Ok...I'm excited about my new nutrition plan experiment...but before I go into details, I know that this is not the most efficient way to reach my goals of maintaining or decreasing my body fat %, and maintaining or increasing muscle mass...I understand that completely. However, it is going to be extremely fun and tasty! So what is this new plan???
It's called...EAT WHATEVER THE HECK I WANT!!!
Allow me to explain...it's not quite that simple.
Obviously, Intermittent Fasting, and specifically Martin Berkhan's LeanGains method of IF, is a cornerstone of the plan. That means everyday my feeding window is from 12pm to 8pm (8 hours), and my fasting window is from 8pm to 12pm the next day (16 hours). I'll be working out 5 days a week and resting 2 days. During the week, I'll workout early in the morning, and on the weekends I'll workout immediately before lunch (if possible). All workouts will be in the fasted state. Finally, I'll be calorie cycling, so I'll be eating above maintenance calories on workout days, and far below maintenance calories on resting days along with minimal carbs. For greater explanation of the calorie cycling, see my previous post about that here.
What do I hope to accomplish with this plan? First of all...I hope to have a lot of fun and freedom to eat anything that I want 5 days of the week without any guilt and without worrying if I'm going to ruin the physique that I've worked hard at building. I do hope to at least maintain my current 9.7% body fat percentage...and would be beyond thrilled if I am able to actually reduce body fat and increase muscle while eating burgers, pizza, brownies, cookies, root beer floats, sodas, etc, etc, etc. Sound far fetched? We'll certainly find out.
There is a certain thought process out there about nutrition for body composition called IIFYM. That stands for "If It Fits Your Macros." In other words, don't worry about whether carbs are fast or slow, or whether what you are about to eat is considered healthy or unhealthy. It if fits into the amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein, and fats that you are looking to intake...then go for it! Therefore, it doesn't matter if my carbs come from french fries, or brown rice...if I want carbs, I can get them in with whatever food I want. The trade off is of course those french fries are loaded with sodium, and have a whole lot more fat. It isn't really the same, but if my goal is to ingest a ton of calories and carbs to promote an anabolic (growth) state to build muscle during a post-workout feeding window...then it doesn't hurt me.
The real name of this plan ought to be...WHAT CAN I REALLY GET AWAY WITH?
So, at my last measurement, these were my numbers.
Body Composition Measurements
Weight: 189
Body Fat%: 9.72%
Abdominal Pinch: 15mm
Suprailliac Pinch: 7mm
Circumference Measurements (Inches)
Bicep: 14.5
Flexed Bicep: 16
Chest: 41.25
Waist: 35.5
Thigh: 23.5
Calf: 15.25
Most recent pic, taken after a leg workout - March 2013
Scripture for the day:
Proverbs 19:14 "House and wealth are an inheritance from fathers,But a prudent wife is from the Lord."
