General Nutrition for RLSH

As an RLSH, the goal is to be able to maneuver and appear like a superhero.  This doesn’t mean that you only train; to get the look and mobility you want, you need to have a better diet.  This is a very general overview with the final goal to reduce body fat, increase lean body mass, and achieve muscle gains.  I’m going to cover some basics and leave you with some suggestions at the very end.

Before I begin, if asked, I can expand upon this type of topic if people are interested.

Water

Your water in-take per day should be based on your bodyweight.  At first it seems like a lot, but you really will get used to it.  Water helps your body function properly and flush out toxins.  Most people are dehydrated and they don’t even realize it.  The body needs 50%-100% of water based on weight number changed to ounces (instead of pounds, we switch to ounces but are not converting).

Example for a 200 lbs person.  Take the weight number (200) and multiply by 0.5, which equals 100.  This gives us our range.  A 200 lbs person would require 100 oz to 200 oz of water a day to be optimally hydrated.  You could tighten this down to something more manageable with a range of 0.5 to 0.8 (50% to 80%), which would be 100 oz to 160 oz.

Does it all have to be water?  Water is great, but you could also count herbal tea, green tea, and water with 0 calorie flavoring added (Mio, crystal light, etc). Try adding a flavor packet that also has electrolytes to your water, such as Liquid IV.

Tip: Like coffee? Have some coffee. It won't count towards your water intake. You'll find your coffee in take reducing, but have no fear. You can add stuff to your water that has some caffeine in it or drink some green tea.

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New Eating Habits

You’re going to need to adjust your eating habits to be successful at this.  Be strict about it so it will work.  Some people can’t handle a strict dietary change due to low willpower.  If you have these troubles, let me know and I can write something up about dealing with that.

Grains - If you eat grains, make sure you eat whole grains with high fiber (5 grams).  Aim for non-gluten grains (no wheat) and easily digestible grains (no corn).  This means: oats, buckwheat, quinoa, rice, etc.   Some people have grass allergies and should avoid grains altogether, since they’re technically very large varieties of grass.  Grains aren’t the only source of carbs, so don’t freak out.

Proteins - Increasing your protein is going to help increase your lean body mass and help you make muscle gains.  The aim here is to focus more on consuming lean proteins or plant proteins.  Lean meats include: poultry, lean beef, lean bison, lean pork, game meat (naturally lean), fish, seafood, eggs, and protein powders.  Lean meats are better for heart health.  Plant proteins include: beans, lentils, soy, peas.  Nuts and nut butter does have good protein, but also contains a good amount of healthy fats.

Fats - The only fats you want are very limited.  Fats are not necessarily bad for you, depending on the type that you are consuming.  The body needs some fat to survive.  Include in your diet: coconut oil, palm oil, olive oil, MCT oil, animal-based fat, nuts/nut butter, and peanut butter.  Animal-based fats include butter, tallow, lard, full fat dairy.  Also, bacon is delicious and I never say no to it.

Fruits and Vegetables - Fruits and vegetables are vitamin and nutrient powerhouses.  I recommend aiming for lower glycemic index fruits and vegetables, but that is my personal preference.  If you have diabetes or other insulin issues in your family, you may want to try it.  I think just about anything goes with this category, unless you have an allergy to it.  Root tubers are pretty starchy and cutting them out can make a huge difference.

Dairy - Realistically, we are not meant to be drink milk after a certain age.  A lot of people have issues with lactose and other proteins found within dairy products; some don’t even realize it.  I hate lumping eggs in dairy, so I don’t.  Eggs are a solid protein.  I would recommend reducing your dairy intake.  Dairy is full of lactose, which is a naturally occurring sugar.  This will increase your body fat.  Personally, I use limited cheese and limited Greek yogurt.

Cut it out:

• Cut out sugar, especially if you have a grass allergy.  Sugar fuels cancer cells and increases body fat.  It’s spectacularly terrible for you.  It also has a intense energy boost, followed by an immediate crash.  This is due to it spiking your body insulin levels.

• White Stuff.  White flour, white sugar, white rice, potato, and other things that are white and starchy.  Sometimes cutting this stuff out alone is enough to make a huge difference in your body.

• Processed and Artificial Foods. This actually makes up the majority of the grocery store.  Processed and ultra-processed foods are full of bad shit that are designed to have a longer shelf life, look more “appealing”, and be addictive through adding hidden sugars and chemicals that your body starts to think it wants (so you buy more product).  Consider “blue raspberry” anything.  I have seen naturally growing red, black, golden, and pink raspberries, but never anything electric blue.  A lot of artificial food color, like Red 40 and Yellow 5, are considered toxic in bulk amounts.  Just avoid it.  Read the nutrition labels to see what is in the food.  If you can identify everything, cool; if not, don’t get it.

• Alcohol - This one is more of a “limit this” item.  Alcohol is counter-effective when you are making a dietary change, trying to lose body fat, and trying to increase muscle.  Limiting yourself to a drink once a week is typically fine, but just don’t overdo it.

Tracking Your Food

There are a lot of free food tracking apps out there.  My Fitness Pal works great and you can add your own recipes - like if you make a pot of chili, you can add the ingredients and it calculates the nutrition factors.  Its free, phone app and website, connects with other things like fitbit, garmin, strava, and can also be used to track exercise.  This will help you dial in your dietary habits.

Suggestions for General Nutrition:

• Comprehensive Blood Panel.  Talk to your doctor and get this ordered.  They will take a few vials of blood, analyze them, and provide you with a comprehensive blood panel.  It should include cholesterol levels and thyroid levels.  You’ll find out if you have any vitamin deficiencies, so you can make adjustments with the appropriate supplements.

• Food Allergy Test.  I had a food allergy test done almost a year ago and found that I have a major grass allergy that causes my body to have internal inflammation.  I stopped eating the (large) list of foods related to grass and started feeling better.

• Body Comp Scan.  See if your gym or a personal trainer in your area has a body comp scanner.  This will give you an idea of your body fat percentage, lean body mass, weight, BMR, etc.  It is an excellent starting point and one that you can regularly track.  Home scales with body comp abilities aren’t always very accurate for the lower priced models and won’t often provide enough data.

I hope this was a helpful start.  I have a certification in personal training and one of my focuses for my Masters of Space Operations was human space factor.  I’m an amateur bodybuilder and just have a lot of experience with nutrition and exercise.