How I Eat, Supplement, Rest, and Work Out
*I'm not a professional trainer or nutritionist, and this is not meant to be professional advice; these are simply recommendations based on many years of education and personal experience.
Updated January, 2024
In 95% of cases, we are not stuck with the body we’re living in. We may have certain tendencies because of genetic predisposition, but those tendencies can be overcome through choice, and then a bit of work and discipline.
I was once 237lbs in my 20’s. I am now 40lbs lighter…at 44 years old. We choose who we want to be.
Find motivation that is sustainable, take responsibility, and make permanent change.
Here’s what I do:
I. Food Schedule
Schedule: 9am-8pm
For many years I found much success with intermittent fasting - eating meals/snacks from 11am or 12pm to 8pm. This will not only help with digestive and cellular health, but encourage burning fat for fuel - especially if you don't then consume a bunch of carbs during eating hours. I continue to recommend this for the most effective weight loss, and practice it as much as possible.
In the last year or so, I’ve begun eating some calories post-workout, and will likely continue this as I want to maintain and even build a bit of muscle.
II. Food
A. Calories: If you want to have above-average physical health, calories (number, ratios, and quality) matter - despite the cultural narrative preaching otherwise. Once you start tracking them using MyFitnessPal or comparable apps, you'll find it doesn't take you any more than 3-5 minutes a day to do so.
My macros goal is 30/30/40 (carb/fat/protein), and 1800 calories a day. I do add calories to compensate for my cardio or high-intensity-interval sessions (usually about 250 calories for the 20 minute sessions).
It's important to be clear about what body composition you're trying to achieve, and adjust calories and macros accordingly. If I wanted to add on significant muscle, I would need to slowly add even more healthy calories to find a balance between addition of muscle and maintenance of leanness. I'd still likely consume no more than 2500 calories a day - even with the goal of adding more muscle.
This is quite common for many, but I have found recently that making sure I’m getting about 1 gram of protein per pound of my body weight has helped me lean out while continuing to develop muscle and get stronger.
Here are the types of food I normally consume. I eat some combination of the below options to make my calories each day. Sunday is a more relaxed eating day where I won’t be as strict: B. Water: For circulation, digestion, I try to drink about a gallon a day.
C. "Breakfast": Gold Standard Whey Protein, omelette with feta cheese, oatmeal with stevia brown sugar and cinnamon, or egg bites from Starbucks.
D. Lunch: More of the foods that I might have for breakfast
E. Dinner: Fish, chicken, or steak with 1-2 cups of rice or a sweet potatoF. Snacks: Apples, blueberries, Rx Bars, Quest protein bar or two (I’ll always recommend whole food, but a healthy protein bar is nice when on the go)
G. Travel: Beef jerky, Rx Bar or Quest protein bar at a gas station or airport store, salad/chicken/fish/veggies/rice/sushi at restaurants
G. Cheat Day: Saturday is a more relaxed eating day which. I want my main cheat meal to be around lunchtime or early evening so my body has time to digest the heavy meal thoroughly so as not to affect sleep in the evening.
III. Supplementation
I've spent thousands of dollars on supplements over the years, and for now, this is what I'd recommend:
C4 Original Pre-Workout - I hesitate to share this pre-workout because I don’t want to encourage reliance on caffeine, etc, but it’s been nice to have the extra kick before going into workouts in the mornings. Just a word of caution: this supplement does cause a tingling sensation from the beta-alanine in the mixture. Magnesium - For muscle recovery, healthy digestion, and support of testosterone production (from the zinc and vitamin d3 included in the supplement)Citrulline - For circulation Fish Oil - For omega 3 fats, primarily to reduce inflammation and encourage mental clarity
Animal Creatine Chews - For building muscle mass, and for cognitive benefits
Maximus Testosterone Supplement - For boosting testosterone levels without actual testosterone replacement therapy
IV. Software / Hardware
MyFitnessPal with iPhone for tracking movement and nutrition (counting calories may seem tedious, but if you want to take things to the next level, commit the 3-5 minutes a day to using this app)
Activity / Sleep Software and Hardware - I currently use the Apple Watch 9, which seems to be the most accurate mobile health tracking device on the market
V. Rest & Recovery
A. Sleep: The goal is 6-7 hours of nightly sleep, Kindle Oasis for reading without the blue light from my phone screen (which affects melatonin levels and resulting quality of sleep), this is an area of my health that needs more consistency
B. Sauna (dry): 20-30 min, 1-2 times a week
C. Massages: In a chair at the gym 1-2 times a week, and the occasional professional massage
VI. Workouts
Notice this is the last point of discussion. It’s important to be outdoors and moving around for the sake of exposure to the sun (and resulting Vitamin D), connectedness to nature, and exercising of muscles (including your heart). But when it comes to being lean, diet is 80-90% of the game.
That said, if you want to be above-average, you need to work out. Hard. Occasional walks will only get you so far.
Gym choice? I recommend Planet Fitness and their Black Card Membership (so you can use the massage chairs!). Planet Fitness is one of the most readily available gyms around the United States, it’s super clean, and their top membership option is inexpensive at only about $20 a month. I do have a second membership to Gold’s Gym for their sauna and bigger selection of free-weights, but this certainly isn’t necessary.
My workout routine is simple, happening 6-7 days each week. I work out this way for sustainability (schedule), heart health, hormonal boost, and body sculpting:
A. Cardio: 20 minute HIIT session on the stationary arc/elliptical machine (4 min warmup, 30 sec extremely hard, 90 sec easy, repeat until 20 min is up) OR a 20 minute steady-state cardio session at a medium-high intensity, or 20-30 min cardio session - 6-7 times a week. I’ve also been adding in 10 minutes of incline treadmill walking, as well as occasional treadmill running
B. Calisthenics: pushups, pull-ups, and leg-lifts - 2-3 times a week
C. Two-a-Week Workout by Jeff Nippard - This workout series is incredibly efficient, well-rounded, and has played an instrumental role in making me stronger than I already was with just calisthenics
D. Heavy Lifting: deadlifts and bench press once a week