Nutritional Guidelines from Sam Byrd
Sam,
Do you have some nutritional guidelines for building lean muscle? I'm a 20 year-old powerlifter (195 lbs, 12% bodyfat) and I'm trying to get on some mass (no fat), but there is so much information out there. So, it is not that easy to figure out what would be the best way.
An example of how a training and non-training day could look like would be nice!
Thanks in advance,
Gabe
Hey Gabe,
Thanks for the question. The nutritional guidelines for building lean muscle are the same for a powerlifter as they are for a bodybuilder. You are right, there is a lot of information out there, and a lot of it is contradictory. What to do? High carbs and low fat diet or low carbs and high fat? What macronutrient ratio is best? 40/40/20? 40/30/30? 60/30/10? I'll tell you what, they all work if properly followed. They key to dissecting voluminous contradictory information is not to focus on the differences. Focus on the similarities.
To sum it up in one sentence:
IF YOU CAN'T KILL IT OR CAN'T GROW IT, DON'T EAT IT.
That means stick to natural, unprocessed foods as your diet staples: meats, veggies, grains, fruits and nuts. Of course some whey protein if needed is ok.
Diet
Depending on what diet (I use the work diet loosely to refer to a nutritional plan regardless of whether it's being used to lose or gain weight) you choose to follow you will eat more or less of some of those, but essentially, it boils down to eating clean and avoiding highly processed and refined, manufactured foods. The easiest way to describe a grocery shopping trip to people is to advise them to only shop the perimeter of the store – avoid the aisles. All the meats, veggies, fruits are around the walls of every store. The only reason to go into the isles is for oats/grains, oils, and toilet paper.
That said, how do you decide which diet plan to follow? Simple. Follow the one you will be able to adhere to and follow the longest without the need to deviate or eat junk. Your diet shouldn't make you miserable. You shouldn't have cravings and you shouldn't have to choke down every meal. As I said, all the different approaches will work, but the one that works best is the one you can stick to for longest. Therefore, I suggest a balanced diet that allows for plenty of protein, carbs and fats and provides a wide array of food choices, as well as much needed vitamins and minerals.
Macro-nutrients
What about specific macro-nutrients: protein, carbs, and fat? How much should you eat of each? This can be a little trickier issue to address because everyone is different. Some people thrive on low-carb plans with no cravings, plenty of energy and the ability to think clearly, while others stay constantly hungry, constantly lethargic, and mentally incapable to function efficiently. The same is true for a high carb/low fat diet. This is really an individual thing and will take some monitoring and adjustments to suit you – and that can take a long time.
Personally, I started out in high school on a high everything diet. You name it, I ate it. All in the name of more calories and added weight. By age 20, I began reading John Berardi articles and switched to a high fat/low carb approach. I followed that for a long time because I thought I was "carb sensitive" and would get fat as hell if I ate to many. After a few years of that, I transitioned towards a more balanced approach of about 40 percent protein/40 percent carbs/20 percent fats, with my meals separated into protein/carb meals and protein/fat meals (More John Berardi nutrition advice). For these meals, I ate minimal fat at meals when I had carbs, and minimal carbs when I had high fat meals, which I balanced out at three each, for a total of six meals a day.
I followed this 40/40/20 approach for a really long time. I kept my carb meals limited to when I thought they were best utilized – breakfast, pre-workout and post-workout. I adjusted amounts of carbs and fats up/down during this time trying to find what I needed, but usually within those guidelines.
Recent Diet
Most recently, for the last three years or so, I eat about the same ratios, maybe a little more protein and a little less carbs, but each meal through the day is balanced fairly evenly with pro/carbs/fats, with the exception of my last meal, which is no carbs. I also added more variety to my meals, where I used to eat the same meals every feeding. I find this works very well for me, and for a lot of people.
What about you? You don't even know how to figure out how many calories you need, let alone what percentage of those calories should go to protein/carbs/fats. Again, this is very individualistic. Adjusting your future caloric intake really depends on your current caloric intake. For example, if you have been severely under eating, your metabolism is likely creeping along at a snail's pace. If you see a recommendation and add a huge amount of calories right off the bat, rest assured a lot of that will be stored as fat because your metabolism is so inefficient it is unable to process them for muscle growth, so it just stores it away for when it needs it on that next next super low calorie day. The opposite is also true. If you conditioned yourself to eat massive calories every day, a severe restriction would throw you for a loop. So, the first thing you need to do before you change anything is figure out exactly where your calories are sitting now. Do this by keeping a food journal for three days. Write down everything you eat and at what times, for three days. Eat just the same as you normally would, don't change anything. Then be meticulous and write down all the food facts for what you ate – how many calories/protein/carbs/fat was in each meal, then total them up for the day.
What to do Next?
So what do I suggest next? Well, I found there are two fairly simple and fairly effective ways to estimate your caloric needs. Although different methods, they still produce a similar result, and use of either one is fine.
The first method is to multiply your lean body mass (LBM) by 17 as a base starting point. LBM is calculated by multiplying your current body weight by your current body fat percentage. This starting point should be approximately the number of calories needed to maintain your current weight. To add or lose weight, simply begin by adding or subtracting 500 calories to this number.
EX:
- Body Weight = 195 pounds
- Body Fat Level = 12% (195 x 0.12 = 23 pounds of body fat)
- Lean Body Mass = 172 pounds (195–23 = 172)
- Baseline Calories = 2,924 calories (172 x 17)
My initial recommendation is if you follow this approach, set your calories at around this baseline number or your current calorie number (I'm guessing they're close if you aren't currently gaining weight), but make the calories conform to a ratio of about 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat. The reason I suggest starting with the baseline or current calories with these ratios is because you will likely see gains solely from eating a more balanced diet with the same or similar amount of calories. Calories, and the amount of macros, can be increased after a few weeks (4–6) if you don't notice any changes. When you increase, make a 500 calorie jump initially and stay there for another six weeks. Remember, it takes years to gain serious muscle. Rushing to add enormous calories over what you need, just for the sake of weight, doesn't speed up the process – it just makes you fat. Here's what this would look like:
LBM = 172
- Total Baseline Calories = 3,000 (for easy math)
- Total Daily Protein = 300 grams (3,000 x 0.40/4 calories per gram)
- Total Daily Carbs = 300 grams (3,000 x 0.40/4 calories per gram)
- Total Daily Fat = 67 grams (3,000 x 0.20/9 calories per gram of fat)
To get meal totals, assume six meals spaced evenly throughout the day (about every three hours), do the following:
Protein
Total protein divided by six meals is 50 grams per meal (300/6 = 50).
Carbs
Total carbs divided by five meals (remember no carbs last meal (300/5= 60).
Fats
Total fats divided by six meals is 11 grams (67/6 = 11). Don't really worry too much about fats, though. You will get about that amount from the meats you have to eat to get your protein. It's when you drink shakes instead of eat that you need to keep that number in mind to add.
So, we are left with a daily nutritional plan that looks like this:
- Meals 1-5: 50g protein/60g carbs/11g fat
- Meal 6: 50g protein/0g carbs/11g fat
A typical day may look something like this...
Meal 1
- 1/2 cup egg whites, 5oz flat iron steak, 2/3 cup grits or 1 cup oatmeal (both dry measure)
Meal 2
- 6oz chicken (cooked measure), 1.5 cups rice, 1/2 cup green beans
Meal 3
- 1 large can tuna, 1 greek yogurt, 1 medium apple, 1/4 cup almonds
Meal 4
- 6oz chicken, 10oz sweet or baby red potato
**Meal 5 on Training Day (after training)
- 2.5 scoops whey, 1.5 cups rice or 1 scoop waxy maize
**Meal 5 on NON-training day
- 6oz chicken, 10oz sweet or baby red potato
Meal 6
- 8oz sirloin steak, 1 cup broccoli, 1 glass Metamucil
Simple Tips
Cook enough meat and carbs for several days. Then weigh and bag everything ahead of time, so you can grab and go. If it's not prepared when you need it, then you probably won't take the time to fix it and you will break the plan. The hardest part of building muscle is not training, it's eating right; the hardest part about eating right is not chewing, it's food prep.