Today I am very excited to announce our guest, Tony Soaib. Tony is one of the smartest people I know, and one of the leading experts on sports nutrition. I personally have learnt most of what I know about strength, conditioning and nutrition from Tony and he remains to this day a constant source of inspiration and information.
Tony has the uncanny ability to be able to read something once and retain the information. He is also a great communicator, and straight shooter. You may not have heard Tony’s name around, only because he is one of the most modest, low-key people around, despite his impressive background and knowledge.
This episode is packed full of valuable information – get your notepad out!
Tony Soaib’s Background
- Tony is a strength coach and nutrition specialist, who has worked with major league athletes mainly across hockey and baseball
- He played college Baseball before he started his consulting and coaching career
- He has presented at national conferences and written for major publications.
Highlights from this Episode
- Tony’s thoughts on what good nutrition is. The first step is to just start doing the things you already know are good to do – eat fruit, vegetables, lean protein etc. Everyone knows they need to do this, but not everyone does it.
- There are a ton of different diets out there, and a lot of them do have merit. Whether it’s paleo, low carb, high fat etc., the important thing is to stick with one, and don’t incorporate elements from a combination of diets.
- Tony has a simple three step framework that anyone can apply to their diet to live more healthily. We talk about each step in depth, and how to apply them differently given your goals (performance, maintenance, weight loss etc.)
- An easy calculation people can do to know how much they should be eating to lose, maintain, or gain weight. We also discuss the ideal ratios between macro nutrients – protein, fat, and carbs.
- Tony believes that most ‘mainstream’ diets will work, if you actually follow them to a tee. If you follow one for a few months and you don’t see results, then it might make sense to adjust. But only trying a diet for 2-3 weeks probably won’t yield the results you’re looking for.
- How much food a golfer actually needs to get around the course. Golf probably won’t bump up your calorie needs too much throughout the day, so don’t over compensate with too much food.
The following is the text from the postook poste mentioned in the episode:
“I use a four step process when helping clients with nutrition.
Step 1: types of food
Proteins – chicken, fish, beef, turkey, eggs, whey
Fats – nuts, seeds, olive oil, coconut oil, avocado
Carbs – fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, rice, sweet potatoes
Once a client complies with this list for 90%+ of their feedings I move on to step 2.
Step 2: how much food
There are a number of formulas for determining caloric intake factoring in age, gender, activity level, and so on. The vast majority of people overestimate calorie needs.
An easy starting point for calories per day:
Fat Loss – Body Weight X 10-12
Maintenance – Body Weight X 13-15
Muscle Gain – Body Weight X 16+
So a 200-pound man looking to maintain his body weight would eat 2600-3000 calories per day.
These calculations will work for most people most of the time. There are exceptions like competitive athletes performing a high volume of work, or those looking to get to extremely low levels of body fat.
Step 3: macronutrient ratios
A baseline that will work in most cases is 1/3 of calories from fat, 1/3 from protein, 1/3 carbs.
Adjust from there depending on the following:
Is your goal to gain muscle?
Is your goal to lose fat?
What is your body fat percentage?
How much muscle mass do you have?
In hours, how much high intensity training are you doing per week?
A lean & muscular athlete who trains 10 hours per week and is looking to add muscle mass will use a higher ratio of carbs. For example, 65% carbs, 25% protein, 10% fat.
A fatter weekend warrior working a desk job and training hard 3 hours per week will take in a lower ratio of carbs: 20% carbs, 40% protein, 40% fat.
Basically, you earn a higher proportion of carbs through leanness, muscle mass, and activity level.
Step 4 is timing and cycling of macronutrients.
Few people reach step 3, and <5% of people reach step 4. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just unwarranted to reach their goals or isn’t in line with their level of commitment.
Below is a Sample Fat Loss Progressions prepared by Tony Soaib (click the link or image to download)
Caddy Shack or Happy Gilmore?
Happy Gilmore
What would be your walk up song to the tee?
Bobby Digital – You Can’t Stop Me Now
Who would you like to spend a day on the course with, and where?
Genghis Khan, Ben Franklin, and Jose Canseco at the Wynn Golf Club in Vegas
Parting words of wisdom?
Pick something and execute.
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