I'm eating a lot but I'm not gaining weight or muscle?

You think you eat a lot.

Have you tried logging your food? Have you tried flexible dieting?

Three years ago, I was a lab rat.

I was part of a study conducted at The University of Tampa.

The study was 6-weeks long.

It was done to determine if Ketogenic Diets were beneficial in increasing strength.

It was a painful 6 weeks. Why? I had to eat NO more than 30 grams of carbs a day. This meant I could eat a banana a day and that’s it. No rice, no candy, no fruits, etc.

On the other hand, I could eat loads of bacon, eggs, burger patties, and extremely fatty foods.

At the end of this study, I was back to eating normally. I suffered only to see that this diet had no significant difference in my strength.

However, thanks to the guys at the lab I was introduced to the concept of flexible dieting — or “eat whatever you want, but keep it between the limits.”

The concept of flexible dieting is very simple to understand; you eat whatever you want, you keep yourself on track with your dietary goals, you learn the nutritional value of food, and you don’t fall for the trap of “magic diets.”

Dietary goals are different from person to person, but the value of food and understanding what carbs, fats, and proteins are is something everyone should know.

In this blog, I will give you the top things you must know and do to be a flexible diet master.

1. Before we begin.

As I said above, there is no such thing as magic diets. In fact, when I was doing the Keto Diet, I wanted to murder everyone (not really). The transition from being on a normal carb diet to a low carb diet is horrible.

However, there are some people that enjoy this diet. Every diet is different, and you will need different amounts of food based on your goal.

2. What is food?

I know. You’re probably very confused.

What kind of question is that?

Listen, no food is created equal and food contains 3 major macronutrients and many micronutrients that you should know about.

You should know this because you will begin to see food differently. Eventually, you will start eating depending on what you need rather than what you crave; thus, you will be eating smarter.

I could write an entire article just on this, so let’s keep it simple.

The 3 main macronutrients are fats, proteins, and carbohydrates (or carbs). First of all, carbs are not bad, fats are not bad, and proteins are not bad either.

The only situation when they are bad is if you overeat them. Simple.

Protein is often considered the most important macronutrient because it helps build muscle, increases satiety, and a high protein diet helps maintain that hard earned muscle.

Carbs are probably the most demonized macronutrient of all time.

There is so much contradictory information out there that will drive you crazy. However, if you are someone that is healthy, exercises regularly and lifts weights, you can safely eat carbs without having to worry.

You can find carbs almost anywhere: Fruits, starches, vegetables, candy. Almost all carbs are broken down into glycogen, which is a primary source of energy for the body when exercising.

That leaves us with fats. They play a very important role in our body such as regulating hormones, joint health, cell health, etc.

3. Where Do You Start?

All it takes is a change of mindset. If you set yourself to change the way you eat, then you are already ahead of the game.

Remember when I was part of that research? Well, they gave me a food scale and I was told to weight my food for them to know exactly what I was eating.

Although I’m not telling you to buy a scale, I do recommend you find a reliable way to measure what you eat.

Don’t worry, you won’t have to carry this scale everywhere. Most restaurants and packaged foods have their macronutrients listed somewhere.

That’s where the magic happens. I use an app to log all my food, and I know exactly what I’m eating. It’s extremely easy. Especially when you know how much to eat and how to train, and I can help you with that.

4. How do I do it?

I bought a scale from Walmart for $12 and I use a free app called MyFitnessPal.

You can get better scales or use other apps, but I recommend not spending more than $50 on a scale and using that app. In my opinion, they have the largest database of foods. I’ve used that app in Colombia and the U.S.

Knowing what I need to eat allows me to anything I can possibly think of.

Why?

Because I stay within my boundaries.

I can eat a cheeseburger, fries, and a beer because it “fits my macros.”

In fact, I did that last Saturday. Now, this is not a free pass to eat anything. You should still eat fruits, vegetables, and a good amount of fiber

With some time, you will be able to be very balanced with your diet.

Look, it takes a while to get used to measuring what you eat and logging, but after a while, it will become second nature.

The best way to start is to actually start doing.

I’m just extremely consistent with the things I do, and for fitness to work, you have to make it a long-term goal.

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I know exactly how much I should eat to reach my goal, and I know how to train to get to where I want to be. It’s honestly very fun.

You can do this too.

In the Ultimate Performance Blueprint, I literally teach you how to eat, tell you how much you need to eat, give you 3 muscle building phases, tell you how to burn fat, and much more.

If this sounds like something you want then check it out here.