Two Meal Muscle
The approach is different than the strategy. The strategy is how I lose fat and build muscle. You're familiar with this. The approach is what determines my objective: Am I trying to lose fat or build muscle? This depends on a few different factors.
Let's approach.
1, Approach.
My approach depends a great deal on my body-fat percentage. I have a ballpark body-fat range I'm okay living within. The low end is around 10% body fat. This is when I'm six-pack lean. To be clear, this doesn't mean I lift my shirt and automatically have six-pack abs. I need to be flexing under good lighting in order for my abs to have decent pop. (I generally don't go below 10% body fat. I like food too much.)
The high end is around 15% body fat. This is when I lose most of my midline (linea alba) abdominal definition. When flexing under good lighting, I might have some soft definition around the outside of my abs, but I don't have the middle groove that goes from my chest to my belly button.
I fluctuate within the 10%-15% range for a variety of reasons.
The first reason: motivation and desires.
When I'm 10% and I'm lean, I can see how much muscle I don't have. Eventually, after looking at my corpse in the mirror, I'll want to make a more deliberate push build muscle. Also, I get lazy. I can't escape the absurdity of it all. Getting six-pack lean is cool at first, but, after a month or so, I can't stave off the self-defeating thoughts. Why do I care about six-pack abs? I might die tomorrow. Why shouldn't I put all of the butter and honey I can find on top of this 8×8 of cornbread and eat until my brain doesn't work? I naturally “relax” and indulge more, which slowly pushes my body fat percentage up.
When I'm 15% body fat and soft, I feel uncomfortable. I jiggle too much. Eventually, after looking at the dough stuck to my stomach, I'll want to get lean.
The second reason: biology.
When I'm 10% and I'm lean, I'm generally hungrier and less satisfied with my meals. I can circumvent this using all-too-familiar strategies (eating plenty of lean proteins and plant carbs), but when combined with the natural ebb and flow of my motivation and desires, I usually don't care enough to grind myself to a pulp.
When I'm 15% body fat and soft, I'm generally fuller and more satisfied with my meals. I don't have as many pop-up urges to eat pure-pleasure foods, which means planned low-tide days are more likely to remain low-tide days.
The third reason: external factors.
When I first started this diet, I was robotic. I had one responsibility: me. I cooked for myself and only for myself. I didn't veer from my ideal diet much. Things are different now.
As I get older, I struggle with consistency because I'm more sensitive to external curveballs. I have less time to cook and clean. I'm married. I have a family. And I'm the chef. Sadly, I'm the only one in the house that eats the way I eat. So, alongside cooking my food, I also cook food for my wife and my kids. This makes me more likely to deviate from my ideal diet. I'll be cooking potatoes with an over-the-top amount of butter and cheese for my metabolically-gifted wife, and the Gollumn inside of me will bubble. We should eats them, precious! And then, thirty minutes later, I'm tossing back 500 calories more than I anticipated.
(Ever since kids came into the picture, I've been playing prevent defense. Only now, as I write this, have I been able to get my feet underneath me. Likely because my kiddos don't require constant attention anymore.)
The fourth reason: selfish factors.
If I'm going to be outside, shirtless, I don't want to be fat. I live in Pittsburgh. During the summer months, I prefer being closer to 10% body fat. During the winter, I'm okay with being closer to 15% body fat. How original.
The fifth reason: logistical factors.
I don't like to bulk unless I'm closer to 10% body fat. And so, if I'm not that lean, I'm going to be trying to get that lean.
My approach, at any given time, is a byproduct of these factors. On one hand, if the summer is approaching and I'm closer to 15% body fat than 10% body fat, then I'm going to bias toward low-tide strategies as much as my lifestyle allows. But I probably won't be perfect. There will be tough days. I'll watch the news, get depressed (THE WORLD IS ENDING!), and then medicate my mind with food.
On the other hand, if I am 10% body fat and comfortable with how I look, then I'm going to be more lenient with high-tide days. Unless the holidays are approaching and I know I'm going to be in pure-pleasure mode for an extended period of time.
My approach is fluid.
And flawed.
You can watch it play out in real time.
First, I have a TMM changelog. This is updated whenever my diet undergoes a shift. You can see previous versions of TMM, too.
Second, I keep a nutrition journal. Every single day I upload pictures of the dry, bland food I eat. Currently, this journal is available by invitation only.