Shut up and lift!
How many calories do I need? What % of calories need to be carbs, fat, and protein? When do I eat? How often do I eat? When do I work out, AM or PM? How often? What program? What’s the most efficient protein? What do I eat my protein with? What if I drink too much water? Too little? What if I run too far? What if I don’t do enough reps?
What if we stop treating this like some equation that needs to be perfectly balanced and just do what feels right?!?!?!
This has been my approach lately, and it has worked wonders for me better than anything. Yeah I’m eating wisely and getting plenty of protein, fats, and carbs and the timing is right on everything as far as pre/post workout nutrition goes, but I’ve stopped trying to overthink everything and have started going by how everything feels. I’m going for hypertrophy, which means 10 reps is ideal for me. But if I get down there and feel like doing 15 reps, then I’m going to do 15 reps! I’ve stopped worrying about getting everything scientifically perfectly, and I’ve stopped counting calories and trying to get an optimum macronutrient breakdown. All of this has led to the best results I’ve seen in a long time. I eat a lot more when I feel like I need more, and on some days when I don’t feel like I need a lot, I eat less… I’m inadvertantly carb cycling but I’m not treating it like some equation or strict rule that I have to follow, I’m just going by what my body tells me. This has worked better than anything.
I guess I just have a very great appetite that is very efficient at telling me how much or how little I need. Ever since doing this I’ve had a much easier time controlling night-time cravings and actually haven’t had any crazy sweet binges. I allow myself deserts when I feel like having some, but it usually just ends up being something small and then I’m satisfied. I don’t eat to feel full, but I eat to feel satisfied. I’ve been loading weights up on every movement and hitting all kinds of new personal bests. All other activities (running, swimming, etc.) have been going really well also.
I’m not a body-builder, there’s no need for me to try to get everything perfect anymore. This is a much happier approach to the healthy lifestyle (for me anyway) and it’s paying off. I’m done dieting, I can’t do it anymore and no one should be "on a diet" for too long of a period of time. They aren’t meant to last your whole life, you use it to get to your goal and then you just need to learn to eat normal (but still healthy) to maintain. I’m done with the yo-yo diet/binge lifestyle.
