The year was 1987…
…maybe 1988 we can’t be sure at this point.
What we do know is that I’m rockin YMCA t-shirts and Umbro booty shorts…
…and that my calves are so small my socks can barely even stay up.
We do know that.
We can probably safely assume this is some time in the late 80′s (no need for photo forensics, we can probably tell based on the corny gear and microphone fros me, my brothers & cousins are all rockin).
It was around this time my older cousin had just turned 13 and is just starting to get interested in weight lifting.
All he talks about is getting jacked.
Muscle this. Biceps that.
It was your typical east coast meathead bullshit, only the middle school ‘lite’ version.
Wherever he goes he carries a hand gripper.
For all of you youngns’ reading this: the hand gripper was basically the middle schooler’s squat rack back in those days.
It was the only resistance training device your parents kinda sorta allowed you to own back then.
If you had one you were a badass. A tough guy.
If you didn’t have one you were a wuss. A pussy.
Plain and simple.
At least, that’s how I remember it.
Anyway, one day my cousin tells me he’s unlocked the secret to gaining muscle fast.
I guess those 5,000 rep hand gripper workouts weren’t actually working out as well as he’d hoped – but he had something that was supposed to work even better.
He tells me “if you want to get muscles like Lionel or He-Man you need to start eating protein.”
Of course, I was just a kid so naturally I was like “what the hell is protein and why in the world would I want to eat it?” (At least that’s how I remember thinking it).
Then my cousin tells me “protein…it helps your muscles grow…and the best source of protein is dog biscuits. Have you seen how fast dogs grow? They put on like 30 pounds in a month. It’s gotta be the dog biscuits” he says.
This guy is a friggin genius, I thought. It all made perfect sense. How had we not realized this sooner? Dog biscuits were the key to superhuman strength and world domination!
Keep in mind that as an 8 year old kid who watched WWF, He-Man, and Thundercats regularly, my whole goal in life was to get as jacked as humanly possible and win the WWF title belt (or save the world as a superhero).
So when my cousin tells me eating dog biscuits will help build muscle because they’re loaded with protein, I was all in.
My life goals of world domination and intergalactic glory were all suddenly about to become a reality.
So from that day on it was dog biscuits in the morning, dog biscuits at snack time, and dog biscuits at night. My cousin’s poor dog probably starved because we were eating all of his food.
I probably don’t even have to tell you this but the dog biscuit diet didn’t last very long. Those things were hard as rocks, tasted like shit, and would give you the worst stomach gas ever.
Just like any other fad diet, I only lasted a couple days before I quit. No WWF title belts or galactic world saving glory for me.
Total bummer dude.
The High School Years
Once I hit my teen years I realized that I had absolutely no chance of ever becoming a superhero (for the simple and obvious reason that they aren’t real).
I also realized that girls hated guys who thought they were superhero’s…and this cold, dark reality forced me to focus on more attainable, earthly glories…so I decided to focus on sports (specifically tennis) during this period of my life.
Choosing sports was a disappointing downgrade from striving for superhuman strength and intergalactic domination, but I was small, skinny, and weak back then so I had to take what I could get.
Luckily for me, I was naturally good at tennis and by the time I was 14 I one of the top 5 ranked junior players in the nation and had represented the United States in international play.
I landed a Reebok and Wilson sponsorship. My picture started popping up in the paper, I was featured on the local news, and people in my old neighborhood started saying I was going to be the next Arthur Ashe. (Not exactly Lionel, but still legit).
During this time I also received a scholarship to train at the prestigious Rick Macci Tennis Academy in Delray Beach, Florida.
Note: Aside from the Bollettieri Academy in Bradenton, Macci’s was THE PLACE to train back then if you were a top junior with pro potential. Venus and Serena Williams were both kids there when I was there. So was Andy Roddick. The place was literally loaded with talent and many of the kids who trained at Macci’s back in the day went on to play pro. It was a real honor just to be there.
Back then we used to train for 6-8 hours a day…but we didn’t pay very much attention to nutrition. It was pretty much an afterthought.
Note: please don’t get “training” confused with “training”. We used to play TENNIS and RUN for 6-8 hours a day. We didn’t do any strength training or any type of sophisticated cross-training.
Of course we were just kids, but back then coaches used to think that weight training made you too bulky for tennis (more emphasis was placed on endurance) so I remained small, skinny, and weak for years. “Don’t touch that weight!” they used to say. “It will make you bulk up and you won’t be able to swing!”
It’s funny looking back on it now, but that advice was cutting-edge back then.
Also funny is that the old-school tennis philosophy on weight training was just about as silly as the old-school philosophy on nutrition… (i.e. “it’s not that important”).
Healthy meal planning aside…it didn’t help that my natural skinny genes didn’t really let me put on any weight, regardless of how much I ate. Back then I weighed about a “buck oh five” and had the world’s worst case of chicken legs. (see below)
A pic of me when I was 13 years old at Nationals
Note: In my defense, chicken’s may not be known for their strength and power, but they have amazing quickness and agility. If you’ve ever tried to catch one you know exactly what I’m talking about.
My point is, you can turn “weaknesses” into strengths. It just depends how you look at things.
But I digress…
Needless to say, nutrition was not a priority for me back then and I usually just ate whatever I wanted. For example, my usual “pre-game” meal in those days consisted of two Big Macs. If you’re an OG you will remember that you could get 2 Big Macs for $2 back in the day. It was great.
Now… before you “Nutrition Nazi’s” scroll down to the comments to chastise me for my nutrition sins from the 90′s, let me just point out that I started this ritual when I won my first tournament as a 12 year old and my grandma encouraged me to keep it up. Don’t change what’s working, she said. Which is by all standards, solid advice.
Now, you may think this is ridiculous nutrition advice for a young athlete to follow (especially if you’re a self-righteous Nutrition Nazi), but keep in mind that at this time I was (1) just a kid; (2) kicking ass all over the world; and (3) nobody put a lot of emphasis on nutrition back then.
Funny thing is, I always hear various fitness people bash pro athletes like Lebron James (who regularly eats fast food before games) as if they would be able to perform better than he does with their pre-game “healthy meal” which would probably consist of boiled chicken, brown rice, and asparagus. It’s laughable.
One could argue that fast food pretty much “helped” Lebron become the best hoops player in the world and make millions of dollars. Is your $30K or $50K bit of nutrition “advice” really going to help his game?
Really…? No Really…??
Anyways, with that said, I need to get this off my chest: McDonalds Big Mac, if you’re reading this I just want you to know…I won a ton of tournaments back in the day thanks to your delicious pre-game double burgers and special sauce. I probably ate hundreds of you over the years and I know we both loved each other very much. I know we broke up many years ago and you’re seeing other people now…but I will never forget you, Big Mac. We had some great times together. It was a great ride.
My daily meal plan in those days looked something like this.
Breakfast: Skipped every day.
Practice: 9am-12pm.
12pm Lunch: Whatever they served at training table (usually cafeteria style buffet food).
Practice: 2pm-6pm.
Training snack: Whatever I could get my hands on (chips, peanut M&M’s, Reese’s Cups, etc). I used to crush Reese’s Cups back then!
7pm Dinner: Training table buffet or Totinos frozen pizza. (I used to smash Totinos pizza, bagel bites, and tater tots all the time!)
10pm Evening Snack: Used to scavenge whatever snacks we left lying around the house. I didn’t discriminate.
Pre-Game Meal: Two delicious Big Macs (hold the fries, I’m a serious athlete bruh).
The College Years
Fast forward about 5 years and I’m a freshman scholarship athlete at The University of Miami and thinking I’m hot shit.
The fast food and frozen pizza diet I followed religiously throughout high school had helped me achieve a top 10 national ranking in the United States, and now I was wearing Hurricane Orange & Green on a FULL RIDE.
To ball at The U = A dream come true.
Life was good.
Now you may think that at the NCAA D-1 level (especially at a top program) that there would be a strong emphasis on nutrition.
Well…think again.
Note: we had a team nutritionist who from time to time would advise us on the benefits of eating healthy and how it related to performance, but nobody really paid attention. We also had a training table (the food tasted pretty good usually) but we basically just ate whatever we thought tasted the best. The only “nutrition strategy” i ever remember following was carb loading on pasta before games.
In case you’re new to ancient sports nutrition science, athletes back then were typically advised to eat a lot of pasta so they would “have enough energy from the carbs to have lasting endurance” so I used to CRUSH spaghetti and meatballs practically every day.
Here’s what my daily meal plan looked like at THE U:
Breakfast: Skipped every day (per usual).
1pm Lunch: Training table buffet (pasta, various forms of chicken/beef, a few veggies, sometimes pizza, and/or dessert).
2-6pm: Practice
Training snack: Usually a Powerbar and a few swigs of sugary Gatorade. Sometimes I ate Skittles if my blood sugar got low.
7pm Dinner: Training table buffet (it was whatever!)
10pm Study Snack: Domino’s Wings & Cheesy Bread, Chicken Kitchen, or a large Hungry Howies cheese pizza with sesame crust). Hell Yeah Dude…
1am Late Nite Snack: Any leftovers from the study snack would get crushed before bed.
Pre-Game Meal: Varies, but typically Chicken Kitchen (chicken breast with yellow rice, beans & veggies) or chicken and pasta from the cafeteria.
Note: I got sick with my “stomach thing” in the fall of my Sophomore year and withdrew from school after the following spring semester.
After I left Miami (with an inflamed stomach and severely wounded ego) I was practically bedridden for a few months with severe nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, the works.
I couldn’t really eat and eventually lost 35 pounds of muscle I didn’t have to spare. I looked like a semi-starving African child. I was too weak to even walk up the stairs in my house. This is when my mom (bless her heart) stepped in and took over my nutrition protocol.
Disclaimer: It was not food that made me sick. Food does not cause IBD. Food simply played a role in aggravating an underlying issue.
It was during this time I learned about the power of raw juices. I focused on giving my body the vitamins & nutrients it needed so it would have the strength to heal. I didn’t really have a “meal plan” but my diet consisted of lots of plain baked chicken, white fish, and raw juices. You can read about the diet I used to help myself heal HERE.
Long story short, the clean diet combined with my amazing doctors & medicine helped me make a full recovery. It took over 6 long, painful months, but I was finally healthy enough to return to action and I transferred from Miami to Clemson.
You know, it’s funny, but us humans are so quick to forget. We heal, old wounds close, and sometimes we forget how bad something hurt us. We forget the pain. We become numb to it. Dead to it.
Of course this can be useful as it helps us move on from bad things, but sometimes it can shoot us in the foot.
Case in point, once I got through my first semester at Clemson I was finally healthy enough to stop taking my medicine. My insides had completely healed. WooHoo…I beat the darn thing (so I thought).
So as a college kid who still felt like SuperMan (with some dents in the armor of course), I stopped drinking my raw juices, quit following my healthy meal plan, and started eating normal college kid food again (I also started drinking alcohol regularly).
Silly stomach disease, you can’t keep me down, you’re totally my bitch now! HA!
Yeah right.
Note: my meal plan at Clemson looked almost exactly like it did at Miami, but some days I actually ate breakfast (shocking I know since I had skipped breakfast for 20 years straight at this point, but I ate breakfast at Clemson because we had practice at 6am every day and I was always starving afterwards. Even though I was up at 5am…I guess you could say my 8am meal was “Breakfast”).
Daily Meal Plan at Clemson:
6-7am Practice
8am Breakfast: Cheerios, eggs, bacon, pancakes or waffles and fruit. Banana to prevent cramps. Standard breakfast of champions.
12pm Lunch: Training table buffet (baked or fried chicken sandwich on white bread, fries, some random veggies if they could fit on my plate). I usually went back for seconds, sometimes thirds.
2-6pm Practice: (Weights then Drills then Running)
Training snack: I honestly don’t remember eating anything during practice, the 6,000 calorie lunch usually held me over.
6pm Dinner: Training table buffet (it was whatever!)
10pm Study Snack: Domino’s Wings & Cheesy Bread, Chicken Kitchen, or a chicken parm sandwich & a slice of cheese pizza from Todaro.
2am Late Nite Snack: Any leftovers from the study snack would get crushed before bed.
Pre-Game Meal: Subway, Mellow Mushroom, Boston Market, Cafeteria food.
Pro Tip: Todaro Pizza in Clemson is hands down the best pizza joint on the east coast and this is coming from a self-admitted pizza snob. Don’t take my word for it though, if you’re ever in Clemson stop by and see for yourself.
The Clemson squad from 2002 posing after a workout on our version of ‘Muscle Beach’. Not bad for a couple of late nite pizza + wing smashing, kegstanding tennis dudes!
As you can see, I had regressed back into the same nutrition habits I had at Miami. And no, we didn’t have a Whole Foods or a Trader Joes around (this is backwoods South Carolina who are we kidding), but I can’t use that as an excuse. I didn’t even make an effort to eat healthy…let’s be honest.
On a positive note, however, it was during this time that I started to become more and more interested in strength training and nutrition. I was convinced that they (especially nutrition) played a major role in health and athletic performance. I just wan’t sure how.
So naturally…I asked a ton of questions.
I used to ask our strength coaches questions about nutrition all of the time. Usually dumb questions like “what should I eat in the cafeteria?” or “how much protein powder do I need to eat to gain muscle?” or “how many beers can I drink a day and not ruin my abs?”
Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.
But I didn’t know any better. We have all been there, right?
Sometimes I wonder if those guys read this site and ask themselves “hey isn’t this that kid who used to ask us all of the dumb ass questions about how to get jacked?”
One of the dumber questions I asked (probably the dumbest question I’ve ever asked anyone ever) was a question I asked one of our assistant strength coaches, named Tom.
Tom was one of the most knowledgeable assistant strength coaches we had at Clemson. He was about 5’10, 180 pounds and shredded. He was also strong as hell. All of the male athletes at Clemson used to constantly ask Tom how to get ripped and I’m pretty sure all of the female athletes wanted to date the guy. He was pretty much “the man”.
Anyway, I had probably asked Tom about 20 or 30 dumb ass questions about nutrition leading up this dumb ass question about nutrition, but I simply had to know the answer. I was getting desperate. I was training like 5 hours a day, 6 days a week, but my abs were just average.
I remember asking him, “hey Tom, I usually go to Subway for lunch because it’s healthy, but if I eat Doritos with my Subway sandwich will I still be able to get ripped? … are Doritos really bad for me?” … and Tom just looked at me with a slightly annoyed look on his face and said “yes…Doritos will probably ruin your abs bro”. lol.
I’ll never forget that. But hey, that was the level I was at back then. Clueless.
And yes, I ate Doritos (Salsa flavor to be exact) just about every day with my “healthy” turkey sandwich on wheat.
The Post Grad Years
Let’s now fast forward to grad school. My nutrition knowledge is starting to grow and a few of my friends are starting to compete in local bodybuilding shows.
Naturally, I wanted to pick their brains. I was dying to know how to get ripped. Still.
So I asked them (the most ripped guys I knew at the time) how they prepped for shows.
They pretty much told me the classic old-school bullshit we all used to believe:
Eat 6 meals a day to “increase metabolism” and “ignite your fat burning furnace”…
Eat every 2-3 hours “so your muscles won’t breakdown” and “keep the furnace stoked”…
Eat lots of egg whites, chicken, tilapia (boiled if possible to get rid of the salt, which bloats you and ruins your abs)…
Never miss breakfast because “it stokes your metabolic fire so you can burn fat all day”…
Don’t eat carbs after 7pm because they get stored as fat…
Avoid fats, especially saturated fats…
You know…all of the classics….
As you can probably guess, my meal plan during this time looked something like this:
7am Meal 1: Egg White Omelette (6 egg whites with 1 cup peppers, ½ cup onions, ½ cup mushrooms) ½ cup Oatmeal, ½ Grapefruit, 1 tbsp Flax Oil.
10am Meal 2: 30 grams whey protein, 1 cup Sliced tomatoes, 1 cup Sliced cucumber, 15 Raw Almonds.
Workout 11am (post-workout shake within 30 minute “anabolic window”).
1pm Meal 3: 5 oz ground chicken, 1 Slice Turkey Bacon, 1 cup Sliced Tomatoes, ¼ cup grilled Onions, ½ cup Brown Rice.
4pm Meal 4: 30 grams whey protein, ½ cup plain low fat yogurt, ½ cup cherries, 15 raw cashews.
7pm Meal 5: 6 oz lean steak, ½ cup brown rice, 2 cups cabbage, 2 cups Zucchini.
10pm Meal 6: 30 grams Protein Powder, 1 cup Pineapple, 2 tsp Flax Oil.
It was this meal plan that finally got me lean enough to do my first photoshoot back in 2005. I was finally ripped and thought that I had it all figured out.
With that said, I ate this way for the better part of 6 years, and got pretty jacked in the process.
Like I said earlier, if something is working why change it?
The answer is easy. Because, science.
Allow me to explain…
My Meal Plan Today
Today, my meal plan looks a lot different than it did during my meathead evolution days. I still eat pretty healthy and follow many of the same old-school principles that helped me originally lean out, but the rules of the game have changed.
It’s no longer mandatory for me to eat every 2-3 hours. I rarely eat 6 meals a day. Sometimes I eat 3 meals a day. I skip breakfast regularly. I eat carbs after 7pm. Actually, I eat carbs after 7pm every day. Sometimes I even eat carbs at midnight. I eat a lot of fruit and add salt to my meals. I’m not afraid to eat saturated fats. I eat white rice. I now know that the 30 minute “anabolic window” isn’t real. Sometimes I’ll eat 2 hours after my workout.
I’ve all but eliminated brown rice, oatmeal, nightshades, gluten, and dairy. I’ve also cut back on my meat intake.
Here’s what my meal plan looks like today:
Breakfast: Skipped every day (just like old times).
Meal 1 11am: 40g protein shake, sliced fruit (strawberries, tangerines, raspberries, pineapple, etc), 1tbsp Athletic Greens, & Krill Oil.
Meal 2 1pm: Rotisserie chicken breast, large salad, 1 cup white jasmine rice (or pink rice).
Meal 3 3:30pm: 8oz ground bison, 1 cup white jasmine rice, 2 cups steamed bok choy.
Meal 4 6:30pm: (pre-workout) 40g protein shake, 1 serving almonds or cashews.
Workout 7pm: (I no longer worry about the so-called “anabolic window” and don’t bring protein shakes to the gym anymore).
Meal 5 9:30pm: (post-workout) 8oz grilled chicken breast, rosemary roasted potatoes, unlimited green veggies, apple cider vinegar.
Meal 6 12am: 2 cups sliced fruit (raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, kiwi, watermelon, etc).
Some key pointers to my diet now:
My main focus is to prevent inflammation and promote optimal health & well-being.
Optimizing gut health is a top priority.
I try to only eat food that is the best quality.
I eat a ton of fresh fruit and veggies.
Eating 6 meals a day (every 2-3 hours) is no longer a priority as this interval has been proven by science to be ineffective. I eat when I’m hungry.
I now practice intermittent fasting.
I skip breakfast regularly and have 1 or 2 cheat meals per week.
I avoid supplements with potentially toxic ingredients.
Final Thoughts
There are a ton of apparent contradictions out there when it comes to health and fitness. For example, I used to believe that smaller, more frequent meals were the best way to burn fat (I also used to think that dog biscuits increased muscle). However, based on new research I no longer hold either of these theories to be true.
To the casual observer, it may appear as if I’m “flip flopping” or contradicting myself (especially since I’ve written articles on this site which clearly state that smaller, more frequent meals will help you lose fat and get ripped).
Here’s the thing though, there’s nothing wrong with changing your mind based on new evidence or better science. That’s what you do when you’re intelligent. You learn. You grow. You evolve. That’s the only way you’ll improve.
Sticking to an opinion, despite overwhelming facts and data that suggest your opinion is false, is delusional and egotistical. There’s no point in getting emotionally attached to logical fallacies in health or fitness. Just admit you were wrong and let them go. Never let your ego get in the way of progress.
I have no problem admitting that I used to eat six meals a day (“to burn fat” & “keep the fire burning”) and followed the traditional bodybuilding “rules” I listed earlier to lose fat and build muscle, but I stopped a few years ago.
I’m not saying eating small, more frequent meals doesn’t work (I’ve used this strategy quite well over the years) and there’s nothing wrong with following a meal plan like this. Just keep in mind that it doesn’t “boost metabolism” or “prevent muscle loss” like we all used to think. I usually just eat when I’m hungry now.
When I read some of the articles I wrote on this site 3-4 years ago on the topic I’m like….“damn dude u were way off here” – and even though these were methods that have worked wonders for me and thousands of others, new science has rendered some of them to be fundamentally and technically flawed. I have no problem admitting it.
I guess the bottom line is this: when it comes to nutrition, always try to find a plan that works for you personally instead of clinging to a dogma or following the crowd.
As an example, I’ve been doing a ton of research & personally testing out different types of rice the past few months (brown, black, red, pink, white, basmati, jasmine, etc) to see which type was a good fit for me based on my goals/health/etc.
Surprisingly, the clear winner is white jasmine rice, which has replaced brown rice as my every day go to starch. Contrary to popular belief about white rice being bad & unhealthy, I didn’t “lose my abs” or “get some disease from eating processed empty calories” but rather I have a lot more energy and my digestion has improved tremendously.
Note: white jasmine rice is higher in amylopectin than most other forms of rice which makes it a lot easier to digest.
You may be skeptical about choosing white rice over brown, but you see, science tells us now that the bran in the brown rice contains ‘inflammatory anti-nutrients’ so removing it (to make white rice) actually makes the rice a lot healthier. When you look at the science, brown rice could quite arguably be one of the most unhealthy things you can eat.
I’ve also been skipping breakfast and eating the majority of my carbs at night…which is also a deadly sin according to most of the ‘nutrition gurus’ out there. Look I may be a sinner (don’t judge me) but I’m feeling stronger and healthier than ever, and that’s all that really matters.
Funny thing is, I have skipped breakfast for most of my life without any significant health problems or negative impact on athletic performance. Who would have thought I had it right this entire time? Sorry experts, but I should have kept listening to my body.
Will this strategy work for everyone? Probably not, but it works for me and I’m going to keep following this type of plan until science gives me something better.
Before I get out of here I just want to let you know that you’re probably going to see a lot of trainers and ‘fitness gurus’ on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram soon start preaching about all of the bad things that will happen if you don’t start following the “new laws of nutrition”…
…but there’s no need to overreact or panic. There’s also no need to feel confused.
Here’s why:
You know that eating 6 small meals a day every 2-3 hours DOES NOT “increase metabolism” or “prevent muscle breakdown” like we all once thought.
You also now know that the “anabolic window” isn’t real, skipping breakfast isn’t all that bad, and eating carbs at night won’t actually ruin your abs.
White rice and fruit won’t make you fat or unhealthy.
The “rules” never apply to everyone.
Fact is, this stuff isn’t new (there’s research out there backing this up a lot of this stuff from the 90′s)…and I just want to point out that my dude Kelechi Opara was preaching about the 6 meals a day myth way back in 2010. Hopefully it didn’t take you a full presidential term to realize Kelechi was way ahead of the game.
I think Kelechi said it best when he so eloquently stated: “To be honest, years ago I used to believe the same thing. Fortunately, I am a strong believer of the aphorism ‘the mind is like a parachute, it works best when its open’ so I overcame this limiting belief years ago when I found overwhelming evidence through research and application.”
At the end of the day, we all need to use the best information (from solid science) that’s available to us at the time. There’s nothing wrong with changing your view once u have access to better data and information.
If the old information you used prior worked for you, great. But that doesn’t mean the new way of doing it won’t supercharge your results even more. At the end of the day, however, we all gotta do what works best for us personally.
Just make sure whatever plan you decide to follow has solid science to back it up, then adjust accordingly as new science presents itself.
On a side note…I guess the guys who figured out the earth was round instead of flat were the original “flip floppers” huh…
Just some food for thought.
I’m out.
-Jamin
PS – if you’re looking for a solid meal plan that’s easy to follow and based on the latest science, I strongly recommend you check out The Renegade Diet by Jason Ferruggia. You can check out my full review here.
Thanks for reading. Please leave your questions and comments below.
Author information
Jamin Thompson
Jamin Thompson has been called "the most handsome fitness model in the world" and "a brilliant actor & writer", both by his mom. He's a former Clemson & UMiami athlete and World Ranked tennis player who writes to help others dominate in the gym, on the field, and in life using his real world, in the trenches experience. His book, The 6 Pack Secret, has been sold in over 50 countries and has helped thousands of folks from all walks of life get cut and jacked the healthy way.
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