If you’ve been listening to the pod recently you’ll notice we’ve been doing more Q&A style with the 18strong crew, however, this episode is a little twist on the format where I’ll be giving more of a presentation. Think less Q’s and more A’s because we wanted to provide a bit of a template for our nutrition principles here at 18Strong.
The 18STRONG Diet Stack is not necessarily a “this is what everyone should do” but this is what we’ve found has worked really well for our crew. It’s a bit of a step-by-step program where we label out from 0-10 the different levels that you can stack on each other in order to maximize your effectiveness when you are really trying to dial in your nutrition. We like to use the phrase “Dialing it in” because you can start at level 0 and go all the way up 10 or dial it back as needed.
One of the biggest mistakes that many of us make is trying to out-train a bad diet and we know that doesn’t work. If you’re looking to make big changes to your fitness level and especially lose fat, nutrition is the first place to start and that’s what this episode is all about.
Highlights from this Episode
I explain the different levels to the nutrition stack and how you can build up from 0 or implement this into your current nutrition program as well as how to approach this from an 80/20 or 90/10 perspective instead of trying to achieve perfection
The importance of starting your day with water (ideally lemon water) and drinking the appropriate amount of water for your body weight
Cutting out drinking empty calories and highly sugared drinks like juices, sodas, and sports/energy drinks.
Including protein at every meal because the majority of individuals do not get enough protein on a daily basis
Eating vegetables at every single meal and finding vegetables you like to eat
So long snacks, hello 2-3 meals a day! Even increasing those meals to 4-5 if you are really trying to increase your protein intake but the main point is to cut out snacking in between meals.
Minimize starchy carbs: this helps me lean out the quickest by eliminating stuff like excessive bread, chips, crackers, pastas, etc.
Get rid of processed foods; things that come in boxes and bags and circulate the outside of the grocery store
Counting calories: when we go to a fast food restaurant it can be extremely easy to get our daily caloric intake in one meal, however when you reach this final level while taking everything above into account it can start to be a challenge hitting your calories so counting calories can help you see what 1000-2000 calories looks like in portion sizes and in your meals
Holy Macros: Proteins > Fats > Carbs. At this point you are completely dialed in to what is going into your body and you are definitely seeing the results of your hard work.
What are the best leg strengthening exercises for supporting all the twisting demands on the knee from the golf swing?
With the cost of food going up what do you recommend as the most bang for your buck as far as protein and veggies?
