NUTRITION: BIG ACH STYLE For those that have known me for quite sometime now, I am sure you opened this section hoping to see a list of the top fast food places worldwide, from Shawerma Sandwiches in Cairo to Double XL Papa Johns Pizza in Orlando. Sorry to disappoint you little jack-asses, but the McDonalds and TWIX diet just has not been working for me LOL. Don’t get me wrong I still love junk food, and every now and then I still go out and enjoy myself. But through a couple of different trials, I have learned that my body responds so much better when I am eating cleaner and more quality calories (oh the irony…LOL). Sure a calorie is a calorie, and the basics is that you will lose weight as long as you eat less calories than your body uses, and you will gain weight when you eat more calories than what your body uses. But think about it this way, your body is like a luxury car, you want to put only the most premium fuel into it to keep it running at its best. This is the only way to insure that your health will be at the highest level, and if that doesn’t matter to you, if you’re a competitor, it will make getting ready for a contest MUCH easier. Think about this, in the past, I had to diet down from 250 lbs all the way to 180 lbs, I had to lose 70 lbs!!!! My new philosophy is to try to keep my off-season bodyfat in check and making sure I don't get too far from my contest weight. I am not so concerned with staying super lean, as I am with eating enough GOOD calories to gain muscle. Sure I will gain some extra weight, but I will not be a fat-ass, by watching my bodyfat in the off-season I won't have to lose too much weight getting ready for a show, this allows me to hold on to most of my muscle while I'm in a calorie restriction to shed bodyfat! I think that sounds a lot better than having to lose 70 lbs! Sure, I still think that bulking does have its benefits, especially for younger beginners, but making it a goal to be fatter than fat, will just make things really bad for you. Getting UBER-FAT will harm you and you will decrease your insulin sensitivity, you will build up fat cells that you will not be able to lose, and you will have to buy an entire new wardrobe to cover your fat gut!! Not following a proper nutritional program is the #1 problem that your average gym rat is dealing with (and they don't even know it), there are some guys that come into the gym, sporting their 13 inch arms, and little ass chicken legs, they train like the banshee is riding up their asses, and they don't make any gains what-so-ever, AND THEN they come to you with that stupid ass look (I also talk about this look in my training section), asking why are they not progressing at all. And the answer is NUTRITION NUTRITION NUTRITION. A person will not make any gains if he or she is eating like a little humming bird, especially if they are eating worthless shit that serves absolutely no benefit to the body. THIS IS BODYBUILDING... Weight training SURE its VERY important, but it will not give you the results desired alone. You need to get the diet in check. So where do we start? Well, I believe the best way to figure out how much you need to be eating to build muscle is to multiply the number 17 - 20 by your bodyweight in pounds, the result of that is the number of calories you consume daily. Adjust accordingly depending on your goals (ie lose bodyfat, gain mass, etc.) As for the macros, I like to do the following split, 40% protein, 40% Carbs, and 20% fat. By the way Arnold Schwarzenegger used the same split, any questions? I didn't think so! I eat every 2 hours or so and I divide these calories into about 8 meals. Usually my biggest meals are my very first meal and my Post work out meal. I am a firm believer that the first meal of your day and your post work out meal are the MOST IMPORTANT meals that you can eat, I cannot for the life of me understand people that leave for work or school without eating breakfast, I cannot leave my house without having my first meal, even if I am running late and have to eat it in the car as I drive, I will not miss my first meal of the day. Post work out meal is equally as important, you have 1-2 hours right after your work out where your body is running at 100% and will thoroughly utilize the nutrition that you give it. Recently I've been having Whey Protein, Creatine and simple Carbohydrates such as dextrose. Everyone is different when it comes to bodybuilding, all I can say is do what works for you and what makes you feel comfortable. While I am having my post work out shakes in the locker room or right outside the gym, people (again) have that stupid look on their face totally neglecting the most important meal of the day, and then wondering why I am that much bigger than them!! Anyways, as for actual food choices, this is what I usually like to stick to (there are many other things that work, but this is what I like): Protein: Chicken Lean Beef Tuna Salmon Turkey Lamb (Usually on a cheat day, because its very high in fat and definitely not during pre-contest) Eggs Starchy Carbohydrates: White rice (Brown and Basamati are good too but I like white) Oats (Non Flavored kind). Bran Flakes Cereal (I don’t like dairy products so I eat it dry) Whole Wheat Pasta Whole wheat or Rye Bread Corn Green Peas Sweet or baked potato Fats: Flax Seed Oil Fish Oil Olive Oil Sunflower Oil Nuts (Almonds are the best) Vegetables: Lettuce Broccoli (mmmmmmmm, I love Broccoli) Green Beans Cabbage Carrots Asparagus Tomatoes (every now and then) I’m not a big fan of fruit as I don’t really think they provide much benefit "bodybuilding-wise", so I don’t eat them on a regular basis. Fruit are excellent sources of vitamins and nutrients, but from a "bodybuilders" point of view they cannot be used for muscle gylcogen and are easily converted to fat if eaten in excess (as anything else really). If I was to have some fruit, usually I'll have some bananas, mangos, apples, or grapes, but that is once every blue moon. I'd much rather save my calories eating starchy complex carbs which can be stored as muscle glycogen instead of fruits in which their fructose gets shuttled straight to the liver. Pre-contest, I stick to the same plan, with my calories at about maintenance level and then slowly decrease the calories every week (usually by decreasing the carbs), I start with the last meal that has carbs, and eliminate it, every few weeks I’ll eliminate another carb portion from the next meal, and so on and so forth, until I reach my desired contest weight, IE coming in really shredded and looking like a fucking corpse! Proper Supplementation is also extremely important, but not more important obviously than a proper eating plan. I mainly like stick to the basics, the tried and true supplements that have taken many bodybuilders before me straight to the top. This includes: Fish Oil and Sunflower Oil Wicked Whey Protein from Phenom Labs BCAA's Creatine Monohydrate Dextrose (post work out) Multivitamins Glucosamine (to care for the joints). Herculean Xtreme from Phenom Labs (Thats an awesome pre-work out supplement, packed with Creatine and Arginine which gives an AMAZING pump during my work outs. Arginine has also been proven to increase Growth Hormone levels, and that can't be a bad thing!) Phenylean Xtreme from Phenom Labs (Awesome Fat Burner!) What about cheat meals?…… What about them? Ha! We will need about 10 other pages for me to list what I like to cheat on. But, I guess the most important thing is to keep it in moderation, whatever you do, whatever you like to munch on, moderation is key, I know its hard to say “no more” even I have a very hard time doing that when I cheat, but that is the most important factor when you cheat. At the end of the day, nutrition-wise, do what works for you and what brings you results, everyone is different, you don’t have to be psycho about your nutrition, just know that there are good choices and bad choices when it comes to food, and your body will run best if you keep 90% of your intake good clean food! This should be a lifestyle, DIETS DON’T WORK!!! Lifestyle changes do! And I can honestly say a Sound Nutrition plan is the single most important factor when it comes to bodybuilding and weight training!!! Best of luck and feel free to E-mail me if I you have any more questions about nutrition.