Brutal Muscle

By Luke Sandoe

My 9 Golden Rules of Nutrition

1. Learn What Macronutrients Are

In case you didn’t know, the macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates and fats. You need to know what they are and what they do. It’s an oversimplification for our purposes, but protein builds muscle. Carbs are an energy source. Fats are as well, but there’s a massive difference in the types of fat you find in a greasy, shitty burger and fries versus extra-virgin olive oil, macadamia or almond butter, avocados, and fish like salmon. Learn the difference between good and bad fats and avoid the bad fats.

2. How Many Meals Should You Eat?

This will depend on your lifestyle, how active you are, your job, and your goals. Some people can and should eat seven meals a day; others can’t and shouldn’t. Personally, I prefer five meals a day. Trying to get six is a pain in the ass. I eat my fifth meal at 10:00 p.m. Rather than stay up another two hours to get a sixth, I get to bed and use that time to sleep and recover. I make my five meals a bit bigger, so I still hit my macro and calorie goals. This fits my day perfectly. Those five larger meals satiate my hunger better than six smaller ones would. But if you want to have three, six, or 60 meals a day, that’s perfectly fine.

3. Keep It Simple

What I mean by this is, eat foods that you find easy to cook and easy to eat. Obviously, I don’t mean you should eat a bunch of junk food. But the opposite of keeping it simple would be to have seven meals a day that are all completely different. That would make if far more difficult to prepare and clean up after those meals. Make it as easy as you can to prepare the food you need based on your needs and goals.

4. Choose the Foods That Like You, Not the Foods You Like

How many times have you been told not to eat bread, or pasta or dairy? Says who? It all comes down to what your body likes and processes well. If you can drink milk and have absolutely no problem digesting it, go ahead and drink milk or have some cheese! I have no issues with bread, so I eat bagels every day. Again, I am not telling you to eat shit food because you like it, just don’t be afraid to eat foods some say to avoid so long as you digest them well. We are not all allergic to gluten and lactose!

5. Eat Mostly Clean Foods

To a lot of people, that means boring and bland foods. “Clean food” is an umbrella term in bodybuilding that isn’t very specific. To me it means food with the least amount of ingredients and processing, as close to natural as possible. For example, a chicken breast is one ingredient. KFC is a chicken breast with a load of other shit on top of it. Stick to foods like rice and chicken, lean turkey and beef, fish, potatoes, and oats for the most part. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. You all know there is a big difference between a plate of chicken and rice and a pepperoni pizza. That doesn’t mean you can’t have pizza sometimes. That’s why I say eat “mostly” clean foods. A treat here and there won’t kill you.

6. How Much Protein?

There are general rules here. For me, it’s 1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. I’m 305 pounds now, but I’m more like 260 in contest condition. 260 x 1.5 = 390. I eat between 400-250 grams of protein daily. If your lean body mass is 200 pounds, aim for 300 grams a day if you want to grow.

7. Weigh Your Food – Don’t Just Guess

Simply put, get yourself a digital food scale and start weighing your food. That’s the only way you can accurately track how much you’re eating and adjust according to your results. If you see you’re getting too chubby, you can reduce your carbs. If you’re not gaining, you can increase one or more of your macros.

8. Adhere to Your Diet

If you eat 80 percent clean and 20 percent shit, that’s fine if you stick to that ratio. If you’re doing keto, stick to it. Whatever type of diet approach you’re following, follow it to the T for at least a couple of months. If you’re constantly changing your diet, you’ll never know what works best for you.

9. Be Consistent

You have to train hard and also eat very well for years to see substantial results. Sticking to a solid meal plan for two to three weeks is not being consistent. The only way to evaluate the results of any training or nutrition plan is to give it at least 10 to 12 weeks first. Being consistent with your diet comes down to being prepared. If you buy the foods you need and have meals prepared ahead of time, you’re setting yourself up to succeed. It’s all about planning. If you always have meals cooked and ready, and take them with you when you know you’re going to be out of the house at a scheduled meal time, I guarantee you will see much better results than the guy who is always scrambling for his next meal and ends up eating shitty junk or fast food much of the time, or worse, missing meals. Every good meal gets you one step closer to your goals, just like every good workout.

Luke Sandoe’s Redcon1 Stack
Grunt Essential Amino Acids (EAAs)
Big Noise Pump Formula
Tango Creatine Recovery Solution
Cluster Bomb Intra/Post-workout Carbs
Mental Trigger Focus Formula

For more information, visit redcon1.com

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