BONUS ARTICLE: Top 3 Nutritional Mistakes
(and how to fix them)
by Michael Roussell

More often than not people's nutritional problems can be fixed by a
couple of very simple changes and/or additions. I've outlined below the
top 3 mistakes that I see with people and how to go about fixing them.

1) Focusing too much on Macronutrient Breakdowns I'm
a big believer that the type of calories (protein, carbohydrates, and
fats) you eat does matter, but people can overlook the importance of
total calories. Yes, it's possible to manipulate macronutrients
percentages so that you can eat more or less food with favorable
advances toward your body composition goals, BUT total calories matter.
I liken the total vs. type of calorie debate to the diet vs. exercise
debate. They're not exclusive and both matter! If you're not
reaching your goals, then look at your total calories. Compare your
total intake to your theoretical needs (using an equation such as
Harris-Benedict Equation). Are you undereating? Overeating? Know these
equations give estimates but pay attention to how your caloric intake
fits in. Regardless of your macronutrient breakdown, if
you're trying to lose fat then you need to be in a caloric deficient.
If your fat loss has stalled and your calories are already low, maybe
you need to consider temporally bumping up your calories (250-300
calories) to give your metabolism a jumpstart, instead of re-arranging
your macronutrients.

2) Skipping Meals & Eating Unplanned Meals Marketing
Guru Dan Kennedy often says he can stump most clients with three
questions. I only need one. How compliant are you to your meal plan? Not
getting the results you want is one thing, but to not know how well
you're following your plan means you're blindly stumbling around the
land of mediocrity with no chance of success.
Dan Kennedy knows something about marketing but nothing about nutrition Lack
of proper compliance (justifiably defined by Dr. Berardi as following
your dietary plans 90% of the time) is the number 1 reason people don't
reach their physique goals. If you aren't reaching your goals, yet
haven't filled out a compliance sheet like the one below, I don't want
to hear about how the diet you're on doesn't work or that you need a
personalized nutrition plan. If
you have no idea how well you're sticking to your current plan, then
how can you attribute body composition successes and/or failures to it?
You can't. Before you make any nutritional changes check your
compliance. Apply a little discipline to monitoring your compliance and
it'll save you tons of time in the long run as you'll be able to
accurately and objectively determine whether or not changes in your
physique can be attributed to your diet.

3) Not Giving Your Plan a Change - "The best diet is the one you're not on." The
internet is great. T-Nation is even better. Ten years ago it was hard
to get a training program from any place other than Muscle & Fitness or Flex unless you knew a great trainer. Fast
forward to today and there's an overabundance of training programs
accessible at your finger tips. In fact, there are so many programs
there is a growing population of people who have become training
whores, switching to whatever new program has been published that week.
Unfortunately, the same trend has been emerging with diets and
nutrition. Internet forums are overwhelmed with people who are
"cutting" one week, "bulking" the next, and "cutting" again the
following week. If you've done the Velocity Diet, Massive Eating, Get
Shredded Diet, and the Anabolic Diet in the span of 8 weeks then I'm
talking to YOU. Building a great body takes time, consistent
application, and methodical modification of a solid training and
nutrition plan. One of the best parts of Coach Thib's The Truth About Bulking
article was that he stressed how putting on muscle is a long term
process (unlike what many companies would like you to believe). Because
it's a long term process, you need to give your nutritional plan a
chance to work. I recommend making 1-2 nutritional changes every 2-3
weeks, not changing your whole nutritional strategy every month!
Stan had to make hundreds of consistent trips to his fridge in order to build his professional physique Determine what you want from your physique, create a long term plan, and execute. Take an honest look at your nutritional program.
Are you tracking your compliance?
Do you habitually switch diet plans without giving one a chance to work?
Do you need to increase or decrease your calories? Answer
these questions and you'll be well on your way to knocking down
nutritional road blocks and achieving the physique that others will
envy.

About the Author Mike
Roussell is currently a nutrition doctoral student at Pennsylvania
State University. Mike also graduated Magna Cum Laude with high honors
from Hobart & William Smith Colleges where he received a Bachelor's
of Science in Chemistry (Conc. Biochemistry). Mike is the founder and
host of the web's premiere nutrition and fitness podcast, Max-Out Radio
(www.MaxOutRadio.com). He can be contacted for nutrition and fitness consultations through his website www.MuscleandCuts.com or via email mike@muscleandcuts.com.

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