Murphwatchers

I originally wrote his article a few years ago to simplify fat loss for my readers and clients. It worked.

Every single person who instituted the tips listed below lost fat, gained muscle and got stronger.

They recovered better too.

I decided to update it as things can always be better.

So, without any more back story, read on and see what’s up.

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The name of this post came up yesterday while we were talking about nutrition at the front desk yesterday.

We were talking about how many people make nutrition much more complicated than it is, and it isn’t their fault.

They get bad information, they get conflicting information and so forth. How does an average person figure it out?

We were talking about how clients can get success with their program and that nutrition is a key factor.

We also talked about all of the bullshit that you hear, fad diets, crappy “nutrition” programs like N**** System, Wei*** Watchers and so forth.

People pay tons of money, and I am not really referring to the main readership of this site, I mean the average person, to lose weight and they buy products that don’t work optimally if at all.

Look at the big one that sells you food on a weekly basis, N**** System (name redacted for fear of lawsuits); they put you on a super low calorie diet and sell you processed foods like pizza, brownies and so called meals and allow you to eat one real meal a day as long as it is small.

Of course you’ll lose weight on an 1100 calorie a day diet, but how much will be fat and how much will be lost lean mass?

What about the quality of the food the sell you?

It’s garbage.

Go on their website and read the ingredients and caloric values. It should scare you.

This brought us to Murpwatchers.

I brought up how Weight Watchers just changed what they suggest.

While I am no Weight Watchers expert, I read up on it.

They now allow people a virtually unlimited amount of lean protein, eggs and vegetables, they want you to limit sugar and unhealthy fats and to track certain foods so as not to overeat.

Basically, what I and many others have been saying for years to clients.

Matt said I should start a company called Murphwatchers and make zillions.

We all had a good laugh and I made them get back to work.

But let’s look at Murphwatchers and the suggestions I make to members in the TPS Method when they come in for their consultations.

Now remember, these clients are everyday people looking for overall health, fitness, to look better naked and so forth. However, lifters will do well to follow the tips laid out here. 

We talk about their food habits, drinking and a little more.

I never tell them that they have to stop what they are doing and make wholesale changes to their diets right away. That would be a recipe for failure.

I ask them to start making small changes. Small changes implemented every two or three weeks work because they are almost not noticeable day to day, but week to week stacked on top of each other, they make a huge difference.  

EG: If they eat pizza twice a week with 6 beers, and subs 3 times a week (and yes a lot do this), I ask them to have pizza once a week with 4 beers and knock the subs down to 2 days.

I ask them to replace those meals with good food heavy on protein and low on sauces, and processed foods.

If they drink 3 large coffees a day with 3 creams and 3 sugars (or flavored syrup), I ask them to reduce the cream and sugar by 1 this week.

Think about that one tip alone.

3 tablespoons of sugar a day is 21 tablespoons a week.

That is a lot of calories gone.

The next week, they reduce the garbage intake a little more and replace it with high quality food.

Over the course of two to three months or so, we have them eating well 90% of the time.

They lose fat, gain lean mass, and fit into smaller clothes. They also feel better, move better and get stronger.

Asking them to do it slowly makes it work.

Remember when you were a teenager and your parents said not to drink beers on the weekends?

I bet the only thing you wanted to do was drink beer right?

When you tell someone they have to stop everything they are doing, change everything they eat and that they can’t have what they want, you set them up to fail.   All they think about is the stuff they can’t have and that makes them want it more.

I try to set them up for success.

By slowly eliminating the crap and replacing it with the good, they start to see changes, they start to feel better and see results.

Once they see results, they want more results.

They realize that what they were doing wasn’t working and what they are doing now is.

A reasonable person would see this is the right path.

I also tell them that once they see some measurable progress, it’s ok to have one cheat meal.

Anything.

Dave Tate style if they want.

Some don’t agree with this, but it works.

They see a reward for their good behavior.

So let’s go over the foundation of Murphwatchers Meal Planning.

• How many times a day you eat does not matter.
• If you like eating 6 times a day, go ahead.
• If 3 works better for you go ahead.
• The most important thing is to find a feeding schedule that suits your lifestyle and you can follow consistently.
• For fat loss, we find 3 meals works better.
• That is not gospel. 
• Calories matter. Don’t eat more than you burn if you want to lose fat/weight.
• Calories consumed is the ultimate factor in fat/weight loss.
• Eat a little more than you burn if you want to gain weight.
• When you are hungry, eat.
• When you are not hungry, don’t eat.
• Eat less carbs on days you don’t train and a little more fat.
• Eat more carbs on days that you do train and less fat.
• Don’t eat low fat.
• That’s dumb.
• You need fat.
• Just not bad fat.
• Eat a lot of lean protein, and some fatty protein, but good fats.
• Grass fed beef, eggs, salmon etc.
• Fatty protein from a triple Wendy’s burger is not the same as a grass-fed rib eye.
• Eat a lot of vegetables every day. Don’t count them if you are counting macros.
• I tell them if they want to eat a pickup truck bed full of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, broccoli and asparagus to go ahead.
• Sounds ridiculous, but did you ever see a fat person that eats lean protein, lots of veggies, sweet potatoes and fruit that exercises intensely and doesn’t consume excess calories?
• I didn’t think so.
• If you hate vegetables, don’t eat them as much.
• If certain foods give you gas or “stomach” trouble, that is your body telling you now to eat them because it doesn’t like them. Forget what the “Experts” say.  Don’t eat stuff that gives you distress.
• If they are fat, I bet they are less fat since they started eating this way.
• Eat fruit. How much, I don’t really care.
• Eat carbs.
• Good ones.
• Make sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice and oats the foundation. They are not the only ones you can have but they are really good.
• Eat a lot of protein. Wait, I said that. It’s so important I said it twice.
• How much?
• I don’t care. More that you are eating now.
• I do suggest that they get their bodyweight in grams.
• EG: 150 pounds bodyweight=150 grams of protein.
• If they eat more, it’s not a huge deal.
• Protein is the most difficult nutrient to convert to bodyfat, so if they are going to overeat, protein it is. 
• If you can’t eat all of the protein you need, drink it.
• Get one gram of protein per pound of body weight at the MINIMUM.
• Add it in slow if you don’t eat much now. 10 or 20 grams a day for a week or two, then more until you are up to body weigh tin grams.
• Eliminate foods in a box, package, that gets delivered to your house or that you got form a drive through.
• Eliminate sugar.
• Be mindful of liquid calories. They add up fast and can put you over on your caloric intake for the day.
• Eat carbs before you train and after.
• It’s ok to eat at night after 6:00 or 7:00 pm especially if you train at 6:00 or 7:00 pm.
• Eating protein and carbs post training is important, it fosters good recovery.
• A full belly helps you sleep.
• I want to punch whoever started the “you can’t eat after 6:00 pm in the face”. It’s fake news.
• On non-training, lower carb days, eat the bulk of your carbs at the last meal.
• This keeps your belly full at night and helps to keep you from snacking on crap.
• If you absolutely, positively cannot exist and will die if you do not have something sweet, whip up some fat free, sugar free pudding with skim milk and whey protein.
• Yes, I know it is in a package, but it is far better than a snickers bar.
• Stay off the scale, it lies.
• Get an InBody scan instead.  We offer them at TPS if you are local.
• Use the mirror, how the waist of your pants fit and photos to see how you are doing.
• If your pants are getting looser in the waist and maybe tighter in the arse, it’s working.
• Be consistent.
• Eat well 90-95% of the time.
• If you slip up, move on.
• You made a mistake, deal with it and get back to good eating right away.
• One slip will not undo all of your progress. Consistent “slips” will.
• Eat less, move more.
• Drink water. A lot.
• Drink as much black coffee and tea as you like.
• Skip the soda, the double whipped French mocha latteado. They are sugar and calorie bombs.
• Completely ignore the governments advice on nutrition.
• It’s fake news.

And THE big one:

At the end of the day it’s the calories that matter as I said.  If you are looking for a magical macro profile it doesn’t exist. Eat the amount of macros that allows YOUR body to recover and perform best.

For fat loss, performance, lean muscle gain or whatever, this is what works and is simple (if oyu are counting calories and macros.)

Determine your caloric needs. Use an online BMR calculator for this. Or see me.

Once you know that multiply your protein grams by 4.

EG: You weigh 200 pounds and need 200 grams of protein.

200 x 4 is 800 calories.

If your caloric needs are 2900 calories a day for example, deduct the protein calories from the total amount.

In this case 2900 minus 800 (protein calories) leaves 2100 calories left over for the day.

I do not care how you get them. Research shows that calories, not macro breakdown is what works for fat loss.

Divide up your 2100 remaining calories with an amount of carbs and fat from high quality sources as you choose. It’s that simple.

That‘s it.

The foundation of Murphwatchers.

If you follow it, I need a check for $75 a month.

I’ll be a zillionaire.

Lifters, this will work for you too.

Did you miss last week’s post?

Read it here.

Find me on Google-search for Total Performance Sports Malden, Mass. The Best Gym in Boston, Facebook too.

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@TPSMalden

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Vincere vel mori

^{C.J. Murphy}

July 7, 2021