The above picture was taken Monday morning following an ordinary weekend preceded by many weeks of “normal” eating. By contrast, prior to a promotional photo shoot, I’d have followed a super strict meal plan for several weeks, shaved, and spray tanned. The above ab shot however, was taken with no out of the ordinary prep.
When not preparing for a special event, the fight community and bodybuilding community, refer to their everyday condition as their “walking around” weight. It’s your “normal” weight when not “dieting” to make weight for a fight or unusual calorie restriction in order to “lean out” for a show. It’s how you look when you’re not too concerned about your weight and you’re eating “normal” food. In the above pic I’m at my “walking around” weight. Yes, I’m five pounds heavier than after having prepped for a photo shoot but that measure is scale weight. What’s most important to me and most everyone else is how you look and feel. My abs look pretty good and I feel great. You too can achieve the same look and feel.
From fifty something year old mothers to twenty something year old bodybuilders, I’m often asked, how do you stay lean all the time? What do you eat? The answer shocks them. I eat all foods.
Sure, I do thirty minutes of cardio every morning but the real secret is what I eat - and – what I don’t eat. I really do eat all foods. I don’t eat non-foods or food-like products. Just because you can buy something in a grocery store, consume it, and it doesn’t kill you (at least not right away) doesn’t make it food.
What are non-foods? Refined carbohydrates and manufactured fats are non-foods. Refined carbohydrates like white sugar and white flour have no nutritional value, they only have an energy content value. Refined carbs spike your insulin which leads to short term fat storage and causes inflammation. This is turn leads to long term metabolic disorders like type II diabetes, heart disease, and dementia, to name just a few. Manufactured fats, high in Omega 6 fatty acids and low in Omega 3 fatty acids (we’ve evolved to thrive on a ratio of 1:1 not 20:1) also cause inflammation. Manufactured fats, primarily vegetable oils, raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol, and produces cell mutation resulting in a variety of chronic health problems including insulin resistance. Don’t eat non-foods.
What are real foods? Real foods are sold intact with as little processing as possible. Real foods don’t come in a box, a can, or vacuum packed in a shrink wrapped container. Real foods are perishable, they have a limited shelf life, and are fresh. Real foods don’t have a long list of non-pronounceable ingredients that read like a bad science experiment (non-foods are in fact a bad science experiment and those who consume them are the Guinee pigs). Real foods recently lived and breathed or required sunlight as they grew from the earth. Grass fed beef, free range poultry, organic eggs, and wild caught fish are all real foods. Green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, nuts, butter, and cheese are real foods. Shop the peripheral of the grocery store and buy nothing with a shelf life and you can’t go to terribly wrong.
True, there are a few other variables involved when it comes to getting and staying lean. Your macronutrient ratios are important. Most of your calories should come from fat, then protein, with a minimal amount coming from carbohydrates. There’s nothing wrong with animal (saturated) fat and animal protein is nature’s only complete protein source. Vegetarianism doesn’t work. There is no record of a single successful group of vegetarians in human history. Total calories consumed also matter. If you’re in calorie surplus, you will gain weight in the form of fat. There is no arguing with the laws of physics. For everything you need to know about building a complete nutrition and workout plan please refer to my book: Get Fit, Lean and Keep Your Day Job.
Whether your goal is washboard abs or simply to eat healthy for long term wellness, the most important variable is the same. It’s about what you eat and what you don’t eat. Yes, you can eat any food.
Yours in Health & Fitness,
JD Griffin
When not preparing for a special event, the fight community and bodybuilding community, refer to their everyday condition as their “walking around” weight. It’s your “normal” weight when not “dieting” to make weight for a fight or unusual calorie restriction in order to “lean out” for a show. It’s how you look when you’re not too concerned about your weight and you’re eating “normal” food. In the above pic I’m at my “walking around” weight. Yes, I’m five pounds heavier than after having prepped for a photo shoot but that measure is scale weight. What’s most important to me and most everyone else is how you look and feel. My abs look pretty good and I feel great. You too can achieve the same look and feel.
From fifty something year old mothers to twenty something year old bodybuilders, I’m often asked, how do you stay lean all the time? What do you eat? The answer shocks them. I eat all foods.
Sure, I do thirty minutes of cardio every morning but the real secret is what I eat - and – what I don’t eat. I really do eat all foods. I don’t eat non-foods or food-like products. Just because you can buy something in a grocery store, consume it, and it doesn’t kill you (at least not right away) doesn’t make it food.
What are non-foods? Refined carbohydrates and manufactured fats are non-foods. Refined carbohydrates like white sugar and white flour have no nutritional value, they only have an energy content value. Refined carbs spike your insulin which leads to short term fat storage and causes inflammation. This is turn leads to long term metabolic disorders like type II diabetes, heart disease, and dementia, to name just a few. Manufactured fats, high in Omega 6 fatty acids and low in Omega 3 fatty acids (we’ve evolved to thrive on a ratio of 1:1 not 20:1) also cause inflammation. Manufactured fats, primarily vegetable oils, raise your bad (LDL) cholesterol, and produces cell mutation resulting in a variety of chronic health problems including insulin resistance. Don’t eat non-foods.
What are real foods? Real foods are sold intact with as little processing as possible. Real foods don’t come in a box, a can, or vacuum packed in a shrink wrapped container. Real foods are perishable, they have a limited shelf life, and are fresh. Real foods don’t have a long list of non-pronounceable ingredients that read like a bad science experiment (non-foods are in fact a bad science experiment and those who consume them are the Guinee pigs). Real foods recently lived and breathed or required sunlight as they grew from the earth. Grass fed beef, free range poultry, organic eggs, and wild caught fish are all real foods. Green leafy vegetables, root vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, nuts, butter, and cheese are real foods. Shop the peripheral of the grocery store and buy nothing with a shelf life and you can’t go to terribly wrong.
True, there are a few other variables involved when it comes to getting and staying lean. Your macronutrient ratios are important. Most of your calories should come from fat, then protein, with a minimal amount coming from carbohydrates. There’s nothing wrong with animal (saturated) fat and animal protein is nature’s only complete protein source. Vegetarianism doesn’t work. There is no record of a single successful group of vegetarians in human history. Total calories consumed also matter. If you’re in calorie surplus, you will gain weight in the form of fat. There is no arguing with the laws of physics. For everything you need to know about building a complete nutrition and workout plan please refer to my book: Get Fit, Lean and Keep Your Day Job.
Whether your goal is washboard abs or simply to eat healthy for long term wellness, the most important variable is the same. It’s about what you eat and what you don’t eat. Yes, you can eat any food.
Yours in Health & Fitness,
JD Griffin
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