When it comes to your overall health there are three main pillars, those are the foods that you eat, the thoughts that you think and the exercise that you get.  Everybody wants those ripped abs and everybody wants to know how to get that dream body and that dream life.  Well nutrition is the biggest factor in that equation so in this article we'll cover how to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.  It's not easy by any means but it's definitely possible especially if you internalize the principles we'll cover in this article. 

The first thing I want to point out is that there's a difference between just losing weight and being strong, athletic and healthy.  Anyone can lose weight, if you remember Jared from Subway he lost a ton of weight eating hogie sandwiches but he doesnt look strong and healthy.  There's also a new McDonalds diet, while anyone can lose weight by restricting their calorie intake we want to cover losing the weight and having more energy the right way and not by using things like ephedrine or fat burners.  What we're going to talk about is living long as well as living strong. 

Many people think that body builders must have some hidden diet secrets but body builder nutrition really comes down to about few small things.  First off, less calories, you have to take in less calories than you're burning it's like a checking account, it's common sense but it's not easy. 

Second, quality calories.  You should always try to eat as much unprocessed food as possible and avoid food that comes from a box.  When it comes to choosing food I have a simple saying, if it's made in a plant don't eat it, if it comes from a plant, eat it.  In general I try to eat, lean, green and marine which means Lean red meats and lean proteins, Green carbohydrates, nice green leafy vegetables, always remember if it rots it's good for you. And marine, fish is a fantastic source of proteins and healthy fat. 

The next part of the body builders nutrition equation is eating small meals often.   To be able to reach your true metabolic potential you have to eat at least every three to four hours which can be 5-6 times a day.  Now for a lot of people that's a big change, if you're currently only eating two meals a day, you wont want to jump right into 6 meals a day so work up to it.  Start by eating three meals a day and cutting down on the portions of each of those meals.  

Now for those meals you want to be sure to have a protein, carbohydrates and fat in each of them.  Different sized people will require different amount of proteins and carbohydrates in each of their meals.  For smaller people under 150 pounds you need to be eating fifteen to twenty grams of protein with every meal.  For a medium person in the 150-180 pound range that is working out each day aggressively you'll need between twenty and thirty grams of protein.  And for the bigger people from 180 pounds and up thirty to forty grams of protein at each meal is a great goal to work towards. 

As far as carbs are concerned, every meal should have a carb to go along with the protein.  Just like with protein the amount of carbs that you take in with each meal will depend on your size so for small people under 150 pounds you'll want to shoot for fifty to a hundred grams of carbs with each meal.  For the medium sized people between 150-180 pounds you need to eat between one hundred and two hundred grams of carbs.  And for the larger people over 180 pounds you'll need 200 to 300 grams of carbs with each meal combined with your protein.   

Now the key to being successful with this diet plan is carb cycling.  In your exercise routines you should be doing cardio one day and lifting heaving the other days.  On the days that you do cardio focus on eating only non starching carbs and then on the days that you lift you can have the starchier carbs. 

Now regardless of your fitness level, when you combine these eating tips with intense workouts you're guaranteed to see results.