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Basic Diet Planning Basic Diet Planning
Frontline
08-31-2005
Original Article By Frosty at Steroidology

Basic Diet Planning, Part I

The first thing everyone needs to know is that there is NO ideal protein/carb/fat ratio that everyone should follow. This is an absolutely crucial point you must understand. What you read will also make a lot more sense, because when you hear one person raving about low carb and another hating low carb, you will understand that it's possible for both individuals to be correct due to physiological differences between individuals.

So what you need to do is determine the correct ratios for YOU. This can be done via Mauro DiPasquali's Metabolic Diet. This is basically eating low carb (5% calories from carbs) for 3 weeks, then gradually increasing carbs and gradually decreasing fat each week until you feel your best. If you feel ok while on 5% calories from carbs, you can start by increasing carbs by 5% and reducing fat by 5% each week until you reach your optimum ratio. If you feel really terrible on the low carb, you can increase the levels faster, perhaps 10% each week.

Protein is generally at least 1g/lb of lean body mass.

Once you learn your ideal ratio, then you have learned an invaluable piece of information for your dieting success in the future. No longer will you jump from one unsuccessful diet to the next, because you now know what you need.

Of course, and increase in activity can warrant a change in the ratios slightly, but since you found your ideal amount, this can be easily done.

How do you keep track of all this? Go to www.fitday.com and create an account. This is an online fitness and diet journal that is an extremely valuable tool. The calorie calculator is actually pretty accurate as well, so you can save time and effort by using that tool instead of calculating everything by hand.

Basic food selection is whole, natural foods. This means meats, eggs, dairy, veggies, some grains, and fruits. Animal fats are fine, but keep plant fats in strict moderation for optimal health and gains.

Water intake should be about 1 liter for every 50 lbs of bodyweight. Drink filtered water preferably.

Eat protein with EVERY meal.

Ideally, eat every 2-3 hours, but it's not the end of the world if you don't.

Basic Diet Planning, Part II

First, you have to determine what your goal is for your diet.

1. Are you trying to gain maximum muscle mass?
2. Are you trying to gain lean body mass?
3. Are you trying to lose body fat and gain muscle?
4. Are you trying to lose body fat and maintain muscle mass?
5. Are you trying to lose maximum weight?

Once you’ve done this, then you have to determine other important factors.

A. Am I doing this with no drugs?
B. Am I using drugs to aid the process?

1. Gaining maximum muscle mass

A. For the natural lifter

In order to gain maximum muscle mass, calories have to be very high. Very high is over a 500 calorie surplus per day for the natural lifter. The higher the calories, the more mass you will put on, but the higher you go, the more the percentage is of fat. You have to determine how much fat you are willing to accumulate in order to gain the desired muscle mass.

Diets when bulking are simple and the rules aren’t very strict. This does not mean you can eat junk, as eating clean (whole, natural foods) is a requirement for ANY type of diet. When bulking, shoot for at least 1g/lb of lean body mass that you wish to acquire. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs and wish to weigh 220 lbs, you should eat a minimum of 220g of protein per day. This is an important concept that is missed by many people – you have to eat enough calories to maintain the weight you WANT to be. If you only eat for the weight you are, you will stay that weight. Since 1g/lb of LBM of desired weight is a minimum, a good amount to shoot for is 1.5g/lb LBM of desired weight. This will help make sure you have plenty of protein to gain the muscle you want. Excess is not a bad thing. It’s better to have more than to have less when trying to gain maximum muscle mass. Excellent sources are beef, chicken, whole eggs, buffalo, ostrich (although expensive), fish, other seafood, or even pork, bacon, and sausage if you can get high quality products.

There are two other macronutrient aspects of a bulker, that is, carbs and fats. Protein generally stays the same since it is a very poor idea to try to increase calories by increasing protein intake (since protein is both calorically expensive to digest and also taxes the digestive system more than fats or carbs).

So when bulking, you should keep in mind how you respond to carbs. If you’re carb sensitive, then you need to be conscious of the amount of carbs you eat, and concentrate carbs in the 4-6 hour post-workout period. If you are not carb sensitive, then the sky’s the limit as far as carbs go, although it is still a good idea to concentrate carbs in the 4-6 hour post-workout period. Excellent carb sources include long-grain brown rice (this is the only grain I really recommend due to its low phytic acid content), potatoes, yams, beets, and bananas (which only have a 30% fructose content as opposed to the usual 50% in most fruits). Oatmeal is OK, but try to keep intake of it fairly moderate, and eat the kind that you actually have to cook, not the instant or minute oats. Another important part of the diet, although not a major source of calories, is having a high intake of vegetables. This is very important because they supply many vital nutrients.

With respect to fat intake, the sky is the limit. Fat is a great source of concentrated calories. It’s important to remember that even in untrained individuals, 50% of resting metabolic rate is fueled by fat. In trained athletes, up to 70% of calories of RMR can come from fat. This is important when bulking. Many people have a fear of fats, but keep in mind that the only bad fats are trans and hydrogenated fats. Excessive polyunsaturated fats such as excess vegetable or flax oil intake is bad, even though polyunsaturated fats are not bad in and of themselves. A good rule of thumb is that saturated fats and monounsaturated fats should be around equal, but saturated fats being a bit higher is perfectly fine. Polyunsaturated fats should absolutely be under 10% calories, but preferably under 6%. Most of your fats should come from animal sources, and this has the extremely important benefit of increasing testosterone levels. High intake of vegetable or flax oils without animal fats will reduce testosterone levels which reduces muscular gains. This also makes gains a higher percentage as fat. So if you want to add calories via fat, excellent sources are fatty cuts of beef or non-lean ground beef, butter, lard, egg yolks, chicken with the skin, cream, full fat cheeses, and whole milk. This will assure proper fat ratios as well as the proper fats for maintaining testosterone levels.

One thing that is very important is to gradually increase your caloric intake. There are a couple reasons for this: a) a sudden increase in calories is more likely to result in fat accumulation; b) a sudden increase in food is very taxing on a digestive system that is used to a lower caloric intake. For example, if you always used to eat low fat, your gall bladder may be atrophied, and a sudden intake of fat could result in severe digestive problems. Just give your body time to adjust to the increased caloric intake to avoid problems.

The main things are whole, natural foods, mostly animal products, and high calories.

Here is an excellent read for those of you that are afraid to gain body fat: http://www.beyondmass.com/forums/sh...p?threadid=1664

B. For the AAS user

The same rules apply as with the natural lifter, but calories can be increased significantly more without gaining too much fat. How much you can increase your calories over a natural lifter is dependant on the AAS used and the amounts administered. For example, a person on 2g of testosterone per week can eat a huge amount more than the athlete on 500mg of testosterone per week without gaining excessive body fat.

The other aspect that is different is protein intake should be higher to facilitate the increased protein synthesis. This means 1.5g/lb LBM of desired weight is a minimum, and 2g/lb LBM of desired weight is desired. Again, it’s better to have too much than not enough, especially when on AAS.

Here is an excellent read for those of you that are afraid to gain body fat: http://www.beyondmass.com/forums/sh...p?threadid=1664

2. Gaining lean body mass.

A. For the natural lifter

In order to gain lean body mass, calories have to be much lower than in a bulker. A 200-500 calorie surplus per day is more supportive of lean mass gains and helps to minimize fat gain. Food selections remain the same as in a bulker, just change proportions and portions according to your needs and your body chemistry. Lean mass gains also require different training routines from a bulker (addition of cardio and HIIT, for example), so keep in mind that diet isn’t the only factor.

1g/lb LBM of desired weight should be a minimum, and it is even more important to concentrate carb intake in the 4 hour-post workout period to minimize fat gain.

B. For the AAS user

Similar rules apply except protein intake should be higher than for the natural lifter, with 1.5g/lb LBM of desired weight being the minimum. Calories can also be higher, but again, this is dependant on the AAS used and the doses administered.

3. Losing bodyfat and gaining muscle

A. For the natural lifter

This is the goal of almost any person new to lifting. “I want to bulk and lose body fat, too.” I will be blunt – you can’t bulk and lose body fat at the same time. In fact, bulking by its definition means you are going to accumulate body fat, so even a “lean bulker” is a misnomer.

However, it is possible to gain muscle while losing fat. This is done by eating 0-200 calories above maintenance, but it also requires the right type of training.

The same general rules apply to this goal as well, just adjust portions and proportions as needed.

B. For the AAS user

The same rules apply but you can eat more calories. Again, the amount you can eat depends on AAS used and dose administered.

4. Losing body fat and maintaining muscle mass

A. For the natural lifter

This is probably the most difficult thing to do, as it requires careful attention to both training and diet. As a general rule of thumb, shoot for 1.5g/lb of LBM of protein. Protein is thermogenic (burns calories) and helps maintain muscle tissue, so it is very important for dieting. One mistake that you can make when dieting is to get most of your calories from protein powder, as it is far less thermogenic than meat.

Food selections are the same, but manipulations of the portions and proportions become very important. Timing is also crucial. Post-workout carbs can help maintain muscle mass, so it is important to remember this.

One pound of fat is 4,082 calories (1 lb = 453.59229 g, 1 g of fat = 9 calories, so 453.59229 * 9 = 4082 calories/lb of fat), so you need to restrict about 580 calories per day in order to lose 1 lb of fat per week. This is probably the most calorie restriction you want to do if you want to maintain muscle mass. If you go too low, you will surely lose muscle mass.

B. For the AAS user

Dieting follows the same basic rules, although the extent to which calories can be restricted are greater. Yet again, the amount you can restrict depends on the AAS and the dosage admisistered. Protein should be at 2g/lb LBM minimum to help maintain muscle mass, as well as increase thermogenesis.

Using DNP is a totally different game, and I will not cover it in depth here. Basically you need to eat extremely low fat, high protein, and a decent amount of low GI fruit carbs. Don’t worry so much about calories, because the fat will melt off regardless if you follow those general rules. Water intake should obviously be high, but PLEASE don’t use only this info for your DNP dieting. Please read the following link before you even consider it: http://forum.mesomorphosis.com/showthread.php?t=2159

5. Trying to lose as much weight as possible

A. For the natural lifter

I have no idea why you would want to do this, but if you want to lose muscle mass and screw up your metabolism, crash diets work great. It’s also a great way to really stress your body via inadequate nutrient intake, inadequate calories, and general increase in physiological and psychological stress. This is good if you want to look like an Ethiopian and be unhealthy.

B. For the AAS user

*Smack upside the head* Find another hobby.  
  #1  
Frontline on 08-31-2005, 11:28 AM
Default Basic Diet Planning Part 2

Original Article By Frosty at Steroidology

Basic Diet Planning, Part III

Another very important aspect of diet that most people either don't know about or ignore is nutrient content.

There is something that many of you probably have heard of (at least I hope so), and that is the Recommended Daily Allowance, or RDA of nutrients. This is established as the requirements of sedentary average Americans. Here's the deal - you're not sedentary and likely not of average weight (most of you are significantly higher). If you weigh more than average, you need more nutrients. If you're an athlete, you need even more nutrients. If you're an AAS user, then you need a LOT more nutrients. If you're all three, then you really need a high nutrient intake. You can use www.fitday.com to assess your nutrient intake.

Vitamins A and D

There are some general patterns that emerge from the average bodybuilding diet. Most are usually low fat, and/or they include the wrong kind of fat. This creates low amounts of fat-soluable vitamins, which are extremely important. Bodybuilding diets are notoriously deficient in vitamins A and D, and this is based on the RDA. A general rule of thumb is at least 10 times the RDA for these two nutrients, and an easy way to do that is through cod liver oil supplementation. Don't worry, you are not going to overdose with natural vitamins. Toxicity levels were established with synthetic vitamins. In order to OD with cod liver oil, you'd have to drink gallons of it. I think it's safe to say that is not going to happen.

Dietary sources of vitamin A include liver, cod liver oil, egg yolks, butter, fish eggs, milk, and to a lesser extent, animal fats. Dietary sources of vitamin D include cod liver oil, egg yolks, butter, milk, lard from pastured pigs, shrimp, and fish eggs.

It is also important to note that beta-carotene is NOT vitamin A. Beta-carotene can be converted into vitamin A if the individual is healthy and the conditions are optimal, but even optimally the conversion is an inefficient 6:1 ratio. This means 6 units of beta-carotene is needed for 1 unit of vitamin A. Also, fat is important in this conversion due to the need of bile salts. There are many factors that can inhibit this conversion, so play it safe and don't substitute beta-carotene for vitamin A.

Zinc

Another nutrient that is usually very low in diets is zinc. Zinc is an extremely important mineral for the athlete, and deficiencies are notorious. Your richest source of dietary zinc is oysters. Oysters are extremely good for you and include them in your diet whenever you can to assure adequate zinc intake. They are also very rich in other minerals and vitamins.

Vitamin C

I shouldn't need to explain the importance of vitamin C. Sources of vitamin C include bell peppers, broccoli, oranges, acerola berries, etc.


There are many many important nutrients that are required in your diet. A lack of nutrients can cause a myriad of problems - anything from decreased stomach acid production to decreased adrenal function. It is not a good idea to concentrate on just one or two nutrients unless you have a known deficiency. The best idea is to regularly consume foods that are very nutrient-dense.

Here is a list of very nutrient-dense foods that you should consume regularly:

1. Liver
2. Oysters and other shellfish
3. Egg yolks and fish eggs
4. Cod liver oil
5. Sea vegetables such as kelp
6. Steamed spinach
7. Steamed broccoli
8. High quality organic butter
9. High quality raw cheeses
10. Bone broths

Vegetable juicing is also an excellent way to get in vitamins and minerals.

If you do not have an adequate intake of nutrients, your body will use its own stores to make up for it. In fact, that is one of the main functions of the skeletal system - to store minerals. However, if nutrient intake is deficient for long enough, problems can occur.

So eat a diet rich in nutrients to optimize gains and health.

Basic Diet Planning, Part IV: Workout Nutrition

The goal of this section is to cover basic workout nutrition for the weight lifter.

I will divide the nutrition into three sections: Pre-workout, during workout, and post-workout.

Pre-workout

Preworkout nutrition is important because it gives your body fuel to have energy for your workouts. This includes not only calories and protein, but also chemicals that will help improve brain function for workouts (like choline and tyrosine found in eggs and beef).

What you eat before your workout depends on your metabolic type. For those that are carb-sensitive, eating a bowl of rice in your pre-workout meal will likely make you want to put on some PJ's and crawl in bed. The more carb-type individuals, however, could very likely get a lot of energy from a meal containing a lot of carbs pre-workout.

A base pre-workout meal would consist of the following:

90-120 minutes before workout:

-8 oz of liver, buffalo, ostrich, or lean beef
-3-4 whole eggs
-3-6g of fish or cod liver oil

*note - you can include some caffeine and/or ephedrine here to get in a killer workout.

This will supply your body with the protein end and foods to help with brain (CNS and PNS function, really) function for your workouts. If you're a carb type, add in some low GI carbs. Yams would be an excellent choice, but if you feel great after eating rice or oatmeal then eat rice or oatmeal. Use an amount that you know works, but if you're not sure, gradually add carbs into your pre-workout meal and see how you respond. If you add 25g of carbs and your workouts are better than with no carbs, do this. If you then bump it up to 50g but you feel tired, then cut back on the carbs. Experimentation is key to find the right amount for you. This is an important meal that deserves experimentation so that you can regularly get in killer workouts instead of hoping you'll luck out and have the energy that day.

Some people can benefit from consuming sugary carbs 15-30 minutes before you start lifting (depending on the GI of the carbs) as sugar has the ability to temporarily increase brain function. The key is beginning the workout before you "crash" (where mental function will plumment to below baseline).

During-workout

During a workout, proper nutrition can give your body fuel to complete a grueling workout and also create an anti-catabolic environment or possibly even an anabolic evironment.

While sugary dry fruit carbs can be beneficial, such as bananas or dates, it is generally recommended that you use simple refined sugars such as a combo of dextrose or glucose and maltodextrin, in about a 50/50 combo. If you don't like drinking sugar, fruits like dates and bananas will work decently.

Fast-acting protein also plays a role in stopping catabolism and promoting anabolism during the workout. Hydrolysed whey and/or BCAAs work well here. Food protein really isn't fast-acting enough to work, although normal whey isolate can help.

Here are some general guidelines you can use to start. You can fine-tune these based on your experience:

Protein:
0.4g/kg LBM BCAAs

Carbs:
12-72 reps per workout - 0.400g/Kg of LBM
73-200 reps per workout - 0.533g/kg of LBM
200-360 reps per workout - 0.666g/kg of LBM
360-450 reps per workout – 0.800g/kg of LBM

Post-workout

In the post-workout period, it's important to get some fast acting carbs and protein in once again.

Dextrose or glucose mixed with maltodextrin in a 50/50 mixture works well for the carbs. The maltodextrin serves to increase the glycemic index (therefore insulin response). Remember that insulin is extremely anabolic, and it's very anabolic for muscle tissue in the post-workout period. Insulin also significantly reduces cortisol, further helping anabolism.

Hydrolysed whey, BCAAs, or normal whey isolate works well in the post-workout period. The former two will hit the blood stream faster and will be more anabolic, quickly supplying muscle tissue with amino acids.

Here are some general guidelines you can use to start. You can fine-tune these based on your experience:

Protein:
0.6g/kg LBM

Carbs:
12-72 reps per workout - 0.600g/Kg of LBM
73-200 reps per workout - 0.800g/kg of LBM
200-360 reps per workout – 1.000g/kg of LBM
360-450 reps per workout – 1.200g/kg of LBM

Other supplements:
15g glutamine 600-1000mg ala 7g creatine Vinegar (taken 10 minutes after your carbs)
Sea salt
Vitamin/mineral supplement glutamine is controversial, and you can leave it out if you want. There are studies showing that it does not help glycogen replenishment and there are studies showing it does. It definitely won't hurt, though.

Alpha-lipoic acid will help drive the carbs into the muscle tissue. creatine helps replenish creatine phosphate stores in muscles, which can be supersaturated after exercise.

The vinegar will help replenish glycogen stores, but make sure you take it at least 10 minutes after your carb drink, as the acidity of vinegar will reduce the glycemic index via slowed gastric emptying.

The salt will help replenish sodium as well as help creatine storage.

The vitamin will help make up for all the refined sugar (which is a negative in the nutrient department).

After the initial post-workout period, things become more goal-dependant. If you're trying to gain lots of muscle, you want to maximize the 4-6 hour post-workout period by eating more carbs.

1 hour post-workout (solid food)

Protein:
0.4g/kg LBM

Carbs:
12-72 reps per workout - 0.400g/Kg of LBM
73-200 reps per workout - 0.533g/kg of LBM
200-360 reps per workout - 0.666g/kg of LBM
360-450 reps per workout – 0.800g/kg of LBM

Other supplements:
Digestive aid with betaine HCl (since HCl production in stomach is reduced after strenuous exercise and sugar consumption)

With this meal, carbs should be high GI carbs such as baked potatoes, and in meals following this within the 6 hour period should include carbs of gradual reduction in GI. Example, 1 hour post-workout eat potatoes, 3 hours PWO eat rice, 5 hours post-workout eat oats or yams. This become more important for those interested in lean mass gains. Take advanatage of this time period to maximize muscle gains.


All these amounts can be adjusted based on your goals and budget. If you're trying to lose body fat, reducing the carb amounts could be a good idea.

Once again, experimentation is the key. Use this as a general guide and adjust amounts based on your experience.

Don't fall victim to "analysis paralysis." If you can't do this, just eat food. Don't worry over getting everything exact or using the exact foods I mentioned, etc. It's best to just workout and get some food, but if you can follow these recommendations then it can help maximize gains.

Basic Diet Planning, Part V: Supplements

You're probably wondering why I really haven't mentioned supplements up to this point. Why's that? The reason is that supplements are just that - supplements. They are to be used as a supplement to a solid diet. Many people will concentrate on supplements instead of diet and exercise, which will lead to certain failure and frustration.

Basic supplements

Cod liver oil

Cod liver oil is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, as well as vital fat-soluable vitamins A and D.

Many people choose flax oil as their main omega-3 supplement. This is wrong. The reason for this is that flax oil contains zero EPA and DHA. EPA is needed for series 3 prostaglandins (very generally, anti-inflammitory), and DHA is important for brain and nervous system function.

Flax oil contains alpha-linoleic acid (LNA), which can be converted into EPA via enzymes (delta-6 desaturase [D6D], elongase, and delta-5 desaturase [D5D] enzymes). LNA can also be converted into DHA, but the pathway is even longer: D6D > elongase > D5D > elongase > D4D.

The problem is the D6D enzyme is blocked by sugar consuption, trans-fatty acids and hydrogenated fats, as does excess omega-6. Deficiencies in Biotin, vitamin E, protein, zinc, B12 and B6 interfere with the D6D enzyme. Overeating and malnutrition (notorious in bodybuilders and atheletes), along with alcohol consumption will inhibit the D6D enzyme as well!

What does all that mean? It simply means that the body can possibly convert the LNA in flax oil into the required forms, but this is very often compromised or even blocked in some people. Cod liver supplies the omega-3 fats in the needed forms (EPA and DHA) which bypasses this prostaglandin pathway.

So 1 tablespoon of cod liver oil a day supplies the diet with a good amount of EFAs as well as vitamins A and D. Not to mention it's cheaper than fish oil.

Whey protein whey protein isolate can be useful to consume post-workout, in the morning (before AM cardio especially), and at other times where you wish to spike blood amino acid levels.

The only thing that I will stress is to not use this as a meal. If you're in an absolute pinch, it's better than nothing, but remember that it is a supplement.

Creatine creatine is an effective cheap supplement that can help improve workouts and therefore gains. Probably one of the most effective supplements.

Vitamin/mineral supplement

As mentioned above, adequate nutrient intake is important for us. Supplemental vitamins and minerals can definitely help, but you have to make sure to use the right kinds of vitamins. Don't go to Walmart and pick up a 6 pack of Centrum vitamins. They are a waste of money. They use isolated synthetic forms that have very poor absorption.

Whole food vitamins are the best source, and what they are is essentially condensed food. Standard Process is an excellent company with good whole food vitamins, but you have to order it through a doctor (you could get a chiropractor to do it for you). Garden of Life is a popular brand that has whole food vitamins, and they have an iron-free vitamin that is of good quality. It is expensive, but it is good for you.

The next best choice would be to select a vitamin supplement that uses natural forms and includes synergistic nutrients. Buffered vitamin C is better than plain ascorbic acid, for example. This is cheaper, but not quite as good as the whole food vitamins.

Another excellent way to get in vitamins and minerals is to do vegetable juicing. This would be extremely good in the post-workout meals. A juicer can cost about $60, and it is a good way to aid in digestion and utilization of the nutrients in the veggies. Just avoid juicing raw spinach or cruciferous veggies (a little is ok).
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  #2  
Tmno on 05-22-2011, 06:03 AM
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great, very detailed and interesting, thanks for sharing this article
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