Man 2.0 Engineering the Alpha

foods you’ll be eating. In many ways, this might be one of the most important chapters because guys are notoriously bad at following diets. We hate the d-word because a diet is really just how you eat. And since everyone has a way of eating, dieting is usually an unfairly negative term.
    That said, food is a foundational component of hormone optimization, and therefore what you eat is an essential part of engineering the Alpha. We’re going to talk about nutrition here, but this is not the exact program. So put away your pen and paper, shut down your note-taking app, and continue reading leisurely. Every single detail will be found in part 3, including a customized formula that you’ll use for every phase in the program.
    That said, if you want to get started immediately and can’t wait to see what’s in the plan, flip ahead to that part and enjoy.
    At the same time, know that we created this section for a reason: we want you to understand why you’re eating what you are so that you can make your own good decisions. That’s part of how you’ll be able to gain control and be an Alpha. The more educated you are, the less frustration you’ll experience, the more control you’ll have, and the better you’ll look and feel.
    Now that we’re on the same page, we’ve provided a primer on what you need to know about macronutrients—or more specifically carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Arm yourself with this information and no food marketer will ever fool you again. Even better? You’ll know how to take advantage of food so you can strategically eat all the stuff you love and still look fucking amazing.

    CARBOHYDRATES
    Carbohydrates seem to be the focus of most diets you read about (especially fat-loss diets), so it makes sense to start here. Carbs have taken a real beating in the media ever since some guy named Atkins (you may have heard of him) decided we weren’t allowed to eat doughnuts anymore. (Prior to this we were allowed to eat doughnuts, but they had to be reduced fat; this made us feel better about ourselves.)
    All joking aside, carbs do get kind of a bad rap, or at least a worse one than they deserve. Carbs come in a variety of forms. Some are good for you, and some are bad. The bad ones are usually highly processed and could barely be considered food other than the fact that they’re edible. They may be delicious, but they’re also the result of some crazy scientific processes.
    Of course, if you process the crap out of anything, it reaches a point where it just isn’t healthy anymore. This doesn’t mean carbs are evil and to blame for all the ills of the world from the Nazis to the obesity epidemic—it just means processed foods are great at making people fat.
    Anyway, carbohydrates are made up of sugar molecules, which your body breaks down into fuel, especially when you’re working hard. Sugars, starches, and fiber are all basic forms of the carbohydrate.
    There are two main types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. *
    Simple Carbohydrates
    In the most basic sense, simple carbohydrates include table sugar, syrup, and soda. Most of the time, these carbs should be avoided (exceptions include cheat days) and are usually the “bad carbs” that fitness pros talk about. Also included on this list are things like candy, snuggles, cake, beer, puppies, cookies, fun, and unicorn magic. In other words, the best ones . *
    Complex Carbohydrates
    Complex carbohydrates include oatmeal, apples, cardboard, and peas.
    For a long time, people believed that complex carbohydrates were universally better for you than simple carbohydrates, but that isn’t always the case.
    You see, your body takes both complex and simple carbohydrates and tries to break them down into useable sugar energy to fuel your muscles and organs. It’s not the type of carbohydrate that really matters, but how quickly your body can break it down and how much it will spike your blood glucose levels.
    It’s not as simple as dividing complex carbs from simple ones, though. A slightly more sophisticated way to rate carbohydrate quality is something called the glycemic index (GI). The GI attempts to classify foods by how quickly they break down and how high they boost blood sugar levels.

    WHAT IS LEAN BODY MASS?
    LBM is the amount of muscle you have on your body. To figure out your LBM, just use this three-step process:
    1. Figure out your body fat percentage.
    2. Subtract your body fat percentage from 100. This is your fat-free