Practice
- Eat meal 1, 1000cal, 50gP, +coffee
- Eat meal 2, 1000cal, 50gP, +drink
- Eat meal 3, 1000cal, 50gP, +beer
- Gather whole ingredients
- Cook simple meals
Eating maintains the energy needed for living. Food builds the human body, every part of me is made up of the things I eat. Eat plenty of macronutrients, mainly protein, and micronutrients from a wide variety of ingredients.
Energy
Food is fuel for living. Get a rough estimate of how much you need daily with a TDEE calculator. Use a scale to measure weight gain/loss, and adjust caloric intake based on that. Drinking calories is easier than chewing them. Calorie/meal timing doesn’t matter.
- IN = OUT → maintain
- IN > OUT → gain weight
- IN < OUT → lose weight
Macronutrients
Large chemical molecules we need in bulk to provide energy and structure for the body. The bones, organs, muscles, skin, cells, brain, etc were all once food.
- Protein (4 cal/g): builds muscle, cells, tissue. Most important macro. Get from meat or any grain+legume combo for a complete amino acid profile.
- Fats (9 cal/g): builds cells, hormones, nerves. Only omega-3 and 6 unsaturated fats are essential for the human body.
- Omega-3: found in fish, flax, walnuts, and small amounts in olive oil.
- Omega-6: found in all veggie oils and seeds, e.g. olive oil.
- Carbs (4 cal/g): main energy source. Technically not essential, but useful.
- Fiber (0 cal/g): aids digestion, has no calories.
- Alcohol (7 cal/g): non-essential, gets burned first.
- Water (0 cal/g): okay, actually the most important macronutrient since humans are mostly water, but there’s a whole note about drinking
Micronutrients
Small chemical molecules and elements we need in certain amounts because the body can’t make them. Too complex to memorize. Just eat diverse whole foods. Here’s a good list:
- Animal
- Poultry: eggs, chicken, turkey
- Fish: tuna, salmon, trout
- Red Meat: beef, pork, bison, rabbit, liver
- Dairy: yogurt, milk, cheese, butter
- Carbs
- Grains: oats, wheat (bread/tortilla), corn, rice, pasta
- Tubers: potatoes, sweetPotatoes
- Legumes: beans, lentils, tofu, edamame (all have lots of protein too)
- Fats
- Oils: olive oil, veggie oil
- Nuts: cashews, almonds, walnuts, pistachios
- Seeds: sunflower, sesame, chia, hemp, flax
- Veggies & Fruits
- Leaves: spinach, kale, romaine, spring mix
- Herbs: cilantro, basil, rosemary, thyme
- Crucifers: broccoli, cabbage
- Roots: carrot, sweet potato, garlic, onion, ginger
- Citrus: lemon, lime, tomato, oranges, pineapple, chili peppers
- Berries: banana, blueberry, blackberry, kiwi, avocado
- Fungi: mushrooms, nutritional yeast
- Misc
- Spices: kosher salt, whole black pepper, red pepper flakes, cumin, turmeric
- Condiments: salsa, hot sauce, mustard, sauerkraut, pickles
- Drinks: coffee, tea, beer
Anabolism
The state of the body where it is capable of building muscle. In to do this, the body requires a few things: