Meal Frequency and Capacity

The optimization of our health in this era has surpassed the general guidelines for us to not only be aware of what we’re eating, but also when we’re eating it too. Recently, we’ve now been delivered justification that our health can also be influenced by when to eat. Well gee-whiz, thanks health Nazi’s, not only am I eating the foods proclaiming to make me feel like a golden star, when in reality I feel like a soulless black hole; but now I have to set my watch to a feeding time too? It can sound pretty imposing, for such the simple action of bringing food to one’s word hole, but its rationale does sounds pretty legit. It’s alleged that the process of eating smaller portions throughout the day is an assistive metabolic igniter, capable of allowing us to feel more satiated throughout the day but also to keep our metabolisms revving. This proposed affiliation with our meal frequency and our metabolism is sourced to TEF (Thermic effect of Food). After we consume a meal, our body must adjust its metabolic vitality to account for the metabolism of the food; our body must work harder and therefore expend more energy. It was a concept I found most intriguing and was a principle I lived off in my deeper phase of ED. I was fixated on eating every 3 hours, no more and absolutely no less. It was comforting to assure myself that I was doing things right when my periods of eating were cyclically met. Even though while on this regime, I found myself very unhappy, being hungry shortly after I ate, and always counting the minutes till I was “allowed” to eat again. I didn’t inherit any of the benefits of this method due to my defective mindset keeping me underfed in general, even though I was supposedly eating the “right” way. You know, oats and eggs for breakfast, Salad with Chicken breast for lunch, Almonds and fruit for snacks, salmon and yams for dinner, Greek yogurt before bed… all proportion 3 hours apart, systematically in check every day. This made me feel like shit! As much as I wanted to change this life influencing structure, it was very hard to break mindset with ED reinforcing my judgments. It was very hard living out a life and adjusting your plans around food and missing out on events because I was afraid of not getting my nutrition in on time…
Now its present day and I’ve become much more mentally well, and this is where my opinion stands with meal frequency today… I still prefer to eat every 3 hours or so, however it’s now more so a choice rather than an obligation. I lived so religiously on delivering my body with nutrition every 3 hours to a point where its naturally become accustomed to the process, but instead of eating like the metabolic capacity of a 12 year old girl, I make sure my meals are calorically representative to what I require. I’m no longer so concerned if I get a meal in every 3 hours, and the more I broke that cycle, the more mentally relaxed I felt when I crossed that 4 hour or 5 hour mark. It’s all been a learning experience; I use to think that if I ate a big meal before bed, or had carbs after 8 that I was in deep trouble. Now there have been days where I’ve gone about eating 50-60% of my macros at 11 o clock at night, full of carbs (fast & slow digestive), and woken up the next morning showing numbers on the scale representing weight-loss. I realise now that weight management is reprehensive on a long term period, an overall maintenance of caloric input vs. output and won’t be dramatically influenced based on one huge meal, or 6 smaller meals throughout the day for that matter… I’ve adjust my meal frequency and capacity on a daily, managing it on how I feel and how my day is scheduled. I no longer panic if I don’t eat for a long period or if I eat shortly after a previous sitting, I’m comfortable getting in my macronutrients any time of the day at any point. I would advise others to do the same, and customize what works for you. If you prefer eating smaller meals throughout the day so that you aren’t burden with the feeling of hunger than by all means.  Other people prefer the routine of intermediate fasting, where they undergo long periods of malnutrition and then consume 2 or 3 large meals because that’s what they prefer. Just because you’re doing things one way, and others are doing things another, does not mean that your way is wrong. You are not a sheep and don’t need to follow a herd, nor should you jump off a cliff if everyone else is.  

The best diet for Optimal Health.

It’s gutsy for me to step up to the plate and imply that an order of superlative living exists in this world. How could someone distinguish one pabulum lifestyle as a dominant instrument to deliver optimal health? It’s a nail bitter when you really come to think about it, for it seems that with each generation a new diet is revealed that’ll supposedly embark a person into a better state of health. These diets are always belabouring the term “Health”. Low fat and low carb diets have intrigued pursuers of the heavier structure by delivering a promise of a “Healthier” life as they endure weight-loss. Other diets convey healthy living being achieved by the consumption of wholesome, contemporary foods that have not been fiddled with processing or manufacturing. We also have Vegans/vegetarians preaching their directory as the path that’ll provide superb biological health benefits. It’s interesting to observe many designed diets deliver their own promises of health through variant and unique principles; the use of super foods, whole foods, no foods, natural foods, subsidiary sources, etc… but what do we consider “Health” to be? What does healthy imply? Is it distinguished by how we physically look, or the functionality of our physiological nature? Considering that the formula for weight-loss can simply be boiled down to as a calorie-in vs. calories-out concept, could an obese individual be healthy by achieving an appropriate BMI index through a reduced calorie diet consisting of McDonalds and Ice-cream?  Perhaps if we were to identify their weight-loss as the “Healthy” exploit; but there’s more to it than just physical structure isn’t there? Our sources of derivable output are important too. The Paleo Diet has shown positive recordings for enthusiasts of its protocol, improving their Blood Pressure, Lipid profile (TG, HDL, and LDL), Insulin sensitivity, etc… but potentially, a person possessing those stats could still be overweight. Dr. Haub was the scientist who experimented with the Twinkie diet, only eating packaged based snacks you’d find at any given corner store, while still eating in a calorie deficit. He lost 27 lbs and improved his lipid levels simultaneously by the end of the experiment. “When you lose weight, regardless of how you’re doing it — even if it’s with packaged foods, generally you will see these markers improve when weight loss has improved”, a quote from a member of the American Dietetic Association.
Contradictions in regards to health are exposed daily to; a great example is the utilization of artificial sweeteners. While they’re assistance with weight loss can be a component of advancing ones health, other health rulings will discourage the use of these product to portray their philosophy of achieving a better health status. Many of us will have our own beliefs of what it means to be healthy, perhaps because the guidelines to health should be formulated and regimented based on the individual working around their discrepancies. This refers me back to IIFYM or Flexible dieting, as it provides leniency and leash to those who follow its guidelines. However it’s still considered a “diet”, and one thing all diets share is that they are diets. They require individuals to stay strict to their guidelines to embrace their benefits.  It only gets to a point where the diligence and commitment gets to be exhausting mentally, and even though one might be physically healthy it’s important to consider their mental health too. Depression and anxiety are capable of physically damaging the body as well, and are capable of being relevant to those who take weight-loss/maintenance very serious. So what’s the best diet I could recommend for optimal health? Well, I was delivered the answer not by an expert of nutrition, but an expert of living, my father. It didn’t take a professional to tell me that life is full of values, and that health should you should, but don’t let it prevent you from living the life you could.” It’s been brought to my awareness that health is determined by an overall measure, and it’s  be an advancement of one’s life … not a burden. My dad believes in moderation, and he’s proven himself to be a wise young man. “Value your health and embrace it as important not to restrict or restrain oneself to a point where your health rules your life rather than enhance it. If you eat so clean or restricting for so long, you’re bound to feel like crap, and if you eat crap all the time you’re going to feel like crap too. Ensure that you incorporate whole grains, lean meats, fruits and vegetables…but don’t forget about sweets, dessert…treats and delights. Advance on moments and experiences that deliver connection and laughter. Moderation is the key to life, and life should involve moderation. 

Bulking Update. (June 2nd)

I still feel that I am taking this bulk on too slow. Sure, I wish to optimise both my muscle mass and strength all while minimising fat accumulation, but my weight for the last month has either been maintaining or dropping . Clearly I need to adjust my bulking approach; I currently am consuming 3000 kcal and  working out 5x week, with a light cardio + ab duo too (So 6). I find myself dropping weight, but my performance in the gym has never been better. I am lifting heavier with each and every exercise and it’s a huge motivator, however I am looking to put on more size too and if 3000 kcal just isn’t getting me there. My plan is to increase my caloric consumption by 300 kcal (3300 kcal) and see how that goes for a week or 2, if that still isn’t giving me the results i’m looking for i will increase it by 500 kcal. I think that by doing this I will really influence my progress, and increase my weight at an appropriate rate. As my weight increases I’m confident i’ll be gratifying my body with more so lean gains; considering I am working out 6 days a week I don’t feel that fat accumulation on me should be a concern. 

Currently 160lb’s. 6 Feet. 12.7% BF. 20 Years Old. 
I see the most physical development occurring in my back, and a minimal amount right now in my arms and delts. My motive for now is to increase my biceps and triceps and also work on my chest development too more, especially the upper chest region. 

Swole Bowl #2

The “Swole Bowl” in its name remains a concept and continues to show its versatility as such. In it’s glory the dish delivers great taste, and nutrition, and in the case of requiring to eat a lot of food in one sitting…manageability. The motive is to make a healthy and delicious protein packed meal based on what you have on hand. Now for the reveal! 

Salsa Mixed Tuna (Mix 1 can of tuna with Salsa and Hot Sauce)
1/3 C Black Beans
1 Large Sweet Potato (Baked)
Green Beans (Steamed)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Raw Garlic and Chopped onions
CILANTRO! 

Its very much an idea of combining straightforward food sources; like your vegetable, your fats(EVOO), your carbs (SP), and your protein (T), and mashing them all together so you get one solid, delicious bite with everything. The key is to flavour the bowl however you like, but for me personally…Salsa, Hot Sauce, Cilantro, Salt + Pepper… never fails!

Where I stand? My stats and goals.

If I have yet too do so, allow me to formally introduce thy self. Tyler Baron’s the name, growing muscles the game. I have been attempting a bulk for almost a year it seems now, and disappointingly, the possession of an eating disorder has really made it hard to actually carry out a “bulking” lifestyle. The mind is a cheeky bastard, and its kept me from actually putting on muscle mass for too long. I weigh in 160 lbs at 6 feet zilch. I work out every other day and have significantly reduced my cardio over the past couple months of observing and realising its impact on my bulk. My three workout days consist of a repeating circuit of Chest + Shoulders + Triceps, Back + Biceps, and Legs. I used to work out 6 times a week, but have made an effort to reduce my training for mental and physical reasons. Once those are better in-line, I plan to adjust my training requiem to 4-5 times per week. My overall goal is to put on a lean mass of 5-10 lbs (165-170). I’m in a small caloric surplus at the time, taking in around 250-350 more calories than needs for my maintenance  After I get to a point I’m happy with, I than plan on cutting and leaning out (Get my definition and abs showing again) By the end on July I want to be able to really flaunt my body =P. Until than allow me to leave you with an impression of where I stand now. 

Give this post a like if you yourself are in the process of obtaining a physique you desire also.