Tag: Diet
Eddie Hall’s Epic Full Day Of Eating For His Strongman Comeback Crams 4,600 Calories Into Just Three Meals
Image via Eddie Hall’s YouTube channel
This is what Eddie Hall eats to bulk up for his strongman return.
Prepping for his return to strongman, Eddie Hall has revealed his full day diet to build back his monster size in a recent video published on his YouTube channel. Hall is a legendary strongman known best for his enormous size. He was so massive in his prime that he was dubbed “The Beast” – weighing in at about 400 pounds.
Eddie Hall took time away from strongman to prep for his much publicized boxing match against fellow strongman Hafthor Bjornsson. The two focused on transforming their physiques (and tactics) to best prepare for boxing in the ring. Thor ultimately shredded off many more pounds with Hall focusing more on power over speed. However, Hall still trimmed down and showed off an incredibly shredded physique considering a starting point of 400 pounds.
Now that the boxing match is behind him, Eddie Hall has dedicated himself to returning for a special strongman comeback. He plans to compete in the 2022 Giants Live World’s Strongest Nation on November 26, 2022. That means he has been spending time bulking back up to prepare for the contest.
While bulking on some massive calories isn’t uncommon even in the bodybuilding world. Eddie Hall seems to place his 4,600 calorie diet into just three meals. Three massive meals. The diet even includes a meal he dubs the “beast burger.” You might get full just watching the whole video – which you can see below:
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Meal 1 (Breakfast)
Eddie Hall started his morning with a protein shake consisting of milk, peanut butter, bananas, chocolate spread and protein powder. He states that he throws in about 65 grams of protein into the mix.
During his breakfast routine, he also hops on the scale to check in on his weight. He comes in weighing at about 354 pounds. This is already a big step up from his weight during his boxing debut. But he still wants to pack on more weight before the big strongman return.
Meal 2 (Lunch)
Eddie Hall’s lunch consisted of chicken wraps cut into small pieces with scissors. He also cut up onions, tomatoes, and coriander all packed into the wraps. Between the wraps and his breakfast shake – he accounts for consuming about 2,800 calories up until that point. Protein count came to about 305 grams.
Meal 3 (Dinner)
This is where the infamous “beast burgers” come into play. Eddie Hall prepped two burgers and added sauce, tomatoes, and cheese. He also had potato chips/fries on the side. Unfortunately, his planned bacon didn’t make it into the meal – as he burned the strips.
All combined the full day of eating came to 4,600 calories and 385 grams of protein. While not an enormous amount for a large athlete – to combine this into just three meals is quite impressive.
What is even more impressive is how far off this diet is compared to his more active prime years. This comeback diet is essentially a “light” version of what he used to consume. Since winning the World’s Strongest Man in 2017, Hall claimed he would step down from the sport to focus on his health. It’s unclear if this special comeback will lead to motivation for more shows in the future.
In either case, his soft comeback of 4,600 calories is more than most average humans would ever put their stomach through. We’re happy to see Eddie Hall still living life as “The Beast” in some fashion. And we can’t wait to see how he performs later this year.
Stay tuned to the Generation Iron Fitness Network for updates on Eddie Hall’s comeback progress and also for news on all things bodybuilding, strength sports, and fitness.
How to Eat Clean Like A Professional Bodybuilder
Having a healthy diet is one of the most impactful things you can do for your fitness.
Other than time spent in the gym, a healthy diet is the best way to promote your overall health and muscular conditioning. Supplements can be deceiving and many packaged foods at the supermarket are loaded with artificial colors and ingredients that can make you feel bloated and sluggish.
If you’re looking for inspiration on how to get started with clean, healthy eating that promotes fitness, look no further. Here’s a quick grocery list of 10 foods to help get you started with shopping and eating clean like a professional bodybuilder.
10. Dark Leafy Greens
Dark green vegetables, such as kale, broccoli, collard greens, and spinach, are extremely nutrient-rich and low in calories. They act as a great supplement or base to a heartier plate of chicken or fish. These are probably the best natural source of things like vitamin A, vitamin C, iron, fiber, vitamin K, folic acid, and so many others. It cannot be overstated what an essential source of nutrients these are in your diet.
Recommendation: Keep a bag of kale or a bag of broccoli in the fridge at all times. The kale makes a great base for a salad, while the broccoli works great in a veggie stir fry. Or switch it up based on what you like!
9. Eggs
Eggs are a versatile, protein-rich food that can be incorporated into almost any meal you could think to make — so use them! Eggs are a bodybuilder’s staple for good reason. They pack a huge punch in terms of protein (which allows your body to build muscle) without having too many calories. They’re also a great option if you’re trying to avoid an unhealthy breakfast. Eggs are completely natural — no saturated fats or unhealthy additives to slow you down.
Recommendation: Keep a carton of eggs in the fridge. You can have them for breakfast or add them to a shake for a quick protein boost.
8. Wild-Caught Fish (Salmon, Cod, Tuna)
Fish are an essential source of omega-3 fatty acids and a core component of any pro’s diet. Fish that is caught in the wild tends to have the highest amount of omega-3s, so aim for that if possible. Salmon has a higher fat content than other types of fish and can help you feel fuller for longer, potentially staving off cravings.
Recommendation: Keep salmon, cod, or tuna in the fridge and have once a week. You can bake or pan-sear as an entree, have it over rice, or put it in a salad.
7. Quinoa or Brown Rice
These grains (okay, quinoa isn’t technically a grain) make a great healthy base for a meal. They’re high in amino acids, which are essential for building muscle. If you like both, great, if not, you can easily substitute one for the other. These are also a versatile “building-block” type food like eggs that can easily be combined with other healthy foods for clean, healthy eating.
Recommendation: Keep a bag of quinoa or brown rice in your pantry. You can have chicken or fish over rice or put the rice into a salad with leafy greens — the possibilities are endless.
6. Chicken
Chicken is another bodybuilding essential. It has an astronomical protein-level for something with a comparatively low amount of fat. Again, the key here is to pick foods that can help you avoid the additives, oils, and unhealthy fats associated with processed foods. Cooking your own chicken at home with vegetables, lentils, quinoa, or brown rice is a filling, protein-rich meal.
Recommendation: Keep chicken in your fridge to have for dinner throughout the week. Combine with brown rice, collard greens, quinoa, or broccoli for a healthy dinner.
5. Dry Beans and Peas
Things like black beans, pinto beans, split peas, and lentils are all great additions to a bodybuilder’s diet. They’re easy to combine with a healthy source of protein like fish or chicken to create a meal. They’re also rich in iron and zinc which can increase joint strength.
Recommendation: Keep two bags of your favorite type of beans or peas in the pantry. They make a healthy, filling side in any meal that will keep you from snacking on unhealthier foods.
4. Greek Yogurt
An essential snack food for when you’re in-between meals, Greek yogurt is a healthy and filling option that promotes gut health and the absorption of other nutrients and minerals. Not to mention Greek yogurt is an essential source of protein.
Recommendation: Keep a pack of your favorite Greek yogurt in the fridge for snacking. You can add honey or some walnuts to add flavor and texture.
3. Olive Oil, Avocado Oil (Oils > Butter)
Try to avoid butter, which is high in saturated fats. Opt instead for cooking with olive oil, avocado oil, or another type of cooking oil.
Recommendation: Keep your favorite type of cooking oil in the pantry instead of using butter to reduce saturated fat consumption.
2. Fruits
There are a lot of different categories of fruit, but pretty much all of them are great for you. Apples, bananas, pears, and berries are high in natural sugars but ultimately much better for you than any artificially sweetened snack.
Recommendation: Keep one or two types of your favorite fruits in the kitchen to snack on, use in a salad, or make a smoothie.
1. Whey Protein
Probably the most popular protein additive in the bodybuilding world. Whey protein is clinically proven to increase gains and help the body develop muscle mass faster.
Recommendation: Keep whey protein in the kitchen. You can add it to tea, water, or as part of a healthy smoothie.
Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei Reveals 3,615-Calorie Diet Used During Amazing Physique Transformation
Laurence “Big Loz” Shahlaei has set a goal to lose 100 pounds.
Laurence Shahlaei, known as Big Loz, retired from strongman and this is when he began going through an incredible physique transformation. It begins with the new diet that he has been following that consists of 3,615 calories.
On Wednesday, Big Loz shares a video to YouTube showing what a full day of eating for him looks like in retirement. Obviously, this is a diet that is significantly cut down from his time eating to compete in strongman. Since his days competing, Big Loz has lost over 85 pounds and is adding more muscle definition.
Below, you can find the full diet for the 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man champion. He details each meal, along with the calorie count for each.
Meal 1 – 604 calories
This is a meal that starts the day for Big Loz. It is kept simple and can be added to if he is feeing hungrier on a certain day. The amount of oats that is consumed is half the amount that Big Loz used to eat during his strongman days.
100 grams oats
300 milliliters skim milk
Single scoop Whey protein
Banana or four squares sea salt dark chocolate — on certain days
Meal 2 – 598 calories
During meal two, Big Loz will often indulge in a Diet Coke. He is a believer in diet sodas because it allows him to avoid the drinks with many calories that do not add any nutritional value.
250 grams steak mince
165 grams Basmati rice
100 grams boiled peas
Meal 3 – 613 calories
Big Loz uses the eye test to add the amounts of each into this meal. When eating fruits and vegetables, this is his Paul method because of the low-calorie intake. This meal is about finding a balance between the healthy foods while still making them taste good.
100 grams Fusilli pasta
150 grams chicken
15 grams pesto
“I want my whole life to be well-balanced rather than it being about being absolutely shredded.”
Pre- & Post-Workout Meals
Big Loz still trains in the gym on a daily basis and keeps his meals around the gym simple as well. Before hitting cardio and weights, Shahlaei will make two bagels with 30 grams of jam. Following his workout, Big Loz makes a protein shake with Whey protein, which comes out to 91 calories. His pre-workout meal is 523 calories.
Meal 4 – 930 calories
Big Loz’s final meal of the day is his biggest one. It is the dinner that he eats five to six times per week before having four squares of dark chocolate as a late-night snack.
400 grams mashed sweet potatoes
227 grams sirloin steak
100 grams broccoli with salt and garlic, topped with mustard
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How Beginners Can Track Their Macros
Here is how beginners can track their macros!
You’re not officially a fitness and nutrition enthusiast until you learn to track macros. I’m obviously kidding, well sort of.
You see, tracking macros is that thing the in-crowd does. Amateurs and gym newbies don’t really track their macros. But people who track their macros are usually taking their fitness and nutrition seriously or at least, it comes off that way.
But anyways, you might be standing on the outside of the inner circle and you want in. You want to be cool like the fit people and more importantly, you want to master tracking macros so you can achieve a fitter physique. Plus, you probably heard that it allows you to lose weight while eating cookies. Those rumors can be true as well.
However, many people never learn to track macros because it seems overwhelming. I don’t blame you at all. It can be intimidating seeing jacked joey or big booty Brittany talk about all these numbers and weighing their food constantly.
It seems like so much work and that everyone else is so good at it. I’m here to tell you that tracking macros is far simpler than you think and getting really good doesn’t take long. Let me simplify it for you so you can join the inner circle of fitness/nutrition and more importantly, reach your goals.
How Macros Work
The first step in all of this is understanding how macros work. Some people have tracked calories before, but not macros. If that’s you, you’re already way better than you think because tracking macros is essentially tracking calories.
Calories are the energy you consume from food and burn off from your body. It’s the most important number in making sure you’re reaching your goals. For most people, they desire fat loss which means they need to consistently eat fewer calories than they burn off over time (caloric deficit).
Where does macros come into all of this? Well macros are simply the 3 main nutrients (protein, fat, and carbs) that contain calories. So if you’re aiming to eat at a certain caloric target, aiming for a certain set of macros can put you at the same target.
Protein is 4 calories per gram
Carbohydrates are 4 calories per gram
Fat is 9 calories per gram
By tracking macros, you’re able to stay at a certain caloric limit, but also be in control of how much you eat of specific macronutrients that can have differing effects on your body. For example, Protein builds muscle, carbs give you energy, and fat regulates hormones.
All 3 macros do a bunch of other stuff too, but we don’t need to care about that. The goal is to keep it simple, so you can start tracking like a champ.
Setting Your Macro Targets
First, you need to find your caloric intake. There are many formulas out there and they’re all valid, but many can be needlessly complicated.
For most people, their maintenance calories is likely their bodyweight multiplied by 13 or 14. So if you desire to lose weight, you’ll need to set your calories below your maintenance which will likely be at bodyweight times 10 – 12.
You can subtract and add 50 calories to this number to give yourself a range of calories. This makes it easier to stay around your calories without worrying about having to hit one exact number on the dot. So, if your targeted calories is 1800, your caloric range can be 1750 – 1850.
Now, let’s figure out your protein. Your protein should be set at 0.8 grams per pound of bodyweight. So a 200 lb person should be chowing down 160 grams of protein daily.
Once you figure out your protein, take your protein and multiply it by 4 because protein is 4 calories per gram and subtract that from your targeted calories. The number you have remaining is what’s left for your carbs and fat.
And despite what you might hear from the endless people, your carb and fat ratio simply does not matter for most people. It will make no difference in your results.
You can focus on staying within your calories and hitting your minimum protein target daily and be perfectly fine no matter how much your carbs and fat fluctuate each day.
If you want to keep overthinking your carbs and fat, you can, but for those who are actually ready to get started, let’s move on.
The First Steps to Tracking
The first thing you will need is a food scale. No, you don’t have to weigh every little morsel out, but having it is still extremely important.
Next you will need a tracking app. Any of them will work and they all more or less do the same thing. The most popular one is Myfitnesspal, but mymacros+, fatsecret, or chronometer are all great too. Just choose one and stick with it. Now it’s time start tracking what you eat.
Tracking Foods With a Label
Most food will have a label. You simply track how much of that food you ate according to any serving size you desire. If you want to be an overachiever, weighing things out and tracking it in grams will be most accurate. Otherwise, using ounces, cups, or serving sizes is fine too.
Some foods will have to be weighed out though like if you buy a big bag of rice or pasta that you are portioning out. In addition, weighing your food dry or raw is most accurate. So, meat is weighed raw. Things like oats and rice is weighed dry.
Once you are consistent with a specific serving size, you can start eyeballing the same foods, but makes sure you are being diligent first.
Tracking Foods Without a Label
Some basic foods like apples and avocados don’t typically come with labels. Not a problem though. You can look up their nutrition info on any verified database like the USDA food database or nutritiondata.self.com.
Google is fine too. If you happen to get an inaccurate entry every now and again, it’s not the end of the world.
Tracking Recipes/Batch Foods
It’s easy to track eggs, turkey bacon, apples, chicken breast, or a spinach salad. But what if you’re making a chili for your family and you are only eating a portion of it. Or what if you are batch cooking some chicken stir fry for the week, now what do you do?
Tracking multi-ingredient recipes is a bit more nuanced, but I promise it’s still quite simple after you do it a few times. There are actually 2 ways to do so.
Method 1 (More Accurate)
Have all your ingredient entries ready.
Use the recipe function in your app.
Under ingredients, log all of your ingredients.
Cook the dish.
Weigh your final product (with the container tared off obviously)
Take the final weight and list the servings in grams. So if your chili is 1000 grams, you would make the recipe 1000 servings in grams.
When you eat your portion, you will log the recipe you made in the number of grams your portion weighs.
Method 2 (Less Accurate, but easier for some people)
Have all your ingredient entries ready.
Use the recipe function in your app.
Under ingredients, log all of your ingredients.
Cook the dish.
Split your dish into relatively even portions. Just eyeballing is fine.
Log the recipe servings as the number of servings you made.
How to Track at Restaurants
Some restaurants like chain restaurants make tracking easy for you. They will provide you the nutrition facts for menu items on their official website. Use this to make your own custom entry.
If you are eating at a non-chain restaurant, things get a bit trickier. However, if you are eating a common dish, you can simply use the entry from a popular chain restaurant. Overestimating is smart as well.
If you are eating at restaurants that are too difficult to track, you will need to either estimate or simply not track it which is ok!
When you don’t track one social meal, you can still make progress even if your body knows it might have went over for the day. You can cut back the calories on your earlier meals to be extra safe, but ultimately, one day without a caloric deficit is not going to ruin things.
That being said, I generally recommend you stick to simpler foods most days and save complex restaurant dishes for special occasions or a once per week treat.
Now Start Tracking
Consistency will be your best friend. The more consistent you are, the more practice you will get. You will also get more reliable data to adjust. For example, if you are not seeing any progress in a few weeks of consistent tracking, you should drop your calories a bit.
But most people do not need to worry about that. They need to focus on getting started, planning their meals out, and nailing at least 2 weeks of consistent tracking. It will be eye-opening, but highly beneficial.
So get started and don’t overthink this stuff.
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The Truth About The Alkaline Diet & What It Can Do
Is there such a diet to change the pH in your body?
So many diets out there, right? It sure seems that way. While some may be a fad, and others a real staple, the alkaline diet may be something you are unfamiliar with. We have talked before on here about alkaline water and what it can do for the pH levels in your body and how it can enhance hydration. While we get into that more down below, the alkaline diet is interesting and worth exploring.
Why so many diets exist is because diets are not a one size fits all. Some people respond better to keto, for example, than others. And the list goes on and on, but one thing that is for sure is that once you find your diet of choice, it is key to stick to it, for this can help enhance all your goals for the better.
Let’s take a look at the alkaline diet and see what this is all about. We will talk the diet itself and get into pH and what that all means. By the end of this, maybe you will want to check out the alkaline diet and add this into your routine as well.
What Is The Alkaline Diet?
The alkaline diet centers around the idea that certain foods you consume can change the pH level in your body. Consuming high amounts of acidic foods is never great for you, and eating those more alkaline foods are what matter most when it comes to improving your overall health.
Made up of certain fruits and vegetables, some fruits and vegetables do not make the list. Some examples of fruits to eat are apples, apricots, oranges, and peaches, while some vegetables include broccoli, carrots, cucumber, and green beans.
This diet is really all about the optimal pH level, but some experts have been said to have refuted this diet with the notion that our bodies already regulate pH fairly well. It is an interesting idea, however, and despite some controversial debate around this, let’s continue with this exploration (1).
Related: Different Diets You Should Try to Build Muscle and Lose Fat
What Is pH?
To touch on pH for a second, this is a scale ranging from acidic to more alkaline on a scale of 0-14, with 7 being neutral. We want our bodies to be regulated efficiently and having the proper balance is important for our overall health.
Benefits Of The Alkaline Diet
As mentioned above, the alkaline diet is debated among experts, however, let’s take a look at some potential benefits to see just what makes this diet so appealing to some. While more research may be needed on a number of these factors, it is important to understand at least what is drawing some to this diet.
Potential benefits of the alkaline diet include:
Reduced inflammation: May reduce chronic pain and work to relieve inflammation and joint pain that can debilitate your workouts and everyday movements.
Maintain bone health and muscle mass: What you eat and what vitamins and minerals you take in are important when it comes to building and maintaining bone health and muscle mass, especially for those of us constantly working out.
Better immunity: With the right vitamins and minerals, and better care for our bodies on the whole, we can strengthen our immune system so we stay as healthy as possible.
More vitamin and mineral absorption: Being able to properly absorb vitamins and minerals can go a long way, especially as you look to capitalize on these above benefits.
Is This Diet Effective?
A mentioned before, some experts have debated as to the actual effectiveness of this diet and if it can actually work. Since the body does regulate pH levels fairly well, it would seem that for some people this diet doesn’t seem very worth it. However, if it is something you feel is worth investigating further and want to try, hopefully this introduction to the diet will make you want to look into it further.
Role Of Alkaline Water
Alkaline water is a great way to stay on top of everything while also staying as hydrated as possible. What you will find with alkaline water is that it can help with detox, provide weight loss assistance, offer antioxidants, and improve your metabolism and digestion all in efforts to keep you as healthy as possible (2,3,4). Considering the quality of the water and the source, while also what pH the water is can go a long way as you look to get the most out of your product for the best gains.
Related: Alkaline Water For Men: What It Is, Benefits & More
Featured Alkaline Water For Better pH Levels
We wanted to share a great alkaline water product with you so you can eliminate the need to search and search for the best products. Made with care, this alkaline water is a great choice for those looking to balance out pH levels and get the most out of hydration.
Northern Chill
Northern Chill is a great alkaline water packed with minerals and electrolytes with a natural pH level of 7.8.
Northern Chill is bottled in Wisconsin from an aquifer created by glaciers. Naturally produced with a 7.8 pH alkaline, this water is also filled with valuable minerals and electrolytes and offers a creamy taste. Northern Chill takes pride in the fact that this bottle remains unaltered, uninfused, and unchanged from nature to bottle giving you the best option for cleanliness and purity. Available by case or pallet, this water is great for those of all generations.
Check out our list of the Best Alkaline Water for more great hydration products!
Wrap Up
The alkaline diet is certainly up for debate but it is an interesting premise. Keeping our bodies healthy overall is important and should not go neglected, especially if you are an athlete who is constantly pushing yourself to the max. While this diet may not be for you, it is definitely important to keep the sentiment of this diet in efforts to keep yourself as healthy as possible. For those who want to capitalize on the idea of alkaline water, make sure to check out a top product to balance out pH levels and keep yourself hydrated.
Generation Iron may receive commissions on purchases made through our links. See our disclosure page for more information.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Envato
References
Schwalfenberg, G. (2012). “The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health?”. (source)
Thornton, S. (2016). “Increased Hydration Can Be Associated with Weight Loss”. (source)
Popkin, B.; et al. (2010). “Water, Hydration and Health”. (source)
Magro, M.; et al. (2016). “Alkaline Water and Longevity: A Murine Study”. (source)
Straight Facts: Pros and Cons Of The Most Popular Bodybuilding Diets
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Jerry Brainum shares the straight facts on the most popular diets in bodybuilding – which is the best?
The benefit of living in a true information era is the vast amount of variety we can access. Today, the average person is able to know so much more about nutrition, health, and diets than ever before – if they choose to. The downside, of course, is that there can be too much information. The boom of diet trends begs the question – which are legit and which are the best? In our latest episode of Straight Facts, Jerry Brainum uses a combination of vigorous research and personal anecdotes to break down the pros and cons of today’s most popular bodybuilding diet systems.
The common perception is that dieting is easy in theory but hard in practice. The key aspect of losing weight is to consume less calories than your resting metabolic rate. But the hard part is to actually pull it off and not lose your willpower. Even worse, this simplified mentality turns out to be not necessarily true. Modern nutrition science has shown that losing weight can become vastly complicated depending on your genetics. Many struggle to eat well and not give into cravings – but there are also those who diet correctly but seem to still struggle.
In today’s internet era, it’s easier to research and discover a wide variety of diets. Many of them work – but only when done correctly. Others are scams looking to take a dollar out of your wallet. It can be hard to decide what works and what doesn’t. That’s why we turned to Jerry Brainum to break down and rank the most popular diet trends currently in bodybuilding and fitness. Let’s jump into it.
Paleolithic Diet
The Paleolithic diet is a bit of a gimmick named diet plan. The goal is to “eat like the cavemen did.” Jerry Brainum explains that the reasoning behind this diet is that the human race, despite its many evolutionary accomplishments, are still very similar genetically to the cavemen of eras past. So if we go back to the simplicity of a caveman diet – we’ll be healthier and leaner.
Despite the gimmick of it’s name, Jerry Brainum believes that this diet is actually pretty decent in keeping you health and lean. The diet focuses on meat, nuts, and berries. Foraging foods plus hunting foods. No grain. No wheat. No diary. No processed foods.
Jerry Brianum explains that the biggest downside is getting the full spectrum of nutrition for your long term health. Calcium can be hard to come by without dairy, for example.
Carnivore Diet
The carnivore diet focuses on only eating protein. No fruits or vegetables. Jerry Brainum points out that the biggest issue with this diet is the lack of dietary fiber from veggies. Fiber is a big part of our microbiome in our stomach. While this was less considered in decades past, modern science has shown that our microbiome plays a massive role in our health and our weight loss/gain.
Jerry Brainum explains that most recent studies have also drawn a direct link between a healthy microbiome and immunity to illness. Healthier stomaches have been proven to show more resiliency against disease and getting sick.
Low Carb/High Fat Diet (Keto Diet)
This diet focuses on cutting carbs from your diet and increasing dietary fat. While this might sound wrong (where do you get your energy? Isn’t fat bad?). Ultimately this is a rather powerful and successful diet.
Jerry Brainum has gone into extreme detail in a previous episode discussing keto diets. Keto diets are an extreme form of a general low card/high fat diet. The key here is that with a lack of carbs in your system, the extra fat is transformed into energy. Thus this is not stored as fat in your body and you lose weight.
Jerry Brainum believes this to be a strong diet – but only in the short term. He does not recommend this kind of diet to be year-long. It can also be a hard diet for bodybuilders looking to bulk up. Rather, this diet is best for bodybuilders in contest prep mode looking to get lean.
Jerry Brainum believes that the keto diet is likely the best diet for losing body fat percentage.
Vegan Diet
Growing extremely in popularity over the past decade, the vegan diet has many positives in terms of ethical food choices and healthy food options. The only problem, as Jerry Brainum explains, is that a vegan diet can be very unhealthy if you don’t do it right. There are many vegan friendly foods that are simply empty of nutrients. So it’s important that a person interested in veganism focuses on doing it the right way.
On top of this, many supplements are needed to further get the full spectrum of nutrients for long term health. Jerry Brainum explains that avoiding all meat with no supplements is ultimately bad for your health.
In addition to this, a vegan diet can be very challenging for bodybuilding. Jerry Brainum does not find it impossible, but it adds a new level of challenge that can put you at a disadvantage against others not on the same diet.
Mediterranean Diet
A mediterranean diet has a focus on extra virgin olive oil in meals and cooking. It also focuses on moderate drinking of red wine. In addition to this – the main food courses are usually fruit and vegetable heavy with only minimal fish and meat.
Jerry Brainum beileves that the mediterranean diet is the healthiest diet you can commit to in the long term. It’s a realistic year-long diet providing a full spectrum of nutrients to keep you health and, if done correctly, you’ll stay lean and heart healthy as well.
The mediterranean diet can also work for bodybuilding if adjusted to include more protein.
Balanced Diet
A balanced diet is what you likely hear a lot about in commercials. It’s the recommended diet by most doctors. Basically, it asks that you ensure you have a healthy dose of each kind of food type to accrue all the necessary nutrients without needing supplementation.
However, Jerry Brainum points out that a balanced diet is so inclusive that it can be hard to stick to. In theory, this diet is perfectly healthy, but it’s rare for a person to regularly fit the entire food pyramid into their daily diet without issue.
Meal Replacement Diet
This last one is a bit extreme, but Jerry Brainum wanted to touch upon it as he also tried this kind of diet when he was younger. A meal replacement diet is when you replace all of your meals with a meal replacement product. This is usually some sort of shake or a diet bar.
Jerry Brainum explains that there are many meal replacements out there that can be scams or crammed with sugar. So research is necessary to find a more formidable healthy option. But on top of this, replacing all of your meals (or even consistently some of your meals) with a product like this is not advised in the long term.
Jerry Brainum explains a product he tried when he was younger which lost him 40 pounds very quickly. It was effective – but to use this as a forever diet is extremely ill advised. Brainum also jokes that the version he took decades ago was likely pumped with an appetite suppressing drug that was not allowed to the larger market.
A meal replacement can be good for short term crash dieting or for moments when you are traveling and need a quick but healthy option for eating on the go. But it should not be seen as a viable diet in the long run.
Wrap Up
The key takeaway here is that no diet is perfect. But most importantly, the biggest error that happens with diets is on the user side. It’s very easy to commit to a diet and not follow it fully. Some even cheat on their diets without realizing it. Jerry Brainum’s breakdown of the biggest diets in bodybuilding today can help you stay more focused and find the right diet that works best for you.
You can watch Jerry Brainum go into full detail in our latest Straight Facts episode above. Make sure to swing by each Wednesday for new episodes every week!
4 Foods to Suppress Your Appetite
These four foods will help suppress your appetite on a daily basis!
Summer is approaching so your diet is taking a metamorphosis. Bulking season is over and lifters are now eating foods in a deficit to reveal their muscle shreds.
But with most fat loss pursuits, you deal with the repercussions of an energy deficit, primarily hunger. In fact, if you think about it, anyone can get knuckle skin shredded if hunger didn’t exist.
So if you manage hunger, you can dominate fat loss like a king. Here are some foods that are extremely helpful in suppressing your appetite, delaying hunger, and causing fat loss.
1 – Salmon
Salmon is packed with protein which is a critical nutrient whether you’re bulking or cutting. It will suppress your appetite and keep you full at your meals.
One study compared fish vs beef protein on satiety markers in men (1). They gave 2 groups calorie and protein matched breakfasts differing in the source of protein. After 4 hours, rating of hunger, satiety, and prospective consumption were all lower in the fish group.
Most importantly, in the subsequent meal, the fish group ate about 300 fewer calories as well.
The mechanism is likely due to the differing fat composition. Salmon contains far more unsaturated fat which has been shown to be more filling and better for body composition.
Particularly, you get omega-3 fatty acids which are great for your health, but can also contribute to muscle growth signaling.
With fat loss related goals though, appetite and cravings are the enemy. Fortunately, salmon is tasty, moist, and easy to cook for even the most culinary challenged bro. It can be seared, steamed, baked, or air fryed.
In a pinch, smoked salmon is a gamechanger as well providing you nutritious and filling snack that can easily replace chips or cookies or any of the more calorically dense foods that don’t really keep you full.
2 – Egg Whites
First off, can we take a moment to appreciate the technology we have to separate egg whites from egg yolks. The ability to do so did not exist for our caveman ancestors. They didn’t have the ability to eat such a high volume, protein dense version of eggs to stay full and get shredded. They had to rely on other methods like walking for miles and hunting mammoths to burn off calories.
We’re deeply privileged to have access to egg whites and before I talk further on it, I also want to be clear that egg yolks aren’t bad for you. However, most of the calories/fat from an egg is primarily in the yolk. You can drastically reduce caloric intake while retaining nearly all the protein and volume by removing the yolk aka eating egg whites.
Egg whites are easy to cook and can be added to any smoothie/shake for more protein. They also come convenient in inexpensive cartons from wholesale stores or really any grocery stores.
The volume they bring to your stomach is great. This expands the size and viscosity of your meals which signals to your brain to stay full. If you’re going to cook them, be mindful not to overcook them. They’ll taste like rubber and lose water which reduces it’s appetite suppressing effect.
3 – Potatoes
Apparently, we still have dorks who thinks potatoes are bad for you. This likely has to do with the carbs make you fat bs still going around. But anyone who understands basic nutrition knows potatoes are by far one of the top fat loss foods. And to clarify, I’m talking about potatoes, like whole potatoes that you cook, not potato chips or French fries. I’m also not talking about hash brown patties or tater tots.
Despite being super tasty and containing potatoes, those foods are barely potatoes. They contain far more calories from fat.
However, whole potatoes that you bake, air fry, steam, boil, or microwave are the secret weight loss weapon you need. And yes, they all work. Sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, and every type of white potatoes.
Root vegetables like potatoes contain lots of valuable vitamins/minerals along with plenty of water, volume, and fiber making them great for satiety. They are what us nutrition nerds call low in energy density. This simply means they have a lot of volume for fewer calories.
And yes, you probably didn’t know potatoes were low in calories because again, when the average American think of potatoes, they’re thinking of calorie bombs like chili cheese fries or potato salad.
But make your own potatoes without deep frying them. Add a tiny bit of butter if you’d like, but they will be one of the most filling starches you can have alongside any meal or as a snack.
For convenience, cook them in batch for the week and microwave when needed.
4 – Cucumbers
Cucumbers are actually a fruit in case anybody cared, but they are a stable in every successful dieters kitchen. I like to keep frozen cucumber slices as well for the impromptu spa day, but I digress.
One cucumber has about 2 grams of both protein and fiber along with vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, manganese, and potassium. They’re also packed with water, 96% to be exact. High water foods like cucumbers are great to suppress your appetite because the water adds volume to the food. This expands the bulk of your meals and stomach stretch receptors.
Cucumbers are also natural antioxidants which fight free radicals in your body and act as a natural anti-inflammatory. They also promote hydration and are stupid low in calories which certainly aids in fat loss.
Some of the most successful dieters and even stage lean competitors I know rely heavily on cucumbers to get them through dieting phases. The volume is hardly ever matched by other foods.
They’re also a green plant that is easy to eat. Picky eaters can still usually tolerate them. You can eat them with nearly anything or toss them in any salad. I like to have them as a snack with tajin salt which reduces your cravings for both sweet/salty foods.
Just be sure to eat the skin as well. Taking that out reduces the fiber and nutrient content of the cucumber making them less filling.
Is Your Fridge Ready?
Appetite suppression and fat loss comes down to being prepared. Most people would love to stay fuller longer and lose fat, but they often go through the motions of life without staying on top of their nutrition.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be rocket science. While the science of fat loss comes down to being in a caloric deficit, the practice of it comes down to eating filling foods so you don’t stuff your face with a billion calories by the end of the week.
To do so, prepare your environment with the following foods. Have salmon throughout the week. Load up your fridge with egg white cartons and cucumbers. Finally, always have a sack of potatoes on hand with some prepped however you like for the week.
Besides the salmon, all of these foods are stupid inexpensive and quite convenient. Once your environment is optimized, your habits will change. You’ll likely feel fuller and not even realize you’re taking in fewer calories from these foods. Stay patient and the scale will also go down.
References
Borzoei. “A Comparison of Effects of Fish and Beef Protein on Satiety in Normal Weight Men.” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16482079/.
How To Stick To A Diet, Lose Weight and Keep It Off
How To Have A Successful Weight Loss Transformation
Most of the people who join a gym after a sudden rush of motivation strike them soon get off the bandwagon because of a variety of reasons. Before you get a gym membership, you need to understand that a physique transformation takes time and you can’t ‘hack’ your way to weight loss.
In this article, we’ll talk about why the fit-life beginners can’t follow a diet, lose and/or keep off weight. Treat the points below as principles for fat loss, and you’ll be on your way to achieving your dream physique.
Sticking To A Diet
Design a Customized Nutrition Program
One of the biggest and the most common errors fitness noobs make is that they follow generic weight loss programs available on the internet that are usually made (and sold) by self-proclaimed fitness experts.
Know Your Macros
If you’ve never counted calories before, it’s time you get used to tracking your macros. It’s not nearly as intimidating as it might sound. Apps like MyFitnessPal make keeping track of your food a walk in the park. Get in the habit of reading labels before buying packaged food.
You’re setting yourself up for failure if the diet doesn’t match your lifestyle. If you can’t live without your favorite weekly pizza (there is nothing wrong with that, btw), you should stay away from a program that asks you to look away every time you’re passing by a Domino’s.
Best Way To Lose Weight
No matter how strict, well calculated or fancy your diet is, if you want to lose a considerable amount of weight, you need to have a form of exercise in your program. Most people make the mistake of joining a gym even though they hate training.
You aren’t bound to running on a treadmill or performing burpees. In fitness, many different paths can lead to the same destination. Join a physical activity that you like doing and stick with it. It could be a dance class, swimming, tennis or even ax throwing.
Accountability
You need to have accountability in one form or the other if you’re serious about losing weight. Peer-pressure can be an incredibly effective tool in shedding fat. Most people drop out of a weight loss program because they don’t have to be answerable to anyone for their failure.
As soon as you decide on getting rid of the spare tire, share your goal with at least one confidant. Brownie points if you can get that person to join the gym with you. Share your transformation goal on social media if you don’t have anyone in your immediate circle to keep you accountable.
Have a Target AND a Deadline
Your fitness journey doesn’t end at losing weight. You have to make sure that it doesn’t come back as is the case with many people who join the fit lifestyle. Remember – you either go forward or backward in your fitness journey – there is no staying put.
Once you’ve reached your weight goal, set a new target for yourself. It could be gaining 5lb of lean muscle mass in a year or running a marathon. You have to be constantly shocking your body to remain in the best shape.
What is your current fitness goal? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
Jay Cutler Broke Down Former Bodybuilding Diets That Included 140 Egg Whites And Four Pounds Of Meat Daily
Jay Cutler recently discussed his crazy diet plans during his bodybuilding career.
Jay Cutler is a four-time Olympia champion and is known as one of the best of all-time. This means that he has put together many training programs and diet plans to build that championship physique. In a recent interview, Cutler shared some wisdom on what to make in the kitchen and also shared some of his craziest diet plans during his career.
Cutler joined The Michael Sartain Podcast, where he was able to discuss all things bodybuilding. This is where Cutler revealed that it is all about the diet when preparing for a competition such as the Olympia.
For Cutler, this included a massive amount of eggs and even purchasing a cow to keep in his freezer.
“I bought a cow from the butcher. I was living in a place called Spencer, Massachusetts. I had a local butcher there so I’d actually buy all the meat and I would have two freezers. So, what I would do is I would buy the chicken and break it all down into two-pound bags and freeze it.”
“The food I was eating six to seven times a day. I was eating upwards of four pounds of meat a day. You know, it was just every two hours like clockwork.”
When following such an intense diet plan, it is not always easy to stay motivated. Jay Cutler received this motivation from watching some of the other greats during his time. He mentioned growing up watching the all-time greats such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lee Haney, and Dorian Yates.
Once he was in his prime, Cutler battle with Ronnie Coleman, who won eight consecutive Olympia titles from 1998-2005. Cutler ended his reign by taking the crown in 2006.
This is when Cutler began perfecting his diets. In retirement, he admitted to not enjoying food as much but he still features plenty of eggs in his diet.
“I don’t want to have steak. I’m not a big steak eater at 44 now. I tend to eat some sushi but I’m limited even on that just because I know a lot of sushi rice has a ton of sugar. I might eat some plain fish or whatever else but there’s nothing else that excites me.
I still, I drink the egg whites. That’s the difference between back then until now. They didn’t have pasteurized egg whites. Now you can buy the cartons and you can drink them. It’s actually a very good source of protein instead of frying them up.”
Jay Cutler used to spend a large amount of time preparing his eggs because of the sheer amount that he would eat.
“I’m not going to lie, there was a lot of diets I ate 140 egg whites a day. So I was cracking eggs non-stop. I remember sitting cracking eggs for an hour in the morning and I would put everything in Tupperware containers. I would just dump out. I was eating thirty egg whites a meal then.”
This is the commitment that it takes bodybuilders to get to their highest level. Jay Cutler is a perfect example of discipline, talent, and motivation needed to become champion of the Olympia. To this day, he continues to share methods that he used to use during his time on stage.
For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Mike O’Hearn Tips On Getting Shredded & How To Keep Up Your Physique
Photo via @mikeohearn Instagram
Mike O’Hearn offers advice on how to get shredded and best way to take care of your body.
For so many of us, we look back on our younger selves, or even photos of us from a few years past, and wonder how we looked so good and how to get that back. Given our busy schedules and lives, it can be easy to lose the discipline and start to slack off in our routine. Before long, we find ourselves asking these questions with no real place to turn.
Mike O’Hearn is a familiar name to many and as a natural bodybuilder he knows just how important it is to thrive and stay consistent with an all-natural approach to building his body and seeing huge gains. Now that he has quite the accomplished career stacked up, he seeks to push himself to new heights, trying new approaches and testing his body. However, he still takes proper care for he knows how important his body is.
He is updating folks on his new diet and the progress he is seeing, being sure to mention some key tips and offer advice on how best to stay the course and see the best gains. For someone like Mike, it might seem easy to reach those goals, for he is a natural physical specimen, but even this pro has his own struggles, but doesn’t let those get in the way.
Let’s take a look at Mike and some of the great tips his picked up along his career. For those wondering how to reach these goals in a natural way without help from PEDs or other junk, Mike is the perfect mentor and role model to follow.
Photo via @mikeohearn Instagram
About Mike O’Hearn
Mike O’Hearn is a bodybuilder, fitness model, and entrepreneur, having a long of apparel, supplements, and workout plans. Having been in the bodybuilding games for decades now, he is a role model and someone to look up to for his calm demeanor, fun personality, and natural approach to looking huge.
As the youngest of 10 kids, Mike always strived to keep up with his older siblings. His dad being a former bodybuilder and football player, Mike wanted to follow in his footsteps and really took the health and fitness lifestyle.
Over the years, his hard and heavy approach to training earned him tons of bodybuilding wins, hundreds of magazine covers, and appearances in American Gladiators and Generation Iron 4: Natty 4 Life. Now with a massive platform and a desire to help others achieve their goals, Mike makes his best efforts to share what he knows and keep people up to date on the best ways to see gains.
Photo via @mikeohearn Instagram
Getting Shredded & How To Keep Physique
In a latest YouTube video, Mike offers up an update and helpful advice as he moves into his shredding diet. Mike wants to get a full body back and one that was seen in his younger years. With this diet being all about metabolism, he wants to get his metabolism to that of when he was 20-years old because he wants to peak and have people question how he can do all this naturally. But this requires his body working at 100%.
Eating almost 5,000 calories a day, people often ask how he can function at 100%. He makes it clear that your body has to tell you when it’s time and when it’s ready. You can’t tell your body. For Mike, it’s his body at the right time operating the right way as he wants to live his life. It is never about the show, but rather how well his body is functioning.
Mike uses an interesting metaphor that is actually very wise. He says how all of these fitness guys want to be millionaires for a day only to spend it all in a day. What he is alluding to is the fact that so many of these influencers want to get there fast so they load up on junk, try to get off it, and end up losing everything.
You have to do things the right way if you want to keep it. In the words of Mike, when you force it and cheat it, you don’t get to keep it.
For Mike, he keeps the same workouts and doesn’t mess around with cardio, supersets, or other extracurriculars because he is keeping everything for later. He isn’t trying to blow it all right away and seeks to only set himself up to win. At the end of the day, the whole goal is to keep it.
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Why Your Metabolism Is So Key
Mike makes a point to talk a lot about your metabolism and how important this is especially for those looking to make changes and really shred down. Your metabolism is what allows you to lose or gain weight. We all know that a faster metabolism allows you to lose weight faster (1).
In the video, Mike refers to wanting to get his metabolism back to when he was 20-years old. As we age, our metabolism starts to slow down (2) and for Mike, who wants to cut and shred in his older years (older being relative to when he was a teenage competitor), taking care of his body and working to improve his metabolism is key.
Thankfully, there are some key ways to improve your metabolism along with dieting that include strength training, high-intensity interval training, increasing your intake of green tea, coffee, and spicy foods, and getting more sleep, just to name a few (3,4,5).
Wrap Up
As Mike O’Hearn looks to shred and see great gains during his new diet, he was great in sharing some key tips that make a difference when on something like this. A key takeaway is to take care of your body and give it time. Those who rush the process will look back and wish they didn’t. A well-sculpted and toned body takes time so enjoy the process and know it will happen.
Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
*Images courtesy of Mike O’Hearn Instagram
References
Harvard Medical School (2021). “The truth about metabolism”. (source)
Pennington Biomedical Research Center (2021). “Metabolism changes with age, just not when you might think”. (source)
Hirsch, K.; et al. (2021). “Metabolic effects of high-intensity interval training and essential amino acids” (source)
Acheson, K.; et al. (1980). “Caffeine and coffee: their influence on metabolic rate and substrate utilization in normal weight and obese individuals”. (source)
Sharma, S.; et al. (2010). “Sleep and Metabolism: An Overview”. (source)