A Lean Body Diet and Nutrition Post…by Brad Campbell

I went over some theory the other day, mapping out how to build lean muscle and lose fat at the same time.  From that post, you should have learned that it’ll take a highly strategic balancing act, that teeters between balls to the wall fat loss and meathead-like muscle building, all within the same day (or week, depending on which method you choose to follow).

Assuming your workout isn’t first thing in the morning, you should have also realized that, contrary to popular belief, breakfast is NOT the most important meal of the day.  At least not when it comes to changing your body composition.

No sir, the post-workout meal trumps breakfast like the ace of spades, since it’s virtually impossible to build lean muscle without getting this right.

You saw the carb-filled buffet I scarfed down post weight workout in that last post.  Plus, I talked about the importance of the pre-, during and post-workout carb/protein shake…all of which collaboratively set the stage for maximum muscle building and preventing muscle breakdown during that crucial window of opportunity.

Today, I want to focus on another part of the day, so you can get a better picture of how your meals should be structured to achieve this feat.  So let’s talk breakfast…

Admittedly, I’m a little harsh on the pathetically lame, #1 most used, generic as hell nutrition tip that most sites give out in their “groundbreaking” articles…

You know, the whole “a balanced breakfast is the most important meal of the day…it jump starts your metabolism…never skip it and try to eat something within 20 minutes of waking up” garbage that everyone likes to rehash…

Well, I’m not saying breakfast isn’t important– hell, every meal is important if you want to make extreme changes to your body.  It’s just not as important as all the literature would have you believing.

Soapbox aside, I should get back to the original point of the post…

When you’re aiming to burn fat and pack on rock hard muscle at the same time, what type of breakfast is best?

Simple.  You need lots of protein, but without many calories…to promote muscle sparing/building, while operating at a caloric deficit throughout those morning hours.

Here’s what I had this morning for my lean body breakfast, which of course, meets the criteria above…

You may have noticed that there were no bagels loaded with cream cheese on my ultra classy paper plate.  Actually, you probably can’t tell what that mess is…

We have leftover 99% lean ground turkey topped with salsa and fat free cottage cheese.  I also drizzled a small amount of extra virgin olive oil over the top.  I washed it all down with 2 large glasses of green tea.

You can see I had a crap-ton of protein, a small amount of healthy fats, only a few grams of carbs and plenty of antioxidants.  I like to show you pictures so these concepts really resonate.  It takes sacrifice to build an exceptional body.

Sure, I would’ve preferred a ginormous bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, but instead ate a plate of ground meat for crying out loud.

Most of your meals and snacks throughout the day should resemble this setup– lots of high quality protein, minimal carbs (load up on veggies), some healthy fat and lots of water.  Then, the carb overfeeding comes into play right before, during and after your strength training workouts.

So that’s just another look into the the day of someone who’s trying to build lean muscle and lose fat at the same time.  Make sure your breakfast is lean body certified if you’re trying to do the same.

Take it easy.  But not too easy.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

Speaking of building lean, shapely muscle… check out these advanced bodybuilding workouts: Lifting Routines To Build Muscle

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