Rules for Training

Increase Protein Intake

At the very least, I recommend that you increase your protein intake. If you listened to the
nutritionists, you would believe that high-protein diets lead to brittle bones, heart disease, and
dysfunctional kidneys. They're wrong. A high-protein diet causes the bones to leech out a tiny bit
of calcium each day, but that amount is easily replaced by about a tablespoon of milk. As far as
heart disease, this erroneous association was made because in the past, people who ate high
protein diets got most of their protein from fatty animal proteins, not the lean proteins available
today. Lastly, researchers from the past noted that people with kidney disease didn't fare well on
high-protein diets. Therefore, in a case of faulty reverse reasoning, they assumed that high-
protein diets would lead to kidney problems. That's patently false. Increasing your protein will
give you more energy, improve your immune system, and help you lean out.

While you don't have to start eating sides of beef at every meal, I'd at least like you to double the
US RDA for protein, which is currently at about 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight. This
means that if you weigh 200 pounds, I'd like you to get at least 145 grams of protein per day.

Good Protein Sources:

• Chicken
• Turkey
• Fish, especially salmon
• Cottage cheese (low-fat or non-fat)
• Egg whites
• Carb Control Milk (3 grams of carbs per serving -- choose non-fat)
• Whey protein
• Milk & egg protein
• Soy protein (less than 20 grams a day -- not fortified with extra phytoestrogens -- women only)

Eat Lots of Small Meals

Your body functions much better when you eat several small meals throughout the day rather
than the traditional 3 large meals. Much of this has to do with the hormone insulin. When food,
particularly carbohydrate, begins to digest, it's broken down into simple sugars and absorbed into
the bloodstream (through the intestines). The pancreas then releases insulin to "dispose" of the
sugars.

When insulin levels are continually high, the body essentially becomes resistant to its effects,
and then it must produce more and more to produce the same effect. This ultimately leads to
obesity and even Type-II diabetes.

Insulin levels should remain relatively level throughout the day. When you eat big meals, you
send insulin levels surging up and down precipitously which, in the short run, leads to
drowsiness, irritability, and clouded mental function. In the long run it leads to obesity, insulin
resistance, and type II diabetes.

Therefore, it's best to eat small or smaller meals every three hours or so for a total of about five
or six small meals a day.

Good Carbs Sources:

• Fibrous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus)
• Fruit, especially berries
• Whole grains (wheat bread, flax bread, whole grain rice)
• Starchy vegetables (yams, carrots)
• Other vegetables (spinach, lettuce, chard, green beans, other greens)
• Oatmeal (not instant)
• Legumes (no refried beans or baked beans)
• Low-fat yogurt (no sugar added)
• Milk (low-fat or non-fat)

Combine Foods Properly

When I talk about combining foods, I’m not talking about some of those silly diets where you eat
only green foods or red foods or foods that begin with the letter "C." This approach is a little
more scientific and it has to do with insulin again.

In very simplified terms, I want to use insulin to your benefit. If you eat carbohydrates and thus
raise insulin, I'd like some protein to be in the mix so that the insulin, through mechanisms too
complex to go into, stores some of that protein into muscle tissue (which is a good thing). Aside
from that, you can also slow absorption of glucose by adding in the protein and thus less insulin
will be released.

Likewise, when you eat protein, I'd like you to eat it with fat so that insulin doesn't rise
appreciably and cause additional fat storage.

As such, what I’d like you to do is when you eat carbohydrate foods like grains, eat them with
some protein. Likewise, when you eat fatty foods like nuts, we'd like you to also eat them with
protein. In other words, don't eat carbs and fats alone or in combination -- eat them with
protein. For instance, if you were to have a piece of bread (better be whole grain!), throw on
some lean meat. Obviously, that makes eating things like potato chips and the like out of the
question, but you already know you shouldn't be eating that stuff in the first place. The reason for
this is simply that when carbs and fat are ingested together, there seems to be a synergistic effect
in terms of insulin release and consequential fat storage.

Some people take this a few steps further in that they usually try to eat protein and carbohydrate
meals early in the day and protein and fat meals later on in the day, but that's for those who have
very specific physique goals. You don't need to be quite so focused unless low bodyfat and more
muscle is your goal.
Don't Eat Stuff Out of a Box

This one is again related to insulin. Let me give you a quick food history lesson to illustrate this
point. A few hundred years ago, people made bread that was very coarse. Obviously, they didn't
have the finely tooled industrial mills of today to grind their flour. As a result, their breads were
full of what looked like wood chips.

And, as you might expect, these "wood chips" took longer to digest than finely milled flour.
Therefore, the body wasn't compelled to release large amounts of insulin to handle the sudden
onslaught of sugar. Accordingly, diabetes was almost unknown.

However, with the advent of those aforementioned finely tooled industrial mills of the modern
age, flour was ground so fine that it was virtually atomized. The body finds it very easy to break
down this kind of food and the result is a huge surge of insulin. Not good. As a result (of this and
other factors), diabetes (only Type II is diet related) runs rampant in today's world.

When you see a food product in a box, chances are that product is highly processed. It's a good
bet that the carbohydrates in that product cause a huge release of insulin when eaten.
Therefore, I’d appreciate it if you tried to eat foods that were unprocessed or fresh. If you eat
bread, look for European breads that look like the paper you wrote on in grade school (or high
fiber breads). Choose things like lentils, barley, and oatmeal whenever possible.

[Note: If it seems that I’m down on carbohydrates, well, I am. Contrary to popular belief, people
can live just fine without carbohydrates, albeit with slightly impaired cognitive function initially.
Fats and proteins, however, are essential to life. I’m not asking you to give up carbohydrates,
though, just to eat them wisely. When used properly, they can indeed give you energy and
improve athletic and mental function.]

Embrace the Salmon

If God ever put a healthful food on this planet, it's the salmon.

Obviously, you're familiar with different types of oils used in food manufacturing. I won't bore
you with too much about different oils, but let's just say that there are a couple of oils that I’m
really concerned with and they're lumped together as omega 6 oils and omega 3 oils. For
optimum health, you need a blend of these two (along with a few others that we don't need to go
into in this article). Unfortunately, food processing uses omega 6's almost exclusively. Most
Americans are thus hugely deficient in omega 3's.

If they offset this imbalance by taking more omega 3's, they could experience a host of beneficial
effects ranging from improved insulin sensitivity, reduced body fat, improved immune system,
increased muscle mass, less arthritis or joint pain, and in general, have vastly improved health.
The easiest way to increase the omega 3's in your diet is to start eating salmon, lots of it. (Choose
wild salmon over farm raised whenever possible as the fatty acid profile in farm raised salmon is,
well, off-base because of what they're fed in captivity. What's more, the flesh of farm-raised
salmon is whitish; they get their red color from dyes placed in their food!) I recommend eating 8
ounces of salmon a day if possible, or supplementing with salmon oil capsules (maybe 5 grams a
day).

You may have heard fish getting some bad press lately because of allegedly high mercury levels.
While that may be true of fish that are higher up on the food chain (tuna, swordfish, etc.), it's not
true of salmon, so eat away!

In lieu of salmon, or maybe in combination with the salmon or salmon oil, take a tablespoon or
two of flaxseed oil a day.

Avoid Saturated Fats and Trans Fatty Acids

As you know, fatty meats are loaded with saturated fatty acids, the kind that clog up the arteries.
Similarly, certain fatty acids, because of processing, flip-flop chemically and become what's
known as trans fatty acids. Unfortunately, these fatty acids clog up the arteries worse than
saturated fatty acids.

While butter is loaded with saturated fatty acids, most margarines are loaded with trans fatty
acids. The answer is to look for those margarines that advertise "no trans fatty acids" or to start
using extra virgin olive oil, which, as monounsaturated fat, is actually good for you.

Most of the packaged foods I want you to avoid also contain large amounts of trans fatty acids.

Eat Your Veggies

For years, people have been telling you to eat your veggies, but many of you seem to have
forgotten the lesson. Science has shown us that eating vegetables is far more important than any
one ever realized. Aside from the long realized vitamins and minerals inherent to nature's bounty,
they also contain thousands of substances known as phytochemicals, many of which appear to
have profound effects on human health.

If you find eating them to be difficult or time-consuming, blend them in a food processor and
slug them down (with some protein on the side, of course!). Or at the least, drink V-8.

Get Some Specific Blood Tests Done

The next time you're scheduled for an appointment with your doctor, request a comprehensive
metabolic panel, lipid panel, PSA, and also be sure to get your TSH, T4 and T3 levels checked.
Something I’ve often noticed is that a large number of people who have trouble losing fat are
actually hypothyroid or borderline hypothyroid.

In addition to this, you father's out there should have your LH, free and total Testosterone, and
estrogen levels checked. Mothers should get their estradiol checked, as well as their
Testosterone. (Few gynecologists consider Testosterone when prescribing hormone replacement
to their female patients, but they should. I've seen it make a world of difference in the way
women feel and look.)

If it turns out you men are hypogonadal, you and your doctor should discuss putting you on some
sort of hormone-replacement program. Be aware, though, that even though you may come back
as clinically "normal" in regard to Testosterone, some additional Testosterone may still be
needed. Unfortunately, the range as to what's normal in human males is so large that what's
normal for one man may not be normal for another.

Lastly (for men), even if your PSA came back normal, you may still want to consider taking a
small dose of finasteride (1 mg per day) as a preventative measure against BPH (benign prostatic
hypertrophy). It may also prevent you from losing more hair from the top of your head.

When the lab tests come back and you're in doubt about any of the results, ask me. I may not
know the answer off-hand, but I'll find out for you. Remember, don't just go by your doctor's
recommendations. It's time to take your medical destiny in your own hands.

Some Basic Mealtime Do's and Don'ts

Breakfast: What does cereal come in? A box, right? What should you do with food contained in
boxes? Avoid them!

Okay, that's a little extreme as there are acceptable breakfast cereals out there, but by and large,
most will slowly destroy your health. If you must eat cereal, eat those types that have plenty of
fiber and don't contain additional sugars. Bran flakes and Shredded Wheat are acceptable
choices, and oatmeal is an excellent choice.

Even so, make sure you get some protein with your cereal. What many athletes do is mix some
protein powder into the milk that shares the bowl with our cereal.

Likewise, avoid bagels. If you must eat one for breakfast, make sure it's draped with a hefty
serving of salmon.

Lunch: Ah, the most precarious of meals, as most lunches take place in restaurants that don’t
have many healthy choices on the menu. I don't want to make this too difficult, so just try to eat
high protein lunches with minimum amounts of carbs. Doing so is not only good for your
waistline, but you'll avoid that post-lunch crash that makes you want to put your head on your
desk and snore your lungs out.

If you get some sort of sandwich that's piled on two giant pieces of bread, ditch the top piece of
bread, drape your lettuce over the top of the meat and use it as the top of your sandwich. If you
must eat a hamburger, ditch the bun, or ditch the top of the bun and use the lettuce in the
aforementioned manner.

Needless to say, do yourself a favor and skip dessert.

Dinner: Pretty much the same rules apply for lunch as they do dinner. Try to go easy on the
carbohydrates and instead opt for lean meats and vegetable dishes. If you must eat things like
pasta, opt for whole-wheat pastas or "protein fortified" pastas.

Try to get into the habit of eating until you're "almost" full but not to the point where you're
stuffed.

Bed Time: Believe it or not, I like bedtime "snacks." Don't get too excited, though. I’m not
talking about a piece of leftover apple pie or a Homer Simpson-esque jelly donut. I’m talking
about some low-fat cottage cheese or a protein drink possibly spiced up with a dollop of natural
peanut butter or almond butter.

In-between Meals: Low-fat yogurts are acceptable, as are protein drinks, hard-boiled eggs,
oatmeal spiked with protein powder, or even a handful of nuts like peanuts, almonds, walnuts or
pistachios, as they're rich in monounsaturated fat.

If you're traveling and don't have time for a meal before you get on a plane, one of the best meals
you can have is a low sugar protein bar. In lieu of that, grab some airport peanuts and beef jerky
(really).

Ideally, I'd like you to adopt all of these suggestions, but I'd be happy if you adopted one or two
and made them part of your lifestyle.

Parts of this text are © 1998 — 2001 Testosterone, LLC.