Hey what's up guys, Sean Nalewanyj here of BodyTransformationTruth.com, and in this video
I’m going to outline 5 tips that you can employ in order to stay more consistent with
your bodybuilding diet.
The key to effective bodybuilding nutrition is consistency.
It’s about structuring your overall daily meal plan in a way that is as simple, streamlined
and sustainable as possible, so that you can simply go about your day with minimal to no
guesswork involved and know that you’re on the right track towards your goals.
So here are 5 effective tips that you can employ to stack the odds as far in your favor
as possible and maximize the chances that you will maintain proper nutritional habits
over the long term.
Tip #1 is to follow an exact step-by-step meal plan.
Tracking your diet on the go throughout the day can certainly work well once you gain
more experience and once you really know how to accurately track things properly, but if
you’re having a tough time staying consistent with your diet, then the simplest solution
is to just map out exactly what you’re going to eat each day, in what specific amounts
and at what times.
Not only is this approach going to deliver superior results and ensure that you’re
landing in the proper calorie and macronutrient ranges for the day, but it's also going to
keep you more motivated and consistent since you’ll know that all you have to do is just
follow the set plan that's in front of you in order to reach your goals.
Now the way that you specifically employ this approach is up to you.
You could simply create one single plan and eat the same things every day until you get
tired of it, you could create a 3-day or 7-day plan and then just rotate through it, or you
could map out a few possible options for each meal that have similar macronutrient profiles
(for example, 3 different breakfasts, 3 lunches, 3 snacks etcetera), and then just choose the
option that you most prefer based on how you feel that day.
Tip #2 is to prepare your meals in advance.
So rather than preparing every single meal on the fly throughout the day, set aside one
or two days a week to pre-package your meals in bulk.
That way, when it comes time to eat, you can simply reach into the fridge and grab your
pre-made food without having to go through the entire cooking and cleanup process every
single time that you need a meal.
Not only is this type of approach going to streamline your overall diet in general, but
it's also going to save you a huge amount of time over the course of the week as a whole.
You can either prepare entire meals and then store them in the fridge or freezer, or you
could just cook up a few of your main items in bulk that usually take longer to prepare,
such as chicken breast, steak, fish etcetera.
Tip #3 is to base your diet around foods that you like.
Now this tip sounds really obvious, yet so many people fall into the trap of thinking
that certain foods are somehow "mandatory" to include in their bodybuilding diet, and
they end up choking down these foods on a daily basis even though they don’t like
the taste.
This is totally unnecessary, it's counter-productive and it greatly increases the chances that
you won’t stick to your nutrition plan over the long term.
Always remember this, your body does not view your diet within the context of individual
food items.
It only sees the big picture, so the total calories, the total protein, carbs, fats,
vitamins, minerals, fiber and other micronutrients, and there are a virtually infinite number
of different ways that you can go ahead and reach those totals for yourself.
So if you don’t like tuna, don’t eat tuna.
If you don’t like eggs, don’t eat eggs.
If you don’t like oatmeal, then don’t eat oatmeal.
No single food source is a must-have in your diet plan.
So if you specifically enjoy blueberries and mangos, then use those as your primary fruit
sources.
If you prefer turkey and salmon to chicken and beef, then use those as your primary protein
sources.
If you’d rather have sweet potato in place of rice for your carb sources, then just go
ahead and do that.
If you simply take some time to plan your nutritional approach around the foods that
you most prefer for each major category (such as proteins, starchy carbs, fruits, vegetables,
healthy fats etcetera), then your diet is going to be far more enjoyable and your chances
of long term success are going to be hugely increased.
Tip #4 is to optimize your daily meal layout and frequency.
The research on meal frequency and its effects on protein synthesis and basal metabolic rate
are pretty clear at this point, and that is that long as you’re hitting your overall
calorie and macronutrient needs for the day as a whole, then the specific way in which
you lay those meals out is essentially going to be a non-issue when it comes to optimizing
muscle growth and fat loss.
And for that reason, just figure out what you need to consume for the entire day as
a whole in terms of protein, carbohydrates and fats, and then lay out your meals in the
way that you enjoy most and that maximizes your overall adherence to the diet, whether
that be 3 larger meals consumed in the morning, afternoon and evening, 5 medium sized meals
spread all throughout the day or 7 small meals consumed every couple of hours.
And tip #5 is to utilize a "flexible dieting" approach.
I’ve said this many times before, but assuming that around 80-90% of your diet is comprised
of nutrient-dense, “clean” foods (so lean proteins, minimally refined carbohydrates
and healthy fats), then the other 10-20% can come from whatever food sources you’d like
as long as it fits into your overall daily calorie and macronutrient totals.
As I said earlier, your body does not view your nutrient intake within the context of
individual food items, and with the exception of foods that are particularly high in partially
hydrogenated oils, there is almost never such a thing as a food that is inherently “good”
or “bad”.
All there is is an overall diet that is “good” or “bad”.
So including a small amount of higher sugar or higher fat food here and there is not going
to negatively affect your muscle building or fat burning progress, and it will make
your overall eating plan much more enjoyable while still delivering the same muscle building
and fat burning results.
If you’re constantly depriving yourself of the foods that you enjoy most, then there’s
a much greater chance that you’re going to become discouraged and quit in the long
term.
So figure out what you need in terms of overall daily calories and macronutrients (and the
level of detail that you specifically apply here is going to depend on your individual
goals and situation), and then allocate a small percentage of that total to allow for
the foods you crave most.
By basing your diet around the “clean” food choices that you like best (like we covered
in tip #3) and also allowing yourself to indulge in the “flexible” foods that you crave
most in controlled amounts, you’ll be able to structure a nutrition plan for yourself
that you fully enjoy and that gets you into the best shape possible at the same time.
So, here’s a quick recap of the 5 tips we just covered.
Tip #1, create a structured daily eating plan for yourself because this way there will be
no guesswork involved and you’ll already know exactly what to do each day in order
to get the best results.
Tip #2, prepare your meals in advance in order to save time and to maximize overall efficiency.
Tip #3, take some time to figure out which foods you enjoy the most when it comes to
lean proteins, starchy carbs, fruits, vegetables, healthy fats etcetera, and then simply base
your diet around those choices.
Tip #4, Don’t worry about the specific intervals between meals and instead just structure your
meal frequency and meal layout in whatever way you most prefer based on your appetite
and your schedule.
And tip #5, allocate 10-20% of your overall diet to indulge in the foods you crave most.
Employ these 5 bodybuildig diet tips and your chances of long term muscle building and fat
burning success are going to be greatly increased.
So thanks for watching this video today, I hope you found the information useful here.
If you did enjoy the video, as always, please make sure to hit the LIKE button, leave a
comment and subscribe to stay up-to-date on future videos.
Also make sure to check out my complete step-by-step muscle building and fat loss programs over
at BodyTransformationTruth.com by clicking the icon at the top of the video or using
the link in the description box below.
And make sure to check out my official blog over at SeanNal.com for all of my latest articles,
tips and other updates.
Talk to you again soon.