Nutrition Information Overwhelm is Real

Diet and nutrition play a huge role in training and progressing towards goals such as muscle gain, fat loss, a change in body composition, athletic performance, etc.

So is it any surprise that people are confused about what they should be eating in order to reach their goals when there is so much conflicting information available to us on the internet and through social media?!

For example, I came across a video from @bdccarpenter (warning: some NSFW language) the other day that neatly summed up the current state of nutrition advice from social media.

In the video Ben is eating a meal and while he eats he plays four different reels that each demonize a different food group. After he removes the “culprit” food from his plate after each clip, he's left with nothing.

Some of the clips that Ben plays are coming from individuals who have credentials and appear to be very reputable, so what is a person supposed to eat?!

While I can’t bust every nutrition myth in this email, I can give you a good place to start:

My simplest nutrition tip is this: eat enough protein daily to support muscle and strength gain. Don’t worry about calories or carbs or fat or anything else, just eat enough protein and eat to fullness.

(Enough protein is between 0.7-1.0 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. For a 200lb guy, that would be between 140-200 grams of protein per day.)

That protein can come from a variety of beef, chicken, protein powder, dairy, grains, lentils, beans, corn, bread, vegetables, tofu, edamame, fish, protein bars, literally any protein source you can think of. As long as you don’t have a food allergy, any source you enjoy is good!

If you eat enough protein and lift weights, you will build muscle and strength. It really is as simple as that (although I know it doesn’t feel like it!).

That is an incredibly simplified version of some nutrition advice and it’s okay if you still have questions or want some clarification.