Stop counting calories.
Really, just stop.
I don’t care if you want fat loss.
Or muscle gain.
Throw the calculator away.
And carb cycling?
Easy. Beyond easy.
So easy that it makes me want to write easy six more times so you realize just how easy carb cycling is.
Easy. Easy. Easy. Easy. Easy.
What follows is a simple nutrition plan that’s adjustable for any goal and can even be optimized for an awesome lifestyle.
And I’m not even going to tease you about oatmeal volcanoes. That’s what pictures are for.
Keep your eyeballs in their sockets, please.
Current flavor of fasting
Lately, I’ve fielded a lot of questions about my “diet.” (I hate that word.) It’s a tough thing to tackle because, all things considered, it’s ever-changing.
My latest fiasco was the Warrior Diet — or whatever freakish mutation I made of it.
It was great.
Except for when it was bad.
And bad it was at times.
That’s why I’m going back to old reliable — the plan that’s gotten me the most results with the least hassle. It borrows from Martin Berkhan’s Leangains, so it’s a mutation of intermittent fasting.
So before I slop that on you, here’s why I succumbed to what society sees as short-lived starvation.
Benefits of intermittent fasting
I’m a big believer in starting with why.
It’s been over a year since I converted to intermittent fasting. But the question remains: why intentionally not eat and live in hunger?
Few ask this question before picking up the glass of Kool-Aid. The answer surely isn’t because intermittent fasting is the only pathway to results. People use methods in stark contrast to intermittent fasting and still get big, strong, and ripped. Precision Nutrition is a prime example of using methods opposite of intermittent fasting.
And from a broad perspective, intermittent fasting is rather logical.
Martin Berkhan’s Leangains condenses a day’s worth of calories into three bigger meals. Ori Hofmekler’s Warrior Diet combines a day’s worth of calories into one big meal. Brad Pilon’s Eat Stop Eat (in the name of honesty, this is an affiliate link, but it’s a damn worthy one as it’s a fantastic resource) cuts out calories from a few meals that would otherwise be consumed. John Romaniello’s Feast Fast cuts out an entire day’s worth of calories.
It seems thermodynamics – calories in versus calories out – is winning.
…Or is it?
Intermittent fasting and body composition
Now, I’m far from a diet expert. There are plenty of websites dedicated to fasting. My two favorite are run by Martin Berkhan and Brad Pilon. So if you want specifics, go to them. This is just an overview.
Considering the forefathers of intermittent fasting are jacked and ripped, it sure is compelling for body recomposition.
But there may be more than thermodynamics to thank for this, like fasting boosting growth hormone, as explained by Brad Pilon. And Martin Berkhan surely isn’t lacking client testimonials.
Then there are anecdotes from the majority of fitness folk. Since writing about IF, many people have told me fasting was a key ingredient in getting them the leanest they’ve ever been.
There are a few hiccups here though. For instance, Martin Berkhan also recommends carbohydrate cycling. This undoubtedly has an effect on body composition. (I can personally attest to this.) And people may simply be eating less after switching to intermittent fasting since cramming six meals worth of calories into three is challenging at first.
But we can at least say intermittent fasting isn’t a negative in the body composition column.
Intermittent fasting and lifestyle
Psychologically, it’s reassuring to know that hunger isn’t going to melt our muscles like the Wicked Witch of the West under a bucket of water.
This is reason enough to give fasting a go as a beeping watch alarm every three hours in reminder of “meal time” isn’t a fun way of living.
It’s also nice knowing some food in the stomach and feeling “good” isn’t going to be “bad.”
Intermittent fasting and cognittion
There’s a group of people that theorize creativity skyrockets during times of hunger.
Hell, even Scott Adams – illustrator of famed comic, Dilbert – has his own take on breakfast and creativity. Starving may not be such a bad thing for the artist.
The rationale for this is that primitive man needed to be creative in times of hunger to find food.
So when you open your fridge and find nothing but scraps, you’re more apt to concoct a conglomeration of ingredients that don’t really make sense. A banana, celery, and bleu cheese omelette? Whatever.
So…what should I choose?
Great. Fasting is pretty cool. And good for us. But most fasting data is non-specific to the methods used. A fast is simply a prolonged period of time without food. What separates 16 from 20 from 24 from 40 hour fasts?
I’m not sure anyone knows. One or two weekly 24 hours fasts may be “enough,” as Brad Pilon suggests. Try many fasting lengths. You’ll understand and appreciate your body a lot more.
The plans below are mutations of Leangains (16/8 scheme) and Eat Stop Eat (24 hour fasts) because, from my experience, they are the easiest and “healthiest” from a mental perspective. Obsessing about eating every three hours is just as askew as dragging through hunger in countdown to the next meal.
Disclaimer of experience
Before I get to the meat, I want to remind you of just how much work went into this. This article is more than three days worth of writing and editing 3,000 words. This is years of experimentation.
Below is the progression of my diet.
- 6 meals per day – Summer 2006
- 4 meals per day – Summer 2010
- 4 meals, 2 snacks per day – Fall 2010
- 2 meals per day – Winter 2011 (broken foot)
- 2 meals per day, Leangains with Feast Fast Method – Fall 2011
- 2 meals per day, Leangains with Eat Stop Eat – Winter 2012
- 1 meal per day, Warrior Diet experiments – Spring 2012
So this has been curating for years. And that’s how most of my knowledge blossoms: through years of trials, tribulations, and failures.
Here’s the story from the most relevant starting point.
Broken foot, can’t cookK
In 2011, I began intermittent fasting. My diet was simple and based on advice passed down from a bodybuilder friend: center your diet around eating one pound of meat, six eggs, and three protein shakes every day. So, I did.
Because of my foot, and being unable to cook, I got used to eating two meals per day. And after healing, I kept this pattern. The first meal was at noon. The second, at dinner time or later in the day.
In late 2011, I started carb cycling. Carb cycling, for whatever reason, seemed like one of those uber complex things that wasn’t worth the effort. But that’s not true at all. And it’s well worth the effort.
Pictured above: Three chicken breasts, peppers, six eggs with cheese, 1500 calories worth of oatmeal volcano, three scoops worth of protein lava pudding (all volcanoes have lava, duh), cottage cheese (not pictured) was also down the hatch. And if you look in the top right hand corner, you can see part of my gamorrean guard mug. Awesome. (By the way, this was a Warrior Diet escapade.)
My greatest gains
The greatest gains of my life came from intermittent fasting, eating two meals per day, using “complicated” carb cycling, training on an empty stomach, and with a 12PM-8PM feeding window. The “complicated” carb cycling technique shakes out like this: On hardcore training days, down more starchy and simple carbs. On off days, down more vegetables and fats. That’s about it.
And this template, that’s been curating for over a year, is easily adjustable for muscle gain, fat loss, maintenance, and lifestyle. So there’s a template below for each. All are simple, but the key is being able to eat enough. Again, I have a deeper stomach than most so I can take down 1,000 – 2,000 calories in one sitting.
If two meals are overwhelming, break things down into three or four meals. Just center each meal around protein.
Start with the cruise control template. All variations stem from it, and it’s the method I use most frequently.
1) Cruise control template
No matter the goal, start with the cruise control template. This is my “money” template that just “works” for living life and slow cooking progress.
This is the ideal template for a “clean bulk,” or what I like to call “living life and training without obsession.”
The basic tenant of the cruise control template is getting at least one pound of meat, six eggs, and three protein shakes down every day. If you eat chicken, this shakes out to damn near 200 grams of protein and 1,200 calories. Fattier cuts of meat will obviously yield more calories, but chicken — being one of the leanest meats — represents the minimum caloric yield.
But that’s all of the calculations needed. Eat those three things, and you know you’re probably getting “enough” protein, which is most important. Everything else falls under the experimental umbrella.
Adjust the quantities based on how your body responds. It might take a few months to hone in on things, but everyone’s metabolic rate is different. That’s just the reality. I’m not about quick fixes either. You’re going to have to experiment.
From here we can add the complicated carb cycling principles: more starchy and simple carbs on hardcore training days, more leafy, cruciferous, exotic vegetables, and fats on off days.
Examples of starchy and simple carbs: oats, rice, potatoes, fruits
Examples of vegetables and fats: cheeses, nuts, broccoli, cauliflower, avocado, carrots, spinach, kale, lettuce, peppers, eggplant, etc…
Examples of lean meat: chicken, turkey
Examples of fattier meat: red meat, pork
Good editions on either day: cottage cheese
Personally, I almost always stick with oats because they are cheap. And I’m a little bit in love with my oatmeal volcanoes. I usually down cottage cheese on a daily basis too, even though it isn’t one of the three staples.
Neutrals, exclusives, and tweeners
I like thinking in terms of three categories: neutrals, tweeners, and exclusives. Neutral foods are lean meats, wholesome vegetables, plain protein powder — essentially pure protein and fiber. Neutral foods are good any time, any place, and with any meal.
Exclusives are foods that, when carb cycling, need to stay on their designated days. So nuts, being mostly fat, should be secluded to low carb days. Potatoes and oats, being mostly carbs, should be secluded to high carb days.
Tweeners are foods that teeter on neutral. Eggs are a great example of a tweener. There’s some fat, but not a whole lot. Cottage cheese is another example. So tweeners have a home, but they can float neutral as no day completely excludes one specific macro-nutrient.
High carbohydrate days (2-4 days per week)
High carbohydrate days have two distinct meals, with the first being post-workout. The post workout meal is flooded with complex and simple carbohydrates. Fat is kept to a minimum.
I like eating 0.5 – 0.25 pounds of the meat (usually chicken or lean turkey) and all three protein scoops at this meal (works well in the volcano). The simple and complex carbs add up to 1,000 – 1,500 calories.
The second meal is kept low carbohydrate and consists of the eggs, some vegetables, the rest of the meat, and any other neutral food.
12-2PM – Post Workout Meal
Lean Meats, complex and simple carbs, protein powder
6-8PM – Second Meal
Lean meats, cottage cheese, eggs, vegetables
If you work out later in the day, flip the meals.
All carbohydrates are shuttled to the immediate post workout window. With carb back loading gaining popularity, this is soon to be “outdated,” but it’s worked well for me for months — and years prior for a lot of folk.
If you train more than four days per week, think about picking the 2-4 days that you want to optimize — from a growth and recovery standpoint — and keep them high carb. Other training days will fall under a low carb days.
Low carbohydrate days (3-4 days per week)
Low carbohydrate days are rather simple.
Just be careful that you’re not overdoing it on the calories.
As crazy as it sounds, it’s easier to go overboard because nuts, avocado, and all of the fats add quick calories.
12PM-2PM – First Meal
Fattier meat, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, protein powder, nuts, etc…
6-8PM – Second Meal
Fattier meat, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, protein powder, nuts, etc…
Low carbohydrate days are for days you don’t train to build muscle. So if you just have a light retainer workout or are completely “off,” it’s a low carb day.
2) The muscle gain template
Remember, everything branches from the cruise control template. The muscle gaining template has one major swap, and that’s making the second meal on the high carbohydrate day mirror of the first.
On the cruise control template, carbohydrates are condensed to post workout. Not anymore. The muscle gaining template can be summed up with this: keep everything on their respective days. No tweeners allowed.
High carbohydrate days (2-4 days per week)
Fat, as a whole, is kept as a minimum, even to the point of dropping eggs.
12-2PM – Post Workout Meal
Lean Meats, complex and simple carbs, protein powder, any neutral food
6-8PM – Second Meal
Lean Meats, complex and simple carbs, protein powder, any neutral food
Low carbohydrate days (3-4 days per week)
For those that truly are looking to pack on the mass, go with 12 eggs on the low carbohydrate days.
12PM – First Meal
Fattier meat, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, protein powder, nuts, etc…
6-8PM – Second Meal
Fattier meat, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, protein powder, nuts, etc…
3) The fat loss template
Some people save money pennies at a time. They avoid morning coffee, thinking the $2.00 is a worthy savings.
Meanwhile, they bend over and take late fees and high interest rates — that exceed thousands of dollars — willingly.
Same goes for fat loss. Some stop eating the extra slice of toast, cutting out 100 calories every day — saving a whopping (sarcasm) 700 calories every week.
I prefer going for the juggular, Eat Stop Eat style. The basis behind Eat Stop Eat is fasting for 24 hours once or twice per week, which means cutting out one meal on each of the 24 hour fasting days. And since we only eat twice per day, cutting one meal means saving 1,000+ calories. Do that twice in one week, and you’re looking at +2,000.
But don’t screw it up by doubling the one meal you will eat.
On two of your low carbohydrate days, eat one normal sized meal. I recommend going with anything in the neutral category, as that cuts calories down further.
Don’t worry too much about the 24 hour part. Just eat one meal. The most convenient time is 3-4PM as anything earlier makes hunger late at night discomforting, and anything later makes the day miserable.
On this plan, high carbohydrate days stay the same per the cruise control template, as the post workout carbohydrates help maintain — and perhaps build — muscle.
High carbohydrate days (2-4 days per week)
See Cruise Control template for details.
12-2PM – Post Workout Meal
Lean Meats, complex and simple carbs, protein powder
6-8PM – Second Meal
Lean meats, cottage cheese, eggs, vegetables
Low carbohydrate days (1-2 days per week)
See Cruise Control template for details.
12-2PM – First Meal
Fattier meat, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, protein powder, nuts, etc…
6-8PM – Second Meal
Fattier meat, eggs, vegetables, cheeses, protein powder, nuts, etc…
One meal days (2 days per week)
3-5PM – Only Meal
Lean protein, protein powder, eggs, vegetables, anything neutral
4) The lifestyle template
While experimenting with the Warrior Diet, I got used a certain lifestyle freedom — kind of a lack of obsession. On previous diets, the tone for the day was “set” after the first meal.
On the Cruise Control template, for example, you down 1,500 calories. Psychologically, this locks me in on my second meal. So if friends call and want to cook out, I’m hand cuffed. Stay high carb? Or go ace on some ribs and burgers?
And that’s the biggest hang up with carb cycling, and “strict” dieting in general — it limits your lifestyle and lends itself to mild obsession.
I wanted to get away from this. And we can by making the first meal “neutral,” meaning the second meal can go any direction.
For instance, the other day I worked, lifted, trained my cousin, had two softball games. Normally, this screams high carbohydrate. But on the lifestyle template, I was afforded freedom.
I got home late and I didn’t want to destroy myself with a huge meal, so I poured a glass of wine, cooked some eggs, and coasted into the night. (I never drink wine during the week.)
So this is ideal for people that are prone to have less control over dinner or simply want more selection. Find out your parents are cooking an awesome dinner? Sweet, crash the party and eat everything. Want to eat a food that’s a little less “clean?” You’re likely fine as long as you know how to control portions. (I don’t.)
You can keep all of the carbohydrate cycling principles too if you wanted. Just make the meal later at night reflect the direction you want to go.
Lifestyle days
12PM – First Meal
Neutral foods – lean meat, vegetables, protein powder, etc…
6-8PM – Second Meal
Wherever your heart takes you
….breathe
Ultimately, diet is just like training. The best plans are the one that fit both your lifestyle and psychology.
This is just another one thrown out into the world, and the one that works for me.
Dare I say, two meals per day for twice the gains?
Maybe.
But the first step is one pound of meat, six eggs, and three scoops of protein. That takes precedence over the fasting and “specifics.” (Part of me wonders about the validity of the specifics anyway.)
But, stick to the base, and you will find your way.
How do you eat? What’s your go-to diet? Drop some comments below and share the article if you found it useful.
ive slowly realized 2 meals is a bit better for me too – i get far too ravenous at night and far too full. i love the warrior diet but i would really really love to see your specific plan!!!
I just discovered your site, I was happy to see that there are huge over eaters out there. I’ve been IF for the last few weeks, but after reading your article I have a better understanding on how to eat . My question is: could you give a rough example of the portion sizes on the low carb days? Your 1000-1500 cal of carbs for high carb meals really made it easy, having all the scoops of whey in that meal was amazing too lol
Hrmm, lets see….
Could be two fistfuls of meat, six eggs, two large handfuls of veggies, and one small handful of nuts?
That make it a bit clearer?
Almost.. I know you say to not count calories but should I aim for around 1000 call per meal? For example I’m doing 300g T-bone steak, 3 eggs, veggies, somenuts and cheese. I just need a estimation so I don’t go overboard and try to fill up myself up with too much fat
I’m not going to be able to say how much food you can tolerate. If you’re worried about going overboard, start small and then work your way up. Fill up on veggies if you want to feel full. Multiply your body weight by 12. That will give you a good estimation of how many calories you need. Then split that into your meals.
I like the article but would be interested in a solid plan. I was a 6 meals a day eat,ER for awhile and I saw great progress, but I hate having to schedule my life around meals. Despite seeming healthy I think it leads to an imbalanced life obsessing over food/meals. I agree with you 100% about finding something that fits your life and philosophy.
Nice Post,
I also base my diet around intermittent fasting. The freedom is incredible when compared to eating 6 times a day. I also find it more useful when trying to stay away from food when going out as it’s much easier to say “I don’t want any, I’m dieting” than it is to try to find a way to squeeze in some food that is usually not a good part of the diet. And if it is your only meal, you can go all out
I’ve personally have done Eat Stop Eat, Warrior Diet, and Renegade Diet (which is pretty much like all fasting methods in one plan). I have to admit, the warrior diet for me is real hard, I love food too much for that haha.
Eat Stop Eat is my favorite and the Renegade Diet was another one I enjoyed, which ironically made a future return to the warrior diet much easier. No idea why but I’m not complaining.
I, like you, feel that I do my best with two big meals a day. The only hard thing about this stuff at least for me is the fact that I’m a vegetarian but as long as I don’t go crazy with the fasting and eat my heart out after my workouts, it’s all good.
My best fat loss results came from Eat Stop Eat and EDT for training. I did it for 6 weeks and it was awesome. I got to eat TONS of pasta and rice and trained only 3 times a week but burned fat like if it was nothing and built some muscle. It only worked for 6 weeks as I started to get hungrier on my “off” days from fasting but it was still great haha
Now I eat twice a day and I feel perfect.
I think everyone should try out all the different fasting methods like you did as each one is a little different in its own way and eventually just changes your whole way of thinking about food.
I would be interested in checking out your plan.
Good post (y)
Since you mentioned you’re a vegetarian, can you please share how you manage adequate protein intake while limiting your carb intake? I’m going through a “veggie only” period right now and I’m confused on what to eat!
Were you trying to build muscle or cut some fat with this diet?
Great stuff, man. Very well laid out and explained.
Awesome, easy-to-follow templates. That’s my style for sure.
Thanks Nia! Really appreciate you stopping by to read and comment.
Hi can you drink milk on any of the days?
Dairy is one of those things that’s entirely individual. Some people can drink it no problemo. Others can’t. I’d say if you’re used to drinking it, it’ll be fine as long as it fits within the ranges. I fair better with yogurt.
Any advice to someone who wants to go more plant based? Just substitute beans for the sources of protein?
Sorry Jeremy, don’t have any experience.
Do you have a recipe/instructions for making the oatmeal volcano.?
Actually shot and am editing a video right now.
This is great.
That is all.
Appreciate it.
Love this article. I hated the though of constant food intake calculations and would never want to be a slave to all that shit.
That was the inspiration for sure.
Intermittent Fasting, Lean Gains style. 2 Big meals a day, mostly higher fat-lower carb (just cause I like fatty stuff more hah). Very similar to the plan you laid out here though – I eat a 1lb of meat a day, 12 eggs a day, and no protein powder(don’t have any).
Nice. Can’t go wrong there.
Awesome stuff. Lifestyle freedom from your next meal is incredibly enlightening. Also, I read your first draft before you took it down and this is markedly better.
Thanks Jeff. Yeah, I had to re-do it. It was all over the place.
Hey Anthony, great article. Seems to be relatively simple when you put it like that. Just to clarify though. I train around 8.30-9pm at night and want to build muscle. Keeping in line with these principles could I have two meals pre-workout (bulk of calories) and then one post being a shake of some variety? I am fine to fast to around 1-2pm each day and so could eat my last meal at 9-10pm. Would that make sense?
I’d go two pre-workout meals, each consisting of about 25% total calories. Post workout meal being largest. I would think anything bigger would hurt your performance. That’s preference though.
Cheers. Thanks Anthony.
Welcomes.
Sorry Martin, but I think Anthony explains IF with greater clarity. For someone confused about specifics and new to intermittent fasting, you provide a host of options to chose from and an easily understood rationale as well. I showed someone (let’s just call them an average American who thinks Lean Cuisine is healthy eating) this article with the photos of the food and they went, “Ew, I hate weird food”. Isn’t it amazing that the average American doesn’t even recognize real food anymore? Keep up the great work.
Hah! Oats, chicken, vegetables.
Totally weird.
Oh my god!
This article is excellent…I have bookmarked it, and I am sure that i will refer to it again and again, and take notes as well…too too good. Anthony, you have outdone yourself.
I have read Eat Stop Eat, Leangains and the renegade…you stand out in the sense that you have laid out all the practical steps in a spartan 3000 word essay…fell swoop.
The website looks sharper too…good job…I notice that you have different subscription for skinny fats, 5 day freak athlete course etc. Do I need to sign up again?
Lovely stuff…please keep it coming…this content is gold.
Rajat – should be blasted out. No need to sign up again. Thanks for the kind words as always.
And I’m not sure about the chicken. I don’t know how it’s prepared. Nothing wrong with the skin on a low carb day if it’s prepared properly.
As far as what it looks like, I’d say you’re safe around three large breasts perhaps. But then again, the sizes of those vary as well.
Anthony,
I had a question with chicken. I get my chicken grilled from a restaurant nearby. It is a little oily on the outside. Should I just throw away the skin and eat the meat below?
What does 1 pound of chicken look like? My folks are vegan, and i grew up as a vegan. it is only from a few months that I eat meat. So, I am a little foggy
nice article and very easy to comprehend, good job. wanted to get your thoughts on something… i have tried IF before and it fits me quite well. actually i dont struggle at all and prefer to fast and be productive early in the day and eat larger meals at night. its just over the last year or so my acticity level has increased alot. i train in the AM, train others at around noon then go train kids for soccer in the late afternoon then have basketball practice or games in the evening. all this with the intention of building muscle and getting stronger. i know IF has its benefits but should just keep it in the shelves for now till the time is right? thanks!
Diego, if you’re maintaining your energy, there shouldn’t be an issue. From reading the literature, I’ve found that as long as you’re getting your calories in — some way or another — and the size of your meals aren’t bothering you (ie: uncomfortable digestion, feeling overly full), you’ll be good.
great post anthony. loving the cruise control template. i also find that eating fewer meals work best for me. however with irregular schedules it is hard to go strictly with the 16/8 method.for feast fast method, is it okay to have a high carb day before the feast day?since the point of the feast day is to increase leptin levels but wouldnt the high carb day prior to that disturb the production of leptin?thanks
You bring up a valid point that perhaps John Romaniello may be better qualified to answer. But to give you mine, I usually stick to a lower intake the day before and after if I feast. In fact, these days it’s one meal (ESE) before – feast (not really a feast though, just minor indulgence) – one meal day after (ESE). Works well. Not as daunting and making huge gains.
Excellent article…
do you recommend any supplements? I currently take curcumin/turmeric and fish oil. would it be okay to take these during the times of fasting or does that take away the benefits…
Thanks
I’d save fish oil for the feeding window.
Supplements: whey, creatine, fish oil, vitamin d.
I guess fish oil just on los carbs days?
You can do both, pending dosage. You can still take some fat in on high carb days, especially if it’s something like fish oil.
Thanks for the great article! I’ve been doing some form of LG/IF/Warrior for about 2 months now. Strength is up, inches are down a bit, and weight is static. I needed to tweek myself to more of a cutting phase for fat loss, and I’ll give your recommendations a try as it regards rest-days (I’m already doing the 24 hour fasts here and there as I only do 1 large feast around 9-10pm at night).
p.s. – lol, at the comment above me about “ew, weird food” from the friend… omg… feta cheese and olives? Oats, meat, eggs. THIS IS REAL FOOD AMERICA!
Thanks for joining the comment fun! And kudos to your Warrior shenanigans. I couldn’t handle it.
Quick, tiny error in your article (and I point this out, because I could see thing article being circulated widely as it is informative and well written).
“Psychologically, it’s reassuring to know that hunger isn’t going to melt our muscles like the Wizard of Oz under a bucket of water.”
…probably should be…
“Psychologically, it’s reassuring to know that hunger isn’t going to melt our muscles like the Wicked Witch of the West under a bucket of water.”
-or-
“Psychologically, it’s reassuring to know that hunger isn’t going to melt our muscles like the witch from the Wizard of Oz under a bucket of water.”
Yeah. Hahaha. Thanks a bunch. One of those brain farts.
Hi, this is great writing! thank you for having this website.
I’m trying to lose 10 – 15 lbs., I’m a almost 40 year old woman!
Which do you recommend? Leangains or Eat Stop Eat? I don’t have trouble fasting, I actually like it now that I have tried both in the last two weeks, I yet to see any results maily because I have not stuck with any of them yet, I’m just trying to figure out which one I should go for and test full force, please advise ( I also do strenth training 3 times per week for about 35-45 minutes).
You could very well do both. But ESE is more fat loss oriented since you’re cutting calories.
Great article, Anthony. Simply great!
I’ve been mixing 3-meals and 2-meals days, also with some cheat days followed by 30+ hours fast. Since my goal is to get upper body mass and lose belly fat, I will now switch to 2-meals days. I will also occasionally use the lifestyle days strategy to save the quality of my social life.
One question for you – what is your rough estimation of calories intake (%) in the first meal vs. the second meal (not in the lifestyle protocol)?
Is it around 60:40?
Hrm…let me think…
If I’m on cruise control, probably closer to 70-30 or 60-40.
Muscle gain, 50-50.
Anthony -
For those of us who like to have our cake and eat it too, would you recommend incorporating dessert into the latter meal so as to avoid the present possibility that dessert might morph into a third meal ?
Not quite sure what you mean here, Dale. Like, just eating too much dessert and having it turn into one huge meal?
I don’t really eat dessert outside of my one day of mini-indulgence, so I can’t help that much. I’d say keep a tight leash and put it wherever is best so that you won’t gorge.
Can you please tell me the recipe for the oatmeal volcano, it looks amazing!!!!
Video being shot.
I cannot understand why should I be in a calorie surplus on the training day and deficite on the rest day. For example, last night I had a feast day. Today I am full of energy because of my leptin high levels. I don’t need food. I am going to be active all day long and have a tough workout. Tonight I will have one small meal. And tomorrow when I need rest and food to recover I will eat all day long. That way, on the training day I will be in a huge deficite, and on the rest day I will maintain. So this is a miny cycle. An active day with very litlle food, and rest day with plenty of food. IF is all about this, no food when we are active, and plenty of food when we rest. That way we can combine leangain, ESE, feast days and normal days with breakfast. The minus of leangain’s and worrior’s protocols is that they are shedulled.
Well if you’re talking about the fat loss template, it’s all a wash. Deficit on rest day or training day, what’s most important is the deficit.
But you’re comparing a feast day with a regular day. Feasts will affect hormones differently than just regular meals.
From personal experience, I like eating more on training days because it helps my recovery more than doing so on rest days. Training and then sleeping without much food (even if it was eaten in a feast the day prior) will likely make me sore and stiff when I wake up.
But, again, this only applies to the fat loss template as low-carb doesn’t mean caloric deficit.
That makes sense to me Anthony
Another great article Anthony – maybe your best. Well done on making the thorny issue of nutrition plain and simple.
I know you don’t calorie count, but you weigh about 200lbs right and you’re only eating 2000 – 3000 calories or so per day (looking roughly at what you’re eating, I could be way off)? That in itself is food for thought.
I second whoever else said it though, you’ve absolutely got to hit us with a recipes article – that oatmeal volcano front and centre!
The overall intake varies Rory. But i’d say closer to 3000 most days. Low carb days with the fattier meats, nuts, and whatnot add up. But there are certainly days where I eat lower. I’m a big fan of nutrient autoregulation. So the quantity of my food will vary depending on how I feel.
For instance, I’ll throw in muscle building nutrition one day and fat loss the next if I want to. So nothing is ever set in stone for me. But that’s only because I’m at the point where all I’m concerned about is consistency over the long term. Not eight weeks.
Ah nice, thank you. I’m taking a long view too, to be honest. I’d like to get my body fat down from the 12 or so % it is now (with different measurements I’m either 12 or 13) to more like 8% but then cruise along with that while gaining muscle. Reading that back it’s probably what 90% of people want, but it’s my aim anyway.
Sent a few friends on links to this and they all agree with me – it’s a great article. I was one of the few who read the original draft before you yanked it, and this is miles better. Nice one for doing that.
Thanks Rory. The original had to be yanked. Clarity and uni directional focus is much better. I was all over the place, haha!
Anthony this is your best one yet! Loved it!
Thanks Jimmy!
Great post Anthony – a lot of my own sentiments are represented here.
. Not to mention your supplement choices! Great stuff mate.
You also seem to be channelling my own experiences with meal patterns dating back to 2006
Thanks Clint. Big fan of everything you got going on too.
Is this a good plan for women as well who aren’t looking to gain muscle, but rather want to maintain a lean and feminine physique?
You can cut the portions down. But basing a diet around protein never hurt anyone
*I think you intended to write “Wicked Witch of Oz under a bucket of water.”
Good article. I enjoy doing a mixture of Leangains during the week sprinkled with occasional Eat Stop Eat style days to help cancel out my weekend indiscretions.
Yes. Yes, I did. Thanks haha. Yeah, that’s the idea. Good strategy.
Anthony,
I have only discovered IF in the last 6 months. Whilst I had previously got good results with the 6 meals a day plan, I have found that IF gets me the results, much, much quicker. As an example over the last month I have used the 16 hour fast with 8 hour eating window approach and have seen my body fat drop by 2%, all the while not feeling like I have been missing out on food. On your advice, I’m going to start cycling my carbs to see what more improvements I can make to my body.
Interesting. Thanks for chiming in Niko. Another one of those empirical testimonies about IF.
Hi Anthony.
I just re-read the article for the 9th time. What is the rationale behind trace amounts of fat on the high carb day of the muscle building template. I understand that low fat post workout may be beneficial, but the rest of the day??
If higher levels of insulin are floating around you’re more prone to store things.
hmm, food for thought.
thought 1) Post workout is when my body is most responsive to an excess influx of carbs. Popular training wisdom says that this tails off in about 4-6 hours (I am sure this is broscience).. So I can have a carb ladden meal at 12 pm and a fattier dinner at night.
thought 2) The above is your cruise control template. Obviously muscle gain is helped along with an extra influx of complex carbs.
thought 3) When the hell will I stop overanalyzing, stfu and start doing?
1) It’s possible. But I don’t see why. Carbohydrate cycling as a whole is a theory of shuttling nutrients. With more insulin present, different things are happening and less protein overall needs consumed because it’s better worked with. I just wouldn’t want to mix the signals.
2) Not really. Six eggs isn’t hugely high in fat, and that’s about all of the fat on the PM meal.
3) Beats me, but you should.
Hi Anthony, I got a question..
Many experts recommend a serving of whey protein 30 min pre-workout. How important is it if my primary goal is body recomp with emphasis on muscle gain? Is training fasted better for muscle gain (the HGH response being the logic) or is it better to have a serving of whey preworkout to so that some aminoacids are floating around?
If you’re looking to absolutely maximize your gains, I’d say it’s a good thing. It will jump start protein synthesis. Most people recommend BCAAs though because they are the least likely to disrupt HGH response. But most HGH response is blunted by carbohydrates and fats.
Having said that, I don’t do it. But I’m not exactly the poster boy for maximizing gains in a shorter time. I’m about the long term.
Well, that and I’d rather save my whey for my oatmeal volcanoes… (truth).
I would agree with you. I am also here for the long term. But I also recognise that this period of 18-25 years are where my body is at its peak. Thus, I do not want to waste a single workout, or have a sub optimum workout
…however trainingwise, I am here for ever. There is SO much to explore.
…(apart from an awesome lemon cheesecake:)
“Well, that and I’d rather save my whey for my oatmeal volcanoes… (truth).”
Amen…protein pudding is now a staple…I do not even miss desert. Crazy huh! I downloaded this ebook called 51 protein powder recipes from prograde, and made this awesome chocolate brownie which I had with mashed frozen bananas (it attains the consistency of ice cream) and more protein pudding…I think I may never need commercial deserts again
Thanks for taking the time out to reply, Anthony.
The only way to waste a workout is to not show up OR show up when your body isn’t ready only to get hurt and hinder your training for the weeks and months to come.
Welcomes.
How low are the low carb days? I’m a vegetarian, so I find it hard to go low carb unless I drink loads of protein shakes….
Also, surely your body needs equally high calories on off days to recover?
It depends. Low carbohydrate days, for me at least, usually have carbs coming from vegetables. That’s all.
And about recovery on off days, not necessarily. I’ve found getting good sleep to be a bigger factor. You have to consider that if you’re loading up on calories the day of your training, that will help too. But just how “low” your off days go depends on your ultimate goal (muscle gain, fat loss, etc.). And then that goal will be the determinant of whether the performance hit is worth it.
So would the fat loss template be best for a skinny fat like me who just wants to loose the extra baggage (lean down) around the waist before moving on to the “Clean Bulk” plan for muscle gains?
Most likely, Bill.
Great, great article, Anthony! Carb cycling really seamed like rocket science, but I’ll definetly reshape my diet after reading this. How do you feel about weight gainers on high carb days? The one I’m taking is 625 calories 25g protein126,5g carbs and 2g of fat.
One more question: you said “The answer surely isn’t because intermittent fasting is the only pathway to results. People use methods in stark contrast to intermittent fasting and still get big, strong, and ripped.”
But do you think, as a former member of the Brohirrim, that for the skinny fat in particular, it IS the only way to go? I finally got my new diet with carb cycling down on paper, but I’m postponing the actual start, because I really don’t want to fail again…
The leangains method really seems to work fine, but I still can’t grasp on how I’ll be able o eat as much as I need to in so few meals (2-4)..
Do you think by just doing carbs cycle and eating the regular 6 meals a day I’ll see some change? I rember reading another article regarding skinny fats on kelly baggett’s site, in which he stated that the simple act of calorie cycling would change body’s hormonal response…
I think fasting/carb cycling works best. Did for me.
But if you go back and check out my journey, you can see I leaned down and gained some muscle in 06-07 with the standard six meals per day gig.
I think it comes down to nutrient autoregulation moreso than anything else. But that’s just me.
So if I wanted to do a serious fat loss cut, would an 18/6 fasting window work? I like to do fasted cardio workouts and weight lifting workouts with BCAA’s so that’s why the 24 hour fast wouldn’t work for me. I would still do a pretty strict carb cycle as well.
16/8 can work well for fat loss. 24 Hour fasts aren’t necessary, even though they can be helpful.
On the muscle gaining template, how much fat is to much? On the low carbs day I keep carbs below 100. Is it a good measure for fat as well?
What is your position about milk?
On high carb days, I like keeping fats below 0.5 grams per pound of BW.
Milk is OK if you can tolerate it. I find most people to feel “better” without it, but “most people” isn’t everyone.
Hi Anthony
I really enjoyed this, and am currently looking to improve my diet to lose some fat.
I wanted to seek some clarification, where you say…
“Adjust the quantities based on how your body responds. It might take a few months to hone in on things, but everyone’s metabolic rate is different. That’s just the reality. I’m not about quick fixes either. You’re going to have to experiment.”
… do you have any advice on how to hone in/ experiment? i.e. once I start getting down at least one pound of meat, six eggs, and three protein shakes down every day how do I then know if it’s working?
Cheers
Dan
You simply see how the body responds in a week or two to a consistent food intake. If you lose or gain weight, then you either eat more or less depending on your goals. So start with a CONSISTENT amount of food day in and day out to set that baseline.
Cool, thanks!
I ended up rereading this via the link from your recent Skinny Fat success story post, and I was curious about the extended fast days for fat loss, specifically: Do you not care about macros if you fast for 20 hours? I’ve taken to doing this out of convenience but while I tried to get as much protein as possible, I’ve also taken to doing it when I know I’ll be eating out somewhere and I don’t want to always chose a lean protein source. Afterwards, I feel like I am racing to get more protein in before bed, since I am in a deficit on the other rest days. Do I really need to bother and just not worry about it so much if my protein needs are met on most other days? The context is that I always lose way too much muscle when cutting even when I try to take it slow.
I don’t care about macros. I’ll just have one meal with my “normal” protein amount in that meal.
Hey Anthony. Amazing templates! I bookmarked this for my new IF diet. The only thing is that I eat at school at 12pm, and workout at 3pm. I wanted to wait till Post workout to eat, but I would be on a 20 hour fast before I ate, unless I had a window of 4-10 or 12pm. I was wondering if it is THAT important to train on an empty stomach. Also, if I had to eat something at 12pm, what should I eat out of my first meal? The protein? Carbs? Or half of everything? Thanks.
Hmm. Tricky situation. If I were you I’d have a small lunch. Perhaps lean protein and a few veggies. Just *something* in your stomach. No starchy carbs. Train. Then post workout, have your carb dense meal (probably dinner time). Have a second meal after that if you couldn’t fit in the calories.
Thanks Anthony. Love your articles. I will eat .25 pounds of protein and some veggies to break my fast. One more question: On Low-carb days, if I am eating red meat, 1 pound is pretty caloric. Does 1 pound of RED meat, 6 eggs, 3 scoops of whey, and healthy fats add up to 3000? It seems like it might go over. Thanks.
Hi Anthony
do you not eat at all between the 1/2 meals that you eat per day on this plan?
do you take any forms of supplements pre or post workout as well or are all your nutrient needs covered if your taking in sufficient protein, fruit, veg and carbs?
thanks
I don’t eat at all.
I take creatine. 5 grams on training days.
Nutrients come from varying fruits, veggie, and meat sources.
This article helps. So, thank you. I currently follow Martin’s IFing (been 2 weeks so far) with a 14/10 window. I haven’t noticed any difference in FL but, It works for me mentally & I am faily new to it based on the guidelines – more protein/carb cycling. However, I’ve lived the no breakfast life most of my life. So, it came easy to me. Right now, I’m on a FL path (more than 65lbs to lose) and am always afraid to eat more than calories allowed. I do calorie count but, I personally want to get away from it so, I can eat/live normally (meaning, protein high/carb cycle) without having to worry about numbers. Although, i don’t feel confident that I can lose the pounds without counting.
You mentioned – “first step is one pound of meat, six eggs, and three scoops of protein” – That is LOT of food and if I eat that much it is pretty much my daily calorie intake
. How in the world can I add other stuff – veggies, carbs, fruits – in my diet if I eat that much. I am not an athlete but, an everyday average woman who has a 100% sedentary job (& has a ton of weight/fat to lose). How would you advice to someone like me?? I strength train 3x per week and do LISS 2x per week. Any suggestions or recommendations will be appreciated. Oh I workout in the evening. Thank you!
Ah, yes, women are a different animal. This was written for a male.
Here goes: half the meat and egg recommendations.
3 eggs, 0.5 pounds of meat.
You might even be able to half the protein one too, but I’d opt for two.
This will still deliver a decent amount of protein.
Anthony, Thank you so much for replying. I calculated the protein amount you recommended for me and it comes up to be roughly 115 g per day. I had set mine for 125-130 g per day….which is close enough. I definitely have to fight to keep my protein up that high. With feeding window being 10 hours on average…it gets tough at times. But, I will definitely try to keep it up. I guess if I stop counting calories I can keep the protein up. Since IFing, I’ve been basically doing 2 meals and 1 shake before bed.
I have another Q – for protein shakes, do you recommend shakes with milk or water? I usually drink 2% lactose free milk – only with shakes & little with coffee. But, I can do either skim or water if that is considered better?
Oh one more, do you think potato (white or sweet) is a good PWO carb?
Thank you for your help
I think that potatoes are one of the best carb sources on training days if you put forth a meaningful effort.
And as far as shakes go, I’m not a big fan of milk. Some people, however, can tolerate it. Makes me gassy and whatnot and dairy as a whole tends to derail fat loss in a lot of people. This is individual though.
How can I do this if I am doing cardio as well. I dont do it for fat loss but conditioning. 4 spin classes a week (tues, thurs x2 and Sundays). I guess they are my off days right? Thanks and Regards
Tim, I think we talked about this over e-mail. Thanks for the reply.
Excellent article Anthony, thanks. The information here is really helpful. I lost 60lbs about a year ago, down from 240 to 180, but I still have some stubborn body fat that needs to go. I’ve been lifting for a few months now, and I’ve seen some gains, but I really want to get my diet sorted properly to lose the flab and get lean! I’m building it roughly against your fat loss template, but I have a couple of questions.
Firstly, on my high carb days, I’m still getting quite a lot of fat from the milk I use with my oats and the eggs. Is it worth cutting them out? Or perhaps just the milk? Secondly, should I be avoiding carbs completely on low carb days? I know certain diets push minimal carb intake. Would I benefit from avoiding them entirely on my days off?
Many thanks again!
I’d ditch milk completely. Some people can eat milk and get lean. Others can’t. If you have a gut, there’s a good chance you can’t.
Eggs are iffy. For those that want to carb cycle more precisely, I recommend substituting 1 to 1.5 cups of low fat cottage cheese in place of eggs on training days.
Carbs on training days should be leafy, cruciferous veggies. Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, etc…
Hey Anthony,
I stumbled upon your site the other day and have been catching up on archived articles. I have a question regarding the muscle building template. On all of the other templates it’s listed to eat all of your simple and complex carbs for your post work out meal, but on the muscle building template you list to split up the carbs for both meals. If I was shooting for 300 g carbs on a work out day, would it make a difference if I ate all 300g in the post work out instead of breaking it down to 150 g of carbs per meal to take advantage of the whole carb backloading thing? Are you risking storing some of those carbs as fat if ingested all at once? I’m a big eater like you, and would have no problem putting down the 300 g of carbs on top of my lean meat in one sitting.
I have carb intake in two meals on the gaining template so you could eat MORE. Not to break carb intake in half and eat them in each meal.
Ie: Regular — 300 g PWO
Gain — 250g PWO, 200 g later in day…
Not many people can tank 300 in one sitting, let alone 450 g.
Good read. Quick question: Your principle is based around 1lb lean meat, 6 eggs, 3 protein shakes. Your guidance for a one meal day is one normal sized meal. Are you trying to hit a protein level in this meal?
Hmm…I’m a little confused. If you’re eating two times per day your meal prolly will be a bit “more” than “normal.”
Split those three things across your day and you’ll hit the requirement. Two meals. Three. Four. Don’t matter.
Two meals per day here too!
With tasty high glucose cheat snack in between
Fits my macros so who cares
I agree leangains is easy and effective, I started eating more and started losing more fat. After being on very low calorie ketogenic diet that was super hard psychologically and stalling on fat loss
Cool stuff, Aaron. Yeah, a low carb diet is tough to sustain for some.
First, I absolutely love your writings.
On diet, what if it were simpler still? I did classic Leangains. It worked. But I always knew that its success was far more about food quality–over time–and food quantity (calories)–over time. Why? because I knew many who did not do Leangains yet looked just as good as any of them, likely because they ate qualitatively and quantitatively “well”–OVER TIME. A version of your well-named, “cruise-control”.
So I ditched special PWO meals, ditched nutrient partitioning. I ate what I would have eaten in a week, but just averaged over each day. I also went to a more normal 12-hour fast. Should I work a bit harder on one day I allow myself a bit more. No surprises: it works. Good news is that it does not involve much thought.
As to training, I am now inclined to the higher volume/higher frequency, less systemic mutilation approaches. To no surprise I hurt less and look better.
Good stuff, Louis. Thanks for the reply.
you spelled the word EXLUCUSIVES wrong.
Only (in)human…
Thanks!
Holy shit man! This article is awesome. I’m on day 5 of IF and I am loving it! I feel awesome and my workouts are explosive. I am doing 2 meas a day a. I have a long way to go at 6′ 3″ and 320 lbs but I am down from 387lbs so the journey is.moving along anyway. Thanks again man! Very cool site.
Appreciate it man. Keep on trucking.
hey Anthony bro.. I have some doubts, because let’s say I begin my workout on 8:30 am and end it near 10:00 am so I would be still 2 hours far from feeding period.. am I allowed to take right there my first protein shake since it is post-workout?? and in any case, when do I have to take my protein shakes exactly? another question: can i switch my workouts hours between days? I mean does it alter in any way if i train half week on mornings and the rest of it on afternoons?
thanks in advance.!
You can train whenever you’d like.
As for the protein, take it whenever you want. I usually make protein pudding and eat it as a meal (look back into the archives for the recipe). If you finish your workout before the feeding period, you have two options: sip on a protein drink until you eat or have a small meal with a piece of fruit and a chicken breast or something.
great.!! thx for replying bro..
I’ll start my fasting this week.!
Wait a minute – 1 pound of meat, 6 eggs and 3 protein shakes PER DAY? Given my shakes are 25g protein per shake, altogether that works out to around 230g of protein per day. I’m a 159 lb. guy looking to add bulk (obviously) but also lean up. Is that not a lot more protein than I could possibly need to build? My usual caloric needs top out around 2,000/day anyway. I see a serious danger for over-consumption, here, for me. What do you think?
I think you need to reconsider your goals — what are you going to do? Lean out? Or bulk up?
As for it being more protein, it might be. But these are just general recommendations for the world to check out. You can feel free to adjust them based upon what you feel you need. Won’t be “dangerous” unless you have any underlying kidney issues.
Hi Anthony, could you help me structure my eating schedule.. I am tied up at work from 9am-5pm on weekdays, and the earliest I get to the gym is 6pm. My workouts usually last anywhere between 45-60 mins. My problem would be getting all my meals in before I go to sleep, which is usually at 11 or 12, how should I go about this issue? My main goal is to bulk as clean as possible, and I’d like to try out the Cruise Control version.
Depends on how much food you can tolerate in one sitting. If it were me, I’d have a noon-time meal of eggs, chicken, and veggies. Post workout meal at night with the rest of the fixins’ to hit caloric needs on certain days.
This only works if you can stomach the food volume though, so that’s something I need to know.
According to “How much protein” by Brad Pilon, we don’t need so much protein.
Why you persist on eating that much protein? As far as Brad says: 60-120g is enough.
I eat it because I like eating it. And when you don’t eat it you have to compensate with another food. Protein has a great sparing effect when it comes to turning into fat. So you can “overeat” it without much issue.
So you can eat a lot and get full.
But even more so, if you want to teeter on the minimum amount, you’ll probably get minimal results. Your choice. In my opinion, I’m spending time in the gym and dedicating my life to this stuff. If I’m going to do the damn thing, I’m going to do the damn thing. I’m not going to err on the light side because it doesn’t make sense to me. I’m not going to try to cut corners.
thx for answer. I though that if i meet the minimum requirement going over wont get me anywhere. I am not trying cut corners, just save money if i dont need that much protein. I have been on lean gains for over 1 year. I started with 260G of carbs and 175 of protein and fat around 40g on workout days and 60g on non working out days. I progressed with lifts, but i cannot get ripped. I can see my top abs but lower abs are always hidden. I tried diet breaks and I tried to lower carbs to 200g, now I am at 150g and I still cannot get rid of the that little extra fat to get lean. I cannot understand what could be wrong as I must be on deficit but my body is stucked with weigh in between 172-180.
Maybe you’re not eating enough protein
Losing fat there is the hardest place to lose, no doubt. You have to do everything right — especially if you don’t have uber genetics. I’d have to see your entire training and diet scheme though. Might also have to incorporate some fasted low intensity cardio too. That tends to help, as does some other training methods.
thx man, I will force it to be more.
I love your site and your progress.
After I have read How much Protein by BP, I just could not justify overeating the protein, but maybe this is wrong. I am eating now between 600-1000g of meat a day since I have read your post, which should give me enough protein. I will leave the carbs at 150g for now and see what happens. I workout either 2 or 3 times a week.
1 Deads and chinups
2 One leg squats or lunges and shoulder press
(I dropped squats as I always injure myself (my muscles in head freak out and they get tight) and recovery is too long, so I decided to concentrate on Deads, I also do Hill Sprints once a week)
3 Bench and dips
all above are weighed
I am 6.1 and 179 pounds , 37 years old
my stats now are:
Dead 7×275 (there was time when I hit 305 but I started to work on form and it went little down)
Chin 35+body weight x 5
Incline Bench Press Dumbbells 65×11 (I tend to go for more reps as when i was doing heavier i had issues with going to start position, so now i slowly progress by doing more reps and then adding weight until I reach 10-12 reps)
Dips – 45+body weight x 4
Dumbbell Shoulder press – 50 x 9 (same as with bench , i go to 10-12
, before my max was 60 x 4 but i had same pain as with squats so I work on perfect form and reps first and slowly try to progress)
1 leg squats with assistance, lunges and hill sprints I do for legs.
I also play basketball 1 or 2 a week.
Carbs only on working out days, so 2 or 3 times a week.
Do you cycle calories at all? Maybe you’re in a constant deficit. People with that stubborn body fat often go severely low on calories and their body never responds well — hormones go to poop. Maybe you need to jack up carbs on training days and lower them on off days. This will help recovery for strength training too. More strength wouldn’t hurt your cause. Neither would some hardcore gymnastics abdominal work.
yes I do carb cycle, on training days I eat carbs and on non training days I don’t eat carbs at all unless there is some minimal amount in some food I eat (max 20-40g) I keep protein constant and fat around 80 on non training days and 40 on training days. I just though that if I am at constant weight it would mean I am not on deficit as I am not loosing that’s why I started to play with my carb days and started to go down from 280 to 150. Do you think that I could be on deficit and my body just got used to one weight? Few years ago, I tried to eat more and I was immediately gaining fat.
I said CALORIE cycle, not CARB cycle.
Not sure what is the difference. I though If i lower carbs then automatically calories go down. Am i missing something? Your world or wisdom would be welcomed here.
Well technically with carb cycling, fats also increase and decrease depending on the day. Ie: high carb day = low fat day. Low carb day = higher fat day.
So calories can stay even, but macro breakdown differs.
So, what do you recommend? Count calories instead of macros and cycle?
I personally recommend cycling calories AND carbs AND protein at times. But my scheme is soon-to-be released
Hi Anthony,
Fantasic article!
I am very intested in moving from the six meals per day “standard” to something along the lines of the cruise control/muscle gain template. I train during the evening (6pm) so am thinking my feeding windows would be between 12pm – 2pm and 7pm – 9pm? I would also like to understand if it is ok to have a morning coffee with milk?
Your feeding window isn’t really two separate times. You’d just have to meals under the feeding window. A lunch and then a dinner.
Most times you want to avoid milk and coffee. It’s not a great combo since coffee’s “power” usually is negated with milk.
Hi Anthony,
Thanks for your quick response, the support you demonstrate is fantastic… and motivating!
I may have missed something as I am a little confused with the response, there are no feeding windows? Just one big lunch and one big dinner yeah?
I also have another question – you mentioned in one of your other nutrition articles that maintenance is roughly = body weight in pounds x 16, so in the case of myself that 172 x 16 = 2752 calories. you also mention If you are happy with your body fat and want to gain you have to times by 1.1 or 1.2 on training days and times by .08 or 0.9 on non training days (roughly). So using that logic if I was to start the cruise control/muscle gain template would it look a little like this?
Training days:
Lunch = 1513 calories
Dinner = 1513 calories
Total calories: 3027 (maintenance x 1.1)
Non training days:
Lunch = 1100 calories
Dinner = 1100 calories
Total calories = 2220 (maintenance x .08)
????
Thanks again for the support.
Those old articles are old. I don’t agree totally with them anymore. Here’s some suggestions –
If you’re happy with your body fat start at BW x 12-14 on off days. 15-17 on training days.
After a few weeks if you don’t notice any change, bump calories up on training days. After a few weeks if nothing happens, bump them up on off days.
Then from there go solely training days.
As for the meal times, I personally go with a 4ish hour feeding window. So I use windows but I’m not quite so sure you’d have to.
Err carbs.
Mostly i want to say thanks for this article, I’ve taken a more serious stance to my training lately and this article will help me get the food I need, the lifestyle option suits my life well. specificaly “high carb day = low fat day. Low carb day = higher fat day” will be helpfull to reach my goals i think.
So again, thank you very much!
I do however have one question though(im new to thinking about nutrition), in general how much carbs would “high carb” be? (somehow ive always had prob with getting them carbs.)
Also, would it be fine to add in a couple of fruits along the day seperate from the meals(in the morning mostly)?
Thanks for your awesome articles!
As for “high carb” that’s totally dependent on what you normally eat and if you carb cycle. A lot of my coaching students are around 300ish on training days though to give you an idea.
As for fruits, that depends on if you want to be strict IF or not.
Aright thanks! (you’re a quick with the answers, cheers for that).
One additional question came up as I read through more articles here and elsewhere and i was wondering what your take is on training multiple times/day?
More specificly Weights + Muay Thai.
Would it be better to try and schedule these on my weight-off-days?
No you can do both on the same day. It gets tricky with nutrition and making sure one doesn’t interfere with the others, but it can be done. The problem with doing them on an off day is recovery. If the practices are intense you’re going to run yourself into the ground at first. Eventually your body might adapt though.
Hello! I just read this post, and in general your page has been very helpful and motivating. I just had one doubt, though, with schedule. Currently I am studying and I have classes (non-stop) from 8.30 am to 1.00 or 2.00 pm. I live in a student house with a roomate so all my workouts I do them in a gym (even bodyweight ones, the gym has an excellent room, very big and empty, with mirrors, where I do this workout) just to have more “privacy”. The problem is that I have to be there before 4.00 pm because of a limitation in my membership. Right now I’m following a plan of 3 workout days (Mon., Wed., and Fri.). I would like to know which kind of schedule would you recommend me to follow with this meal plan…
(Also if you have any recommendations for increasing my protein intake as a vegetarian).
All the best to you! This site is really cool and helpful.
If you can sustain your hunger and energy, train right after classes, eat dinner at 4PMish, and then anything else to fill in your caloric needs until you sleep.
Sounds awesome, I have but one hang-up: What about Breakfast??
What about it?
If you’re asking what to eat, you don’t eat breakfast.
Anthony, have you worked with vegetarians at all?
Nope.
Great read, easy to follow and all makes sense. Too many ‘diets’ you read have loads of variables and other stuff that’s just a put off before you really start reading it. This is simpler and easy to follow, thanks!
Couple of questions:
1. I like to workout early, like between 9 – 10AM, so is it still cool to haven first meal between 12 – 2? People just always say you should eat 30 mins to an hour after a WO, so it’s cool to scrap that?
2. I’m kinda in a tricky sitch as I have a terrific mum (best in the world) who prepares all my meals for me. Whenever I propose I’ll start doing my own plans like this or cook my own meals she’s not very open to the idea because she doesn’t want to change how she does things for the family, and says the clean up will be too tedious. I tell her I’m happy to take care of that stuff but she still isn’t keen.
Anyway so I’m kinda stuck when it comes to cooking stuff for myself and may find it hard to cook up red meat or vegetables and things. So, is it ok if I bought red meats like shaved ham, or shaved roast beef, that kinda stuff (like from supermarkets), or are we strictly talking steaks, fully cooked beef/lamb, etc?
Thanks Anthony, love your site.
1. You need something quick to digest PWO so that you can restock liver glycogen. Fruit, whey, or BCAAs will do the trick.
2. Lunch meat is generally not all that good.
This might help: http://www.trickstutorials.com/content/parents
I inspired that article way back when I was having some trouble introducing new things with my family.
Hiya Anthony,
Firstly, this is by far the most easy to understand post on IF so cheers for that. I’m doing leangains which is a no brainer but wanted to add a day or two of ESE in there. What wasn’t clear is when you start and end your 24 hour fast? Is it 3pm-3pm? 6-6? I know it can be different for everyone but what window of time has worked best for you?
Check out my “how to start intermittent fasting” post. It basically depends on when you train and when it’s convenient for you.
Days:
Workout – Mon, Wed, Fri
Eat Food – Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun
Water/Tea Fast – Tue, Thu, Sat
I just wanted to know you’re experience on not counting calories on fasts like ESE. I’m just worried I might overeat on the days I do eat Food, and go over my calories even though I’m fasting 3 days a week. Is this possible? Even thought I’m 6000 calorie deficit.
Also I never understood how ESE days worked. When I fast, I won’t eat the entire day, then will eat the next day. So Tuesday no food, Wednesday Food. Yet with ESE you eat everyday?
Anything is possible. Don’t know what to tell you there other than a 6000kcal deficit is huge. If you’re pigging out on your eating days though, anything can happen. Just because you don’t count calories doesn’t mean you don’t know a roundabout amount of food you’re eating.
ESE is a 24 hour fast. If you stop eating at 5PM one day, 24 hours later is 5PM the next. So if you stop eating at 5PM one day you start again at 5PM next. Key is just to eat a regular sized meal and not make up for calories.
First off, I am glad I came around to this website. Makes carb cycling so easy a cave man can do it!
Question: On the fat-loss template in regards to the once a meal days, do you still get the same amount of protein in that one meal as other days (i.e. 3 scoops protein, 6 eggs, 1 pound meat) or would that be less as well?
Thanks in advance. This diet truly ends all diets.
-Matt
You don’t have to jam all of the protein in, a few days of a lower protein intake won’t hurt.
Anthony,
What do you think of potatoes? They ok to eat? I eat paleo and have cut them out but miss / crave them.
See my post called, “Does the type of carbohydrate matter.”
They’re fine.
Wow! I did not believe 1 meal per day really works. I am used to believing that 6 meals per day would be the best and the most effective diet plan for all levels of body building, may it be professional, novice, intermediate..etc. ( This seems to be outdated, I don’t know, really..
)
but seeing you in great shape with on meal per day experiments. I’m really excited to try it!
I have been working out for almost 1 year and a half now (MWF) and I’ve been following and studying post-workout and pre-workout diets with out anyone to guide me.
its just like self research. ALL OF THEM ARE CALORIE CALCULATIONS! which is a pain in the neck.
anyway, Question:
Is it okay if you do the 1 meal per day for 1 year? should it be really post workout or pre-workout? I’m guessing its most-probably post-workout meal?
I apologize if this question was already asked. I cant seem to read and browse all of the comments!
Thanks for the post man, No calculations and numbers what so ever. excited to try it!
Fiel
Do the one meal per day as long as you can do the one meal per day. Don’t commit long term, just try it out.
The meal should be post workout.
What are your thoughts on things like Carb Backloading and Intermittent Feast where they push all carbs to night regardless of when you lift? Granted CBL is pushes for a late in the day workout.
I like Nate Miyaki’s Intermittent Feasting. See my most recent blog post.
Great article. Great read. Very consistant information and your methods deliver.
Personally, I am always cutting. Even when I’m not intending to and am planning lean-gains. On my off days, I tend to perform intermittant fasting for 48 hours each week. I go on, pretty much nothing but water and tea.
On my work out days, which are 2-3 days a week for two hours a day or less. I have one meal a day of boiled broccolli (salt, pepper and chilled tahini sauce), around 500 grams which comes out to 200 calories, 33.2 grams of carbs and about 15 grams of protein. I’ll usually have about 3 tablespoons of Peanut butter (90 cals each) throughout the rest of the day and I’m good. I feel light as a feather and strong enough to lift rocks.
I feel much more satisfied with a “life ‘meal’ plan” that I can live with. Even if I can’t be 180 lbs of all muscle with a 1/2% of body fat. I am currently 155 lbs down from 240 lbs and at 5’11″.
While, for a man, that is pretty light. I feel comfortable being closer to 140 lbs.
I was hoping for your opinion on this Anthony.
I don’t agree with it. It’s not something I’d do. It doesn’t support my goals.
But it’s not about me.
If it works for you and you enjoy it, good things.
Hey bro thanks for all the info. Ive started IF about 2 weeks ago and already feel the difference. Question is that Im trying to get my woman to try it out since its more convenient to eat this way based on her schedule. I know its different for women then it is for men. She needs to loose some weight and lean out. What would a womans diet look like or do you have a link to where you have an outline for this? Thanks and keep up the great work.
There are some people that say IF isn’t as suited for women, but, as usual, there’s always two sides. Some women use it with great results.
But I don’t have anywhere to point you, sorry. I’d just google “intermittent fasting women.”
Hi everyone! I’m in need of some advice….
I have been IFing for the past few months and LOVING it. I’ve always struggled with dieting and have had a love-hate relationship with food, but I believe those days are finally over! I am female, 23 years old, and probably around 124 lbs.
I have been playing around with some different fasting styles, mainly sticking with the 16/8 lean gains, but I have been incorporating some 24 hour fasts on days when I will not be training as hard. Overall, I’m feeling very flexible with fasting lengths, anywhere from 16-24 hrs.
However, my diet and training has made it pretty difficult to figure out what days I should be having as my ‘higher’ carb days, vs. lower, etc. I am a strict vegetarian (no dairy, but eat eggs), and I am training for a half-marathon, but also crossfit 3-4x a week. Help!
With my diet it is hard to ‘low’ carb, and my focus is more on my running, as opposed to lifting heavy. I use crossfit to help improve my strength and running performance. At this point I really only take one day off, and 1-2 days a week are strictly only runs, no crossfit.
Overall, I am very confused and unsure of what my macros should be… Any ideas or suggestions anyone??
Honestly, I wouldn’t do CrossFit. It’s good that you’re into it, but you’d likely just benefit from the strength in general — and you don’t need CrossFit for that. You’re going to get your marathon skills running, not from CrossFit.
If you are doing CrossFit, you need to include carbs on those days — most of their training will zap your glycogen reserves and will need some care.
Running days are more fat as a primary nutrient, so you wouldn’t need to carb-fest.
This whole framework depends on what you want though — physique or performance. What’s your true goal? Is the marathon just a fun thing that to assist your physique or what?
Great article.
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This seems like a spammy product pitch. Are you robot spam, Carolyn?
Hey Anthony!
Great article.
I done IF at the end of a 6 month 6 meal a day carb cycling cut, only done the IF for 9 days and noticed a difference. I lost 2 stone in order to get my abs out but lost too much muscle!
Ive put a stone back on since then with a bit of fat coz lets say it was a pretty dirty bulk being during the festive season and all.
I started fasting today but wasnt sure what variation i was going to do so i googled it and landed here , so decided i’ll go for the 2 meal a day approach.
I dont work out untill around 6pm and i think i would struggle to get all my carbs in one meal post workout. Would it work to have just chicken , eggs , veg around 12 then two smaller meals post workout to split the carbs?
Thanks in advance
Gary.
Sure. Give it a try.
Hi Anthony!
Great article by the way.
I´m quite a noobie to this kind of schedule (used to the 4-6 meals a day), so I have some quick questions:
1- Do I need to start with the Cruise Control or can I just go on with the Muscle Gain template if that´s my purpose?
2- It says that you have 2 big meals, the first as a post-workout, meaning you go training with an empty stomach. Doesn´t it affect your energy during working out (lifting less intense, etc.)?
3- You convinced me of starting out with Tricking (got my kip-up already ^^), and that´s why I want to reschedule my whole planing. Used to lift weights 4 times a week, I realized that maybe lifting was not my main aim. Sure I want to get a little bigger and stronger, but just more as a complement to tricking. So here is the question, how do you organize yourself to do both things? 3 days lifting/3 days tricking? Tricking same days as lifting..? What about the meals? Do you trick at days off, or at high carb days?
Sorry for my english, it seems not as difficult to read thoughts written in english as to express them for a non native speaker.
Keep up the good work man!
1- You can do whatever suits your needs best.
2- Depends on when you work out. Most people, when they get used to hunger, are more focused and energized in a fasted state. Your energy comes from what you eat the day before in most circumstances anyway.
3- This would require me to write a book, and is what a lot of people struggle with. If you need personal help, it would be more of a personal programming gig. You can email me if this is something you’re interested in. Simply too long to write about, and I apologize.
This is brilliant. Just discovered leangains and the 16/8 really suits me but the macros seem a bit daunting. This article put my mind at ease. I’m currently trying to do a cut as I’ve suffered as a skinny fat for years and this bothers me more than my muscles so trying to start from a ‘lean base’.
Regarding your fat loss section I don’t know if I could do one meal a day. So I’m gonna try 3 meal/day with:
Training – high carbs/low fat
Rest – low carbs/high fat
I was just wondering if your 6 eggs a day could still work on training days because that’s like 45g of fat. I love eggs though so I like the idea of it.
Also, since looking at my maintenance calories I’ve realised that my previous ‘diet’ was decent but I was undereating. Any tips on bumping my carbs and protein up without feeling really full at each meal? May seem like a stupid question but it just seems like too much food! Even with the 3 meal split.
Cheers. And again, great article!
I like food. So it’s never “too much.” Can’t help you there.
As for 45g of fat being “too much,” that depends on how much you weigh and all of that fun stuff. If you eat 3000 calories, 45 g isn’t big. 2000…bigger.
Get it?
Ah yeah. Makes total sense. If I go by the leangains ratios I’m on 2300 training and 1350 rested so 6 eggs on rested days may be a little much. Think I’m just gonna see how I get on and try and adjust it if it’s not really working.
Thanks for your response anyway! And again, great article.
Yuppers. Experimentation is good.
Oh, I meant to ask what your opinion on whey and casein shakes is. I have no problem eating ridiculous amounts of meat, it’s just so expensive to eat that much protein (aiming for 140g a day; I’m 160lbs, about 18% BF). So to try and keep costs down I bought some whey and casein isolates. I don’t really want it to be a long term thing but in terms of cost it’s much easier to just have one of each a day.
I recommend the three scoops of whey, so I realize the cost effectiveness. I’d still eat the meat though. I mean, one pound of chicken is usually around $2 or something. Can even find it less so in bulk.
But I wouldn’t totally forego meat.
Ignore the last comment! ‘…and 3 protein shakes a day’.
Damn my sequential answering of questions.
wounder if you could tell me what to do if i cant afford any protein powder would be appreciated
If you can’t afford protein powder, how can you afford food? The former is insanely LESS expensive.
Got 3 kids and the 30 or 40 pounds it costs is always spoken for lol
Well I’m just saying that whey is the cheapest protein source you can buy.
Let me know if u can get it cheep anywhere dude
I buy from True Nutrition.
Hi,
You said you would say easy 6 more times, but it was only 5..!
Good eyeballs.
LOVE THIS PLAN! It’s similar to how I already eat, but helped me modify my plan. It took me years to understand (and train my mind) how to eat well. The 5-6 meals a day never worked for me. It made me think about food far too often and left me craving everything. This method is simple and easier to make it a lifestyle rather than a ‘diet’. Thanks for sharing!
‘Sall about chaos. Thanks Mona.
Is this 6 whole eggs? Would Cholesterol be a concern if I exercise (3 day lifting split and slow cardio 2-3 days a week). If so I can stop separating so many damn eggs!
Whole eggs. The idea of dietary cholesterol eggs (especially from eggs) increasing serum cholesterol is rather mythical. I suggest you do your own research as to why.
So for the past week i have been fasting at least 22 hours and only eating at night after my workout. My one big meal cant be more than 1500 calories. On the weekend i am trying to eat either only one meal or do at least an 18hr fast. I got on the scale today and it seems like i gained 3lbs. I dont know what i could possibly be doing wrong. I relatively eat clean paleo except for some sweet potato fries or wine during the week. On weekend i definitely have cheat meals and alcohol.
If your weekend habits are bad enough, they could be derailing progress. But before you do anything else, try to get a better estimate on hat you eat. I don’t know what eating clean means, it’s an ambiguous term that says nothing about QUANTITY. I don’t know how much wine you drink. I don’t know how much you eat, period. So calculate that FOR REAL, and don’t just make it an estimate.
Second, what’s your “training?”
Anthony, Wow! Great article! Came across you though finding leangains but this seems so much more detailed as what to exactly do! I’ve been following a intermittent fasting lifestyle for some time now… But I’m constantly looking for better ideas to increase performance(crossfit), save time on cooking(work long hours), and most of all save money(organic is expensive)… I started out breaking the bank on organic grass fed everything and soon money just ran out… I’m curious your thoughts on this specifically? It just gets hard to buy organic/grass fed meat especially at 1 pound a day! You also suggest 3 scoops of protein a day, do you have a specific brand of protein you use or suggest? I’ve gone through everything from the top of the line grass fed undenatured whey’s, to the cheaper whey’s, and often wondered does any of this organic stuff even freaking matter? So there goes my first post here, hope it wasn’t too long!
I’m cheap. I don’t buy organic. I buy the cheapest whey True Protein offers.
If this kills me in the long run, then so be it. But I have a feeling I’m better off — internally and externally — than 95% of the population so I’m not too worried about it.
wow…. what a change from everything I have been reading and doing!!! I don’t know whether to feel relieved or just stupid… I mean I want to be as heathy as humanly possible and also increase my performance, as I had let myself go physically for quite some time… But when you sit down and look at cost of eating organic it just gets overwelming… Plus like everything else out diet, nutrition, and supplement wise I tend to second guess what’s really the agenda… Thanks for the response! I’ve really enjoyed reading through your blog!
Welcomes.
you list Brad Pilon as someone you follow… What do you think about what he’s got to say about protein intake?
I think that his protein recommendations are better served for those that want to be on the conservative side or retain muscle mass. I’d rather just do the damn thing and take the protein. I’d honestly eat the food anyway. I love meat and eggs, so it’s no bones by me.
What would you do food, diet, and most of all cooking/prepping your meals with a extremly busy work schedule… On top of the extremly busy work schedule you’ve also gotta make time for the training side of things… So for me most nights I don’t get home from the gym until 7/730… So there I am, long freaking day, worn out from work, working out and staring the kitchen and cooking dinner and the next days lunch in the face… This is what I struggle with the most… One of the biggest things that turned me onto this intermittment fasting thing was the fact you’d only have to worry about eating twice a day… But I still struggle with finding easy things to cook in a timly manner and also be creative enough to make the meals enjoyable so I’m not tempted to head down the old path of eating out, especially for lunch… Dinner is obviously much easier than lunch, which I have to get ready the night before, pack up, and bring to work…. I work 6 days a week, so I’m not home much… Ideas for planning and food prep to help someone that struggles with lack of time would be greatly appreicated….
I’d forgo lunch, save for portable foods. Hard boiled eggs. Veggies. Fruits.
I’d make training sessions 1-2 movements. Hit it and get home.
I’d cook the same way I do now, which is super easy. Foreman grill for meat, eggs, lightly lemon sautee of veggies. Rice in a pot. Or taters in the oven.
Requires minimal effort.
When do you drink your protein shakes? You say 3 a day right? 1-1/2 during lunch, 1-1/2 after workout or during dinner? How long do you let hard boiled eggs sit in the fridge before you finish them off? how long will they stay fresh?
I don’t drink my protein shakes. I eat them. Search for my whey protein pudding post.
Hard boiled eggs – I don’t eat them hard boiled. Freshness? No clue. Google is your friend.
Anthony, so my simple brain is crystal clear here… lol…
training days
lunch: 6 eggs or .5 pounds lean meat(cottage cheese?), veggies, 200 grams of carbs
dinner pwo: 1 pound of lean meat(cottage cheese?), 3 scoops of protein, veggies, 250 grams of carbs
non traning days
lunch: 6 eggs or .5 pounds of fattier cut of meat(cottage cheese?), veggies, carbs or not? how much?
dinner: 1 pound of fattier cut of meat(cottage cheese), 3 scoops of protein, veggies, carbs or not? how much?
not counting the cottage cheese, curious when you fit that in, thats well over 200 grams of protein a day? would you split your scoops of protein up, or is it just your preference to have them all at night? obviously your intake of protein is different than mine, i’d like to stay around 185, so i’d adjust accordingly…
have you tried bulletproof coffee with grass fed butter, mct oil, and coconut oil? noticed your video of adding whey protein to your coffee? would that be considered breaking the fast?
Training day, core food + starchy carbs.
Rest day, core food + non-starchy carbs.
That’s all you need to know.
I only eat one meal per day, and I like my coffee black, so, no. I don’t really use the whey trick, I did back when I first started fasting. Technically anything “breaks” the fast.
Ok! Hey I thought you were eating twice a day now? You said warrior diet didn’t work well for you? All the example diets you listed, showed to feedings a day?
People change.
Hi Anthony, I’m what you would call skinny fat. I’m female 23 y.o 5’7 115lbs and I want to loose excess fat on my inner thighs/ butt area and just get lean in general. Is this method a good start?
I’ve been eating low carb/ gluten free for 2 years and I recently gained 10 lbs in 2 months. I noticed it might be the addition of excess olive oil/ avocado in my salads and eating a lot of baked Brussels sprouts drenched in olive oil. I also cut down on my usual gym routine, as I started waking up at 6 am for work and getting so exhausted I’d just come home instead of gym or I’d goon the elliptical but this hasn’t helped me loose fat.
So last week I started doing Hiit on the treadmill for 20 min (60 sec at 4.5 light jog and 60 sec at 9 full on sprinting like a bear is chasing me) then the next day, I do heavy weights ( 120 lb squat – on a machine though, I haven’t learned how to squat with a bar yet) and some 15-30 min elliptical after.
I also have a different schedule in April, I’ll be able to wake up at 10 am instead, would this help ? Id be less groggy. Maybe the weight gain was a hormonal thing as well?
Would this gym routine and trying IF work for me? Which plan should I follow to see the results I want and not get discouraged. I want to get rid of my lumpy butt and upper thighs. Help? Thanks so much
And since I’m a female what would you recommend for intake?
My advice generally only applies to those that strength train with free weights, so you’d have to alter this is you weren’t doing such.
Hi again. Sorry to bother, but I was wondering , does chewing sugar free gum like trident cinnamon affect my fast period? Say if I were to feel hungry and pop a few pieces before my first meal and then after the fast? What are your thoughts?
There’s some evidence that the sugar alcohol does have some kind of effect, but it would be low on the list of things to worry about. In other words, your gum shouldn’t be a limiting factor.
Hey Anthony. Was overhead pressing the other day and felt that annoying shoulder pain forcing me to stop. Probably trying to be over eager as have just started out and things were going well. Anyway. I’m resting it, trying to get full ROM back and gonna then do some cuff work.
My question is twofold:
1) what should I do about my ‘training’ day macros/calories if I’m not really lifting all that much?
2) any suggestions on training around this while I’m trying to rest my shoulder? (I know this is a diet post so sorry about that).
Thanks.
1) Less food, basically.
2) Do anything that doesn’t hurt the shoulder. I don’t make amends for localized injuries. You can still do a bunch of other exercises, and even find pain free pressing exercises. Do them. All while working on the problem that’s preventing you from overhead pressing. Don’t detrain. Retrain.
hi,
i have just started to train my muscles, previously i was lean throughout my life,but by consuming junk and fast foods i became fattier.
then, i started dieting ( may be i didnt understand how to diet so may be i went completely wrong about it) i did cardio most of the time and eleminates every kind of “oil” in my meals. i also skipped potatoes,sugar,cheese and fast foods. i became lean eventually and i got my six packs.
my problem is, after loosing fat from my body my face looks very skinny and small and starved where as my body is getting muscular day by day due to high proteing intakes. on a whole i dont look good due to a smaller face and muscular body.
kindly just help to maintain some fat on my face or tell me any jaw excercise to maintain a face which is propotional to my body. or recommend me a diet that i can follow to make my face propotional to my body without destroying my abs.
thankyou.
Your face will grow in proportion to your body fat and body weight levels. No exercise will help.
Anthony,
So you’ve now moved closer to the warrior diet as far as your daily eating patterne?
Me and my girlfriend are going to give this a try now as well… Question I have, when it comes to females, how does fasting or eating this way affect them or their hormones… Her doctor was stead fast against fasting for women in particular…
Also curious how fasting or eating this way for longer than normal periods of time affects testosterone in men? Any thoughts on this? Thanks!
Some women prosper. Others, not so much. I wanna say it depends on your initial condition, but I’m sure not many people know for sure. Also depends on if you’re trying to have kids, etc…
Yeah, I basically run with Warrior Chaos, per outlined in the Chaos Bulk.
Anthony!!! Dope ass article and so well written! I lift and do HIIT every week, but the 6 meals/day is getting tiresome. So, I’m going to give IF a try starting tomorrow! My question is I take 1 scoop of casein prior to going to bed and I plan on eating during 12noon-8PM–so, when should I consume that scoop of casein? Thanks and great job again on this article!
Eat it whenever you want from 12-8. You’re probably eating it pre-bed because you think your muscles will waste away. They wont.
Thanks Anthony! Much appreciated for the response.
Great information.
I’ve read Eat Stop Eat, the leangains website and a lot of people using these approaches.
One of the most interesting sources was this:
http://ironauthority.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Intermittent-Fasting-and-Powerlifting1.pdf
About a competing powerlifter combining Eat Stop Eat and Leangains resulting in fat loss and muscle gain!
What is your experience regarding fat loss and muscle gain at the same time?
It can happen. More so if you have lots of fat to lose. Definitely the “toughest” dietary operation. But possible indeed.
Hi Anthony!!
Great article man!!
Im planning on starting this eating 2pm-10pm, strength train mon/tue/thur/fri in the evening, HIIT at 1pm mon/thur and 30min power walk tue/fri, wed will be rest day. How does that sound for IF, was thinking of getting all carbs in after the evening training session??
Also on a Saturday night i may take a cheat meal (burger and fries) and couple of beers or wine, would this be ok and is it worth me doing some HIIT or a circuit Saturday afternoon just to offset the cheat meal slightly??
Cheers dude, thanks for the site its a great help!!
A moderate cheat meal should be fine, so long as you don’t gorge yourself.
Everything else looks decent. Certainly on the right track. Although I’d, perhaps, venture to power walk on the OFF days. Just me though. I don’t enjoy doing any fat loss dominated activity on a day that I’ll be carbing up or anything like that.
Ah ok, so maybe use wed/sat/sun as active recovery days in a sense and get some walking in!!
Cool man thanks so much for the reply!
Sorry mate i forgot to ask how much oats do you have weight wise??
Cheers dude!
I don’t weigh food, so I couldn’t tell ya. Whatever fits in the bowl I used.
Haha thats good enough for me!!
Cheers mate your a legend!!
Thanks man.
Hi Anthony,
How would you schedule your 2 meals (ESE) if you lift in the morning from 6:00 to 7 am?
I consider non-starchy veggies “free” foods, and thin skinned berries (among some other fruits) “free” foods. I’d probably snack on those as hunger necessitated until I had a big PM dinner.
Now you got me curious, Anthony. Which fruits and veggies are we talking about here?
Thin skinned berries = free. Fruit otherwise, 1-2 pieces.
Fantastic article! Just have a few questions.
1. Is this template still what you use in terms of your current diet?
2. Also, I was wondering, (maybe I didn’t check the blog carefully enough) if you used that exact fat loss template after you intentionally splurged and gained like 20 pounds in a few short days.
3. If I was interested in the mass gain template, could I have the first meal consist of lean protein and carbs, and taper down the carb intake for the second meal, but include more fat?
4. Dont worry, no more questions. Thanks, love your work!
1. I use stuff inside of The Chaos Bulk a little bit more. Similar, but not quite.
2. Again, Fractal Fat Loss guide inside of The Chaos Bulk.
3. Maybe. There are many ways to go about things depending on what you enjoy and what’s suited to your lifestyle. I only eat one meal per day these days.
4. Thanks.
For post workout im thinking of having 200g oats, 10 eggwhites, handfull berries, apple, 3 scoop protein, small glass almond milk and water, blend and drink!! Also a 3 whole egg ommlette!! Meat and veggies will be consumed in 2 other meals in the 8 hours!! Does this sound ok to you??
Also coconut oil in my 2 cups of morning coffee or just straight black!!
Cheers dude!!
Uh, beats me, just give it a go and see if it works. Everyone has a different metabolic rate. You didn’t even mention your goals, height, weight, body fat level, etc…so just go for it and adjust.
I drink coffee black.
Made protein pudding today with vanilla protein YUM! Just what I needed to shake things up. Trying the oatmeal volcano tomorrow–is it sad that I am excited about it?
Anyway I am so glad I found your article, I have been IFing for awhile and then I came across ESE. I have been trying to figure out the best way to utilize both so thanks for the great info!
Welcomes.