EXERCISE FOR MEN ONLY

Enjoying a nutritious meal

Photo: Norbert Torriente

THE PERFECT PLATE

GET RIPPED AT DINNER

By Peter N. Nielsen

Eat well to see the results of your training!

When people ask me how I stay so lean year around, I tell them it all starts in the kitchen. What separates the men from the boys is hardcore discipline at the breakfast, lunch and dinner table.  

Most people expect me to say I’m ripped because I spend four hours every day pumping iron. Not so. Sure, I work hard in the gym, but I work harder at the dinner table. Or should I say, I work smart in the kitchen. That is where it begins and ends for me.

A man won’t see defined abs or ripped legs until he gets down to about 12 percent bodyfat. The fact of the matter is, you can crunch your life away, run 50 miles a week and still have a mushy gut. What is in your refrigerator counts more than any piece of equipment in your gym.

We all know that you don’t get on the cover of EMO by eating cheeseburgers and fries for lunch everyday. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know a diet high in saturated fat will wreck your health and physique.

Most of us also know we need protein to maintain muscle. The guy working out three times a week needs more protein than the guy who never does anything more physcial than lift his butt out of the chair. You can get an exact prescription for your protein needs based on your lean body mass and activity level (a process detailed in my book, Will Of Iron: Principles For Healthy Living). For the purposes of this article, let’s focus on one dietary component everyone argues about: Carbs.

Carbohydrates are today’s most hotly debated macronutrient. There is no shortage of advice – some good, some wacko. A word to the wise: Any diet of extremes should be treated with extreme skepticism.

Contrary to what some “gurus” will tell you, carbs are not the devil. Carbs are the master fuel; they are readily transformed into glucose, which is vital to every cellular function in your body. You simply must take in carbs to function. Can you physically survive without them? Sure, for a time, and for a heavy price. If you deprive yourself of carbohydrates, the body will break down protein to get its glucose – and leach it from muscle – leaving you sluggish and muscle-depleted. To make matters worse, any extreme-protein diet creates byproducts that seriously strain the kidneys.

The grain of truth in the hysteria about carbs is the difference between “good” and “bad” carbs. Good carbs provide steady fuel for your machine, enabling it to think, work, work out and build muscle. Bad carbs make you mentally and physically sluggish, induce sugar cravings and layer fat all over your physique. So what’s “good” and what’s “bad?”  Fiber is the key.

Carbs come in two forms: Simple and complex. Simple carbs are composed of single chains of sugar your stomach breaks down into glucose, which is transported by your blood for cellular function and muscle glycogen. Complex carbs consist of multiple chains of simple sugars wrapped around each other. When broken down, they can unleash a lot of glucose.  

Insulin enters the picture as the hormone that enables you to use or store this glucose. The trick is to eat carbs that enter the blood slowly so you don’t over- or underproduce insulin. Too much causes the “sugar swings” – mental sluggishness, cravings, excess fat gain and water retention. Too little, and you underfuel the body.

The message here is to eat carbs that take time to break down. At the top of your list should be fibrous, colorful veggies like broccoli, romaine lettuce, bell peppers, tomatoes, spinach, cucumbers and cauliflower. The high fiber content means a moderate insulin response, and you really can’t overeat them.  

Avoid starchy complex carbs like potatoes, bagels, white rice, cereals and pasta.  They are dense and lacking in fiber – not much different than sweets to your body – and incredibly easy to overeat. Basically, you can have one medium-sized baked potato or enough fresh vegetables to fill a small tabletop. Starchy carbs also kick your insulin up and down and leave you craving more.

Similarly, avoid low-fiber, simple-sugar carbs, such as soft drinks, juice and sweets. What about sports drinks? Well, these often contain huge amounts of refined sugar, so try cutting them with two-thirds water.  

Although fruits contain simple sugars, their high fiber content slows the entry of glucose into your bloodstream. Consequently, fresh fruits are a good as your second carb choice.

Your body can stock about 300 calories or 75 grams of carbohydrates every two hours before it goes straight to fat storage. It can store about 90 minutes worth of glycogen, enough time to power a long, dedicated workout. If your physique is soft and rounded like a baby’s butt, take a close look at your sugar and starch intake. But make no mistake – the body absolutely must have carbs to function. Just get the right kind and amount.

Now you face the toughest part: Turning knowledge to action. I can’t count the number of people who tell me they know this stuff, yet are still 50 lbs. overweight. It isn’t easy to turn down the baked potato and rolls and ask for steamed veggies and a fruit salad. It isn’t easy to carry turkey slices and a bag of grapes around for your afternoon snack – much easier to hit the vending machine, after all. This is where the rubber meets the road. The biggest battle you will fight will be in your own heart and mind as you stare at the donuts and bagels your co-worker brought in.

Start with a finite set of goals, a list you can check off. List the garbage you eat that doesn’t belong in the diet of a fitness enthusiast, and plan to cross off one item this week. Next week, attack one more. By following this approach, you can systematically eliminate the nutritional offenses that are keeping you soft.

If you asked me which was more important to my physique – eating or working out – I’d tell you it’s nutrition, hands down. I could ignore the gym, yet eat with the extreme discipline I use now, and keep my physique for close to a year. On the other hand, I could keep up my current training and start eating pizza, fries, donuts, cake. I would look soft and smaller in a week! So start exercising your most important muscle – your mind – and use it every time you sit down to your next workout at the table.

Editor's Note: Peter Nielsen is a former Mr. Universe and Mr. World, and winner of over 50 bodybuilding titles. You can find him online at http://www.peternielsen.com .

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