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EATING BASED ON YOUR ACTIVITY

Eating Based on Your Activity

by Tony Morris

Lift like a bodybuilder, eat like a fitness model, perform like an athlete

One of the most crucial components of bodybuilding, sports performance, and weight loss is eating the appropriate amount of nutrient-rich foods based on your activity level and goals.

In order to stay alive, every organism on this planet requires fuel.  As one of the most complex organisms on the planet, humans have evolved to have multiple sources of fuel.  The three main sources of fuel include carbohydrates (sugars, glucose), proteins (meat, soy, whey), and fats (oils, cholesterols, triglycerides).  You can ingest carbohydrates, proteins, and fats to satisfy your body’s fuel/energy requirement, but in times of fasting (not eating), your body must use fat and protein stored from prior meals.  In this manner, subcutaneous fat in your skin, around your belly and elsewhere is broken down to provide the rest of your body with energy.  Muscle, on the other hand, is broken down into protein and amino acids, which also provide the body with fuel while fasting.

Each week’s objective is to burn as much body fat as possible, without sacrificing your hard earned muscle as fuel.  Also important to understand is the more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate (rate at which you burn fuel).  Therefore, having more muscle will allow you to burn fat more quickly.

Carb source

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a numerical index that ranks carbohydrates based on their rate of glycemic response (i.e. their conversion to glucose within the human body). GI uses a scale of 0 to 100, with higher values given to foods that cause the most rapid rise in blood sugar.  Eat your low glycemic, long lasting carbs pre-weight training to provide sustained energy during your workout.  Eating high glycemic carbs post-weight training will result in the greatest muscle growth (anabolism).  

Protein source

Make sure to choose a high quality protein source without unnecessary artificial ingredients that will cause bloating or give you gas. Ideally, an all-natural, grass-fed, non-GMO, gluten-free, whey protein. Remember, if it is something that you put in your body on a daily basis, it should not only taste good but be good for you.

Fat source

Choose natural fat sources to replace carbs towards the end of the day. Once you burn off the carbs, your body will use the fats as fuel.

Target Heart Rate

Example:

A 40 year old would have a maximum heart rate of 180 beats per minute with a target heart rate between 126-153 beats per minute.  

Optimale training zone for fat burning and muscle preservation.

Fitness Pro tips to getting lean and performing

MONDAY

Activity: Walking, biking or elliptical

Type: Fasted cardio (first thing in the morning)

Target Heart Rate: 125 BPM

Duration: 45-60 minutes

Pros: You can burn the most fat with the least amount of energy output

Chest and Back: Superset:   

1. Incline dumbbell press / dumbbell bent over row.
2. Pull-ups / dips.
3. Barbell bench press / t-bar row
4. cable fly / iso lateral high row
5. Incline dumbbell fly / standing cable low row (with or without squats)

6:30am 1 Shred capsule, Amilean firming lotion

6:45am Fasted cardio

8:00am Egg white & veggie omelet, avocado, oatmeal, fruit

11:00am  Protein shake (plant based)   

1:00pm White fish, brown rice, green veggies

4:00pm Protein shake, dry oatmeal (grass-fed whey isolate, concentrate blend)

5:00pm Chest and Back

6:30pm Stretching

7:00pm Protein shake with banana (pure isolate)

8:30pm Bison salad

Tony’s tips

1. Fasted cardio should be performed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach at a target heart rate of approximately 115-125 beats per minute (low intensity cardio).  If you don’t have a heart rate monitor, you can use something called the talk test.  Speed walk or light jog while talking, until you’re unable to carry on a conversation without taking in deep breaths of air.  This is an indication you’ve transitioned from low intensity cardio to the target heart rate also known as the fat burning zone.  Bring it down just a notch and sustain it for the entirety of your workout. 
2.   Alternate meals with high protein snacks.  Eat a snack three hours after every meal and a meal two hours after every snack.
3. Eat lean meats with carbs earlier in the day and fatty meats with low or no carbs in the evening.
4. You’ll also notice that after each weight training session, I’ll have you ingest a whey protein shake for muscle repair and high glycemic fruit for an insulin release to further anabolism through manipulation of the second most anabolic hormone the body naturally produces called insulin.   

Part II coming out next week.

Contact me directly for your training consultation.

tonymorrisfitness@gmail.com