Since Tami and I started posting our daily nutrition in 2007 we have gotten a tremendous amount of questions about the foods that we consume, our caloric totals, and grams of protein/carbs/fats.
A good friend of mine asked me in a Facebook Message last night, “Mike, I notice from your daily nutrition that you post that you are taking in 2000 to 2100 calories. The P90X Nutrition Guide is recommending that I take in 3000 calories a day. I am confused because your 2000 to 2100 caloric total allows you to maintain your muscle mass and low body fat level. How is this possible?”
That is why I decided to write this Article/Note. First off, I think the Insanity Elite Nutrition Guide, P90X Nutrition Guide and the Nutrition manual in ChaLEAN Extreme are both outstanding nutrition guides. Both manuals are basic, easy to understand and follow, and they work! They were designed so that someone who has zero idea about proper nutrition can start eating correctly with the best ratio of nutrients possible to support both of those incredible workout programs. That being said, we all need to discover through trial and error what works nutritionally for us.
Tami and I pride ourselves on being two of the hardest working Fitness folks out there with our workouts and especially our nutrition. We get asked all the time what our secret is to obtaining our level of muscle and conditioning. Here is it: DISCIPLINED NUTRITION
Tami and I do what everyone else does, 3 meals and 2 snacks worth of healthy, nutritious foods that we look forward to eating and that we can enjoy. We don’t take any secret, special supplements or follow any “Top Secret” Nutrition plan.
It’s the simple basics that make the difference.
I have learned from my gorgeous wife the absolute key to obtaining and maintaining amazing physical conditioning: NUTRITIONAL DISCIPLINE APPLIED OVER TIME.
Getting into the habit of healthy eating that pushes your Fitness and conditioning forward, rather than holding it back. There is no reason to YoYo in your conditioning.
Bodybuilders back in the 80’s would gain 30-40 pounds in the “off season” and then starve themselves to “Get in shape” for a contest. 99.9% of us are not Bodybuilders. There is no reason to let your conditioning slip and then fight like mad to get it back for a special event.
How many people do you know let their conditioning slip and they body weight creep up every year. Then when Spring time rolls around they figure its time to “Get serious about the Gym to get in shape to be ready for Summer”? I know of a few, and I bet you do as well. ;-)
What do you think would happen if you were able to consume a daily menu of healthy, nutritious food that reduced your body fat, as well as supported muscle and strength gains for 90 days? 180 days? An entire year? Imagine the possibilities!
I can tell you what would happen as long as you worked out hard and recovered sufficiently from your Fitness efforts. You would get into the shape of your life and then maintain it. Pure and simple.
What Tami has done all along and what I have learned from her example and applied to my own nutritional habits is the following strategy. Like the Title of this article states; we all need to “Walk our own Nutritional Tightrope.”
You are reading this thinking, “Mike, I have NO idea what you are talking about!”
Here it is very simply. We all need to discover the correct amount of calories, and grams of carbohydrates that we need to consume on a daily basis that allows up to be strong, lose body fat, and build or maintain your muscle, depending on your personal Fitness goals.
There is a fine line, a “Nutritional Tightrope” that you need to find between over feeding your system and not feeding it enough to recover from hard workouts.
If you over feed your system, you will never reach the level of conditioning that you desire. The first question that Tami and I ask when someone contacts us asking for help getting results is, “How many calories are you taking in right now.”
Think about it. If you are working very hard during your workouts, eating healthy and getting your rest yet still not losing the fat/weight that you want to lose and not getting the results you are looking for, what is the problem?
Chances are you are over feeding your system. You are taking in too many calories to lose weight or drop body fat. The solution is to simply start taking in fewer calories. Reduce your current caloric level by 200 and then see what happens. Try it for a week. How do you feel? Has the scale moved a little in the direction you desire? Are you “Bonking” during your workouts or do you feel strong and energetic? If nothing is happening, reduce your total by another 200 calories and give it a week to see what happens.
Just as bad as over feeding your system is not feeding it enough. If you are not taking in enough calories, your body will go into starvation mode and try its best to hang onto body fat to preserve itself. It will also start using your hard earned muscle for fuel! Not something we want at all.
Being healthy is being strong and feeling good. Not being weak and having no energy because you are not eating enough. You will “Bonk” during workouts. Your strength will drop off, and you will feel tired and sleepy all the time. Not good at all.
When you find the correct amount of calories and carbohydrates for you, you will feel strong, you will reduce your energy and your body fat. You notice I didn’t include protein and healthy fats in my comments. Tami and both take in 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and we don’t worry about the fats we consume. This is possible because we eat nutritious foods that have healthy fats.
One food that I eat every day and Tami eats regularly is Raw Almonds. I LOVE raw almonds! People say “Almonds are high in fats!” EXACTLY, but it is healthy fats! Now does this give you free reign to eat as many as you want? Absolutely not! I consume 24-36 almonds a day depending on my hunger. The healthy fat in the almonds do nothing but keep me healthy.
So how do you go about walking your own nutritional “tightrope”? Experiment! Lower your calories, or up them! Reduce the amount of carbs you are taking in, or take in more. Use a nutritional tracker like www.myfitnesspal.com . When you use a nutritional tracker you can really understand what nutrients are in the foods you are consuming. This takes the mystery out of nutrition.
When you dial in your nutrition, AMAZING things will start happening. You abs will start popping out and you will see veins that maybe you have never seen before. It is a very cool feeling!
So what are you waiting for? Make some adjustments and start moving towards the physical conditioning you have always dreamed about, TODAY!
Live Strong ~ Live Lean
Mike
