The Ultimate Diet & Nutrition Guide Is Here!

As you probably already know, I wrote a super comprehensive (and awesome) guide to creating the workout routine that is best for you.

You know, this: The Ultimate Weight Training Workout Routine

Since finishing that workout guide, I’ve made a few brief mentions of the fact that I was working on an equally comprehensive (and awesome) guide to creating the diet plan that is best for you.

Well, guess what? It’s here.

Allow Me To Introduce… The Best Diet Plan

The Best Diet Plan is a step-by-step guide to creating the diet that is perfect for you, your body, your specific goal (losing fat, building muscle, etc.), and your exact dietary needs and personal preferences.

It covers everything from ideal calorie, protein, fat and carb intake, to what to eat before and after your workouts, to supplements, to cheat meals, and so much more.

Check it out and let me know what you think: The Best Diet Plan

Basically, if you want to improve the way your body looks, feels or performs in any capacity, and you want to do it in the most convenient, enjoyable and sustainable way possible, you’re going to like it… a lot.

Oh, And By The Way

You may notice that The Best Diet Plan is actually NOT here on A Workout Routine. Instead, I wrote it for the other website I work on… A Calorie Counter.

A Calorie Counter is a nutritional search engine and diet tracking app (which I am a co-creator of) that lets you quickly and easily look up any food and get its full nutritional value instantly (and keep a daily log of it all, too… for free).

It’s also where I will be doing most of my writing about diet and nutrition, so you’re definitely going to want to subscribe over there as well.

A Workout Routine will cover workout related topics, and A Calorie Counter will cover diet related topics.

Pretty simple. And I’m sure you’re noticing a theme with the way I name my websites. Genius, huh?

Stop Reading This Already!

Seriously, stop reading and go check out The Best Diet Plan and tell me what you think.

Enjoy, and don’t forget to subscribe over there, too.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
About Jay
Jay is the science-based writer and researcher behind everything you've seen here. He has 15+ years of experience helping thousands of men and women lose fat, gain muscle, and build their "goal body." His work has been featured by the likes of Time, The Huffington Post, CNET, Business Week and more, referenced in studies, used in textbooks, quoted in publications, and adapted by coaches, trainers, and diet professionals at every level.

56 thoughts on “The Ultimate Diet & Nutrition Guide Is Here!”

56 Comments

  1. Thank you so much for the great guide and great information. I have a question though.
    How do I calculate the amount of food in grams without a meter?
    Let’s say I order a steak, is there anyway to know or estimate the size in grams without having a meter?

  2. You sir are a living Legend !!! Thank you, I would have been completely lost without your guidance. THANK YOU.

  3. Hey Jay, I just had a couple of questions regarding the specifics of protein intake.

    I know in your diet plan you recommend 1g to 1.5g of protein per pound of body weight per day. I have been wondering what differences there are, if any, between eating at the 1g level vs. the 1.5g level.

    In my current situation, I am bulking from 135 lbs up to 165 lbs. So, the difference between the two situations would be 165g protein per day vs. 248g protein per day which is a pretty big difference. I am willing and able to do either one, but if the results and effects are the same at either level, I would likely just shoot for at least 1g per day and not worry about trying to get to 1.5g per day.

    I have been reading around on the differences and came across quite a few articles suggesting the amount needed is even less than 1g per pound per day, leading me to think that 1g per day would be more than sufficient. Since you are a lot more experienced at…should we say “reading through the bullshit” of fitness articles, I thought I would see what you thought of one in particular that suggests 0.82g is optimal and there is no benefit of going above that amount.
    http://mennohenselmans.com/the-myth-of-1glb-optimal-protein-intake-for-bodybuilders/

    Thanks for your help! Always hugely appreciated!

    • 1g per pound is perfectly fine.

      If I thought 1.5g was somehow better, trust me… I would have only recommended 1.5g rather than a range of 1-1.5. The main reasons for the range is to allow some extra room for adjustments based on personal preferences (maybe you like eating more protein/high protein foods?) and also so there is some room for normal dietary variances (so a person doesn’t have to freak out if they ate 1.2g per pound instead of 1g exactly).

  4. Jay,

    I’ve read from just about every source I can find on green tea and its billion health benefits. I consume at least two cups a day, and my upper limit is 6. It is supposed to speed up your metabolism…and for the purposes I’m interested in is burning more calories.

    Lets say that I accidentally ate too many calories in a day because I was careless with recording my intake. Lets also say that getting to the gym to run it off/walk it off is not an option because of the interest of time, and I have already lifted that day.

    Will consuming one cup of green tea in one day burn more calories than no cups, will two cups burn more calories than one cup, 3 more than 2, etc.

    Are the effects of green tea only long term or does it have some short term effects like burning a few extra calories if you have another cup a day. The reason I ask is because on those 5-6 cups of green tea days…I feel much hungrier. I ate until my pre-calculated maintenance caloric intake that I have been using and adjusting according to my average weight changes, and still lost weight (assuming fat because I count macros and maintain my weight on the bar). I had been operating on a caloric deficit the days preceding.

    In short, will 1 more cup of green tea burn more calories for that day. If so, about how many. What should be the upper limit on green tea. I know you like to call fish oil the miracle pill in your diet guide…I like to call green tea the miracle drink on my own.

  5. You sir are the best for taking complex knowledge, and giving us the requirements. Its really cool to think just as long as I’m doing xyz and said by jay, it will work.

    But I’ve been playing around with my options WITHIN the requirements that you give.

    Lets say I’m operating on a caloric deficit, and know that it is the only way to lose fat. I also follow your diet plan exactly as you outlined (and yes it has worked).

    Non-starchy veggies. I’ve read somewhere that you can fill your stomach with these (like raw carrots) to the top, which comes out for me between 100-125 calories. Now I feel full. I didn’t give my body enough calories to complete the digestion process, but it still needs to digest the food. It will look towards the fat (given Im signaling my muscle correctly) for the energy beyond the calories I gave it.

    Doing this will help the fat loss within my caloric deficit. Also, its an added bonus that I feel full for so long on such little calories 🙂

    So, is it a good idea to replace some of the carbs I’ve been eating, such as oatmeal and breads, with non starchy veggies. I know it can’t hurt, but will this aid the fat loss within the caloric deficit, within the diet plan that you outlined, within the workout that you outlined.

    • Create a small/moderate caloric deficit. From those calories you will consume, get a sufficient amount of protein, fat and micronutrients (fiber, calcium, vitamins, etc.).

      Beyond that, do whatever the hell keeps you full/sane/happy/consistent.

  6. Hi there,

    Can i ask if the 150g of protein are meant to be maintained everyday or just on workout days? E.g. to supplement proteins i need during workout days only?

  7. Hey Jay,

    Love your site, it’s been my bible this year!

    My quesiton is whether I should consume 1 gram of protein per pound if I have a few extra pounds of fat already? I weigh about 175 now and I’m trying to build muscle, and I know I will put on a little more fat along the way. But I just want to make sure I’m not overdoing it by eating 175 grams of protein when I’m already a little thick around the middle? I’m not technically overweight and I’m more concerned with putting on muscle, but I also want to avoid putting on too much more fat.

    Thanks!

  8. Hi. I’m trying to loose weight but these different requirements about protein, carbs, calories etc. have a lot to do with how much you weigh (people who are shorter and weigh less are meant to have a smaller calorie intake as opposed to those who are taller and weigh more than them) should I keep adjusting my requirements as I lose weight? Thanks

  9. Hi , I really need your help jay and I would really appreciate it. I am really trying to help my Dad who is 55 years old and weighs 280 pounds. I know if he keeps going down this path he will not live as long as I would like. I am trying to figure out how many calories he should be eating using your advice. When i use step number 2 his maintenance calories are at 4000. When i use the calculator they are only at 2800 calories. Which one should I go with ? Thank you so much for all of your help.

  10. Last question I know I keep blowing up your site haha. I am having just a little trouble on my diet when im counting my calories. So if i eat a sandwhich with lean meats can I have chips with it and that counts as my carb source.

    • Yup. As long as like 90% of your diet comes from higher quality foods, getting the other 10% from lower quality stuff (e.g. chips) will be just fine assuming your totals are what they need to be at the end of the day.

  11. Hi ! Love reading your stuff , have questions regarding protein intake here :

    a) How much protein should one consume on off-day ? The same as workout days ?
    b) Is it fine to get most of the protein through whey supplement ? Because my family do not practice much of a meat eating habit..

    • a) Yup.
      b) It’s unlikely to be a problem (unless you have issues digesting whey or something like that). Though I generally prefer that people get their daily protein from a few different higher quality sources if they can rather than mainly getting it from the same single source every day (I’d recommend the same thing for every other nutrient too if possible). But it’s a perfectly fine source to get a good amount of your daily intake from.

  12. Hey Jay, I Don’t know how much you know in this subject but If I were to take a Pro Hormone would you muscle building routine be enough? How much calories would you suggest while taking one and If I have a tiny amount of fat do you think this would lean me out.

  13. Hello,

    First I want to preface that I love your articles, and have been very successful with using a lot of your advice. I consider myself an intermediate lifter, and after reading your articles I have lost a lot of weight and trimmed down to the 10-15% body fat range.
    Thank you so far, but this calorie counting is getting to me now. I started counting in May and have lost about 30 lbs. I have reached a point where it is becoming more challenging to lose weight (yes I know eat less calories!). But I want to enjoy food again. Is there any alternative to counting calories so meticulously? I reached a point where the effort does not justify the results for me any longer. When I first started I noticed significant differences in my body and weight. So I did not mind counting so closely. But now I might see a little weight loss a week if I’m lucky(Yes I KNOW EAT LESS CALORIES!). I don’t mind eating less but it is hard to do this when I am counting like this. I go to bed each night excited that I can finally eat a good amount of food when I wake up (I know it’s sad). And now with the holidays approaching there will be more days that I eat out with friends/family then the number of cheat meals I allow myself each week.
    Is there anything I can do especially when eating out that I can just estimate how many calories I am getting (In a restaurant I have no idea what oils they put in the pan when cooking the meats or any ingredients for that matter)? If there is such a magical method I would love to use this all the time because frankly I am over being so anal on eating and would love to loosen it up a bit (No pun intended there).

    • Technically… yes. You can “eyeball” things more often, or estimate, or guess, or just keep your portions at sane sizes, or do 100 other similar things that on paper will ideally allow you to not have to be super anal about tracking while STILL allowing you to lose fat.

      In reality however, this is the sort of thing that prevents people from losing fat, because all of the eyeballing, estimating, guessing, etc. leads to them eating more than they should be. This certainly isn’t true for everyone, so it’s entirely possible that you can pull this off. My only warning would be that most people can’t, in which case tracking things closely becomes a crucial part of success.

  14. Hey jay! I have a quick question on the muscle build routine. I have been doing it for a year and have seen nice strength gains in all of the lifts. The only thing is ( I am probably totally wrong) is that I feel like I have good genetics and might need to go to a split. I know these ” Bodybuilding” routines you say are bad but I feel like I could work one part of my body really well each day. Is there any input you could give me for peace of mind. Thank you so much for all the help and support.

  15. Hello Jay,

    First of all I would like to say thank you very much, I appreciate you and all you do for people like us who want to achieve certain goals but are lacking the direction and that’s what you provide us so thanks a lot. My name is Lazarus Ralda and I am 18 years old. I weigh 265lbs and I really want to loss weight and build muscle at the same time. How would you have me achieve my goal. please your response would be so much appreciated man.

  16. Hi Jay,

    I love your site! It’s made all the difference in my routine and diet and the results have been great. Let me say first that my main goal is muscle growth and I’ve been doing the 4 day upper/lower split with great results. I have a little fat but it is an amount that I’m comfortable having while in a building phase. I’ve looked pretty extensively (I think) for info on reduction of carbs on off days on your site but I haven’t found anything. I have tried dropping carbs by about 100g on off days (while maintaining protein and fat) and it hasn’t effected my workouts or their results, in that my increases are continuing. My question is: does the science show that maintaining the same numbers for protein, fat and carbs on off days will better facilitate continued muscle growth? Or is it ok (or even preferable) to decrease carbs on off days if I’m not doing any cardio (or anything particularly active)? Thanks so much for all that you do with this site, it’s value cannot be overestimated!

    Mark

  17. Hi Jay just wondering what you would suggest as post workout meal for someone who works out very late and goes to bed roughly an hour after workout? I am currently consuming protein shake, banana and maybe some good quality orange juice for extra carbs but wondering if this is sufficient for a 7/8 hour sleep.

    I have just started your 4 day upper/lower split and really enjoying it and wondering what sort of macro percentages you would suggest for a bulk? I’m 6’2″ and 193lb’s. Currently on 3200cal day but I think i’m like you and have higher requirements than most.

    • 1. In that type of scenario, whatever allows you to consume a decent amount of protein and carbs without interfering with your ability to sleep would be just fine.

      2. My book covers all of this in detail.

  18. I have a question about Building muscle and losing fat/shredding.
    As these are my main goals,which one should I do first?
    Calorie deficit or surplus?

  19. Hi Jay,

    How much calories does one consume during workout days and non workout day?

    For example: 2,500 is my maintenance and I am trying to lose fat at 20% deficit, so I should be consuming 2,000 calories. Now I have 3 days a week workout routine set up, so does it mean that I have to consume just 2,000 calories during workout days as well or should I increase my calorie intake to 2,250 ? so that it increase to match to calories burned through exercise (assuming that exercise burnt 250 calories).

      • Hi Jay,

        Thank you for your reply.

        If I consume same amount of calories during all days, that being during workout and non workout days, would that not ended up being a calorie deficit of 30% during workout days and 20% during non workout days? (I am still keeping the above example here).

        I am asking this cause, I do not want to mess up with more muscle being burned than fat during 30% deficit day, as 30% deficit leans towards not so good way to cut area. 🙁 I have read 15-20% is the best range 🙂

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