Lifting at the gym,

Calm and collective,

Feeling that gotta get mine perspective,

‘Cuz what I just lifted broke me in half,

And plus the bros that I know and half of the gym is bailing…

– Dr. Dre (probably)

If you wish, you can grab the N.W.A. Newsletter Playlist on Spotify here, all of the songs that have been featured in the newsletter are on the playlist.

Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.

Each week with the N.W.A. Newsletter, I give you the best Nutrition, Weightlifting, and/or Attitude advice for you to start to use in your life today.

Tens of thousands of people have used this exact newsletter to gain muscle, lose fat, and become a better version of themselves…

Without any further ado, let’s get started..

N.W.A. Tip Of The Week

Flexible dieting gets a bad rap these days.

All I have to do is post “you can eat whatever you want and lose fat if you track your calories” on social media, and my replies will be full of nonsense.

I’ll hear people saying calories don’t matter.

I’ll hear people saying I’ll give myself (and my clients) cancer.

I’ll hear people saying I’ll be “inflamed” from junk food.

I’ll hear all kinds of craziness… none of which makes any sense whatsoever.

I don’t have any “do not eat” lists, nor do I tell my clients what to eat.

Now, are there good choices and bad choices?

Of course there are.

Do I recommend they eat mostly unprocessed, whole foods?

Of course they do.

Do I tell them it’s a good idea to eat Pop Tarts and ice cream daily, as long as they hit their macros?

Of course I don’t, don’t be ridiculous.

I give my 1:1 clients 4 criteria to aim for each day, nutritionally:

A calorie target
A protein target
A carbohydrate target
A fat target

And I take their total, daily targets, and split the numbers up into specific meals for them which optimizes nutrient timing, reduces hunger, and gives them a steady supply of energy with no dips.

But I don’t tell them what to eat – whatsoever.

What’s to stop them from eating protein bars for their protein, Skittles for carbs, and shots of olive oil for fats?

Nothing, I suppose.

They could do that if they wanted to.

But of course, none of them do.

The reason that literally never happens is if you eat that way, you will be ravenously hungry, and your diet will not be sustainable.

When you start to track your nutrition properly, you have a finite number of calories allotted for each day.

As such, you will naturally gravitate towards whole foods.

They are going to fill you up better, and reduce your hunger, where processed foods are much more calorie dense, and won’t satisfy you at all.

BUT, the “flexible” part of flexible dieting means occasionally you can eat something that’s processed, and you’ll be fine.

You’ll still lose fat, and still get awesome results.

You have to live your life, you know?

There’s always a give and take, though.

When you do fit in that ice cream cone, or that slice of cake, you’ll soon realize eating calorie dense, “junky” food comes at a cost.

That cost is your hunger…

In those situations, you need to ask yourself, “Is it worth it?”

Are the excess calories, and the hunger that will come with it (if you’re sticking to your diet properly) “worth the calories”, so to speak?

That’s a question I can’t answer for them – it varies from person to person.

To me, candy isn’t worth it.

I might eat a couple candy bars per year, max.

To me, ice cream is sometimes worth it.

I’ll eat ice cream maybe once per month.

To me, McDonald’s breakfast is definitely worth it.

I don’t eat it often – just a few times per year – but maaaaan, that bacon egg and cheese biscuit is pure heaven!

To me, Skyline chili is always worth it.

I grew up in Cincinnati and I LOVE the soupy, cinnamon spice of Skyline chili.

But it’s high in calories.

And it’s usually eaten with hot dogs, which are also high in calories.

We often eat Skyline chili for dinner at our house; my whole family enjoys it.

But I can only fit in 2 cheese coneys (hot dogs with chili, onions, and mustard) into my dinner calories.

That’s not much food for a guy like me…

I’m always hungry later at night if I eat Skyline for dinner.

Always.

But I love it.

And to me, I’ll deal with the inevitable hunger to enjoy Skyline for dinner.

It’s worth it, at least for me.

Now, if my diet is 95% whole foods over the course of the year, and I occasionally get McDonald’s breakfast, or an ice cream cone, or eat Skyline chili, am I being “unhealthy”.

Of course not.

If you answered “yes” to that, you’re bordering on orthorexia.

Let’s not be silly here – eating with strict, “clean” parameters all the time is like a prison sentence – there’s no reason for that nonsense.

What good is a healthy body weight, if you never get to indulge in the foods you love anyways?

I currently have a few spots open on my personal, 1:1 roster for coaching.

I team up closely with my 1:1 clients and we work together on an individualized approach for success.

To learn more about this unique, “All In” experience, tap here and fill out this quick form – it will go directly to my email inbox.

Looking forward to speaking with you.

August-29-2025

N.W.A. Tip Of The Week

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