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Nutrition Tips to Maximize Results

1.       Food is Number One: Nothing should every take the place of a healthy diet. Eating the right nutrients your body needs will make more impact on your program than any natural supplement. Use quality supplements in addition to a healthy, appropriate diet and training program. No supplement can make up or compensate for failure or lack of effort with diet and exercise.

2.       Macro Nutrient Ratios: These are the ratios that I use for the meal plans I recommend.
- Fat loss: 50% protein, 15% carb, 35% fat
- Maintenance: 40% protein, 30% carb, 30% fat
- Gain/Strength: 30% protein, 50% carb, 20% fat

 

3.        Protein : Carb Ratio -- You should be eating approximately double the amount of protein relative to carbohydrate each meal. This keeps the body kicked into a fat burning mode. (example: if you eat 15 grams of carbs you should be eating 30 grams of protein). Protein intake -- I would recommend eating 1 gram/lb of body weight for building or leaning. I would stick with egg whites, chicken, and fish to minimize saturated fats. I also use buffalo in place of beef because it has 1/3 the amount of fat and is all open range, hormone free.
 

4.        Fiber -- Fiber is a non digestible carbohydrate and is therefore considered a "freebie". So you can always subtract the amount of fiber from the amount of carbohydrates listed to get your true net carbohydrates. (example: if something lists 20 carbs and has 18 grams of fiber then you only count 2 carbs for this food).

5.       Low GI Carbs -- Choose carbohydrates with low GI (glycemic indexes). The GI compares the carbohydrate to glucose or table sugar in regards to how fast it releases in the body. The higher the GI the more likely the carb will store as fat and will also cause ups and downs in your energy level. Shoot for a GI below 50. (example: GI for glucose is 100 -- Rice and potatoes are about 90 and coconut flour and quinoa are 35).

6.       Meal Timing and Size -- Smaller, more frequent your meals will promote better metabolism and keep your body from storing as may excess calories as fat. (example: Most Americans eat 2 meals per day and consume 1000-2000 calories each meal -- Most of my meal plans are designed for 7 meals with 100-300 calories per meal). Also I would time carbs in the first half of the day and or around you workout. During your workout the muscle uses glycogen stores for fuel. After the workout depleted glycogen stores need to be replenished so the majority of your carbohydrate intake with be transported to the muscle tissue to accomplish this. This decreases the risk of excess carbs being stored as fat in the body.
 

7.        Healthy Fats -- Healthy fats fuel fat burning effects in the body. Some of the best healthy fats come from nuts, avocados, and coconut. Basically think plant fat sources for healthy fats. Just keep in mind that fat contain 9 calories/gram compared to 4 calories/gram like protein and carbohydrates. So a little goes a long way but it is so helpful. Coconut oil contains about 50% MCT (medium chain triglyceride) oil which is very helpful for fat burning. MCTs are shorter chain fatty acids that burn more readily and resist storage in the body. You can get MCT oil pure in a supplement form to get a greater fat burning effect. Just remember this works best with a low carb diet.

 

8.        Water -- Water promotes fat burning and proper metabolism in the body. Plus a little with each meal will help you feel fuller. I would recommend discontinuing any sodas whether diet or regular and drink water instead. Recommended intake typically starts at 0.5 oz/kg of body weight. This usually equates to 8-10 oz 7-8 times daily for most people.
 

9.       Superfoods/antioxidants -- When it comes to picking you food always think of how to get the most nutrition with the least amount of food. This is what most refer to as superfoods. Berries are fantastic for this as is kale/greens, quinoa, hemp, coconut (milk, flour, oil), etc. I would recommend getting a good dose of each of the 5 antioxidant groups. This can be obtained in the diet, however, I supplement with CoQ10, astaxanthin, alpha lipoic acid, and acai as these are a little harder to obtain in large amounts from the diet.