16 nutrition rules for a defined body

A perfect definition is understandably the dream of almost every dedicated fitness athlete. However, not least because of the numerous different tips and approaches, which can sometimes culminate in frustration, most athletes never achieve this goal. To ensure that you are one of the lucky ones who can enjoy a perfectly defined body in the future, we would like to give you 16 golden nutritional rules for definition.

Rule 1 - Vary your carbohydrate intake

If you want to maximize your fat burning, you should always make sure that you vary your carbohydrate intake over the course of a training week. In practice, it has proven successful to limit your carbohydrate intake to a maximum of 100 grams per day for four to five days at a time. This reduction forces your body to use mainly body fat for energy production due to the prevailing hormonal environment. As our metabolism, which has been optimized by evolution to process carbohydrates, slows down due to the lack of carbohydrates, you should increase your intake to up to 300 grams a day on the remaining days. In addition, it is particularly important that you keep your protein intake consistently high to prevent the body from metabolizing its own protein structures.

Rule 2 - Timing is everything

On the one hand, it's no secret that too many unused carbohydrates will sooner or later end up on your hips. On the other hand, a deficiency leads to reduced metabolic activity in the long term, which also has a detrimental effect on fat burning. It is therefore important to make sure that you consume carbohydrates exactly when your body needs them. So while it is not necessarily advisable to eat a huge portion of pasta just before going to bed, it is essential to consume comparatively large amounts at breakfast and immediately after training. This is the only way to enable your body to perform at its best during the definition phase.

Rule 3 - Use BCAAs to protect your muscles

As the body not only uses fats and carbohydrates to generate energy, but also proteins to a lesser extent, you should protect your muscles from catabolic metabolic processes during a diet. Specifically, the body mainly consumes the branched-chain amino acids (BCAA) valine, leucine and isoleucine, which is why it is always advisable to take these in the form of powders or tablets. Five to ten grams per dose is sufficient for optimum protection. These products provide the greatest benefit at breakfast and immediately before and after training.

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Rule 4 - Let the carbohydrates work for you

As building new muscle mass is the best, not to say most convenient, way to lose fat and thus achieve perfect definition, you should make sure that you are always working at your limit during training and can therefore always set new stimuli. The easiest way to do this is to provide your body with a combination of whey protein and easily digestible carbohydrates around 60 minutes before training so that you can draw on the full range of energy. For the sake of simplicity, for example, a pre-workout shake consisting of 20 grams of whey protein and 20-40 grams of maltodextrin is ideal.

Rule 5 - Make use of neurotransmitters

In simple terms, neurotransmitters are chemicals produced naturally in your body that are responsible for transmitting signals between individual nerve cells. They signal to your body, for example, that the metabolism and thus the energy supply must be accelerated, which has a clear effect on physical and cognitive performance. One of the most effective legal neurotransmitters is the caffeine contained in both coffee and tea, which can improve fat loss, especially in combination with a low-carbohydrate diet. So there's no harm in indulging in two to three cups of coffee or tea a day, depending on your taste.

Rule 6 - Focus on complex carbohydrates

Apart from immediately before and after training, when it makes sense to consume short-chain carbohydrates, you should mainly focus on complex carbohydrates. Products such as oatmeal, wholemeal pasta and brown rice are digested more slowly due to their high fiber content and different molecular structure, which ultimately results in a much more even release of insulin. A stable insulin level is particularly important for the goal of definition, as it prevents the storage of new deposits as well as the occurrence of food cravings.

Rule 7 - Eat the right snacks

To avoid jeopardizing your goal of perfect definition through food cravings, it is advisable to keep your insulin levels stable throughout the day. Snacks are an ideal way to achieve this goal. However, choosing protein-rich snacks is not as easy as you might think, as many products contain added sugar, which promotes the release of insulin. In practice, you should therefore opt for products such as cottage cheese, low-fat quark or natural yoghurt that do not contain added sugar.

Rule 8 - Ensure energy supply

In order for your body to burn fat continuously, it is important that it is not slowed down by a lack of nutrients. Even if it may not seem obvious at first, you should eat a small meal at least every two hours so that your metabolism can function properly throughout the day. One of the reasons for this is the fact that the human body also needs small amounts of carbohydrates and proteins to burn body fat. If these are not supplied from outside via solid food, the body uses the protein structures of your hard-earned muscles, for example.

Rule 9 - Use arginine

Taking three to ten grams of this amino acid one hour before training not only promotes blood flow to the muscles and therefore the pump, but also increases general metabolic activity. In sports science, it is also assumed that the use of arginine can stimulate the body to preferentially use fat as an energy source, which is of course beneficial for your definition.

Rule 10 - Avoid carbohydrates in the evening

As we have already mentioned, timing is the most important factor when it comes to carbohydrate intake in the context of the definition. Accordingly, you should avoid consuming carbohydrates late in the evening unless you burn them off through exercise before going to bed. The background to this golden rule for optimal definition is that unused energy in the form of carbohydrates is stored as depot fat. In addition, the resulting rise in insulin levels inhibits the release of growth hormone (HGH), which is particularly important for building and maintaining muscle. So unless you are training in the evening, you should significantly reduce your carbohydrate intake at this time of day.

Rule 11 - Drink tea regularly

For the human body to function optimally, it needs water above all. Athletes in particular should therefore consume at least one liter of water per 20 kilograms of body weight per day. However, as water is not everyone's cup of tea, tea is a good option. In addition to the taste variety, this has the advantage that tea contains countless antioxidants that support numerous physiological processes in the body.

Rule 12 - Embrace the benefits of glutamine and taurine

In the course of definition, maintaining the muscle mass built up to date is the most important goal. As the reduction in energy intake, and in particular the reduction in carbohydrate intake, promotes the release of the catabolic stress hormone cortisol, it is important to counteract this hormone. According to scientific findings, the consumption of five to ten grams of glutamine and one to three grams of taurine per day can be helpful in this context.

Rule 13 - Shock your body by giving up fat

In order for your body to work as efficiently as possible during the definition phase, it must first be programmed to burn fat. To this end, you should eat as little fat as possible for four to five days at the start of your definition phase so that your body primarily draws on its own stores instead of getting the fats it needs primarily from food. However, as the body always needs fat to function, this shock cure is limited to a few days. However, if the body is supplied with too little fat from the outside over a longer period of time, it blocks the breakdown of fat.

Rule 14 - Eat enough fats

Rule 14 follows on seamlessly from rule 13. Once you have shocked your body and it has become accustomed to generating energy from stored fat, you should make sure you have a sufficient fat intake. The rule of thumb is to consume at least 0.8 grams of fat per kilogram of body weight. This value should never be undercut, especially when following a low-carb diet.

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Rule 15 - Cheating is definitely allowed

If you want to achieve your goal, you should above all show perseverance. One thing that can help you achieve this is occasional cheat meals, which are first and foremost balm for the soul and keep you motivated. Once a week, you can treat yourself to a greasy pizza after training, as long as you keep your calorie balance even over the course of the training week.

Rule 16 - Use protein powder

It is sometimes not easy to ensure your protein intake with the help of solid foods. So you should definitely think about taking advantage of the benefits of protein supplements. Whey protein, for example, has the unbeatable advantage that it is absorbed very quickly by the body, making it ideal for use after training to enable your body to initiate regenerative processes as quickly as possible.

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