This is a controversial title even for us.
However, the question is, will having an occasional item from the “naughty list” prevent you from getting ripped?
Why couldn’t you have a beer, vodka or scotch when you are out with friends?
What exactly is wrong with having an occasional cigar when you are at a business meeting in some fancy restaurant?
What exactly is wrong with having an occasional cigar when you are at a business meeting in some fancy restaurant?
I say that there is nothing wrong with either of those.
And not only that, but I will go even further and say that you can enjoy all of these “bad things” and more and STILL get big and ripped and look better than any other guy sitting at a table with you.
There is a catch though…
Do you know what it is?
It’s the same thing you have to watch out for just like when eating the so called “junk food” like ice cream and burgers.
You just can’t do it that often or all the time.
The concept isn’t to become a heavy, addicted smoker, who goes to the bars and gets smashed everyday and is eating fast food from dawn to dusk. It’s rather about understanding that it’s okay to treat yourself once in a while and that it’s not going to do any damage if you have systems in place, which just means consistency in diet and training.
If it’s not an everyday thing and you can limit it, there is nothing wrong with that.
Personally I hate smoking, I hate that my clothes smell whenever I go out to a bar and people smoke around me. I also have zero respect for people who can’t go a week without alcohol. However, it doesn’t mean I won’t buy a good cigar when I have a birthday or get some beer when I’m out with friends.
“No Way Bodybuilding Is about Making Sacrifices and Being Better than Others”
Today when I was searching for some inspiration for this article I’ve stumbled upon one article at a pretty famous Czech bodybuilding website. It was about the conventional six meals a day, 300 grams of protein and yadada type of conventional crap. I didn’t really read through it, but I did read the comments, that’s always interesting to me.
There was one comment from some guy who was trying to make a statement that would ultimately lead to damaging people’s social and business lives. Personally I would phrase the statement differently, but I agreed with some of the points he wrote there.
I continued to read a few more comments, but then I had to stop and just shake my head.
Everyone was either arguing with him about how wrong he is or just being plain arrogant and vulgar. Mind you it’s easy to be very malicious on the internet because anyone can hide behind a computer screen.
I also observed that diet and training approaches are becoming as sacred as religion to some individuals.
People will fight to the death with you over their own beliefs and not only will they not respect your beliefs, but they won’t admit that they have no proof to justify their claims.
One of the things people seem to acquire, for some twisted reason, is the “this is all I do” attitude. So training and diet suddenly becomes their identity and fitness is all about sacrifice.
Now don’t get me wrong, getting in shape definitely requires sacrifice, more for some than for others, but 100% devotion to just getting in better shape? For what? Just for the sake of being in a better shape than everyone else… So you can feel superior and “better” than them? What’s the point of that?
Get a life!
I don’t see anything wrong with having a burger or beer once in a while.
I live in Czech Republic and beer is a part of almost every social event (we have the best beer in the world in here!), so anyone who would avoid drinking beer would be disregarded quickly.
Once you realize a couple beers here and there won’t hurt your fat loss or muscle building progress it’s possible to get in shape while having a treat once in a while and enjoying the social activities along with it.
In Czech Republic beer is part of the culture. The thing is that even if you have a few beers here and there, you can still get big and ripped. It doesn’t have to affect your fat loss and muscle building efforts if you are smart about it.
However, if you like to drink to a point where you have a hangover so great that you don’t remember anything that happened last night and you do this on regular basis… it’s not hard to imagine your gym time suffering. (not to mention having blown out estrogen levels)
Even if you have a scotch once a week and maybe a couple beers here and there as long as you stay within your caloric budget you can still look good and be healthy (get blood work and other tests done if you are skeptical).
This same concept applies to food; however attention to detail is key.
Food is such a big part of our lives (you just can’t live without it) the more you try to limit the food choice, the more you will crave them.
While you may think you are strong willed for not eating them, one day you will break and overindulge on those forbidden foods. You may end up overeating for multiple days and begin to feel ashamed. Hence the never ending cycle of the “yo-yo diet.”
I believe that nothing should be forbidden (I’m talking about food, alcohol, social eating events, parties etc) as long as your regular routines (training, diet, sleep, rest of the week,…) are in check and you make this an occasion not routine and are able to limit the amount.
BTW if you are looking for some ideas on cocktails and drinks, Chad Howse has a pretty good article at his fitness blog here.
What fitness shouldn’t be about:
- Deprivation of tasty food, fun life, crazy experience
- 100% sacrifice in your life at an expense of your business and social life
- Suffering for the sake of building an extreme level of fitness and feeling superior over others
What fitness should be about:
- Having routines that set you on a path of success and building a great looking body
- A way of improving your life, making it better, easier and more enjoyable
- A gateway to conversation at social and business events
- Being confident and happy with yourself
- A tool for helping you live an enjoyable life
The AI Revelation: Just Because You Can Eat It, Doesn’t Mean You Should
Sometimes when we say that you can eat burgers all day long because fat loss is only about calories, some people interpret it in a way that that’s the only think they should eat.
Well, if that’s how you were thinking about this, you have it wrong.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.
It wouldn’t be very healthy for you to eat only ice cream, burgers, and pizza 24/7.
You still need balance and variety in your diet to stay healthy and get all the nutrients. Even Prof. Haub, when he was doing his famous experiment called the Twinkie diet, still took some greens and vitamins.
The point is that those “junk foods” aren’t the only meals available for you. That’s just a very limiting way of looking at it. There are meals beyond the healthy/unhealthy way of eating that.
Have fun with cooking.
Just don’t think about the macros and the supposedly healthy or unhealthy benefits.
Personally I don’t count macros, it never occurred to me, I just keep variety and eat naturally low calorie meals (okay maybe not so low for most people, but still lower than I could).
Making good and bad lists isn’t helpful, we naturally like to rebel against things that are labeled as bad and what’s forbidden suddenly becomes desired.
Nothing should be off limits. You just gotta limit the amount.
And alcohol is no different.
There is a difference between an alcoholic and a grown up man who is able to enjoy a glass of wine on a date, or beer with friends while watching a sports game as well as there is a difference between someone who only knows chocolate and burgers and a person who visits fast food restaurants only occasionally.
There is a word for this, it’s called “temperance”…
Talk to you soon,
Vaclav Gregor
PS: Do you agree that fitness should make your life better and not a living hell where sacrifice, deprivation and suffering is your daily experience? Or do you think that fitness should be about total devotion? Let me know in the community here.
About Allen Elliott