The "If it works for you" explained

I keep seeing people asking for things : workouts, food to eat, time to train, time to eat, time to sleep, grams of proteins, number of potatoes per cup of milk, number of honey tbsp per serving of oatmeal on sundays, and so on.

Sounds quite legit, but behind those questions reside a simple but yet quite tangible thing : the fear that the choices you would made won't be the good ones, and by extension, make miss your (not so much defined) goals : you would gain weight instead of losing, you won't have your six-pack, etc..

I used to be numbers-freak for a long-time, and what I learnt from that is simple : the more I was close to the so-called "good numbers", the less I was succeeding :
I wasn't working out, I was aiming a digit for mass gaining pe training, I wasn't eating, I was trying to stay within my calorie goals simply put I wasn't enjoying as much as I do lately.

When I walk, most of the people out there are running, some have that sad face, full of pain and misery, as if they needed to run in order to save their beloved ones.

When I look on the pictures on internet, body-builders have that face full of rage, as if the process itself required some self-loose, and as if the m.o for succeeding was beneath that stratum of hunger and outstanding sacrifice.

Truth is, the "what works for you"....is in in equal measure of your commitment.
You won't find out the answer here on on whatever website that would give you your anwser, because, yes, you are a unique snowflake here, but also because genetic and margin errors are everywhere.

The first thing you should do, is ask yourself what you really want, in most cases here, is to accept what you see in the mirror (upon said it right : it's not about a BF it's about accepting yourself).

A question that makes me smile, that I often see is "what would you do after you reached your goals ?" as if, one day, you would jump on your scale, and TADAAAA, everything is over... guys would come in, they would take back your running shoes, and you would have your MFP account automatically deleted.

Now, what you need is to look at the big picture, look for your health, own development, and strenght.

I noticed some symptoms for people who are likely to fail in no time :
- they complain about a motivation they lost (undefined and biaised goals)
- they beat themselves up for a "bad day"...
- ... yet they have their "cheat days" they quite enjoy

Few months ago, I was in that pretty much state (with of course the emotional eating, the uncontrolled pigging, and the ****ty workouts that weren't giving me the results i was looking for).

People who are imo succeeding :
- are often over their goals
- they pig and enjoy
- they are sad when they don't eat enough (that's my case)
- per-gram nutrient repartition doesn't exist

I won't give you any numbers, I gave kilotons around, to you and to me, but what I can tell you is :
Listen to yourself

When I train, I'm not eating, when I'm eating, I'm not training, when I'm bulking, I'm not cutting... things have their fixed time according to your goals, no more no less.

What are your goals ?
Few months ago, I wanted to be a thin as ****, and ripped at the same time....in no time of course.
Now I simply want to train, and look for sensations : feeling my back kicking hard, having my shoulders burning, and after that refueling with big plates. Since the day I've those goals, everything has changed in my head AND in my body : I gained and shaped in no time, my back which used to be curved since I'm a child is starting to be straight, etc...

Forget the scale
I used to weight everyday, like much of you, now I just do it for making sure I'm not eating enough, truth is, it's starting to piss me off.
what the scale will give you you already don't know? That after a small apple you gained 4 lbs ? Consider it as a tool, not as a judge. A figure in itself doesn't matter, it is the perception you have of it that does. Yes you gained 1 lb after pigging out, so ?

Count calories, don't lock yourself in them
I used to manage my meals per-calories, goal top-notch, again truth is, it's a bad move, because everyday, your body disposes of the nutrients differently, because HRM are biaised, and because all that fluff is as imperfect as us.
Genetic and bio-diversity carry their error margin, way more higher than the margin you are trying to avoid yourself...
and everytime I was going over, I was feeling bad...

Trust yourself, there won't need any room for broscience
Much write "I read you need", "Mr X said", "My colleague, a pro told me", "My ex knows his stuff"....what about you ??

I don't follow any specific routine, I don't stick to any timing.. I keep the basis in my head, and I like leangain, because it suits my lifestyle : big eater, fasted training, and don't give a crack about 450 meals per day.

Before leangain, I was eating every 3 hours...damn I had the feeling I was eating as much as my kitten...and I ended dancing salsa with the fridge.

so...what works for me ?
the trainings that would give you pleasure, the trainings that would make your shape evolve, the food that would make you filled, only you knows what they are.


Learn and forget...