Bigger Leaner Stronger

by Michael Matthews

  Spiritual affirmations involve your sense of purpose and motivation, and they can include statements like, “I’m driven to build the body of my dreams,” “I feel I’m on the right path,” and “I know I will succeed.”

  Here are a few pointers for writing more effective affirmations:

  Keep your affirmations short so they’re easier to process and remember.

  Even four or five carefully chosen words can be powerful.

  Start your statements with “I” or “My.” Affirmations are all about you, so it’s best to start with you. “I have no aches or pains in my joints” is much better than “The aches and pains in my joints have disappeared.”

  Write your affirmations as though you’re experiencing them right now, not in the future.

  For example, “I fall asleep quickly and wake up feeling rejuvenated” is superior to “I will fall asleep quickly and wake up feeling rejuvenated” or “Within three months, I’m falling asleep quickly and waking up feeling rejuvenated.”

  Don’t begin your statements with “I want” or “I need.”

  You don’t want to affirm needing or wanting, but being.

  Make sure your affirmations are positive statements.

  In many cases, realizing your affirmations will require discarding negative behaviors and thoughts, but you don’t want your statements to reflect this.Think, “I’m calm, confident, and contented” and not “I’m no longer anxious and insecure,” and “I wake up on time every day feeling refreshed” instead of “I don’t sleep in anymore.”

  Inject emotion into your affirmations by including, “I’m [emotion] about . . .” or “I feel [emotion].”

  For example, you could say, “I’m excited to do my daily workouts.”

  Create affirmations that are believable.

  If you don’t think your statement is possible, it won’t have much of an effect on you, so make sure you can fully buy into it. If you find a certain affirmation particularly incredible, you can start with a qualifier like, “I’m open to . . .” or “I’m willing to believe I could . . .”

  So, are you ready to write your affirmations? Take as long as you need! I’ll be here when you’re done!

  What Are Your Whys?

  One of my favorite things about being fit are the moments where you just stop for a second and think, “Wow, it’s awesome I did that with my body.”

  These are the things that put a smile on your face and a spring in your step, and sometimes even make your day.

  I’m not talking about stuff like “turning heads in the coffee shop” but rather “having my doctor ask me for fitness advice”, “feeling way more productive,” and “keeping up with my kids without getting tired.” The small but meaningful things that confirm you’re on the right track.

  I’ve worked with thousands of guys over the years, and here are a few examples of the fitness wins they’ve shared with me:

  Getting asked for advice in the gym

  Getting more attention from the opposite or same sex

  Feeling more confident and competent inside and outside of the gym

  Being more productive at work

  Eating desserts guilt-free

  Looking fantastic in a suit

  Setting a good example for their kids

  Enjoying outdoor activities again

  Eliminating aches and pains

  Trying new physical challenges like a hiking, biking, or running

  I love these. They’re real, specific, and meaningful, and they’re great examples of the more sincere and personal reasons to get into great shape.

  How about you? Why do you want to achieve everything you just laid out in your affirmations?

  Maybe you want to boost your confidence? Play sports better? Be more attractive? Enjoy the overcoming of physical barriers? Be more active with your kids? Avoid disease? Stay active well into your retirement years? Slow down the processes of aging and retain a youthful vitality? Just have a body that works the way it’s supposed to? Heck, beat your friends in arm-wrestling matches?

  Brainstorm your reasons for getting in shape and write them down until you feel pumped up and ready to get into action, because in the next part of this book, you’re going to learn how to use my Bigger Leaner Stronger program to make it all a reality.

  •••

  Remember the work you’ve done here whenever you need a pick-me-up, and it’ll help you find the power to persevere.

  Recall it when you’re feeling too tired to train, when you’re out with friends watching them stuff and drink themselves silly, when sugary treats are cooing your name, and when you roll out of bed in the morning like a log off a truck.

  Regularly look at the pictures you’ve saved, read the affirmations you’ve written, and review the whys you’ve formulated, and you’ll always feel a wind in your sails, propelling you ever closer to your best body ever.

  And then, once you’ve achieved everything you’ve created here, repeat the process anew, charting another more exciting course for the next phase of your fitness and life.

  To help get you there as quickly as possible, we must now return to the “outer game” and learn once and for all how to use food, exercise, and supplementation to transform your body and mind.

  Key Takeaways

  People with vague, unrealistic, or uninspiring fitness goals (or none at all) are always the first to quit.

  Different people have different reasons for eating well and working out—but it’s important that you isolate and articulate your reasons.

  Establish what your ideal body looks like visually and precisely by finding a picture or two (or three or four!) of exactly what you want to look like and saving these pictures somewhere that’s esily accessible, like your phone or Google Drive or Dropbox.

  Take a few minutes to imagine what it’ll be like to be in the best shape of your life, and then write it all down in the form of individual affirmations.

  Affirmations are positive statements that describe how you want to be, like, “I’m full of energy all day” and “My mind is always quick, clear, and focused.”

  You can organize your health and fitness affirmations into four broad categories: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.

  Physical affirmations are all about bodily function and physical energy levels, and they can include statements like, “I wake up rested every day,” “My joints are pain-free,” and “I rarely get sick.”

  Mental affirmations concern your mind’s ability to remember and compute and your ability to focus on the present and tune out the “noise.” They can include statements like, “I can focus deeply on the task at hand,” “My memory is sharp,” and “I can control my thoughts.”

  Emotional affirmations relate to your feeling of positive or negative sensations, and they can include statements like, “I find joy everywhere I go,” “I bounce back quickly from bad news,” and “I give and receive love openly.”

  Spiritual affirmations involve your sense of purpose and motivation, and they can include statements like, “I’m driven to build the body of my dreams,” “I feel I’m on the right path,” and “I know I will succeed.”

  Brainstorm your reasons for getting in shape and write them down until you feel pumped up and ready to get into action.

  Remember the work you’ve done here whenever you need a pick-me-up, and it’ll help you find the power to persevere.

  Cascio CN, O’Donnell MB, Tinney FJ, et al. Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2016;11(4):621-629. doi:10.1093/scan/nsv136; Harris PS, Harris PR, Miles E. Self-affirmation improves performance on tasks related to executive functioning. J Exp Soc Psychol. 2017;70:281-285. doi:10.1016/J.JESP.201
6.11.011.

  Part 4

  The Last Diet Advice You’ll Ever Need

  16

  Welcome to the Wonderful World of Flexible Dieting

  There’s more to life than training, but training is what puts more in your life.

  —BROOKS KUBIK

  If you dread the idea of “dieting,” I understand. Most diets feel more like self-denial than self-improvement.

  Instead of educating you on how your metabolism works and giving you the tools you need to manage it effectively, most diets resort to browbeating, fearmongering, and food restriction instead.

  If you want to lose fat or build lean muscle, they say, you can kiss just about everything you like to eat goodbye. Grains, gluten, sugar, high-glycemic carbs, red meat, processed foods, dairy, caloric beverages—it’s all gotta go. All your toys. Throw them all into the fire.

  Maybe I’m not up to this, you might think as you contemplate starting such a program. Maybe I’m not tough or dedicated enough. Maybe that beach body isn’t really worth it . . .

  Bigger Leaner Stronger isn’t one of those kinds of programs, and I’m here to tell you that yes, you are up to it, you absolutely have what it takes, and looking better than you ever have before is worth far more than you probably realize.

  To prove it, I’m going to teach you how to follow the easiest and most effective approach to dieting in the world: flexible dieting.

  With flexible dieting, you can dramatically transform your body eating foods you want to eat, every day, seven days per week. All you have to do is follow a handful of simple guidelines, not starve or deprive yourself.

  Even better, once you experience the power of flexible dieting firsthand, you’ll thrill at the realization that you’re now immune to the diet frustrations and anxieties plaguing most people, and that you’re finally free to develop a positive, healthy relationship with food.

  A big promise, I know, but I’m going to deliver on it in spades. Let’s begin, shall we?

  Putting Diet into Perspective

  How important is your diet to achieving your health and fitness goals?

  Some people say it’s everything. Others say it’s not as important as exercise, genetics, or some other factor. Still others say it’s 70, 80, or 90 percent of the game.

  Well, I say it’s 100 percent. And progressively overloading your muscles? That’s also 100 percent. Having the right attitude is 100 percent too. And let’s not forget getting adequate rest and sleep, because that’s also 100 percent. (I know, we’re at 400 percent so far . . .)

  My point is this: the building blocks of a great body are more like pillars than puzzle pieces. If you weaken one enough, the whole structure collapses.

  Your body won’t positively adapt to your training if you don’t support it with proper nutrition. You can’t gain much muscle or strength if you don’t train correctly. Your progress will be lackluster if you don’t have the right attitude. Your workout performance will suffer if you don’t maintain good sleep hygiene.

  That’s why I want you to go all-in on achieving your fitness goals. I want you to give 100 percent in each part of my program and achieve 100 percent of the potential results. Let other people train at just 60 percent, diet at just 30 percent, and give just 20 percent of their spirit. They’re going to make you look that much better.

  Arbitrarily assigned values aside, here’s the practical answer to how important diet is in your fitness journey: your diet either works for or against you, multiplying or dividing the bottom-line results you get from your training.

  No matter how much you get right in the gym, you’ll never be fully satisfied with the results unless you also get things right in the kitchen. This is why so many people spend so much time exercising yet look like they’ve never even seen a barbell or bicycle, let alone touched one.

  You can think of diet as a series of tollbooths along the highway of fat loss and muscle gain. Training moves you forward, but if you don’t stop and pay your dues, you don’t get to go any further.

  Another helpful perspective on the relationship between diet, training, and body composition is this: diet is primarily how you lose fat, maintain a desirable body fat level, and boost muscle growth, and training is primarily how you gain and maintain muscle mass.

  Many people get this mixed up and think that working out is mostly for calorie and fat burning, and thus fall into a frustrating and ultimately fruitless cycle of doing a lot of grueling exercise just to keep pace with all their eating.

  If you’ve been there before or are there now, then I have very good news for you: it all ends here.

  Soon, you’re going to experience a whole new approach to diet and exercise that will make losing fat, building muscle, and staying healthy easier than ever before.

  Soon, you’re going to realize that you’ve finally found the answers you’ve been looking for.

  The Four Principles of Flexible Dieting

  What kind of “diet” worth a damn has you be less strict about the foods you eat?

  How can you possibly lose fat eating bucketfuls of carbs every day?

  Which self-respecting “dieter” would dare eat candy or fast food with a clean conscience?

  Such questions represent some of the common criticisms of flexible dieting. Much of the controversy stems from the fact that it means different things to different people.

  So, for the sake of thoroughness, let’s start with an outline for flexible dieting the Bigger Leaner Stronger way:

  How much you eat is more important than what you eat.

  You should eat foods that you like.

  The majority of your calories should be nutritious.

  You should eat on a schedule that works for you.

  Basically, my approach to flexible dieting is a way to take your body’s basic energy and nutritional needs and turn them into an eating regimen that you actually enjoy. It’s about turning your diet into a lifestyle rather than a quick fix.

  Let’s take a closer look at each of these principles.

  1. How much you eat is more important than what you eat.

  This refers to the prominence of energy balance (calories) and macronutrient balance (protein, carbohydrate, and fat).

  Food choices do matter (more on that in a minute), but not for the reasons most people are told.

  In short, this principle comes down to just two things:

  Manipulating your calorie intake to lose, maintain, or gain weight as desired

  Manipulating your protein, carbohydrate, and fat intake to optimize your body composition

  Once you can do those two things well, you can gain complete control of your physique.

  2. You should eat foods that you like.

  No matter how perfect a diet might look on paper, if you can’t stick to it, it’s not going to work for you. Period.

  That’s why flexible dieting is a blessing for so many people. When you can eat foods you actually like, including indulgences, you never quite feel like you’re “on a diet.”

  Instead of depriving yourself for months and then flaming out in a spell of gluttonous bingeing, you get to enjoy yourself along the way, heading hunger and cravings off before they can cause problems.

  From time to time, you might be eating fewer or more calories than you’d like (depending on your goals), but on the whole, most people find that flexible dieting is a smooth, painless experience. Eventually, “diet” even loses its four-letter-word status.

  That said, if you’ve spent any time in fitness circles on social media, you might think flexible dieting is all about eating copious amounts of junk food while still having abs.

  This is foolish. Just because you can get ripped eating like a 12-year-old doesn’t mean you should, and just because someone has low body fat levels or big biceps doesn’t mean they’re healthy
.

  There’s far more to food than just calories and macros—it also provides our bodies with dozens of vital micronutrients that are needed to keep us healthy, happy, and performing our best.

  That’s why . . .

  3. The majority of your calories should be nutritious.

  Will hitting the drive-thru or pizza joint every now and then or eating a bit of sugar or “empty calories” here and there hurt you in the long run? Decidedly not.

  But will allotting a large portion of your daily calories to nutritionally bankrupt fodder? Absolutely.

  Slowly but surely, you’ll develop nutritional deficiencies that can lead to all kinds of health problems, impair mental and physical performance, and even blunt muscle gain by interfering with your body’s ability to recover from your workouts.

  In that sense, “clean eaters” get a lot right. They may not understand why it seems so hard to lose fat and gain muscle, but they do understand the importance of nourishment.

  Hence, this third flexible dieting rule of thumb: You should get at least 80 percent of your daily calories from nutritious, relatively unprocessed foods.

  In other words, most of what you eat should consist of whole foods that you clean, cut, and cook yourself, like lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and oils. Then, if you feel so inclined, you can fill your remaining calories with your favorite treats.

  A major reason why eating like this is so healthy is it provides your body with enough fiber, which is an indigestible type of carbohydrate found in many types of plant foods.

  Fiber comes in two forms:

  Soluble fiber

  Insoluble fiber

  Soluble fiber dissolves in water and tends to slow the movement of food through the digestive system.

  Research shows that soluble fiber is metabolized by bacteria in the colon, and can increase fecal output by stimulating the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria and fatty acids.1 Because of this, soluble fiber is an important source of fuel for the colon.2