Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Ben Greenfield, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

In part one of this series, we delved into a Runner's World article called Advice to a Young

Athlete, which covered supplements, recovery, nutrition,

mental training, and race prep for a young elite cyclist who had written to author Alex

Hutchinson asking for performance advice. Well, after reviewing supplements and recovery in part

one of this series, today we're going to delve into nutrition, mental training, and race, or

big workout prep.

So let's start with nutrition.

When it comes to nutrition, the first piece of advice given is to increase whatever amount

of vegetables and fruits you're currently eating, with as much quantity and variety as possible.

While I'm certainly a fan of eating plants, I do have one issue

with this section of the article, the lumping of fruits and vegetables into the same category. In fact,

fruits and vegetables are two entirely different food groups. Fruit is nature's dessert, and while a great

source of nutrients and fiber can also be high in

fructose sugar and other calories compared to vegetables. For example, I personally eat what

probably comes close to 20 to 25 servings of vegetables each day, yes, each day, but only about

one serving of fruit, maximum. And this is simply because when I account for other carb sources like seeds, nuts, sweet potatoes, yams,

rice, et cetera, and my diet, the inclusion of excess fruit just doesn't allow for me to

maintain a lean body mass and stabilize blood sugar levels.

In addition, a diet of around 50% carbs, 20% fat, and 30% protein is

recommended in the article. Well, this is indeed a macro-nutrient ratio that falls in line

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