I specialize in using cold exposure as a performance enhancer and as a way to quickly recover from injuries and illnesses. That’s what sets me apart from other fitness influencers.
However there are other aspects to health besides cold exposure.. obviously. Conventional methods of strength training, rest and recovery and nutrition are also very important for health. This article will focus on nutrition.
There is nothing groundbreaking about my approach to nutrition and there are many valid approaches; however because you are following me and reading my site I will tell you about my basic nutritional plan.
I call this basic nutrition because we are not focusing on supplements, or advanced micronutrient intake. We’re not focusing on probiotics. There will be an advanced nutritional guide at some point in the future where we go over that stuff; however the stuff presented in this article will be the foundation to a rock solid nutritional plan. The other stuff is gravy on top. This is the meat and bones.
Calories
The most important part of any nutritional plan is the total amount of calories that you eat per day. This depends on your size, metabolism and level of activity, but for most men it falls somewhere between 2500 and 3000 calories per day and for women about 500 less than that.
Macro-nutrients
Macro nutrients are carbs, protein and fat. Your total calories will be a distribution of these macronutrients. A typical distribution for an athletic person would be 30% protein, 30% fat, 40% carbs.
Each gram of protein contains 4 calories. Each gram of fat contains 9 calories. And each gram of carbs contains 4 calories as well. So if you were eating 2500 calories per day, the 30/30/40 distribution would equal:
187 grams of protein
83 grams of fat
250 grams of carbs
There are some people who like to eat a low or even zero carb diet. This is called Keto and it’s a valid and potentially beneficial dietary strategy. In that case you would increase the fat and protein to make up the missing calories from cutting out carbs.
There are some people who argue you could eat more carbs and less protein. Or less fat. At a certain point you need to experiment with what feels best for you.
However in general the macronutrients above are basically what you want to aim for. You can scale this for your caloric intake.
Protein
The cornerstone of any nutritional plan is protein. It is the most essential nutrient by far. You can live without carbs, you can live on low fat, you can live without fruits and vegetables – but it’s very hard to live and perform without protein.
So I would say 65% of any nutritional plan is simply getting the right amount of quality protein per day.
For most people this is between 150-200 grams of protein per day.
So what is quality protein? Here are some sources of protein I would deem as high quality.
1) Chicken breast
2) Beef
3) Eggs
4) Dairy
5) Fish
You can eat vegan protein sources; however they tend to be lower quality proteins (meaning you need to eat more) and they are not rich in protein like these sources above. I don’t eat a vegan or plant based diet – 65% of my diet is animal based protein. If you want to eat a vegan diet there are some pro’s and con’s, however I do not teach that because that’s not what I eat.
In order to get to 187 grams of protein you could eat something like this daily:
400 grams of chicken breast + 5 eggs + 1 liter of milk
Or
200 grams chicken breast + 300 grams steak + 4 eggs + 1 cup of greek yogurt
There are many ways to hit your protein, but what generally works for me is 400-500 grams of meat per day. 5-10 eggs and 1 liter of milk.
Fats
If you are eating animal sources of protein you don’t have to worry much about adding extra fat to your diet. Steak has a lot of fat naturally. So does dairy and eggs.
Cooking meat in butter (my recommendation instead of oil) will also add good fat to your diet.
Carbs
In general most people need to eat a decent amount of carbs per day to have healthy hormone production and feel full. My rule with carbs is the simpler the better. The more complexity you add to your diet the harder it is for your body to digest and process all the foods.
These are my favorite sources of carbohydrates:
- White rice
- Fruit
- Vegetables
- Honey
- Potatoes
Avoid overly processed carbs. The best is simple natural carbs.
Usually I will have 1 banana per day (30 carbs), 4 tangerines (40 carbs), 2 cups of white rice (90 carbs), some vegetables, some honey, dark chocolate and then milk (which has a nice balance of carbs, protein and fats).
Micronutrients
Micronutrients, minerals, vitamins are a very complex topic and I won’t go into detail about it in this article. But generally you should eat a decent amount of fruits and veggies per day to ensure that you are getting enough micronutrients.
There are also some foods that are considered “superfoods” that have a high concentration of vitamins and minerals. These include:
Dark chocolate
Pomegranite
Avocado
Blueberries
There are many more superfoods, so I encourage you to do your own research and figure out which ones you like the most!
Water
This is underrated but you should be drinking a lot of water daily! As much as you can. It’s very hard to have too much water and anyone who says you can doesn’t know what they are talking about!
Salt and spices
If you are cooking your own food and eating simple, healthy foods, you will need to add some salt to help with nutrient absorption and water retention.
Adding spices and herbs – ginger, turmeric, garlic, black pepper, and many others – will also give you a little boost as they have compounds that can increase blood flow, among other benefits.
Diet plan
Utilizing these basic dieting principles, a good diet plan could look something like this:
Meal 1: 5 eggs, banana, dark chocolate
Meal 2: 300 grams chicken breast, white rice, veggies
Snack: Orange or Pomegranite
Meal 3: 200 grams of steak, broccoli and mashed potatoes
Desert: 2 cups of plain yogurt, berries and honey
Prioritizing protein and eating a healthy diet rich with quality foods will ensure you get all the power you need for your training and will make it impossible to gain significant amount of fat.
People gain fat when they eat processed foods and don’t get enough protein and nutrients to fill themselves up.
Hope you enjoyed the article, stay tuned for more!