Hey guys, Nate here. I'm proud to announce that I'm now the Program Director of Scrawny To Brawny. From now on all of my blogs and articles will be posted on the brand-new Scrawny To Brawny Blog. So if you enjoyed what you read here, please go check it out. (It's awesome, if I say so myself.) I'm keeping the NGE website alive for resource reasons, but will no longer be actively updating it. The best way to get in touch with me is through leaving a comment on the Scrawny To Brawny blog or by posting on the S2B Facebook page. See you guys over at the new blog!
21 Food Rules Every Guy Should Follow
At the Grocery Store, In the Kitchen, and Around the Table
Yeah, I know what you're thinking. It's ridiculous that we need rules for eating. I mean, when's the last time you got advice on how to breathe?*
Still. Mom's no longer buying our groceries and one look at the high obesity rates and growing erectile dysfunction rates among young men—10% for guys in their twenties—make it pretty obvious we're not choosing our foods wisely.
We have less energy, less sex, and more man-boobs. Not good.
So, we can do one of two things: live off mac-n-cheese, microwaveable dinners, and the sympathy of our girlfriend's parents or we can follow some rules, buy high-quality food, and eat like kings. (Muscular, healthy kings, mind you.)
The following are a collection of "food rules" I follow—or try to follow—every day.
At the Grocery Store
1. Go grocery shopping more than once per week – We're buying fresh food here, not boxed crap. I usually get enough food for two or three days at a time.
2. On your grocery list, think "meals" instead of individual food items – Making a steak with potatoes and a salad for dinner? What about eggs, toast, and fruit for breakfast? List every ingredient you need and don't buy anything else. That's how food gets lost in the refrigerator.
3. Try to buy local as often as you can – The nutritional content is usually a lot better, you'll pay a cheaper price, and you're supporting local farmers. All good things.
4. Shop the perimeter of the aisles – Vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy are on the perimeter. Doritos, Pepsi, and microwave popcorn are in the aisles. (This one isn't fool-proof, though. What's in a tube of Go-gurt anyway?)
5. Buy oats and nuts in bulk - Never buy meat in bulk unless you have a very large freezer.
6. Speaking of freezers, the only things you should be grabbing from them are frozen vegetables, fruits, and meats. No Hungry Man dinners allowed.
7. Buy grass-fed beef, wild-caught fish, cage-free eggs, and organic vegetables and fruits when possible.
8. If you don’t have one already, get a water filter of some sort - According to Dr. Jonny Bowden, "There are hundreds of chemicals and pollutants that have the potential to wind up in our water; the government determines what an appropriate or acceptable, "safe" level of these compounds is." I'll take my water without the arsenic, thank you.
9. Don't be afraid of fat - Stock up on mixed nuts and avocados, and whole milk (as long as it's from a cow who hasn't been pumped with a bunch of steroids). Also, try olive oil for low to medium heat cooking and coconut oil for high-heat.
10. Need dessert? Pick up some dark chocolate – Cocoa is loaded with antioxidants and flavanols which, again from Bowden, "prevent fatlike substances in the bloodstream from clogging the arteries." Make sure the cocoa content is 70% or higher.
12. Have a "snack list" ready – Because you're gonna eat more than three meals per day. Get things like cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit, beef jerky, Lara bars (whole food bars), and whey protein powder.
Preparation
13. Make big batches of food that you can re-heat – If you're in a rush, it's easy to stick a bowl of homemade chili in the microwave.
14. No time? Do your cooking on one day – Dr. John Berardi recommends chopping vegetables and cooking your meats on a Sunday. It'll take a few hours, but you won't have to stress over cooking during the workweek. (Not recommended for date nights. Sticking a cold chicken breast in the microwave isn't very romantic. And if it is, you may want to find a new date.)
15. Don't skimp on a knife or pan - I use a Kyocera Revolution Professional Chef's Knife
The Cooking Experience and Eating
16. Put on some music - Grab a drink and cook with your girlfriend. Or grill with your friends. Cooking is a fun experience and a time to wind down and have a conversation.
17. Use a cookbook and try some new recipes – I don't care how great your roast chicken tastes, you can't eat it every day. I recommend:
The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth
18. Take a digestive enzyme – Chances are you're not assimilating all the nutrients in your food because you're not that efficient at manufacturing hydrocholoric acid and digestive enzymes. (Or there aren't enough quality nutrients in your food to begin with). I recommend taking one with every meal.
19. Eat slowly – Chew your food (better for digestion) and actually try to enjoy your meal.
20. Don't eat in front of the TV – Also, turn off your cell phone, and don't surf the Internet. Enjoy the conversation instead. If you're alone, read a magazine article or book. Better yet, sit there and enjoy the different flavors.
21. Do the dishes within an hour of eating – Because they'll never get done otherwise.
So that's my list. What about you? Any rules? Let me know in the comments!
*By the way: in through the nose, fill the belly, don't let the chest rise, out through the mouth.
Comments for This Entry
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Great list Nate! I'm a big fan of #14. It's the only thing that kept me from eating crap all of the time when I worked a full time day job and went to law school at night. Now it's my life saver as I'm running my business 14 hours per day. I've been prepping my meals that way for years and on the rare occasion I miss my Sunday prep time - I am screwed during the week! Thanks again for the great list.
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Thanks, Nate. Excellent advice, as usual. Most of this is good common sense. It's good to have it compiled in this succinct list. I remember a couple of years ago when you did a video trip to the grocery store. It was cool. And, so are you.
Lara bars are new to me. I hope they're not too hard to find. -
Hey, thanks for the advice. While we're on the topic of food, could you answer my question on your thread on T-Nation? ( I post as HoustonAlexander there) I'm doing the ''Spring'' workout now, and I'm not really sure how I should change my calorie intake, if at all. Keep up the good work.
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I never get tired of hearing your advice/input on food, especially your thoughts on cooking.
I'm rushed so often that heating up a cold bison burger is sometimes the best I can muster in the manner of culinary aptitude. Whenever I do take the time, though, and follow your advice, it's astonishing how therapeutic to whole experience is.
I really need to do that more often; I implore everyone else to follow suit.
-Eric
P.S. - How long ago did you take that picture, Nate? The juxtaposition of the candles and lingerie with the Little Ceaser's Hot-N-Ready pizza is striking. Pure art, my man. -
Great list Nate,
you've always got great advice for us.
I started making a crap load of food every Sunday. It's made eating healthier a lot easier and it's saved me a ton of time not having to make lunches during the week, I'll just re-heat the left overs.
Cooking with my girlfriend has helped as well. We both have a fun time and end up making some great meals.
Thanks again for the advice,
Chad -
Cook with girlfriend, eat with girlfriend, eat dessert off girlfriend, engage in impromptu cardio session
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Nate - #19 everytime - doing this makes me think about the food, it's flavours, the taste, even texture AND you will feel much fuller and satieted afterwards and less inclined to go for second helpings.
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Good advice. Buying food more often is better, yes you have to go to the store more often, but you get to eat fresh food and it just tastes better, no question. I am getting ready to move to Holland and I was just there last week to familiarize myself with the Amsterdam area. I checked out a grocery store and they don't even have shopping carts (or buggies as we call them in Pittsburgh.) It is common for people to go to the store every day or every other day there to buy what they need for for the day. You should see how small their fridges are!
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Is there a specific digestive enzyme you recommend?
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if time to cook meals is an issue you could always invest in a crock pot. theyre pretty clutch. you can cook a whole chicken, chili, pulled pork, fish, pretty much anything. and you can fit enough in there to eat for a few days.
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Awesome picture. Possibly an awesome date.
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All your food articles and vids are killing me! I'm really eager to move into a bigger place with a full-size kitchen! I have to wait until May though. :( I'm sort of living off of a modified Velocity diet just for the sake of simplicity right now. I'll drink a protein and flax blend a few times a day and make up one or two solid meals. Even my meals are super simple, usually just microwaved veggies and Foreman grilled meat. I much on nuts throughout the day (haha) and I also really like La Tortilla Factory low-carb tortillas , even with nothing on them. mmm... fibery goodness.
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@ Jason
Digestive enzyme: http://www.jonnybowden.com/product_duozyme.html
-Nate -
Rule # 62: try to keep left-overs and re-heatable meals in class or ceramic containers.
I've heard and read a lot of bad things about reheating food in plastic tupperware. Have you?
Rule # 55: when you have a take-out or frozen pizza make sure it is after a night of binge drinking with college buddies, and put baked beans and ranch on it.
we call it bean pizza :)
Rule # 31: when you do binge eat, ENJOY IT!
Rule # 32: don't make it a habit. -
I like your emphasis on the cooking experience and eating. It's one of the most under-valued and misunderstood aspects of a quality life.
Dan Buettner's talk at TED on blue zones; areas in which people live exceptionally longer, healthier lives than average, covers this pretty well.
Malcolm Gladwell also makes a point about it in the introductory chapter of Outliers in his discussion of the lifespans and health of the residents of Roseto, Pennsylvania.
Eating food isn't just about putting nutrients in your body. It's an important part of a healthy, enjoyable life and a crucial social ritual. -
Hey Nate,
As ALWAYS, you hit the nail on the head with your post. Great job. Thanks for the great info.
-Chad -
Awesome stuff Nate. The only advice I would add would be to make sure your comsuming enough water before meals. We often mistake hunger for thirst which leads to overeating. In regards to rule 17, I am in desperate need of a new roasted chicken recipe... what's your favorite??
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"(as long as it's from a cow who hasn't been pumped with a bunch of steroids)" Whats wrong with free Dball?
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Great article! I used to be a fat bastid, now, not as fatta bastid, still working on it. One of the biggest changes I made was taking control over the shopping for the whole house. The woman used to buy boxes/cans/sugar/fat/etc kinda stuff, now she doesn't even have to worry about it and shes thankful for that. Now we eat 100% better and she has benefitted from better food too! Did I mention how thankful she was?
Another thing that should be emphasized is the number of good-looking women you will encounter while grocery shopping...need more incentive?
Humblecock shirts rock! -
Ha! Great call on #6. I have been trying to stress this forever...especially the so-called "healthy" ones....aka 30,000 mg of sodium and processed to oblivion.
Great list man! -
Great advice Nate! I'm going to print this blog and hand it to my clients as a reminder as to how they need to operate if they want to get and stay lean.
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I know you havn't mentioned anything about "cheat meals"
But for those who do need to have that 1 cheat meal a week or so, i like Charles Poliquin's recommendation at his Biosignature seminars:
It's a cheat MEAL not a cheat day. Put all the donuts and cheesecake you want on you plate and sit down. But once you put down your fork or get up... you're done your meal. No sitting on the couch eating chips in front of the tv all evening. -
Nate, it's funny that I am in front of the computer eating the turkey sausage casserole nuked cause it was made this weekend enjoying it and reading this and you are telling me not to. I guess I broke some of your rules though I generally do nothing but eat when at home. I really need to work on doing that whole dishes thing! thanks for the post and I'll look into that new middle link as I've heard to the other two...
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@Rudy
I like Digest Force 2.0, also. Good choice.
-Nate -
Lately I've been using a slow cooker. I had no idea that my mom wasn't slaving over these meals when I was kid.
My favorite:
Pot roast, with some salt, tons of pepper and turmeric (rubbed in well) and some carrots, an onion, and some garlic.
I make it the night before, store it in the fridge and start it in the morning. My apartment smells like heaven when I get home from training people all day. Goes well with some asparagus, and reheats extremely well.
Also, Grandma has been an excellent resource and my go to for food advice, even date meals. She's the shit. Last year for christmas I asked her for a book of some of her common recipes, which happen to be pretty nutritious. Maybe because she's straight out of the great depression when you grew all your own stuff and not all this processed crap. -
Great information!
I like to plan out my meals for the next day each evening. I will look at my schedule and see what time frames I can eat whole food meals vs. shakes. I will then decide what I am going to have at those times. Foods that need prepared ahead of time I will go ahead and prepare. Foods that I can prepare that day or lack much preparation I will fix when I am ready for them. -
I've been doing something that has saved me a bit of time from doing prep work: eating food in its raw state. I do it all the time with fruits and sometimes with vegetables. I do like the crunchiness of raw veggies. But, it does mean that I need to have more time to eat the meal.
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Hey Nate,
A little off topic , but I recently got an e-mail from Eric Cressey that he is having a big spring sale. I was looking into buying "The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual." Have you read it? Or do you have any thoughts about it? Just wondering because it's pretty pricey, and since I can get 30% off I am really looking into it.
-Chad -
Nate, this is an awesome checklist to copy down.
Heres a few extra rules and habits I like to follow,
1. It's a mistake to miss breakfast, especially if your trying to throw on a ton of muscle. The quickest meal you can make and run out the door with is a shake. Jam pack it with fresh fruit, protein, peanut butter, whatever is fresh and healthy.
2. Only buy food that you know is healthy to eat. It's pretty dam easy to stop late night junk food snacking if your cabinet doesn't have any junk food. Buy food you know will help you reach your goal, whatever it may be, that you can eat whenever wherever.
3. Read labels. Don't be fooled by brilliant marketers. Fat free simply means fat free. It doesn't mean healthy. Check the label, most fat free food is packed with sodium so it doesn't end up tasting like crap.
4. Break habits. I used to have to snack while I did any type of relaxing. Thats rediculous. I wasn't even hungry. I decided to write down the habits that were slowing me up and focus on gradually weeding them out. You can't do it all at once, but pick a few that are holding you up the most.
5. Raw and Fresh is a lot healthier than frozen and proccessed. Frozen vegetables you can get a way with.
6. Make the experience more pleasurable than painful. The only reasons we do anything is to avoid pain or induce pleasure. It's not until ones greater than the other than we start to change. Make it more painful to eat junk than to snack healthy and make eating healthy super enjoyable compared to binging. Start reconstructing asscociations. It sure fire way to step up your game when it comes to nutrition. -
To add to the great post read anything by Micheal Pollen i recommend Food Rules, (a really short book, for like $5 on amazon) In Defense of Food, and of course Omnivore's Dilemma. Also the great documentary on the subject, Food, Inc. Know where your food comes from! EAT LOCAL and ORGANIC. Great work, Nate!
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As a professional athlete and college student, the thing that got me through meals were tortillas. You can wrap so many healthy things in a tortilla and call it a meal.
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Great article Nate! Bought your book and read all your articles at T-nation.
I love cooking, but as a college student with a full-time job, I don't have as much time to devote to it. To make sure I eat healthy all week, I do the same thing with cooking on the weekends.
Every weekend I:
1. Grill up 7 chicken breasts, cut them up and ziploc individually to be thrown on my massive dinner salads.
2. Make 5 quarts of chili with 4 kinds of beans, chicken, ground beef, onions, peppers, fresh garlic, sweet peppers, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, corn, and a an array of spices.
3. Cook up 7 servings of brown rice to be packed in tupperware with the chili to be re-heated for lunches.
4. Bag up individual servings of my own trail mix: dry roasted peanuts, raw almonds, raisins, craisins, and Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips.
Breakfast is the only meal during the work week that I really have to cook from start to finish, but eggs and oatmeal is easy enough ;-) -
Hey Nate, fellow Tim Ferrissian and fitness enthusiast here. First time on the blog, glad to see you've "arrived" at the dream life with the book. Hoping to share success (and failure) stories on lifestyle design if you have the time to chat sometime.
Anyway, I agree wholeheartedly about your point on eating enough fat. For anyone who's reading these comments, check this out if you want to eat like a real man ;)
1) Make your own jerky with this $10 jerky box. (search the pdf on google). Hang up to 8 lbs of lean meat strips, leave for 1-2 days, then you have jerky that isn't overcooked like the leather they sell at stores.
2) Read about this guy in NY who keeps a meat locker for his grass-fed beef.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/fashion/10caveman.html
3) Eat like a carnivore, literally. These guys have been staying lean and cut even as they get older.
www.carnivorehealth.com
--Janet the Iron(wo)man -
re #10:
Nate, for some really good dark chocolate, check out Askinosie (they've got a website, and they deliver). They're basically like a micro-brewery for chocolate. The owner travels abroad buying his cacao beans in person, in fair-trade deals with local farmers, then brings it back home, roasts it, and makes it into bars. There are only about a dozen of these bean-to-bar chocolate makers in the country, and I'm lucky enough to live in a state with two of them (Missouri).
The other is Patric, but I prefer Askinosie. This is pure, un-fucked-with chocolate here, not a bunch of milk, vanilla, and other additives. Different bars of Askinosie's chocolate might taste different depending on where the beans they're made from were grown, much like blends of coffee; but they're never flavored.
A single 3/4"-square off one bar has enough intense, distinct chocolate flavor that you have to let it sit in your mouth for a while, like savoring a sip of wine, until you're done. You couldn't really even eat an entire bar in a sitting if you wanted to, because the flavor is so strong. And since each bar has 18 of these squares, you're set up for dessert for a couple weeks at about $8.
Sorry to sound all sales-pitchy, but I just discovered this stuff and wanted to share it after reading this post. I've got a hard-wired chocolate jones, and finding a classy alternative to M&M's that doesn't nuke my diet was a miracle. Hope this helps someone, and thanks for all your insight and motivation. -
Hey David,
Thanks! I'll check it out.
-Nate -
These are great rules. One thing I have found out though is that everybody reacts to their food input in a different way. You need to listen to your body, and learn what it needs to function at peak efficiency - other people's experience can be a guide, but their bodies are different to yours so you need to take it with a (metaphorical) pinch of salt.
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Hey Nate,
I've read a lot of your writing on T-Nation, but I'm new to your site but I'm loving it already, you've got some great info going on here. I've been doing exactly what you said about preparing large amounts of food on the weekends, and then all you have to do during the week in stick it in microwave and you've got a healthy meal in little to no time. I'm going to add one thing: someone mention that breakfast is the only meal that they have to actually prepare; well, I've found a way to make that quick and easy as well. If you've seen the late night info-merical about an electric cooker call the Ready-Set-Go (it's a small red cooker), well I bought one, just to cook breakfast. Every night I whip 5 whole eggs and add whatever seasonings I'm in the mood for, and stick it in the fridge, I also line the machine with foil the night before, so that's one less thing I have to do in the morning. The next morning, all I have to do is spray non-stick cooking spray on the foil, and pour the eggs in the Ready-Set- Go machine and turn the timer to 15 mins. I pour my first cup of coffee, go drink it, come back 15 mins later, and I have a 5 egg omlet hot and waiting for me. My normal days tend to start at 0345, and run for about 16 hours, so as you can imagine makeing life as simple as I can while still accomplishing my goals in my workout and professionally is a priority for me. This little gadget works great for me. -
Hardest thing to follow on this list is eating more slowly. I'm a shoveler.
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Number 13 is my favorite! Who likes to cook every day anyway? It just seems like it's not enough time in this day and time.
This seems to be working for me because i have been doing it the last 3 years. -
Great rules to follow. By going to the store more often you see different sales. Buying items in bulk and making something to freeze while making something to eat is something I do all the time. Also if you shop at the big blue box store save all receipts. Every one and in a file by date. you won't regret it. Also buy the Sunday paper and clip coupons. There are many gems in there.
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I love your list, especially numbers 14 and 19. I like this post. But, if we cook with a girlfriend would be so much better...
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Nice post, Nate. For me I like to eat my food which I cook myself and I enjoy having a conversation with my family or friends while eating.
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I have recently taken up the habit of chewing my food 20 times before swallowing. It's been a lot harder to do than one might realize. It's like my hunger and impatience sometimes won't allow it.
Also, I just now decided that I'm going to drink my water before the meal, and not during it. -
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thanks for taking time to discus this topic.. -
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Very simple. Go Paleo!
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COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
Vic Magary 10:00am Feb 17, 2010