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When it comes to nutrition, I rely heavily in the research that's been published in journals done by scientists all over the world. But just because something's been discovered in the lab does not mean that it's necessarily gonna carry over into the room. So I tested on myself and thousands of people who followed my advice. So with all that data, I am able to sort of bring it all together into the best nutrition advice that's out there.
With the nutrition program for Shortcut to Shred, it's all based on macronutrients. Getting the protein to complement the recovery from the training helps you to build more strength and muscle. That's gonna keep you also burning more body fat. Then the Shortcut to Shred program, the macronutrients are ranked: protein first, fat is actually second, and then carbs come in third place.
Protein is the most critical macronutrient on the Shortcut to Shred program for the simple fact that muscle is made out of protein. So to build more muscle, you need more protein. Protein is also critical for energy. Amino acids that protein is broken down into are actually used by the muscles as an energy source. Plus, research shows that higher protein diets that are lower in carbohydrate actually work very well for fat loss, especially when you're trying to maintain or build lean muscle.
There's a simple fact that it's very difficult for the body to take protein and then convert it into body fat. It's not impossible, but out of the three micronutrients, your body has to work much harder to take protein and convert that into body fat. It's gonna either go to build muscle or be used as energy, especially when you're eating fewer calories. So focusing on protein is a homerun as far as dropping body fat and building muscle.
From the protein sources that you want to focus on during the Shortcut to Shred program are your lean cuts of meat like top sirloin, flank steak. Those are very lean sources of beef. You can even get ground beef that's 97% lean. Anything 95% or above lean is great. Obviously, chicken breasts, but even chicken thighs. People think, oh, the dark meat, that's so fatty. It does have a bit more fat than a chicken breast, the white meat, but it's it's not gonna ruin your program. It's a small amount of extra fat. Think of turkey or any poultry. Fish is always a great source, and we have both lean fish like halibut, sole, and then we have fatty fish like salmon. Obviously, eggs. Eggs are a very high-quality protein source, and then we've also have dairy.
Dairy is a very critical protein source on the Shortcut to Shred program, in any of my diets, because of the simple fact that dairy has been shown to be critical for building muscle, and it's because it's composed of the two main proteins, whey and casein, which complement each other nicely for promoting muscle growth.
So how much protein do you need to consume while you're following Shortcut to Shred? Research shows that anyone who is training intensely needs at least one gram of protein per pound of body weight. At least, there is research showing that going as high as one and a half grams of protein per pound of body weight was very effective for promoting muscle growth and strength. And that's basically what you're going to be eating when you're following the Shortcut to Shred program. Now, that's not just what's been shown to work in these research studies. That's actually what I found with thousands and thousands and thousands of people eating these high-protein diets while following my programs. It's getting in one and a half grams of protein to a pound of body weight is critical not only for growing muscle, building strength, but also helping to shed body fat while you're on the Shortcut to Shred program.
Fats are ranked as the second most critical macronutrient in the Shortcut to Shred program for several reasons. Now, a lot of people are kind of surprised at the fact that you're eating so much fat, but fat is not the enemy. Just because you're eating fat doesn't mean you're gonna get fat. The fats that we're gonna be focusing on are the very critical omega-3 fats. These actually have been shown to enhance fat loss. The omega-3 fats actually work in the body to turn on genes that increase fat burning, and they turn off genes that decrease fat storage, and they also produce very beneficial prostaglandins that help decrease inflammation, which provides most of the health benefits. Plus, omega-3 fats have now been found to actually aid muscle recovery and muscle growth. Absolutely critical.
Saturated fats are actually not a fat you need to avoid, especially for males. Saturated fats have been found to enhance testosterone levels, and this is going to be critical when you're training as hard as you can. Training and Shortcut to Shred, you want to maintain those testosterone levels. That's gonna help you build muscle and strength, train harder, and actually lose more fat. So even saturated fat is not bad.
Monounsaturated fats are another healthy fat, and with the saturated fats, they've been found to promote higher testosterone levels. The omega-3 fats and monounsaturated fats have been shown to be preferentially used as an energy source, especially during exercise, but also when you're just sitting around, you're mainly burning fat as your main fuel source.
The only bad fat is trans fats. Those are the ones you want to avoid. These have been altered in the lab so it provides better shelf-life. This sort of tweaks the molecule of the fat. The body really doesn't recognize what it is. It doesn't really know what to do and how to process it, so it gets into your cells and causes health problems. That's why it's been found to increase the risk of heart disease and certain cancers. So there's one fat you want to avoid: it's trans fats.
The problem with fats are the fact that they are calorically dense. When you look at protein and carbohydrates, a gram of protein or a gram of carbs provides about four calories. Now, when you look at a gram of fat, it's more than double that. It's around, it's eight to nine, depending on the fat, and even up to ten calories per gram of fat. So people think, oh, well, that's gonna push me over my calorie limit, and it can. You do need to be cautious of how much fat you're taking in, but as long as you're hitting that 0.5 grams that I have in the diet, your calories will stay in check, and you'll be in that fat-burning zone.
Calories are an important factor, especially when trying to lose body fat, but calories really aren't the only factor here. Macronutrients are actually more critical, and as long as you have your macronutrients broken down properly, then the calories will fall into place.
Good fat sources to focus on while following Shortcut to Shred program are nuts, which you can throw in for monounsaturated fats. Olive oil, peanut butter is a great one when you're dining. Nothing's better than peanut butter. Another great source of monounsaturated fats. When we talk about the essential omega-3 fats, you're going to be focusing on fatty fish. That's one of the best sources. Salmon is a great source, also some fattier tuna. If you're gonna get canned tuna, actually get the white albacore instead of the chunk light. It has more omega-3 fats. Even sardines are a great source of omega-3 fats, and then egg yolks are a great source. I actually recommend getting at least three egg yolks per day, and that's based on research showing that when subjects followed a training program, those who were getting three yolks actually gained almost twice as much muscle mass and strength as those not eating the yolks. And they believe that's due to the fat as well as the cholesterol content. Cholesterol is actually important. You do need some cholesterol to maintain the integrity of the membranes of cells, such as muscle cells. So make sure you eat enough fat on this diet, especially as your carbs drop.
Carbohydrates provide very little benefit other than an energy source. If people realize that out of the three macronutrients, carbohydrates are the only ones that are not essential by the body. Protein, there are essential amino acids. Those are amino acids your body can't fill. It has to get them in your diet. Fats, there's essential fats, the omega-3 fats, omega-6 fats. These are essential. That means your body cannot produce it and has to get it from your diet. There's no essential carbohydrate. Not, you know why? Because the body can produce enough carbohydrates, mainly in the liver, from the protein and the fat that you consume. Doesn't mean carbohydrates are a demon or anything, but when you're trying to lose body fat while building muscle and strength, you want to make sure that you're getting adequate amounts of protein and fat.
The two main types of carbohydrates are your high glycemic or fast-digesting carbohydrates, and then your low glycemic or slow-digesting carbohydrates. And the reason that they're called high glycemic or low glycemic is the way that the body responds to them when you consume them. High glycemic carbs like, I said, sugar, white potatoes, when you eat them, your body processes them very rapidly. So they basically get broken down in the body and then absorbed by your intestines and get right into your bloodstream, and that raises your blood sugar levels, your blood glucose levels. They shoot up, and that spikes insulin. So those are your high glycemic carbs. That's not a great thing. It is at certain times, like post-workouts, which we'll talk about later.
Then you have your low glycemic or slower digesting carbohydrates. And those are low glycemic because when you eat them, they don't get rapidly digested and absorbed. They take longer. It's a slower process, and that way your blood glucose levels, your blood sugar levels stay steadier, and so do your insulin levels. So good examples of low glycemic or slow-digesting carbs are most fruits, whole grains, and we're talking about oatmeal here, whole wheat bread, whole wheat pastas. Other good examples are sweet potatoes. When it comes to potatoes, the sweet potatoes tend to be on the more slower side or lower glycemic side, whereas your white potatoes are actually on the higher glycemic side of the coin.
During the workout, you're mainly burning carbohydrates as your main fuel source, and this comes from mainly the muscles. You store your carbohydrates in your muscles in the form of glycogen. As the workout proceeds, those muscles that you're using burn up more of that glycogen, which is stored. So after you workout, you want to replenish that glycogen so that you have energy for the next workout. And research shows that the best way to make sure you are restoring this muscle glycogen levels is to get high glycemic, fast-digesting carbs. So that's why I recommend getting things like gummy bears or Wonka Pixy Stix.
Now, when we talked about sugars, you have the main type of sugars like table sugar, which is sucrose, called a disaccharide. It's two different sugar molecules: glucose and fructose. Out of those two, fructose is actually a slower digesting carbohydrate because it has to go to the liver, and then the liver has to convert it into glucose. That's what your blood sugar is. That's what your body is going to use to store as glycogen. So the reason I recommend gummy bears and Pixy Stix are they pretty much have either no fructose or very little fructose. They're mainly a source of pure glucose. It's almost like injecting glucose into your bloodstream. You digest them, they literally get absorbed by the intestines, go right into your bloodstream, and then get delivered right to your muscle, and that helps you to replenish that muscle glycogen immediately. And that's what's been shown to enhance glycogen levels, which is going to give you more energy for that next workout. Plus, they spike insulin. Remember what I said about insulin? Insulin is an anabolic hormone. Gets to the muscle, and it triggers a process of protein synthesis, and that's just the chemical steps that lead to building muscle protein, which leads to building muscle growth. Plus, insulin is gonna help all that glucose from most carbs and drive them right into the muscle. You're also gonna be getting a protein shake right after you workout. You want to make sure those amino acids get into the muscle. Insulin also helps drive those amino acids into the muscle, and this is all gonna help with better repair, better recovery, and better muscle growth.
On the Shortcut to Shred program, the diet goes through three different phases. You'll be changing your carbohydrate intake based on the phase of the diet. Phase one lasts for two weeks. You'll be eating about 1.5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight. Phase two lasts two weeks. You'll be dropping carbs down to one gram per pound of body weight. In the final phase, phase three, which will be the final three weeks of the program, you'll be dropping carbs down to just 0.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight for about half of your body. Through all three phases, your protein and fat stay the same while your carbohydrates drop. Each phase just drops your calories.
In phases one and two, your caloric intake and even your your carbohydrate intake and protein intake to some degree are going to be different on those training days versus rest days. You only get one rest day because on workout days, you also have that pre and post-workout meals that you're adding to the diet. That's going to give you the extra carbs, primarily in fast-digesting carbs that you want post-workout. It's also going to give you a little bit of extra protein on those days.
Now, in phase three, on the other hand, on your rest day, you're actually going to be getting even more calories than on your workout days. And a lot of people think, well, that doesn't make very much sense, and it does. Because when you're dropping your carbohydrates in that third phase all the way down to just 0.5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight, that's very little carbohydrate. Now, what can happen when you're eating so few carbohydrates and calories is that leptin levels can drop. When you're getting in so little carbohydrates and calories, now leptin is a critical hormone for maintaining your metabolic rate. So if leptin levels drop too low, your metabolic rate can come down. What we found is that by giving your body this high carb day, that can serve to reset your leptin levels and that keeps your metabolism burning. It also makes it a lot easier to get through the diet when you've got that day, and that just helps with your sanity on this.
So remember, food is just one part of the Shortcut to Shred nutrition plan. Supplements also play a critical role. So be sure to check out the supplementation video, as well as the training overview video and the workout examples. And for a full breakdown of the nutrition program, be sure to check out the page below.
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