It’s a common term that’s being used as the catchphrase for the new wave of eating. However, this is an old school phenomenon that your average gym patron can easily adhere to. In short, it summarizes the need to ensure protein, carbohydrate, and fat needs are met appropriately without neglecting key nutrients for survival.

If it fits our macros.

It’s a common term that’s being used as the catchphrase for the new wave of eating. However, this is an old school phenomenon that your average gym patron can easily adhere to. In short, it summarizes the need to ensure protein, carbohydrate, and fat needs are met appropriately without neglecting key nutrients for survival.

In my recent article, the “Tao of Eating” I discuss what nutrition is and how to treat your meals. This is not an excuse to go on a binge of your favorite food and justify it by thinking that it fits your macronutrient requirements. Rather, this is an opportunity to have a reality check on your eating habits. You can also consider utilizing this method toward your competition goals as well.

The Role of a Clean Food Source

The first requirement in “if it fits your macros” is if it comes from a clean food source. Often, we see our favorite athletes chow on donuts as a cheat meal to hit a carbohydrate goal or watch them grab a box of pizza and have a field day—and we think we can do the same. The key difference, however, is that their training requirements are much higher than yours.

Clean eating is often attributed to raw ingredients. In a fast-food age, we forget how much processing goes into basic food items such as bread or condiments such as ketchup. Therefore, the grocery list and ingredients label should look more like words a fifth grader can pronounce rather than something that requires at least a collegiate level of chemistry to understand.

Adherence to clean eating is difficult and the flexibility lies with sources that appeal more to your palate. For example, instead of eating three chicken-based meals per day, alternate by having some fish, bison, or vegan alternatives such as tofu. By doing this, it decreases the incidence of failure.

If your goal is only for maintaining a generally healthy lifestyle, operate on a level that allows you to look to more options such as switching almond butter for peanut butter once in a blue moon.

However, if your goal is competition, the fewer ingredients something has, and the more it attributes to a direct macronutrient count, the better. For example, bodybuilders may have a snack of only bison meat or cream of rice with almond butter to hit a protein goal or carbohydrate and fat goal, respectively.

You needn’t compete however, in order to meet nutrition goals and this kind of thinking attributes itself greatly to body recomp. Clean eating runs on a spectrum and avoiding processed foods will reap long-term benefits.

The Role of Nutrient Timing

The second requirement is nutrient timing. The great debate exists around protein and not enough attention is paid to carbohydrates and fats. Nutrient timing is often attributed to insulin sensitivity, gastric emptying time, protein sensitivity, and circadian rhythm. In short, when you east depend on your ability to receive nutrients and put them to optimal use.

For those on a busy schedule eating smaller, more frequent meals may seem best but isn’t a practical route. Instead, choose an easier to digest meal later in the day while eating your meals with more dense calorie counts earlier in the day.

Obtaining most of your carbohydrates near your workout time seems to be most effective in replenishing glycogen stores and more importantly keeping metabolic homeostasis. The same, however, is not true for protein. Protein speeds up digestion and having a consistent protein load throughout the day with a bigger spike post-workout seems to be the best way to create an anabolic effect.

Eating smaller, more frequent meals improves gastric emptying time and, as a competitor, this proves to be most useful. Competition, however, adds a level of complexity to micronutrients such as sodium, potassium, and calcium levels. Vascularity, hardness/dryness, inflammation, and water retention can all be manipulated (temporarily) by ensuring micronutrients are accounted for.

For more information on flexible nutrition feel free to slide into the DMs @flexx_fairbairn and follow me on my road to World Championships WNBF 2019.

The post Flexible to Competitive Nutrition appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

After two years of coming to the gym four days a week and not losing a single pound, my client approached me utterly frustrated.

Her solution: That I write her a rigid meal plan that tells her exactly what to eat, when to eat, and how much to eat down to the gram.

I was skeptical and mildly voiced my skepticism that there’s a better way than a rigid meal, but she was adamant. “I like the idea of a meal plan. I’ve tried everything else,” she urged.

In the name of meeting her where she’s at—something I have taken to heart as I make my way through the Precision Nutrition coaching certification—I got on board with her plan to follow a rigid meal plan with carefully-calculated macronutrients:

• Breakfast: 2 whole eggs and one egg white, 1 cup spinach, ½ an avocado.
• Snack: 6 almonds and ¼ cup blueberries.
• And on and on.

She did manage to follow her meal plan down to the exact number of almonds for two full weeks. Then she came to me and confessed, “You were right! It’s too much. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t do the meal plan!”

Diet Rigidity Isn’t the Best Approach

I have seen this situation unfold over and over. People feel particularly motivated to lose weight, gain mass—whatever their body composition goal is—and think a meal plan will ensure they muster up enough discipline to finally make these diet changes. The thing is, we’re just not wired, nor is it practical for our lives, to be that rigid all the time.

Further, often an even bigger problem arises when people fall off their meal plan, because now, not only do they feel like a failure, they also have no idea what they should eat and then all hell really breaks loose.

To a certain degree, it’s a bit like differentiating between memorizing and understanding. You can pass a test by temporarily memorizing the information, but truly understanding the material is what will bring long-lasting success.

After my client established that she needed to lose the meal plan from her life, she became discouraged that something else hadn’t worked for her—that she had once again failed—and now she was at a loss about what to do next.

Not. So. fast.

It was time to rethink the way she thinks about failure—to consider failure as feedback.

After chatting for a bit, she realized she had actually learned a lot from following a rigidly laid out meal plan for two weeks. Not only did she learn it wasn’t the answer for her, she realized it helped her learn a lot about appropriate portion sizes, and become more familiar with how many grams of carbohydrates, protein, and fat she was consuming each day. This would become valuable information moving forward.

In this sense, meal plan dieting might be able to play a role for some people, but as more of a short-term solution that can then be bridged into a more sustainable, long-term plan after.

There are various services that will write meal plans for you if you want to try it for a couple of weeks or a month to help you learn new healthy recipes, get in the habit of cooking your meals, learn about portion sizes, and become more familiar with how many macronutrients your body wants.

• $5 Meal Plan offers some affordable, easy-to-make meals, and although you’re following a generic plan, it will get you cooking whole foods.
• Once a Month Meals promotes batch cooking, so you conceivably could spend one day a month cooking all your meals for the entire month.
• The Six O’Clock Scramble is slightly more personal, as you can customize for things like gluten-free or vegetarian.

But the best, most individualized way if you’re dead set on a meal plan, is always to hire a nutrition coach to figure out your exact wants, needs, and goals, and then design meals accordingly.

More likely than not, you’re going to realize you have gotten all you can from a rigid meal plan and will be ready to take what you learned and create a more sustainable way to live.

Here are three simple tips for long term success that work better than meal plan dieting and allow you to bridge your meal plan into long-term success.

1. Start with Small Habit Changes

Time and time again, research shows taking on one thing at a time—not biting off more than you can chew—is the easiest way for something to become habit.

Think about the idea of brushing your teeth. You just do it every day without thinking about it. It’s almost a subconscious habit. It requires little to no forethought, planning, or willpower.

I recommend making a list of 10 habits you’d like to adopt in the next 12 months, such as drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning so you’re not as hungry when you wake up, or having protein with each meal, or reducing the frequency with which you eat out at restaurants.

Then adopt just one or two of these habits per month over the course of six months to a year. Sometimes it helps to write them all down so you can visually see the small changes you’re making each month.

Before you know it, you’ll be intuitively doing the right things most of the time and it won’t feel like you need more discipline or willpower to eat well. These habits will be second-nature and normal, almost subconscious, like washing your hair.

2. Accept That You’re Not Perfect

Lose the guilt. You’re not perfect, and you’re not going to be perfect with your diet.

Part of the problem here is how we consider some foods “good” foods and other foods “bad” foods, and we associate all this negative attention to bad foods. It creates a dichotomy for success and failure and almost puts pressure on you unnecessarily. As a result, you’re even more tempted by these “bad” foods—they almost have power over you—because we always want what we can’t have.

Food is just food. Not good or bad. Lose the guilt if you don’t eat as cleanly one day as the day before. It doesn’t need to lead to a spiral effect of negativity and a complete unraveling of your diet. Again, it’s just like forgetting to brush your teeth or to put on deodorant one day. It doesn’t need to lead to a month of stinky armpits.

3. Chew Your Food More

This sounds like a silly one but believe it or not chewing your food 15-30 times per bite not only helps you slow down and become more aware when you’re full, it actually helps your digestion and absorption, which ultimately helps your metabolism speed up.

A study from the University of California Davis found that when people chewed almonds longer, they were absorbed faster by the body. Meanwhile, another study found that chewing more led to weight loss and an increase in energy, because when people chewed more, they ingested 12 percent fewer calories. (The researchers think it’s because more chewing alters hormone levels (ghrelin and cholecystokinin). Pretty fascinating.

Remember:

• Step 1: Choose your first habit to change. When it becomes second nature, add a second habit.
• Step 2: Expect to screw up sometimes. When you do, let it go and get back to the habit changes.
• Step 3: Chew, chew, chew.

Keep in mind that food is merely food. Consistency is key and a less than perfect meal doesn’t have to disrupt the whole apple cart.

The post Ditch the Rigid Meal Plan appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Squash is a vegetable that many love to hate. Maybe it’s the texture or perhaps the somewhat bland flavor that is sometimes attributed to it, but the squash has a high nutritional value and it is worth finding ways that you can truly enjoy it and even learn to love it.

Spaghetti squash makes an easy entry point into the squash dinner scene because it’s so delightfully shreddable and maintains a noodle-like texture rather than turning to mush. This dish utilizes that desirable characteristic as a bottom layer in a turkey and harissa squash skillet that will have your taste buds dancing.

This family-friendly skillet is a rustic cross between a Greek-style moussaka and a skillet lasagna. Because spaghetti squash is less intensely flavorful on its own and doesn’t get too soft, it makes the perfect base layer for this skillet rather than eggplant which would be traditional in moussaka.

I’ve lightened up this dish by using turkey rather than lamb to provide a lean protein option that absorbs as much of the tangy sauce as possible. The sauce is made with a red pepper harissa sauce, tomatoes, and it is enriched with spinach and traditional moussaka seasonings. Instead of a béchamel, I’ve topped it all off with large dollops of ricotta cheese resulting in an easy and flavorful family dinner.

Turkey and Harissa Squash Skillet

Calories 447, Protein 37g, Total Carbs 20g, Fat 25g

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 60 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• ½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• 3 cups fresh chopped spinach (about 1 whole 5oz package)
• 1 jar (10oz) prepared harissa sauce either mild or spicy
• 1 can (15oz) crushed tomatoes
• 15oz container ricotta cheese
• Fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped, to garnish

Preparation Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place cut side down on a baking sheet.
3. Bake squash about 30-40 minutes just until it’s easily shreddable. It may still be al dente for better texture.
4. While squash is baking, heat olive oil in an oven-proof skillet (like cast iron) with the onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and allspice.
5. Once turkey is cooked through, add the spinach and cook until spinach is wilted.
6. Remove turkey spinach mixture from skillet and place in a bowl (keep the skillet out). Stir in the harissa sauce and crushed tomatoes then set the bowl aside.
7. When squash is finished, remove from oven and scrape out the squash with a fork. Keep the oven on.
8. Place the squash in the same skillet used for the turkey and spread the squash evenly across the bottom of the skillet.
9. Spoon the turkey spinach mixture over the top of squash.
10. Top with dollops of ricotta cheese.
11. Bake 20 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and serve hot garnished with chopped parsley or cilantro.

The post Turkey and Harissa Squash Skillet appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Being vegan doesn’t always mean being healthy. There are so many unhealthy alternatives and options out there that can be hard to identify. To ensure that I make healthy choices, I try to stay away from any foods that are highly processed and stick to fresh foods that come from the earth.

I’m a huge believer in listening and understanding your body. I don’t count calories or measure any foods, but rather I listen to my body and also take into consideration my training regimen. For instance, leading up to a game, I will need to fuel my body differently than on a day off.

My daily routine never looks the same, but I’m going to walk you through some of my favorite recipes, game-day meals, travel planning and some tips I have learned over the years.

Here is what I typically eat in a day:

• Breakfast: Apple pie oatmeal – rolled oats, plant-based protein powder, gala apples, chia seeds, almond milk, cinnamon, pure maple syrup, walnuts & hemp seeds
• Snack: Protein shake
• Lunch: Sweet potato hash – chopped sweet potato, onion, red bell pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, black beans & field roast “sausages”
• Snack: Rice cakes with almond butter and bananas
• Dinner: Beyond meat burger, sweet potato fries, and mixed veggies

I also wanted to add some of my favorite natural sweeteners for everyone out there with a sweet tooth, some nuts and seeds that will benefit athletes with protein, recovery, and energy for practice and games, and lastly great healthy options for plant-based protein.

Game Day Nutrition

A lot of people ask me what I eat to fuel me on game day throughout the day and a 90 + minute game. My game day nutrition looks different than what I eat on a normal day. Here is a breakdown of what I eat for game days:

• Breakfast: Vanilla Banana Protein Pancakes (made with protein powder) topped with almond butter, fresh fruit, nuts & seeds and a splash of maple syrup
• Snack: Banana & almond butter
• Pre-game meal: Dave’s Killer Bagels with hummus and avocado spread, Beyond Meat sweet Italian sausage, hummus & tomato
• Post-game meal: Chocolate protein, cherry, almond butter & almond milkshake with sweet potato and Beyond meat burger

Recipes

Avo Toast (Personal Recipe):

• Two slices of Dave’s Killer Bread
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 tsp hemp seeds
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• Squeeze of lemon
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Tomato slices optional

Sweet Potato Hash (Personal Recipe):

• 1 cup chopped sweet potato
• ½ onion chopped
• 1 cup red bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup broccoli
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 field roast sausage sliced

As you can see, it’s not really that complicated. You learn to adapt your menu to what works for you through trial and error. Once you have a plan, you try and stick to it because it works. It’s that simple.

I have to make adjustments that someone who is not on a plant-based diet would not have to make, but you would have to do the same if you were going keto or paleo. It’s not the diet that’s the problem, a lot of the times, it’s how you choose to use it.

The post How Does a Pro Soccer Player Fuel Up appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

However, accompanying these new textures and flavors comes a long list of ingredients that are hard to decipher, let alone pronounce. And while they are pitched as a nutritious alternative to traditional snacks, protein bars may not always be as healthy as claimed. Many of the most popular protein bars are filled with sugar alcohols and fiber substances that can cause stomach discomfort—making these snack alternatives potentially harmful for some people. The ability to choose healthy ingredients and avoid unwanted ones makes the “build-your-own” option appealing for those who want more control.

Bake Your Own Bars

Bakebars are do-it-yourself protein bar kits—the meal service subscription equivalent for protein bars instead of meals. Each box comes with pre-portioned ingredients, so all you have to do it simply mix everything together and pop it in the oven to create a week’s worth of healthy, protein-filled snacks. Additionally, Bakebars pride themselves on using all-natural, plant-based ingredients. There is no whey protein, processed fiber ingredients, or sugar alcohols. Instead, they use ingredients like natural nut butter, oat flour, plant-based proteins and natural sweeteners like honey. Bakebars are also gluten, soy, and dairy-free, making them diet-friendly for everyone.

Each box makes ten bars and comes in four flavors: peanut butter crunch, chocolate chip, peanut butter chocolate chip, and oatmeal raisin. Making the bars is as simple as mixing the ingredients, adding water and popping in the oven for about 20 minutes. Each kit contains all of the ingredients you need: you simply have to supply the mixing bowl, oven, pan, and water. Combining some of the ingredients (the nut butter and honey) can require a little bit of elbow grease, but there are instructions included to gently heat the nut butter to make it easier to mix.

Nutritionally, these bars are on par with other standard protein bars. Each bar (54g) contains 230 calories, 10g of fat, 25g of carbohydrates (6g of fiber and 9g of sugar), and 12g of protein. Once baked, they can be stored in the fridge for up to two weeks or in the freezer for up to five months.

My Bakebar Experience

I tried two different flavors: peanut butter chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin. Both have an undertone of “earthy” flavors, but this is typical of bars containing all-natural ingredients. As I mixed the ingredients I would periodically taste the dough at different stages (because who doesn’t lick the bowl when they bake?). I was surprised how much I disliked the peanut butter that was included in the peanut butter chocolate chip kit. It was very salty with almost zero sweetness. The taste got a lot better, however, once the honey was added. Once combined, the mixture actually became quite tasty.

I enjoyed the oatmeal raisin flavor the most. The cinnamon was the star of the show in this kit, and if you’re a fan of cinnamon then this flavor will be your favorite, too. Along with the other nuts and seeds that are often included in the kit, the entire experience reminded me of eating a cinnamon-based granola. (Yum!)

The bars can be stored in either the refrigerator or freezer. Storing and eating them directly from the freezer makes them crunchier—most similar to traditional crunchy granola bars. Eating them from the fridge, or letting them sit out awhile at room temperature, softens the bars. However, if you let them soften too long they will lose their integrity and won’t stay intact. (This could be a perfect way to use them as a mix-in for a parfait.)

The two biggest concerns I have about Bakebars is the fact that they need to be kept cold to stay together, and (possibly as a result of being kept cold) they can sometimes feel pretty dry when you eat them. One of the huge benefits of protein bars, in general, is their convenience. Because packaged protein bars are shelf-stable, you can keep them in the car, at the office, or even in your bag in case you need a quick snack on-the-go. While you could easily store a Bakebar in your bag on the way to the office, leaving it there for an extended period of time will turn it into a granola crumble.

Good for Quality, Not for Portability

Overall, these DIY protein bar kits are a good option for anyone who likes to pay attention to the quality of ingredients that go into their food, anyone following a mostly plant-based diet, or for anyone with gluten, soy, or dairy sensitivities. The price per bar is right around what you would expect for other store-bought protein bars (about $2.50/bar). If you’re looking for an all-natural snack option to keep handy around the house or at your office, then these bars make a healthy, filling option.

The post Personalize Your Snacks with DIY Protein Bar Kits appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

As time went by, my lifting improved. My muscles grew and so did my knowledge. As I learned more about what makes people jacked, however, the advice I received in the gym remained the same. From “buy a bigger dinner plate” to “drink a gallon of milk with your meals,” it seemed like muscle gain was all about consuming a huge amount calories. While the advice “eat big to get big” is not without merit, it misses the larger picture. Excess calories alone are not the be all and end all for muscle gain.

Muscle Gain Is Not Just About Calories

Let’s try a little thought experiment. Do you know the major difference between carbs, fat, and protein? All three contain oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen, but only protein contains nitrogen. It might have been a while since you sat through a chemistry class, so allow me to make it simple. No nitrogen means no protein, which means no muscle. Have you ever tried getting jacked on a diet of 100% olive oil? It’s not going to work because you’re not growing any muscle no matter how many bottles of the stuff you pour down your throat.

If you don’t get enough protein, you’re not even in line to build muscle, as was shown in a recent study. The study participants were divided into low and high protein groups and it was determined that even when getting 40% less than their maintenance calories, the high protein group still gained an impressive amount of muscle. In contrast, the lower protein group only maintained their prior amount of muscle mass.

Gaining Muscle In a Calorie Deficit Is Not Optimal

While fat loss or weight gain are both energy-dependent processes, muscle gain is the result of the integration of training and nutritional stimuli—namely, lifting weights and consuming protein. To maximize muscle gains a calorie surplus is important, just not for the reasons you might think. What’s referred to as “protein turnover” is happening constantly in your body. To actually end up with a net gain of muscle mass, you need muscle protein synthesis to be greater than muscle protein breakdown. This is what makes a calorie surplus more efficient than a calorie deficit for packing on slabs of muscle.

Your body is pretty busy. It doesn’t just sit around idly looking at Instagram, waiting for something to happen before jumping into action. There are a millions of internal processes going on at any one time, and none more so than right after you’ve eaten. This is the time when food is digested, absorbed, and used. It’s also a time when muscle protein breakdown is minimized. The more food you eat, the less time you spend in a caloric deficit. The less muscle you break down, in theory, the more muscle you build.

It’s Not Just About Eating More

Now, before you decide to construct a diet of a million protein shakes supplemented by unlimited pastries to minimize protein synthesis and put on as much size as possible, consider how quickly you can actually build muscle.

People equate fat loss with muscle gain, but they are not the same. If you are trying to build muscle, you’re going to be playing the long game. Getting as fat as possible isn’t going to help get you bigger muscles, and this is where a lot of people go wrong. In reality, you’re looking at a 0.5% of your body weight to be gained as muscle per month, and much less than that when you’ve been training for a long time. Gaining one or two kilograms of muscle a year is winning when you’re advanced, so it makes sense to not try to gain weight too quickly. If you don’t mind getting fatter at the same time, that’s cool, but there’s also a way to gain muscle without getting chubby.

Aim for a 200 to 300 kcal surplus, to begin with. This often works out to 35 to 40 kcal per kilogram of body weight. This is a great starting point, but you will have to adjust based on real-world results.

Decide On Your Protein Intake

The amount of protein you should eat in a day is usually measured by your day end total. I’m here to tell you there’s a better way. Despite the mantra of “make sure you hit your total protein intake by the end of the day” being extremely common, the number of protein feedings per day for muscle gain is more complex than that. In fact, your total protein intake is less a recommendation, and more a by-product of your protein frequency.

To build muscle, you have to send a signal to your body, and for this to work as well as possible, you need to eat enough protein at every feeding. Eating one huge meal a day will send a signal for sure, but it will only send it once. Eating lots of tiny amounts of protein won’t really send a signal at all.

In a study that specifically looked at rate of protein frequency, the subjects either consumed a whey shake of 25g in one serving or 25g split into 10 servings over three hours containing 2.5g of protein in each serving. Despite the fact that the same amount of protein was taken overall, the 25g of protein taken in one serving spiked amino acids (the building blocks of protein) in the blood more than when the 25g was split. Where muscle growth is concerned, a larger spike of amino acids in the blood is a very good sign that muscle gains are on the way.

Our goal needs to be that we send the right signals to tell the body to build as much muscle as possible and to send that signal as many times as we can. To do this, make sure to eat 0.4g/kg/body weight to 0.5g/kg/body weight of quality protein at each meal—or 0.3g/kg/kg/body weight of protein from whey if you are having a shake. In the evening, to make sure you take advantage of the longer fasting period, a slightly greater pre-bed protein feeding of 0.5g/kg/body weight to 0.6g/kg/body weight is a good idea.

My recommendation is to get somewhere between 4-6 protein feedings of the amounts listed above per day. The number should be based on personal preference, time of training, and how long you’re actually awake for. Based on the evidence, fewer meals than this are not really going to get it done. Simply mainlining protein shakes all day also doesn’t give the best results because protein needs to drop to a certain level in the blood before more protein can have the largest effect on muscle building. Spreading your feedings out is important. If you’ve been at two or three meals per day before this, that’s the first thing I’d look at before changing before adjusting anything else.

Alternatively, if you’ve spent years guzzling down 12 protein shakes a day, dropping back to 4-6 protein meals will give you better results.

With 4-6 protein feedings a day, specific timing of protein intake around your training is of little importance. By eating within two hours before your training session and again within two hours after, you’re covering all your bases.

Set the Rest Of Your Macros

Setting macros can be daunting, but it needn’t be as long as your total fat stays above 20%. While carbohydrates are often thought of as being particularly helpful for muscle building, once a sufficient amount of protein has been ingested, carbs don’t do anything to help muscle protein synthesis. Smashing a load of dextrose after your training session isn’t going to achieve much in terms of muscle growth except leave you feeling a bit hungry while costing you a ton of calories. Calories could be better spent elsewhere—brownie and a cup of tea anyone?

Despite what you might think, there isn’t much solid evidence that carbs before training will do much to help your workout. Anecdotally, and despite the lack of research, I have found that some people simply hate training without eating carbs first. If you go into your session feeling like you’re going to kill it because you’ve had some carbs, then that’s reason enough to keep them in. If you don’t care, don’t feel the need to eat them around your workout because you think it’s the right thing to do.

Keeping overall fat intake too low has been shown to negatively affect testosterone production. Going too low in fat is not going to help with muscle building in the long term.

Where fat and carbohydrates are concerned, I feel that personal preference plays the biggest role. I would not recommend letting fat intake dip below 20% of total calories due to the potential for a less than ideal anabolic hormonal profile, with carbs making up the rest.

In summary, here are my dietary recommendations for muscle gain:

• Consume 4-6 meals containing 0.4 to 0.5g/kg/BW per day or use whey shakes containing 0.3g/kg/BW.
• The last meal of the day should be slightly higher in protein at around 0.5 to 0.6g/kg/BW.
• Consume protein within two hours before training.
• Consume protein within two hours after training.
• Set total energy at 200 to 300 kcal above maintenance, or 35 to 40 kcal/kg/BW.
• Don’t consume less than 20% of total energy intake of fat for a long period of time.
• After protein and fat intakes are set, make up the rest with carbohydrates.
• Base your fat and carb intake on personal preference.

The advice to “just eat more” isn’t enough. To maximize muscle gain, make sure you get the right amount and frequency of protein throughout the day as your number one priority.

You migt also like:

• Top 10 Foods To Gain Muscle Mass
• What To Eat Before Bed To Build Muscle Overnight
• The Modern Myths Of Muscle Building
• A Practical Muscle Growth Plan For The Skinny Guy

The post Eat Big to Get Big? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Saving time in the kitchen to prepare items quickly on weeknights is all about using a few timesaving tricks. Here is a variety of things I do to help speed up meal time for my family on those busy nights:

• Pick a prep day to chop all of the veggies and pre-cook grains (like rice or quinoa) that can stay refrigerated for a few days to limit prep time during the actual meal preparation.
• Purchase some commonly used vegetables already chopped (like peppers, onions, and carrots) so they are ready to add to your recipe on the spot.
• Defrost any frozen meat the day before or purchase it fresh and keep refrigerated for the week so it’s ready to go when you are.
• Some meats can be cooked in advance. Check your recipe for opportunities to cook up any meats on a prep day and keep refrigerated to reheat for the meal. Taco meat or grilled chicken to be reheated and sliced later are great examples of this.
• Some portions of your recipe or meal can be made in advance on a night where you have more time and then refrigerated. In the example below, the black bean succotash can be made up to a few days earlier and reheated to serve.
• Pre-mix or pre-season portions of your recipe the night before or in the morning and keep refrigerated until ready to cook. In the recipe below, you could season the fish in advance and combine the succotash vegetables (not the vinegar or salt) so they are ready to cook when you are. This would save you up to 15 minutes of time during the actual meal preparation bringing the meal making time down to around 15 minutes!
• Make double of a recipe one night and save half for another meal for leftovers later in the week when you won’t have much time or can’t all be at the table at the same time.

Including meals into my weekly meal planning that have easy prep-in-advance items, like this whitefish filet with black bean succotash, is part of how I balance our weeknight rush while still being able to deliver healthy meals to the table. Being high in protein, this meal also provides long lasting energy to sustain you and the kids through all of your weeknight activities.

Whitefish Filets with Black Bean Succotash

Calories 368, Protein 40g, Carbs 36g, Fat 6g

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 15 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

• 4 whitefish filets of any kind (ocean perch, tilapia, walleye, etc.)
• Sprinkle of Cajun seasoning, to taste
• Sprinkle of salt (if Cajun seasoning is unsalted), to taste
• 4 green onions, diced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 jalepeño (or annaheim pepper for less spice), seeded and finely diced
• 2 cups corn kernels (frozen or fresh cut off the cob)
• 1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
• 1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil for greasing the pan(s)

Preparation Instructions:

1. Sprinkle fish with Cajun seasoning and salt (if using).
2. Heat a sauté pan with a little bit of olive oil and sauté fish turning once until fish flakes easily with a fork, about 10 minutes for thin filets.
3. While fish is cooking, combine all vegetables into a sauté pan with a small amount of olive oil and cook until veggies are tender, 7-10 minutes.
4. Stir in vinegar and salt to the vegetable mixture.
5. Serve fish with succotash spooned over top.

Notes: Succotash can be made 1-2 days in advance and reheated when ready to eat.

The post This Whitefish Dish Saves Time with Meal Prep appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Why do I tell you my full itinerary? Simply because my schedule has been hectic these past two weeks, and my normal routine of fitness and eating has been completely turned upside down. I’ll admit, it’s hard to keep a regular eating and workout schedule on the road when you lose control over a lot of variables such as access to quality food, the ability to cook said food, and gym facilities.

I’d like to discuss strategies and tips you can use to stay on track while traveling. This includes everything from maintaining your workouts with limited means to sticking as close to your nutrition goals as possible. The goal is to fully prepared for your next adventure.

5 Strategies to Maintain Your Health While On-the-Go

The biggest challenge that traveling presents is lack of control over your environment. At home, we stock our homes with foods specific to our goals, we can easily avoid takeout for these healthy meals, and our workouts have become somewhat routinized with access to a gym and equipment that we are used to using.

While travel is the obvious example of a wrench being thrown into your plans, it is a great metaphor for the challenges one often faces any time life gets extremely stressful or hectic. Inevitably, chaos will ensue, and your life (for whatever reason) will be in shambles. Whether work, travel, family, or personally-related, during these times it will be near impossible to stick to your routine 100%. Many of these travel tips can also be applied when you’re faced with these situations as well. These strategies are great any time you have a loss of control over your environment.

Strategy #1: Always Travel With a Plan

If you want to stay fit during the storms of unpredictability, fall back on your MAP (minimum acceptable plan).

What the heck is a MAP? It’s simply the minimum exercise and nutrition goals you set for yourself during times of uncontrollable chaos; that 20% effort that will be just enough to keep you on track and hold you steady until you can get back to your normal routine.

For example, my personal MAP includes a 2-mile run, hitting within +/- 100 calories of my daily calorie goal, and consuming approximately my bodyweight (in grams) of protein during the day. This means no matter how hectic my life may become, if I complete those three things by the day’s end I can feel good that I was successful in staying on track.

Nutritionally, I’m normally regimented, consuming specific foods and nutrients at specific times during the day and around my workouts. However, during these high-stress times where I have less control over the availability of certain foods, I don’t get bogged down by finding food or getting the right nutrients so long as I maintain my calorie goal and get enough protein.

Your personal MAP goals will be different. Some choose to get 10,000 steps in by the day’s end, while others focus on staying hydrated (an important travel consideration altogether). It is up to you to decide what the minimums are that will make you feel good at the end of the day.

Then, when life gets chaotic, simply fall back to your MAP and don’t worry about the rest.

Strategy #2: Stay Hydrated

There is literally no easier thing to do when traveling then to dehydrate yourself. While many people might be used to carrying a water bottle with them when at home, the liquid restrictions at airports make this impossible, and most might forgo the expensive airport bottled water altogether. Not to mention, whether flying or driving, many people naturally consume less water to avoid having to make repeated bathroom stops. Irregular meal times and frequency also contribute to becoming dehydrated throughout the day.

Staying hydrated is the simplest thing you can do to help feel your best while traveling. Shell out the extra few dollars for a water at the airport, or take the time for extra bathroom stops on the road if necessary. Additionally, you can easily pack an empty water bottle for the airport, as most airports have the water bottle fillers at each water fountain. Then you can easily keep it full without paying a fortune. When dining out (particularly if meals are sporadic), be mindful to consume extra amounts of water with your meal. Not only will this help you if you must go an extended period without any water, but will also help reduce overall calorie consumption during your meal.

Strategy #3: Hyper-Focus on Protein

Protein becomes an interesting challenge when traveling. Most convenient foods (think gas station or airport kiosk snacks) are low in protein, and usually high in carbs and fats. Hitting protein goals while traveling takes an extra level of mindfulness to complete. You will sometimes have to go out of your way to find protein. As I mentioned above, my protein consumption is a component of my MAP. Here are some tricks I use to ensure adequate protein consumption away from home:

• Pack protein bars/powder – Great for car and plane rides, choosing protein bars that have the highest protein-to-carb/fat ratio will aid in hitting your protein goals without overconsuming the other nutrients in the process. Quest, Oh Yeah ONE, and other such protein bars where most of the carb content is fiber are all good choices. I’d recommend spacing these high-fiber bars out during the day to avoid any stomach issues. Additionally, packing individual-size protein powder packets is great for traveling protein. These packets can be purchased online or at stores like Walgreens and CVS. Powder, as opposed to bars, is usually all protein with negligible added carbs and fats. This makes it an awesome protein source, particularly while traveling. Since they are sealed packets they are easy to store away in bags, don’t take up much space, and won’t give you any trouble if taking them on your carry on at the airport.

• Take advantage when protein is available – While consuming protein regularly throughout the day may be optimal for your fitness goals, optimal is often unrealistic while traveling or during times of chaos. Consuming protein regularly is often hard to maintain, even when packing the above high-protein snacks. In the end, getting as close to your daily protein goal, by any means, is going to be more beneficial then not hitting your protein goal. If you find yourself at a meal with great protein sources, fill up.

For example, while I was traveling in California I attended a buffet-style catered meal complete with various meat sources along with the usual sides (vegetables, potatoes, etc.). Since I wasn’t sure when, if at all, that I’d be able to consume a good protein source during the rest of the day (aside from my packed bars and powder), I took this opportunity to eat primarily protein during this meal. This way, regardless if I had another opportunity to consume a good amount of protein I would still be able to fulfill my goal by the day’s end.

Strategy #4: Embrace Unconventional Meals and Workouts

Many of us have preconceived notions of what a meal should look like: some form of protein (usually meat), some vegetables, a starch (potato, rice, pasta, bread, etc.), and something sweet to round it out. As a result of these implicitly held beliefs, many people will either try to stick to this archetype when building meals at home with limited options, or recognize they are lacking one of these components and opt to eat out instead. This mentality, especially when traveling, will easily lead one to derail their nutrition plan when circumstances are less than optimal.

An unconventional meal is a hodgepodge of random foods that, when eaten together, allow you to reach your appropriate macronutrient goals. One such example I utilized while on my trip, was day of eating that consisted of a protein bars and peanut butter straight out of the jar. Does this fit the structure of a typical day of eating? Absolutely not, but the nutrient profile over the course of the day was exactly what I needed to stay on top of my nutrition goals.

Are you used to working out in gyms equipped with all the latest equipment and amenities? When you get thrown into a travel situation where you’re stuck in a hotel gym with minimal equipment, or perhaps with no gym access at all, suddenly you feel like your workouts are inadequate. When I miss workouts (or have inadequate workouts) I feel lousy all day (call me crazy, and I’ll agree). It’s important in these situations to set your MAP for workouts, which in my case is a 2-mile run. I chose running because a) I love running, b) it gives me a great workout that I can fee good about having completed, and c) it requires no equipment or gym access and can be done anywhere at any time.

Determining your MAP for workouts will help you decide how creative you need to be. For some people, this may just mean 20-min of physical activity every day, which could include walking or a hotel room bodyweight circuit. For others with more specific goals, it may mean finding a local gym in which you can purchase a day pass to gain access to the equipment you need.

Strategy #5: Take Care of Your Back and Mobility

Whether traveling by car, plane, or train, you will likely find yourself sitting for extended periods of time in less-than-comfortable seats. The hotel beds you sleep in will likely be different than your mattress at home, and regardless of comfort can cause you to feel a little bit achier in the morning. Without proper self-care, your workouts and general feelings of wellness will suffer. Take extra time during the day—first thing in the morning, just before bed, any after any extended travel—to stretch your back and any other problem area on your body. Staying limber will help you avoid stiffness and feel your best. This is an easy component to overlook and you may feel weird performing stretches in the airport, but it is, hands down, totally worth it.

Put My Advice to Work

By following the above advice, you can, at the very least, maintain your progress until you can return to home base. Traveling for vacation or work (or because of a stressful life event) does not mean you have to regress because of bad nutrition or missed workouts.

The post Stay Fit While Traveling appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

To break it down mechanistically, carbohydrates are the primary energy source for any activity you would be doing, and often lead to better performance in training. Protein is the main substrate for building new muscle tissue. It makes logical sense to have these in your circulation at the time of training, and this can be accomplished some different ways:

• A large meal 4-6 hours before a training session could give you plenty of circulating glucose and protein, and replenish your glycogen stores enough to fuel your training.
• A shake consisting of about 25 grams of protein and 30-50 grams of carbs 1-2 hours before a session will have a similar effect. The reason for the shorter interval is because unlike normal solid-food meals, shakes consumed on an otherwise empty stomach are assimilated much faster, often within a couple of hours. An exception to this would be casein protein products. Casein has a similar digestion time to that of whole-food sources, sometimes even longer.

The Anabolic Window

The same applies post-workout. Even though it’s something of a joke these days, scientific literature has shown that an “anabolic window” exists in some capacity. However, it’s not the “chug a shake within 20 minutes of my last rep or all my precious gains will spontaneously combust” kind. It varies depending on training experience.

In a nutshell, there is a period of 1-3 days that untrained individual/beginners have improved nutrient partitioning to muscles. This could be advantageous for growth. This period is cut down to 6-24 hours for trained athletes. One can safely assume that for extremely advanced athletes (national-level/pro-card-holding strength/physique competitors) this time frame would be cut down to the range of 2-4 hours.

What About Fasted Training?

Some individuals experience better training performance when fasted. This seems to be particularly prevalent in intermittent fasters who have a large bolus of food at night before bed and train in the mornings. This would spur the logical explanation that a large meal right before bed sufficiently replenishes glycogen enough to ensure a quality training session the next morning.

Supporting this hypothesis would also be the fact that, unless you are a Crossfitter or team/field-sport athlete, most resistance training sessions are relatively undemanding as far as energy stores go. You are very unlikely to completely tap out your body’s glucose reservoirs unless you are doing some really high-volume stuff. This is one case however, where I would recommend intra-workout nutrition (e.g. electrolytes with a scoop of BCAAs mixed in), and having a little more haste with your post-workout meal. It’s safe to assume that prolonged complete fasting, along with a highly energy-intensive training session, has the potential for some significant detrimental effects if not properly accounted for.

Use Common Sense

As long as you eat something within +/- 6 hours of when you train (which, honestly, the enormous majority of people will end up doing as a part of normal life), you’ll be more than set. If you’re an advanced athlete that really wants to stay on top of things, make sure to get in a bolus of protein and carbs after you get home from the gym.

More nutrition guidance:

Beginner’s Nutrition: Are You Overthinking Your Diet?

The post Practical Advice on Peri-Workout Nutrition appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

First off, let’s get one thing out of the way: I hate the word hack. It’s overused, trite, and has been misconstrued into something it was never originally meant to be. Long ago a hack was someone who was fake or produced low-quality work.

It was a negative connotation. Nowadays, it’s thought of as a workaround or a way to break into something complex to produce a more efficient way of doing something important—or not so important.

With the countless articles, videos and other sources of content that circulate the web the word hack is so widely used that there seems to be a cycle of redundancy. Frankly, I’m tired of it.

If you’ve been roped into thinking that you can hack your diet, you’re wrong.

4 Ways Your Tactics Fail

Always on the prowl for the latest tips, tricks, and workarounds is a stalling tactic you are inadvertently using to avoid facing the reality that you have to put in the work and develop good ole-fashioned discipline, consistency and persistence.

Stop trying to cheat your way through. Stop trying to find shortcuts when you know very well what it will take to achieve your ultimate goal.

Let’s first uncover some of the more common practices of what you should stop doing and then we will list a few things you should adopt with your new hack-less mindset.

Hack Fail #1: Falling for “New and Improved”

New diets surface faster than Dwayne Johnson movies. There seems to be a “new and improved” diet marketed as the only way you should be eating every year.

Fasting, caveman eating, eating anything (as long as you don’t eat too much), and other extreme plans are designed, partly, to entice new customers to buy products and/or services.

The crazier it sounds, the more people will perk up and pay attention—which equals more sales.

Most plausible studies on the general population always conclude that a balanced diet full of fresh, whole foods and variety is the best plan. Think of your health in the long-term, not in short bursts of unsustainable tricks.

Hack Fail #2: Diet Hopping

On top of always thinking that there’s a better way, once you put the latest and greatest diet in motion you quickly quit and start another in short order. It’s like you find a cooler, shinier “thing” that attracts your attention and it looks too good to be true.

If you’re a serial dieter look back over the past year and compare how many times you’ve started and stopped to your results.

Here’s the bottom line: choose a diet plan, any plan, and stick with it for a significant period of time—say two or three months. Consistency will pay more dividends than constantly shifting gears.

Hack Fail #3: Sacrificing Your Life

Skipping out of social events for the sake of your diet is somehow seen as a badge of honor of sorts. Saying no to every offer, refusing any and all invites, and sticking your nose in the air when others are enjoying themselves is common behavior for the “dedicated” like you. Those “regular” people can go ahead and sabotage themselves.

Stop stressing over every little detail regarding your diet: the timing, the grams of protein, or the extracurricular activities that could potentially threaten your “gym gains.” Have a plan, follow said plan, and then do your best. But don’t stop living your life for the sake of an extra ounce of muscle.

Hack Fail #4: Technology Overdependence

The world of fitness seems to be overtaken by technology. The use of apps, wearables, and a myriad of programs perceptually will make us better at “fitnessing.” We take the bait and expect to be in total control as our body fat miraculously melts away and we consistently pack on pound after pound of muscle. Ah yes, one can dream.

Counting every morsel, weighing every ounce, and keeping detailed record of every single move we make is overkill. Yes, keep track of things, but before it goes to extremes. It will eventually become a full-time job and ruin the fun of training.

5 Things You Should Do

There are a few hack-less practices that should be bedrocks for anyone on an eating plan for whatever goal.

These are universal, simple, and timeless. With consistency, discipline, and persistence they will become second nature and easily added to any lifestyle situation.

1. Clean up – You already know what to do when it comes to practicing healthy eating habits. Cut out the highly processed stuff, eat real, whole foods, and get a good variety form all macronutrient categories: lean proteins, complex, fibrous carbs, and healthy fats should top your grocery list. And one more note: go easy on the supplements—a little goes a long way.
2. Prioritize protein – It’s a big ol’ no-brainer that you need to put protein at the top of your list. This is a cold, hard fact regarding any goal you set out to achieve. Protein builds muscle, provides satiety, and keeps your metabolism churning toward the positive direction. Determine protein needs (about one gram per pound of bodyweight) and then everything else will follow.
3. Carb wisely – No longer seen as the bane of a dieter’s master plan, carbs are a necessary tool for the highly trained. As your body’s preferred source of energy, you’ll need to regulate the right amounts in order to practice responsibly. As a starting point go with between one and two grams per pound of bodyweight.
4. Fat Is friendly – As the proverbial cat has ran out of the bag, fat is no longer the enemy it was once perceived to be. Healthy sources such as nuts, olive oil, nut butters, and avocado can benefit any eating plan due to their power to fuel workouts, create satiety, and provide certain hormone regulation which is key to a healthy metabolism.
5. Relax – Lastly, try not to sweat the small stuff. Needling too much in the weeds of your diet will only leave you frustrated, overwhelmed and fed up. Once you decide on a diet plan, stick to it for a significant length of time. Time will be your best indicator of its success or failure.

Shortcuts Don’t Cut It

The problem with hacks is that the search for the latest and greatest shortcut may never end.

You see, hacking into things to find the easiest processes is more of a general mindset than a limited end goal for something specific. In other words, once a hack, always a hack. Don’t be that person. Face the music and do what you need to do without the cute little tricks.

Keep perspective on your diet:

8 Principles of Your Daily Diet Checklist

The post Stop Trying To Hack Your Diet appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

You sometimes feel like banging your head against the wall out of frustration and are tempted to throw in the towel altogether, relegating your genetic potential as unfortunate. Pretty bleak thinking, really.

Here’s the deal: Forget that line of thinking. If you have less than stellar genetics then, good. Let’s take that as a challenge, move forward, and meet it head-on. Let’s break down what constitutes the typical skinny guy advice, throw it out, and then rebuild a brand new mindset that will get you on the right road to muscle growth, one bite at a time.

A balanced diet full of quality protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats is still the best way to go. [Photo credit: Cara Kobernik]

How Skinny Guys Are “Supposed” to Eat

Everything you may have read about skinny guys eating habits for muscle gain might have had you simply eat anything and everything. The thought process was to eat as many calories as you can—since you supposedly have nothing to lose. Copious amounts of carbohydrates, fats, and sugar were suggested and ingested without any regard for health, wellness, or optimal metabolic processing.

Many from the skinny camp who religiously stuck with said practice gained weight—but the wrong kind of weight. Skinny-fat bodies were constructed replete with twigs for arms and legs and a belly to store unwanted fat. Yes, weight was gained, but at a horrible and needless expense.

A Flawed System of Mass Gain

This unofficial skinny guy principle backfires in many ways. Let’s take a look at a few flaws in the system:

• Blindly eating all amounts of anything will trend the lifter to eat foods that they enjoy most. Since the flood gates are opened for a free for all most will steer toward junk food, fast food, and other unhealthy choices. The result is fat gain because an excess of carbs, namely sugar, are eaten haphazardly.

• Protein isn’t prioritized. Carbs are filling and eating the proper amounts of proteins and healthy fats take a backseat to the latest buffet special. The result: Less protein equals less protein synthesis which means less muscle building.
• A massive amount of carbs slows you down. Playing yo-yo with your blood-sugar levels isn’t the best scenario for muscle growth. Complex carbs are still as important to the skinny guy as they ever were. Plus, excess sugar intake will only be stored as useless body fat.
• There is no rhyme or reason. Blindly eating massive amounts of food with no plan in place isn’t the best approach either. Imagine trying to build a house without a blueprint. Making stuff up as you go is good for a night out, but not for the skinny guy trying to add quality weight.

A Better Approach for Muscle

There is a better, more effective way to pack on the good type of weight. This may sound a bit dull and mundane, but a balanced diet full of quality protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats is still the best way to go. Why not just eat everything? It’s way too much fun to pass up, right?

Eating the correct portions of macronutrients will always be the best option in the long run. You’ll be leaner, have more energy, and you will build more muscle in the meantime. Let’s now break down what constitutes a healthy eating plan that will add quality, lean muscle without the excess.

Diet Principles for the Skinny Guy

• Eat frequently enough. Yes, meal frequency is a hotly debated topic as of late, but if you’re struggling to add muscle then you need to eat often, period. This is for the simple fact that you need to eat more quality food each day than the average Joe. Shoot for at least three square, balanced meals and two nutrient dense snacks per day. The objective isn’t to stuff yourself silly for only a meal or two, but eat more moderate-sized meals more often.
• Eat around one gram per pound of bodyweight of high-quality protein per day. Yes, you need protein but not pounds and pounds per day of the low-quality stuff. You need your protein to work for you in an efficient way without the added calories from fat or other foodstuff fillers. Go with one gram per pound from lean meats, turkey, fish, eggs, low-fat milk, low-fat cheeses, Greek yogurt, and trustworthy protein powders.
• Start with two grams of complex carbs per pound of bodyweight. After around four weeks or so you can increase that to three grams per pound if you aren’t gaining any weight and/or feel as if you’re not recovering from training or just simply feel drained and in need of a calorie boost. In rare cases you could have a few days of high carbs where you would increase your intake to four grams per pound, but if you find that you are gaining too much fat, cut back.
• Eat healthy fats. Healthy fats such as avocado, nut butters, olive oil, and all types of nuts help in many ways. They provide extra energy, help regulate hormones, and provide satiety at mealtime. Since one gram of fat provides more than twice the amount of calories as carbs and protein, try not to go overboard too much.
• Cheat. No, this isn’t a green light to go all out and eat everything in sight without any rhyme or reason. Let’s not fall back into old habits. Here I am talking about having a cheat day or two during the week. During each cheat day choose one or two meals and go wild. This way you’re not going off the deep end and jeopardizing your steadfast effort to stay on the lean side of the fence. Have a cheat meal or two and then get back on the horse.

Sample Skinny Guy Diet Plan

Now it’s time to put your money where your mouth is, literally. The following eating plan is for the average skinny lifter wanting to gain lean muscle weight. It contains around one gram of protein per pound, 2 grams of carbs per pound, and healthy fats for the 180 pound lifter.

Meal 1 – Breakfast

• 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites scrambled or omelet-style, 1 cup of Greek yogurt (or 1 scoop of whey protein instead of yogurt)
• 2 slices of wheat bread (toasted) with low-sugar jam or jelly or 1 cup (dry) oatmeal mixed with skim milk or water

Meal 2 – Lunch

• 6 to 8 ounces of chicken breast, salad with ½ avocado with an oil-based dressing, and other favorite vegetables
• Baked potato, sweet potato, or 2 cups cooked rice

Or

• 2 slices or wheat bread, 6 to 8 ounces of chicken or turkey, 2 slices of cheese, low-fat mayo or mustard, and 1 piece of fruit

Meal 3 – Pre-Workout

• 1 apple or other piece of fruit such as blueberries or banana
• 1 cup of Greek yogurt and 1 scoop of whey protein powder
• Handful of mixed nuts

Meal 4 – Post-Workout

• 1 scoop of whey protein powder, 1 piece of fruit

Meal 5 – Dinner

• 4-6 ounces of fish, chicken, ground meat or turkey, as much green vegetables as you want, salad, 1 potato or 2 cups cooked rice

The Best Advice Is to Stay Balanced

An all-day every-day buffet isn’t the best option to pack on quality, lean muscle. You still need to adhere to the basic healthy eating principles set out for every individual. Lean proteins, complex carbs, and healthy fats will work for you without all of the extra baggage that comes with daily binging. It’s time to pack on muscle one quality bite at a time.

More on mass gain:

A Simple Workout Plan for Mass Gain

The post The Skinny Guy’s Guide: Eating to Gain Muscle appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

However, I am a big believer in home-cooked meals being superior to eating out. There are several popular services that can fill the need of having home cooked meals without the time commitment. Should you give them a try? It depends.

Dinner Conversation

Before I get into some popular options, my hope for this article is to create a discussion. I want to hear from you. At what price point is a meal service worth it? How much money can you budget for a meal service, and will it improve your quality of life? Is this something to do only for busy times, or all the time?

Let’s start with the options that provide the most service and work our way down.

Do you want to eat delicious food like this but are too busy to cook? Perhaps a meal service is right for you. [Photo courtesy of Pixabay]

Option 1: Fresh Meals Almost Every Day

What It Looks Like: 2-3 meals per day delivered fresh at least five days a week.

Cost: Prices vary, but are usually in the $15-25 per meal range. Price depends on how fresh the food is, and where it comes from. Meals can cost well over $1,000 per month, and that is for one individual.

Pros and Cons: You get amazing food with no decision making or time commitment. You can literally have a perfectly designed meal plan with no effort. Besides the price barrier, a con is that you may not like all of the meals. Also, it gives you little flexibility in terms of going out to lunch or traveling. Many providers want a commitment, so stopping and starting can be somewhat of a hassle. Nonetheless, count me in for this if one of those emails about being a descendent of a Prince in Nigeria comes true and I get my inheritance.

Option 2: One Meal a Day Delivered Fresh

What it Looks Like: Picking only one meal, usually lunch or dinner, delivered.

Cost: In the $15-25 range, the value depends on how fresh the food is. Price can also vary because of bulk delivery. If an entire office or household is getting meals, it may be cheaper to purchase in bulk to save on delivery charges.

Pros and Cons: You still must prepare two meals every day. If you can prep for two, you can usually do three without a lot more effort. That being said, if lunch is particularly difficult at the office, it’s nice to have it delivered on a schedule. This service is also helpful if you work late and want dinner ready when you get home.

Example: Dine In 2Nite

Option 3: Frozen Meals Almost Every Day

What It Looks Like: Three meals per day delivered frozen or ready to heat up at least five days a week.

Cost: Usually $8-15 per meal.

Pros and Cons: Nothing beats fresh food, but there are companies that come close. As with the fresh meals delivered, you are paying for decisions to be made for you. Frozen meals allow you to store and use them as needed, like if you go out of town or have more time to cook on a particular week.

Example: Freshology

Option 4: Ingredients Sent to You That Get Prepared in Your Kitchen

What it Looks Like: You still have to cook the food, but all of the ingredients come to you fresh with instructions.

Cost: Usually about $40-50 per person, per week for 3-4 meals. You still need to do breakfast and snacks on your own, and most people use this option for dinner.

Pros and Cons: Convenience. There is usually no big contract, and you can store the ingredients for a bit if you can’t cook it right away. There is less food waste because you only get the ingredients what you need. It also saves time on shopping for groceries. The big con is that you still have to cook.

Example: Plated and Blue Apron

Option 5: Delivered Groceries

What it Looks Like: Groceries at your doorstep after you’ve picked what you like online.

Cost: Depends on amount of food purchased, but usually a $10-15 delivery fee.

Pros and Cons: Some stores offer grocery delivery services. However, it’s an involved operation due to maintaining temperature on perishable items. I wouldn’t want to be last on the delivery line. Someone has to be home to accept delivery, or delivery drivers need to have access to a cooler outside that can keep your food safe. Online inventory can sometimes be outdated.

Example: Safeway’s grocery delivery service

Option 5: Grocery Store Picking Services

How it Works: Some stores now offer a picking service where you fill an online grocery cart and the food gets assembled for you at the store. All you have to do is show up and pay for your bags.

Cost: Charges vary, but usually a $0-10 service fee.

Pros and Cons: This service is inexpensive and saves time. If you are the type of person who likes to go to the store daily for fresh produce and protein, this may not work. However, if you bulk shop, or if you can’t stand the hassle of wandering through the aisles, simply pick out the items online and stop by after work to grab your haul.

Example: Kroger and Walmart

Weigh Your Options and Your Bank Account

The bottom line for any of these services is that it must make sense financially. Consider how much you make per hour at your job. Your meal service should be less than 50 percent of that amount. If it takes you five hours a week to prepare food, and you make $20 per hour, you can spend $50 a week on a meal service.

A grocery store pickup may be the best option if you work a full schedule and are short on time. Instead of spending an hour at the store, let someone else do the work. You’ll be in and out in five minutes. That’s almost free labor. Reduced stress at a bargain.

Remember, the primary reason to use these services is to reduce stress and create more time. Run the numbers, and pick a couple of the different levels of service that make sense for your situation. Do a trial, and see if you like the food first. After that, examine if it is a long-term option. Perhaps it is a seasonal thing. Either way, we have more options than ever before.

Have you tried a meal service? Drop a line in the comments and tell me about your decision-making process, and if any of these options have worked for you.

For the days you don’t use a meal service:

The Minimalist’s Guide to Eating Well on a Budget

The post Are Meal Planning Services Worth It? appeared first on Breaking Muscle.