Stan Efferding shares a deep understanding of nutrition, dieting, and supplementation. In a recent YouTube video, Efferding opens up on the best foods for achieving fat loss. In addition, he discussed protein requirements and strategies for staying away from ‘hidden calories.’
Efferding is a celebrated nutritionist, wielding decades of experience helping athletes achieve optimal health and longevity. He is the architect behind the successful ‘Vertical Diet,’ which is a food plan designed to assist those with higher caloric needs with a focus on satiety.
As a decorated bodybuilder and powerlifter, Efferding understands how food can serve or hinder one’s performance both inside the gym and on game day. He holds the title of Mr. Olympia World’s Strongest Bodybuilder, a feat he made possible in 2010. In addition to countless impressive lifts, Efferding has guided notable names in various sports, such as UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
Whether you’re an athlete or an aspiring fitness enthusiast, Efferding has compiled years of information to provide his followers with actionable and simple steps to better their physiques. In a market oversaturated with fad diets, Efferding backs up his tips with real-life experience.
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Stan Efferding Discusses Protein Options, Best Foods for Fat Loss, and How to Avoid Bloating
Efferding says ‘calories are king’ and anyone aiming to shred fat should stick with one gram of protein per pound of body weight or desired body weight.
“Calories are king in terms of macros, protein, is the most important. You want to get a gram of protein per pound of body weight. We’re talking about a very lean individual trying to get even leaner. A gram of protein per pound of body weight. General population, a pound of protein per pound of goal weight or lean weight.”
“For these individuals, let’s go for a pound of body weight. Fats, I don’t like to get those below 60 grams. The rest would be carbs and that would be calculated based on once you subtract your protein per body weight and fats. Fats don’t have to start at 60 but that would be someplace we could reduce them.”
He believes anyone consuming 200 grams of protein per day should moderate their fat intake to 100 grams. However, if they are attempting to lose weight, he advises readers to slowly start decreasing total fat consumption.
“If I’m eating 200 grams of protein, I can have 100 grams of fats. But as I’m starting to diet, I might start knocking those fats down to 90 grams, 80 grams, 70 grams, very slowly. The rest would be carbs. That would just depend on what your total caloric burn was for the day.”
Efferding advocates for a diverse diet made up of different sources of protein, from shakes, and dairy, to red meat.
“Micronutrients. This is why I promote a very diverse diet. I don’t like to get just one source of protein and I don’t like too many protein shakes. I like to keep red meat in the diet, especially for women for iron and B12, and zinc, it’s loaded with those. I like to keep an egg yolk in there I want choline and biotin. I want to get fish in there and salmon.”
“I want to get plenty of dairy in there, preferably probably yogurt. The benefits of fermented foods probiotics on the gut microbiome are extraordinary. Getting 1,000 milligrams of calcium a day. I mentioned potassium next, that would be your potatoes, fruits, yogurts, all of those, your meats all have 100 milligrams of potassium per ounce.”
Even though bloating is largely individualistic, Efferding underlined that athletes often suffer from this condition due to being too restrictive with their diets.
“You’re going to get some bloating whether or not it becomes uncomfortable or turns into distention or pain such as an IBS situation, that can be very individualistic.
A lot of those problems, the athletes that I work with have put themselves into that position over the years by being too restrictive,” explains Stan Efferding.
Concerning tips that can be applied today, Efferding mentioned that gradually reducing sugar and fast food red meat would be ideal for those on a fat-loss journey.
“If you’re trying to reduce sugar, you might just start gradually cutting down on the total amount whether you put that in your coffee or what have you. Using a leaner meat, people like and enjoy red meat but the 75/25 beef at a fast food place is probably not a good choice.”
Additionally, Efferding warned against ‘hidden calories,’ which often get masked behind foods like steak or salads at restaurants due to oils and butters.
“Salt as opposed to butter [on steaks]. Oils, butters, things like that, I refer to them as hidden calories. When you go to a restaurant and they cook your flat iron steak in a pool of cottonseed oil, that’s going to dramatically add calories to your plate, same is true with dressing on your salad.”
He highlighted the caloric difference between cooking your steak versus enjoying one from a restaurant doused in butter.
“If you grill a top sirloin steak at home and put a little salt on it in your Ninja grill, it’s about 320 calories. The same top sirloin steak at Ruth Chris with a cube of butter melted on top of it is you know 1,800 calories. You’re probably going to have to ask for it without butter and oil on it and flame-grilled if possible.”
“Salads and meats are always good. If you’re going to get the potato you want to get all the stuff on the side, the cheese, the sour cream, and the like. Be cautious of the deep-fried foods and obviously loading up on bread and butter, if you have some bread without the butter, that would be ideal. We encourage folks to drink plenty of fluids, not alcohol, before the meal comes because it’ll help satiate you and that could be a diet soda or an ice tea or both, it doesn’t matter.”
Efferding recently joined reigning World’s Strongest Man/Arnold Strongman Champion Mitchell Hooper for a candid talk about nutrition. They discussed their go-to options for fueling the body, including a yogurt and orange juice shake and Efferding’s signature ‘Monster Mash,’ made up of rice, ground beef, and some type of vegetable.
Given his expertise in tailoring diets to varying individuals, Stan Efferding remains one of the most respected nutritionists in the industry. Despite the challenges of dieting, he always swears by his number one rule: the one you’ll stick with is the one that will work.
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