the problem with one woman I worked with for 5 or 6 years. She was so fixated on calories that she actually ended up eating crap. It seemed like she was permanently on a diet but I’m pretty sure that she may actually have gained a few pounds by the time I left that job (although I didn’t demand a public weigh-in from her before I said goodbye).

Here’s where she went wrong – she would stroll in with every day with her usual carrier bag filled with supposedly healthy foods. In the kitchen fridge I would see her ‘low fat’ yoghurts and ‘reduced calorie’ microwave meals. Or she would be munching on ‘healthy’ breakfast bars for a mid-morning snack.

All processed garbage.

These foods may have been lower in calories – but they were high in sugar, salt, all sorts of additives, and had little nutritional value. This is what manufacturers do to try and replace the natural flavouring lost by removing fat and calories from foods.

My workmate had good intentions, but this was bad food. After a few weeks of the mind-numbing constant calorie counting I would hear her moaning to others about not losing a single pound.

Eating this bland, tasteless food with no results would lead to frustration and I’d bet my house (and garden shed) that she binged on chocolate within 6.8 seconds of getting in her front door at night.

Anyways, this would also inevitably led to a meltdown approximately every 3.5 weeks. She would fall off the wagon, go on a junk food binge, put on weight, and then go round in circles trying to lose it again.

That’s one example of why diets don’t work. It also underlines why focusing on making proper food choices is the way to go rather than being obsessed with calorie totals.

How Much Energy (Calories) Do You Need Each Day?

A kilocalorie (kcal), better known as calorie, is a measure of the amount of energy in our food. How many calories we require each day depends on various factors including sex, age, height, weight, and activity levels.

But without getting too complicated and trying to make it a perfect science, you can figure out roughly how many calories an average active person requires for energy and to maintain the same level of weight by using this simple calculation:

Bodyweight in lbs x 15 = number of calories. ( So a 170lbs guy needs around 2,550 calories per day ).

This is a rough estimate, although for people with an ectomorph body type – aka skinny hard-gainers like myself who struggle to put on weight – the bodyweight total would be multiplied by 16 or 17.

To lose weight you need a caloric deficit. Sports dietitians and sports nutritionists recommend reducing your daily calorie total by around 20% to lose weight – and upping it by 20% to gain weight.

Therefore the 170lbs guy’s 2,550 calories would drop to 2,000 for losing weight, or increase to around 3,000 to gain weight.

Weight Training Diet: A Different Approach

I do think you should figure out your caloric needs from the outset using the simple formula above – and I do think you should have a rough idea of how many calories are in the foods you eat most.

But counting calories every single day? Doing sums every time you take a bite to eat or have a drink?

Life’s too short. You should enjoy your food rather than stressing over numbers.

Those numbers may well be wrong anyway. First, the food manufacturers will not always be spot on with their calorie totals. And how do you know how many grams of oats are in your bowl of porridge, or how many grams of chicken are in those drumsticks on your plate?

Are you going to start taking a set of scales to restaurants with you…?

5 Steps To Better Nutrition – Without Counting Calories

Here’s a much better idea – go back to basics.

1. Lay solid foundations – eat clean, cut out sugar, focus on fresh produce, and don’t forget your vitamins and minerals.
2. Figure out your body type and a suitable ratio of macronutrients – protein, carbs and fats – you should be eating.
3. Focus on making the right food choices – the best sources of protein, carbs and fats rather than counting numbers.
4. Roughly measure food portions simply using your hands.
5. Eat when you’re hungry, not because of the time or due to some calorie counting exercise.

#1  Lay Solid Foundations

Eating clean in the broad sense means reducing the following as much as possible in your diet: ready meals, takeaways, sugary drinks and foods, and generally all processed junk.

It also means drinking plenty of water and making sure you’re getting enough vitamins and minerals to give your body the right tools to keep you healthy and to support your weight training goals. Shoot for 3 litres of water per day and take a good quality multivitamin and mineral supplement every day.

But how else do you know if what you’re eating is garbage?

• If the ingredients list on the packaging is long. This generally means the food has been filled with too many additives and preservatives, and is likely to be processed to the point where there is little nutritional value.

• If sugar is listed close to the top of the ingredients list. This suggests there is a considerable amount of sugar in the food. Be aware that sugar is not always listed as sugar. Look out for the names of its man-made dodgy cousins including high fructose corn syrup, dried cane syrup, sucrose and brown rice syrup. If there are several of them in the one food item then I’d steer clear.

• If the salt content is too high. Usually listed as ‘sodium’ on packaging, be careful that there’s not too much in what you’re eating. The recommended daily allowance of salt is 6g – one teaspoon – per day to avoid health issues like high blood pressure.

• If it has been cooked in the microwave. Microwaves zap the life out of your food, robbing them of their digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals. Most pre-packaged ready meals for the microwave often have little nutritional value in the first place compared to a meal cooked with fresh ingredients.

How can you make what you’re eating more healthy?

• Include more fruit and vegetables in your diet. Stating the obvious here I know, but let’s be honest most of us don’t eat nearly enough fruit and veg. Four or five servings per day is recommended to provide vitamins, minerals and a healthy source of carbohydrates.

• Cook fresh as much as possible. When buying the ingredients and preparing food yourself you know exactly what’s going into your meals. No dodgy additives on the menu!

• Invest in a vegetable steamer and blender. These are the two must haves in my kitchen. The steamer helps cook your vegetables lightly so that they retain their goodness. Boiling for too long, and even worse microwaving, remove the vitamins, minerals and enzymes from plant foods. Meanwhile, a blender is essential for making healthy protein shakes, either for breakfast or post-workout.

#2 Choose Your Macronutrients Based On Your Body Type

When it comes to macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fat) that make up our diet there is no magic formula as we’re all different. But the Institute of Medicine calculated an acceptable macronutrient distribution range for active people as: carbohydrate (45%-65% of energy), protein (10%-35% of energy), and fat (20%-35%).

Our bodies are different so there’s no perfect ratio of macronutrients that applies to everyone, but by figuring out our body type we can get a fair idea of how to mix up our carbs, protein and fat.

Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph body types each have different metabolic rates and hormonal responses to food.

 

Do you fall squarely into one of these types – or are you stuck between two of them? I was a 100% ecto before I took up weight training, but I would say I’m more ecto-meso now that I’ve managed to gain and retain muscle mass due to years of training.

Ectomorph – aka the ‘hard gainer’ – have a faster metabolism and a higher tolerance for carbs They can eat more junk food than most and generally get away with it. A typical ratio would be: carbs 55%, protein 25%, fats 20%.

Mesomorph – the people skinny and heavier dudes love to hate. They have a naturally athletic physique with more muscle mass and seem to get in great shape with less effort. Moderate carbs with higher ratio of protein and fats. Typical ratio would be: carbs 45%, protein 35%, fats 20%.

Endomorph – people with these body types pack on muscle with ease, but have a bigger, rounder frame and can struggle to lose weight. Their diet should have fewer carbs, with more protein and healthy fats. Typical ratio – carbs – 35%, protein – 35%, fats – 30%.

These are just averages and the ratios can be adjusted depending on the particular goal at the time. For example, an endomorph who wants to lose weight might cut carbs down to 10-15%, bump up the number of protein foods, and add a few more healthy fat food sources. Or a mesomorph looking to develop a six pack might also cut carbs so that the body turns to fat stores for energy.

#3 Make The Right Food Choices

The sources of your carbs, protein and fat are what’s most important. And It’s not as simple as just ditching McDonald’s or Burger King. Brown rice is high in carbs…but so is white bread. Deep fried chicken is high in protein and fat…so are almonds. Which are you gonna choose?

Let’s take each of the three macronutrients and sort the good from the bad.

Carbohydrates – The Good vs The Bad

Carbs are the body’s main source of fuel and it’s a straight up battle between complex (the good guys) and simple (bad) carbs. Complex carbohydrates are unprocessed and contain the fiber found naturally in the food, while refined carbs have been processed and have had the natural fiber stripped out.

Simple carbohydrates are made up of easy to digest sugars with little nutritional value for your body. The higher in sugar, the worse the carbohydrate is for you. Obviously cookies, sweets and desserts are among the worst offenders – but you can still enjoy them occasionally.

A much better option is for your daily intake to be made primarily made up of complex carbohydrates. Dietitians and nutritionists compare carbohydrate foods based on their glycemic index. This basically refers to how quickly and how high your blood sugar will rise after eating carbohydrates. Lower glycemic foods are healthier and most, but not all, complex carbs fall into this category.

The Goodfellas: sources of complex carbs include vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, brown rice, beans, legumes, nuts and seeds. Fill up on these.

The Bad Guys: common simple carbohydrate foods include cakes and cookies, pastries and desserts, white breads, white pasta, white rice. Limit these.

Protein

Protein’s main role is for tissue growth and repair. Forget building muscle without a decent supply of protein. But what are the best protein sources to support your weight training efforts?

First, let’s break protein down. Protein is made up of ‘amino acids’, which are the building blocks of the body for repairing and developing muscle. They also play a role in energy, weight loss, and brain function. Of the 20 amino acids, there are nine ‘essential’ ones, which the human body cannot produce.

What should be on the menu to build muscle? Food sources considered ‘complete proteins’ – meaning they contain all nine essential amino acids – or a combination of ‘incomplete proteins’ to ensure you cover all bases.

Complete proteins are primarily animal-based foods and a few plant-based sources. These include: meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, quinoa, buckwheat, hemp seeds.

Have you Googled those last two already? No, they’re not on my shopping list either. And don’t panic if you are a vegetarian or vegan. You can still grab all essential amino acids and build muscle by feasting on a variety of incomplete protein sources including nuts, seeds, grains and vegetables.

There are also some awesome plant-based protein supplements, such as brown rice protein and vegan blend protein, that I switched to years ago. For more details visit my resources page.

Fats

Fat clogs your arteries. Fat makes you fat. Fat causes obesity. Fat started World War Two…I reckon fat gets a pretty bad rap. For decades the medical establishment had us believe that fat is at the root cause of our health problems.

‘Eat a low fat diet and you will lose weight,’ they told us. ‘Cut down on fat for better health,’ they promised.

FACT: The ‘low fat’ diet was first recommended to Americans back in 1977 – yet statistics show that obesity has more than doubled since then.

FACT: The standard Mediterranean diet is as high as 40% fat, yet this extensive five year study proves it cuts the risk of heart disease and strokes by around a third.

FACT: Eating those Satanic saturated fats, that we have been told we must avoid, is the best way to reduce a substance called lipoprotein – which is strongly linked to heart disease. This article by US heart disease specialist Dr William Davis explains more.

Just like carbs, there are good guys and bad guys when it comes to fat. There are four main types of fat: saturated (good), monounsaturated (good), polyunsatured (okay, but when heated we have a problem) and trans-fats (bad). Here’s how I sum the whole situation up:

* Saturated fats are better for us than we were led to believe.

* Trans-fats (aka man-made ones) are to be avoided like the plague.

* Monounsaturated are good for us.

* Polyunsaturated fats are okay in moderation.

The Goodfellas: fish, unrefined animal fat, plant foods such as nuts, seeds, olives and avocados, eggs and dairy, olive oil, coconut oil etc.

The Bad Guys: fried foods, baked goods, margarine, and processed snack foods. I’ve also lumped vegetable oils (such as sunflower, corn, canola etc) in with the bad guys, but there is still debate about whether or not they’re good for us. I err on the side of caution. Here’s a great article on oils by paleo diet expert Mark Sisson, author of The Primal Blueprint.

But Won’t Saturated Fats Clog My Arteries And Kill Me In A Slow, Horrible, Blubbery Death?

Not if it’s from natural, unprocessed foods. It has taken a while, and there is still plenty of debate over saturated fats, but it seems health experts are finally catching up to the idea that added sugars are public enemy #1, with dodgy man-made trans-fats also culpable.

Plenty of leading medical researchers and top health and fitness experts, including the hugely-respected Charles Poliquin and Mark Sisson, who I’ve just mentioned above. They have long argued the case for saturated fats.

 “I’ve been brazen enough to recommend saturated fats, found in animal products and some tropical oils, as part of a healthy diet, and I’ll say it again. Saturated fats serve critical roles in the human body. They make up half of cell membrane structure.

“They enhance calcium absorption and immune function. They aid in the body’s synthesis of the essential fatty acids and provide a rich source of fat soluble vitamins. Last but not least, they provide cholesterol. Yes, the human body makes its own anyway, but it all balances out.”

– Mark Sisson, www.marksdailyapple.com

The late Mary Enig PHd, nutritionist and researcher, had been screaming about how we had it all wrong on saturated fats for years. She spent decades studying the role of fats in the diet and disputed the widely held medical views that high levels of saturated fats caused heart disease.

Enig, who was awarded Master of the American College of Nutrition, argued that foods high in natural saturated fats, such butter and coconut oil, are beneficial for heart health.

“The much-maligned saturated fats—which Americans are trying to avoid—are not the cause of our modern diseases. In fact, they play many important roles in the body chemistry. The scientific evidence, honestly evaluated, does not support the assertion that ‘artery-clogging’ saturated fats cause heart disease.

 “Actually, evaluation of the fat in artery clogs reveals that only about 26% is saturated. The rest is unsaturated, of which more than half is polyunsaturated.” – Mary Enig PHd

The American Heart Association still advises us to limit saturated fats, arguing in this report that it increases level of ‘bad’ cholesterol.

I’m in the pro-saturated fat camp and reckon it makes up around 30%-40% of my diet. My main sources are butter, eggs, coconut milk and olive oil, and they provide me with plenty of energy and help keep me lean.

I’ll leave it up to you to make your mind up which side you’re on.

#3 Roughly Measure Your Food – No Need To Count Calories

A much easier method is to gauge portions by your own hand. This simple system was devised by Precision Nutrition (PN) – world leaders in sports nutrition – who I referred to in my previous article.

I often refer to Precision Nutrition’s advice because the company’s approach to diet and nutrition simplifies eating and makes total sense. The company is run by Dr John Berardi, who is massively respected in the health and fitness industry, and whose knowledge on diet for athletes is second to none.

Here’s how they advise you measure your meals instead of counting calories:

• The size of your palm determines protein portions such as meat, chicken, fish, eggs, dairy. (For men two palm sized portions at meals).
• Your fist size is equal to your vegetable portions.
• Your cupped hand is equal to other carbohydrate portions such as rice, oats etc..
• Your thumbs determine fat portions. (For men 2 x both thumb sized portions at each meal).

This Precision Nutrition infographic can keep you on track. It couldn’t be easier. It’s just a case of making the right food choices.

#4 Eat When You’re Hungry

Sounds way too simple doesn’t it, but all this chat about having to eat loadsa smaller meals per day to build and maintain muscle is garbage.

In fact, there are a fair few drawbacks to snacking throughout the day to try and get in great shape, as shown in this previous article.

We should listen to our bodies more. It lets us know when we’re hungry. It also lets us knows when it’s struggling to deal with your poor food choices, and when it’s bombarded with way too much food on a regular basis.

Those putrid farts, stinging heartburn, the bloated stomach…they don’t appear from nowhere. These are all warning signs from the body that it’s struggling to cope with what you’re throwing down the hatch.

Combining This Advice With The Right Weight Training For Your Specific Goals

Following a diet to support your weight training regime, you should fit into one of three general broad categories for your personal goals:

• Lose weight, develop muscle tone.
• Gain weight, develop muscle.
• Maintain weight, improve body composition and muscle tone.

#1 – lose weight, develop muscle tone

As explained earlier, you must be in a caloric deficit to lose weight. Following the 5 step plan in this article will inevitably lead to less calories. These numbers will be reduced simply by ditching the high sugar, processed junk foods and replacing them with the listed healthier options.

Secondly, you can speed up your metabolism to use more calories (and therefore burn fat quicker) by weight training with compound exercises. We’re big on the big compound movements and have a FREE 25 page report where you can learn all about them.

This form of training will also help you retain muscle mass. One or two high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions per week, such as hill sprints or circuit training, in between weight training days will fire up your metabolism further and be a big boost to your fat loss goal.

#2 – gain weight, develop muscle

Your meals should be calorie dense as you’re looking to increase your intake by around 20%. My number one tip is to increase fats in your diet as 1g of fat equals 9 calories (1g of protein and carbohydrates equals just 4 calories).

Eat more foods like organic peanut butter, coconut milk, nuts, olive oil, butter etc. I blend those first three foods into healthy protein shakes, which makes life easier.

Also focus on heavy weight training, with your workout made up of primarily of compound exercises such as squats, deadlifts etc. These will help create an anabolic environment in the body and develop muscle mass, while limiting fat.

#3 – maintain weight, improve body composition and muscle tone.

Stick to the 5 step diet plan listed above and also follow the standard advice on focusing on compound weight training exercises. These movements are ideal for an all over body workout and are therefore key to good body composition.

To see better definition and those abs coming through, I would recommend chucking in one high intensity interval training (HIIT) session per week. Hill sprints are my number one choice…and my next article will be dedicated completely to them. 😉

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