That very basic determination of your
daily caloric load for gaining size is just
a start. Next, you want to fill it up with
quality food. Your shopping list should
contain the following types of food:
• Lean meats, such as 90-percent
(and higher) fat-free ground beef,
chicken breasts, turkey, fish, eggs, egg
whites, Greek yogurt
• Fruits, vegetables, leafy greens,
pasta, whole-wheat bread items, rice,
oatmeal
• Cooking oil, nut butters, nuts, avo-
cados
• Spices, marinades, sauces
• Fermented foods
Ideally you want to eat 90 percent of
your daily calories in whole foods. The
remaining 10 percent of those calories
can be “junk” items. I am not a pro-
ponent of using a dirty bulk for health
reasons, because nothing beats the nu-
tritional punch of fruits, vegetables, and
fermented foods. Not only are they good
for you, they also help foster a healthy
microbiome (gut health), which is criti-
cal for digestion and overall health.
You can expect to gain a little fat while
in a calorie surplus and that’s perfectly
normal. When I said earlier about excess
fat gain, it means just that: excess. You’re
not going to gain size and expect to put
all muscle on your frame. If our bodies
worked that way, diet coaches would be
out of business. Be aware of your ap-
pearance in such a way that if you start
to gain fat too quickly, you can back off
the calories a little and slow it down.
Be comfortable with some fat gain, but
don’t allow yourself to gain too much.
You’ll undo all your hard work if you have
to make a drastic cut.
FOOD
rules
• Determine your lean body mass by converting your body-fat
percentage to pounds and then subtracting that number from
your total bodyweight
• Consume one gram of protein per pound of lean body mass
• Consume two grams of carbs per pound of lean body mass
• Consume .5 grams of fat per pound of lean body mass
• Ninety percent of what you eat should be whole foods
ironmanmagazine.com | april 2017 67