Eat Real Food

Macros aren’t the only important thing when it comes to nutrition. Based of personal experience, I recover 5 times better when I supplement my exercise with real food and not macro packed artificial junk. For example, after a lift I feel much more recovered the next day if I fuel with chicken or any other actual protein over protein shakes and protein gummies. Everything you can think of has protein these days. It’s a simple marketing trick to get people to buy food. Protein cookies, protein chips, protein gummies, protein shakes - to name a few. A protein shake a few times a week works great. You are getting hydration and protein simultaneously. Protein powder also leaves me feeling rested. Obviously real protein sources are the best. But these aren’t bad options. What you don’t want to do is supplement meals with protein and calorie packed snacks. The most common victim is breakfast. The classic protein shake and protein bar breakfast will leave you crashing by 12. Now of course there’s a time and place for everything. If you’ve just finished school and you have practice and need a quick boost - drink that shake. The problem is in the meal substitution. Supplementing a meal with a protein shake isn’t a bad idea. Despite this, it mustn’t become your main source of protein. It is recommended that humans consume 0.7-1 gram of protein per pound. These statistics make it hard not to reach for protein packed snacks. The problem is rooted in low protein meals, causing people to need to augment their diets with protein snacks. If every meal you eat has a lean protein, the need for protein snacks drops to just before and after exercise. I’m not discouraging anyone from a quick pick-me-up. The main point is that a terrible diet along with protein snacks won’t help just because the macros say you are reaching your goals.

Skipping meals is no better. Cutting hard is no excuse to skip breakfast. Just because you’re in a calorie deficit doesn’t mean you should be drowsy all the time and low energy. Your body needs fuel. If you’re planning a big workout, regardless of a deficit, you need adequate carbs. Cutting too hard will destroy your performance in any endeavor, whether it be a sport or in the gym. I can’t remember how many times I’ve shrunk my meals and just had a protein shake and then tried to over work myself. It doesn’t feel good. As long as you’re getting proper nutrients from real food, eating full meals and drinking enough water, your energy will be great.