Let’s talk about nutrition
lets talk about nurition
Nutrition is – in all honesty – a huge part of your physique development journey. If you want to grow, you have to be in a surplus (eating more than you are burning off); and if you want to get lean, you need to be in a deficit (eating less than your body needs). However, there is a lot of misleading information out there about nutrition, and it has been hugely over complicated by clueless influencers on Instagram.
Low carb, high carb, high fat, high protein, only eating at certain times… It can be super confusing, right?
The truth is that there are a lot of ways to achieve results, and often the main thing people miss is using the basics and being consistent.
Because it doesn’t matter what approach you use to achieve your physique goals: consistency always wins.
Calories
Calories are the be all and end all. In fact, calories dictate everything – whether you lose weight, gain weight or maintain your weight – and they are easy to track! But if you aren’t tracking, you are guessing and that isn’t going to work, especially not if you are working hard to develop an elite physique.
So, you need to make sure – above everything else – that your calories are set in line with your goals, and you can take it from there. However, the disclaimer here is that you really are what you eat, and as such, food quality always wins. Too many people try to cram in ice cream because it fits their calories instead of focusing on nutritious foods.
What I’m saying is: don’t try and CHEAT your diet! If you stick to eating food that: you enjoy; digests well; is full of nutrients; has solid macronutrients, 80% of the time, you are onto a winner.
Protein
After calories, no matter what phase you are in (i.e. dieting, pushing, maintenance), protein is the next most important variable for your progress. However, it is often pushed too high, and equally, the protein sources some people choose to consume can also be of very poor quality.
In my experience, consuming 2.2g of protein per kg of bodyweight is enough for the majority of people – only if you are training hard! This total daily amount has also been shown to be optimal for muscle repair and growth when broken down into regular protein feedings across the day. Consuming 150g protein at breakfast and 20g pre-bed just won’t be as effective as having six 30g servings across the day.
An easy tip to make sure you hit your target is to build your daily meals and snacks around the protein source. Oh, and here’s another one: don’t bastardise chicken and protein shakes – vary your sources!
Nutrients
I don’t even have to cover this one as I’d like to think it is obvious but EAT YOUR FRUIT and VEG and eat a lot of it. Micronutrients are king. That’s all.
Eat in a relaxed state
No, you aren’t supposed to be constantly bloated.
No, eating while running about isn’t good.
And yes, you are probably hungrier because you didn’t even acknowledge what you just put in your mouth it went down that fast.
Take your time, chew your food and focus on eating foods you can digest well.
Be consistent and have a plan
There are hundreds of principles for nutrition that work, and you can make it as complicated as you like! However, if you can’t stick to a plan for a prolonged period of time, it doesn’t matter what sexy protocol you’re using: it won’t work, and you won’t get results.
Nail the basics, and once you have done that you can then start to slowly improve and implement more advanced principles. Don’t run before you can walk.
Ally Burdge