Wednesday 20 May 2015

Back in Business

Nutrition - What I've learned

Hey guys,

For those of you that are familiar with this blog and my previous posts: Welcome back. To those who are visiting this place for the first time: Hello! Its been a long time since I've posted anything and I've decided to change things up a little, some of you may notice that even the name has changed. If you read back on some of my earlier posts, you'll see that I zoned in on certain subjects and offered my opinion on them. Things are going to operate a little differently now, I'm just going to use this as a platform to share my experiences and hopefully the tips and tricks that I share will be useful to you guys in some way. So without further ado, lets get in to the post.

So since the last time I posted, I've been putting in the work and trying to get the best results from my regime with regards to both nutrition and training. I'm going to go through both of these areas in separate posts, and hopefully there's some information that you guys can take away with you.

This first post is going to focus on nutrition, because in my opinion it is the first factor that you need to consider if you're looking to alter your body composition; whether that be gaining weight or losing weight. I want to be clear with this, a lot of the knowledge and views that I have regarding nutrition come from a variety of sources. I'm going to make these guys clear before I continue, because they definitely deserve a lot of credit and I everyone can benefit from what they have to say on a day to day basis. So, in no particular order, here's the list -


Now that the right people have been included, let's get stuck in to the details. Anyone that knows me will know that for the last 3 years, I've been trying to lose fat and to build a body that I'm more comfortable with. To do this I've had to completely change my approach to nutrition, and its been a long and difficult road to get to where I am today. 

I started out in my efforts by believing that Carbohydrates and fat were the enemy, and that it was important to eat mostly protein each day. I found myself living off chicken and broccoli, and then binging regularly because my diet sucked. After this I moved on to a stage where I started to eat anything that I considered healthy (chicken, tuna, oats, rice, pasta, fruit etc.) and in theory I was on the right track. However, I had no comprehension of how to measure these foods, and convinced myself that it was good practice to just eat these foods in whatever quantities that I pleased and that the result would be fat loss. This continued for a long time, although after a while I decided to significantly reduce the amount that I was eating/increase my training and it began to work. I'd eat the exact same meals every day of the week, and a lot of the time I'd be going hungry. I convinced myself that I was doing the right thing because I was starting to see changes in my body. 

This continued for a while, until my weight stopped decreasing and I hit a plateau. So it was of course time for me to explore the world of 'wonder supplements' 'super foods and smoothies' and general quick fixes. First of all I went for what I now see as the lazy option and tried fat burning tablets, its important for me at this point to tell you all that I also began to eat less whilst taking this supplement. Due to my extra caloric deficit I began to lose weight; but due to the fat burners I had less of an appetite, and extra energy due to the high caffeine content that usually comes with those kinds of supplements. Basically, over the course of two years, my diet had no structure and I relied on fat burners and cutting out carbohydrates. So I'd like to move on to how I tackled this.

I started out by getting in touch with Jason Vaughan (see the link to his site above), and he tailored a nutrition plan for me that completely revolutionised the way I approached eating. I ditched the fat burners and the fads, and set out on the nutrition plan that he created. I can't emphasise enough how much this plan helped me, and how much it helped me to change my body composition. I combined it with a good training plan (which I'll go in to in my next post) and the weight just dropped off me. I later found out that I was eating between 2500 and 3000 calories a day, and the best part was that Jason made sure that I had different choices of meals every day. So if you're interested in hiring a coach, then I'd fully recommend Jason.

This continued until one day I had the fortune to stumble upon Nick Cheadle's Instagram page (which you should all definitely check out). Nick's approach to nutrition centres around IIFYM (If it fits your macros), also known as flexible dieting. The basic premise behind this approach is that as long as the food that you consume in a day fits inside your daily allowance of calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates (I'll refer to them from now on as macros/macronutrients), you will progress towards your goal. It goes without saying that everyone's intake levels will differ due to a multitude of factors, including their goals (weight loss/gain etc). So in essence, you can eat whatever foods you want (in moderation) as long as it fits inside your daily macros then you'll progress. 

However, you can't just rely on a generic set of numbers for your Macronutrients, your numbers will depend on a variety of factors, which brings me on to my next point. There are many sources out there that will help you to work out your macros, but I've found that the most effective are Nick Cheadle, and Mike Samuels (see link to his site above). Nick operates a free blog on his website which contains a multitude of posts about training and nutrition, including a post about how to work out your macros. Mike has a very reasonably priced (and great value for money) ebook  - Flexible Fat Loss - In this book he shows you exactly how to work out your macros and explains a lot about nutrition and the things to remember when dieting. Both Nick and Mike also outline the general rules for flexible dieting such as sufficient water and fibre intakes to suit your goals. 

I've been properly flexible dieting for around a month now, and I'm noticing some real changes in my body. Basically I'm losing weight and retaining muscle, whilst still enjoying my favourite foods in moderation (like Ben and Jerrys ice cream). The key driving force behind flexible dieting is sustainability, which is a message that you'll see consistently from Nick Cheadle, Mike Samuels and Bec Chambers. Ladies, If you're looking for motivation I'd definitely recommend Bec, her philosophy towards training and nutrition is an extremely positive and intelligent one, and I guarantee that you will all be able to relate to the issues that she discusses on her page. 

So to wrap up, after trying a multitude of different fad diets, supplements, and low calorie diets; I found flexible dieting. It has allowed me to completely take control of my nutrition and enjoy the foods that I love whilst working towards my goals (though I do still hold some hope to be part of Team NCF one day). I'd recommend visiting the sites that I've mentioned to all of you, even if you're not currently interested in being able to eat ice cream and donuts and still lose weight because you've adopted a sustainable and happy relationship with food. After all, knowledge is power.

If you've made it to this point in the blog without me boring you, then thank you very much for reading this and for visiting the page. Please feel free to explore some of the older posts, I'm sure some will generate some laughs, and I apologise for any bro science that has slipped in there. You can also keep up with me in the following places - 




Failing that, leave a comment in the box below and I'll get back to you. Any feedback is always appreciated. 

Make sure you catch my next post on my experiences with training routines and how to build your own effective workouts.

Until next time,

Alex


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