Dear Mr.Wirth, I would like to thank you for your web page and programs. I have just joined your "getting lean" six day workout program and am very excited to get started. I have tried many things in the past and have kept the weight off, but i am in need of something more motivating for my specific career needs. I am from Canada and am presently an armored gaurd going through to be an O.P.P. officer. I can learn the physical aspects alright, but am feeling very over whelmed trying to learn the best nutritional plan for myself. My obsticales are; 1. trying to lose bodyfat and gain muscle (toned) 2. fresh out of college, need best deal for my dollar. 3. work 5-6 days a week, all night shifts (7 p.m.-4 a.m.)and workout after work at this times. 5. confused on which suppliments are best for a women and will help keep my energy up, and wont bloat me. (this is very important to a women as i am sure you can understant.) 6. haven't a clue where to get started as to what foods to eat, or when because i work nights and where to even begin to learn. you are an angel if you can even help me out with getting started on a proper nutritional foot. thank you so much, in advance. Canada loves you to!

I have looked back at many of my responses that I’ve made to our members and put together some that I feel would be helpful to you. Here they are: Here is a listing of high protein foods that will be great for helping you get the protein you need to develop your muscles: Chicken, Tuna, Lean Cuts of Beef Low fat dairy products like cottage cheese and skim milk. Eggs and egg whites Extra Firm Tofu Nuts and seeds And of course Myoplex, Met-Rx, Designer Whey Protein etc. These protein powders taste great and they can be mixed with almost anything! This next response was written to give somebody an understanding of carbohydrate, protein, and quality fatty acid foods. It also mentions the need to read our nutrition section to get a better idea of the amounts of food a person should be taking in. Here it is: If you have checked out our nutrition section you will be familiar with the specific amounts of carbohydrate, protein and fat you should take in (eat) based off your bodyweight. Remember, in my explanations I mention that you may have to adjust your overall caloric intake based off your activity level. So, if youıre sitting at a desk all day, even though you are exercising, you may have to bring your calorie range down by up to 500 calories per day. However, donıt go below 1,200 calories for more than a day or two at the most. I mention this because you say that you are petite and when you calculate your caloric intake by multiplying your bodyweight by 13 you may already be at a pretty low level! Now, to give you my type of specific examples, letıs first look at what some great carbohydrate, protein, and quality fatty acid foods are: Carbohydrate Foods Whole grain (not just wheat but, WHOLE wheat) breads pastas, and oatmeal Fruits (apples, oranges, grapes, grapefruit) Vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, potatoıs, lettuce, mushrooms, cucumbers) Protein Foods Fish (salmon, tuna, these foods are also great sources of quality fatty acids) Chicken Low Fat Dairy products (cottage cheese, milk, mozzarella cheese, yogurts) Extra Firm Tofu Pork Chops Whey Protein Powders Soy based Protein Powders Meal Replacement Powders (Met-Rx, Myoplex, Met Max, Lean Body brands) Egg Whites Quality Fatty Acid Foods and Oils Fresh Nuts, Seeds (almonds, walnuts, sunflower) Olive Oil, Flax Seed Oil, Udoıs oil (check out the recommended reading list for info on Udoıs oil) Avocados Now, you really need to learn more about these foods. By learning more, what I am recommending is that you find out the gram content of the macronutrient (carb, protein, fat) levels a serving of these foods provides. In our nutrition section you will see an area that says searchable food database. Click on this to search out what a serving of chicken offers from a protein standpoint, or what a tablespoon of Olive oil has from a fat standpoint or what a serving of oatmeal has from a carbohydrate standpoint etc. Once you become familiar with the foods that you like to eat from the above recommendations you will be well on your way to organizing your daily food intake. If you put a little effort into this you will be much better off than for me to recommend a certain eating plan that may have foods on it that you really donıt care for. Also, there will be times when you are eating out that you will have to make some decisions about certain foods. If you are knowledgeable about what some of the foods that you like have in them you will have the power in your hands. Itıs should not be in some regimented menu that I may recommend! I know itıs more fun or interesting to think about eating foods like ³Ginger Chicken Stir Fry² or ³Salmon Mousse with Cucumber Salad². But, how frequently do we really eat foods like this or even have the time to prepare them! If I did put a menu together, which I have done many times before, invariably, for whatever reason (taste, time, etc) you wouldnıt be able to eat the dinner that I recommend on Thursday evening or the breakfast recommendation on Monday morning. This is exactly why I donıt put together meal plans for people. Meal plans are a recipe for failure because they are nearly impossible to follow and to make them more exciting or ³readable² I would have to put in these wild variations of foods that are fun and taste great but donıt work for the reasons that I mention above. So, what a ³real² menu or meal plan should look like is this: Breakfast - 50 Grams Carbs 25 Grams Protein 10 Grams Fat 390 Calories Snack - 20 Grams Carbs 15 Grams Protein 2.5 Grams Fat 162.5 Calories Lunch - 60 Grams Carbs 25 Grams Protein 15 Grams Fat 475 Calories Snack - 20 Grams Carbs 10 Grams Protein 2.5 Grams Fat 125 Calories Dinner ­ 50 Grams Carbs 30 Grams Protein 10 Grams Fat 410 Calories Menu Total ­ 200 Grams of Carbohydrate (800 Calories) 105 Grams of Protein (420 Calories) 40 Grams of Fat (360 Calories) 1,580 Total Calories 51% From Carbohydrate 26% From Protein 23% From Fat With this information you know exactly what you should be eating. This is a good, basic diet for a 120 pound person. You just have to know how to meet these macronutrient totals with the foods that you specifically like. Now itıs up to you to become a little more knowledgeable. Remember, knowledge is power! This next response talks about diet plans, meal variability and, as in the above response, how it's very hard to design a plan that everyone likes or that fits their tastes. Then, I mention the importance of macronutrient (carb,protein,fat) content or breakdown in a diet with the 40 carb, 30 protein, 30 fat being a great start for most people. Here it is: I can understand your frustration for trying to find the best eating plan. I have searched literally for years to find the best system or plan for dieting. I have found everything from the Anabolic Burst Diet to the Jenny Craig Food System. I can also tell you that when a diet has a huge amount of variability within its menu plan, two things can happen. The first thing is that it becomes difficult to shop for, prepare and cook a different dinner every night for more than 2 weeks in a row. The second thing is that most people won’t even like some of the foods on the menu. This is why most diet or menu plans have somewhat limited variability. Let's go in a different direction for a second. We have talked about diet variability. But we have not said anything about the breakdown of the actual diet or the diet style. The diet that I have found to work for most people is the 40, 30, 30 diet. Very simply, this diet starts the process of blood sugar control, more frequent eating times, and quality protein and fat intake. Now, if you would like to find a huge amount of variability within this particular style of diet you should check out a book call 3Mastering the Zone2 by Dr. Barry Sears. He has literally hundreds of different menu1s and food combinations in this book. I usually don't make specific food recommendations. I make macronutrient and calorie recommendations to bring about the desired response. You can use the Zone book to find some great tasting and interesting foods that work for you! Here is a final response that is individualized for a person that weighs 215 pounds. However, all of the information can be converted to your individualized needs by using your own bodyweight in the calculations. This response will give you a 12-week eating plan from a macronutrient intake standpoint. It is based on maintaining or developing as much muscle mass as possible while decreasing bodyfat levels. Here it is: To start with, take in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. This would be 215 grams of protein in your case. Then, to find the number of carbohydrate grams you should take in, just multiply your bodyweight by 2. This would be 430 grams of carbohydrates in your case. Finally, you should take in 72 grams of quality fatty acids like Flax seed oil, Olive oil, or Udo's oil. This is found by dividing your bodyweight by 3. Check out the recommended readings in the fitness info section of our web page to find out about Udo's oil! I have done some calculations for you but I also want to explain what is going on here. Here goes. 1 gram of protein has 4 calories. 1 gram of carbohydrate also has 4 calories. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories. For you this means. First Week of Program: Protein (215 grams x 4 = 900 calories) Carbohydrates (430 grams x 4 = 1720 calories) Fat (72 grams x 9 = 648 calories) First Week Total - 3268 calories. When you start your program you should start with the 3,268 calories with the appropriate balance of protein, carbs and fat that I have outlined above. But, here's the kicker! Each week of the 12 week program you should add 10 grams of protein and subtract 15 grams of carbohydrates to your diet. But, keep the fat intake the same. So, you should end up on the last week of your 12 week program with these totals: Protein (325 grams total) Carbohydrates (250 grams total) Fat (same at 72 grams total) This would give you a new caloric range of: Protein (325 x 4 = 1300 calories) Carbohydrates (250 x 4 = 1000 calories) Fat (72 x 9 = 648 calories) Total on week 12 of your program - 2948 calories Make sure you spread out your eating to 6 times per day so you are always bringing in some nutrients into your body for growth and recovery without eating so much that you store any extra calories from fat. You will also need to kick in some cardio training to really get lean. But, not too much so that you start to lose your mass. On weeks 1-4 you should do 25 minutes of cardio, 3 times per week. On weeks 5-9 you should do 30 minutes of cardio 4 times per week. On weeks 10-12 you should do 30 minutes of cardio 5 days per week. Keep your heart rate between 130 - 140 beats per minute or 70% of your age predicted maximum heart rate (APMHR). You can find out how to get your APMHR by typing these letters into the Search function on the Fitrex home page. Finally, you will see a drop in bodyweight with this type of diet plan. However, If you eat the way I have told you to, and if you are mentally strong enough to push yourself with your training you will keep the mass that you have built and the weight loss will come from fat loss! Since everyone is different you may have to adjust your carbs and fat intake down slightly but don't reduce the protein level. However, I followed this very same plan (with adjustments for my specific body size) and I lost 36 pounds of fat in the first 8 weeks of the plan! Give it a shot and let me know how it goes. Train hard!