How do you know if you’re overeating or undereating? Here you’ll learn all about how to figure out how many grams of fat, protein, and carbs you should eat each day so that you don’t overeat or undereat. Firstly, the answer is based on your goals. So, what are your goals? Do you want to: Lose fat? Gain muscle mass? Maintain your weight, but become leaner? Answer those questions first. After you define your goal, you’ll need to find your BMR. Find your BMR This is the number of calories that you burn in a 24-hour period, while your body is at rest (but not sleeping). You can find a free calculator online that will help you calculate this number. Or, you can do the following calculation: divide your bodyweight by 2. Now multiply by 24. This will give you a general approximation of what you need to be eating in order to effortlessly lose some weight, or if exercise isn’t a part of your day simply maintain your current BMI. If your goal is to put on size the you will need to increase these numbers based on how fast/slow you are looking to add size. Example of a 200lb man: 200 / 2 = 100 x 24 hours = 2400 calories. This means this man should eat 2400 calories across the day. I recommend breaking this number of calories into 5 or 6 meals per day. If you want a more accurate calculation, then use a body fat caliper. You can find them on Amazon.com for $4. This will give you a more reliable body fat reading. You can then input those figures into an online BMR calculator. Use an activity multiplier To make the reading even more reliable, you can use an activity multiplier (again, find an online calculator that makes this process easy). This will help you to add the required extra calories if you have an active job. Use your BMR calculation to asses your needs As you know I recommend foods from nature, such as: Fish Fowl Nuts Seeds Lean meats Vegetables Fruits With this in mind, you should consume the required number of calories from the quality food sources listed above. You should then structure your macronutrients so that you don’t store any fat at night. It is advisable to eat your carbohydrates around your workout times. For the first 3 meals of the day, consume one third of your calories from each food group (fats, proteins and carbs). As you get to meals 4,5, and 6, taper off the carbs and eat more calories from proteins. When I’m cutting, I like to eat 100% of my calories from protein (for meal 6). I also stop eating 3 hours before bedtime to ensure I get as lean as possible. Use the tips and system above in order to figure out your calorie intake, and make sure that you don’t over or under eat. If you have any comments or questions, leave them below. Tweet 1 Share 5 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
If you struggle to gain mass, then this post and video below will be a great help for all you hard gainers out there. Are you a hardgainer? Are you someone with a low body-fat percentage who struggles to gain weight yet desires to more easily gain mass? If so, then the three most important things to do are to: Figure out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) Calculate your daily caloric expenditure (DCE) Follow specific food recommendations and a few other considerations Figuring Out Your BMR and DCE Your BMR, or basal metabolic rate, is the amount of calories you burn in a day while at rest, but not while sleeping. That being said, on days you are not training take into consideration that you are resting more. Your DCE, or daily caloric expenditure, accounts for the amount of calories you expend when you consider your exercise along with your other daily activities. You can find your BMR and DCE numbers out using a BMR calculator. If you obtain “HIIT Max” from insanefitnessanywhere.com to aid you in your exercise routine, you will receive a free BMR calculator along with it. Otherwise, you can simply Google “BMR calculators.” Plenty options will come up in your search results to choose from. Once you calculate your BMR and DCE numbers, you need to ensure you are consuming above those numbers in calories. You can consume 500 to 1,000 more calories than your BMR and DCE numbers, depending on how lean you are, and how quickly you wish to gain mass. Play around with the numbers until you find the method that best suits your needs. Specific Hardgainer Food Recommendations Whole milk: Typically, I’m against the consumption of generous amounts of dairy and legumes. Most often, I recommend almond milk as opposed to whole milk. However, for people who are exceptionally lean and struggle to gain mass, consuming large amounts of whole milk is recommended. Full-fat yogurt: There are countless types of yogurt on the market. To gain mass, opt for full-fat yogurt as opposed to other kinds. Peanut butter: Implementing a high-calorie, nutrient-rich item into your diet such as peanut butter greatly helps with weight gain. Peanut butter is rich in healthy unsaturated fats and omega-3’s, and contains 90 calories in a single tablespoon, making it a perfect candidate to add to your diet when working to gain mass. Other Considerations for Hardgainers It is highly likely that you will, without a doubt, put on fat as a result of following these simple tips, especially as you increase your calorie intake. Therefore, it is important to monitor the changes occurring in your body, and to then tweak the number of calories you consume per day in accordance with your overall goal. Continue to weight train as well. You can visit my YouTube channel for videos that will provide you with weight training advice and protocols. While trying to gain mass, be sure to incorporate hypertrophy methods along with your weight training. If you desire to gain mass but find it difficult to do so, rest assured that the tips listed above along with the information provided in the video above will help you reach your goal. Stay mindful of the fact that you are not going to see results overnight, as benefits from training stem from an accumulative effect. With that in mind, stay patient, and stay the course. And leave me your comment, question, or results below. Until next time, gain more muscle mass and take care. Tweet 4 Share 21 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
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Cheat meals. It’s something that everyone loves to talk about but not always something that leads to productive results. Cheat wrongly and you’ll be packing on fat faster than ever. Cheat properly and it can actually enhance the results you see. First, cheat meals can help build resiliency. Many people take for granted just how good healthy eating makes them feel. By having the cheat meal, you may enjoy it while eating that cheat, but after, you’ll likely be wishing you were back eating your healthy food once again. By doing this cheat, you’ll appreciate sticking to your healthy diet the remainder of the time. And then of course, cheat meals also calm those psychological food cravings we all have, making it easier to stay the course the rest of the time. Let’s go over the details on how to cheat correctly so that you can not only enjoy those foods you crave, but also still go on to see optimal fat burning results. My 90/10 Rule The main principle I like to follow is what I call the 90/10 rule. This basically means that for 90% of the time, you are on track, eating healthy, clean foods. Lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats, and small doses of natural carbohydrates are all part of your 90% diet plan. Then 10% of the time, you divert. This means you can virtually eat whatever it is you are craving, without worry. Of course you do need to keep it within reason. Eat a whole tub of ice cream and a box of pizza and it won’t matter how ‘good’ you are the rest of the time, you’re still going to be doing damage. Moderation is key. If you are eating 3 meals a day, that means 21 meals a week, so for about 2 of these meals, you can have that cheat meal. For those on a standard diet plan, this technique works very well. The Carb Cycling Rule Alternatively, another principle you can follow is the carb cycling principle. Carb cycling is a great way to burn fat and incorporate a weekly cheat meal into your plan all while providing more energy for intense workouts that you plan on doing. With the carb cycling approach, once per week, you can have one meal that consists of an appetizer, a main meal, and a dessert – all foods that you crave. This meal should fall on the highest carb day of the week, which ideally should fall on your most intense training day. For most people, this is leg day, however for you, it could be something else. Think about whichever day of the week you feel you are working the hardest and plan that for your high carb, cheat day. By planning it on your workout day, you’ll be able to utilize all that energy, recovering from the workout session you just had (or if you cheat a few hours beforehand), using the energy to fuel the session. Either way, you’re more likely to put those excess calories to good use. So consider this next time you’re craving your favorite foods. Plan a cheat day right into your program and it’ll work wonders to help you get the results you desire. What’s your favourite way to cheat? Tweet 1 Share 14 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
Since having my kids, a holiday that is becoming a firm favorite of mine is that of Halloween. I mean, how often do I get to dress up as one of my daughter’s favorite characters from Sesame Street? Oh, if you want to see WHO, then just watch my video below. Anyways, Halloween is nearly always associated with candy. And cookies. And cakes. And chips. It’s a carb minefield! A common question I get asked is ‘what do I do over the holidays? Well, I’m going to tell you… So, what we are going to do is actually use all those tasty candy bars and treats, and use them in a ‘mini-carb cycle’. This will not only help us survive the night – but to allow us to continue to cut body fat. So how do we set up a 3-day carb cycle? In this instance, we are going to use Halloween (Friday) as our base point, and work from there. I am going to break it down day by day so you know exactly what to do, and what not to do, so you don’t gain any unwanted weight over the holidays. To get set this up, we need to be sure that there is a day either side of our ‘cheat day’, so in this case it’s going to be Thursday and Saturday. Thursday This is where we cut our carbs, and we are going low carb. Now what does low carb actually mean? Well everyone is different, and variables such as training, bodyweight and daily activity all come in to play. But I’m going to make it real easy for you. All I need you to do on this low carb day, is take your bodyweight in lbs, and divide it by two. That’s the maximum number of carbs you are going to have today. Sure you can do less, but definitely don’t do more than this. Make sure you have eaten all of your carbs in the AM, as you need to keep the PM carb free Friday (Halloween/The ‘cheat day’) Now by Friday, your body is going to be starved of carbs, and its basically going to be begging you for some. This is where we cheat. And we cheat hard! I want you to do one thing for me though – I DON’T want you to feel bad for it. Now as I mentioned above, everyone is different. You might be the kind of person that cheats by going crazy with carb-filled treats all day long, and that’s cool. Me personally, I like to keep most of my meals healthy then got nuts over a couple of meals and have everything I want. Personally I find it gets better results but whatever works for you is fine with me too. Saturday This one is the easiest to describe but can be the hardest to do, because when I say no carbs. I mean none. Nada. If you have been following me for some time, you will know I normally have two Quest bars on my low-carb days, and one on my no-carb days. But, after eating like crazy the day before, you have to be strict with yourself today. Otherwise the carb cycle just doesn’t work. You have to starve your body completely of carbs on the Saturday. The neat thing is that when you get to Sunday you will realize: ‘wow, this is what carb cycling is all about’. You will feel great and look great. This is just is a 3-day version of what I go through in-depth with my new carb cycle-book – ‘Carb Cycle Max’ – which is coming out in a week or two. What else do you need to know to make this work? Well firstly, on your low-carb days you still need some energy. We are going to get that energy from fat. Not much, about 20-25 grams of fat max. You don’t want to go over this number as otherwise the carb-cycle wont tap into those body-fat stores and you will undo all your hard work. Secondly, on the no-carb day you might be a little bit more tired and have slightly less energy than usual; that’s totally normal. Personally I don’t find it too hard as, well, I’m a coffee drinker! So there you have it, my definitive guide to cheating in the holiday season. So go and carve that pumpkin, grab some candy, get dressed up and get lean too! Michael Tweet 5 Share 4 +1 1 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
When it comes to types of grains to eat, rice has, for some civilizations, been a centuries old choice. These civilizations have used white rice as a staple in their diets. However more recently brown rice has been making a splash on the health food scene. Some people have gone as far to say that brown rice is good and white rice is not. The debate has gone on for years over which is healthier; brown or white rice. So let’s take a closer look at both brown and white rice. White rice, by volume, has more iron, folic acid, thiamine, niacin, and riboflavin. Brown rice has more magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, potassium, zinc and vitamin b6. The more nutrient dense rice is brown, but only slightly. But, aside from this slight advantage, brown rice actually faces more problems when being digested. The first digestions down fall is that brown rice has more phytates and lectins than white rice, Phytates and lectins bind to vitamins and minerals and prevent your body from absorbing them. So even though brown rice might be nutrient dense, you body cannot actually absorb them all and there for falls short of truly being “more nutritious” than white rice. White rice has the bran and germ removed, hence making it “white” rice. The majority of the phytic acid is found in the bran, so white rice has almost all of the phytic acid removed in the process of taking off the bran. This means that you can actually absorb the nutrients in white rice better. The second digestion downfall is that brown rice still has the bran and germ, and the bran and germ make it harder to digest. Bran and germ can both be irritating to the digestive track. Being eaten regularly, or paired with other grains, can lead to digestive problems like leaky gut or inflammation. White rice, because it is void of both the bran and germ, is easier to digest and a good source of glucose for after working out or when ever you need it. But what about the fact that white rice has a higher glycemic index than brown rice? Even though white rice has a slightly higher glycemic index, you can lower it by eating it with the right foods. To prevent glycemic spikes when eating white rice, you can eat it with vinegar or fats. A good way to eat is with a drizzle of grass-fed butter or even olive oil on the rice itself. Pairing white rice with butter roasted vegetables, a few slices of avocado or chopped roasted nuts will also be a tasty way to eat it. Overall, although brown rice is slightly more nutrient dense, white rice provides an easier way to get these same nutrients to your body while being easier to digest and easier on your gut in the long run. Nutrition and diet can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Let us help. We have a team of expert nutritionists that design 12-Week Custom Meal Plans removing 100% off the guesswork. Our custom plans; tell you what to eat, when, and how much, so you can effortlessly transform your body in a matter of weeks. Because our custom plans are unique to your body type, activity level, and metabolism, they are guaranteed. Tweet 8 Share 13 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
Imperial BMR Calculator Metric BMR Calculator Gender Male Female Age: Weight: Height: Activity Level: SedentaryLightly ActiveModerately ActiveVery ActiveExtremely Active Your Results: Your BMR is: Your TDEE is: HOW DOES BMR WORK? BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is an estimate of how many calories your body burns at rest. It represents the minimum amount of energy needed to keep your body functioning, including breathing and keeping your heart beating. Your BMR uses up about two-thirds of your daily calories. Your caloric intake to lose, maintain, or gain weight will be based on your BMR, but will not be the same figure. Age, height, weight, and gender determine a person’s BMR, also known as basal energy expenditure (BEE). There are multiple formulas used to calculate BMR due to different schools of thought in the health and fitness community. Our calculator uses the Harris-Benedict equation, which works as follows: If you’re a man, your BMR is equal to: 65 + (6.2 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) – (6.8 x age in years) If you’re a woman, your BMR is equal to: 655 + (4.3 x weight in pounds) + (4.3 x height in inches) – (4.7 x age in years) Knowing your BMR can help you create a more effective strategy for weight loss, allowing you to better keep your calorie count on track and better understand the effect exercise will have on your waistline.
So that time is upon us again. Already! Another year’s gone by, and Thanksgiving rolls around. Though for some, the real highlight of this time of year is Black Friday. People plan for this for months and months – getting their “tactics” in place – How they’re going to organize their day to get to the mall as early as possible The ultimate methods for crowd-busting (without getting arrested!) Strategically placing different family members at different stores to get all the best bargains. Sitting up all night clicking “refresh” on their computers to swoop in and get the best deals on Amazon It sounds crazy, but you and I both know – everyone does it. And that’s pretty much okay. Because it’s just once a year. Splashing the cash on a few great bargains, and pushing the boat out just one day in every 365 really isn’t going to set you back too far. It doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy nice vacations, treat your kids, go out to eat, or do anything fun for the whole rest of the year. Just one day. That’s it. And that leads us on to the topic of today’s blog post: “I Screwed Up My Diet” Diet is without a doubt, the number on area where most people are likely to struggle with a fat loss plan and a body transformation. Most don’t find sticking to a workout schedule that difficult. But a diet’s a different matter – because temptation is always there. As we all know though, getting your diet right is absolutely critical in being successful with your goals, and those who are in the zone, and on track to get amazing results understand this. Which is why these folk often freak out when they have one day off their diet. “I screwed up” is one of the most common things I hear from my clients the day after Thanksgiving, after Christmas, and after birthdays, parties, New Years, and any other times when there’s junk food a-plenty, and they’ve gone a bit (or a lot) overboard. You Are Human The first thing I’d tell you if you feel that you’ve been guilty of this, and are now ruing your poor choices is – “You are human.” We all make mistakes, and we all do things we know we shouldn’t. And that’s okay. Mistakes are how we learn. If we didn’t make mistakes, we’d never get anywhere in life, and it’s important to understand this. When you do have one of those days (or even one of those weekends) where once you start, you can’t stop with the treats, snacks and junk food, you mustn’t beat yourself up. By being too hard on yourself, thinking that you’re a failure, and coming down way too tough, you’re only going to get into a vicious cycle of feeling that every time you have the smallest slip up, you need to be punished. Suddenly, you have a tiny morsel of food that’s not on your plan, you miss your protein at a meal, or you cave slightly to temptation, you start thinking you’re a failure. This isn’t the case at all. Rather than trying to make yourself feel guilty, the best option is to learn from it. You don’t feel great for a lack of willpower and discipline, so use that to drive you forward. Remember this feeling next time you’re tempted, and remember how you feel now. The other big key here, is to get back on plan ASAP. If you screw up your diet a little at breakfast, that absolutely does not mean the rest of the day is wasted – you can still have a pretty damn effective fat loss day by making smart choices through lunch and dinner, and wipe that slate clean straight away. Can a Chicken Salad Make a Fat Person Thin? The obvious answer to this question is No. If someone’s spent their life eating burgers, fries and donuts, and has built up bad habits over 20 or 30 years, then sitting down and eating a chicken salad (or even eating healthy for a whole day) isn’t going to change their body and mind. Why then, would you think that if you’re lean, fit and healthy, that one bad meal, one bad day, or even a sub-par week or weekend would suddenly pile on pounds of fat and make you a dieting failure? It simply doesn’t. Plus, I’ll let you into a little secret – While I don’t condone deliberately going off-plan, sometimes indulging in those high-calorie junk foods can give you a mental and physical boost, cure cravings, and make you stronger. It’s a One-Off Black Friday only happens once a year, and everyone goes a bit crazy. The only people who really suffer are those who get hooked on bargains, and keep abusing the credit card for weeks and months afterwards. And that’s how it goes with “bad meals.” You have a day here and there that doesn’t go to plan? So what – you’re driven, you’re motivated, and you have self-control – for 95% of the time, you’re awesome at sticking to your diet. These binges only become an issue when you can’t stop. When you think you’re a failure, so binge even more. When you adopt the “screw it” attitude and become a self-saboteur. So this Thanksgiving, adopt the “one-off” mind-set. Have some fun with your food, give yourself a little leeway, and realize that it’s just for one day. The gym, and all your healthy food will still be there tomorrow, and you’ll be a fitter, stronger, and happier person, ready to go and crush it, and keep on track to killer results. Tweet 11 Share 3 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
One of the most frequently asked questions I get asked, is whether you should eat before or after exercise. The answer to this is not what to eat before or after, but rather, what to eat before and after. Eating at both points will be critical to your success. It’s not a black and white picture either. What’s best for you to eat before and after each workout will heavily depend upon the workouts that you’re doing as well as the goals you have in place. Taking all of this into account allows you to get the complete picture on the best pre and post workout foods and supplements. Pre Workout The main thing to consider pre workout is what type of workout you are doing, as well as what your consumption has been like up to this point. If you’ve been eating regular meals, spacing them out every 3-4 hours and making sure to get a balanced mix of proteins, carbs, and fats in each meal, you’ll already be well-fueled going into your workout, therefore the need for a pre workout meal or supplement isn’t nearly as critical On the other hand, if you haven’t been eating regularly, you’re likely going to need some high energy fuel to get through your session. Likewise, the type of workout matters as well. If you’re doing a 45 minute CrossFit sessions where it’s nonstop at maximal limits, you’ll need much different fueling than if you were doing a 30 minute steady state cycling session to burn fat. In the former, you’ll need a good amount of both carbs and protein, and likely some pre workout supplements. I usually like to recommend some BCAA’s (Insane Energy Without Pills Or Pre-Workouts). In the latter, your last meal will easily provide sufficient fueling. A good sign that you aren’t currently eating enough to fuel your workout is if you aren’t able to get through the full workout performing optimally. If you tank partway through, your pre workout fueling is likely to blame. You might also wonder if you’re able exercise in a fasted state. The answer is yes as long as you can do the workout optimally. Learn your body and know yourself. The type of workout you have planned will likely determine whether you can or cannot do it fastest. Post Workout Next, your post workout meal will most heavily depend on the goals you have set for yourself. If you are seeking fat loss, you have a certain macro limit you need to maintain for the day, so your post workout intake will be lower than someone who is aiming to gain mass. Look at your overall diet and then calculate your post workout meal from there. Just note that this is a critical time to eat, so you do want to allocate at least some carbs to this period, as well as a good dose of protein in the area of 20-40 grams. Timeframe wise, common thought is that you must eat within 30 minutes of the workout being over, but I believe you have a little longer than that. If you shoot for between 30-60 minutes, you’ll be fine. Now that you have some information about pre and post workout nutrition. Have a look at your current approach and see how it stacks up. Could you do a better job in either of these two feeding windows? Tweet 5 Share 7 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
I don’t often make bold claims, but I genuinely do believe that the recipe I have for you in today’s blog is one of the healthiest desserts going. Not only that, but it tastes fantastic too. Oh, and it takes virtually no time to make – there’s not even any cooking required. The other beauty of this dessert is that it can be adjusted to suit any day on the Carb Cycle plan, so whether you’re on a no-carb, low-carb, or high-carb day, this will work for you. People often say that you can’t eat dessert (or even any tasty food whatsoever) when you’re dieting, but if you know me, you’ll know I’m all about making your fat loss diet as enjoyable as possible, because if you enjoy it, you’re more likely to stick to it, and get better results. What’s in a Good Dessert? First up, let’s talk about the basics of a good dessert, and why “fun foods” can still be fat loss friendly. For one, you need protein in there, and we have that in today’s recipe. It can be difficult to get protein in sweet foods, as people typically think of protein as coming from meat and fish (which it does) but there are other ways you can get it too. Ideally, it should also be low in carbs, or the carbs in there should at least be nutrient-dense and packed with fiber. It definitely needs to be low in sugar, and not too high in fat or calories either. Again, my recipe here ticks all the boxes. The Recipe I won’t keep you in suspense any longer – here’s the recipe: – 3 heaped tablespoons of yogurt – 1-1.5 scoops of grass-fed whey protein powder – Big handful of blueberries – Almonds (on a low-carb day) – Give it a good mix, and enjoy. That’s it – incredibly simply, incredibly filling, and unbelievably delicious. To see just how easy it is, watch me make it in the video “Can Something This Good Really Be Healthy?” Great question. And the honest answer is yes – 100%. See, from the yogurt alone you get around 20 grams of protein, and the whey adds another 20 to 30 grams on top, giving you more protein than a chicken breast or a lean steak. Berries give you that immune boost from all the micronutrients they contain, as well as big dose of fiber, and slow-digesting carbs for energy. On a high-carb day, I suggest opting for a lower-fat, higher-carb yogurt, while on a low or no-carb day, you’ll go for a higher-fat, lower-carb yogurt, and add in a few almonds (or another raw nut of your choice.) That’s the one area where people always go wrong with low-carb days – they think that low-carb also means low-fat, but it doesn’t. By going for the higher-fat yogurt and the nuts on your low-carb days, you avoid the energy slumps so often associated with traditional low-carb diets, and stay on track to fast fat loss. The Proof is in the Pudding What did you think? Tasty, right? Let me know your thoughts below, and I’d love to hear of your own tweaks to this. Anything you change to suit your diet, or any awesome ingredients I might be missing out on? I always like getting new ideas for quick, tasty, fat loss recipes, so share them here. Tweet 2 Share 12 +1 0 Reddit Pocket Pinterest LinkedIn 0
