Over the course of our four-part ‘Simple, Beginner’s Guide To Strength And Muscle-Building’ we’ll give you all of the simplified, need-to-know info to help streamline your path to a healthy, powerful, lean physique.
First things first: nutrition. It took me several years of floundering around in the gym making minimal progress before I realized that without optimal nutrition you can’t maximize gains. It’s no surprise — no matter how much you bust your butt in the gym, if you nourish your body with crap you’ll only see half-ass results.
A quick word for the ladies: if you follow this program you will NOT look like The Incredible Hulk (however, you may look more like the woman below). I hear it all the time, “I don’t want to lift heavy weights, I’m going to look like a man.” The truth of the matter is, without copious amounts of exogenous testosterone (steroids), natural female lifters just don’t have the hormonal or genetic make-up to build muscle in the same way men do.
Optimal Nutrition — Calories:
But if you’re taking in more calorie than you burn, doesn’t that also mean you’ll get fat in the process? The simple answer is yes — it’s nearly impossible to gain pure lean muscle mass without any fat gain on the side. The main objective here is to ensure that the caloric surplus isn’t excessive, that way any fat gain will be minimal and easily burned off. In fact, for beginner and intermediate lifters, a moderate caloric surplus may produce steady gains in lean muscle without any significant, visible fat gain.
So how many calories should you eat each day? First you need to figure out your maintenance caloric intake, which is simply the amount of calories needed to maintain your body weight. To determine your maintenance level of calories, I recommend tracking your caloric intake and weight for a week or two. If your weight is roughly the same over that time period, use your average calories as your maintenance calorie number. As an alternative, you can use Lean It UP’s downloadable calorie and BMI calculator to proactively estimate your personal caloric requirements.
As a rule of thumb, once you’ve determined your maintenance level of calories add an additional 200-300 calories as your starting point. The goal here is to gain roughly one-to-two pounds of lean muscle per month, with little-to-no fat gain. If you’re not seeing any gains after about a month, simply increase your caloric surplus by 100 per day and reassess your progress after a month. On the flip side, if you feel as though you’re gaining too much body fat, decrease your caloric intake by 100/200 per day.
Food Sources:
The exception to this rule would be a whey protein shake, which is ideally consumed post-workout. For protein, stick to lean meats and other low fat options such as non-fat Greek yogurt. When choosing fats, avoid trans fats (aka hydrogenated oils) found in many processed foods such as margarine and various baked goods. Finally, with carbs consume low Glycemic Index carbohydrates such as those listed in the example below. This will help keep your blood sugar levels flat lined and stabilize your energy throughout the day, which helps prevent sudden hunger cravings shortly after eating.
Some examples:
Protein: eggs, chicken breast, salmon, tilapia, lean beef, turkey breast, tuna, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, etc.
Fats: nuts and nut butter (almonds, peanuts, walnuts, etc), olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, flax, salmon and oily fish, eggs, etc.
Carbohydrates: brown rice, sweet potatoes, quinoa, lentils, oats, fruits, etc.
For a complete list of low calorie, high protein meal ideas you can refer to our guide here.
In addition to those listed foods, it’s absolutely essential to have a diet rich in vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables to ensure adequate levels of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). As a rule of thumb aim for a minimum of 3 servings of vegetables per day.
Lean Foods The Best Low Carb Wrap
 |
| foods |
Wraps and tortillas, even when whole wheat, are stealthy, carb-bloated caloric bombs. Stop for a second and digest what’s in a few big brands:
Mission 12″ Whole Wheat Wraps: 290 calories, 7g fat, 750mg sodium, 50g carbs, 6g fiber, 44g net carbs, 9g protein1
Thomas’ Whole Wheat Sahara Wraps: 170 calories, 4.5g fat, 320mg sodium, 27g carbs, 4g fiber, 23g net carbs, 5g protein, contain trans fat2
Cedar’s Whole Wheat Wraps: 220 calories, 4.5g fat, 480mg sodium, 38g carbs, 3g fiber, 35g net carbs, 6g protein3
Baja Sun-Dried Tomato Wraps: 210 calories, 5g fat, 620mg sodium, 36g carbs, 1g fiber, 35g net carbs, 5g protein, contain trans fat4
That’s unreal. Before you even get to the meat, veggies, eggs, dressings, etc. pinwheeled inside, you’re already 220+ calories & 37g+ of empty carbs deep (on average) on something that’s realistically only holding the flavor in place. Throw in that most commercial wraps are loaded with trans fats, artificial colors, preservatives, and about a billion ingredients, and everything quickly spirals out of control.
Food Court — Bringing Down The Lean Hammer On Kashi Snack Bars
I know, I know, Kashi is a reputable company that prides itself on producing HQ, natural, nutritious products. BUT, given the facade put forth by faux-healthy Subway and Special K, I’m naturally skeptical of anything in a wrapper and/or with a brand name. You should be, too.
Here’s the full, loaded arsenal of Kashi bars:
Chewy Granola Bars — Almond Flax, Peanut Peanut Butter, Cherry Dark Chocolate, Trail Mix, Berry Lemonade w. Chia, Chocolate Almond & Sea Salt w. Chia, Dark Mocha Almond
Crunch Granola Bars — Honey Toasted 7-Grain, Roasted Almond Crunch, Pumpkin Spice Flax
Layered Granola Bars — Dark Chocolate Coconut, Peanutty Dark Chocolate
Soft n’ Chewy Bars — Berry Muffin, Apple Cobbler, Banana Chocolate Chip
Cereal Bars — Blackberry Graham, Ripe Strawberry, Cherry Vanilla
GOLEAN CRISP! Bars — Chocolate Almond, Chocolate Peanut, Chocolate Caramel, Cinnamon Coffee Cake, Chocolate Pretzel
GOLEAN DIPPED! Bars — Peanut Butter & Chocolate, Chocolate Malted Crisp
Soft-Baked Squares — Almond, Chocolate
Kashi Bars — What I Like
 |
Kashi Bars — What I Like |
Higher ratios are leaner, and if that number is under 1, I typically ALWAYS steer clear. Live by that rule — it’s a powerfully potent Jedi mind trick.
KILLER RATIOS — for a whole grain product, the majority of Kashi bars shockingly fall on the better half of 1; the only egregious offenders fall under the cereal bar veil (.54 average).
Fiber Rich — nearly every bar has 4+ grams of fiber, which helps reduce hunger, maintain digestive health, and slows the digestion of food; reducing the likelihood of fat storage.
Low Cal — no bar tops 200 calories; most fall under 150.
Protein — for a family of bars that isn’t designed purely as a protein delivery mechanism, most lines have a hearty 4-11g. That’s enough to curb hunger and slow digestion, boost metabolism, and support lean muscle growth/recovery.
All Natural Ingredients — most processed foods are a breeding ground for artificial ingredients and sweeteners, added sugars, fake dyes and coloring, trans fats, low-quality carbs, and unnecessary filler ingredients. While some Kashi lines contain added sugar — to varying degrees — at the very least it’s natural, courtesy of agave nectar, evaporated cane juice, fruit and others.
Vitamins & Minerals — most bars pack 10-30% DV for iron, calcium, zinc, the B vitamins, and vitamin E.
Whole Grains — Kashi bars are predominantly constructed from natural oats, wheat, rye, brown rice, barley, buckwheat, and fruit — NOT corn, refined white flour, white rice, or other LQ carbs. This boosts the fiber and protein content, contributes nutrients, and keeps fat storage in check.
Omega-3s — the chewy granola bar and soft-baked square lines sport up to 300mg of ALA omega-3 per serving; not massive by any stretch, but more omega-3’s and healthy fats are always a nice plus.
