boyscouT's Guide v2

[\S/]

I took a lot of the suggestions you all offered in my last thread, and made an entirely new guide. It is totally revamped with a different approach.

Like before, I would love to know everyone's thoughts. Any/all constructive criticism is welcome.

Outright negative/trolling comments will not be tolerated.

Thanks in advance everyone!!

[\S/]

boyscouT's Beginners Guide to Dieting/Training/Supplementation
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? FEEL FREE TO ADD YOUR INPUT, JUST CLICK.

Q: What are calories?
A: A calorie is a unit of measurement for energy. All foods are measured in calories.

Q: How many calories do I need per day?
A: Two-step process. First, you need to calculate your basal metabolic rate. Second, multiply your BMR with the appropriate activity modifier. The end result will yield an ESTIMATE of your daily caloric needs.

Q: What are macronutrients?
A: A category of nutrients, including carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, that are present in foods in large quantities.

Q: What should my macronutrients look like?
A: I recommend at least: 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight, 15% of your total caloric intake to come from fat, and the rest coming from carbohydrates.

Q: Why do we need to eat carbohydrates?
A: We need carbohydrates for:

• Carbohydrates are the body?s main source of fuel
• Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy
• All of the tissues and cells in our body can use glucose for energy
• Carbohydrates are needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the brain, the muscles (including the heart) to function properly
• Carbohydrates can be stored in the muscles and liver and later used for energy
• Carbohydrates are important in intestinal health and waste elimination [1]

Q: Why do we need to eat proteins?
A: We need proteins for:

• Growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant women)
• Tissue repair
• Immune function
• Making essential hormones and enzymes
• Energy when carbohydrate is not available
• Preserving lean muscle mass [1]

Q: Why do we need to eat fat?
A: We need fats for:

• Normal growth and development
• Maintaining the functioning of hormones which are needed in fat burning, muscle building, sperm production, etc
• Energy (fat is the most concentrated source of energy)
• Absorbing certain vitamins (like vitamins A, D, E, K, and carotenoids)
• Providing cushioning for the organs
• Maintaining cell membranes
• Providing taste, consistency, and stability to foods [1]

Q: What are some healthy proteins, carbohydrates, and fats?
A: Proteins:

• Egg Whites
• Chicken
• Turkey
• Beef
• Pork
• Tuna / Salmon / Seafood
• Tofu
• Whey protein powder
• Casein protein powder
• Essentially most any other source of protein

Complex Carbohydrates:

• Oats (ALL KINDS), oat bran, oat bran cereal (I.E. CHEERIOS)
• Potatoes (ALL KINDS)
• Rice (ALL KINDS)
• Pasta (ALL KINDS)
• Bread (ALL KINDS EXCEPT WHITE BREAD)
• Beans (ALL KINDS)

Veggies:

• Green Leafy Lettuce (ALL KINDS)
• Broccoli
• Asparagus
• Green Beans
• Spinach
• Bell Peppers
• Brussels Sprouts
• Cauliflower
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Green or Red Pepper
• Onions
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini

Fruits:

• Bananas
• Apples
• Grapefruit
• Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
• Lemons/Limes

Fats: DO NOT FEAR FAT!

• Egg Yolks (EAT YOUR YOLKS! DIETARY CHOLESTEROL IS GOOD FOR YOU!)
• Nuts (ALL KINDS)
• Peanut/Almond butter
• Avocados
• Fatty Fish
• Fish oil
• Olive oil

Dairy:

• Milk (ALL KINDS)
• Cottage Cheese (LOW-FAT or FAT FREE)
• Yogurt (LOW-FAT or FAT FREE)

Q: Which foods should I avoid?
A: Man-made trans fatty acids, non-diet soda, obvious junk, and high fructose corn syrup (in excess).

Q: My food doesn't have any nutritional labeling. Where can I get its nutrition info?
A: www.nutritiondata.com

Q: How many meals should I eat daily?
A: There is no set # of meals. Just keep in mind that smaller and more frequent meals are better than larger, less frequent meals.

Q: I've got my calories. I've got my macros. I know WHAT to eat, but I don't know WHEN. Can you help?
A: Yes I can, keep reading.

Q: What should my first meal look like?
A: At the very least, you want a complete protein and complex carbohydrate. Fat is optional here.

Q: What do I eat before/during/after a workout?
A: PRE, DURING, & POSTWORKOUT NUTRITION

Q: I heard that anything you eat before bed will automatically turn into fat. Is this true? If not, what do I eat before bed?
A: Absolutely not true. Allocating enough calories for a bedtime meal is crucial! You want a slow digesting protein and a healthy fat here. This will keep your metabolism running and your body in an anabolic state during sleep.

Q: What should the rest of my meals look like?
A: Use common sense. Every meal should be high in protein. Your job is to decide if you want carbohydrates and/or fat, along with that protein. If you are still confused, scroll down for a sample meal plan.

Q: What is cutting? What is bulking? What is maintaining?
A: Cutting is dieting with a calorie deficit and training with the goal of maximum fat loss with minimal muscle loss. Bulking is dieting with a calorie surplus and training with the goal of maximum muscle gain with minimal fat gain. Maintaining is dieting and training with the goal of sustaining your levels of lean mass and fat.

Q: How do I know if I have to cut? Bulk?
A: Post a picture and we will assist you.

Q: When cutting, how big should my calorie deficit be?
A: For most, the smaller the deficit, the better. There are exceptions to this, however. Simply put, the more body fat you have, the bigger your deficit can be. A good starting point is -200 calories.

Q: When bulking, how big should my calorie surplus be?

• For males:
  • A: No more than 500 calories.
• For females:
  • A: No more than 300 calories.

Q: I've read your entire guide but I still don't know how to make a meal plan. Can you make me one?
A: Meal Plan Template:



Reminder/Important tips:

• At least 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight
• At least 15% of your calories should come from healthy fats (40% POLYUNSATURATED, 30% MONOUNSATURATED, & 30% SATURATED)
• Carbs are up to you (I PREFER TO KEEP COMPLEX CARBS AT BREAKFAST, PREWORKOUT, AND POSTWORKOUT)

Other important tips:

• Meal size & frequency are not set in stone. (SMALLER/MORE FREQUENT MEALS YIELDS FOR OPTIMAL ABSORPTION OF NUTRIENTS & STABLE BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS)
• Eat your fruits & veggies!
• Drink at least 1 gallon of pure water a day

Q: What training program should I start with? How many days a week? What exercises? How many sets/reps?
A: You will find plenty of beginners routines in the Workout Programs section. I recommend starting with this routine: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=998224.

Q: I'm bulking, so I don't have to do any cardio, right?
A: Wrong! Cardio isn't just for burning calories. It has a plethora of health benefits. Do your cardio year round!

Q: What's a refeed? How do they compare to a cheat?
A: A refeed is one day a week where you have a calorie surplus. Meaning you eat a little bit more then you would normally eat for the day. This does not mean to go out and eat fast food or junk food. It means eating the same foods you would eat on a day to day basis but in larger amounts. Refeeds help in a number of ways including balancing hormone levels out, restoring glycogen to your muscles and it may even help bring your metabolism back up to par. Cheat refeeds are different and involve eating junk food all day and is not recommended.

[\S/]

continued...

Q: I've been dieting/training for a while now. Am I ready for supplements?
A: Nothing beats eating right and training hard. Supplements are not a replacement for a proper diet and certainly will not replace any training. With that said, they can be useful addition to any proper dieting/training program.

Q: What are some good supplements for beginners?
A: It is widely accepted that the "staples of bodybuilding" are: Multivitamin, whey protein, fish oil, and creatine.

Q: What do I need a multivitamin for?
A: You don't need anything. Remember, these are supplements! With that said, a multivitamin is a blend of essential vitamins and minerals. They are taken in order to compensate for loss of vitamins and minerals used when exercising, used as growth factors and can add additional vitamins and minerals deficient in your current diet which may be beneficial. Although, most vitamins and minerals should come from your diet, most everyone can benefit from a good multivitamin. They are cheap and can be helpful for athletes who are known to become deficient in certain vitamins and minerals due to exercise and dietary factors [2].

Q: What's so special about whey protein?
A: Whey is a milk derived protein source, which has the highest biological value (BV) of all protein powders on the market. This means that the body can digest it easily and it has a complete amino acid profile. It is the most commonly used protein source. Whey protein is very, very important for bodybuilders, dieters, and shoot, just about everybody! Since athletes and bodybuilders work out often, protein levels become depleted [3]. It is fast digesting, so it would be best used post workout and upon waking [2].

Q: Why is fish oil so important?
A: Fish oil contains essential fatty acids (EFAs). EFAs are made up of fats and oils that are beneficial to overall health and for a variety of ailments. EFAs support many functions in the body including the brain and joint function. In addition, they can reduce inflammation and produce hormones. They can help reduce cholesterol, alleviate depression, and assist with muscle building [2].

Q: What exactly is creatine? I heard it just makes you hold water, is that true?
A: Creatine is an amino acid metabolite. It is composed of arginine, methionine and glycine. Our bodies naturally make the compound, which is used to supply energy to our muscles. It is produced in the liver, pancreas, and kidneys, and is transported to the body's muscles through the bloodstream. Once it reaches the muscles, it is converted into phosphocreatine (creatine phosphate). This high-powered metabolite is used to regenerate the muscles' ultimate energy source, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) [4]. Creatine is supplemented with to increase phosphocreatine in the muscle, which in turn increases ATP. ATP is used by the muscle as energy. Increasing phosphocreatine stores in the body can improve strength and body mass by hydrating muscle cells and other factors. It is not a steroid and it does not have adverse health effects. Creatine is found in most red meat, however, most of it is removed when the meat is cooked [2]. Keep in mind, everyone does not respond to creatine.

**THE ABOVE ARE JUST GUIDELINES... IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBLITY TO LISTEN TO YOUR BODY AND ADJUST AS NECESSARY**

Last but not least, read all the stickies in every section that pertains to you and your goals.
THIS IS NOT A REQUEST; IT IS AN ORDER.

If my guide + stickies don't answer most/all of your questions, be sure to use the SEARCH FUNCTION!
Answers to 99% of your questions are just a few key strokes and clicks away! HOW TO SEARCH

Highly Recommended Readings:
Bodybuilding Nutrition Myths, Debunked!
Lose Fat, The Right Way!
The Ultimate Workout Sticky
The Cardio Compilation

References:
1. http://www.mhc.uiuc.edu/Handouts/macronutrients.htm
2. http://pogue972.blogspot.com/2006/04...beginners.html
3. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/whey.html
4. http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/creatine.html

[Cuchulainn]

I like it. Well done. Only thing I would add is to encourage people, once they become more advanced, to experiment with their diet. Not one diet will work for everyone and not one macro ratio will work. Personally I find that I bulk cleaner and faster with less carbs and more fats.

Interesting fish oil article: http://www.t-nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1651364&cr=

[MUFC]

this should be stickied. Good work.

[Skull Crusher Chris]

Great job BS, alot of good information in there. Hopefully people will take advantage of it.

[themills]

Much Improved!

[L-Mendes]

boyscout = the man

Great thread.

[Duke309]

Awesome post, maybe think about adding something about nutrition on days you don't lift.

[slaydox]

Sweet, Link added to sig

[edd-]

Maybe you could add information about calories per g to answer questions such as http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=3722621

[LayzieBone085]

adding to my sig asap! im sick of writing to people the same stuff about what are healthy foods n whatnot! u got it all right here

i wuold include off day nutrition/cardio day nutrition.. a lot of people always ask about that if u could

also list good brands of whey and its beneficts and when to use it
people as of late seem to think its better to use whey instead of eating whole foods.. are these people insane?

great post and i think it shuold be a sticky.. great information and a great foudnatino on how to build a diet.. reps for you my man you do the good **** all the time

[cj.alexander]

Good info...like usual

[Squats]

i don't agree with the beginner stuff layed out.

[BabyBodybuilder]

Updating sig right now! Nice work BS

[garlichead]

Nice revise BS......1 question: Your now recommending 15% fat, that's getting fairly low and may also effect test levels, your thoughts. Great job and congrats on the mod appointment.

[djansen]

Originally Posted by garlichead

Nice revise BS......1 question: Your now recommending 15% fat, that's getting fairly low and may also effect test levels, your thoughts. Great job and congrats on the mod appointment.

true, i thought it was 30% fat and 10% of that saturated.
also answer the question "can i have this on my cut" lol.

[Leonius]

Lots of great info in this version.

[\S/]

Originally Posted by Squats

i don't agree with the beginner stuff layed out.

Elaborate please..

Originally Posted by garlichead

Nice revise BS......1 question: Your now recommending 15% fat, that's getting fairly low and may also effect test levels, your thoughts. Great job and congrats on the mod appointment.

At least 15% fat.

Why did I say 15 instead of 20? Eh, just felt like it. Most sources say 15-20.

Fat intake is a very tricky subject so if anyone wants to shed more light, feel free.

[ceilos456]

follow it boyscout!

[terracotta]

Originally Posted by boyscouT

Elaborate please..

At least 15% fat.

Why did I say 15 instead of 20? Eh, just felt like it. Most sources say 15-20.

Fat intake is a very tricky subject so if anyone wants to shed more light, feel free.

0.35 x ideal bodyweight at minimum. Using a % messes everything up (esp. for women eating 1500 cals a day)

[Squats]

i follow more of the berardi things

so take out the fruit, lower the carbs, add more protein, and you'll want to take out milk. also there are more food sources out there listed. usually a guy will see the list and think he can eat only those foods with out anything else added.

[BestNameEver]

Great read, should be a sticky.

[bigdane55]

very good nice read

[\S/]

Originally Posted by terracotta

0.35 x ideal bodyweight at minimum. Using a % messes everything up (esp. for women eating 1500 cals a day)

Just to clarify, Ideal/target bw or current bw?

Originally Posted by Squats

i follow more of the berardi things

so take out the fruit, lower the carbs, add more protein, and you'll want to take out milk. also there are more food sources out there listed. usually a guy will see the list and think he can eat only those foods with out anything else added.

You bring up a good point. That's why this entire thing (not the guide, but the idea itself) is so complicated, because newbies will want everything laid out for them so they don't have to do any thinking.

Bodybuilding is the exact opposite.

*sigh*

[Haywood Jablome]

Good stuff BS

Originally Posted by Squats

i follow more of the berardi things

so take out the fruit, lower the carbs, add more protein, and you'll want to take out milk. also there are more food sources out there listed. usually a guy will see the list and think he can eat only those foods with out anything else added.

how come the no milk? I've wanted to try that but 2 of my meals have cottage cheese and I have skim milk in my post w/o shake.........that's a lot of replacing

[kamjah]

Originally Posted by boyscouT

Just to clarify, Ideal/target bw or current bw?

You bring up a good point. That's why this entire thing (not the guide, but the idea itself) is so complicated, because newbies will want everything laid out for them so they don't have to do any thinking.

Bodybuilding is the exact opposite.

*sigh*

great guide boyscout. now if there was only a way to force noobs to read it before asking other people to tell them exactly what they should eat in order to accomplish something.

[Al Swearengen]

Originally Posted by Haywood Jablome

Good stuff BS




how come the no milk? I've wanted to try that but 2 of my meals have cottage cheese and I have skim milk in my post w/o shake.........that's a lot of replacing

Probably the added sugar.

[Haywood Jablome]

Originally Posted by Al Swearengen

Probably the added sugar.

ya, buts its only like 12 g/cup.........and milk is quite insulogenic on its own as well

[Al Swearengen]

Originally Posted by Haywood Jablome

ya, buts its only like 12 g/cup.........and milk is quite insulogenic on its own as well

I agree, just guessing as to why he said that. Although one would want to stay clear of me on dead lift night if I drink milk.