Diet Plans and Recipes

This is a comprehensive collection of diet plans and recipes for implementing a whole foods diet that will support the results you want in your overall health, fitness and longevity journey. The important fact to consider is that 85% of the results you see in your health and fitness will come from diet. You can train as hard as you like in the gym, but if you have a terrible diet, you will just make everything harder. No matter how hard you try, you cannot out train a poor diet. 

All of the recipes below are quick and easy to make and can be prepared in bulk or as a single serving at any time. I also enjoy cooking lots of bigger meals for large groups including dishes that incorporate good quality chicken, beef and fish. I have some tips on YouTube about how you can prepare a full chicken and get it in the oven for roasting in a few minutes. I am a big fan of speed and efficiency when it comes to preparing food. Cooking should not be a chore and I believe that everyone should develop the skills to prepare good quality nutrition using whole foods, without having to resort to using take out foods or eating out at restaurants.

My approach to diet is to prioritise the following:

• Whole foods where possible – avoid processed foods
• High Protein – good quality lean animal protein (organic where possible)
• Low overall calories – the hallmark of longevity is caloric restriction
• Generally low carbohydrate – to lower body inflammation and control blood sugars

The focus is hitting your protein goals whilst remaining in low overall calories and also to maintain low body inflammation. These are the hallmarks of a very long and successful life.

I often joke that I eat meat and veg or meat and salad three times a day on repeat. This isn’t far off the truth and I would urge you to do the same! This simple mental model of eating good quality protein and vegetables and/or salad is the secret. I call this eating functionally. It is best to eat what your body needs, not what your cravings need. 

I explain my approach to diet and give some examples of the types of meals that you can prepare very quickly and can eat multiple times per day whilst maintaining all of the goals I explain in my video Implementing a Whole Food Diet for Health and Fitness.

I also have a playlist relating to diet here.

Note: I am not a doctor and nothing stated in this article is in no way offered as medical advice. You should carry out your own research and speak to your doctor on anything you read in this article.

Carbohydrates vs Fats

Choosing the level of carbohydrates and fats is a personal preference and ultimately is not as important as the overall calorie consumption.

I know that if my only focus was to get the biggest muscles I can, I would definitely choose to focus more on carbohydrates. Getting jacked is not my only goal.

My goals are a balance of building and maintaining a reasonable amount of lean mass whilst also focusing on longevity. i consider myself to be an amateur “biohacker” and things like inflammation are far more important than my one rep max on the squat rack.

I choose low carbohydrate diet for overall health reasons. Carbohydrates trigger insulin in our bodies more than other micro nutrients. Insulin issues are one of the biggest causes of high inflammation which can cause diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and cancer. So I choose to avoid this risk. As a result, my body inflammation is about as low as it possibly can be. I find that this helps me to recover quickly in the gym.

Note: please remember that this is nothing more than my own opinion and anecdotal advice from what I have experienced. Everybody can respond differently.

I also perform very well on a high fat diet and feel like my body is happy to burn ketones. I don’t really feel like my peak strength suffers all that much. 

I get most of my carbohydrates from vegetables and salad and limit “white carbs” where I can. I would also limit bread as most bread purchased from shops is processed and contains preservatives.

When I do eat “white carbohydrates”, I always choose whole food carbohydrates like potatoes and rice. I would limit carbohydrate intake to the evening time as this is when it is best to top up the glycogen stores in the muscles. Topping up in the evening will give you enough energy stored in the muscles for training in the morning.

Estimating Your Daily Calories

• Find out your maintenance weight by using this free calorie calculator. This will be a guide. Start with it and monitor the accuracy by weighing yourself every day for two weeks. Adjust the maintenance calories either way if required until your weight stabilises. Whilst this step sounds annoying it is important as it will make everything else easier. Once you get good at this, you will just know. 
• Decide if you want to bulk or cut or just maintain weight. Note: for a bulk, it is better to aim for a lean bulk with a slight surplus of calories rather than a dirty bulk with a huge surplus. 
• Adjust your calories between 200-400 either way for bulk or cut. Important: do not go more than this! Cutting heavy will lose muscle and bulking heavy will gain too much fat
• Aim for 1g protein per 1 lb of lean body mass (2.2g protein per kilo). Then split the macros. Below is moderate fat and lower carb. You can up the fats in a bulk to be more keto using oils, avocado, nuts
• Always prioritise getting the correct amount of protein. If you need a protein top up, use one of the whey protein recipes on my YouTube channel
• Split calories into 3-4 meals (4 on a bulk) and track calories

Other notes:

• I advise that you avoid alcohol and/or sugary drinks where necessary. If you do want to consume alcohol or sugary drinks, you need to account for these calories and reduce food. Have a whiskey, gin or vodka with sugar free mixer over pints of beer.

Three Benefits to Eating Meat

Discover the three unparalleled benefits of lean meat protein sources and how incorporating meat into your diet can revolutionize your fitness journey and muscle building goals.

Stay lean and toned by understanding how the right meats can boost your metabolism and aid in effective fat loss strategies in three ways:

• Eating meat makes you feel full which stops you craving to eat more calories.
• Meat burns more calories when digested in the body. This is because protein has the highest thermic effect of all macronutrients.
• The protein in the meat builds lean mass (muscle) which burns calories. Just by having muscle, you will burn more calories, even at rest, even in your sleep!

Meat Free Protein Sources

Whilst I promote getting most of your protein from animal sources like beef, chicken and fish, it is also possible to get good quality protein from plant based and dairy sources depending on your chosen diet. 

I choose meat because of the nutritional value. I choose good quality organic meat where ever I can and select lean products with a full range of amino acids. I respect those who choose a plant based diet and understand that it is possible to get the correct nutrition. I just feel that this route is more complicated and requires a higher level of attention to the same level of nutrition. A good example of this is the distinct lack of the leucine amino acid which is an essential amino acid that helps build proteins and regulate cellular processes. Most vegetarian and vegan diets struggle to get this essential amino acid that is abundant in a good quality meat based diet. 

Even protein powders are not as good as good quality meat. You may find that vegan protein powders are very high in protein (often 80% plus) but the pea protein used is nowhere near as good at building muscle as whey protein, even when the protein percentage for whey protein powder is lower than that for the plant-based protein powder. 

That being said, I often cook vegan dishes for friends and have found ways to exchange ingredients where required in many of my dishes. 

The key principle remains the same for all diets: always go for whole foods. Avoid any of the vegan “fake meats” or process foods. If you cannot see it in it’s whole raw form, avoid it! 

If you are getting protein from plant based sources or dairy, I would advise you to investigate the amino profile such as leucine and also check vitamin B12 which can also be difficult to acquire in sufficient quantity when not eating meat. These examples are taken for granted on a meat diet due to the abundance.

Tips for Eating Out

The considerations with eating out are the same whether this is take away food or eating at a restaurant. The main things to watch are that since you haven’t prepared the food, you never know quite what is in the ingredients. Even if you think the place is reputable, just remember that they are a business and the decisions are likely to favour this than your need for whole foods. Here are my top tips:

• Don’t assume that they won’t use food additives that help to extend the shelf life of the ingredients. They are a business so using preservatives to making food last longer is in their favour, not yours.
• If you order food at the restaurant and the menu is full of options with bad carbs, apply the same logic as normal: focus on getting protein, order the meat and vegetables or salad and ask to swap chips for more veg or salad. 
• If you are travelling on the road or by train and you go into a service station or shop, avoid sandwiches, fast food and snacks. Go for cooked chicken, boiled eggs and pre-packed salad.
• Protein shakes and protein bars are a last resort if there is no pre cooked meats in the shop.
• Always prioritise protein. Don’t worry too much about micronutrients when you are out. You can always correct this when you get home. 
• Try to reduce calorie intake when out of the house. If you can, fast. Save your calories for when you are at home and can better know how you are allocating them.

Ok, lets explore the Meal Plans and Recipes in the sections below.

Supplements 

There is always a hierarchy when it comes to nutrition that looks like this:

1. Macronutrients from actual whole foods – focusing on protein first
2. Micronutrients from whole foods
3. Supplements (including protein powders) are last in the priority – to top up on missing micronutrients and macronutrients where it is difficult to obtain using the above

You should always try to get all of your macronutrients from whole food sources rather than protein drinks and protein bars. This is easy using the recipes below. Getting adequate micronutrients tends to be a little harder and it is also very hard to track. The best way to track all of your nutrition is to use blood tests at regular 6 or 12 month intervals. I use medichecks to get my bloods done as it is super easy to use and the reports are nice and include a good enough doctor’s report which will highlight any areas that you need to focus on. 

The three most important supplements for longevity and health are:

• 5-8g Creatine – good for muscle recovery and brain health
• 20g Collagen peptide – skin and soft tissue / joints / cartilage
• 5-10g Glycine – promotes glutathione production and helps with collagen turnover (1/3 collagen is glycine)

Take these three supplements for six months and you will start to look more fresh and youthful. The skin is the biggest organ you have!

After this, you can also add some vitamins and minerals depending on your individual needs. 

Tips on supplementation following a blood report:

• Male hormones: Hormones are one of the most important things you need to check. High total testosterone does not mean that your body is able to use it. Check the total testosterone and also check the amount of free testosterone (this is the actual testosterone that is actually free to be used by the body). The free testosterone should be between 1.5-2% of the total testosterone in healthy males. If this is low, you will likely have high Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) which binds up testosterone rendering it unusable. 
• Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG): if you have high Sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), you may have too much iron. Check this. If so, reduce iron supplementation if you are taking it (even check multi-vitamins). Dr Paul Saladino has produced a lot of content on solving this problem. This can sometimes be a biproduct of a carnivore or keto diet due to the amount of meat which can build up iron. 
• Watch the vitamin C levels as this can also affect the iron and SHBG. 
• Adding in some boron can help with hormones.
• Take vitamin D3. This is actually a hormone. You will probably need to take vitamin K2 with the D3.
• Check the levels on your blood report and adjust with other vitamins as required. If you use a service like medichecks, the doctor’s report and each section will tell you which micronutrients / vitamins / minerals are involved. Sometimes you will need to add something to your diet, and in other cases you will need to remove something. The idea of a blood test is to keep a track of all of your biomarkers and keep adjusting slightly each time to get the balance right, and then to maintain. 
• For hair, you want to look at vitamin B12, vitamin B-complex, zinc, biotin, vitamin C (note above the trade off with too much vitamin C) and some trace minerals (Note: I need to come back to trace minerals with specific details as I don’t have them to hand so please bare with me) of which I have used Dr Berg’s hair formula as a short since it is a pre-mixed supplement (it is expensive). Note that hair loss is a whole separate subject which involves a multitude of supplements and practices in a routine including microneedling, platelet rich plasma (PRP) and/or peptides.

Note: I am not a doctor and nothing stated in this article is in no way offered as medical advice. You should carry out your own research and speak to your doctor on anything you read in this article.

Life extension and biohacking supplements

There are also a bunch of “biohacking” supplements that you may wish to experiment with. I have a huge list of supplements that I have played around with and have them all in a spreadsheet. These include but are not limited to NMN, Spermidine, NAD boosters, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and a list longer than my arm…

I am not going to list them all here as it is an advanced topic that would require a separate article. The important thing to point out here is that biohacking supplements really are for people who are already optimised and who will likely already have sufficient knowledge of supplements. You should focus on getting the basics right first as this is where you will get your returns. Contact me directly for more information on this.  

5 minute Keto Eggs with Salmon

My 5 minute Keto Eggs with Salmon is the perfect choice for breakfast. It is a High Protein, Low Calorie meal that is very simple to make and has almost perfect nutrition. Eggs are one of the best sources of nutrition. I always use organic eggs. I just don’t like the idea of chickens all crammed in to a shed. Don’t be thinking that “free range” means anything other than they get 5 minutes a day out in the sun. Salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acid which is a brain super food.

Ingredient	Quantity	Kcals	Carbs	Fats	Protein
Scrambled Egg (organic)	3	210	3	21	18
Onion	0.5	14
Orange Bell Pepper	0.5	16	4
Smoked Salmon	100g	171	2	8	22
Avocado Oil	0.5tbsp	60		7
	Totals	471	9	36	40

Tips:

• During a cut period; keep this lean: only use 3 eggs and no feta or olives.
• During a bulk period; add an extra egg and 30g feta cheese or a few olives.

(Gourmet Beef) The One Meal You Can Live Off – Eat 4x a Day for Complete Beast Mode

The title makes quite a bold claim. I even go as far as stating on my YouTube video that you can eat this meal 3 to 4 times a day and you will not be far off perfect. Whilst you could eat this one meal multiple times a day, I wouldn’t recommend living off it entirely. But you can certainly make this one of the meals that you continually eat on repeat. 

The name “Gourmet Beef” was given by my cousin and my brother as a bit of a joke as I always eat this one. It helps to keep my body composition in good shape. Many athletes do this for that reason!

Watch the YouTube video for “how to” instructions.

Ingredient	Quantity	Kcals	Carbs	Fats	Protein
Beef Minced (5% fat)	250g	332		12	55
Onion	0.5	14
Orange Bell Pepper	0.5	16	4
Mushrooms	100g	20	3		3
Grated cheese	30g	126	7	11	7
Avocado Oil	0.5tbsp	60		7
	Totals	568	14	30	65

Tip: Option to add in some cucumber and piccobella or cherry tomatoes.

Chicken Salad

Salad is absolutely amazing for these three reasons:

• Salad is very satiating – you can eat half a kilogram of it for only a few hundred calories
• Great source of micro-nutrients
• Quick and easy solution to accompany a good source of protein

This meal is probably the quickest and easiest meal to prepare out of them all. Even if you are so lazy that you don’t even want to prepare anything, you can still go to the shop and buy a pack of cooked chicken and a pack of pre-prepared mixed salad and put the two together to make this meal.

Ingredient	Quantity	Kcals	Carbs	Fats	Protein
Roast Chicken Breast	171g	240	2	4	51
Sweet & Crunchy Salad mix	100g	23	3		1
Little Gem Lettuce	60g	14	1		1
Piccobella tomatoes	75g	49	7	1	2
Onion	0.5	14
Orange Bell Pepper	0.5	16	4
Hellmanns Lighter than light mayo	33.33g	23	3	1
	Totals	379	20	6	55

Tip: Option to add in some cucumber.

Sirloin Steak and Salad

This is another example of eating meat and salad or meat and veg. Just keep repeating this concept and experiment with swapping out your protein source. 

I use organic sirloin steak. My favourite  to cook it is to have the steak blue which is very rare. This is not like the image here. I must have left it cooking longer on this occasion. 

Ingredient	Quantity	Kcals	Carbs	Fats	Protein
Sirloin Steak	225g	452		29	50
Sweet & Crunchy Salad mix	100g	23	3		1
Little Gem Lettuce	60g	14	1		1
Piccobella tomatoes	75g	49	7	1	2
Onion	0.5	14
Orange Bell Pepper	0.5	16	4
Hellmanns Lighter than light mayo	33.33g	23	3	1
	Totals	591	18	31	54

Tip: Option to add in some cucumber and mushrooms.

Sirloin, Avocado and Mushrooms

Meat, salad and veg again. Do you see a pattern? Just keep repeating this. 

Ingredient	Quantity	Kcals	Carbs	Fats	Protein
Sirloin Steak	225g	452		29	50
Mushrooms	100g	20	3		3
Asparagus tips	125g	36	2	1	4
Avocado (1 medium)	240	49	13	22	3
Onion	0.5	14
Avocado Oil	0.5tbsp	60		7
	Totals	631	18	59	60

Tips: Option to add in some cucumber and 50g mozzarella (150Kcal) on bulk.

Chicken Pasta Bake (multi portions)

Ok, so we have a carb option. Don’t get carried away, as this isn’t as bad as it looks. This is an optional dish that should not be used in normal circumstances.  

This dish is useful if you have to feed a family or multiple people who are not a robotic super human like you and therefore cannot handle the optimal diet. They will likely want something resembling the typical western diet. So you will need to adapt. This meal is not too bad considering. Yes it contains pasta but we are only using 40g per portion. Most of this dish is still the meat and veg of it! This compromise will give your family a high amount of protein and veg to give them a decent level of nutrition whilst also satisfying that carb craving. This recipe is also super easy and quick to make. Great for feeding a large group.

Instructions:

• At the same time, chop the chicken up into small chunks and cook in the air fryer for 22 mins on the recommended heat (around 180 deg C).
• Put the pasta, mixed veggies and onion in a pan and poor boiling water. Cook for 10-15 mins.
• When 

Ingredient	Quantity	Kcals	Carbs	Fats	Protein
Chicken breast	450g	477		5	108
Tomato Passata	400g	112	17.6	2	4.4
Salt (Himalayan Pink)	0.25tbsp
Black Pepper	0.5tbsp	3	0.7		0.1
Garlic	2g	7	1.5		0.3
Cayenne Pepper	1g	3	0.6	0.2	0.1
High Protein Fusilli Pasta	200g	832	131.7	5.1	58.7
Grated Mature Cheddar Cheese	350g	1446	6	119	87.5
Onion	100g	170	14	11	2.3
Mixed Veg (frozen) (peas, carrot, sweetcorn)	300g	174	20.7	3	7.8
	Totals	3224	192.8	145.3	269.2
Split into 4 portions (each)	4 x	806	48.2	36.325	67.3
Split into 6 portions (each)	6 x	537.3	32.1	24.2	44.9

Tip: You can swap the chicken for ground beef. Also add in bacon lardons with chicken for chicken and bakon taste.

Bonus: Protein Ice Cream Frappe (Coffee Special)

This is a fun recipe that you can use on limited occasions in the summer. It tastes better than anything Starbucks makes.

Important note: I would not normally recommend that you rely too much on protein powders. It’s always better to get your nutrition (especially protein) from actual chewable food like good quality animal meat and fish. Protein powders aren’t a whole food and we always want to choose whole foods where we can. However, it is ok to use protein powders on occasion where you need a protein hit to fill the gaps. Just don’t get lazy and start to rely on this.

Watch the YouTube video here.

• The video contains my recipe for the protein ice cream flavoured frappe is:
• Crushed ice (in blender)
• Coconut or Almond milk
• Strong coffee made in a moka pot or cafetière that has been chilled in the fridge
• 30-50g Vanilla Ice Cream Whey Protein powder

I also add the three most important supplements for longevity and health:

• 5-8g Creatine – good for muscle recovery and brain health
• 20g Collagen peptide – skin and soft tissue / joints / cartilage
• 5-10g Glycine – promotes glutathione production and helps with collagen turnover (1/3 collagen is glycine)

Take these three supplements for six months and you will start to look more fresh and youthful. The skin is the biggest organ you have!

Blend everything together in the order that I have laid out the ingredients above.

Hope you enjoy these meals. I will be adding much more to this list.

Let me know if you have any questions.

– Andy Holt

Instagram: @andyholt_azl