Written By: Jonathan Shoop

Hello everyone! It has been far too long since I wrote last. Let me start by saying I hope everyone who reads this is doing well and is enjoying life! I am not an medical doctor, please consult with your physician before beginning any exercise or supplement routine.

Today I want to write about the topic of building muscle mass without gaining fat. If you follow my directions and are diligent about exercising, diet, and supplementation then you should actually be building lean muscle and DECREASING body fat! Yes I said it. Build muscle AND lose fat at the same time. Now I know what some or most of you have heard… that it is impossible to do that without using anabolic steroids. Or that to gain muscle you must go into a “gaining phase” and that will likely include gaining fat. Well I’m here to tell you that those ideas are simply untrue.

Let’s start with exercise. Resistance training is CRUCIAL to gaining muscle tissue. Whether it be lifting weights, Melissa’s at home workouts, circuit training, or other bodyweight exercises. Putting strain on your muscles everyday is what’s going to be what causes microfiber tears on your muscle tissue. These microfiber tears are what we will then go back and repair using proper diet and supplementation, resulting in… muscle growth!

My suggestion for someone who lifts weights is to lift 4-6 times a week for no less than an hour at a time. You need to push yourself everyday and keep track of how much you are lifting to help keep the progress going in the following months/years. I would then also throw in a 2-3 high intensity cardio workouts (no longer than 30 minutes) after lifting or on your “off day”. Melissa has a variety of workouts for you to do on this site so I will leave it to you to find the ones you like.

If you are doing Melissa’s workouts, you can stick to one or two a day but I would really push you to shoot for 45-60 minutes.

Now comes nutrition and supplementation. First of all and most importantly, you need to be keeping track of the amount of calories that you eat throughout the day and the amount of calories you burn. This is absolutely CRITICAL to obtain the best and quickest results. Melissa and I actually met through our use of the website myfitnesspal.com – this is a great resource for logging what you eat throughout the day as well as inputting your exercise.

If you are overweight and needing to lean up, set the setting of how active you are throughout the day one notch lower than what it would suggest for you. If you are trying to gain muscle and have trouble doing so, go with what they suggest. This is the amount of calories you burn normally in a 24 hour period with no exercise. When you exercise, try using a heart rate monitor or something else that keeps track of your activity/calories you burn. You need to add those calories back into your daily amount, this will give you more to eat, but you need them to build that muscle!

In terms of calories, I would suggest starting with what myfitnesspal.com suggests for your overall calorie intake and then adding your exercise calories. Do this for 2 weeks and monitor your weight during that time period. What we are looking for is a baseline number for your calories. If you’ve lost or gained weight during that time period and being diligent with keeping track and being on point with your consumption and expenditure of calories, you should adjust it from there depending on the gain or loss. If your weight has stayed the same during that 2 weeks then that is perfect. That is your maintenance calories (the amount of calories your body needs to maintain weight). Our goal is to gain muscle, for this I would add 250 calories into your daily consumption on top of your maintenance amount. If the weight isn’t coming on after 2-4 weeks of doing this, keep increasing your calories incrementally every 2-4 weeks. Gaining muscle takes time and patience. Keep at it and keep pushing yourself and expectations in your workouts!

The supplementation side of it is what is going to help you maximize your efforts! Think about it this way, with a car, you can get from point A to point B. The difference is how quickly you can get there and your gas mileage. You want to get there fast and you want to get there efficiently. This is the whole point of sports nutrition supplements. They will help you get there faster and with greater efficiency.

There is a plethora of information and products to take on the market. I have been a consultant for various nutrition stores throughout my years of working out and have chosen to carry specific products from specific companies because of their quality and results.

Here is a quick rundown of what I take/recommend for someone who works out 3+ times a week for 30-90 minutes.

*Note from Melissa: Be sure to check any supplementation program with your doctor. Each individual has different needs and tolerances. It is important to customize your program. If you have questions, ask a professional and be honest about your health history.*

Before a workout:

60-90 minutes before workout: Depending on size of the person: A meal consisting of 2 eggs and about 20-30 grams of carbohydrates such as fruit or oatmeal. If you do not have time because of work or waking up so early, that is OK but I would suggest then a quick protein shake of whey isolate or egg white protein.

15-30 minutes before workout:

• Thermogenic, fat burner, or preworkout drink – something that will get you going and help you crank out that workout. Be careful with your own tolerance to stimulants and do not combine them unless you have done it before.
• Along with any of those stimulants take 10 grams of branch chained amino acids. (BCAAs for short, they consist of Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine). This helps protect your muscle tissue from being used as energy, helps with recovery, and helps fight fatigue during the workout. I like BCAA Fuel.

After the workout:

• Take 20-50 grams of protein from egg whites (my favorite is Muscle Egg flavored egg whites) or a whey isolate protein (Isolate Fuel or Iso Fuel Naturals) – again, the amount is dependant upon the weight and dietary needs of the individual.
• Glutamine complex 6-10 grams – my favorite is Glutaplex. This helps speed up the repair of muscle tissue which helps with growth and also cuts down soreness.
• Depending on dietary needs you can also take 20-40 grams of carbohydrates such as berries, oatmeal, or a powdered carbohydrate like Carbalean by Nutracore.

Everyday essentials:

• Liquid or powdered form complete multi-vitamin. Don’t waste time or money on hard tablet form multi-vitamins as these are hard to digest, may upset your stomach, and your body only absorbs about 10% of a hard tablet multi-vitamin.
• Essential fatty acids, EFAs, fish oils, or krill oil. Essential fatty acids are the best thing for your heart health. EFAs help lower blood pressure, raise good HDL cholesterol, and lower bad LDL cholesterol.
• CLA – conjugated linoleic acid, from safflower oil. This is a fatty acid that helps your body to burn white adipose tissue. White adipose tissue is the fat around our midsections. I get mine from Pure Life Nutra because it is composed of only safflower oil, resulting in high purity and concentration. (purelifenutra.com)
• L-carnitine – this helps speed up your body’s ability to burn fat. I get mine from Pure Life Nutra because of it’s purity.

If you have any questions or would like help choosing a supplement regiment, feel free to email me at: totalnutritionmansfield@gmail.com
Thanks and I hope you make those gains!!!

Jon Shoop

• Cook in Bulk: Prepare extra food ahead of time. On Sundays I cook a large baking dish full of chicken (sometimes fish), and a dish full of vegetables. I can use these in my lunch, on a salad, in pasta, or as an easy addition to any dinners I might cook during the week. 
• Plan for Healthy Snacking: If you are a snacker keep food items on hand that you enjoy and can eat in appropriate portion sizes. Raw Almonds or other nuts, Fruit, Greek Yogurt, etc. You can pre-portion out ingredients for your favorite smoothie.
• Choose Foods that you Enjoy: You are not going to stick to a meal plan if you don’t like what you are eating. Don’t be afraid to experiment with healthy variations of your favorite recipes. Pinterest can be a gold mine of fun and healthy recipe ideas. You can check out my “Healthy Delicious” Pinterest Board here for some fun ideas. 

2. Portion: Making healthy choices doesn’t make you exempt from eating realistic portion sizes. Just because an item is healthy doesn’t mean it’s low in calories. Two of my favorite foods in the world are Natural Peanut Butter and Avocados. Both foods have tremendous health benefits. Neither is a low calorie food. 

• Check Portion Sizes: When you are first getting used to portion sizes don’t be afraid to measure. Keep in mind that measuring is a tool. If measuring food is a trigger to compulsive eating behaviors for you, please skip this one. Having a healthy relationship with food is more important than having an exact portion size. 
• Approximate Portion Sizes: Meat/Protein should be around the size of your palm, or the size of a deck of cards. One serving of cheese is about the size of your thumb. Vegetables should fill about half of your plate or two cupped hands. 

• Look for ingredients you recognize. For example, I prefer Peanut Butter where the only ingredient is Peanuts.
• Ingredients are listed in order of quantity. Whichever ingredient is listed first is present in the largest quantities. If sugar is the first or second ingredient it’s a red flag to me that the food item is not as healthy as it may seem. 

• Try to include a vegetable at every meal. For me, the easiest and fastest option is fresh spinach.  I put spinach in salads, smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, pastas, spaghetti sauce, or as a side dish. 
• Eat Carbohydrates: They are necessary for your body and brain to function correctly. You can get your carbs from fruits and vegetables, from grains or from a combination of both. Food=Fuel. 
• Eat Lean Protein: Protein helps keep you full throughout the day and helps your body build muscles. 
• Eat Healthy Fats: Healthy fats have been scientifically proven to improve endurance during workouts. They also help your hair and nails look their best. Healthy fats decrease your risk for a plethora of diseases (heart disease, stroke, and hypertension just to name a few!) Olive oil, avocado, coconut, nut butters, and nuts are great sources of healthy fats. 

Spaghetti Squash over Fresh Spinach with Tomato & Spinach Marinara Sauce and Chicken.

There is no secret to healthy eating. The trick to it is finding a healthy approach that works for you. I don’t eat whole foods all the time, but I make sure they are the foundation of my diet. Today I ate a donut (gasp!) and I don’t feel guilty, or that I had to “earn it” or “work it off.” I don’t eat donuts every day. I do eat vegetables, fruits, nuts and lean meats every day. I exercise and try to make healthy choices.

Hi Everyone, 

The new 30 Day Challenge starts tomorrow. We are going to be doing some awesome workouts! To get the best results from your workout program it’s important to pair them with a good nutritional plan. 

So what does a good nutritional plan look like? It varies a bit from person to person. Your nutritional plan should include foods that you enjoy. 

That said, there are some aspects that should be included in your diet. Don’t be afraid to explore and figure out what works best for you.  Here are some rules that I try to stick to when deciding what to eat. 

1. Learn to Recognize Portion Sizes: This is by far the one I have the hardest time sticking to! I eat several meals (5-6) throughout the day, so it is especially important to be aware of portion sizes when you do this. Otherwise you end up with 5-6 huge meals and an excess of calories. 

If you aren’t sure what a portion size looks like measure it. Three foods that I find shocking when measured are cereal, granola and trail mix. I keep a little sandwich baggie with a 1/4 cup portion size inside my bag of trail mix and granola. It’s an easy visual cue to show me what a portion size is with these foods (otherwise I might eat them 3-4 handfuls at a time). You don’t have to do this with every food, but if there is something you know you tend to overeat measure it out until you learn to recognize the portion size. 

Remember, you don’t have to limit yourself to just one serving with every food, but being aware can help you make healthy choices throughout the day. 

Spinach salad with Fish and Cherry Tomatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Eggplant and Zucchini, Apple

2. Eat Vegetables: Incorporate them into all of your meals. When you fill your plate, aim to make half of that vegetables. I start almost every day with an egg sandwich with fresh baby spinach on 100% whole wheat bread. Sometimes I add hummus or peanut butter (yes, I do love PB with a lot of strange things), sometimes I skip the bread and have eggs with fresh spinach.

Vegetables are full of nutrition and fiber, and most of them are naturally low in calories. The more colors you incorporate into your day the bigger the variety of nutrients you are consuming. Vegetables will help keep you full longer, and help prevent overeating. An added bonus of crunchy vegetables (carrots, celery, etc) is that they take longer to chew, which can help your body recognize satiety (fullness) signals more quickly. 

Egg, Spinach and Bacon

Some Recipe Ideas: Apple Omelet, Vegetable Grilled Cheese, Chicken Vegetable Soup, Veggie Wrap, Green Smoothie, Chicken Vegetable Rice Soup, Grilled Eggplant Sandwich, Filling Green Endurance Smoothie

3. Eat Protein: Protein will help your muscles grow stronger and repair more quickly. It also helps keep you full and satisfied throughout the day. Research is variable on the amount of protein you should consume per day. However, most people trying to build lean muscle aim for 1 gram per pound of desired body weight. 

Baked Fish and Vegetables

 

Some Recipe Ideas: Tuna Stuffed Egg Whites, Egg Muffins, Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt, Feta Stuffed Chicken, Crockpot Seafood Stew/Gumbo, Protein Pancakes, Balsamic Chicken with Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Avocado Chicken or Egg Salad, How to Get Enough Protein 

4. Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth: Whoa! Did I really just say that? I sure did. I keep dark chocolate chips in my freezer at all times. If I have a major sweets craving I have a few chocolate chips (remember rule #1 about portion sizes!) 

Remember, you can satisfy your sweet tooth while eating clean. Get creative, and try to steer yourself closer to fruits and away from overly processed sugars. 

If you let the cravings build without ever appeasing them it can lead to binge eating of very unhealthy items. Also, a “diet” will only work if it is a lifestyle change that you are able to stick to. For most of us that means we need to incorporate in some sweets. Don’t be afraid to try some healthy versions of your favorite dessert. You just might like it!

I’m a big fan of Sincerely Yogurt. I stick to the Original Flavor, which is refreshing and delicious, and I top it with fresh fruit. Jesse usually gets the chocolate. 

 

Some Recipe Ideas: Peanut Butter Oat Stuffed Baked Apples, Protein Chocolate Frappucino, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes, Frozen Banana Bites

5. Log Your Food: Try keeping a written or photographic log of your food. Snapping photos of everything you eat, or writing it down can help you be aware of what you are putting into your body. It can also help you identify if there are certain foods that trigger you to over eat. On the flip side, it can be a great tool to tell you when you aren’t eating enough. Eating to much and eating to little are BOTH detrimental to your health and fitness. Food is fuel for your body. To little food and you catabolize your muscle, which increases your body fat percentage. To much food and you become sluggish and consume extra calories which can lead to weight gain. 

Remember, contrary to what you can find on Pinterest, Calories are NOT little creatures that sew your clothes tighter in the night. Calories are simply a measure of energy. 1 Calorie = 4.184 Joules. Calories measure the amount of potential energy that a food item has. It takes your body a certain amount of energy just to pump your blood! One gallon of gasoline has about 31,000,000 calories. You wouldn’t fill up your gas tank with gasoline, and then start pouring the gas into the back seat. You also wouldn’t be able to drive your car on an empty tank. Fuel your body with what it needs. 

This doesn’t have to mean counting calories! Many people find counting calories useful, but it can become something that people get hung up on or start doing compulsively. If you are one of those people it’s probably better to just skip number 5. Having a healthy approach toward food will get you results faster, and keep you saner than counting calories. I log my food at the end of the day when I am done eating. That helps me keep the log as a tool for learning, and not something to get fixated on. 

I hope you find these tips helpful! See you tomorrow for Day 1 of the new 30 Day Challenge!

Melissa