How To Eat To Get Lean – Complete Meal Plan

It’s time to look at your nutrition more scientifically and effectively to build a lean and healthy body long term. After all, you can’t out-exercise a bad diet.

This Evergreen Nutrition Framework that I’m about to take you through, is the same one I use along with over 8,000+ people in the Fitness Freedom Athletes community.

It’s science-backed, simple, and flat-out works. There’s also a PDF handbook of it below.

Let’s get into it…

Introduction To Lean Muscle Foods

Eating a large amount of fat and carbohydrates together leads to one thing, fat storage. This little-known fact is helping fuel the obesity epidemic. And preventing you from achieving the healthy, lean, and energised body you want.

In this guide, we’re going to dive deeper into why that is. And how you can utilise nutrient timing and nutrition pairing to overcome it. Which means you will build lean muscle whilst also burning fat at the same time. Known as body recomposition.

By the way, if you’d like the step-by-step video guide and toolkit for this post – it’s available in the Lean Lifestyle Nutrition Blueprint that comes with all my Suspension Trainer Body Transformation Programs.

Fat Storage

Carbs cause insulin to be released in the body. Insulin is a fat-storing hormone. The body will look to store fat when insulin is spiked due to carbs. For the purpose of our goal, here’s what happens:

Carbs will be shuttled into muscle cells for energy and used as building blocks to create new muscle cells.

Protein will be shuttled into your muscle cells along with those carbs. Think of carbs as the bricks and protein as the cement.

Fats can’t be used by muscles. So when insulin is released from carb intake and fats are also present. They go straight to fat storage.

Technically all foods spike insulin. But spikes from protein and fats alone don’t have the same effect as spiking insulin from carbs. These types of spikes are the ones correlated with diabetes and insulin resistance.

Don’t have time to read all this post? I’ve also created a ‘PDF Handbook’ that contains the key info and meal plan for this guide so you can print it out, grab it below…

Get Your FREE Copy Of My “Get Lean Evergreen Nutrition Framework For Busy Professionals Handbook”

Use this proven Framework to create a lean, energised, and confident body – for life! Just tell me where to send it…

Nutrition Lead - Blog: NO OTO

Δ

First Name

Give Me The Handbook!

Splitting Carbohydrates & Fats

This means you don’t want to be eating meals high in fat and high in carbs. Because the fat will go straight into fat-storing cells due to the insulin spike. It’s evolutionary. Our body always wants to store energy.

We can store weeks of energy in the form of calories through our fat stores. The body does this for survival. We don’t want to work against the body, only manipulate it to our advantage.

When you avoid having high fat and high carb together in a meal. You ensure you don’t spike insulin high in the presence of fats. Which decreases the chance of your body storing it easily. And increases the chance of it burning the fat as energy.

Either High Fat OR High Carb

As a foundation keep your meals either high fat and low carb. Or high carb and low fat. While keeping protein consistent. If you eat both energy sources together at the same time, the body will always prioritise carbs because it’s easier access to energy.

It will store the fat to deal with it later. And it will only deal with it later if:

1. If fat-burning pathways are being initiated and there is no easy access to carbs.
2. You are in a caloric deficit (dieting), burning more than what you eat daily.

Harmful Food Examples

If we look at foods that are high in both carbs and fats, they are comfort ‘treats’. They are mostly manufactured or contain manufactured chemicals. Foods like:

• Cookies
• Doughnuts
• Chips/fries
• Chocolate
• Cake
• Biscuits
• Chocolate bars

If you were to look at these food labels, you’d find that the percentage of carbs and fats would be quite close:

• In some it may be a 50/50 ratio of carbs to fat
• in others it may be a 60/40 ratio of carbs to fat
• Or we may find a 40/60 ratio of carbs to fat

…and what do all these types of food easily lead to? Fat gain.

Natural Food Examples

Now let’s look at nature. Foods that are natural and organic, the way Mother Nature intended. They don’t follow this same ratio. Can you think of any natural foods that is high in carbs and fat?

Nature always leads with one over the other. Either high carb and low fat. Or low carb and high fat. Protein may or may not be present with both. For example:

• Fruit – high carb and low fat
• Vegetables – high carb and low fat
• Avocado – high fat and low carb
• Sweet potato – high carb and low fat

Even nuts. People assume nuts are high in carbs and fat and protein. Yes, they contain all three. But either carb or fat always leads. Take natural peanuts for example: A ¼ cup serving of raw peanuts contains:

• Protein: 9 grams.
• Fat: 18 grams.
• Carbohydrates: 6 grams

Fat leads by quite a big ratio.

Energy Pathways For Performance

There’s nothing in nature that has high fat and high carb. And for good reason. The body prefers to use one pathway of energy (fat or carbs) at a time. This is correlated with your Buddha and Warrior Modes:

Warrior mode = Carbs, associated with a higher arousal state and quick energy. Great for workouts.

Buddha mode = Fats, associated with calm and slow activity. Great for productive focus and sustained energy.

The body prefers and functions better when one energy source is the main component of a meal. That is how we want to look at eating. Like nature intended. And how our body prefers to be fed.

In all your meals, either a carb or a fat source should take the lead. Most of the time, protein remains consistent throughout.

What Do Carbs & Fats Do?

For our goals, we can sum it up as:

Carbs replenish energy after a workout so we are ready to perform again for the next one, and to provide the building blocks for muscle growth. They are fast-digesting. That’s why they are not satiating and the bigger the insulin spike, the more carbs we crave. Sugars are the worst for this.

Fats provide our body with the nutrients it needs for hormone production and reducing inflammation. Fats are slow-digesting that’s why they are satiating and make us feel fuller for longer.

Ideal Carb & Fat Ratios

It doesn’t mean you have to go mega strict and have zero carbs or zero fats for every meal. We digest certain foods and proteins better in the presence of fats.

There’s no harm in adding some fat. In fact, I’d encourage you to add some to aid digestion. My point is don’t go for 50/50% ratios. Go for:

• 85% – 95% fat and 15% – 5% carbs
• Or 85% – 95% carb and 15% – 5% fat

Insulin’s Effect On Getting Lean

Note: The below is a metaphorical example to keep focus on how we can use it to benefit transforming our body

Think of insulin as a key. There are millions of cells within our muscles, those cells have a door with a keyhole. When that door is unlocked, food can enter the cell. Insulin is the key that unlocks that door so nutrients can enter.

The problem is when your body does not have good insulin sensitivity. That key (insulin) can’t fit in the keyhole of the cell because the keyhole is resistant to it. So the cell can’t intake the nutrients you eat from food. That’s not good for your muscle cells to repair and grow.

Even worse, fat cells don’t suffer from insulin sensitivity. They have an open door with no keyhole. So, if carbs can’t enter your muscle cells due to poor insulin sensitivity. They will go to fat cells to be converted and stored. Another reason why having good insulin sensitivity is important.

Insulin As Your Best Friend

When you exercise a muscle area, blood flow to that area increases up to 80% more than normal. Which is roughly about 40% day-to-day. Less for some of the smaller muscles.

This increase in blood flow to that muscle area remains high for up to 30 mins after a workout then gradually reduces back to normal over 3+ hours.

Your muscle cells are much more insulin-sensitive after exercise. And your brain is much more aware that you need nutrients in that area.

So, if you have more blood flowing to the muscles, and they are super sensitive to insulin and desperate to intake nutrition. Then it makes perfect sense to get the nutrients to them in the fastest way possible. And the two key nutrients they want are:

• Protein (amino acids)
• Carbohydrates

Feed Your Muscles

Why do they want protein and carbs? Carbs are the bricks and protein is the cement to build stronger and healthier muscles.

We want to get as many keys (insulin) to our muscle cells as possible. So they open the doors and the muscle cells can intake the protein and carbs. And because lots of blood is flowing to those muscle areas, we can be certain that the keys and nutrients are going to the right place.

How do we get those keys to our muscle cells? You know it, you spike insulin by eating carbs. This is where eating carbs can be your best friend. The carbs help shuttle the vital protein (amino acids) into the exact place that we want it, the muscle cells.

Insulin As Your Worst Enemy

Now take that same above scenario but also add fats. The muscle cells will not intake fats. They can’t do anything with them.

So, where would the fat go? Straight into fat storage cells. Because of the high amount of insulin keys in your body, the fat cells will happily store it. In other words, you add fat to your body much easier and quicker.

Insulin is the number one growth hormone because of what it does. Mastering the natural manipulation of insulin is the secret to building lean muscle whilst limiting fat gain.

Our aim is to utilise insulin effectively to get the nutrients (carbs and protein) into the muscle cells. And limit how much we supply to fat cells.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking fats are bad. They aren’t, they are fantastic. They are absolutely essential for us to live a healthy life. It’s understanding when to eat them that is key.

This leads us onto…

Lean Diet Plan Approach

Aim to eat the majority of your daily fat requirement in the meal furthest from your workout. Why? Because we want to take advantage of the increased blood flow that is going to the muscle area we have exercised after the workout.

So it makes sense to ride the benefits of this blood supply and give the muscles what they need. Once blood flow has reduced, that’s when we feed the body what it needs for fat intake.

Below is a rough overview of what your meals should look like throughout the day. This is the Evergreen Nutrition Framework.

Without any fitness goal or tracking calories, just living day to day and working out, this framework will get you lean and improve all areas of your life.

Lean Body Meal Plan Structure

The point of the below approach is that the meal containing most of your daily fats is eaten away from the workout and DOES NOT contain any carb source because it is high in fats.

This also allows a large window from the afternoon through to the next morning for your insulin sensitivity to re-sensitise. Which means you won’t become insulin resistant.

Meal 1 – Pre-workout
Protein and MCT Oil (very easily digestible fat)

[WORKOUT WINDOW]

Meal 2 – Intra-workout (during the workout) *optional
Amino acids

[WORKOUT WINDOW]

Meal 3 – Post-workout (Breakfast)
Carbs and protein

Meal 4 – Lunch
Fats, protein, vegetables & SMALL AMOUNT of carbs

Meal 5 – Dinner
Fats, protein and vegetables (NO CARBS)

Notice how we still have fats and carbs at lunch but one is leading, fat Most of our carbs are eaten after the workout.

This is the simple Evergreen Nutrition Framework to use for life. It will make achieving your fitness goals easily achievable. And create a healthy, energised body.

It will vary slightly depending on your lifestyle, such as when you workout (covered below). But this is the foundational framework. I will explain exactly what to eat next.

Calories Are Not Equal

Before we go into the specific nutrition, I want to touch upon a misunderstood topic. Every single calorie affects your body differently. Calories from the yolk of an egg will help your body produce and release hormones.

That exact same amount of calories from carbs will cause insulin to be released into your blood signalling the body to store the energy (in muscle or fat cells).

On paper, it may equal the same amount of calories. But, the effect they have on your body is different. Now, imagine this with processed food compounded over time.

Processed food does not benefit you, it hinders you. You may eat a small number of calories from processed food as your daily intake. And because you aren’t putting on weight, assume it’s no different to eating the same amount of calories as natural produce (vegetables, fruit).

But, how those calories affect your body will be at totally opposite ends of the health scale. Over time, eating the same amount of calories from processed foods instead of natural food will have a negative impact on your health. And hinder your ability to be to transform your body.

Calories in are NOT calories out.

Calculating Calories

Tracking your calorie intake (macros) isn’t absolutely essential. If you follow this Evergreen Framework, you will still see the results and feel the benefits without tracking your calories.

However, if you want to take your fitness to the next level, you need to track your calories for:

• To hit the required amount of calories to fuel your body for performance and recovery.
• To make sure you are hitting the recommended daily intake of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals etc) for an optimal body.
• To collect data so we can analyse any areas that may be causing you problems or holding you back from achieving your fitness goal.

Formula 1 Drivers would not go out onto a racetrack having guessed the levels of oil, petrol, and brake fluid. They would be precise and measured for optimum performance. I like to think of the human body in the same way.

The 2 Steps To Calculate Your Calorie Intake

Here are the 2 steps to calculate your calorie intake which is then split between protein, fats and carbs.

MyFitnessPal is the easiest way to record your calories and micronutrients (carb, protein, fat). Don’t assume you need to be logging your food every single day. You don’t. We create one day and just use that day all the time.

For example, I eat the same meals for breakfast and lunch every day. Dinner is the only one that changes ingredients each day. But the protein fat and carbs amount always remain the same. Here’s an example:

Breakfast. I have a breakfast I love every day! Which is a chocolatey rice flour stodge.

Lunch. I batch cook my lunches for 2 weeks, which takes me 1 hour to create 14 lunches that I then freeze.

Dinner. This is the only meal that changes ingredients every day because it’s when I sit down with my wife and child. But the fat, protein, and carb remain the same. We just swap out foods. And because this meal is always fats, protein and veg. It’s really easy.

Step 1. Calculate Your BMR

Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is how many calories you burn doing absolutely nothing. Not even walking to the fridge for some milk. It will give you a starting foundation:

MEN = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) – (5 x age in years) + 5 = BMR

WOMEN = [10 x weight(kg)] + [6.25 x height(cm)] – [5 x age in years] – 161 = BMR

Write down your BMR and move on to step 2.

Step 2. Add Your Lifestyle

Be honest here. If you’re unsure and feel you sit in the middle of two, then go for the less active one. It’s always easier to add food if you’re under-eating. Than it is to burn fat if you’ve been over-eating.

Times your BMR number with the below numbers depending on how active you are:

1.2 = Sedentary
Desk job, and Little Formal Exercise

1.3 – 1.4 = Lightly Active
Light daily activity AND light exercise 1-3 days a week

1.5 – 1.6 = Moderately Active
Moderately daily Activity and Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week

1.7 – 1.8 = Very Active
Physically demanding lifestyle and Hard exercise 6-7 days a week

1.9 – 2.2 = Extremely Active
Athlete in ENDURANCE training or VERY HARD physical job

So, BMR x One of the above numbers = Your active daily BMR

Your Daily Active BMR is your maintenance calorie number. In simple terms, if you eat your maintenance calories every day, you’ll stay the same weight living your lifestyle.

Technically this isn’t exactly true as hormones affect water retention. Those hormone levels vary due to menstrual cycle, stress, lack of sleep, etc.

Eating At Your Maintenace Level

By staying at your maintenance level and exercising, you will burn fat and gain muscle gradually. It’s called recomposition. Muscle weighs more than fat, so as you lose fat and gain muscle, the scales balance out. But you see visual changes in the mirror. And feel much better.

Living life like this means you never feel hungry and you never feel like you’ve overeaten. It’s great for fantastic results and most importantly, consistent.

Are Vegetables A Carbohydrate?

We do not class non-starchy vegetables as a carbohydrate. Aim for at least 400g of non-starchy veg at lunch and around 300g for dinner.

The vegetables we class as carbs contain starch, like potatoes, yams and butternut squash. 

While vegetables will still count towards your total daily calorie intake. You do not need to worry about the ‘carb’ source of them in MyFitnessPal.

The carbohydrates found in vegetables do not have the same insulin-spiking effects as pasta, rice, oats etc. So you don’t need to worry about them.

You can never have too many green vegetables. You will never become fat from eating lots of greens.

Get Your FREE Copy Of My “Get Lean Evergreen Nutrition Framework For Busy Professionals Handbook”

Use this proven Framework to create a lean, energised, and confident body – for life! Just tell me where to send it…

Nutrition Lead - Blog: NO OTO

Δ

First Name

Give Me The Handbook!

Meal Plan To Get Lean

Once you know your daily maintenance calorie intake number, enter it into MyFitenssPal along with the below macronutrient % split. This number and the below splits are what you will use each day to achieve a lean and healthy body. 

The recommended split is: 

• Carbohydrates = 40%
• Protein = 30%
• Fat = 30%

If you don’t want to eat that many carbs:

• Carbohydrates = 30%
• Protein = 35%
• Fat = 35%

If you don’t want to eat that much protein:

• First, add 5% to carbs and take 5% from protein
• Or if you don’t want to eat any more carbs, add 5% to fat and take 5% from protein

Daily Meals Overview

Remember the golden rules:

1. Eat the majority of your carbs after your workout (breakfast and lunch)
2. Eat the majority of your fats in the meal furthest away from your workout
3. Don’t eat high amounts of fats and carbs together, one should always be high, the other low
4. Keep your protein spread out consistently with each meal

And the BIG one, carbs cause insulin to be released in the body, insulin is a fat-storing hormone. The body will look to store fat when insulin is spiked (due to carbs). Eating a large amount of fat and carb together leads to fat storage.

Here is how the Evergreen Framework changes depending on whether you workout in the morning, afternoon, or evening…

Morning Workout Schedule

The (X%) refers to a percentage of your total daily amount. E.g Protein (20%) means 20% of your daily protein allowance should be eaten here. These are ideal guides and do not have to be hit exactly.

Meal 1 Pre-Workout shake
Protein (25%) + Fats (5%) (Easily digestible fats ONLY – MCT Oil or coconut oil)

[WORKOUT]

Meal 2 Intra-Workout shake
Amino acids, salts

[WORKOUT]

Meal 3 Post-Workout (Breakfast)
Carbs (80% – 100%) + Protein (25%)

Meal 4 (Lunch)
Lean Protein (25%) + Fats (45%) + Veggies + Carbs (SMALL amount if any at all 0% – 20%)

Meal 5 (Dinner)
Fatty Protein (25%) + Fats (50%) + Veggies

Evening Workout Schedule

Meal 1 (Breakfast)
Fatty Protein (25%) + Fats (50%) + Veggies

Meal 2 (Lunch)
Lean Protein (25%) + Fats (45%) + Veggies + Carbs (SMALL amount if any at all 0% – 20%)

Meal 3 Pre-Workout shake
Protein (25%) + Fats (5%) (Easily digestible fats ONLY – MCT Oil or coconut oil)

[WORKOUT]

Meal 4 Intra-Workout shake
Amino acids, salts

[WORKOUT]

Meal 5 Post-Workout (Dinner)
Carbs (80% – 100%) + Protein (25%)

Lunchtime Workout Schedule

Meal 1 (Breakfast)
Fatty Protein (25%) + Fats (50%) + Veggies

Meal 2 Pre-Workout shake
Fatty Protein (25%) + Fats (50%) + Veggies

[WORKOUT]

Meal 3 Intra-Workout shake
Amino acids, salts

[WORKOUT]

Meal 4 Post-Workout (Lunch)
Carbs (80% – 100%) + Protein (25%)

Meal 5 (dinner)
Lean Protein (25%) + Fats (45%) + Veggies + Carbs (SMALL amount if any at all 0% – 20%)

You can see how it’s relatively easy to flex the approach based on your lifestyle. Just keep two things in mind as rule:

1. Eat your high-fat meal furthest from your workout (after it)
2. Eat your simple carb meal closest to your workout (after it)

The following plan assumes you workout on a morning. The same principles would apply if you have to move your meals around to accommodate your lifestyle.

Supplements

Below, I recommend supplements I’ve used and rate. Supplements are NOT necessary to achieve the body you want. But they can certainly help. I will include the exact ones I have used throughout my fitness career.

I only started taking them once I had mastered and applied all that there is to learn within this evergreen nutrition framework. So I knew my body had reached its peak and plateaued. Then supplements can be used as a stepping stone of progression to give the body something to improve with.

Also, it’s not always possible to acquire supplements. I’ve never found them whilst living on an island off the coast of Belize or in the far reaches of Patagonia. So, I’ve also included what natural food sources will deliver the same benefit.

Nutrition: Upon waking up

Starting the day by prioritising your gut health is the best thing you can do for physical and mental well-being. Here’s exactly what I do when I wake up…

Step 1 Clean and floss teeth
There are 1,000s of bad bacteria in your mouth from the night’s sleep. If you drink water as soon as you wake, you flush this bad bacteria down into your stomach. Which hurts your gut health and digestion by negatively impacting good bacteria.

Step 2 Apple Cider Vinegar 1 tbsp
Mix it with a small amount of water and drink it down through a metal straw. Apple cider vinegar can attack teeth if they are constantly exposed to it. This helps improves gut health. It promotes good bacteria for digestion and balances PH levels.

Step 3 Drink a litre of warm water with:

+ Lemon and natural ginger root 1 slice each
To help the liver detoxify from the toxins and free radicals realised as the body repairs and grows during the night.
ALTERNATIVE: Slice of lime or herbal tea bag

+ Electrolyte 1 tablet
To elevate re-hydration and help cells uptake nutrients
ALTERNATIVE: Pinch of Himalayan salt

+ 100% Methyl Sulfonyl Methane (MSN) Powder 1 pinch
A naturally occurring sulphur found in joints to help them function better. Also helps strengthen nails and hair.

+ 1 probiotic tablet
To boost good bacteria levels for digestion throughout the day.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat a small amount of sauerkraut for lunch and dinner daily

Wind, Gas & Bloating

I used to get terrible gas. Which is a sign of poor digestion. I incorporated this morning routine and made it non-negotiable and within a month my gas had reduced.

Start the day giving your gut the best chance to be on top form and you will feel great.

Re-hydration Is Vital

Muscle breakdown (atrophy) doesn’t fully occur from a lack of protein (within the first 24 hours of not eating). It initially occurs from dehydrated muscles. The Electrolytes greatly help to re-hydrate your body faster.

Nutrition: Pre-Workout Shake

You can workout fasted in the morning if you prefer. However, if you do want to eat, only consume these two food groups for Pre-Workout:

1. Protein
2. Easily digestible fats such as MCT Oil

Do not have any carbohydrates:

1. You have all the fuel (carbs) you need stored in your muscles if you follow this plan. We use carbs as a tool and they will come into play within the post-workout nutrition.

2. We want to encourage your body to utilise fats as a source of energy during the workout, along with carbs. MCT Oil helps with this because it is fasting digesting. It does not hinder energy levels via digestion.

3. Eating a fat source that isn’t easily digestible before a workout, could mean it is still digesting by the time you eat carbs after your workout. This fat will then get stored, as we’ve discussed.

4. Exercising without carbs increases the release of fat-burning and muscle-building hormones. Which are optimised without the presence of insulin AKA Carbs.

5. You will be consuming carbs after the workout to reduce cortisol levels and replenish muscle cells. This carb intake continues into lunch.

When To Have The Pre-Workout Shake

Drink the below Pre-Workout shake approx 15min before beginning A workout. If you workout in the afternoon, I would advise having your last meal 2-3 hours before your workout. Then consume the below.

The body needs a supply of protein and amino acids within the bloodstream when beginning a workout. for maximum development and recovery. This shake delivers that.

The Pre-Workout Shake Ingredients

+ MCT Oil 1 tsp
Easily digested form of coconut oil, a good source of brain fuel. Beginning the day with fats, protein and NO CARBS will increase your mood and energy throughout the whole day.
ALTERNATIVE: 1 tsp of Coconut oil or whole medium egg

+ 1 Scoop Whey Protein
Purity and quality are essential.
ALTERNATIVE: Egg whites

+ Pinch of Himalayan salt
Promotes better nutrition uptake from cells. Full of minerals. Maintains good re-hydration levels within the muscle during a workout.
ALTERNATIVE: Small pinch of table salt

+ 1/2 dose Multi-Vitamins & Minerals
Contributes to overall health and is essential for the formation of new muscle tissue. Some vitamins are water soluble and some are fat soluble. Meaning some need fats to be digested by the body and some need water. Taking half now allows you to get some of the water-soluble vitamins into your body to help muscle recovery.
ALTERNATIVE: A healthy diet of 2 cups of veg and 2 cups of leafy greens daily. Natural Nutritional yeast

Optional Supplements To Add:

+ Collagen Powder 5g
Improves skin elasticity, the recovery of lost cartilage tissue, reduces activity-related joint pain, strengthens tendons and ligaments, increases lean body mass. We take collagen here because joints have a poor blood supply. When you exercise, the joints near the muscles have increased blood supply. Better chance at delivering the collagen to the joints.
ALTERNATIVE: A combination of protein, vitamin C, zinc and copper is needed – meats, citrus fruits, red and green peppers, tomatoes, broccoli and greens, shellfish, nuts, whole grains and beans.

+ 2g of Creatine
Improves and aids brain cognitive function. Helps muscles produce energy during intense activity.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat red meat 2-3 times a week

+ 4g of Amino Acids
Aids in muscle recovery, growth hormone secretion and improves insulin sensitivity. Also acts as an energy stimulation during the workout.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat red meat 2-3 times a week

+ 3g of Glutamine
Helps the stomach lining, boosts immune function and speeds recovery. Boosts growth hormone and increases rate of protein synthesis.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat red meat 2-3 times a week

+ Natural beet extract
Naturally helps increase blood flow to the muscles during exercises and improves O2 utilisation for better performance
ALTERNATIVE: Eat red meat 2-3 times a week

+ A few drops of Boron (a natural mineral)
Testosterone binds to sex globulins. When this happens, less testosterone is available to promote muscle growth. Boron helps to inhibit sex globulins so more testosterone is readily available.

I then add the below two supplements for energy and hormone production:

+ 375mg (1 capsule) Cordyceps mushroom extract
Increases ATP which is energy levels. Feel the benefits almost instantly.
ALTERNATIVE: Green tea or coffee

+ 300mg (1 capsule) Ashwagandha Root
Studies have shown it can improve testosterone production by up to 17%.
ALTERNATIVE: Ensure to eat your daily % of healthy fats. They are important for optimal hormone production within our body

FAQs

Q: Do I have to have this shake beforehand? Can I not just do my workout and eat after.
A: This is not a make or break and you don’t HAVE to have it. However, we are looking for the most effective way to build lean muscle.

Scientific studies have proven that when an ample supply of amino acids is present in the blood during a workout, recovery is much better. This makes sense as it goes back to the amount of blood being pumped to the muscle area when exercising.

Q: What Whey Protein should I get?
A: Invest in a high-quality, organic, grass-fed whey protein. Or a high-quality pea protein if you are vegan. Go as natural as possible and sugar free.

Q: Why Whey Protein and not the other types?
A: The closer we can get to natural, the better. Whey protein is the closest, hence why it still contains a bit of fat. Protein is digested and utilised better by the body in the presence of fat. The more filtered protein powder is, the further from natural it becomes.

Q: Why do we not have any greens (powdered or vegetables) pre, intra or post-workout?
A: Powdered greens and vegetables contain anti-toxins and elements that reduce inflammation within the body. They also regulate the acidity level (ph level) in the body, helping to reduce it. This is obviously awesome and super important.

However, when we workout and exercise a muscle. We want to create inflammation and increased acidity levels within the muscle area because this further tells the brain that repair needs to happen. The longer that area stays inflamed, the longer the body will keep pushing nutrients to it.

Intaking large amounts of greens will reduce inflammation and shut off signalling pathways to the exercised muscle area. Meaning it will hinder and muscle development.

It is the same reason we don’t have any vitamin C tablets near our workout. Vitamin C is an anti-inflammatory and works the same way. Recovery will still happen, but it won’t be as optimal. We save vegetables and powdered greens for later on in the day. Vegetables and greens also slow down digestion, that’s not what we want.

Q: What do I do on a rest day?
A: Skip the pre and intra-workout meals and add the whey protein powder and collagen from these meals to the post-workout (breakfast meal).

Nutrition: Intra-Workout Shake

This isn’t essential. However, the same beneficial reasons above also apply to this stage (intra). Blood is flowing to the muscle areas in high volume as you workout. So you can utilise that window to keep the muscle cells re-hydrated and maintain an ample supply of amino acids in the blood.

When To Have The Intra-Workout Shake

20 minutes after beginning the workout. Take a small sip after every set you perform

The Intra-Workout Shake Ingredients

In a water bottle add…

+ 4g of Amino Acids
Aids in muscle recovery, growth hormone secretion and improves insulin sensitivity. Also acts as an energy stimulation during the workout.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat red meat 2-3 times a week

+ Pinch of Himalayan salt
Promotes better nutrition uptake from cells. Full of minerals. Maintains good re-hydration levels within the muscle during the workout.
ALTERNATIVE: Small pinch of table salt

+ Electrolytes tablet
Maintains good re-hydration levels within the muscle during the workout.
ALTERNATIVE: Small pinch of table salt

Optional Supplements To Add:

+ 2g of Creatine
Improves and aids brain cognitive function. Helps muscles produce energy during intense activity.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat red meat 2-3 times a week

+ 3g of Glutamine
Helps the stomach lining, boosts immune function and speeds recovery. Boosts growth hormone and increases rate of protein synthesis.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat red meat 2-3 times a week

Nutrition: Post-Workout (Breakfast)

We eat a large amount of easily digestible carbs within this meal. As we’ve discussed, the body has a drastically improved ability to utilise nutrients after intense exercise. So it’s vital to use that window as best as possible. There are two reasons we consume a large amount of carbs at this point:

1) Blood flow to the area

Blood is flowing to and swelling in the areas that you have trained, known as the PUMP. You want to take advantage of this flow as much as possible. Feed those areas with what they need. Post-workout nutrition ensures:

• Your body has an excess of amino acids from protein.
• Your body replenishes the glucose stores and nutrients used during the workout to rebuild, repair and refuel for the next workout.
• There are plenty of water-soluble vitamins and minerals in the bloodstream to help with recovery
• There are very low amounts of fats in the post-workout meal so we don’t store fat and slow down digestion

2) To inhibit cortisol

After 40-60 mins of intense exercise, cortisol is released due to inflammatory signals from the body caused by the stress of exercise (muscle breakdown). Cortisol inhibits the fat-burning and muscle-building hormones released from your workout (inhibit means to stop the production and function of the hormone).

But carbohydrates inhibit cortisol. So we intake carbs at this point to lower cortisol levels. And maintain the necessary hormones in our body that promote fat burning and muscle development.

A note on cortisol: Excessive release of cortisol can suppress the immune system, increase fat storage, and impair mental function. A normal level of cortisol in the body is necessary and healthy. But excessive amounts over any extended period will break down muscle and lead to fat storage.

Carbs taken after training have been shown to dramatically reduce cortisol levels. So less cortisol means less fat and more muscle. We don’t want to stop cortisol. We just want to control it. Enter carbs.

When To Have The Post-Workout Nutrition

Ideally within 30 minutes of finishing the workout.

The Post-Workout Ingredients

+ Oats (Option 1)
Oats are a superfood! Monitor your oats intake, they are high in fiber and if your overall daily fiber intake is too high, it will cause bloating and gas.
ALTERNATIVE: Banana or rice flour (see below)

Or…

+ Rice Flour (Option 2)
I use rice flour instead of oats, as they has very little fiber and don’t upset my stomach.
ALTERNATIVE: Banana

+ Banana slices
Natural source of potassium, magnesium, B6 and vitamin C, all vital in muscle regeneration and replenishment
ALTERNATIVE: Oats or rice flour

+ Whey Protein 1 scoop
Purity and quality are essential.
ALTERNATIVE: Egg whites (eat separately to the oats/banana)

+ Fat-free Greek yoghurt
Hi in slow-digesting casein protein and probiotics to aid digestion.
ALTERNATIVE: Fat-free normal yoghurt or fat-free cottage cheese

+ Blueberries
Fantastic brain food!
ALTERNATIVE: Any dark summer fruits – berries, cherries etc

+ Natural chocolate syrup to taste
Natural, no added sugar chocolate syrup for flavour
ALTERNATIVE: Stevia or chocolate drops

Optional Supplements To Add

+ Leucine 3g
To help activate the MTOR muscle building pathway
ALTERNATIVE: Egg whites (eat separately)

+ Magnesium – 100mg (morning dose)
Supports healthy memory, decreases fatigue and is necessary for 300+ reactions in the body (ATP production, protein synthesis, muscular contraction, decreased cramping).
ALTERNATIVE: Add some almonds to dinner

FAQs

Q: Why oats?
A: Oats are a fantastically balanced whole food. One serving contains protein, a small number of healthy fats and lots of easy and complex-digesting carbs. Whole foods like oats are more easily digested and absorbed by the body because they are complex compounds. Think of a complete pie chart with three sections. That is oats.

Q: Why rice flour instead of oats?
A: Rice flour will never be as nutrient-dense as oats. However, there is a reason why Eastern cultures have been consuming rice for centuries. It is very gut-friendly! it does contain some vitamins and minerals but the main reason I consume it is for the easy access to the carbs and reduced fiber. Go organic if possible. 

Nutrition: Lunch

Now is the time to give you body a substantial amount of nutritious vegetables to feed the body and mind as a whole.

Lunch is the best time to have raw veggies. Raw veggies are full of enzymes and good bacteria that have massive gut health benefits (and we know the great implications when our gut is healthy).

A lot of these bacteria and enzymes die when cooked over 40 degrees. Raw veggies at lunch take longer to digest. We don’t want that digestion to interfere with sleep. So we have them at lunch instead of dinner,

This meal is mainly lean protein, veg, and fats. However, if you do wish to have some carbs with this meal due to lifestyle, that’s fine. Just keep them complex and to a small amount.

When To Consume Lunch?

Ideally 2-3 hours after breakfast

Lunch Ingredients

+ Vegetables 3 – 4 cup fulls (or 300 – 400g)
Raw veggies: Cucumber, pepper, sauerkraut (super easy to make, google the recipe), boiled beetroot, spinach
Steamed veggies: Cauliflower (small amount, well steamed), broccoli

+ Lean protein source
Fish has a higher quality of amino acids and fewer chemicals overall than poultry, chicken for example. I normally opt for coley fish. It’s cheap and line-caught, as it’s not very popular, so it’s more sustainable.

+ Healthy fats 
Pumpkin seeds, almonds, walnuts, 1 brazil nut, olive oil, avocado.

+ Carbs (if you wish to)
Brown rice, sweet potato, lentils, black beans, quinoa 

+ Himalayan salt pinch
Packed full of minerals and helps the uptake of nutrients in cells.

+ 1 kiwi
A superfood! (explained below) Contains natural digestive enzymes to help assimilate the food.

FAQs

Q: Do I have to have this exact veg?
A: No. Again, when it comes to the quality of your food, go for organic veg. Choose veg that’s in season, as it will be cheaper and more organically grown. I can tell you from experience you will feel more energised choosing high-quality veg, it’s worth the investment.

Q: Why a Kiwi?
A: They are a SUPERFOOD like oats. We mainly consume them here with lunch because they contain natural digestive enzymes to help your gut digest the food, similar to pineapple. The better we can break food down and the quicker we can digest it, the more productive our body will function and the better we can get nutrients to the muscles.

The longer food sits in our digestive tracts, the more it ferments and leads to gas, bloating and lethargy. They also have one of the highest amounts of vitamins C, E, K content of any fruit. Essential vitamins for healthy muscle development.

Nutrition: Dinner

Now is the time to eat healthy fats. We are aiming to flow into Buddha recovery mode and we want to intake healthy fats at an optimal level (minimum 25% of total food intake) for many metabolic benefits (cell regeneration, hormonal control, inflammation control etc).

We also want to keep insulin levels very low in the body until the next day to keep our sensitivity optimal. ABSOLUTELY NO CARBS with this meal.

Dinner Ingredients

+ Vegetables 3 – 4 cup fulls (or 300 – 400g)
Steamed ones: courgette, aubergine, broccoli, carrot, green leaves
Roasted ones: swede, sprouts, parsnip

+ Fatty protein source
I normally go for salmon, mackerel or a rib-eye steak (once a week).

+ Healthy fats
I normally go for avocado, feta cheese, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, brazil nut, and pumpkin seeds.

+ Himalayan salt pinch
Packed full of minerals and helps the uptake of nutrients in cells.

Dinner Supplements (Pair Well With High Fat)

+ Vitamin C Powder 1000mg
Blocks cortisol and is essential to the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of the body, this includes muscle. I am 170 pounds, I would advise slightly increasing or slightly decreasing the amounts below based on your weight.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat kiwi, red pepper and sauerkraut daily.

+ Krill Oil 1 dose
Excellent source of healthy fats, reduces inflammation, and improves blood lipids and heart health.
ALTERNATIVE: Eat oily fish such as salmon and trout on a regular basis.

+ Powdered super-greens 1 tsp (optional)
Great way to naturally increase energy and vitality while alkalizing your body.
ALTERNATIVE: Blend in leafy greens, chard, spinach, kale.

+ Magnesium – 100mg (evening dose)
Supports healthy memory, decreases fatigue and is necessary for 300+ reactions in the body (ATP production, protein synthesis, muscular contraction, decreased cramping).
ALTERNATIVE: Add some almonds to dinner

+ 1/2 Dose Multi-Vitamins & Minerals 1 dose
Contributes to overall health and is essential for the formation of new muscle tissue.
ALTERNATIVE: A healthy diet of 2 cups of veg and 2 cups of leafy greens daily. Natural Nutritional yeast (mentioned below)

FAQs

Q: Why do we consume supplements like vitamins and minerals with this meal?
A: The body absorbs all vitamins and minerals differently. Most of them need fats to be transported and absorbed by the body and nearly every single one of them needs vegetables or fruit.

Unless vitamin and mineral tablets are consumed with a meal that contains a wide variety of different coloured fruit or veg, the body can’t fully absorb all the nutrients contained in the tablets. They pass straight through.⁣

Why? Flavonoids and carotenoids (phytonutrients).⁣⁣ They give veg and fruit their colour. The body needs flavonoids and carotenoids to fully absorb and transport vitamins and minerals.

How To Maintain A Lean Body

A lean lifestyle nutrition plan like this is the number one thing I advise anyone to do before dieting and cutting calories. It’s a highly sustainable method that doesn’t put the body under stress. And the lean body results can be awesome!

Often people try and do everything at once:

• lose fat
• build muscle
• go hard
• do multiple workouts

99.99% of the time it leads to a crash and failure within a few weeks. Mentally and psychically. Then willpower and consistency go. I’ve seen it time and time again and I have been there in my youth many times.

Trust me. Eat healthy and consistently with this Evergreen Framework so you can approach the Workouts feeling energised and excited to attack them. Not depleted and lacking in energy as you won’t get the best results. And may resent the workouts rather than enjoy them.

Build Lean Muscle & Burn Fat

Eating at your maintenance calorie intake level will allow you to burn fat and build muscle. You will have enough energy to fuel your body effectively during workouts and for optimal recovery.

Whilst also pushing your body to eat into fat reserves throughout the rest of the day. This will give you an aesthetic body transformation over time. This means you can confidently walk straight onto a beach without needing to do a diet stage.

If you’re feeling tired and hungry simply add 100 cals more to your daily allowance. If you’re feeling full and the scales are going up and up, then reduce down by 100.

The Scales

The scales are a good indication as to whether you’re at the maintenance level. After weighing yourself every day for 10 days whilst eating at the maintenance level, you should begin to level out.

Ideally, you should be staying at about the same weight or very gently and slowly losing weight. This is a good indication you are building lean muscle whilst also burning fat.

Why Eat At Maintenance Level?

1. A lean & sculpt phase (maintenance phase) reduces the need to diet or bulk at the end of each cycle.
It’s possible to maintain a year-round good physique that slowly develops. So long as overeating does not occur too often and consistency is maintained over time, you can build muscle and burn fat.

2. It makes life simpler and easier by just doing the same thing all the time.
A routine and consistency can be mastered and maintained. It’s a nice way to begin easing into the world of macronutrients and calorie counting with understanding

3. If you’re at a happy place with your weight and simply want to maintain what you have.
Perhaps you’ve been doing bulk and cut for a few years and have achieved the physique you want. Eating at maintenance is a nice way to live healthily and maintain a strong, lean physique for longevity.

What To Monitor

1. Your weight should remain consistently the same.
Or in the first month, and depending on your initial body weight fat %, your overall weight should gently and slowly reduce.

2. If you are gaining weight even when you are being consistent after 2 weeks.
This would indicate your maintenance is slightly off. Reduce your calories by 100 cals for week and monitor.

3. The same principle applies if you are losing weight too fast. Ideally, 0.5 – 1 pound a week is a good limit.
Any more and you’re in such a calorie deficit that you are dieting and your body will not have enough nutrition to build lean muscle.

There will be fluctuations in your weight. Remember, it’s your weight over long periods to look at. Not day-to-day.

How Long Can I Do This For?

This will be totally dependent on your lifestyle. If you are consistent with your nutrition and train smartly, you can go for as long as you want. Some things to consider:

1. You may need to add more calories to your daily amount as you’ve built more lean muscle and require more fuel to function.
2. You may need to do a mini diet phase or slightly reduce daily calories if you’ve gained too much weight due to lifestyle.

There is no real right or wrong path. Just observations, data collecting and learning.

You may want to change your goal completely and begin a carb-cycling bulk phase to build muscle faster. Or you might want to shed fat phase to burn belly fat faster and reveal more of that lean physique.

How To Avoid Binges

The biggest hindrance I’ve noticed when people eat at a maintenance level, is they binge on a weekend. This is normally because they associate the mid-week with being super-good and strict. Then willpower fades come the weekend and they go crazy.

Don’t do this. Treat every day as the same. Disassociate the illusion of weekdays and weekends being separate. If it’s a Tuesday and you want a slice of cake or a few doughnuts after your lunch, have them.

If you like to have the occasional treat, allow yourself to have it on a Monday. You’ll find that by dropping the mental restrictions of weekends and weekdays. Allowing yourself a treat when you want it, means you are less likely to binge all at once and go crazy. However, a golden rule of thumb when it comes to eating treats…

Always have your treats after a proper meal, ideally lunch or dinner.

Reduced Insulin Spikes

This will greatly reduce the insulin spike caused by the treats because your gut will be digesting vegetables and proteins. It will greatly reduce the overwhelming urge to eat more sweet things. Avoid in-between meal sugar spikes.

What makes a treat? Anything with: sugar, flour, vegetable oils. Going out for a meal that’s substantial and healthy isn’t a treat. You just need to be conscious of it.

Overcoming A Big Social Weekend

Three ways you can approach it:

1. Just carry on as normal
Get back to your routine. You’ll no doubt have extra energy, so push it hard in your workouts and use that energy well. This is the simplest and best approach so you swing too far one way and fall off track.

2. Reduce calorie intake for 2 days
For two days after, reduce your overall calorie intake by 500cals males, 300 cals females. If you do want to make a little dent as you’re feeling guilty then do this.

3. Fasting or Intermittent fasting
The day after fast until dinner, skipping breakfast and lunch. This is a quick punch to get back on track. However, don’t do this if you’re not used to fasting as you may find the craving too intense and binge again in the evening.

Look at these as tools and levers to pull at your disposal. Don’t sweat the small stuff in the grand scheme of things.

Fasting 101

I highly recommend trying fasting as you get more advanced. But only once an optimal body has been achieved via this Evergreen approach. Fasting is an advanced tool, but useless unless the beginner tools above have been applied well first.

The benefits are great in my opinion. Every 3-4 months I will incorporate a 24 – 48 hour fast at some point.

Fasting is a tool I’ve built up over the years. Not something I’ve achieved by jumping straight into. I began with 1/2 day and 3/4 day fasts for some time. Before progressing onto 1 and 2-day fasts.

Fasting Benefits

• Ability to burn a surprisingly noticeable amount of fat (not just water weight) in a 24 hour fast when exercising and walking 15,000 – 20,000 steps within the 24hr period.
• Increased cognitive and mental focus, from the 14-hour mark my mind is super focused and super creative.
• The feeling of a new lease of life after the fast is over like I’m in a new body.
• Science says it releases a lot of growth hormones. Good for muscle development and fat burning
• Increased immunity, I truthfully cannot remember the last time I had a cold or flu since I began including fasting. Yes, granted my nutrition is constantly getting better as I learn more, so this will also be a contributing factor. But I think it comes down to the following…
• Autophagy: a vital process in which the body’s cells “clean out” any unnecessary or damaged components. Researchers have linked autophagy to several positive health effects.
• More energy and better pumps when exercising as it helps improve insulin sensitivity
• Highly improved gut health, less bloating and gas again to autophagy
• Better sleep and mood after the fast. A feeling of resetting the body

Fasting Tips

• Drink plenty of Electrolytes and Himalayan Pink Salt with lots of water throughout the fast
• If you begin to struggle with hunger cravings, a teaspoon of MCT oil will suppress it.
• The hunger cravings are caused by bad bacteria in your gut. Over time the more a fast is practised and the more consistent you are with this Evergreen Framework, the more of these bad bacteria are killed off. And the cravings become less and less.
• I would NOT recommend going over a 48 hour fast as your body can then start to eat into muscle.

Your Lean Body Transformation

As you can see, this was a long article with a lot of info to digest. If you know you need to make a change for your health and confidence, and you want to do it from home…

Join Fitness Freedom Athletes here and get access to the diet and exercise strategies to build muscle, shed fat, and sculpt your body using just a suspension trainer, resistance band, & your bodyweight.

Fitness Freedom Athletes is a proven system used by 8000+ busy professionals for long-term results. It’s a friendly and motivating community with all the support and guidance you need to transform your body, health, and life.

Evergreen Simple Nutrition,
Coach Adam
Body Transformation Coach