Eating is so important to the body transformation process. Unfortunately, for many people, myself included, eating is the hardest place to stay on track and be 100% committed. From missed meals, to cheat meals, to dinner with your friends, there's so many curve balls that get thrown your way, that it's very difficult to stick to your nutrition agenda.
For muscle building you have eat "enough", while for fat cutting you have to not eat "too much". Either way, you'll have to be disciplined enough to consume exactly what's required of you to accomplish your goals.
One good trick is to prepare your meals beforehand for the entire day, or maybe even the next few days. Use tupperware and pre-cook and package everything that will go into your mouth. That way you'll know exactly, down to the calorie, how much you'll be consuming in a day. Then just make it your mission to consume exactly what's in your containers, nothing more, nothing less. Try setting a schedule of when you'll eat each container.
Remember if you're trying to build muscle or lose fat, either way you should be eating 5-6 times a day. I know, I know that's way too many meals to pre-prepare every day right?. But it's its really not as bad as it sounds.
What you should do is find a good MRP (meal replacement powder) or protein shake and use that for 3 of your 6 meals out of the day. Cook breakfast like you normally do in the morning (that's 1 more), and while you're doing that, fix your other two meals and store them away with your MRPs. Done, its that simple. Now you have you're eating schedule for the whole day lined up.
If you don't know how much to put in each container, that comes down to your "caloric maintenance level". I won't get into that too much, but if you're trying to gain weight you should have a calorie surplus. Meaning, you should eat more calories than you burn in a day. For fat/weight loss it's the exact opposite; eat less calories than you burn in a day for a calorie deficit. (Google the term "calorie maintenance level" to find formulas to calculate your own).
Whatever number yours turns out to be, just spread the calories out evenly over your 5-6 meals. (As you get more advanced you'll probably want to taper-on or taper-off calories.)
Also, remember to get a healthy ratio of complex carbs, proteins, and healthy fats in almost every meal. That's important, as nutritional balance is essential.
So, if you're having trouble with the eating part of your fitness plan, try out this new method. It's a lot easier to stay on track if you set out the rules beforehand. All you need is discipline, commitment and some tupperware. Good luck!
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