Body Banao

Increased strength leads to more muscle, thus burning more calories and consequently lower body fat. While strength training builds muscle and burns fat, healthy diet is equally important. .

Strength & Energy. You require energy – calories from food – for lifting weights and regular activities.
Muscle Mass. Protein is important to develop muscle & promoting muscle recovery. Nutrition also reduces muscle destruction. Body Fat. Fat is emergency fuel. Your body retains the fat if your calorie/fat intake is insufficient. Health. Testosterone levels, hydration, vitamins, minerals, fiber, … Your dietary choices mirror your health. Follow these 10 nutrition rules to deal with the above.

1. Consume Breakfast. As soon as you get up in the morning, you are in a catabolic state. Consume breakfast prevents the muscle destruction and promotes fat loss by increasing the calories burnt at rest.
Few breakfast choices include: scrambled eggs and veggies, oats & bananas, protein shakes, smoothies, etc.

2. Eat before and after Workout. Before workout to provide you the required energy at the gym. After workout for muscle recovery & restore your energy levels.
Before Workout. An hour before exercising. Proteins, carbs, little fat. E.g. meat, rice, veggies.
After Workout. Immediately after working out. Post workout drink of whey & oats. Or complete meal of proteins, carbs & little fats.  As you burn more calories after exercising you can eat junk food at this time.

3. Eat Each 3 Hours. Increases your metabolism. Protects against cravings by filling you up with healthy foods. Gives you the calories required for energy and increase weight. Sample meal plan:
7am. Eggs and vegetables — more breakfast choices.
10am. Quark cheese and fruit.
1pm. Tuna, brown rice & pineapple.
4pm. Mackerel, brown rice & apple.
5pm. Exercise.
6pm. Post workout protein drink.
7pm. Meat/poultry and potatoes & vegetables.
10pm. Cottage cheese, berries, flax seeds & fish oil.

4. Eat 1g Protein/lb of body weight everyday. Protein is necessary to develop muscle & muscle recovery. It also increases your metabolism: your body uses 25kcal per 100kcal protein consumed, which is higher than for carbs or fats.
Good protein sources include:
Red Meat. Beef, pork, lamb, deer, buffalo, etc.
Poultry. Chicken, turkey, duck, etc.
Fish. Tuna, salmon, sardines, mackerel, etc.
Eggs. Ingest the yolk, as it is rich in vitamins.
Dairy. Milk, cheese, cottage cheese, quark, yogurt, etc.
Whey. Not needed but excellent for post workout shakes.

5. Consume Fats. Your body retains fat if you don’t eat fats. Healthy fats are good for your health, satisfy and economical way to obtain your daily calories. Your diet should provide with around 30%. Stabilize your fat consumption. Saturated Fats. Boost testosterone levels. Dietary cholesterol has no relation to blood cholesterol. Butter, whole eggs, red meat.  Monounsaturated Fats. Safeguard against heart diseases and cancers. Olive oil, olives, mixed nuts.  Polyunsaturated Fats. Boost testosterone levels, help fat loss, reduce swelling, … Fish oil, flax seeds, mixed nuts.  Unhealthy Fats. Stay away from margarine, artificial trans fats or vegetable oils such as corn and sunflower oils.

6. Consume Whole Foods. Processed foods have extra sugar, trans fats, nitrates, corn syrup, sodium and plenty of chemicals. They raise your body fat and harm your health. Eat complete foods.
Whole Foods: Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, vegetables, legumes, fruits, rice, oats, quinoa, …
Processed Foods: Bagels, pizza, cookies, cakes, chips, fruit bars, cereals, hot dogs, bologna, sausages, fish sticks, frozen meals, … Breads, fruit juice, yogurts and various others are regarded healthy but include sugars, corn syrup, etc. Frozen veggies are processed but free of additives. Stay away from anything that comes from a box, cook everything yourself & study the labels.

7. Consume body weight in lbs x 18kcal everyday. Fat is crisis storage fuel in your body. If your calorie intake is insufficient, your body stores fat & destroys muscle. But you must preserve muscle to raise your metabolism. Besides food provides energy.  Consume your body weight in lbs x 18 kcal daily to maintain weight. BW x 16 for fat loss. BW x 20 for weight gain. However consuming healthy foods, not junk makes a difference. Moreover as you exercise, you burn more calories.

8. Consume Vegetables and/or Fruits with Each Meal. Essential for vitamins, fiber, minerals, … Green veggies have no calories, thus promoting fat/weight loss. Some Excellent Foods are spinach, broccoli, pumpkin, berries, apples & tomatoes. Keep it Simple. Raw vegetables are excellent. Some options are sliced chicory with rice. Raw carrots as munchies. Tuna salads.  Study Cooking. Find out recipes on the Net. Include spices in your cooking. Practice, so that you can get great tasting veggie recipes.  Use mental power. Stop behaving like a child. You must eat veggies. In worst situation prepare smoothies.

9. Drink a Gallon Water Daily. Strength training depletes water via sweating. Water is essential for muscle recovery and to avert water retention: your body stores water in case of shortage. Drink a US gallon water per day; this is 4 liter. 2 glasses of water with each meal helps you reach 1 gallon. Drink the remaining while you workout. While green tea is good, it may also have caffeine, so watch out.

10. Stick to 90% Perfection. 6 meals daily means 42 meals/week. Eat 4 junk meals/week. Use the same rule for drinks: water 90% of the time, alcohol and soda rest of the time. This gives you a change & promotes fat loss.
One effective technique is to eat the same food from Monday to Saturday; drink alcohol on Friday/Saturday; dinner out on Saturday evening and junk food on Sunday afternoon.

After you have used the aforementioned rules for 6 months minimum, you can try other diets. However, first master the nutrition rules.