I'm a "freak"... admittedly. As a highly (20 years+ of work) CHANGED/EVOLVED tall skinny dude, with a tall-skinny dude's metabolism, I've found that what works best for me is nearly a polar opposite from what "traditional bodybuilding nutrition" preaches. My body devours sugar like Tony Montana (Scarface) went through cocaine.
My contest prep diet for the past 12-13 weeks has included virtually ZERO sweet potato, tilapia (and other white fish), no asparagus, no cabbage... hardly any white rice or bread! Yes... I ate a LOT of chicken, 97% lean ground turkey, 90% lean ground beef, and pork loin. But I also ate hot Italian sausage, bacon, and cheese. I used a sh_t-ton of protein bars, powder, and ready-to-drink shakes (which most competitors stay away from). I consumed typically 2-4 Pop-Tarts a DAY, including peak-week. I ate two CASES of Rice Krispie Treats, 3 boxes of sugary cereal (Lucky Charms, and Fruit Loops). My calorie intake never went under 3000kcal per day (except by mistake), and my carb intake stayed well north of 200gr the whole prep (I tried to go lower, but crashed my blood-sugar and got sick)...
Bragging??? NO!!!! At over 225 lb and over 6'3"... 3000+ kcal is LOW. My baseline intake runs closer to 4250 kcal/day to maintain 235-240#, so I was in a 1000-1250 kcal deficit for 12+ weeks.
My point...
"Everyone is different"...
Never was a more applicable statement on any subject than the subject of nutrition.
Following some "guru's" diet out of a magazine, or some cookie-cutter meal plan from an old-school prep-coach, or something you found on-line... is a complete crap-shoot, heavy on the crap.
To spare you the complexity of the multiple scientific factors involved, lets just say that EVERY body responds differently to sugars, complex carbs, fats, insulin, etc. Similar body somatotypes often have SIMILAR nutritional needs, but different people eating history, weight history, and MANY lifestyle factors always come into play. Your "coaches" diet that worked for HIM, as a mesomorph/endomorph... will be HORRIBLE for you if your an ectomorph. MY DIET will only work for ME... and only be close to someone built like me!
If you've ever tried a diet chosen basically at random that WORKED for you... you got lucky. Worse... just because it worked THEN, doesn't mean it will work again.
Our metabolisms are a constantly moving target. And just like how our bodies stop responding to a training regimen if we stay with it too long, often, our bodies will stop responding to a diet that we've used too long!
So how do you find what works???
The answer lies in:
1) Finding a professional, like Lisa Brightman or myself with MANY year experience dealing with hundreds of different unique metabolisms,
2) Being patient, and TRACKING your personal intake (NOT FOLLOWING A PRESCRIBED DIET) under the supervision and guidance of that pro,
3) Following YOUR body's response and making adjustments until you find what's working!
4) Then constantly monitoring and adjusting that plan as your body adapts to it.
If you're a business owner, and you never track your income and expenses, and you never monitor what products and processes are making you money, verses COSTING you money... you can't expect to succeed. The same principle holds true for your nutrition and training.
Following a plan designed for someone else's body... WON'T work.
Learn YOUR body, build a plan to address IT'S needs through educated, measured, and SANE tracking, monitoring, and study.
When you're ready to take control and see amazing changes, as opposed to casting your nutrition to chance... come see Lisa and I at BURN Fitness.
My contest prep diet for the past 12-13 weeks has included virtually ZERO sweet potato, tilapia (and other white fish), no asparagus, no cabbage... hardly any white rice or bread! Yes... I ate a LOT of chicken, 97% lean ground turkey, 90% lean ground beef, and pork loin. But I also ate hot Italian sausage, bacon, and cheese. I used a sh_t-ton of protein bars, powder, and ready-to-drink shakes (which most competitors stay away from). I consumed typically 2-4 Pop-Tarts a DAY, including peak-week. I ate two CASES of Rice Krispie Treats, 3 boxes of sugary cereal (Lucky Charms, and Fruit Loops). My calorie intake never went under 3000kcal per day (except by mistake), and my carb intake stayed well north of 200gr the whole prep (I tried to go lower, but crashed my blood-sugar and got sick)...
Bragging??? NO!!!! At over 225 lb and over 6'3"... 3000+ kcal is LOW. My baseline intake runs closer to 4250 kcal/day to maintain 235-240#, so I was in a 1000-1250 kcal deficit for 12+ weeks.
My point...
"Everyone is different"...
Never was a more applicable statement on any subject than the subject of nutrition.
Following some "guru's" diet out of a magazine, or some cookie-cutter meal plan from an old-school prep-coach, or something you found on-line... is a complete crap-shoot, heavy on the crap.
To spare you the complexity of the multiple scientific factors involved, lets just say that EVERY body responds differently to sugars, complex carbs, fats, insulin, etc. Similar body somatotypes often have SIMILAR nutritional needs, but different people eating history, weight history, and MANY lifestyle factors always come into play. Your "coaches" diet that worked for HIM, as a mesomorph/endomorph... will be HORRIBLE for you if your an ectomorph. MY DIET will only work for ME... and only be close to someone built like me!
If you've ever tried a diet chosen basically at random that WORKED for you... you got lucky. Worse... just because it worked THEN, doesn't mean it will work again.
Our metabolisms are a constantly moving target. And just like how our bodies stop responding to a training regimen if we stay with it too long, often, our bodies will stop responding to a diet that we've used too long!
So how do you find what works???
The answer lies in:
1) Finding a professional, like Lisa Brightman or myself with MANY year experience dealing with hundreds of different unique metabolisms,
2) Being patient, and TRACKING your personal intake (NOT FOLLOWING A PRESCRIBED DIET) under the supervision and guidance of that pro,
3) Following YOUR body's response and making adjustments until you find what's working!
4) Then constantly monitoring and adjusting that plan as your body adapts to it.
If you're a business owner, and you never track your income and expenses, and you never monitor what products and processes are making you money, verses COSTING you money... you can't expect to succeed. The same principle holds true for your nutrition and training.
Following a plan designed for someone else's body... WON'T work.
Learn YOUR body, build a plan to address IT'S needs through educated, measured, and SANE tracking, monitoring, and study.
When you're ready to take control and see amazing changes, as opposed to casting your nutrition to chance... come see Lisa and I at BURN Fitness.
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