Author: Chris Wormley
I was guilty of it myself for over 3 decades. Macros and their ratios/amounts were always the most important things to me. As long as I knew what percentages of carbs, protein and fats along with how many grams of each I had to consume tied in with my overall calorie intake depending on whether I wanted to gain muscle and/or lose fat I was golden…or was I?
Micronutrients. Vitamins & Minerals. A handful of veggies here and there would be enough,
wouldn’t it? I used to scoff at the “5 a day” advice, thinking that was for idiots who knew nothing about how to eat healthily like me. But looking back now I never got MY 5 a day as I limited fruit due to the “bad sugar” that I thought I would be consuming, only had dried fruit in my oats every morning, and probably only had some frozen mixed veg with a couple of my other meals throughout the day.
I’ve always been obsessed with the training, chemical and nutrition aspects of bodybuilding and always based my research for my writings and client work around how to get bigger, leaner, stronger, but never really concentrated on nutrition for health promotion until lately after watching a lot of stuff lately by Stan Efferding…especially his “Vertical Diet”.
Stan bases his diet first and foremost on micronutrient intake to ensure the body is and stays
healthy by providing everything the body needs/wants by structuring it into ones daily diet before even looking at the macros like carbs, proteins and fats…even though these in themselves also provide their own micronutrients too when chosen wisely as shown in the bullet list below reference protein intake via Red Meat.
Here’s the list of foods to be regularly included in one’s diet to improve health, performance, body composition, improving digestion and stimulating the RIGHT hormones (these foods should not cause significant gas or bloating or contribute to digestive disorders such as IBS, IBD, GERD, etc.):
• Red Meat fed Organic/Natural feed only- Bison, Beef Sirloin or Fillet, Lamb, Mince, Venison, Goat (Iron, B12, Zinc, Selenium)
• Fatty Fish 2x/week for Omega 3’s (Wild Salmon, Trout, Sardines, Anchovies...)
• Daily raw carrot – 1 medium carrot 2-3x/day. Do not cook them, they lose fibre content necessary to shuttle toxins out of the system.
• Fruit - Juicy Fruit (Oranges, Berries, Melons) - Naringin is an enzyme found in citrus fruits which may extend free testosterone levels in the body. Vitamins, minerals and stimulates metabolism (fructose).
• Daily organic chicken stock/bone broth (helps digestion)
• Sodium (Salt meals to taste, pre/post workout sodium)…very important.
• Iodine - Iodized salt or cranberry juice (iodine, antioxidant and urinary tract protection).
Optimize thyroid, metabolism, immune system and digestion.
Potassium 4,700mg (potato, fruit, spinach, yogurt, beef, salmon, coconut water)
• Whole Organic Eggs or Yolks (Vitamin K2, Choline, Biotin)
• Vitamin D3 (4,000IU supplement)
• Calcium 1,000mg - Dairy Source preferred (Milk, Natural Yogurt, Cheddar Cheese…all organic for best) or canned Salmon (Bone-in).
• Magnesium 400mg supplement and (Spinach, soaked almonds, yogurt)
I amended my diet for the last 6 weeks to include at least 80% of the above nutrition (alongside various carb sources as well), and have noticed increased energy during the day, less falling to sleep when I’m sat alone and not busy, better/deeper sleep, better digestion, increased appetite and an overall feeling of wellbeing.
Maybe give the above a try especially if you have problems with any of the above yourself and see if it helps.
Coach out ;)