How To Create The

Perfect Diet Plan For

Your Workout Goal
What is an article about creating the perfect diet plan
doing on a site called A Workout Routine in the middle
of a guide to creating the most efective weight training
program?
I mean, this is obviousl a site geared speci!call
towards workout related topics, so wh the hell am I
writing about diet stuf?
Well, I"ll tell ou wh#
If your diet plan isnt what it needs to be your
workout routine will fail co!pletely no !atter
how perfect it is"
$hat is not an e%aggeration# &ou could be using the
single greatest workout program ever created and it
will get ou absolutel nowhere if ou aren"t eating in a
wa that supports our goals#
What I"m tring to sa is, our diet plan is e'uall as
important as our workout routine (if not more so) in
terms of getting the results ou want to get#
*o, what ou need to do now is create the diet plan
that will work best for ou#
As ou can imagine, full e%plaining how to do that
would re'uire its own insanel comprehensive guide#
+ntil I get around to doing that, here"s the ultimate
mini,guide to how to create our perfect diet plan#
#tep $% Calorie Intake
$he most common recommendations for our dail
calorie intake are-
If our primar goal is losing fat, ou need to create a
dail caloric de!cit of around ./0 below our
maintenance level#
If our primar goal is building muscle (or increasing
strength), ou need to create a dail caloric surplus
of about .1/ calories above our maintenance
level (about half that for women)#
2ow let me e%plain what the hell that actuall means#
Calorie &aintenance 'e(el
3ver person has a certain number of calories that the
need to eat each da in order to maintain their current
weight# $his is what"s known as our calorie
!aintenance le(el#
$here are a bunch of complicated was to estimate
what our maintenance level is, but the 'uickest and
simplest wa is to 4ust multipl our current bod
weight (in pounds) b 56 and 57#
*omewhere in between those . amounts will usuall be
our dail calorie maintenance level#
If ou"re more active and8or think ou have a fast
metabolism, then ou should probabl use the higher
end of that range# If ou"re less active and8or think ou
have a slow metabolism, then ou should probabl use
the lower end of that range#
If ou"re unsure, 4ust pick a number in the middle# We"ll
make sure it"s perfectl accurate later on# 9on"t worr#
2e%t, pick our goal:
If Your Pri!ary Goal Is 'osin) Fat*
In order to lose fat, ou must consume '+## calories
per da than our maintenance level amount# 9oing so
creates a caloric de,cit, and this forces our bod to
start burning our stored bod fat for energ#
;eaning, a caloric de!cit is a fat loss requirement#
As I mentioned before, the most often recommended
caloric de!cit is about ./0 below our maintenance
level# *o, let"s do some basic !rst grade level math#
<or e%ample, if our estimated calorie maintenance
level is .1// calories per da, ou"d !gure out that ./0
of .1// is 1// (.1// % #./ = 1//)# $hen ou"d 4ust
subtract that 1// from .1// and get .///#
In this e%ample, this person would need to eat .///
calories per da to lose fat#
If Your Pri!ary Goal Is -uildin)
&uscle*
In order to build muscle, ou must consume &./+
calories per da than our maintenance level# 9oing so
creates a caloric surplus, and this provides our bod
with the calories it needs to actuall create new muscle
tissue#
;eaning, a caloric surplus is a muscle building
requirement#
As I mentioned before, the ideal caloric surplus for most
gus is about .1/ calories above our maintenance
level, and around half that for girls# *o, let"s do some
basic !rst grade level math#
<or e%ample, a man with an estimated calorie
maintenance level of .1// calories per da would add
.1/ or so calories to it and get about .>1/#
In this e%ample, this person would need to eat about
.>1/ calories per da to build muscle at an ideal rate#
+nsurin) That Your Calorie Intake Is
Correct
*ince our calorie intake is based on an estimate, it"s
possible it can be a little of# ?uckil, there"s a ver
simple wa to double check it#
Weigh ourself once per week !rst thing in the morning
before ou eat or drink anthing (or weigh in dail and
take the weekl average)# $hen, 4ust monitor what our
weight does from week to week#
If your )oal is losin) fat, ou should end up losin)
between 0"123lbs per week (closer to .lbs if ou
have a lot of fat to lose, closer to /#1lbs if ou onl
have a little fat to lose, or somewhere in the
middle if ou have an average amount to lose)# If
ou are losing weight slower than that or not at all,
then reduce our calorie intake b an additional
.1/ calories# If ou are losing weight faster than
that, then increase our calorie intake b about
.1/ calories#
If your )oal is buildin) !uscle 4or increasin)
stren)th), ou should end up )ainin) about
0"1lb per week 4or about 3lbs per !onth5# And
again for women, it should be about half that# If
ou are consistentl gaining weight faster than
that, reduce our calorie intake b about .1/
calories# If ou are gaining weight slower than that
or not at all, then increase our calorie intake b
about .1/ calories#
@asicall, 4ust consistentl weigh ourself each week
and make sure our weight is moving in the right
direction at the optimal rate that I 4ust described#
If is it, perfectA Beep eating that amount of calories
each da#
If it isn"t, then 4ust ad4ust our calorie intake in .1/
calorie increments until it is# *imple as that#
#tep 3% Protein Intake
$he most common recommendation for the dail
protein intake of health adults who are weight training
regularl is-
@etween /#7 C 5#1 grams of protein per pound of bod
weight# An even 5 gram of protein per pound is
probabl the most common recommendation of all#
*o, for e%ample, if ou weigh 5>1lbs, ou"d shoot for
about 5>1 grams of protein per da (or a little more if
ou prefer it)#
Digh protein foods include chicken, !sh, turke, lean
meats, eggs8egg whites, milk, protein supplements and
to a lesser e%tent nuts and beans as well#
#tep 6% Fat Intake
$he most common recommendation for our dail fat
intake is-
<at should account for between ./,E/0 of our total
calorie intake, with an even .10 probabl being most
common#
<or that to make sense, ou need to know that 5 gram
of fat contains F calories#
*o, for e%ample, if our ideal calorie intake is .///
calories per da, ou"d !rst !gure out that .10 of .///
is 1//# $hen, ou"d divide 1// b F and !gure out that
ou"d need to eat about 11 grams of fat per da in this
e%ample#
<oods high in the health fats that should account for
the ma4orit of our fat intake include !sh, !sh oil
supplements, nuts (peanuts, almonds, walnuts, etc#),
seeds, and olive oil#
#tep 7% Carb Intake
$he most common recommendation for our dail carb
intake is-
Dowever man calories are left after a suGcient protein
and fat intake have been factored in: those calories
should come from carbs#
9on"t worr, it"s not as confusing as it sounds#
@asicall, !gure out how man calories our protein
and fat intake will account for, and then subtract them
from our ideal total calorie intake# Dowever man
calories ou"re left with to reach that ideal total: those
calories will all come from carbs#
Honfused? It"s alright, I"ll show ou an e%ample in a
second#
$he ma4orit of our carb intake should come from
foods like fruits and vegetables, rice (brown, white,
whatever), sweet potatoes, white potatoes (the are
not evil), and various beans and whole wheat8whole
grain products (unless of course ou have issues
digesting grains)#
8n +9a!ple Diet Plan
2ow let me show ou a step b step e%ample of how to
put it all together#
?et"s pretend we have a gu who weighs $:1lbs and
has the primar goal of buildin) !uscle# ?et"s also
pretend his calorie maintenance level is 3310 calories
(4ust a completel made up e%ample number)#
Dere"s how he"d create his diet plan:
1. *ince he wants to build muscle, he"d need to create a
caloric surplus# With a maintenance level of ..1/
calories, he"d now eat about 3100 calories per
day#
2. 2e%t, he decided to go with an even 5 gram of protein
per pound of bod weight# *ince he weighs 5>1lbs,
that means he"ll need to eat about $:1 )ra!s of
protein per day# *ince 5 gram of protein contains
6 calories, that means his protein intake will
account for >// calories each da (5>1 % 6 = >//)#
3. <rom there he learned that about .10 of his total
calorie intake should come from fat# *ince this
e%ample person will be eating .1// calories per
da, he !rst !gured out that .10 of .1// is I.1
calories (.1// % /#.1 = I.1)# $hen, since 5 gram of
fat contains F calories, he !gured out that he"d
need to eat about IF grams of fat per da (I.1 J F
= IF)#
4. At this point he sees that he has >// calories worth of
protein and I.1 calories worth of fat, which means
a total of 5E.1 of his dail calorie intake is
accounted for (>// K I.1 = 5E.1)# @ut, since he
needs to be eating .1// calories per da, he"d see
he has 55>1 calories that are not et accounted for
(.1// C 5E.1 = 55>1)# *o:
5. $hat means those leftover 55>1 calories will come
from carbs# *ince 5 gram of carbs contains 6
calories, this person would need to eat about .F6
grams of carbs per da (55>1 J 6 = .F6)#
And that"s it# $he most important parts of this e%ample
diet plan are done#
$his e%ample person !gured out the will eat-
.1// calories per da
5>1 grams of protein per da
IF grams of fat per da
.F6 grams of carbs per da
Lnce again, these are all 4ust completel made up
amounts to show an e%ample of how to set up our diet
plan# $hat"s how ou"d do it#
And es, even though the person in the e%ample above
had the primar goal of building muscle, the diet would
have been set up the e%act same wa if the had the
primar goal of losing fat instead# $he onl diference is
that the would have created a caloric de!cit instead of
a surplus in step 5#
$he process of putting it all together would remain
e%actl the same#
-ut What 8bout +(erythin)
+lse;
2ow, ou ma be wondering about certain other
aspects of our diet besides our calorie, protein, fat
and carb intake#
$he thing is: ou shouldn"t#
In all honest, nothin) else is that i!portant#
3verthing described above is what will account for
FF0 of our diet"s efectiveness# 3verthing else is 4ust
a minor detail#
All that trul matters diet,wise is ensuring that ou eat
the right amount of calories each da along with an
optimal amount of protein, fat and carbs that ideall
come from mostl higher 'ualit sources#
After that, it"s all a matter of doing whatever will best
allow ou to make that happen# What I mean is:
3at at whatever times of the da ou want#
3at as man meals per da as ou want#
3at whatever combinations of foods and nutrients ou
want#
LrganiMe ou diet in whatever wa is most
convenient, en4oable and sustainable for ou#
$hat"s all that matters# 3verthing else is either
e%tremel insigni!cant or 4ust a stupid mth that is
scienti!call proven to not matter at all (like how ou
must eat I smaller meals per da: it"s bullshit)#
Whatever is best for ou, our life, our schedule and
our preferences: that"s what ou should do#
-ut #eriously What 8bout
+(erythin) +lse;
Well, in addition to what I 4ust e%plained, there"s reall
onl a couple of additional tips worth caring about-
9rink plent of water each da#
*urround our workouts with meals (aka our NR3 and
NL*$ workout meals) that contain a nice amount of
protein and carbs#
Oet the ma4orit of our calories from higher 'ualit,
nutrient,dense sources# *ome 4unk stuf is !ne,
but keep it to 4ust a small part of our overall diet#
<eel free to take a !sh oil supplement and a basic
multivitamin, use protein powder for convenience
purposes, and possibl consider creatine as well#
And: that"s it#
$hat"s the ultimate mini,guide to creating the diet plan
that will best support our workout routine and overall
goal#
(+N9A$3- I"ve now written the diet mega,guide# It"s
here- $he @est 9iet Nlan)
Whats <e9t;
Well, at this point we"ve alread covered ever ma4or
aspect of how to create the workout routine and diet
plan that will work best for ou# All that"s left to do now
is put it all together properl and put it into action
correctl# $o ensure that ou do that, let"s start here: