1) Like Jack LaLanne said, “If man made it don’t eat it.” In other words, if it comes in a box or a bag your best bet is to skip it. Eddie Vedder also recommended that during YellowLedbetter, “Don’t eat it if comes in a box ooorrr aaaa bag… oh, no, no.” Go take a listen.
2) Buy locally at farmers markets as much as possible. Stick it to the man.
3) Focus on pesticide free produce and hormone/antibiotic free animal protein.
4) Make sure your fish is wild caught and not farm raised.
5) Avoid drinking or eating out of plastic. Unless it’s one of those Giants helmets that you put beers into with the straw permanently connected to your mouth. Anything NY Giants related is acceptable as far as I’m concerned.
6) Up your fiber intake. A healthy pooping schedule will keep you around a little longer.
7) Shop for food at least twice per week. Keep it fresh like a pair of Jordan 1’s.
8) Chew your food until it’s pureed before swallowing. Then open your mouth and show it to everyone at the table like you did when you were six. Chicks dig that.
9) Eat organic.
10) Eat raw foods as much as possible. But not turkey and lamb chops. You know what I mean.
11) Eat more green vegetables. Then a few more.
12) Cut down on grains and strongly consider eliminating most of them completely.
13) The best carbs for gaining size are potatoes (sweet, white, red, Yukon gold, purple). Next on the Renegade list is rice. I typically don’t recommend any other starchy carbs or grains, though some buckwheat and quinoa is acceptable if you’re trying to build muscle and need variety.
14) Drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water per day.
15) Use digestive enzymes and probiotics.
16) Eat probiotic containing foods such as kimchi and live sauerkraut on a daily basis.
Not to be confused with Kamala's handler17) Limit fruit consumption if your primary goal is fat loss.
18) Take 5-6 grams of Vitamin C per day during the winter and times of stress. This keeps you healthy and is great for high cortisol/ adrenal fatigue.
19) Cut out sugar. There is nothing good about it.
20) If possible, don’t eat while you’re working. Learn to enjoy your food and focus on one thing at a time.
21) Drink fresh pressed cranberry juice. The real stuff; not Ocean Spray.
22) Don’t overcook your food and destroy vital nutrients.
23) Avoid gluten.
24) Oatmeal’s not hugely offensive on the gluten scale but I’d still replace it with some kind of hot rice cereal.
25) As Paleo expert Robb Wolf says, eat nuts like you do condiments- in limited quantities. And when you eat them make sure you say “Deez nutz,” like the guy on The Chronic did.
26) If you have any digestive or autoimmune issues get rid of nuts until you’re healthy.
27) Beer has hops, which can elevate estrogen and also contains gluten, which causes inflammation and some more serious issues for certain people. I recommend vodka and soda with a lime.
28) Always maintain an adequate intake of Omega 3 fatty acids.
29) Don’t fear saturated fat. High quality sources like coconut oil and grass fed beef are essential for good health.
30) If you’re gonna make weed brownies don’t make them taste too good. You know why.
31) If you have symptoms of adrenal fatigue cut out all stimulants. And take a nap.
32) If you don’t, a cup or two of black coffee per day isn’t a horrible thing and can actually enhance fat burning if timed properly.
33) That means on an empty stomach before a morning walk or training session.
34) If you train early in the day before eating and your main goal is muscle gain take 10 grams of BCAA 15-30 minutes before.
35) Drink freshly squeezed vegetable juices daily. This is a great source of vital nutrition and live enzymes.
36) Use apple cider vinegar with meals to improve digestion. It’s also fun to replace your buddy’s bottle of apple juice with this sometimes when he’s not looking.
37) To improve recovery from workouts eliminate inflammation-causing foods.
38) For muscle gain set calories at 16xBW per day as a starting point.
39) For fat loss set calories at 12xBW per day as a starting point.
40) Rotate your food choices. Don’t eat the exact same thing day after day.
41) Try new foods as often as possible. Instead of chicken try quail. Instead of an apple eat some exotic type of pear you’ve never had before. Or a cumquat. I just mentioned that because I love that word and could say it all day. In fact, I think I will. Cumquat. Say it with me…
42) Red palm, coconut and macadamia nut oil are the only oils I recommend cooking with.
43) Spend less time per day in the fed state. This will improve your overall health and you will feel a hell of a lot better.
44) If you don’t get 20 minutes of sunshine per day on as much exposed, sunscreen-free skin as possible be sure you supplement with Vitamin D. Or move.
45) Learn to deal with hunger. It will not cause your immediate death. Learn to control all of your desires and you will gain more control over you life. Malcolm X was very big on this.
46) If you travel a lot and need some bars for convenience check out YouBar. This is an awesome resource to get fresh made bars with clean, organic ingredients. Use the coupon code Renegade for a 5% discount at checkout. Warning- since these are made fresh they only last a few weeks, so don’t order too many boxes at once.
47) Cook your own food at home more; go out to eat less.
48) Avoid all artificial sweeteners and dyes. Unless you are dying stripes into your goatee like Superstar Billy Graham.
Say yes to beard dyes, no to food dyes.49) Change the way you cook your eggs regularly. Some days hard boiled, some days over easy, some days scrambled, etc. This helps avoid any possible food allergies.
50) I know I said not to work while eating but once in a while you could try a George Costanza and combine life’s two greatest desires. Think organic raw whipped cream or coconut cream and melted organic dark chocolate. Keep it healthy. Let me know how it works out. Or, ladies only… send pics.
If you got some sort of enjoyment out of this post can you do a brotha a HUGE favor and hit the Facebook Like button? I thank you in advance and will fax you a picture of my big toe to show my appreciation.
There are thousands of people who read this site every day who will never make it to Jersey to train at Renegade. So I debated even posting this since it won’t really apply to most of you. But then I realized that no, that’s wrong. It will apply to anyone who trains hard, takes this stuff very seriously and expects the same of all around them.
Question: Jay, how would you modify the Renegade method for competitive bodybuilders and what kinds of workouts would you write for them?
Johnnie even shocks himself with the weights he lifts.
