I'll keep the details about nutrition quick and dirty. For more information I will be posting another installment that is more in-depth. Rules will be slightly different depending on body type(i.e. 350lbs and obese vs. 140lbs and a hard-gainer), so I will start with what is true for everybody.
Protein – You need it like zombies need brains. Like fat kids need cake. Multiply your body weight by 1.5 and that's the amount in grams that you must consume. Softer guys can use their lean body weight instead of their total body weight. That being said, the absolute minimum that anyone is allowed to consume is 300
grams. 150 pounders don't get big or strong eating for 150 pounders.
The following is a little more nuanced.
Carbohydrates – Carb intake depends on goals. For the lifter wanting a world class physique along with the brawn to match, stick to produce and brown rice. Think gluten free for absolute lean gains. If you are already overweight, cutting the junk carbs will be the biggest blow to your unwanted body fat.
However high glycemic processed carbs are utilized at specific periods to maximize gains. Since these type of carbs jack up your insulin levels (and insulin is more anabolic then testosterone), they are an important tool for growth. When you eat them is the important variable.
Sometime within a half-hour after your workout, eat whatever you want.
Seriously.
If you just trained your ass off and know for a fact you left it all at the gym, reward yourself with some junk. I like a 20 piece chicken nugget, a few apple pies, and an ice-cream flurry to go with my post workout shake.
But that's it until your next barn-burner! Fill the rest of the day with low-glycemic, unprocessed carbohydrates. Pasta, bread, and white rice make up the axis of evil as far as your waistline is concerned. I could go on for days, but this is why Americans are fat. The low-fat craze came in the 90's and, 20 years later, we're still obese.
For hard gainers, you need the calories. Make sure your protein intake is higher than the minimum and give yourself more leeway on junk sessions. If the normal trainee gets a junk session after every workout, give yourself 3-4 more per week.
Fat – This is probably the most misunderstood macro-nutrient of all. How does something that taste so good get such a bad rap? Because people are simple.
Fat = Fat, right? Wrong. For starters, fat is necessary for the production of key hormones. Hormones are ultimately what signal muscle gain and fat loss, not pure calorie intake. Cutting fat too low will affect your joints and make you feel lethargic.
If you're diet is mostly whole foods, fat will be more difficult to eat in high quantities anyways, so regulation is not so much a point of concern. You don't need to trim the juicy parts off of your ribeye and you don't need to carry around almonds and avocados to keep from starving in between meals.
A sample meal day would look like this:
8:00am
Protein Shake – 50g
5 eggs, yolk and all – 35g
2 pieces wheat toast – 8g
Whole Milk – 8g
11:00am
Pre-workout Shake-20g
1:00pm
Post-workout Shake – 50g
Fast Food Binger – 60g
4:00pm
10oz steak with veggies and brown rice – 60g
7:00pm
Homemade Chili – 50g
10:00pm
Bedtime Shake – 50g
391g of protein, with most of the days nutrients coming from either a protein shake or some type of whole, single-ingredient food. While the binger post-workout seems like it would be counter-productive, the anabolic gains are going to be drug-like. Four workouts a week means four binge meals out of fourty-two.
It's not what you do some of the time that matters. It's what you do most of the time.
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