Last weekend, while I was in Columbus, Ohio, I got to hang out with my good friend and fellow nutrition coach Kyle Leon. I’m always amazed to see how knowledgeable this guy is. He opens my eyes on different aspects of nutrition every time we talk. That’s why I like to share his knowledge with you guys!
I just posted a new video above. In In this video, Kyle shares 3advanced nutrition techniques to get more muscle mass onto your body, without the packing on ugly body fat that covers up your abs when trying to build muscle.
These tips, especially the second one, will help you build muscle as fast as humanly possible – week after week –until you don’t recognize the body starring back at you in the mirror.
Hope you’ll enjoy that killer free info Kyle is sharing with us. Really cool for a guy who usually charges thousands of dollars for nutrition consultations.
But again I’m more than happy to hook you up with the best pros in the business
After you watched the first video above, check out this other video, and Kyle will explain the 3 BIGGEST mistakes you must address if you want to build NATURAL muscle while keeping your abs ripped.
I have to be honest, I didn’t always shopped for high quality foods (from natural or organic sources for example). I used to be kind of care free about where my food was coming from and was never convinced of the true virtues of these healthy foods. Sincerely I think I was simply auto-convincing myself as I didn’t have access to better than average quality foods (I was raised in a small town).
That being said, things have changed, and we have now access to more good sources of natural and organic foods. Even though your typical super market will always have average quality foods, you now have health food stores that carry all kinds of great products.
The only problem I had when I started being more selective about my food sources is that instead of going to a “one-stop shop” to do your groceries, I have to go to multiple locations to find everything you need. Not convenient when you are super busy like I am…
As you probably know, I have great relationships with my local butcher and a local vegetables producer who both give me great deals on top quality meats and veggies.
For the rest, I turned to online grocery shopping. A few months ago, my buddy John Romaniello introduced me to to a guy named David Sinick. To my surprise, David was the owner of a natural and organic online shopping site…PERFECT! Exactly what I was looking for!
It’s easy, fast and convenient. The “store” is never closed, and I can shop from my office (or my couch, or bed, etc…ahah). That’s awesome..
Makes it easy to organize your purchases, you never “run out” of things, because can plan what you need to order (I usually order once a month). This way I don’t impulsively buy things I don’t need, which is usually the case at the grocery store…makes me save a lot of $$$ I have to say.
Another benefit: I’ve found that it’s easier to identify and compare cost per unit online and order totals are calculated as you go, helping you stick to a budget and avoid the embarrassment of asking the clerk to put items back in store. Plus online prices are pretty much always lower than “real life” prices.
So now, you will ask : “where is that cool store, Dave?”
They deliver just about anywhere in the world. If you’re trying to eat healthy natural products, but you live in a small town or just don’t have access to high quality foods, you can still have access to great qualityfood.
Anyway, no matter where you live, True Foods will hook you up. Plus, they have the one of the largest selections of healthy and organic food that I’ve seen.
Of course they don’t sell meat, fish,eggs or other delicate items that don’t ship well. Thankfully you can get organic eggs just about anywhere (including 7-11).
So, do I buy EVERYTHING online now? No, of course not. As I said earlier, I still deal with my local producers to buy fresh produce And I also run to the supermarket from times to times, but only about once or twice a month now…
Below you can download a copy of my True Foods usual grocery shopping list, I added all the links so you can go directly to the product pages without searching. Hope you’ll like it
Click on image to download my grocery shopping list
What do you think of this style of shopping? Is this something that can be useful to you? Just let me know be commenting below!
If you’re someone who’s on a diet to build muscle, it’s important that you do try and include as much variety in your meal plans as possible. Constantly relying on the same old food sources such as chicken, fish, eggs, and oats, rice, and pasta will definitely get tiring after a while.
Instead, switch it up. The following lean muscle building foods are not only going to be incredibly nutritious for you but they’re also going to definitely revamp your meal plan.
Let’s take a look at the top lean muscle building foods you should start adding.
Elk Meat
If you want a lean source of protein, look no further than elk meat. Elk meat is actually a fantastic muscle building foods as it’s incredibly high in protein and since the elk are coming from the wild, it tends to be of a higher quality than some of the raised protein sources we currently find in our supermarket.
Quinoa
Second on the list of lean muscle building foods is quinoa. Quinoa is very similar to brown rice so can easily be subbed into any dish you’d normally serve your rice with. It’s also a complete source of protein as well with more protein per serving than rice or pasta, so great for helping boost that protein intake just a little bit higher.
Quinoa can be eaten hot or cold so there are a variety of different options to incorporate this into your diet.
Fiddleheads
If you’re sick and tired of always eating broccoli as your vegetable, try fiddleheads instead. This vegetable contains just 21 calories per half a cup and will boast 2.8 grams of protein. In addition to this it’s also a terrific source of potassium, vitamin C, and niacin.
They aren’t as easy to locate as your more common vegetable choices but when you can find them, you’ll definitely want to put them on the menu.
Bulgur
Another good alternative to rice is bulgur. This whole grain is also very high in dietary fiber and is going to give off a very nice nutty flavor. It’s often used in soups, served with stir-fry’s or just used as a side dish to your main protein source so there are a number of ways that you can consume it.
Pork
Finally, the last of our lean muscle building foods that you should definitely consider adding to your diet is pork. Many people mistakenly believe that pork is incredibly high in saturated fat but this isn’t the case at all.
In fact, pork is one of the leaner protein sources around and in many cases is even leaner than sirloin steak.
If you’re tired of chicken and are looking for a good change, pork will fit the bill nicely.
So keep all of these five foods in mind as you go about planning your muscle building diet plan. It’s vital that you’re filling your body with wholesome nutrition because this is not only what’s going to help you perform your workouts better but also help you feel your best as well.
If you want more info about ways to build more DRUG FREE lean muscle mass with nutrition, my buddy Kyle Leon just posted a really cool video here:
Let’s face it: ANYBODY can build muscle (that’s easy), but the question is can you do it WITHOUT piling on a bunch of unattractive fat and ruining your health and physique in the process?
Most experts would say “Gaining fat is a necessary evil to building muscle…”
Wrong! Unless you’re using ELEMENTARY methods.
There is one that I hate with a passion, it’s the word “bulking”!
I always say this:
“BULKING” is a word bodybuilders invented as an excuse to get FAT!
Here are 5 new strategies from muscle building experts Vince Del Monte and Lee Hayward.
#1 – Reprime your body every 2 weeks to prevent spillage: Even if your muscle gain diet is PERFECT, every time you overeat for muscle size, your body will store excess food as fat and the longer you overeat, the more fat that accumulates on your stomach. By dropping 1-week lower calorie diets into our program you can quickly strip off any fat you gained and then go back to overeating without losing any muscle you originally gained.
#2 – Your best muscle gains come in the first two weeks: Think about the last time you tried to gain size? I bet the majority of the gains occurred almost immediately. And then it appears someone turned your muscle-building switch to the permanent off position. Well someone did! Research shows that your bodies anabolic growth hormones peak after 14 days,at which point “diminishing returns” set in and any additional gains come at the expense of ugly fat. So, yes, you certainly need to overeat to gain muscle but to what degree? Two week high calorie cycling instead of months on end is your first step to staying lean and muscular 365-days a year.
#3 – Never eat fats 1 hour before your workout: Why? Because we’re about to spike your insulin with a workout drink that contains sugar and if you eat a fatty steak or nuts 1 hour before your insulin goes high, get ready for fat storage. Another tip – always eat a fast digesting protein like white fish 1 hour before you train. You’ll have an influx of amino acids in your muscles while training… very ANABOLIC!
#4 – Cardio will NOT “strip” off your muscle: you should value your heart and lung system to the point that your appearance never comes before your health. You should ALWAYS do at least
three cardio sessions a week for at least 30-35 minutes ALL year long. What intensity? As long as you’re sweating and your heart is pumping 130-150 beats per minutes, you’re good. Now, if you start doing more than our recommendations, YES, you’ll compromise your muscle gains.
#5 – Break your training and diet into mini 21-days cycles: I never plan my training longer than 21 days at a time. Why? It’s too hard to focus any longer beyond that. Let’s focus on NAILING our workouts and DIALING in our diets 21-days at a time. I honestly think people who plan out 12 months of workouts down to the letter are stupid. What a waste of time. Have a rough road map of the future but only zoom in on the details of the next 21 days. Smaller and shorter programs lead to bigger and faster results.
Killer info eh? If you’re ready for the most STRATEGIC and SCIENCE BASED system to incorporate the above strategiesinto a complete, done-for-you program (plus many more secrets not mentioned above) then I strongly endorse Vince and Lee’s brand new 21 Day Fast Mass Building program .
If you’re someone who’s looking to pack on the lean muscle mass as fast as possible, one of the biggest concerns that you may have moving forward is how to build this muscle up quickly without adding additional body fat.
It’s no secret that building more lean muscle mass requires calories. If you want to generate new body tissue, you have to give your body something to build that new tissue with. But, feed the body too much and you’re simply going to start turning that food to body fat – not exactly what you were going for. I always say that the word “bulk” has been invented by bodybuilders as an excuse to get fat
If you want to learn how to bulk up without getting fat, there are a few important strategies that you should be following. Let’s take a look through them so you can see the real truth behind building lean muscle mass.
Alternate Between Cutting And Bulking Diets
The first thing that you should definitely be doing as you go about your mass building efforts is to alternate between bulking and cutting diets throughout the year. Some people make the mistake of doing a full year straight of bulking, which can definitely cause a little too much fat gain if a higher calorie intake is used.
Instead, alternate a few months of bulking with a few months of cutting. Make an agreement with yourself that whenever you get above a certain body fat percentage range you’ll immediately cut back and work on losing some of that fat you’ve gained.
Doing so will help you stay leaner as you progress along and should help you arrive at your end goal without 20 pounds of fat to cut.
Stagger Your Carbohydrate Intake Throughout The Day And Week
Second, the next thing that you should consider is staggering your carbohydrate intake. On your training days you should be taking in more carbs than on your non-training days, so that’s the first thing to adjust.
Then, you should also place more of your carbohydrates in the earlier meals in the day and before and after the workout, making the later meals much more focused on protein and healthy fats.
There’s no reason to load up on the carbs as the evening progresses so start cutting them out before dinner. You’ll stay leaner as you bulk this way.
Do cardio year round
That’s right: cardio all year long. If your nutrition is in check, don’t worry, you won’t lose muscle mass (all the guys are afraid of losing muscle!). When I’m goig for mass, I still do about 25-30 mins cardio post workout, in intervals. It works wonders to keep your bodyfat under control and have a more muscular look. You will also benefit from being in great cardiovascular shape. Good cardio = more intense workouts = more muscle.
Try New Recipes To Reduce Boredom
Another important thing that you must do is continuously try new recipes. Never let yourself become bored because as soon as you do, that’s when you’re more likely to cheat on your plan and those cheats could definitely cause body fat gain.
Instead, get creative in the kitchen. When you do you’ll have no trouble sticking to the game plan.
Count Your Calories Honestly
Finally, the last thing to do is to make sure that you count your calories honestly. Yes, you are trying to build muscle but this doesn’t mean it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet every meal. You should still be maintaining some degree of calorie control otherwise fat gain will definitely get out of hand.
While you may not need to count calories to nearly the same extent as you would on a cutting diet, you should still have some idea of how many you’re taking in.
So keep these quick tips in mind. If you want to stay lean while you build muscle, you’re best paying attention and following them.
Now, what are your strategies to stay in shape while gaining muscle? How do you approach your “bulking” phase? Let me know by leaving your comment below!
Well, 1 week left to this mini 4 week ”diet”… fat loss as slowed down this week as I anticipated (my numbers usually always slow down on the 3rd week), but still lost 1 lbs…
This week, I’m gonna tweek the diet by reducing my stachy carbohydrates intake and bump my fibrous carbs intake. In other words, I’ll have most of my carbs coming from veggies and fruits… a strategy that works well for me when it comes to burn body fat…
When I diet for a bodybuilding show, I like to gradually cut down my carbs coming from foods like patmeal, potatoes, whole grains, etc… and gradually switch to carbs coming from fruits and veggies sources only…
2 weeks down, 2 to go… and another 2lbs of bodyfat lost! Last week went really well once again.
Energy levels are great, it more than likely due the carbohydrates I kept in my meal plan, a bit higher than I usually do when I ”diet” for a bodybuilding show for example.
I also don’t have any cravings or anything, which is a good sign too.
I used to be addicted to protein bars, eating 2-3 bars a day thinking they were good for me just because they were called “Protein Bars”… I would go for anything that had a lot of protein and tasted good.
Then, as I kicked my training up a notch, I realized I had to kill this fetish, a pretty expansive one too as a protein bar costs about $5… I had to stop eating these “candy bars with protein” but I still needed convenient access to healthy protein. This is when I decided to create the perfect homemade protein bar. One that had all the good stuff and none of the bad.
I wanted them to be healthy but cheap to make…. Here’s the result!They are damn good tasting and can be made in under 5 minutes… Enjoy!
(This one one of the many protein bar recipes I have for you in my Anabolic Cooking Cookbook).
Makes 5 Bars
Ingredients
- 8 scoops chocolate protein powder
- 1 cup oatmeal
- 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup 1% milk
- 3 tbsp crushed peanuts
Directions
1. Mix together the protein powder, oatmeal, peanut butter, honey and milk.
2. Form into 5 bars and then roll in the crushed peanuts to finish.
3. Place in the fridge for about 30-45 mins or until solid
Nutritional Facts
(Per Serving – 1 Bar)
Calories: 452
Protein: 50g
Carbohydrates: 36g
Fat: 12g
Make sure to prepare a batch and leave me your comment below!
You will find below my complete meal plan that I’ll be using for week 2 of my 4-week pre-vegas ‘’diet’’.
Last week went really well… dropped 3 lbs, and I had an unplanned cheat meal on sunday. I was planning on not having a cheat meal this week (I like to start my diets with 2 weeks of 100% clean eating before introducing my usual weekly cheat meal).
If you’ve been following this meal plan, you can allow yourself 1 cheat MEAL next weekend (I won’t as I cheated last week).
50+ comments by Wednesday night and I’ll reveal a brand new video of my best snack recipe ever… and if I get these 50 comments, I also promise to add it to next week’s meal plan… you’ll thank later
You will find below my complete meal plan that I’ll be using for week 1 of my 4-week pre-vegas ‘’diet’’. In fact, in exactly 4-weeks Karine and I will be in Las Vegas with my good friends and top fitness coaches Vince DelMonte, Lee Hayward, Mike Westerdal, Adam Steer, Dr.K, Joel Marion, etc…
We’ll be in Vegas for fitness related meetings and also to go see the Mr.Olympia competition. So needless to say I want to look my best when I’m there
I’ll modify my diet every week. If you plan on fallowing a fat loss diet, it’s probably a good idea to give this one a try and learn from it.
1. Your first meal should occur within 30 minutes of waking up time., or after cardio if you decide to do your cardio on an empty stomach forst thing in the morning
2. All meals should be spaced out 2-3 hours apart. It does not matter if your last meal is at the wee hours in the morning, you must consume all the meals on the plan.
3. Always have a meal 1 hour before working out.
4. If you happen to miss a meal, replace it by a protein shake. Therefore, always carry an extra protein shake, ready to drink. This ensures you reach your daily total calories and macronutrient needs.
5. If you cannot follow the meal plan for whatever reason, try and substitute with foods that are as close in nutrition as the ones listed. You will still get similar results if you do so.
6. Drink at least 3 Litres of water a day
7. You can also use:
· Any Calorie-Free Sauce or Low-Cal Sauce (i.e. not more than 5 calories per tbsp)
· Franks Red Hot Sauce
· Dijon Mustard
· Apple Cider Vinegar (For Salads)
· You can also use Stevia as sweetener (Splenda is fine too).
How to tweak it:
Don’t make it too complicated. Normal expectations for this meal plan are to lose about 2 lbs of body fat a week.
I’m about 240 lbs right now, at 12% body fat. Men over 200lbs can use the same diet plan.
Men under 200 lbs : consume 3/4 of what is listed on this diet
Women: Consume 1/2 of what is listed on this diet plan
50+ comments by Wednesday night and I’ll reveal the Fat Burning workout I’m going to use for the next 4 weeks! Deal?
Second on the list of lean muscle building foods is quinoa. Quinoa is very similar to brown rice so can easily be subbed into any dish you’d normally serve your rice with. It’s also a complete source of protein as well with more protein per serving than rice or pasta, so great for helping boost that protein intake just a little bit higher.
If you’re sick and tired of always eating broccoli as your vegetable, try fiddleheads instead. This vegetable contains just 21 calories per half a cup and will boast 2.8 grams of protein. In addition to this it’s also a terrific source of potassium, vitamin C, and niacin.
#1 – Reprime your body every 2 weeks to prevent spillage: Even if your muscle gain diet is PERFECT, every time you overeat for muscle size, your body will store excess food as fat and the longer you overeat, the more fat that accumulates on your stomach. By dropping 1-week lower calorie diets into our program you can quickly strip off any fat you gained and then go back to overeating without losing any muscle you originally gained.
Do cardio year round
