So, you have finally decided that you want to transform your physique and improve your life. Sounds good. This article will lay out some basics to keep in mind when you are creating your diet plan. This article will serve as the pilot of a series of articles that will teach you how to create a diet plan customized to your own body and goals. In each installment of this series, a crucial concept/step will be in meticulous detail that will make it easy to comprehend. Each step listed below will have its separate page/post that goes in detail, don’t worry.
Step 1: Know your body
The best thing about training and following a healthier lifestyle is that you will learn something new about your body every day. But for now, what exactly do I mean by “know your body”? What I mean is that I want you to know basic information about your body and current lifestyle that will affect your diet and training plans before you start reading any part of this series. Whatever those statistics / markers are, write them down on a piece of paper to keep or perhaps a file on your computer so that you can use this information later. Know your starting point!
Step 2: Identify your goal(s)
Failing to plan is planning to fail. This adage is one of my favorite because it is very true. How will you design a perfect diet plan for yourself when you don’t even know what your goal(s) is/are? Are you obese and just want to lose weight? Do you just want to eat whatever you want and still be healthy and energetic? Do you just want to lose fat? Do you want to build lean muscle mass? Do you want to build muscle and lose fat simultaneously (a.k.a recomposition)? Perhaps you want to merely focus on athletic performance and strength? Whatever your goal is, identify it and write it down. It will affect the quantity and quality of your diet.
Step 3: Calculate your ideal caloric intake based on the former steps
During the last steps, I told you that you would need to write down basic information about yourself and your goal(s). These two main markers will immensely affect how many calories you consume to reach that specific goal. Someone who is trying to lose fat will not eat as much as someone trying to build muscle. Someone with a heavier starting weight will not eat the same way as someone who weighs 150 pounds and just wants to shed a few pounds of fat…etc. Know your markers so you can effectively calculate your ideal caloric intake.
Step 4: Calculate your macronutrients (a.k.a macros)
So, we know that calories are the units used to measure energy content in different foods. But are 200 calories from a McDonald’s burger the same as 200 calories from vegetables and chicken breast? Hmm not exactly! On a more microscopic level, we have what’s called macros (macronutrients), which are 3 (4 if you count alcohol). The 3 main macronutrients are carbohydrates, protein and fats. Based on your goals and body’s caloric requirements, your individual needs of different ratios of macronutrients will vary greatly. During this step, you will learn exactly how to do that!
Step 5: Adjusting everything to your training plan
A training plan is nothing without a diet plan. In fact, as many people say, fitness is 70% diet and 30% training. That’s not to take away from the importance of an ideal training plan, however, it is just to emphasize the importance of a proper diet plan that serves as the foundation for your training plan. You may adapt a training plan to build muscle, but if you are not eating properly to serve that goal, your efforts will go to waste.
Step 6: Adding the finishing touches
So far, you have a great diet plan that is 90% complete, but you just need a few finishing touches to add that extra 10%. A diet plan doesn’t have to be torturous. The best diet plan is a diet plan that helps you achieve your goals while being enjoyable and sustainable. A diet plan that you can commit to without going crazy is the best one. That diet plan will include some of your favorite foods, too. So, you should be happy!
Step 7: Design your supplementation program
Allow me to start off by saying that you do NOT need to use any supplements. Any this is coming from a guy who works in the supplements industry. BUT, supplements can mean the difference between a good physique and a GREAT physique. Just like the word means, supplements’ job is to SUPPLEMENT what’s already there! Meaning, if you rely solely on supplements to achieve your goals, but your diet and training plans are complete crap, supplements won’t do jacksh*t for you! There are many supplements out there that can help you achieve your goals a bit faster and give you that extra 20%.
Step 8: Combine all the steps together (bake the cake)
Congratulations! You have now designed a diet plan that is better than any diet plan online MAINLY BECAUSE it is customized to you, your preferences and individual goals and biological makeup. We will put everything together in this step so that you can start your diet plan as soon as possible and make all kinds of gainz!
This concludes the basics of build an effective diet plan. Stay tuned for the first step (identifying your goals). Don’t forget that this article is merely a pilot/introduction to the diet designing series!
What now?
