The muscle diet: how the Mark Lauren diet works with an example menu
The muscle diet, the latest trend in slimming diets, was created by Mark Lauren, fitness expert, and instructor of the Special Operational Forces of the United States: for eleven years, Lauren took care of the physical fitness of recruits, taking care of their nutrition and their training so that they could give their best in missions.
Starting from this experience, he devised a nutritional plan aimed at obtaining a body in perfect physical shape, educating it to draw the necessary energy from stored fat. His diet of muscles promises to make us all not only lean, but also toned and with well sculpted muscles.
It is therefore a diet that favors the elimination of fat and the increase of muscle mass, particularly useful for improving sports performance. In fact, it should be emphasized that it is a diet to be carried out inevitably together with constant physical training. If you don't have time to hit the gym, try some home exercises like these:
The Muscle Diet: Mark Lauren's views on calorie cycling
Unlike the usual, boring diets that involve a constant low-calorie plan, the muscle diet is much more varied: it is conceived in a series of cycles that increase or decrease the overall caloric intake. This diet is in fact based on the cycling of calories. , a powerful weapon used to trick the metabolism, so that the body does not get used to it and continues to burn fat.
The diet therefore provides a "block" approach, passing from phases that are richer in calories to others that are poorer. Furthermore, calories are never counted in exact numbers: suitable portions are simply established and the variety of foods is always assured Let's look more specifically at how this innovative approach works and what you can eat in the different blocks.
What to eat in the muscle diet? The prohibited foods and those allowed
There are seven food groups allowed on which the muscle diet is based: meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, cereals, nuts and seeds. Lauren stresses the importance of consuming food in the form as close as possible to the original, avoiding refining processes in which the amount of nutrients is drastically reduced: it is these "empty" calories derived from industrial processes that make us fat.
The diet also includes specific condiments useful for flavoring the foods provided: these are vegetable oils, vinegar, horseradish, hot sauces, mustard, herbs and spices, lemon juice, jam, and even sauces such as ketchup, mayonnaise and soy sauce. if chosen in the low-calorie variant.
It is advisable to consume carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, because they can be released into the body gradually, keeping insulin levels low and allowing you to burn fat better, while carbonated drinks, even light ones, must be completely eliminated. Hydration, on the other hand, is essential: you need to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Among the recommended infusions are green tea, chamomile and mint, while for homemade juices it is better to focus on vegetables than fruit.
The block system: how the muscle diet works
There are three blocks provided by the diet of the muscles, each of which provides a certain caloric intake. Furthermore, everyone can choose how to alternate the blocks as they like, even which one to start from.
In the first block, the one with the highest caloric intake, you can consume rapidly absorbed carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, rice and all types of dried fruit. These carbohydrates are consumed in four different types every day. Fortunately, this block is also the one that lasts the longest: a full three weeks.
The second block, on the other hand, lasting two weeks, provides - compared to the first block - a reduction in the intake of rapidly absorbed carbohydrates, which must be ingested in two different types per day, allowing the body to begin burning fat. .
Finally, the third block is the most restrictive, but - fortunately - lasts only a week: in this period the intake of carbohydrates will have to be limited to only one type per day.
Muscle diet: example of a daily menu
Here is an example of a menu for each block, taken from Mark Lauren's book, "The Muscle Diet", published in Italy by Sperling & Kupfer:
Example of daily menu of the first block.
Breakfast: cooked quinoa sweetened with a little cinnamon and honey + half a grapefruit
Lunch: Mixed green salad flavored with diced tofu, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
Dinner: Stir-fried veggie burger + tomatoes
Snack 1: 1 handful of almonds + slow-absorbed raw vegetables cut into chunks
Snack 2: stuffed cucumbers with hummus
Example of daily menu of the second block:
Breakfast: scrambled eggs with tomatoes and potatoes
Lunch: Vegan Organic Chili
Dinner: Chickpeas on a bed of mixed green salad with low-fat dressing
Snack 1: 1 handful of almonds + slow-absorbing raw vegetables
Snack 2: Iceland Breeze Smoothie
Example of daily menu of the third block:
Breakfast: 2 stir-fried vegetable sausage patties + 1 tomato + cooked corn porridge
Lunch: Organic canned lentil soup + wholemeal or sprouted wheat bread
Dinner: Stir-fried veggie burger + 1 cup of tomatoes + 1 baked potato topped with 1 tablespoon of vegetable sour cream
Snack 1: 50 g of vegetable cheese + 1 cup of kale chips
Snack 2: mango-tango smoothie
And if you are looking for foods that speed up your metabolism to make you lose weight fast, check out this:
