Importance of Pre and Post Workout Meals

To gain mass or to get shredded you want to have at least 6-7 meals a day, but the two different diets is determined by how much you eat at one time. Even when you cut up, you need to constantly eat to supply your body with protein and to prevent your body from going into a catabolic state, in which it feeds off of itself in order to supply its body with nutrients. The more muscle you have, the more fat you will burn to maintain it. Furthermore, if your body knows that food is coming it will use that food as readily burned energy. When you don’t eat for long periods of time it stores that food as body fat to be preserved for food in a later time in the day. Often times it is not used as energy so the fat accumulates.

Also, you should be drinking at least a minimum of 1 gallon of water a day. Whether you are gaining mass or cutting up, your water consumption should not change. Water is the one of the most important nutrients your body can get.

Breakfast:
Egg White Omelete
Oatmeal Mixed with Blueberries, Strawberries, and Blackberries
Glass of Grapefruit Juice

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Make sure you get your protein and healthy fats from the eggs to break the fast and take your body out of its catabolic state. Make sure you get your complex carbs to give you energy throughout the day and the healthy, simple sugars from the blueberries to give your body the fuel it needs immediately. Also, you'll have plenty of antioxidants in this meal to boost your ability to kill off cell-damaging free radicals.

Mid-Morning Snack:
Banana with Peanut Butter (It's Yummy)

You need to eat every 2-3 hours to make sure you provide your muscles with the fuel it needs so it doesn't go catabolic (muscle-wasting) and so your metabolism is stoked so you can be bruning fat all day long.

Pre-Workout Stack: Cellucor's C4 Extreme

Remember to take a pre-workout supplement before the gym to help prime your body for muscle growth and fat burning. Your workouts will be close to useless without one. The best one on the market is one that contains 4 essential ingredients: Beta Alanine, Creatine, Caffeine, and L-Arginine- which act together to create snyergistic growth within your body, priming your body for fat-burning mode. The best one on the market that contains all of these 4 ingredients is Cellucor's C4 Extreme.

Post-Workout Stack: Cellucor Iso Pro Nitro Sport Plus 4 Tbsp. of Honey

This is probably your 2nd most important meal of the day. You need to have fast-digesting sources of protein and carbohydrates in order to prevent further muscle breakdown and replenish glycogen stores. The carbs are very important because you need to create an insulin spike which will send your muscles into a growth phase. You need the best post-workout protein on the market designed to maintain higher insulin levels, absorb more macronutrients, amplify glycogen storage with greater digestability than traditional protein shakes- you'll build muscle immediately after your workout. Make sure to have 4 tbsp. of honey with it, which is one of the healthiest, most natural sugars your body loves. It has antibacterial and antiviral properties that will keep your immune system firing on all cylinders.

1 Hour after Post-Workout:
Whole Grilled Tilapia with Basmati Rice, Carrots, Peas
Whole Wheat Pita with Tzatziki Sauce
Water with Lemon

This meal is very important. The post-workout meal is designed to spike insulin levels to replenish some glycogen stores and to shuttle protein and nutrients into the muscles to prevent further muscle breakdown. However, this meal is the start of the reparation process to put you on the road to recovery and building further muscle.

Dinner: Greek Salad with Grilled Chicken, Sweet Potato

Late-Night Snack: Cup of Plain Yogurt w/ Strawberries

Yogurt has a good supply of casein protein in it, that will keep your muscles fed while you sleep for 8 hours. Your body's ability to break down precious muscle will be hindered (that's a good thing). The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn.

And please stop brown-bagging it fellas. Carry all of your meals in the 6 Pack Bag Meal Management System. The most convenient lunchbox for bodybuilders ever made.