Everyone knows crushing weights won’t get you anywhere if you don’t have the right diet to match. Even if you think you’re eating all the right things, taking all the right supplements and getting all the right nutrients at the right time, there might be some adjustments you can make to reach your goals faster. That’s where we come in.
This week, Eric Falstrault, founder of BODHI Fit in Montreal, Canada, takes a look at a meal plan from a Muscle & Fitness reader. Want help with your diet? Submit it to Diet911@muscleandfitness.com and one of our nutrition experts will take a look.
“I am a 27-year-old male and I have been training for the better part of 10 years. Prior to being in the gym, I would focus mostly on sports, mainly rugby and football (soccer) and the conditioning related to them. I am 1.87m (6’2″) tall and currently weigh 90kg (198 lbs.). My weight fluctuates a lot between 87kg (191 lbs.) and 92kg (202 lbs.). My ultimate goal is to get to around 95kg (209 lbs.) or thereabouts but to reduce my body fat percentage to about 6% and be RIPPED.”
-Jarred L.
Hey Jarred, since training and following some type of meal plan has been in your life for a while, it could be good AND bad. Good because you won’t have a hard time following one and bad, because it will always be harder for you to gain lean mass, and especially getting ripped at the same time. The more years you have under your belt, the tougher it gets. Since I don’t know where you are starting from body fat percentage wise, I’ll assume that you are around the 10-12% mark.
If you want to be at 95kg and ripped it would mean that you would have to gain about 10 kg of lean mass, which is not an easy feat, and lose about 5kg of fat. If time and patience are on your side, you’ll have no problem.
Pre-Breakfast:
5:00 AM
- Cellucor C4
- Glass of water
Breakfast:
5:40 AM
- 1/2 cup oatmeal with blueberries
- 8 egg whites and 2 whole eggs scrambled with spinach
- Anavite
- CLA
- Glass of water
Trainer’s Note: Don’t be scared to add the yolk of the eggs. Instead of eating 8 egg whites and 2 whole, I would go for 7 or 8 whole eggs. Early morning is the best time to set your neuro-transmitters with amino acids and especially B12 which eggs are a great source. Oatmeal is getting a bad rap because of gluten and the higher insulin response. One trick I have learned is to add a Glycemic index regulator to oatmeal to facilitate glucose uptake. The best ones are fenugreek and flaxseed. Add them to your oatmeal or high glycemic index foods and you’ll get better glucose uptake.
Morning Snack:
8:30 AM
- 1 handful of almonds and raisins
- 1 green apple
- Glass of water
Trainer’s Note: Add some solid protein for this snack. Although you get enough liquid protein from your shakes, adding one small portion of protein to this snack will only help. Home made beef jerky or some rolled up cooked beef fondue meat (cubed beef cold cuts) makes a great snack, even when you eat them cold. Roll them up with lettuce and a piece of full fat cheese in between. I would also replace your apple by some type of berries for a better insulin response. Your snack would look like this:
- 4-5 rolled up beef fondue meat
- 1 handful of almonds
- 1 cup of berries
Lunch:
12:00 PM
- 1 tin tuna in brine
- 1/2 sweet potato
- Broccoli
- Anavite
- CLA
- Glass of water
Pre-Workout:
1:30 PM
- Cellucor M5
- Cellucor C4
Post-Workout:
3:30 PM
- MusclePharm ReCon
- MusclePharm Combat Protein
- 1 green apple
Dinner:
7:00 PM
- 1 Chicken breast, grilled
- 1/2 sweet potato
- Broccoli
- CLA
- Glass of water
Trainer’s Note: One last little tweak I would add is Fat! Fat is not the enemy. Eat fat to lose fat, it’s as simple as that. Saturated fat and cholesterol are very important for testosterone. Eating low fat and avoiding all cholesterol will lower your anabolic state. The best way to raise testosterone is to have about 30 to 40% of your calories that comes from a variety of fat.
Your protein intake is great and your supplementation protocol is up to par. I think these simple changes can go a long way. Train hard and keep up the great work.
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Eric Falstrault is a Montreal-based strength coach, Naturopath, Sport Therapist and founder of BODHI Fit. He is certified level 5 PICP (Poliquin International Certification Program) a high level certification program that has proven its grounds on every aspect of the iron game and his specialization is hockey strength and conditioning. Eric has worked with athletes of all levels, from youth sports to professionals in the NHL, NFL and MLS.