Macronutrient Setup For Certain Lifestyles (Part 2)

So we went over the macro setup for someone living a sedentary lifestyle, one who doesn't work out and has a desk job. Now onto the next step, which is someone who just started working out and is trying to figure out what to do with their diet. (As far as optimal training is concerned, we'll get into that in another series, but for now, we're focusing on the nutrition aspect).

If you're going into the gym for the first time chances are you're going to be sticking to the basics, which means you'll probably let the machines dictate your routine, with many a few dumbell or barbell curls on the side.  When most people start working out they usually do one exercise per body part.  This is wise, as your body has never picked up a weight before and it won't take much to tear up your muscles.  By the time you get to the end of your workout you may feel tired, but is doing one exercise per muscle group going to be hard enough on your body to the point where you're depleting lots of glycogen?  Probably not, which of course means your carb intake isn't going to be very high.

Now, your carb intake won't be zero, but it'll only be a little bit higher than that of the sedentary person's carb intake.  Now some of you are probably thinking "well shouldn't I crank up the intensity so I can take in more carbs and enjoy myself?" NO! This is the quickest way to get injured, and that'll set you back even more on your road to a healthy body.  It's called TRAINING for a reason.  Training your body to get to a certain point takes time. You don't see a sprinter going out and doing 100 sprints on their first day of training.  They build up their cardio system first.

So here's what you do with your carbs for those of you new to the gym.  You want to start with 0.5g of carbs per pound of bodyweight.  This is a good starting point because you can easily adjust from there depending on how you feel.  If you're looking pretty bloated, you'll need to lower that amount.  If you feel like you're not making it through the workout, you might need more.  However, look at yourself in an honest way!  That's a line you'll see pop up many times in my Blog.  The sooner you do this, the easier it'll be to manage your carb intake.  It may take a few weeks of just starting in the gym to figure out the exact amount because everyone is different, but focusing on it keeps you disciplined!  And that discipline will go a LONG WAY with your training and nutrition.

Now, I'm going to introduce a concept in this article that is CRUCIAL when it comes to programming your body to use the macronutrients the right way.  There is a ton of false information going around when it comes to the TIMING of your carb intake.  Some say before the workout, during the workout, after the workout.  So, which is right?  Let's use some science to figure it out. We talked before about how your body needs nutrients at the time when it's breaking down the most.  This is because your body is more inclined to drive those nutrients to the muscles, exactly where you want them to go!  This, of course, is post-workout.  Now the government and its dieticians will tell you to eat them first thing in the morning and eat before the workout, but that's the government!  And they're spot on about everything right?  Yea... that's a topic for another article.  All you need to know is that post-workout is the best time to take in your carbs and protein to quickly repair those damaged muscles.

But what do we eat leading up to the workout?  Well, in order to stay in that fat-burning state, as mentioned in the other articles, you need to keep your insulin levels low.  This includes during the workout as well!  But of course, nobody likes to digest food when they go to the gym, and since fats and proteins together take a while to digest, you don't want to eat within 5 hours of going to the gym.  For breakfast, enjoy your scrambled eggs and bacon, or a fatty cut of meat.  I'd stick with at least 20g of protein for breakfast, and as far as fat intake is concerned be sure to have around 2g of fat for every gram of protein. So if you have 20g of protein you'll need 40g of fat, which isn't much but it'll certainly keep you full and keep those insulin levels very low.  However, be sure to stop eating 5 hours before your workout.  It's better to workout out on an empty stomach so that your body has an easy time digesting your post-workout protein and carbs.

Now, what should you have post-workout?  Personally, I recommend Whey Protein for those of you just starting out, as it's hard for you new people to stomach the 0.8-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight from food alone. Whey will help with that, but if you already have a big stomach and think you can stomach that protein on food alone, then take BCAA post-workout.  Either way, take in the protein first, wait about 30-45 minutes and then take in carbs. 

For carbs, I recommend Gatorade powder as you can easily track how much you're having and you can easily increase or decrease the water mixed with it to get the flavor of your liking.

So the new people are all set!  In the next article we'll talk about those of you that are becoming more advanced, and are really starting to crank up the intensity in Macronutrient Setup For Ideal Diets Part 3.