Several subscribers have asked me for this article. Here you go! I hate the word “diet”, because it implies something that is a temporary modification to lifestyle. Diet is not a temporary thing you “go on” or “change”. You own a diet, which is a set of decisions you make 100 times a day, decisions that have tremendous impact on your quality of life, not to mention what you look like or how you perform your work. What I choose to eat has come about after years of experimentation with my own performance both in the gym and in my professional life.
My food rituals
I eat until I am satisfied. If I am hungry, then I eat more. Vegetables are the most important factor in my diet. I eat very little fruit and only in the form of berries immediately following my workout. (I do this post workout because I want to minimize the catabolic effects of training as quickly as possible. Berries are great for this.) I vary the vegetables as much as possible. (So if I ate tomato yesterday, then I will eat carrots today. If I ate spinach yesterday, I will eat kale today.) I cycle through ALL the vegetables in this list diligently. Please notice all the different types of vegetables in this list as I feel it is the key to my health and my ability to train the way I do. I allow myself the occasional sweet treat in the form of honey or dark chocolate in the evenings (if I deserve it).
I am in the habit of eating mostly the same types of meals all the time. I get great enjoyment from varying the vegetables, so I don’t feel the need to prepare elaborate meals. I modify the meals when I choose to go out to a restaurant and almost always order extra sides of vegetables. I never skip a meal. Skipping meals will mess up my appetite and I will pay the price with low energy during training sessions or poor sleep. When I broke my addiction to sugar and processed carbs, vegetables started tasting better than ever. I don’t gain an ounce of belly fat on this diet and I can consistently train with extreme intensity, making moderate yet sustainable muscle gains while maintaining sub 9% body fat. I weigh 190 pounds.
4 a.m.
- cup of black coffee
5 a.m.
- 4o grams goat whey protein (31g Protein, 150 cal)
- 3/4 cup of cashew milk (2g Fat, 1g Carb, 25 cal)
- half teaspoon Cinnamon
5:30 a.m.
- 1 cup of Pu Erh tea
- 3 Tablespoons grass fed butter (36g Fat, 300 cal)
- 1 Tablespoon MCT oil (14g Fat, 130 cal)
6 a.m.
- 1 cup of Yerba Mate tea
- 1 Tablespoon grass fed butter (36g Fat, 300 cal)
- 1 Tablespoon MCT oil (14g Fat, 130 cal)
6:30 a.m. Breakfast
- 4 eggs soft boiled (20g Fat, 2g Carb, 26g Prot, 312 cal)
My breakfast veggie pile.
1 cup of 1 of the following (steamed): Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, red cabbage, or eggplant (6g Carb, 2g Prot, 30 cal) (Average nutritional info of all 5 veg.)
- 1 cup of 1 of the following dark leafy greens: spinach, kale, chard, or bok choy. (2g Carb, 1g Prot, 10 cal)
- 1 cup of steamed sweet potato or 1/4 cup of steel cut oats (27g Carb, 2g Prot, 125 cal)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil (poured onto steamed veggies) (26g Fat, 240 cal)
7 a.m. Pre-workout Drink
- beet root powder, beta alanine, creatine hydrochloride, arginine, hydrolyzed collagen, (6g Protein, 23 cal)
- cup of strong coffee or pre-workout caffeine of some kind
10 a.m. Post workout meal
- 1/2 cup of sweet potato or 1/4 cup of steel cut oats (27g Carb, 2g Prot, 125 cal)
Blackberries are my favorite post workout fuel.
- half cup of blackberries or blueberries (7g Carbs, 1g Prot, 30 cal)
- 12 ounces of rare pan seared venison (11g Fat, 104g Prot, 536 cal)
- half cup of one of the following raw: celery, cucumber, spinach, or kale (4g Carb, 30 cal)
- half avocado (15g Fat, 8g Carb, 2g Prot, 161 cal)
1 p.m. Snack 1
- 4 ounzes of 1 of the following: baked turkey, baked chicken, or sardines. (10g Fat, 21g Prot, 180 cal)
- 2 stalks of celery or a whole cucumber (4g Carbs, 30 cal)
- 1/4 cup of one of the following: brazil nuts, almonds, macadamia nuts (23g Fat, 4g Carb, 2g Prot, 210 Cal)
4 p.m. Snack 2
- 16 ounces of soup (Usually has some combination of the following: beef, barley, black beans, chicken, meatballs, tomato, rice, carrots) (1g Fat, 21g Carb, 9g Prot 132 cal)
- 1 of the following carb options: 10-12 tortilla chips, 1 slice of sprouted grain bread (7g Fat, 16g Carb, 2g Prot, 110 cal)
- 1 cup of 1 of the following: carrots, tomato, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, or zucchini (6 carb, 1 prot, 25 cal)
6:30 p.m. Meal
- 12 ounces of chicken, turkey, or fish (41g Fat, 82g Prot, 715 cal)
The first half of my big evening meal.
- 1/2 cup (dry) brown rice (3g Fat, 66g Carb, 8g Prot, 300 cal)
- 3/4 cup of 1 of the following: lentils, red beans, black beans (30g Carb, 14g Prot, 170 cal)
- 2 cups of a combination of the following: (broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, tomato, brussels sprouts) (12g Carb, 4g Prot, 60 cal)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil poured over vegetables (26g Fat, 240 Cal)
- 1 10 inch round plate mounded full of leafy greens such as kale, spinach, or chard (2g Carb, 1g Prot, 10 cal)
7:30 p.m.
- cup of bedtime tea
- teaspoon of honey (17g Carb, 64 cal)
- 1/8 cup of the following: almond butter, macadamia nuts, piece of dark chocolate (if I deserve it) (9g Fat, 3g Carb, 3g Prot, 100 cal)
Total Counts
- 294g Fat (33.3% of overall intake)
- 265g Carbs (30% of overall intake)
- 324g Protein (36.7% of overall intake, 1.7 grams per pound of body weight)
- Total grams macro intake: 883g
- Total Calories: 5003
What does it mean to deserve chocolate or honey or bread?
- It means I pushed through my workout as intensely as I could have.
- It means I can see all of my abs in the mirror, not just 2 or 4.
- It means I didn’t eat too many tortilla chips at 4 o clock
- It means I didn’t drink a beer last weekend
Alcohol
Maybe twice a month, I will drink one or two glasses of dry red wine. I find that alcohol of any type has serious and immediate effects of slowing my metabolism and bringing back belly fat. I have experimented with this enough to realize that alcohol affects my physical performance in serious ways. I train and eat like a pro athlete because I want the body and performance of a pro athlete. This makes the alcohol decision easy for me now, but it was not always so. I was addicted to alcohol for many years.
If you need to drink, I understand. I needed it too for years and I hold no judgment. If you must have it, consider switching to dry red wine, which is better for you in many ways (affects hormones to a lesser degree and has lower glycemic index than beer). Vodka is another preferable option to beer.
Special thanks to the subscribers that asked for this…Jacob
Awesome. What to do when you are intermittent fasting? I miss food. I typically eat all morning and now with fasting in the morning, I’m lost without food.
I understand completely. It is a mental and sometimes physical challenge. The key for me is hydration. I carry around a gallon of water and whenever I feel like I need to eat, I slam some water. This often helps. Also, as a beginner, you should try Yerba Mate or Pu Erh tea with some MCT oil whipped in. While many fasting purists will scoff at this, I find that it is a great way to stay mentally focused, physically energized, and still reap most of the benefits of intermittent fasting.
Cool! What’s the MCT oil do for you? I often wonder if it’s good to feel hunger and to ignore it. Like, what message is that sending to your body/mind? I try and drink tons of water and have green tea, but I’m down to add a little something to give me focus. Since I’ve started, I struggle to focus in the morning. But, mornings are my challenge period.
MCT oil is essentially a form of synthetic ketones. You’ve probably heard of the ketogenic diet or trying to stay in “ketosis”. MCT oil will provide your body (and more importantly, your brain), with energy that doesn’t cause your body to leave a state of ketosis as it would if you chose to eat an apple for example. The body processes medium chain triglycerides differently than other energy sources. MCTs don’t need bile salts to be digested and can pass directly from the digestive system to the blood stream without being modified by digestion. MCTs move passively via the hepatic portal system to the liver without the need for a longer digestive process. Since MCTs are processed in the liver, they are absorbed quickly and provide fast and sustained energy. I find that MCT oil will almost always take away that “hangry” feeling when I’m fasting.
Dang man! Great response. That’s really good info. I’m assuming I can purchase at a health food store? Do you use this only during a fast? I think I read you adding this when trying to bulk too. Kind of like bullet coffee? I switched my fasting time to afternoon evening and night for fast. Eating brekki and starting my day with food is amazing. I don’t want to give that up. I’m not sure how long I want to fast, but I’d like to get some side benefits from this. I really want to be fueled and ready to begin building muscle once I get some of these injuries better. I’m fearful to lift too heavy while dealing with rehabilitation for shoulder, knee and back. Thanks for the guidance.
Yes, most health food stores have MCT oil. And yes, I use it year round. 2 tablespoons in my pre-workout coffee along with 2 tablespoons of grass fed butter puts my mind right for a 6 a.m. workout.
You are wise to proceed with caution. Start out with high rep ranges (12 reps). If it hurts, stop. It’s never smart to push through joint pain.