Over the years, I’ve witnessed throughout various training sessions that many people work hard and hit the gym consistently but often struggle to obtain the results originally hoped for, whether it’s washboard abs or packing on more muscle mass, these failed amateurs fail to see clearly, the big picture (HINT: your diet means a LOT for progress.)

The problem isn’t that they aren’t working hard enough or training consistently enough, it is that they aren’t feeding there body what it needs to achieve the results they’re looking for. Your body needs all sorts of nutrients to operate properly: calories, carbohydrates, protein, fats, etc. and without these nutrients you simply cannot, and will not recover properly and achieve body levels allowing optimum performance. Imagine a jet plane running 87 octane fuel instead of the normal 140+, and you quickly understand this whole psycho-emphasis on the diet thing…I hope.

With that being said, if you go overboard with some of those nutrients or deprive your body of them, both can have negative results depending on the modus operandi of your abuse.

I’ll start with some common sense knowledge here–if you’re looking to lose some fat and build muscle you must stay away from foods which contain excessive amounts of saturated fats in the ingredients. You can always calculate your food and levels of fat by reading its label, but pay close attention to the servings/size.

So, without saturated fats clogging up half of that daily diet, you know the fast food now becomes OFF LIMITS! This means not stopping to eat a fast food meal, period, all month long if you can handle it. Start with once per month and work your way down to 0! Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later, after gagging on a disgusting piece of beef or chicken originating in a Chinese territory you probably can’t pronunce!

Another great habit to consider reforming is alcohol consumption, more specifically, of the beer type. Drinking a brewski every night after work, generally speaking, wouldn’t be so bad if the calories were useful to your body. Also, this behavior usually leads to a growing “beer” habit that’s actually best forgotten by the time you begin requiring more in order to “relax,” “party,” or anything else requiring a beer buzz.

Give yourself a beer treat once every few months, if you believe it’s well deserved. Otherwise, try some wine or alcoholic beverages with less calories. Furthermore, if you’re looking to build muscle your body will need an appropriate amount of protein. Protein is responsible for your bodies growing, building and repairing of tissues. The key point to remember here is to be sure and divide your input of protein so that it’s higher than your output, thus putting you in an anabolic muscle building state. This is extremely crucial to making gains!

If you’re failing to include the proper amount of protein or calories in your diet, the body can go into a catabolic state where it begins to breakdown its own compounds (HINT: your muscle) for energy expensing. You will not grow and get the results you want if your body is in a catabolic state. Heed this well!

Now, moving right along to carbohydrates, specifically, glucose …which is used to fuel most of your body’s cells, create blood and provide energy for your brain. Carbohydrates are the source of glucose and if you aren’t getting enough, your body will begin eating away at YOUR muscle for glucose supplies.

To sum it all up–when trying to lose weight and build muscle, what you put into your body is just as important as what you do to it in the gym. Try to stay away from too much saturated fats, get the proper amount of protein and carbohydrates, and maintain a delicious, healthy diet. Check out our recipes if you’re feeling bland! If you combine a fantastic diet with consistent training + sleep, you’ll be huge like, tomorrow.

Not really, but maybe next month! Or year? The choice you make lies in willpower, so aim for those goals, guy!