now you must stick to it, that is the key.
white fish and water is cheap, but sticking to the diet is the hard part
Great post!
Funny thing...just yesterday, I was thinking of how much I could go for a three taco combo!

My new little girl [she will be three in June] is fairly picky when it comes to food - but she likes Taco Time, for whatever reason, lol.
I am not much of a cook, and making tacos is somewhat of an involved process, so I think I'll ask my mom to make them for me on Monday, when I will be at her house with my little girl.
I haven't had tacos in probably two years or more! I look forward to my three_taco_combo.

Regarding your [great] post, you are absolutely right about consistency...but can any of us REALLY make particularly good progress drug-free?
Below is a photo of how I looked at what was, in hindsight, probably as big as I was able to get before my body fat started getting out of hand. Even at my "leanest", I was probably 16% body fat, or close enough. A lot of people who THINK they are 12% body fat, are actually closer to 20%.
My stomach is also a major problem area...it seems like no matter how clean my caloric intake may be, that once I get to 180-lb, everything just goes straight to my stomach.
I've come to accept that it is what it is.
I think using VERY modest gear doses, and following Fouad's diet to the letter [if not even FEWER calories, maybe going 4-5 of those meals in a day, rather than six], that I could make great progress. But drug-free, I feel like I would make good gains, but ultimately increase my stomach size noticeably by following a diet like that.
Also, at my current age [38], I feel that I can consume very low calories, and as long as I am getting a gram of protein per pound or more, that I can make good progress, or at the very least, maintain muscle that I previously earned, due to muscle memory.
I don't think an abundance of calories are needed - as long as refined carbohydrates are kept low, and a good, solid protein source and quantity of protein is included.
I'm just worried that, like I said, any attempt at bulking will just result in my stomach expanding in size. I would much prefer good aesthetics than bigger muscles with a noticeably bigger stomach.
I am maybe 167-lb or so in the photo below, and I feel that I can be, AT MOST maybe 175-lb today [thanks to muscle maturity caused by natural aging] to maintain some sort of decent waist/stomach size.
My stomach starts to get big seriously early! I'm talking like 180-lb. By the time I hit 185-lb, I absolutely have a problem stomach, and it probably starts just a wee bit before then. It sucks, because I always felt like I had a small waist - but what good is a small waist if the fat on your stomach makes your midsection look big? But I've accepted that it is what it is.
The first photo is about the biggest I have historically been while maintaining a decently low body fat percentage [maybe 16%], and I was weighing maybe 167-lb there, or possibly as much as 171-lb.
The next photo is myself with my loving 2-year-old daughter, who is a ginger just like her mother, lol!!

Her mommy is 5'11" and a viking, and it looks like she is on par to be as tall as her!

Looking forward to that three_taco_combo with the family on Monday!