The Nutrition of the Pros

Two of the guys that I highly respect within in the fitness industry are Sean Hyson (Muscle&Fitness) and Nate Miyaki (author of the Samurai Diet). These guys are superstars and their nutritional philosophies make complete sense to me!

To put their nutritional philosophy in it's simplest terms, without talking about the fasting aspects of their diets, the nutritional program that they give their clients goes as such:

Your total daily caloric intake: Multiply your bodyweight by 12 (if very overweight use your lean body mass) 

Protein: Consume 1g/lb bodyweight (protein equates to 4 calories per gram) 

Fat: 20% of your total calories (9 calories per gram) 

Carbs: All other calories consumed (4 calories per gram)

Let's do the numbers. If you are a 150lb male:

You should be eating 1800 calories a day 

(150lb x 12 = 1800). 

You should be eating 150g of protein a day or 600 calories of your diet in protein 

(150g x 4 = 600). 

Your fat intake should be about 360 calories worth of fat per day or 40g 

(1800 x 20% = 360) then (360 / 9 = 40g). 

Leaving 840 calories worth of carbs per day or 210g 

(1800 - 600[from protein] - 360[from fat] = 840) then (840 / 4 = 210g).

Here are some great types of fats, proteins, and carbs prescribed by Sean Hyson:

Proteins: eggs, protein powder, fish, meat 

Carbs: potatoes (including sweet potatoes), rice, fruit, vegetables 

Fats: nuts (almonds, peanuts, walnuts), avocados, fish oil, some cooking oils (olive, coconut) 

(a large portion of your fats will also come from the meats you consume so you must be conscious of that factor)

To determine the caloric content of many of the foods that you consume you can complement this diet with an awesome nutritional tool: Nutritiondata.com. This tool is great because it gives you an estimate of how many calories the food you are eating has! It doesn't do you much good to have a total calorie consumption goal if you have no idea the amount of calories in the food you are eating! This resource will help you figure out the caloric content of any foods you are consuming!

Conclusion

There you have it, the nutritional guidelines of the pros! With these sustainable numbers to strive for, you can hopefully stay lean all year long! It's so easy to follow (I would know, it's the diet I use), doesn't require a massive lifestyle change, and is truly sustainable!