For many people, working out their nutrition and “diet” is the hardest part of the whole working out/getting fit lifestyle. But really, it doesn’t have to be that hard.
For me, it’s all about the macronutrients. And once you’ve determined those, the rest is easy.
MACROS ARE KING!
Here is a typical daily goal for a male with goals to get ripped abs and add some mass (these targets change throughout the nutrition program in this case and are dependent on age, height, weight and lifestyle):
Total Calories – 1,846
Carbs – 152g
Protein – 190g
Fats – 53
Fiber – 30-40
These targets can be achieved in three meals a day, four, five, six…whatever works best on any given day.
But the cool and liberating thing about eating this way is, it doesn’t necessarily matter what you eat in order to get to those goals. Sure the goal is to eat healthy, but eating this way gives flexibility to eat healthy most of the time and eat what you really want the rest of the time (within reason:).
Let’s say, on a given day you’ve eaten uber-healthy: oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, protein shake after workout, tuna sandwich and salad for lunch, some lean protein and veg for dinner…then, if the macros allow for it, you can have a slice of pizza on the way home from a movie, or a milkshake, or a couple of beers (or a Captain or two) or whatever it is you want AS LONG AS IT FITS YOUR MACROS!
There’s no need to give up the foods you love, no need to deprive yourself. No need to precook a week’s worth of chicken breasts to go with steamed broccoli. Ask your coach to help you determine what your calorie and macro goals should be, use MyFitnessPal or other online tracking site to keep track of what you’re eating. And once again, eating won’t be a chore, it’ll be a pleasure.
Enjoy!
By: Dennis Abrams – TEAM RAGE Contributing Author
