Just keep the rest of your meals pretty strict, without added sugars and fats. Olympic gold medal cyclist Laura Kenny teamed up with Whole Earth Peanut Butter.

As Valentine's Day approaches, here are all the delicious reasons you should be eating more chocolate. Chef Dom Ruggiero shows you how to leave the junk food on the sidelines. Close Ad ×. I want content for: Both Men Women. Facebook Twitter Youtube Pinterest.

Open menu button. Open search bar button. Featured Articles. Healthy Eating Days-to-Lean Meal Plan With the right plan and the right discipline, you can get seriously shredded in just 28 days. Read article. Women The 20 Hottest Female Celebrities Talented stars, killer physiques.

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Eat at least 1g of protein per pound of bodyweight, daily. A high-protein intake will help you preserve lean mass during your dieting phase. Choose lean, high-quality proteins like egg whites, poultry, lean red meat, and protein supplements. The diet provided here contains about g of protein daily, fine for a male weighing lbs.

Juge suggests an additional protein shake for an easy quick fix. Keep your carbohydrates low to moderate when trying to lose weight. Good, clean, fiber-rich carbs include oats, potatoes, rice, and whole-grain bread.

Drink at least a gallon of water per day. Water should be your primary beverage during dieting. Though many rely on diet sodas, Crystal Light, and other low-calorie sweetened drinks, plain old water is really your best bet. How to Stay on Track Habits and cravings are the devil when it comes to dieting.

What to Expect Some men can lose up to 5 lbs. Maintain Your Gains Your 28 days are up; you look great and want to keep it that way. chicken breast Meal 3 Tuna sandwich made with 6-oz. can tuna in spring water , 2 slices whole-wheat bread, 1 Tbsp. chicken breast, 2 Tbsp. With these qualities, it can feel easier to stay in a calorie deficit.

Include at least one of these high-fiber foods with every meal:. You can build muscle and lose fat at the same time with some simple diet changes such as incorporating more whole foods, upping your protein and fiber, and limiting processed and sugary foods and drinks.

When it comes to meeting your body composition goals, everyone has their own individual needs, preferences, and lifestyle.

Getting support, accountability, and personalized guidance from an expert coach can help you meet your goals faster and in a way that works for you. Take our quiz today to receive your free personal trainer consultation and get the support you need to take control of your health.

Habits Nutrition Fitness Free Training for 7 Days. What Is Body Recomposition? Nutrition Strategies to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat Here are eight key nutrition habits to help you build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

Stay in a calorie deficit A calorie deficit is necessary to lose weight and burn fat. Prioritize protein.

Alexandra Ginos, MBA, RD, CSP May 12, Alexandra Ginos, MBA, RD, CSP May 9, Lisa Andrews MEd, RD, LD May 2, Alex Prestegard, CPT, NASM May 12, Chelsea Levinson May 10, Rachel MacPherson, CPT May 9, Your diet should include nutrient-dense foods and plenty of protein.

You should also limit alcohol, added sugars, and deep-fried foods. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

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Here are 10 muscle recovery foods and drinks, as well as some nondietary tips for…. Discover which diet is best for managing your diabetes.

Getting enough fiber is crucial to overall gut health. Let's look at some easy ways to get more into your diet:. A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic? How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Nutrition Evidence Based What to Eat and Avoid If You're Trying to Build Muscle.

Medically reviewed by Marie Lorraine Johnson MS, RD, CPT — By Gavin Van De Walle, MS, RD — Updated on January 27, Calorie needs Macronutrients What to eat What to avoid Supplements Sample menu Benefits Risks Takeaway Your diet can make or break your results at the gym.

First, determine how many calories you need in your overall diet. Next, determine your ratio of macronutrients.

Bulking phase Cutting phase Calories 3, 2, Protein g Carbohydrates g Fat g Foods to eat to support your overall fitness. Foods to limit or avoid to support your overall fitness. Dietary supplements to consider. Sample meal plan. Benefits of bodybuilding.

Potential risks to consider.

To stay motivated and deal with cravings, Juge has a couple of great recommendations. First, schedule a cheat meal on every seventh day. If you feel deprived during the week, concentrate on the cheat meal to come, knowing you can eat absolutely anything you want to—pizza, lasagna, doughnuts, beer, chips, you name it.

Afterward, get right back on the wagon with your next scheduled meal. Second, take a few photos of yourself to keep your motivation up. I always have them strive for that goal. I take front, side, and back pictures of them at the beginning and have them post the photos on their mirror at home.

When it comes to cravings, protein drinks and bars may also help cure your need for sugar, says Juge. Once or twice per week, Juge adds, you can have a low-sugar, high-protein bar.

The newest varieties taste more like candy bars, with state-of-the-art sweetening techniques. To stick to the plan, says Juge, be diligent in ordering.

Ask for steamed vegetables with no butter. Get a salad no cheese with either fat-free dressing or a vinaigrette.

Some men can lose up to 5 lbs. per week, says Juge, if they follow the diet strictly. He recommends striving for a weekly 2- to 3-lb. loss for more lasting effects. Weigh yourself naked just once per week, at the same time, preferably on the same scale. Instead of one cardio session per day, he recommends doing 45 minutes of cardio in the morning on an empty stomach.

Then add a second minute session in the late afternoon or evening. On lower days, drop to g a day rather than Eat this low-carb diet for two days, then insert one higher-carb day g. Think of your nutritional plan as the anchor to stabilize all of your other efforts.

Eating right will help you shed fat, increase your energy, and definitely look the way you want to. In a pinch, you can even rip open a packet of instant oatmeal plain flavor only —just add hot water and stir.

They contain many valuable vitamins, phytochemicals, and antioxidants for better health. Quick tip: To quickly steam veggies, put an inch or two of water in a bowl, add veggies, cover bowl, and microwave for minutes. Your 28 days are up; you look great and want to keep it that way.

Juge has an easy plan to maintain your body, yet enjoy greater flexibility with your diet. Eat dinner at home, again a healthy, clean meal consisting of a lean protein source, green vegetable, and whole grains.

Then, bring a protein shake or bar with you to work for a midday meal. Just keep the rest of your meals pretty strict, without added sugars and fats. Follow the principles from our new book, The Lean Muscle Diet buy it now , to build the body you want and keep it. But you still need to eat something, and whatever it is, it'll have calories you must account for.

The accounting is simple: There are two sides to the ledger. One side is your calorie intake, and the other is your metabolism—that is, the calories you burn—which works in four ways. About 10 percent of your metabolism comes from how you process food. But you can do better if you eat more protein.

Everything from working out to walking to the mailbox burns more calories than not moving—and accounts for 20 to 30 percent of your metabolism. The more you move, the better, including those times when you Hit the can. When you dial up a 1 or 2 or sneak out a fart , energy leaves your body.

Alas, you can't toot your way to single-digit body fat. Stay alive. The rest of the calories you eat go toward your body's other basic operating functions. That's at least 60 percent of your metabolism. By changing the "calories in" part of the formula, you also change the "calories out.

With less energy in the tank, you may burn fewer calories during your workouts. That's the danger of cutting calories without a plan to maintain your new lower weight.

Your metabolism slows, leaving you hungry and primed to regain fat you lost, especially when hunger hits near a Taco Bell.

The key is to reverse that process. Pity the man forced to survive on gluten-free pizza and fat-free ice cream. The Lean Muscle Diet makes eating easy and delicious because you're encouraged to eat gasp!

real food. Here's the breakdown of your eating plan. Eat 80 percent of your diet in whole and minimally processed foods that you like. One exception: Protein powders are highly processed, but they're still a great way to consume the protein you need to make the plan work.

Eat 10 percent in whole and minimally processed foods that you don't necessarily like but don't hate say, Swiss chard and lamb.

This is intended to expand the range of nutrients you're eating. Maybe you'll even learn to like a food, which means you're less likely to suffer from diet burnout. Eat 10 percent in whatever the hell you want.

Consider this your reward for faithfully embracing the two previous categories. Use this bonus however you'd like: Have a small indulgence every day, or save up for a bigger weekend junkfest.

Even if it includes Cheesy Gordita Crunches. Here's a shortcut: If the food doesn't have an ingredient list, it's a safe bet. Steak, apples, quinoa, eggplant, salmon—they're all single-ingredient foods. With packaged foods, each additional ingredient signals an extra step in processing, which may have stripped away some of the good stuff.

And often, to make up for lost flavor, food manufacturers pump processed foods with sugar and fat. These foods also tend to be higher in calories.

On this plan, you won't find any rules about foods you must eat. Nor will you find a list of foods you should never eat. Just about anything you already enjoy can fit into the plan, although perhaps not in the quantities you're used to eating. Nutritionists refer to protein, carbs, and fat as "macros.

The circles above show the stats for three good protein sources. On our plan, you'll eat 1 gram of protein for every pound of your target body weight, or 25 percent to 35 percent of your daily diet.

But protein also increases satiation feeling full at the end of a meal and satiety feeling less hungry between meals. So protein pulls triple duty: It speeds your metabolism, slows your appetite, and maintains muscle. What about the other macros? You'll eat 0.

If you have a good chunk of body fat to lose, use the higher end of that scale. It's not that fat calories have any magical properties; a higher percentage of fat simply means fewer carbs. That tends to work better for heavier guys, who often are less sensitive to insulin, a hormone triggered by high-carbohydrate meals.

Less sensitivity means more insulin; more insulin means your body will use less fat for energy. For everyone else, it's personal preference. Whatever calories are left after your calculations will come from carbs. When the week is over, move to the next set of meal plans and so on and so forth.

Here is an example:. Monday: Plan A Tuesday: Plan B Wednesday: Plan A Thursday: Plan B Friday: Plan A Saturday: Plan B Sunday: Treat Day! Follow either Plan A or Plan B and swap one meal for the treat meal of your choice! Week 1 and 3: Meal Plan A and B Week 2 and 4: Meal Plan C and D Week 5 and 7: Meal Plan E and F Week 6 and 8: Meal Plan G and H.