How to Build muscle and burn fat

I found this on the Stronglifts.com question and answer and thought I would share it with you.

Mehdi, I'm trying to get rid of the fat and build muscle. I want to changemy life round for the better and am pretty new to all this. Myproblem is my diet. I have a very sweet tooth and I know if I wantto see results I have to watch what I eat.Could you please advise me what to eat and what NOT to eat to buildmuscle? I have smoked and drank for many years but no more now. Iwant to get as strong as I can, as fast as I can. >>>

MY ANSWER: Quality of food isn't that important to build muscle. Quantitymatters. You can build muscle eating junk food all day, as long as you eat enough food. There are plenty of people who eat shitty food all day and who are strong and have lots of muscle mass. One example is Power Lifter Dave Tate who has a 900lbs Squat & 600lbsBench Press. However, if you're like me, you not only want to build muscle, youalso want them to be visible. The only way to achieve this, is bykeeping your body fat healthy (10-12% or if you're a woman 15-18%).And to keep your body fat healthy, you need to eat healthy the majority of the time. This is eventually also about your health:eating healthy will improve you digestion, skin, mood, etc.One of the biggest mistakes you can make if you're new to all this,is to go from 1 extreme to another: from smoking, drinking, lack ofexercise and bad nutrition to training 6 times per week and eating strictly healthy foods. This approach usually only lasts a couple of weeks. You'll end upcraving for certain foods and get physically & mentally drainedfrom going to the gym 6x per week. One day you snap, quiteverything and get back into your old habits. And usually when you go back, it's to gain (or lose) everything you lost (or gained)PLUS a little more as a bonus.You don't turn PRO overnight, it takes time to get there. And let's be realistic, if you're like me, you have a life outside the gym,you have a career or business to run, you have family & friends,you have hobbies, ... Nobody can train 6 times per week and eat 100% healthy all the time. Better: you DON'T need to do this to get the results you're after. So instead of stopping to eat "bad" foods forever, keep eating them, but lower the intake. I recommend eating healthy 90% of thetime. If you eat 6 times per day , that leaves room for 4 junk meals per week. Besides helping fat loss by keeping your hormones sharp, eating junk food also serves 2 other purposes:* Rewards. Since you've been strict on your diet for several days,you can reward yourself with a junk meal every once in a while.These junk meals are guilt-free: you know you ate healthy the rest of the week, so no problem.* Reminders. If you've been eating healthy for a while, you knowthat junk food can be fun for 1 day, maybe 2, but then it just gets impossible to continue. Excess junk food makes you fat,bloated, tired, ... By eating some from time to time, you get a reminder of how it used to be.
The 2 foods you should watch out for if your goal is to build muscle and keep your body fat low are alcohol & junk food.* Alcohol. Contains calories and promotes fat gain. Alcohol is especially a problem for men, since we tend to eat junk food when we drink, while women tend to drink instead of eating. * Junk Food. This is any food that is processed: which doesn't come in its natural state. Junk food is usually high carb, high fat (badfats, read trans-fats), low protein and low fiber.If you're not sure about what is junk food and what not, best is to focus on the foods you should eat to build muscle. These are:* Proteins: ground beef, chicken breast, tuna cans, whole eggs, cottage cheese, whey, ...* Veggies: Spinach, broccoli, bok choy, lettuce, ...* Fruits: Apples, bananas, oranges, berries, ...* Healthy fats: fish oil, olive oil, mixed nuts, real butter, ...* Water: 2 cups with each meal, sip also water while working out* Carbs: brown rice, whole grain pasta, quinoa, oats, ...* Fiber: green veggies, whole grain carbs, flax seeds, .

..Example diet would look like this:*
breakfast: eggs, veggies, orange, green tea*
snack: cottage cheese mixed with pieces of apple*
lunch: chicken breast, spinach, lemon juice*
snack: mixed nuts, banana*
post workout: ground beef, whole grain pasta, tomato sauce,parmesan cheese*
pre bed: plain yogurt, berries, flax seeds, fish oilFollow the above 90% of the time, 10% of the time: have junk food &alcohol. Don't feel guilty about it, it makes little difference in results but will make social gatherings a lot easier.