Recipe: Beef Lasagne

Ingredients

Per-Person

1/2 an onion
200g of minced beef
1/2 of a can of chopped tomatoes
1tbsp of tomato puree
1tbsp of finely chopped parsley
Handful of mushrooms
1/2 pepper
1 carrot
Wholegrain Lasagne sheets
.5 litre of beef stock

10g butter
10g flour
150ml milk
25g of grated cheese

Method

1) Heat beef in a pan with no oil. In a second pan, add chopped onions, after a few minutes add the chopped mushrooms, chopped carrot, parsley and chopped pepper, allow these to soften. Turn up the heat and add the chopped tomatoes, beef stock and tomato puree. Leave to simmer for 20-25minutes, once the time is up combine the minced beef with the vegetables and stir removing from the heat.

2) While the vegetables and beef are cooking make the cheese sauce. To make this, melt the butter in a pan and add the flour. Cook for a minute and stir. Gradually add milk, still stirring over a medium heat, once all the milk has been added, put in the grated cheese, stir till it has melted and remove from the heat.

3) Take a baking tray and place a layer of the lasagne sheets, followed by a layer of the beef mixture. Another layer of the lasagne sheets, followed by the remainder of the beef mixture. Place a layer of the Lasagne sheets and add the cheese sauce on top. Place in an oven for 40minutes on 190c (375°F, gas mark 5) till the top is golden (roughly 30minutes)

Enjoy an easy to make meal, which will hit many of your macros. It tastes great and due to the type of meal you can in fact make 3 or 4 servings and use it for lunches, dinners over the next few days.

Nutritional Breakdown

Protein: 70g+

Carbohydrates: 40g

Fat: 20g

(Depending on quality of produce, please check the packets on the lasagne sheets, et cetera)

The Formula for Weight Loss

As previously discussed, I have outlined how to go about gaining weight on a clean diet plan (aiming to put on 2+ lbs per-month). However not everyone is underweight, a lot of people are overweight or in some cases obese. This article will outline the safest way* for someone to lose weight without athletic performance and muscle mass being overly compromised.

The formula is exactly the same as before:  To establish how many calories you should be eating you first need to decide your ideal bodyweight – body fat. (200lbs at 10% would be 180lbs). You then have a base calorie requirement of 10calories per-lbs of lean bodyweight (180lbs for this example). You then need to set your daily requirements based on activity level (between 1 and 5 calories) to get your rest day (non-workout and non-recovery days) calorie requirements. On workout days you will add 4 calories per-lbs and on recovery days you will add 2 calories.

So for the man who wants to be 200lbs at 10% body fat who works at a construction site 5 days a week it is as follows:

200lbs – 10% = 180lbs

Rest Days: 180lbs * (10+5) = X

Workout Days: 180lbs * (10+5+4) = Y

Recovery Days: 180lbs * (10+5+2) = Z

You then have to factor in your nutritional requirements.

•  Protein should be between 1.5g (less active) to 2g (more active) per-lbs of bodyweight. (in this case the full 200lbs)
• 20-25% should be fat
• The remainder is carbohydrates.

The reason the formula doesn’t change (at the start) is simple, if you are 250lbs and wanting to be 180lbs you will drop weight with this formula because you will be eating less calories than before. This will work for anyone who has a high body fat percentage – men over 15% and women over 24%. Once you begin to drop to that percentage you need to slightly change the diet as well as how you do your re-feed and cheat meals.

Once you hit your low point (15% men/24% women) you then have to begin to reduce your carbohydrate intake without lowering proteins at all or fats too much (in my view.) The best way to do this is randomly throughout these days cut out carbs from a different meal. You should at most drop your calories by 500 (but never touch protein intake) but cycle this. The alternative is to slowly increase your activity, add a 15 minute bike ride in twice a day (to and from work if possible), swimming, walk instead of using the car, et cetera.

The key though to maintaining weight loss when on a calorie deficit this low is simple:

·         Re-Feeds should happen for 1-2 days roughly every 7 days.

·         Cheat meals should happen 2 or 3 times every 14 days.

As I have said before weight loss, bodybuilding and training to better your body is a slow process. It is a marathon and not a sprint.

*  In my opinion

N.B: In some cases people can take up to an additional 10 calories per-lbs of bodyweight due to their lifestyle, these people are the exception though and not the rule. An example of this is Michael Phels who burns around 1000 calories per-hour of training and thus has a much higher natural requirement. If you are a professional athlete or desire to, please e-mail me directly and I'll give you more bespoke advise.

The Formula for Weight Gain

There is a myth in the Bodybuilding Industry that if you want to get big you have to eat a ridiculous amount of calories (more often than not without any forethought into the micronutrient requirements other than protein) and once you put on a certain amount of weight you can just cut, drop all the body fat and be toned. You can, but unlike these pros you will most likely not be taking steroids, human growth hormones, ephedrine, et cetera. Furthermore your body does not like to binge and purge like this and there are several theories that the may be some long term side effects.

Very few people need to eat over 5000 calories. In fact very few people will need to hit 4000 calories. I’ll give my background, during my teenage years I dirty bulked (ate crap) and then cut (dropped the fat) – highest I got to was 180lbs and I felt like shit (energy would spike and crash, moods would be all over the place, et cetera). I ended up having to have 13 operations on my stomach and dropped to 120lbs – due to what is wrong with me I had to really look at my diet and if I wanted to continue to weight gain, within 12months I got to 170lbs and within 18months I got to 185lbs. I had none of the side effects.

To establish how many calories you should be eating you first need to decide your ideal bodyweight – body fat. (200lbs at 10% would be 180lbs). You then have a base calorie requirement of 10calories per-lbs of lean bodyweight (180lbs for this example). You then need to set your daily requirements based on activity level (between 1 and 5 calories) to get your rest day (non-workout and non-recovery days) calorie requirements. On workout days you will add 4 calories per-lbs and on recovery days you will add 2 calories.

So for the man who wants to be 200lbs at 10% body fat who works at a construction site 5 days a week it is as follows:

200lbs – 10% = 180lbs

Rest Days: 180lbs * (10+5) = X

Workout Days: 180lbs * (10+5+4) = Y

Recovery Days: 180lbs * (10+5+2) = Z

You then have to factor in your nutritional requirements.

·         Protein should be between 1.5g (less active) to 2g (more active) per-lbs of bodyweight. (in this case the full 200lbs)

·         20-25% should be fat

·         The remainder is carbohydrates.

Now remember:

·         1g of Protein is 4 Calories

·         1g of Carbohydrates is 4 Calories

·         1g of Fat is 9 Calories

The key to this diet is you aren’t limited to eating only what is included, this gives you the minimum daily requirement of calories. If you eat your daily requirement and still feeling hungry have some more than day.

We also have two key things:

1.       Cheat Days – once a fortnight eat what you want (don’t be a fool) but maintain your protein in take

2.       Cheat Meals – once a week add an additional meal that you don’t factor into your daily requirements, be it going out for dinner, et cetra.

If you follow this diet, eat smart, eat healthy and eat often you will slowly put on weight. Weight gain should never be a sprint but a marathon. Combine this with a solid routine where by you are also slowly increasing your weight training and stick with it and within 6 to 18months you will see life changing results.

N.B: In some cases people can take up to an additional 10 calories per-lbs of bodyweight due to their lifestyle, these people are the exception though and not the rule. An example of this is Michael Phels who burns around 1000 calories per-hour of training and thus has a much higher natural requirement. If you are a professional athlete or desire to, please e-mail me directly and I'll give you more bespoke advise.

The key to weight loss and keeping it off

One of the most common questions I see on the internet is “How can I lose weight?” Firstly this isn’t an accurate statement you don’t desire to lose weight if anything you should want to drop body fat. Secondly it isn’t a quick fix, if you want to make a change to your body you need to stick with it otherwise it is pointless.

Weight loss is easy:

1.       Change your eating habits so you are taking in fewer calories.

2.       Change your activity patterns so you are expending more calories

3.       Continue to do this until you reach your desired bodyweight

4.       Maintain for the rest of your life, if you go back to your old habits you will gain weight again.

Almost every book, website or seminar on diets & weight management revolves around the first 3 steps, The vast majority of these people however do not mention the fourth step because it isn’t a strong selling point (people like a quick fix) and it also impacts on sales (Yo-Yo Dieting feeds the industry).

Unfortunately weight loss is a lifelong choice, but for anyone who is physically unhealthy or overweight it is a choice they should make. You have one life, make the most of it and live it the healthiest way you can.