Category Archives: Food

How To Effortlessly Lose Weight

Food
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For those who don’t know, to lose weight you have to eat less.

 

Specifically, you need to be consuming fewer calories than you are burning. So for example on average I burn about 2300 calories a day through sleeping, eating, pooing, walking etc. so I would need to eat less than that to lose weight. Simple.

 

Now the calories we burn on a daily basis are called our ‘maintenance calories’. This varies for everyone. To get an approximate value multiply your weight in pounds by 15. This will give you a good starting value.

 

Our aim during weight loss is to lose about 1lb (0.4kg) of fat a week. This figure is a good mix of being able to eat enough so we don’t hate the diet, yet we will still be losing a fairly considerable amount of fat which we will be able to do consistently.
The deficit is also not large enough to lose too much muscle; as we lose weight our body is deprived of nutrients, and will start fishing around for energy from fat and muscles. The body normally looks around for fat first, however if we are really not eating enough it will start to attack our muscles too. We don’t want that because muscle makes us (both men and women) look good.

 

So, our objective is to reduce our calories by about 300-500 calories below our maintenance value. For me I weigh 163lbs, so I burn about 2400 calories just doing daily stuff. To lose weight, I will start off with eating 2100 calories and tracking my weight every week to see if I’m on track. If I’m not, I will eat about 100 less each week until I am.

 

So what is this method of weight loss you want us to try?

 

Well, this may surprise you, but I say fuck breakfast.

 

And here is why: My willpower is strongest in the morning; I am able to control myself and resist earlier on in the day. Throughout the day, my determination and willpower fade, and by the evening I am vulnerable to cravings. I also do not like going to bed hungry and like to eat whilst watching TV…

 

In essence, I just try and wait as long into the day as possible before eating –this often just means waiting till lunch to it.
Now there are actually studies showing the benefits of doing this, however regardless of the benefits, I just find it a very manageable way to control how much I eat.

 

Admittedly, it is difficult at first, so I started off just waiting a bit later in the day to eat. First till 10 AM, then till 11 AM, and within a month I was able to consistently manage to wait until lunch.
This makes the rest of the day a breeze, because you can just eat normally, and will not feel like you are missing out on anything.
When you get good at controlling yourself, you could even try and eat a little less at lunch and have a feast of a dinner, if you really like to eat a lot in one sitting.

 

Any Tips?

 

To curb your hunger in the mornings chew on some gum – this does wonders for me.
Also, sparkling water and black coffee are great ways to satisfy your belly before lunch.
And stay busy – if you are doing something such as work or studying time can fly! Before you know it is lunchtime, and your belly feels fine and you are happy because you know you are on the right track to losing weight!
Be sure to eat enough protein to help retain muscle! Aim to shoot for about 0.9g per lb of bodyweight.

 

I urge you to give it a go. It really has helped me control my food issues (I like to eat, a lot…) and it feels really good mentally when you are able to control yourself.
Also, I noticed that I actually feel more refreshed and energised without food  in the morning– I assume it’s because eating an influx of sugary high-carb breakfast foods really messes with your energy levels

 

Good luck!

 

-Mike

The Simple & Easy Diet to Build Muscle

Food

I hate the word diet. Ew

 

But anyway, good news! You don’t have to diet to build muscle. You just have to eat smart.

Let me explain.

 

When someone thinks of a diet, they think of: eating less, tonnes of salad, no fast food, no fun, no life etc. However, when it comes to building muscle, you need to eat more.

 

Think about it this way: when you build muscle you are gaining weight. And how do you gain weight? By eating more food.

 

“But Mike! Whenever I eat more I just get fat? Why you lying to me?”

 

Wait, hear me out.

 
One thing you have to understand is that it is very rare to build muscle and lose fat. That’s why bodybuilders have a ‘bulking phase’ and a ‘cutting phase’. You either build muscle and gain fat or lose fat along with some muscle. What we can do, however, is control the muscle/fat ratio that we gain.

 

So how do we do this?

 

1. Eat Enough

 

Eat enough calories so you are gaining about 3lbs (1.4kg) of weight a week.
Basically, studies show that we can only gain about 1-2lbs of muscle a month; eating stupid amounts of food and gaining 10lbs in a month will not lead to you building muscle faster – You will just get fat.

 

Therefore, you want to eat just enough to help you gain about 3lbs, which should lead to most of it being muscle – as long as you are training efficiently and effectively.

 
When you first start off you may be able to gain muscle faster, but after your beginner gains settle be aware that if you are gaining more than 4lbs a month you are likely gaining an unfavourable amount of fat.

 

To get a rough value of starting calories, times your weight in (lbs) by 15, and then add 300. Track your calories using MyFitnessPal.

 

2. Get enough protein.

Protein is a key component to muscle growth; it stimulates protein synthesis, which is largely responsible for repairing and building your muscles after a workout. You need to make sure that you are eating enough protein consistently to ensure that you build muscle.

 
A good value to start with tends to be around 1g per lb of bodyweight (If you are a kg person, times your weight by 2.2).
*Click here to find out the truth about how much protein you can digest in one sitting.*

 

Now in terms of what you should be eating, it doesn’t really matter as long as you are getting the right amount of calories and enough protein. Obviously, your body is likely to respond better to healthier, less processed foods – This may help you increase your muscle-to-fat gain ratio – the choice is up to you.

 

So yeah, if you train hard, eat enough protein, and eat enough food, you should be fine!

 

-Mike

 

Got any questions? Email me at mike@unigains.com

The Supplements You Need To Build Muscle

Food, Uncategorized

So for some odd reason whenever people get into fitness one of the first things that comes across their mind is ‘what supplements should I take!?’

Now, this always surprises me, because look at the name… supplement.
Supplements are meant to supplement your training… it does not mean you can’t get bigger and stronger without them.

I’m honestly so impressed with how the media and fitness industry have managed to make so many of us believe that to get a good physique you need protein shakes, creatine, pre-workout, BCAAs, and all this other stuff… but the reality is that you don’t.

Check my stats on the ‘About Mike’ page – no supplements were used apart from whey protein (which I don’t really consider a supplement).

I like to think of it like the old 80/20 rule – you can get 80% of the results with 20% of the resources.
But when it comes to supplements, I think it’s more like 95/5… sure supplements may help your progress slightly quicker and help you get that extra 5% of results, but in most instances (especially for you students out there) it may not be worth the money and effort.

And remember, supplements don’t do shit if you’re not doing the basics correctly; you have to be eating right, getting enough sleep, and working out effectively and consistently for supplements to help maximize results.

Personally, I wouldn’t bother with supplements, as I see no point in spending extra money and time buying and preparing all these things when it will only bring me slightly better results.

The only exception to this is protein shakes. I find these helpful as they are actually one of the cheapest sources of protein (a necessary macronutrient to building muscle), and therefore it only makes sense to help boost up your protein intake with them if you are struggling to get it through normal food.
That being said, I always try to get my protein intake from proper food first, before resorting to protein shakes to top it off if need be.

So yeah, instead of thinking that you need supplements to make gains, you should be thinking about the hard-work, consistency, and discipline it takes to build the physique of your dreams.

Need a good workout? Email me at mike@unigains.com

-Mike

5 Food Which Will Stop You Being Hungry

Food
food-salad-healthy-vegetables

When you are trying to lose weight the worst thing in the world is being hungry after dinner with no calories left.

 
If you are remotely similar to me then you will quickly give up your pursuit of a better body and cram a load of food down your face calling it a cheat day…

 

Preferably we do not want this to happen, so I have created a list of 5 items which help me fight the hunger without (as much) pain.

 

These items are ideally used to help you eat fewer calories earlier in the day, in order to let you eat normally later in the day (i.e. basically intermittent fasting)

 

1. Porridge

This saved my life. You can have a massive bowl of this which will only set you back about 250 calories (60g porridge with water and 2 teaspoons sugar). Whenever I eat a bit too many calories earlier on in the day, filling up with some of this is a perfect way to end the day without physically and mentally dying. Use water to reduce calories further; it actually tastes pretty good with some sugar/jam/honey/maple syrup.

 

Have porridge in the morning instead of a donut or some other sweet and sugary snack that you would otherwise have had.

 
This will help you kill two birds with one stone – you will not be getting a sugar crash from your breakfast, and you will stay full for longer!

 

2. Chewing Gum

 

For a while gum just makes my hunger go away, and then after a while it gives me a weird feeling of hunger which is bearable. I really don’t know how to explain it, but when I do not eat breakfast it helps change that feeling of unbearable hunger to one that is controllable. Also, it helps make my breath taste good, and eating after chewing gum never really tastes nice, so chewing on some encourages me to not eat for that little bit longer.

 

3. Sparkling Water

 

There are some controversial opinions on sparkling water; some say it acts like fizzy drinks and erodes your teeth and damages your stomach whilst others say there is not harm.
I will have to leave this one up to you, but I have found that again it tricks my belly into feeling satisfied, allowing me to wait longer before I eat a feast later on.
If you’re worried about your teeth, just use a straw.

 

4. Warm Drinks

 

I was going to limit this to just coffee, then I realized that hot drinks in general are great tools to help keep me full; this is likely due to them helping me keep occupied for about 30 mins at a time. I am surprised that I cannot find articles on this, as it has played a huge part in helping me get through the morning and get a good fast going.

 
Coffee is the best of the hot drinks to achieve this for me, as the caffeine gives me a little extra boost of energy which enables me to not be tempted to other energy sources from sugary foods.

 

5. Lean Protein and Vegetables

If all else fails, think about increasing your protein and vegetable uptake throughout the day. Foods like tuna, eggs and steal fill you up quite extremely well for the amount of calories they have. For example, it takes 5 eggs or 700g of frozen vegetables to get the same amount of calories as a large donut.

 

Now I am no doctor or nutritionist, but it is safe to say that eating less sugary carbs is a wise choice. A large factor that determines satisfaction from a meal is the amount of time it takes to eat it; as vegetables and proteins tend to take longer to eat, you will end up being more satisfied from your meal then if you were to eat the same calories from processed carbs.

 

So there you have it, the 5 items I use to help me eat less without it feeling as much of a burden. I highly suggest you try intermittent fasting as it did wonders for me to help reduce my calories and help me get ripped. Check out my guide here.

 

-Mike

 

Got any questions? Ask me at mike@unigains.com or @unigains on Twitter!