Which Diet Is Best For Weight Loss: IIFYM or Clean Eating?

New theories about how to lose weight are thrown at you on a daily basis. But which diet is best for weight loss? Let's look at two of the most popular and answer that question.

There are two main diet approaches that have amassed popularity in the fitness industry in recent years.  And unless you're completely new to fitness, I'm guessing you've heard of them. IIFYM or If It Fits Your Macros to give it its full name, is one, and Clean Eating is the other. But which diet is best for weight loss?

IIFYM and Clean Eating have been doing the rounds heavily over the last few years. And if you don't believe me or aren't sure what I'm talking about, do one thing for me.

First off, load up your Instagram feed right now. Because I'm willing to bet you won't find it too hard to find pictures guys singing the praises of IIFYM. They're easy to spot. You know the ones. Ripped guys nailing 12 doughnuts at a time while simultaneously mainlining Big Macs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Likewise, you'll also find pictures of leafy green salads, seeds, and boiled chicken. And the text accompanying those pictures will tell you that all junk food is bad. And unless a food is 100% natural then it's a poison that's going to destroy your body.

So that might be a bit of an exaggeration on both fronts, but it's representative of the hyperbole that surrounds this whole debate.

And it seems to be that you're either in one camp, or the other.  There's no allowance for a grey area.

So where does that leave you?

I'm guessing the word confused sums things up, am I right? Because you're left wondering which camp is right, and which is wrong.  Is it the doughnut loving jacked dude, or the veggie loving anti-KFC guy? Ultimately, you want to know which diet is best for weight loss and achieving your goals. But you're not getting the answer to that question.

Well this week's article is going to give you the answer once and for all. So read on and find out which diet is best for weight loss.

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Meal Prep Sunday #9 - Low Carb Breakfast

Looking for a delicious low carb breakfast?  Look no further than these two nutrient packed recipes that will kick-start your day.

A high protein breakfast is becoming a more and more common thing these days.

The high sugar, nutrient-poor breakfast cereal are being pushed to one side in favour of protein packed meals.  This can range from oatmeal dishes with added protein, to the classic egg white omelette.

But as with lots of trends in the fitness industry, a good idea gets morphed into something bland, boring, and dull.

Now's the time to buck that trend and keep those protein packed, low carb breakfasts the taste sensations they should be!

Read on and get ready to plan these awesome dishes into your nutrition plan next week.  You won't regret it.  And your tastebuds will love you for it.

Starting the day off with a high protein, low carb meal is a great strategy, particularly if you're looking to lose weight for a couple of reasons.

1. The high protein content will give you a fuller feeling for longer, meaning that you're less likely to succumb to temptation a drift off plan.
2. Carbs are a precious commodity when you're losing weight, as often these are reduced (although they are not the enemy of fat loss).  Saving your carbs to your later meals, means you can fit in those ingredients you love, like bread, pasta, and potatoes.

As within anything meal plan related, you need to keep things interesting in order for you to stick to the plan, so with this week's Meal Prep Sunday blog, I've got a couple of great tasting recipes that you should have no problem weaving into your meal plans.  They'll liven up breakfast time for sure!

And what's more, they don't require a shed load of preparation and cooking skill.  Perfect for getting a quick meal down your neck, first thing in the morning.

So without further ado, let's dive straight into Meal Prep Sunday and...

Let's get cooking...

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Meal Prep Sunday #8 - Vegetarian Noodles & Protein Cheesecake

Protein Cheesecake?  Does this mean chicken mixed with cheese and cake?...

You'll be glad to know the answer to that question is a resounding no.  Although I'm a huge fan of not sticking to bland and boring dishes, even I think that chicken and cheesecake is a step too far.

Desserts can often be a bit of a taboo subject for a lot of people.

You start your diet and they're one of the first things that has to go.  You throw away the contents of your freezer and make a solemn pact to yourself and those around you that you won't be touching another dessert for the next 3 months.

No more ice cream, no more sticky toffee pudding, and definitely no double chocolate fudge brownies!

But by about week 3 you see everyone else still enjoying those tasty treats after dinner, which kicks off those cravings and desires inside of you.  Heck, your Instagram feed is awash with guys and girls that have perfect abs but are still seemingly working their way through treat after treat and dessert after dessert.

How do they do it?  And more importantly, why can't you!?

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Blood Flow Restriction Training: Does It Really Work?

Can blood flow restriction really lead to muscle growth?

When it comes to new forms of training I'm probably one of the most skeptical people out there.  And the concept of blood flow restriction training initially got my standard reaction. Because, based on past experience, I'm naturally dubious of a new crazy rep scheme that appears in some fitness magazine. Or a fad diet that an actor is screaming from the Hollywood hills about, because it helped him or her get shredded for their latest movie. To me, it alls falls into the category of waist trainers and Herbalife products.  It all just sounds too good to be true.  And you know what 99% of the time it is.

So with that in mind, when I first heard that there was a method of training involving blood flow restriction, my immediate thought was that this automatically falls into the 99% category.  I had visions of neanderthal bodybuilders getting tips from local drug users about the best way to make those veins pop.

But what if I told you that there's some truth in in it?  What if I was to tell you that my initial thoughts were completely wrong?

What if I was to tell you that the process of blood flow restriction can actually have a positive effect on muscle growth? And the theory is backed by the scientific research?

You'd be interested right?  Well this blog is going to fill you in on all the details and guide you through what it is and how to use it to further enhance your training.

I'm going to show you why Blood Flow Restriction Training (BFR) is actually in the 1%.

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Meal Prep Sunday #7 - A High Protein Hit

Chicken and eggs are a great way to get a hit of protein in your diet, but it can all get a bit boring.  Until now!...

A high protein diet is without a doubt THE most effective way to achieve your body composition goals and achieve that aesthetic look.  I'm sure you know by now that chicken is a great source of lean protein and that eggs are a good blend of protein and fats.

Both foods have pretty much no carbs and therefore make a good choice for those of you seeking to up your protein intake without having a boat load of tag along calories you didn't really want.

But that search for high protein foods leads to dull food choices.  Chicken with sweet potato, chicken with brown rice and broccoli.  Yawn!  And the egg recipes get worse!  Omelettes and plain hard boiled eggs are about as far as the imagination is stretched.

With this week's Meal Prep Sunday blog, I wanted to to show that it doesn't have to be that way.  There's lots of variety you can bring to these two great ingredients without trashing your macros and blowing your calories for the day.

This week, I've got two recipes for you that I know your taste buds are just going to go crazy for.  For starters, who doesn't love scotch eggs.  An entire egg wrapped in sausage meat and dipped in breadcrumbs.  Delicious.  But not exactly macro friendly.  Well the first recipe I've got for you turns that on it's head, with a scotch egg made with chicken rather than sausage meat.  That's going to give you nearly 40 grams of protein!

The second recipe is for those of you that are watching your fats.  I'm taking the humble egg white and raising the bar with an egg white omelette with trout, on a bed on toast and cottage cheese.  It sounds delicious.  And you'd be right!

I'm sure you'll love these two recipes, so........

Let's get cooking...

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#THEDAILYGRIND 017: Triggers & Habits: The Life Hack That Will Help You Win

Have you started a fitness programme in the past only to fall foul of old habits, slip back to your old ways, and ultimately fall off the wagon?  Did you know there's a simple tactic you can use to make sure that never happens again?  It's time to talk to you about Triggers & Habits...

Although you may not think it, we're still simple creatures and still have behaviours that hark back to our days as apes.  We're protective of our families.  We're territorial and we'll fight to defend what we have.  And we're also creatures of habit.

This article will look at how those ingrained behaviours and the habits you've developed over the years may be holding you back from true progress.

If you're the person that's started a fitness programme but struggles to stick to the regime, then this article is aimed squarely at you.

Maybe you've been tempted on several occasions by some delicious foods that you love, like those sugar-coated Krispy Kremes perched on the end of your desk brought in to celebrate someone's birthday (which seems to happen every damn week).

They've taken you way off plan and left you feeling guilty, demotivated, and depressed about the whole situation.  It's probably even created a negative feedback loop, whereby you feel so down that you think, "Fuck it!" And end up binging for the rest of the day, which makes you feel even more depressed, and so the loop continues.

Added to that, the thought of a new fitness programme is all very exciting in the beginning.  You set that New Years' Resolution at the start of the year, but now you realise sticking to that plan is more difficult than you thought.  Getting to the gym 5 times a week like you promised yourself is proving to be all too much.  Life's getting in the way and you're just not making the progress you thought you would.

In fact, you're actually going backwards!

As the saying goes, "Old habits die hard."

Well now's the time to get all Bruce Willis on yourself.  It's time to understand what's causing you to stray off plan.  And it's time to start forming good habits to replace the bad.

It's time to throw those habits out of the 34th floor of the Nakatomi Plaza.

Yippee Ki Yay Motherfucker!

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Meal Prep Sunday #6 - Beef Up Your Protein Intake with these 2 Recipes

Last week we covered chicken and rice, but you can branch out from those bodybuilding staples with these 2 dishes.  It's time to 'beef' up your meal plans...

Unless your a vegetarian, you've gotta love a nice juicy steak, right.  It's HAS to be one of my favourite dishes of all time.  Actually, scratch that.  It IS my favourite dish of all time.  A gorgeous slab of rare beef with all the trimmings is my idea of heaven.

And my love of beef extends beyond a a t-bone or Chateaubriand.  Who doesn't love those home cooked comfort foods like cottage pie and spaghetti bolognese?  And there's definitely zero reason why you can't include these dishes in your meal plans.

These days you can get a plethora of different varieties of beef that are much more macro friendly than they used to be.  Take beef mince as an example.  You can get beef as lean as 5% fat.  Perfect for being able to keep you tucking in to Mum's old recipes every week.

This week, I've got two recipes for you that I know you'll love.  There's a Classic Bolognese, which is a perfect high protein meal.  I've purposely left out the pasta in the dish, so that you can be flexible with what suits you and your macros.  If you want to pile on the carbs, then cook up your favourite pasta and make a big batch for your meal prep.  Alternatively, you can swap the pasta for courgette (zucchini for those across the pond) noodles as a low carb option.

The other dish is mini meatballs and chorizo.  The chorizo really elevates the flavour of the sih.  It's simple to make and reasonably low carb for those of you that need to squeeze it in to your macros.

I'm sure you'll love these two recipes, so get yourself in that kitchen and rustle up something that Mum would be proud of!

Let's get cooking...

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#THEDAILYGRIND 016: How to Create the Ultimate Back Workout in 5 Steps

Are you looking for the classic V-taper?  A back full ridges and valleys that resemble an elevation map of The Pyrannese mountain range?  If so, then this blog is aimed squarely at YOU!

If you are anything like me when I first hit the gym, you're excited to hit chest and arms whenever they come around in your training split.  After all, who doesn't like big guns and big chest muscles?  You pick your best vest from the drawer.  You know the one.  The one that you think makes you looked super pumped when you stand under the right lighting after those first couple of sets.  I'm not ashamed to admit it.  I have THAT vest too.

And what do you see when you wake up every morning?  I don't mean that bleary eyed version of yourself with the left side of your face creased like a 95 year old grandma.  Staring right back at you are those pecs and guns, so naturally they're at the forefront of your mind when it comes to training.  You want to look good in the mirror.  Who doesn't?

As for your back, well that's just not as 'sexy' to train is it?  You never really get to see it unless you've got a couple of mirrors at the right angle.  Those back selfies are just too hard to take too.

And what's more, no girl ever commented on the thickness of you rhomboids did they?  All the attention is back on those t-shirt shredding arms.

In this article I'm going to break down how to construct the ultimate back workout.  There's just 5 simple steps you need to follow to achieve maximum results.  Follow this plan to the letter and I guarantee you'll see some significant results in a few weeks time.

This is what we'll be covering.

• How to set up your training split to get the most out your back workouts.
• The importance of exercise choice and why the isolation exercises you're doing are ineffective.
• A long list of exercises to choose from to keep your workouts interesting.
• What rep range you should be working in for maximum effect.  High rep, low weight workouts are not effective for you.
• How long to rest between sets
• How to put all the lessons together in one awesome workout.

This is the 'Red Bull' of back workouts...  It'll give you wings!

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