Not so long ago, I ate all kinds of junk food and didn’t worry about gaining weight. I’d eat things like, pizza, burgers, hotdogs, chocolate, ice-cream and cake, If it satisfied my hunger, I was happy.
I never really gave much thought to eating healthy, as long as I was going to the gym regularly and training hard, all was good.
My workouts have been always pretty intense anyway, so no matter how many cookies or bowls of cereal I ate, I would never feel guilty about it. I just wanted to look big and strong.
A lot of bodybuilders today, say that you need to eat anything and everything during off peak, in order to bulk up. In some ways this is true. But what If you want to get big without all the bulk? That’s what I have been wanting to do for years, but I had no idea where to start.
I had a friend that used to say to me jokingly, yet he was serious, “Justin, if you want to build muscle and get ripped, you need to go on a “See Food Diet”. In other words, any food you see, “EAT IT”!
I tried that for years, but I never managed to achieve the kind of body I wanted. What I really wanted was, to look big, lean and muscular, without all the bulk (fat).
Here’s a photo of what I looked like before I learned what foods to eliminate.
As you can see, I had very little muscle definition and was fairly bulky. That photo was taken in 2014 when I stopped working out regularly. It happens, when you don’t have a clear vision of how you want to look.
That’s why it’s very important to have a clear goal to keep you focused and committed at all times.
My goal was to compete in a natural bodybuilding competition. So, I decided to take my training and diet more seriously.
I wanted to build as much lean muscle mass without eating any junk food. I learned more about nutrition so that I didn’t make the same mistakes I did in the past. I researched the internet on everything to do with burning body fat while maintaining muscle. I tried a ton of different diets and eventually found a diet plan that gave me the best results.
I cut out eating all wheat related products, such as bread, pizza, biscuits, cereals, cakes, crackers and pasta. Instead, I ate lean meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and oats.
Within a few weeks of eating healthy I can honestly say, I’ve never felt better in all my life. Not only did I want to burn body fat, while maintaining muscle, I also have lots more energy, I sleep better, and rarely ever get aches and feel sick.
People that avoid junk food and eat very healthy, I know exactly what I’m talking about here. And the great thing about it is, I don’t experience sugar cravings like I did when I first started this diet.
It’s definitely not easy going from eating an unrestricted diet to a restricted one. It’s normal for you to experience sugar cravings for the first three to four weeks from eliminating unhealthy carbs from your diet.
I use to eat after 12 o’clock at night, just so I could sleep better. There was nothing like snacking on a bowl of coco pops and eating out of the biscuit tin late at night, but if you are serious about losing weight, your eating habits need to change.
Most of us know that sugar is the worst food substance for your body and what a lot of people fail to realise is that sugar is found in almost every food available and that includes bread.
I read a very popular book Called “Wheat Belly by William Davis“, about a year ago. It definitely changed the way I thought about wheat and how It is the main cause for of many health issues, including obesity. I highly recommend it. Great read!
How I removed most bad carbs and sugars
As I mentioned already, It was no easy task trying to eliminate sugary foods and wheat products from my diet. But after researching and reading a few books, I was on a mission to transform my body, not only to look good but to feel good as well.
Here’s an example of how I removed sugar from my diet.
I use to put 3 teaspoons of sugar tea in my tea or coffee, then I decided to reduce it by one each week, until it was none. It really helped!
The same principle applies to cutting out junk food completely from your diet. Most people fail at their diets because they go cold turkey right from the start. I’m not saying that you should follow my exact diet plan and eat extremely healthy every single day. That would be impossible for a lot of people to do.
I think everybody enjoys a cheat day where they can eat whatever the hell they want. I’ll be honest though, It’s been about 5 months since I ate pizza or any other fast food. I used to love McDonold’s big macs, but I don’t think I would eat one if somebody offered one to me.
I think the longer you eat healthy, the easier it can become a habit.
Let’s say you want to lose 5-10 lbs, but you enjoy your regular pizza or Chinese takeaway every night of the week. The easiest way would be to either stop eating junk food every single night of the week or to reduce the portion size you eat. The same goes for smoking.
Let’s say you smoke ten fags a day, you might only smoke nine one day, then eight the next day, until you’re down to one, then eventual none at all. I think that’s a much more realistic way of quitting, but it also requires dedication.
A realistic approach to eliminating junk food
The best way to go about it is to slowly reduce all kinds of simple carbs from your diet.
Avoid or Reduce Simple Carbohydrates
- Bread (White Flour)
- Biscuits
- Cereals
- Cake
- Cookies
- Ice-cream
- Yoguart
- Rice or Malt syrup
- Pasta (White Flour)
- Pizza
- Rice or Malt syrup
- Table Sugar
- Honey
- Grapes
- Strawberries
- Pineapple
- Peaches
So, bread, pizza, chocolate, ice-cream, cereals or fizzy drinks. Most wheat products that you eat is the main cause for weight gain, believe it or not. Well, it’s definitely true from my experience anyway.
Better Food Choices To Eat
- Fish
- Steak
- Chicken
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Whole Eggs
- Vegetables
- Sweet Patatoes
- Oatmeal
- Peppers
- Brown Rice
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Beans
- Cucumbers
By eating more of the above foods, combined with my workout program, I was able to transform my body much faster. As you can see, I’m in much better shape now, than I was before and I don’t regret any changes I made to my diet.
I always aim to eat 4-5 small meals every 2-3 hours a day, instead of eating 2-3 larger meals.
Sample Meal Plan
If you would like to see a sample of what my current meal plan looks like, then click below.
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Original article and pictures take justinkavanaghfitness.com site
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