The one common denominator to achieving your desired bod for the bathing suit weather is nutrition. Whether you’re looking to drop some pounds or put on some muscle, the food you eat will be the most important part of your journey. You can not outrun a bad diet. Below we’ll give you some tips!

For those trying to lose weight…

If you’re trying to get some abs to show, you will have to drop your body fat percentage to at least 10-12%. For those playing a sport, you should try to eat around 14 times your body weight in calories. For a 170 pound person, that would equate to 2380 calories. Those with a sedentary lifestyle, your body weight in pounds times 12 should suffice. In terms of macro-nutrients, protein should take up 40% of your diet, carbs should take up 40% of your diet, and fat should take up 20% of your diet. Cardio will be very necessary and weight lifting should happen almost daily. In order to feel full, avoid fats, eat leafy greens, and drink a ton of water. Try to lose weight at a rate of a pound per week in order to minimize muscle mass lost.

Example of Daily Eating:

Breakfast: 3 Eggs, Toast, Turkey Bacon, banana: 450 cals, 17F, 43C, 33P

Lunch: Chicken, rice, granola bar: 790 cals, 15 F, 70 C, 94 P

Dinner: Salmon, sweet potato, green beans: 600 cals, 10 F, 71 C, 48 P

Snack: Shake, cookie: 450 cals, 41 C, 10 F, 64 P

Totals: 2307 cals, 42 F, 184 C, 224 P

For those trying to gain weight…

If you’re trying to pack on some pounds, you will have to up your calories.  You should try to eat around 21 times your body weight in calories. For a 170 pound person, that would equate to 3570 calories. In terms of macro-nutrients, protein should take up 25% of your diet, carbs should take up 45% of your diet, and fat should take up 30% of your diet. Fats are very calorie-dense and foods like peanut butter and avocados will help you reach your daily caloric goals. You will probably have to gorge yourself and be conscientious of eating all day. Steer away from cardio and you should lift about 5 to 6 days a week. Eating too many calories though will result in bad weight gain and will make you look extremely fat. Gain fairly conservatively over the course of 4 months at a rate of a pound per week.

Example of Daily Eating:

Breakfast: 5 Eggs, Toast, Turkey Bacon, banana

Lunch: Chicken, rice, granola bar

Dinner: Steak, sweet potato, green beans

Snack: Shake, cookie, ice cream

Totals: 3615 cals, 108 F, 356 C, 303 P

The second most important aspect of your health is fitness. Your optimal schedule should consist of very frequent, high intensity, 45 min to an hour long, and very heavy workouts. Whether you are gaining weight or cutting weight, your lifting habits should remain the same. If you are cutting although, cardio 3-4 times a week is great for fat-burning. These sessions should last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour and could be anything from running miles to playing basketball. For those looking to add strength, your rep ranges should stay in the 3 to 8 range while those looking to add size should stay in the 8 to 12 rep range in order to reach hypertrophy. The best split for a beginner on a weekly basis should go as follows: Chest and Tris, Back and Bis, Legs and Shoulders, then an off day. Repeat that schedule and you should have 5 to six lifting sessions a week. A good tip to staying motivated on a day to day basis is investing in a preworkout which acts as a stimulant and gets you wired for the next 2 hours. A sample of your workouts is shown below.

Chest and Triceps

Bench Press: Four sets of eight reps

Incline Dumbbell Press: Four sets of twelve reps

Decline Bench Press: Four sets of ten reps

Cable Flies: Four sets of fifteen reps

Tricep Pushdown: Five sets of twelve reps

Overhead Dumbbell Press: Five sets of eight reps

Single Arm Kick Backs: Five sets of ten reps each

Back and Biceps

Pullups: Three sets of maximum reps

Lat Pull downs: Four sets of twelve reps

Rows: Four sets of eight reps

Face Pull: Three sets of twelve reps

Straight Arm Pushdown: Three sets of twelve reps

Barbell Curls: Three sets of twelve reps

Hammer Curls: Three sets of twelve reps

Seated Curls: Three sets of ten reps

Legs and Shoulders

Barbell Squat: Four sets of eight reps

Sumo Stance Deadlift: Four sets of ten reps

Bulgarian Split Squat: Three sets of fifteen reps each

Leg Extensions: Four sets of twelve reps

Hamstring Curls: Four sets of twelve reps

Calf Raises: Six sets of twenty five reps;

Three sets should be with toes pointed inward

and three should be with toes pointed outward

Overhead Press: Four sets of ten reps

Alternating Dumbbell Shoulder Press: Three sets of eight reps each

Cable Side Raise: Three sets of ten reps

Cable Front Raise: Three sets of twelve reps