Summer is coming, and you know what that means!

(Besides “Larsen has to take shirtless selfies for the sake of you people”)

Building strength, raw functional power, is certainly an admirable goal. Having the ability to rend the Earth and apply enough brute force to do whatever you want is something that every man can aspire to be. After all, a man works out to be the best he can be, while some sort of catamite works out purely to look good.

With all that being said…

Looking good is something to be considered—a distant second to be sure, but a consideration nonetheless. We are after all sexually producing animals and having a trim and muscled physique is a great way to increase your sexual viability—even if you are mediocre of face you can still bump yourself up a few points if you are great below the neck—just look at me!

To have a good body is a twofold process—the first is to build your muscles, of which much has been written about on this website. And the second is to cut the fat and get lean, to display muscular definition.

First of all:

I shouldn’t have to tell you this, but there is no way to spot reduce fat, or only reduce the fat in one particular area. And merely working out the muscles will not make them defined—“abs are made in the kitchen” and all that.

Thus, the first rule of cutitng is that you are simply going too reduce the amount of calories you consume. Sounds simple enough, but bear in mind that starving yourself will not achieve the results you want—the difficulty lies in what macronutrient profile you are going to have to eat, while reducing the total amount of calories. And therein lies the conundrum.

In this case, I can only cite what has worked for me in the past, to get the physique that you see in the featured image that had slain many a thot before I ultimately settled down with all that.

Protein:

The main “building block” of muscle tissue. This can come from meat, dairy, beans, certain types of fruit and vegetables, and of course supplements. To make things very simple, you should eat about 1 gram of protein per each kilogram of bodyweight you weigh (ie: if you weigh 100 kilograms eat 100 grams of protein) daily. Those grams of protein should constitute between 20-35% of your total caloric intake daily—higher than that can lead to dehydration and constipation issues (and having too low a fat and protein consumption will lead your body to process proteins for glucose for cellular energy, rather than muscle building, in a process known as ketosis). In general, as long as you keep your total protein intake below 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, you should be okay. Between one and two grams per kilogram is where you want to be to put on muscle mass.

Carbohydrates:

Simple sugars, starches/complex sugars, and fiber (non-digestible carbohydrates that still provide a non-nutrient benefit).

In general, you want to eat complex carbohydrates (brown rice, fruits and vegetables) more than simple sugars (table sugar and the like)—they have more nutrients than just carbohydrates and they have fiber which improves colonic health and increases feelings of satiation, while still ultimately providing you with the glucose fix that keeps every part of your body functioning. And with that cellular energy, you will have the capacity to exercise longer. “Fat burns in a carbohydrate flame”, after all.

You should consume roughly 6-8 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of bodyweight, and total carbohydrate consumption should be 45-60% of your total caloric consumption (this combined with the increased protein consumption detailed above). Before you panic in reading that statistic, remember that the key is percentage. The only “Secret” to losing weight is to decrease the total caloric consumption across the board.

Fat:

A group of compounds that include triglycerides (fatty acids, fats and oils), phospholipids, and sterols. Of dietary lipids, 95% are triglycerides, and in the body 99% of stored lipids are triglycerides. Structurally, triglycerides are three fatty acids attached to a glycerol backbone.

Polyunsaturated fatty acids are essential fatty acids (or fats that cannot be manufactured by the body but are essential for proper health/function). Those saturated fatty acids you always hear about are implicated as a risk factor for heart disease because they raise the bad cholesterol (LDL, low density lipoprotein) levels. Unsaturated fats are associated with good cholesterol (high density lipoprotein, HDL) increases and decreased risk of heart disease. Trans fats are effectively similar to the saturated fats. However, do bear in mind that for men especially, saturated fats are a dietary necessity despite their risks due to the body using them to produce sterols and androgens—so for saturated fats eat the recommended daily allowance and not any more.

Fats are used in long term energy storage and as carriers for many vitamins. They also form cellular membranes (among other things), so they are vital for bodily functions.

The Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (AMDR) for fat intake is 20-35% of the total calorie intake—but seeing as there doesn’t seem to be too many negative effects of having fat consumption between 10-20%, err on the side of eating less fat than more. Since fats are calorically dense (ie: small amounts have high calories), you can overeat fats very easily, so watch out! In general, if you’re eating sufficient amounts of protein and carbohydrates like I detailed above, you’ll likely be getting enough fats, so you don’t need to worry about this.

If you’re eating actual food (ie: not supplements) to get those nutrients in sufficient quantities, then by definition you’re going to be getting all the necessary micronutrients as well (your vitamins and inorganic nutrients and etc.)—eating wholesome meats and dairy will give you B and D vitamins and inorganic nutrients like iron and calcium, fruits and vegetables will give you the water soluble vitamins, foods with healthy fats will give you the fat soluble vitamins, etc.

So try to plan out your diet to have roughly that macronutrient profile (20-35% protein, 10-30% fat, 45-50% carbohydrates), and you will indeed be able to lose fat and put on some muscle. Sure, it’s annoying to have to calculate your nutrients so stringently, but that’s the price to pay for leanness.