Nutrition Fundamentals

3. Maintenance Calories

4. Eating to Gain Muscle

• 4.1 In case you hate reading, here is the generic breakdown answer

• 4.2 Calories

• 4.2.1 Quick Generic Answer

• 4.2.2 Nuanced Answer

• 4.3 Protein

• 4.3.1 Quick Generic Answer

• 4.3.2 Nuanced Answer

• 4.4 Fats & Carbohydrates

• 4.5 Template plan

• 4.5.0 Prereqs (non-negotiables)

• 4.5.1 Set calories (pick one path)

• 4.5.2 Set protein

• 4.5.3 Split the remaining calories between fats and carbs

• 4.5.4 Meal-building template (repeat daily)

• 4.5.5 Grocery "macro anchors"

• 4.5.6 Weekly plan & adjustments

• 4.5.7 One full-day sample (following the worked example)

• 4.5.8 Quick troubleshooting

• 4.5.9 Worked example (plugged numbers)

5. Eating to Lose Fat

• 5.1 In case you hate reading, here is the generic breakdown answer

• 5.2 Calories

• 5.2.1 Quick Generic Answer

• 5.2.2 Nuanced Answer

• 5.3 Protein

• 5.4 Fats & Carbohydrates

• 5.5 Template plan

• 5.5.0 Prereqs (non-negotiables)

• 5.5.1 Set calories (pick one path)

• 5.5.2 Set protein

• 5.5.3 Split the remaining calories between fats and carbs

• 5.5.4 Worked example (plugged numbers)

• 5.5.5 Meal-building template (repeat daily)

• 5.5.6 Grocery macro anchors

• 5.5.7 Weekly plan and adjustments

• 5.5.8 One full-day sample (using the worked example)

• 5.5.9 Quick troubleshooting

• 5.5.10 Notes for insulin resistance

6. Macronutrients - Briefly Explained

• 6.1 Protein

• 6.2 Fats

• 6.3 Carbohydrates

7. Micronutrients - Explained

8. Water

9. Reading Nutrition Labels (Common Traps)

About This Text

This text outlines the essential information you need to understand to achieve the results and body you want. This is not meant to be an exhaustive research paper that goes deep into every detail or mechanism of the human body's ability to extract energy from food and the ways it is used. Instead, I will equip you with the knowledge that you need to make the right choices and shift your mindset to sustain habits that make a difference. Finding a method that works for you is paramount to your success. Consistency is king.

I have chosen to put a brief section on calories at the top before directly jumping into what your diet breakdown should look like, depending on your goal. This is intentional since most readers have told me they just want to know what to do and don't need to get into the details. However, the details are still important, so I have put them in the later sections of this text. Also, please note that this text applies to normally healthy individuals and is not meant for people with complicating conditions like insulin resistance that change the body's biases for processing energy sources. However, I will mention it briefly where relevant. For complicating conditions, consult your medical provider.

Calories Simplified

Calories are simple. They are the energy that your body gets from food. If you get more energy than you use, your body wants to store it for later, usually as fat. Different foods provide different amounts of energy to your body. The 3 biggest categories into which we group foods to assess their calorie profiles are the macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates (carbs), and fats. Now it is important to note that not all foods in one category actually provide your body the same amount of energy, but we apply a blanket factor to all the foods in one category to keep the math simple while being sufficiently accurate. The general factor for each category is as follows:

• Proteins have 4 calories per gram
• Carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram
• Fats have 9 calories per gram

If you are interested in learning more about the precise measurement of energy your body extracts from foods, I recommend looking into the Atwater specific calorie factors.

You take calories in, but how do you get rid of them? Well, any activity you do, and I mean anything, burns calories. Just sitting and not moving, your body still needs to perform numerous functions to keep you alive, and every single one of them burns calories. If you exercise, then you burn even more calories.

The result is simple: when you eat more calories than you burn, your body will want to store them as fat, and when you burn more calories than you consume, your body will use stored calories to make up the difference to perform your bodily functions. Notice, I didn't say you will burn fat, or you will store fat. No, I said your body will want to do that, but that is not a guarantee. However, activities such as storing extra consumed fat directly are much easier for your body than trying to convert protein into fat. Similarly, if you don't eat enough calories, your body might take some glycogen, break down some of your muscle instead, or burn fat to make up the difference or get the nutrients it needs. Hint: You want to eat a lot of protein to avoid your body breaking down muscle.

I will explain more about each of these ideas in the sections to follow. For now, just understand that while you can lose or gain weight by eating less or more than you burn, respectively, the macronutrient breakdown of those calories can severely influence what that weight looks like. Remember, weight is not specifically fat or muscle. Weight is just a number on the scale.

Maintenance Calories

A key concept that will come up again and again is your maintenance level of calories. That is to say, how many calories you need to eat to ensure the amount of energy you take into your body is equivalent to the amount of energy your body expends. To help you calculate this, I have made a calculator that allows you to input your measurements and find a good estimate of your daily calorie expenditure.

• GymDaze resource

This calculator works by estimating your basal metabolic rate and your activity level to calculate your calorie needs. It is important to note that this is only an estimate, and no person anywhere will be able to give you the exact number of calories that you burn in a day. It is important with any diet to track, track, track your calories and body measurements so that you can spot trends over time and adjust to your body. No two people are the same.

Eating to Gain Muscle

This section outlines what your calorie breakdown should look like when you are eating to try and gain muscle. Notice, I did not say to gain weight, and I did not say to lose fat or lean out. No, I specifically said to gain muscle. That is important because changing the amount of fat and the amount of muscle on your body overlap, but are ultimately two distinct pathways. To gain muscle, you need the following conditions to be met:

• Adequate muscle stimulus to induce a growth response
• Get your perfect muscle-building program here: GymDaze resource
• Enough protein for your body to use for normal functions AND to build new muscle
• Enough energy (calories) to use for normal functions AND to build new muscle
• Enough water and sleep

That's it. If you have those 4 conditions met, you will build muscle. Now, let's break down the calories and macronutrients.

In case you hate reading, here is the generic breakdown answer:

• Find your daily calorie burn: GymDaze resource
• Add 300 calories to your calorie burn and make that your daily calorie consumption goal
• Eat 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight within your daily calorie goal
• Fill the remaining calories with carbs and fats
• Aim for about half of the remaining calories to come from carbs and the other half from fat. Note that this means that you will eat a little over twice as many grams of carbs since fats are more calorie-dense
• Your end result will be something like:
• 25 percent of calories from protein
• 35 percent of calories from fat
• 40 percent of calories from carbs

Calories Quick Generic Answer

Eat a few hundred calories above your maintenance level of calories with sufficient protein intake (refer to the protein section)

Nuanced Answer

Going back to the four conditions necessary to build muscle, note that the energy you need could come from the food you eat, but it also could come from fat stores. Which means, yes, it is possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. To do so, though, you need to consume a lot of protein while still in a calorie deficit. Your total calorie intake when trying to build muscle is not always going to be the hardest factor. Most often, hitting your protein intake goals will be the difficult part of your diet. The main reason people bulk up to gain muscle is that it is far easier to ensure both protein intake and calorie needs when eating massive amounts of food. So there are a couple of things to consider when thinking about what calorie range might be best for you.

If you don't care at all about gaining fat and purely care about putting on muscle, then go ahead, slam as much food as you want and hit your calorie and protein needs. You will gain plenty of muscle, but you will probably build up a lot of calorie debt (i.e., fat) if you ever want to lean out again.

If you want to avoid putting on much fat and put on muscle, then your best bet is to eat at just around maintenance calories (within a few hundred) while shifting your overall calorie profile to be more protein-dominant. You can always tighten up the calorie surplus to ensure less fat is stored, too. This way, you won't be building up huge stores of fat from extra calories, but your body will have the energy and protein it needs to build muscle. You are less likely to store that extra protein as fat than extra carbs or fats. This is called a lean-bulk.

If you want to simultaneously lose fat and gain muscle, you will have to eat in an overall calorie deficit while eating even more protein. If you already have a good amount of body fat on you, then this is much easier to do since your body can readily pull from fat stores for any extra energy needs while still having an adequate supply of protein to build muscle and carry out other bodily functions. You may have heard of the keto diet, where the dieter is made to eat mostly fats and protein but very low carbs. By eliminating carbs, the amount of calories coming from protein almost automatically shifts up, biasing you toward a more protein-heavy diet. Hence why it is so effective for so many people who eat fewer overall calories, but with a much higher percentage of protein. However, if you are already fairly lean, you will want to avoid this method of low-calorie eating, as you will not have the energy stored to build muscle while in a calorie deficit. Calories are still important.

Gaining muscle is possible with almost any calorie range, but depending on how much you care about coincidental fat gain/loss, you should adjust your calories accordingly.

Protein Quick Generic Answer

Eat 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight. If your body fat percentage is over 20 percent, instead you can aim to eat 1 gram of protein per centimeter you are tall. That is to say, if you are 172 cm tall, eat 172 grams of protein. These two quick rules of thumb will ensure you get enough protein. Nuanced Answer

Protein will be the most important macronutrient to focus on. Without intentional focus on consuming protein, it is the hardest macronutrient to consume. On the other hand, without trying, it is easy to get fats and carbs. Fats and carbs are delicious and cheap, so they dominate the composition of most foods. However, when it comes to building muscle, we care about making sure our bodies have enough protein to synthesize new muscle. However, there is an important distinction that needs to be drawn between what your body can use and what you should aim to consume.

That may seem like an odd thing to draw out, but there are multiple factors to consider. First, though, let's start with what your body can use and what the research says. The highest amount of protein that yields any noticeable benefits is 0.72 grams per lb of bodyweight, as seen in this meta-analysis (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28698222/) and reconfirmed by many others for building muscle. It suggests a breakpoint near 1.6 g/kg (about 0.7 g/lb) for maximizing muscle gain, with potential benefit up to 2.2 g/kg (about 1 g/lb). So why would someone ever need 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight? If you are a machine that is perfectly locked in and can nail exactly the amount and type of protein and total calories you need with precise measurement, then there is no real advantage to eating more protein. However, if you are a fallible human and aiming for the optimal 0.72 number, then the reality is you often end up eating less protein than you could use to build muscle, especially when considering overall calorie intake and energy needs. You will not be negatively affected by overeating on your protein, but you will be negatively affected by undereating on your protein. If you are trying to gain muscle, it makes more sense to set the mental mark at 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight than 0.72. Not to mention it makes your math and nutrient safety net much easier to manage.

Second, your body is less likely (more like less able) to store that extra protein as fat than if you eat in a surplus of fats or carbs. Excess protein can be stored, but it is less likely due to a higher thermic effect, greater satiety, and inefficient conversion. Protein is a rare resource that has molecules your body can't easily recreate. It would rather hold onto it and use it for building blocks. If you eat enough food for your energy goals, but not enough for your protein, your body needs to harvest protein from somewhere. Unfortunately, a lot of it will come from your muscles.

Imagine you have two buckets that need to be filled. The first bucket is your calorie needs, and the second is your protein needs. To fill the first bucket, anything you eat can go into it. However, only protein can go into the second bucket. So if you eat only carbs and fats, something still needs to fill that second bucket, and the protein comes from other places in your body. To build muscle, you need to make sure both buckets are filled. By eating 1g of protein per lb of body weight per day, you are guaranteed to fill the protein bucket, and the extra can spill over into the calorie-use bucket.

The only drawback to eating a leaner diet at 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight is that it may be less interesting from a diet perspective and harder to eat more since protein is satiating. From a scientific perspective, in a controlled environment where your protein is measured precisely for you, 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight should be more than enough. However, from a practical perspective, and ensuring you stick to your goals and see results, in my personal experience, success is much more likely for those who aim for the 1 gram mark instead of the 0.72 gram mark or lower.

Fats & Carbohydrates

When you are eating to gain muscle, the main roles of fats and carbs will be to serve as energy sources. The roles of fats and carbs are also important for the body, but most often letting them fall where they may is an acceptable strategy since the composition of regular foods accounts for this already. There will usually be no need to fret over precise amounts of fats or carbs. A general recommendation is to ensure that half of your remaining calories, after considering all your protein, come from fat and carbs equally. That means when comparing the amount of carbs and fats you eat, the grams of carbs you eat will be a little more than double the grams of fat you eat. Recall that fat has 9 calories per gram and carbs have 4 calories per gram, generally. Following this simple rule will keep you feeling energized and your body happy (fats are very important for hormones, vitamin absorption, cell structure, etc.).

Template plan 0) Prereqs (non-negotiables)

• Progressive training stimulus (programs: GymDaze resource )

• Enough protein (see Step 2)

• Enough total energy (see Step 1)

• Enough water + sleep

1. Set calories (pick one path)

• Default muscle-gain:

• Maintenance kcal (from GymDaze resource): ______

• Target kcal (T) = Maintenance + 300 = ______ kcal/day

• Lean bulk (minimize fat gain): T = Maintenance = ______ kcal/day

• Recomp (lose fat + gain/keep muscle; works best if you have higher body fat):

• T ≈ Maintenance − 0-300 = ______ kcal/day (keep protein high)

Don't chase percentages. Hit calories and protein grams; let carbs/fats fill the rest. 2) Set protein

• Rule of thumb: 1 g protein per lb of bodyweight

• If body fat > ~20 percent: 1 g per cm of height

• Bodyweight: ______ lb → Protein (P) = ______ g/day

• Protein kcal = P × 4 = ______ kcal

3. Split the remaining calories between fats and carbs

• Remaining kcal (R) = Target kcal (T) − Protein kcal = ______

• Aim for ~50 percent of R from fats and ~50 percent of R from carbs

• Fat grams (F) = (0.5 × R) ÷ 9 = ______ g/day

• Carb grams (C) = (0.5 × R) ÷ 4 = ______ g/day

• Quick check: C grams will be a little more than 2× F grams

Expect something around 25 percent protein / 35 percent fat / 40 percent carbs when this shakes out, but the grams above are what matter more than percentages. Worked example (plugged numbers)

(Example only | replace with your values.)

Maintenance = 2,500 → Target = 2,800

Bodyweight = 180 lb → Protein = 180 g → 720 kcal

Remaining R = 2,800 − 720 = 2,080 kcal

• Fats: (0.5 × 2,080) ÷ 9 ≈ 115 g

• Carbs: (0.5 × 2,080) ÷ 4 = 260 g

• Daily targets: 2,800 kcal, P 180 g, F 115 g, C 260 g

4. Meal-building template (repeat daily)

Aim for 3-5 "protein anchor" meals. Divide protein fairly evenly.

• Meal 1 (Protein anchor #1): _____ g P | ~¼-⅓ of daily carbs | light-mod fat

• Ideas: eggs + egg whites; Greek yogurt; cottage cheese + fruit; protein oats

• Meal 2 (Protein anchor #2): _____ g P | veg + starchy carb | mod fat

• Ideas: chicken + rice/potatoes; turkey wrap; tofu + rice noodles

• Meal 3 (Protein anchor #3): _____ g P | carb-forward if pre/post-workout

• Ideas: whey + banana + cereal/rice cakes; tuna & rice bowl

• Meal 4 (Protein anchor #4): _____ g P | keep some fats for satiety

• Ideas: salmon + potatoes; steak + tortillas; tempeh + olive-oil veggies

• Optional snack (to hit targets): whey/casein, jerky, skyr, protein bar, edamame

Simple timing rule: get 20-50 g protein in each feeding, place more carbs near training, and spread fats where convenient, but it won't ruin things if you need to only eat two big meals instead. 5) Grocery "macro anchors"

• Proteins: chicken, turkey, lean beef, salmon, tuna, eggs/egg whites, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, whey/casein, tofu, tempeh, edamame

• Carbs: rice, potatoes, oats, pasta, tortillas, bread, fruit, rice cakes, cereal

• Fats: olive oil, avocado, nuts/nut butter, whole-egg yolks, cheese

• Veg: a big bag or two you'll actually eat (frozen mixes are great)

6. Weekly plan & adjustments

Plan once, repeat all week.

• Batch-cook 2 proteins, 2 carbs, 1-2 veggies on Day 1

• Pre-portion protein first, then add carbs/fats to hit the numbers

• Track body weight 3-4 mornings/week (same conditions); look at the weekly average

• Avg ↑ ~0.25-0.75 lb/week: great for lean gain → keep calories

• Avg flat or ↓ while strength stalls: add +100-150 kcal

• Avg ↑ >1 lb/week and you care about fat gain: −100-150 kcal

• Keep training progressively, hydrate, and sleep.

7. One full-day sample (following the worked example)

Targets: 2,800 kcal • P 180 g • F 115 g • C 260 g

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt 2% (300 g) + whey (half scoop) + berries (50 g) + granola (65 g total) + peanut butter (1 tbsp)

≈ 52 P / 27 F / 70 C ~698 kcal

• Lunch: Chicken thigh cooked, some skin (6 oz) + jasmine rice (1.5 cups cooked + extra 1/3 cup) + mixed veg + olive oil (1 tbsp + 1 tsp)

≈ 60 P / 38 F / 88 C ~908 kcal

• Pre/Post: Whey (1 scoop) + banana (medium) + rice cakes (4)

≈ 28 P / 3 F / 58 C ~365 kcal

• Dinner: Salmon cooked (6 oz) + potatoes cooked (10 oz) + salad with olive oil (1 tbsp + 2 tsp) + avocado (20 g)

≈ 43 P / 49 F / 54 C ~828 kcal

Day total: ~2,799 kcal P 183 g / F 117 g / C 270 g

8. Quick troubleshooting

• Always under on protein? Add a scoop of whey or 200-250 g Greek yogurt once or twice/day.

• Low energy in workouts? Shift more carbs to pre-training.

• Gaining weight too fast? Trim 100-150 kcal (mostly from fats/carbs equally).

• Scale not moving and lifts stalling? Add 100-150 kcal.

Eating to Lose Fat

Eating to lose fat is its own specific goal. The way you eat to lose fat has distinct factors from those that drive muscle growth (which means, yes, they can be done simultaneously). Refer to the Eating to Gain Muscle section for those four factors. Also, notice I did not say "lose weight". No, specifically, we are talking about the fat stored on the body. Usually, your weight will drop when aiming to lose fat, but just because the scale doesn't move doesn't mean you aren't losing fat. That is possible in a recomposition, although unlikely to happen by accident. One key thing to be sure of is that you lift weights and eat sufficient protein. Otherwise, your body will also look to break down muscle for protein and energy needs. If you are insulin-resistant, you need to be extra careful to keep protein intake high, since your body will naturally prioritize different energy sources. To only lose fat, the following things need to be true:

• A calorie deficit
• Enough protein to preserve muscle
• Enough muscle stimulus to preserve muscle
• Enough water and sleep

Note that if you don't do any resistance training to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, your body will be more likely to cannibalize your muscles for protein and energy. Weight training is important, or you will end up skinny-fat looking, just as soft as you were 20 lbs ago.

In case you hate reading, here is the generic breakdown answer:

• Find your daily calorie burn: GymDaze resource
• Subtract 500 calories from your calorie burn and make that your daily calorie consumption goal
• Alternatively, use the bodyweight planner to find calorie goals (GymDaze resource)
• Eat 1+ gram of protein per lb of body weight within your daily calorie goal
• Fill the remaining calories with carbs and fats
• Aim for about half of the remaining calories to come from carbs and the other half from fat. Note that this means that you will eat a little over twice as many grams of carbs since fats are more calorie-dense
• Your end result will be something like:
• 40 percent of calories from protein
• 30 percent of calories from fat
• 30 percent of calories from carbs

Another pitfall to avoid is having a specific goal weight in mind. We can make estimates and get a good ballpark answer for what our lean weights might be at each body fat percentage, but it is better to use a combination of visual and scale estimates together. When you only look at the scale, you might think you should weigh less, but if the mirror tells you otherwise (veins, striations, gaunt), the scale doesn't matter. So, instead of trying to predict an exact goal weight, the best approach is to eat in a slight deficit and monitor your changes visually using the scale as a hard stop floor on your weight. This way, if you bottom out on the scale but still feel fluffy mentally, you can really reevaluate your goals or maybe switch to a recomposition style. Maybe you overestimated how much you had to lose, and you're already shredded; maybe you underestimated, and you still have a paunchy gut. Use the scale as a limiter, a trend verifier, and a check-in more than the ultimate goal. You don't want to end up malnourished or atrophied, because you "didn't lose enough weight" nor still pudgy because you hit your "scale goal" but not your physique goals. If you have a goal of 150 lbs but you look like Saran-wrapped beef jerky at 160, you probably don't need to (or can) lose any more fat.

Calories Quick Generic Answer

Eat a few hundred calories below your maintenance level of calories with sufficient protein intake (refer to protein section).

Nuanced Answer

The best way to ensure fat loss is to be in a calorie deficit while ensuring that your diet has enough protein to discourage the usage of muscle as a source of protein or energy. When you are in a calorie deficit, you have to pull the extra energy from somewhere. Without a calorie deficit, there is no need for your body to tap into its energy reserves, and therefore, you don't lose fat. First, your body will pull glycogen from your muscles, as it is very easy to access. Then it will begin eating your fat stores and finally muscle.

If you are someone who believes that your body is special and can't burn fat, then either you have severe insulin resistance hindering your muscle-building response, making your body rely disproportionately on carbs and proteins, and you should seek medical attention… or you've been lied to and don't want to tolerate being in a calorie deficit. Realistically, no one starves to death with fat still on their body. If you do, that would mean your body has a unique one-way ability to store fat but not use it as energy later. Even with insulin resistance, the path to losing fat is less smooth and harder to travel, but not impossible. That is why it is imperative, especially in those "stubborn fat" individuals, to do resistance training and bias your calories heavily toward protein. You need to give your body a reason to tap into your fat as an energy source over carbs and protein. The bigger your deficit, the more reason your body has to use internal energy sources instead of food sources.

The size of your deficit depends on how soon and how much fat you need to lose. If you need to lose more fat sooner, you will need a bigger deficit. If you don't have to rush and want to start making small, consistent steps to lean out, find your BMR (GymDaze resource), subtract a couple of hundred calories, and monitor your visual leanness and watch the scale for long-term trends (multiple weeks). A good resource with some built-in guides is this bodyweight planner: GymDaze resource This planner only prescribes calories, so it will be up to you to ensure your calorie profile allows for sufficient protein.

If you are sticking to your diet, measuring everything out, and still not losing any fat, then you need to readjust your parameters. Likely, you overestimated your BMR to begin with

Protein

The real danger of losing more than just fat comes from not eating enough protein and not doing any resistance training. When you don't eat enough protein, your body needs to break down muscle to get the protein it needs for other essential functions. Also, resistance training signals your body to synthesize muscle proteins, which keeps your muscles from atrophying. The combination of resistance training and high protein intake helps ensure that you only lose fat, not muscle.

So, how much protein should you be eating? If you are relatively lean (20 percent body fat or less), you can use a rule of 1 to 1.2 grams of protein per lb body weight. If you have much higher body fat, then you can use 1 to 1.2 times your height in centimeters as the number of grams of protein. Notice that this does not account for total calories at all. That means if you have 2,000 total calories in your diet, and you are 155 lbs, then you should aim to be eating at least 155 grams of protein, which is 620 calories (around 31 percent of your total calories). Ideally, you would eat closer to 155*1.2=186 grams of protein, which is 744 calories (around 37 percent of your total calories). Anywhere in that range will serve you well.

Now, this may seem very high, especially in light of the scientific, idyllic 0.72 number thrown out earlier, but remember this is in a calorie deficit and trying to discourage our body from burning any muscle tissue, not just tap the maximum muscle building potential in a calorie surplus. It is better to eat in surplus of protein, do resistance training, and give your body every reason to actually burn your fat. Not to mention, if you are insulin resistant, you will need a lot of extra protein to ensure that even when protein is needlessly used as an energy source, you still have enough leftover for use by your muscles. This is one of the reasons a keto diet can be so effective. It naturally lends itself toward a high-protein calorie profile while in a deficit, meaning your body will be most likely to utilize fat for energy and retain your muscle.

Finally, protein is highly satiating, meaning if you are eating a high-protein diet, then you will be fuller longer, making it easier to stick to your maximum calorie allotment for the day. In practice, I have noticed far higher success rates for people who aim at the 1 to 1.2 gram per lb bodyweight mark. Ultimately, most people are not hyper-focused on losing fat, and life gets in the way. When you have your guidelines barely across a sufficient level, you end up hurting yourself in the long run. Setting your focus on a higher protein intake leads to greater success, even if, at a cellular level, there theoretically shouldn't be a need for such high protein. Hopefully, that caveat makes sense, and you can adjust things accordingly if you need to. However, I stand by my recommendation on high protein.

Fats & Carbohydrates

When you are eating to lose fat, set protein first. After that, treat fats and carbs as energy and adherence tools that support training, hunger control, hormones, and cell health. You do not need to micromanage them. A simple default is to let the remaining calories after protein come about half from fat and half from carbs. Since fat has 9 calories per gram and carbs have 4 calories per gram, this works out to carb grams about twice fat grams. The carbs will keep you fueled for activities, and fats support satiety and nutrient absorption. If anything feels off, you can play with the ratios of carbs and fats to best suit your body. Just ensure that you stay in a deficit overall and keep your protein high.

Template plan 0) Prereqs (non-negotiables)

• Progressive training stimulus (programs: GymDaze resource)

• Enough protein (see Step 2)

• A real calorie deficit (see Step 1)

• Enough water and sleep

1. Set calories (pick one path)

• Default fat-loss:
• Maintenance kcal (from GymDaze resource): ______
• Target kcal (T) = Maintenance − 300 to 500 = ______ kcal/day
• Faster cut for higher body fat or short blocks:
• T = Maintenance − 600 to 800 = ______ kcal/day
• Recomp option if you prefer a slower change and have higher body fat:
• T ≈ Maintenance − 0 to 300 = ______ kcal/day (protein high, training consistent)

Use the bodyweight planner if you want more guided calorie targets: GymDaze resource Do not stress about calorie percentages. Hit calories and protein grams, then let carbs and fats fill the rest.

2. Set protein

• If body fat is about 20 percent or lower: 1.0 to 1.2 g per lb bodyweight

• If body fat is much higher: 1.0 to 1.2 times your height in centimeters, in grams

• Bodyweight: ______ lb → Protein (P) = ______ g/day

• Protein kcal = P × 4 = ______ kcal

If you are insulin resistant, stay near the top of the range and keep resistance training consistent.

3. Split the remaining calories between fats and carbs

• Remaining kcal (R) = Target kcal (T) − Protein kcal = ______

Aim for about 50 percent of R from fats and 50 percent of R from carbs.

• Fat grams (F) = (0.5 × R) ÷ 9 = ______ g/day
• Carb grams (C) = (0.5 × R) ÷ 4 = ______ g/day

Quick check: C grams will be about twice F grams. Expect something around 40 percent protein, 30 percent fat, 30 percent carbs when this shakes out. The grams above are what matter, though; don't stress about exact percentages. Worked example (plugged numbers)

(Example only. Replace with your values.)

• Maintenance = 2,500 → Target T = 2,000 kcal

• Bodyweight = 167 lb → choose Protein P = 200 g → Protein kcal = 800

• Remaining (R) = 2,000 − 800 = 1,200 kcal

• Fats: (0.5 × 1,200) ÷ 9 = 66.7 → 67 g

• Carbs: (0.5 × 1,200) ÷ 4 = 150 g

Daily targets: 2,000 kcal, Protein 200 g, Fat 67 g, Carbs 150 g. This equals about 40 percent protein, 30 percent fat, and 30 percent carbs.

4. Meal-building template (repeat daily)

Aim for 3 to 5 protein anchor meals. Divide protein fairly evenly.

• Meal 1 (Protein anchor #1): _____ g P | veg or fruit | light fat | light to moderate carbs

• Ideas: Greek yogurt with berries, whey stirred or separate protein shake

• Meal 2 (Protein anchor #2): _____ g P | veg | starchy carb | moderate fat

• Ideas: chicken breast, rice or potatoes, olive oil drizzle (measured)

• Meal 3 (Protein anchor #3): _____ g P | place most carbs here if pre or post workout

• Ideas: whey, banana, rice cakes or cereal; tuna and rice bowl

• Meal 4 (Protein anchor #4): _____ g P | salad or veg | keep some fats for satiety

• Ideas: salmon with potatoes or tofu with olive oil veggies

Optional snack to hit targets: whey or casein, jerky, cottage cheese, edamame, more Greek yogurt, fat-free cream cheese

Simple timing rule: get 20 to 50 g protein per feeding. Place more carbs near training, and spread fats to preference. If you need to condense your calories into fewer meals, that is not an issue.

5. Grocery macro anchors

• Proteins: chicken, turkey, lean beef, salmon, tuna, eggs and egg whites, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, whey or casein, tofu, tempeh, edamame

• Carbs: rice, potatoes, oats, pasta, tortillas, bread, fruit, rice cakes, cereal

• Fats: olive oil, avocado, nuts and nut butter, egg yolks, cheese

• Vegetables: Buy big bags of stuff you will actually eat. Frozen mixes work well.

6. Weekly plan and adjustments

• Batch-cook 2 proteins, 2 carbs, and 1 to 2 veggies on Day 1

• Pre-portion protein first, then add carbs and fats to hit numbers

• Track body weight 4 to 5 mornings per week under the same conditions to gather data for long-term moving average trends (week over week)

• For fat loss, aim for about 0.25 to 0.75 lb per week for smaller cuts, and up to 1.0 to 1.5 percent of body weight per week if you begin with much higher body fat (over 30 percent)

• If the moving average is flat for 2 weeks, there is no visual progress, still noticeable fat, and compliance is solid, trim 100 to 150 kcal total between carbs and fats

• If energy or performance tanks, shift 100 to 150 kcal to carbs near training

• Generally, add steps and post-meal walks. Sleep 7 to 9 hours. Hydrate

7. One full-day sample (using the worked example)

Targets: 2,000 kcal • P 200 g • F 67 g • C 150 g

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt nonfat (300 g) + whey (1 scoop) + berries (75 g)

≈ 57 P / 2 F / 25 C • ~340 kcal

• Lunch: Chicken breast cooked (6 oz) + jasmine rice (3/4 cup cooked) + mixed veg + olive oil (1 tbsp + 2 tsp)

≈ 57 P / 30 F / 39 C • ~669 kcal

• Pre or Post: Whey (1 scoop) + banana (medium) + rice cake (1)

≈ 26 P / 2 F / 37 C • ~260 kcal

• Dinner: Salmon cooked (5 oz) + potatoes cooked (6 oz) + salad with light dressing (2 tbsp) + olive oil (1 tsp)

≈ 35 P / 28 F / 33 C • ~537 kcal

• Evening top-off: Cottage cheese 2 percent (1 cup) + berries (50 g)

≈ 28 P / 5 F / 16 C • ~223 kcal

Day total: ~2,028 kcal • P ~202 g / F ~67 g / C ~150 g

8. Quick troubleshooting

• Always under on protein: add a scoop of whey or 200 to 250 g Greek yogurt once or twice per day

• Low energy in workouts: shift more carbs to pre- and post-training

• Hunger high at night: move more fat and fibrous veg to later meals

• No fat-loss progress in 2 weeks: reduce calories by 100 to 150

• Strength falling fast: shift 100 to 150 calories of fats to carbs around training and ensure you sleep enough

Notes for insulin resistance

• Keep protein near the top of your range to protect lean mass

• Place most carbs around training to improve uptake

• Favor fiber-rich, minimally processed carbs and mostly unsaturated fats

• Walk 10 to 20 minutes after meals whenever possible

Macronutrients - Briefly Explained

Every macronutrient has multiple places in the body where they are used, but I will give you just a high-level guideline for what each macronutrient does and why it is important.

Protein

After being focused on so much, it should be no surprise that protein is vitally important in building new tissue. Protein is made up of amino acids, which are used as the building blocks for all other proteins your body uses. When you eat protein, your body breaks those proteins down into amino acids or small peptides that can circulate in your blood and be grabbed by the cells that need them. Then those cells convert them into all sorts of new proteins and enzymes. For body composition and muscle retention/building, we are mainly worried about muscle protein synthesis, which is only one small use case for the protein you consume. If you don't have enough protein, your body cannot build new tissue. That is why staying higher on protein intake is safer for ensuring the best lean body composition.

Also, it is important to know that not all proteins are created equal. Your body can make a lot of the amino acids that make up protein, but not all of them. These ones that your body cannot make must be consumed in your diet; they are called essential amino acids. If something has all of the amino acids (the ones your body can make and the ones it can't), it is called a complete protein. Things like meat, eggs, and dairy are complete forms of protein. However, if you are a vegetarian or vegan, you must be conscious of eating varied sources of protein that cumulatively contain all the amino acids. For example, rice and beans on their own are incomplete, but together they contain all the amino acids (although not in a high concentration).

All of the essential amino acids are important, but specifically, leucine is the trigger for muscle protein synthesis. If you're going to supplement any amino acid, it should be leucine or a general protein powder. Here is a short list of some foods

Animal complete proteins

• Eggs

• Greek yogurt

• Chicken breast

Plant complete proteins

• Tofu or tempeh

• Quinoa

• Buckwheat

Complete protein supplements

• Whey isolate

• Casein

• Soy isolate

Incomplete protein combos that make a complete protein

• Rice + beans: cooked rice with black or pinto beans

• Hummus + whole wheat pita: hummus with pita

• Peanut butter + whole grain bread: PB on bread

• Lentils + grains: lentil soup with cooked barley or rice

• Corn tortillas + beans

• Seeds + legumes: tahini drizzle on chickpea salad

Good dietary sources of leucine

• Whey isolate, 1 scoop: about 2.3 to 3.0 g leucine

• Chicken breast, 4 oz cooked: about 2.5 to 3.0 g

• Lean beef, 4 oz cooked: about 2.4 to 2.8 g

• Tuna or salmon, 4 oz cooked: about 2.0 to 2.5 g

• Eggs, 2 large: about 1.0 to 1.2 g

• Greek yogurt, 1 cup: about 1.0 to 1.3 g

Fats

Fats are used in cell membranes, precursors to hormones, burned as energy, and help with fat-soluble vitamin absorption, brain function, eye health, skin health, your immune system, and more. Without any fat in your diet, you can experience a wide range of negative side effects. That is because, like protein, your body cannot make all the fats it needs. Even if you are morbidly obese, your body needs to get Omega-6 and Omega-3 fatty acids from your diet.

Usually, Omega-6 will be easier to get, but regardless, if you just eat some fish, such as salmon or tuna, and some seeds, such as chia seeds, you should be good. Here are some examples of those sources:

Omega-3 EPA and DHA

• Salmon, 3 to 4 oz cooked

• Sardines, 1 small can

• Mackerel, 3 to 4 oz cooked

Omega-3 ALA

• Flaxseed, 2 tbsp ground

• Chia seeds, 2 tbsp

• Walnuts, 1 oz

Omega-6 linoleic acid

• Sunflower or safflower oil, 1 tbsp

• Walnuts, 1 oz

• Peanut butter, 2 tbsp

Carbohydrates (Carbs)

Unlike proteins or fats, there are no essential carbs. Carbs are basically sugars, starches, and cellulose. Technically, they are classified by molecular structure and just made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Their main role is just to provide energy throughout the body. When you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into usable small sugar (glucose) and transports it throughout the body. However, without carbs in your diet, your body has no issue converting fats or proteins into glucose through a process called gluconeogenesis.

One thing to be concerned with for your carbs is the glycemic index (how quickly the sugar in your meal is absorbed into your blood). The higher the glycemic index (GI), the faster your blood glucose will rise. Foods that are absorbed quickly can spike your blood sugar, so it is best to eat those at specific times (like before a workout). Also, combining your carbs with some protein and fat will help smooth out that absorption curve. GI varies by cooking and meal context, and glycemic load, fiber, and total calories matter more for most goals. It is just something to keep in mind. Here are some examples of carbs and their glycemic index:

Low GI (≤ 55)

• Chickpeas 28

• Lentils 32

• Apple 36

• Steel-cut oats 52

Medium GI (56 to 69)

• Pineapple 59

• Brown rice 62

• Baked sweet potato 63

• Whole wheat bread 69

High GI (≥ 70)

• White bread 75

• Cornflakes 81

• Rice cakes 82

• Jasmine rice 89

Micronutrients - Explained

There are numerous things micronutrients do, and going into detail will absolutely require its own lengthy text. This text is not meant to be a nutritionist's guide, but I felt it was important to mention micronutrients and their high-level functions if only in passing.

Micronutrients are like the control system of valves and knobs for the fuel and building blocks provided by the macronutrients. They act in numerous pathways to assist in turning that food into usable energy, keep nerves and muscles firing, boost your immune system, keep fluid and hydration balance, protect your cells, keep your bones and blood healthy, and so much more. However, your body is extremely good at extracting these things from food. It is usually not necessary to track these things very tightly. A generally diverse diet and maybe a multivitamin supplement are usually sufficient.

A standard multivitamin will cover most daily requirements and fill any gaps in your diet. Then, eating diversified, whole foods will cover the fiber, electrolytes, and phytonutrients that multivitamins are going to miss. Most of the needs are modest, too, and the body can even recycle several of them. So being consistent with a broad diet is going to be sufficient and a lot less stressful than worrying about every micronutrient.

Water

Water is one of the most essential nutrients, but it is often taken for granted. If you are dehydrated, everything starts failing. Your muscles produce less protein and tend towards breakdown, muscles may cramp, glycogen storage and utilization are impaired, training feels harder, and you may feel lousy with headaches. Have you ever wondered why your workouts fatigue quickly, or you feel tired even though you slept enough and ate what you needed? It could easily be that you are dehydrated. One glass of water in the morning before work is not enough. You need to be drinking at least enough water to keep your urine colored between pale straw and totally clear. Any darker than that, and you know you are not drinking enough water.

Do not wait until you are thirsty to drink water, either. By the time you are thirsty, that is your body begging you to please drink something. You need to be proactive and sip water all day long. The easiest method is to carry a bottle and finish it a set number of times each day. A good starting point is doing 30 to 35 ml per kg bodyweight per day or 0.46 to 0.54 fl oz per lb bodyweight per day. Don't overlook water, or everything you do will be unnecessarily more difficult.

Reading Nutrition Labels (Common Traps)

For this section, I want to finish this text off by bringing some common nutrition label problems to your attention and helping you avoid them as you search for foods to meet your goals. The main problems are understanding what a good source of protein is, knowing what net carbs are and why it makes no sense to list fiber under carbs, the "0 Calories" or "calorie-free" lie, and paying attention to serving sizes.

So what is a good source of protein? If you're like most people, you probably think peanut butter, chickpeas, hummus, or even whole eggs are a good source of protein. Why wouldn't they be right? Well, let's actually define what we mean by a "good source of protein" since nobody says what they mean when they say that. Here are the two rules you need to keep in mind:

Is it a complete protein?

This point is very simple; if the protein is not a complete protein, then no matter how many grams of protein this food has, you still won't get the amino acids you need. It needs to be a complete protein to ever be considered alone as a good source of protein by my definition. For both peanut butter and hummus, they've already failed as a good source of protein, but they also fail the next criterion.

Can I hit my daily protein goal before my calorie goal if I just eat this?

This is a concept I call leanness, which you can read more about and find a calculator for here: GymDaze resource Leanness is the percentage of the calories in a food that come from protein. For example, in an egg, there are around 72 calories:

• 24 calories from protein (6g protein)
• 45 calories from fat (5g fat)
• 2.5 calories from carbs (0.6g carbs)

That means that 33.6 percent of the calories in an egg come from protein. Now let's say that our protein goal was 190g of protein on a 2,000-calorie diet because we are cutting and weigh about 160 lbs. That means that we need 760 calories from protein in our 2,000-calorie diet (38 percent of calories from protein). If you ate only eggs all day, you wouldn't hit your protein goal by the time you hit your calorie goal. To hit your protein goal on eggs, you would need to eat 32 eggs and end up at 2,300 calories. Now, that is a far-out example, but for that diet, no, eggs would not be a "good source of protein." Generally, though, eggs will be a good source of protein.

Chickpeas and peanut butter are even worse, sitting at 20 percent or lower leanness.

Next time you go shopping and you see something say "high protein", "6g Protein", or anything similar, don't be fooled. Check the leanness; take the calories from protein per serving (grams of protein multiplied by 4) divided by the total calories per serving. Just as a rule of thumb, if it is below 0.3 (30 percent) when you crunch the numbers, it isn't a good source of protein. If you don't want to crunch the numbers, just use my calculator here to get a quick answer: GymDaze resource

Now, a topic that confuses people, and I need to touch on with carbs, is the idea of net carbs. When you hear someone say net carbs, that means they subtracted the fiber from the total carbs on a nutrition label. Why can you do that, though? Well, technically, fiber is a carbohydrate by molecular definition, but your body cannot digest it. Some fiber is soluble and can potentially add up to 2 calories per gram from fermentation. So, it rarely adds any calories and only adds confusion to anyone reading a nutrition label. It should be listed after the macronutrients with vitamins and things like that, which don't offer any calories. Fiber doesn't "cancel out" carbs, "push out bad carbs," or anything else; it goes into your gut and passes right through. The only reason you subtract it out is that it shouldn't have been there in the first place. Don't get confused by it, just know that when you are calculating calories from carbs, you need to make sure they haven't included fiber.

Next, I want to talk about how marketers try to fool people by labeling things as 0 calories. You'll see this all over, especially on cooking spray oils and candies. "Zero Calories!" they claim, but have you ever stopped to think how that is possible? Well, spoiler alert, unless you're eating a ball of wax and fiber, it isn't. The reality is they claim their serving size is so small that legally, if the total calories in that tiny little serving size on the label are under 5 calories, they can write 0 and just lie to you about the reality. So when you see an avocado oil cooking spray that says it has "no calories", guess again. Avocado oil has 124 calories in 1 tablespoon. It is pure fat. Only when the companies label their serving size as 0.25 seconds of spraying the can will they be allowed to say it has no calories. What a joke. No one on earth is timing their spray to a quarter of a second. They are deceiving, and we need to be aware.

Finally, piggybacking from the small serving size idea, when you look at a nutrition label, never assume that the numbers on the label are the calories in a whole package. Almost never is that true. A bag of chips looks like maybe 130 calories, but then you see it, the little "2 servings per bag" text quietly nestled underneath the BIG BOLD 130 calorie claim. In reality, if you ate that whole bag, you took in double the amount shown. If you don't understand this, your diet plans and weight loss journey could be sunk before you even begin. Make sure you always look at the serving size and calculate your calories and macronutrients accordingly.

Trying to change your diet is never easy, but it is always worth it. You will never reach your goals if you don't understand how you're fueling your body and encouraging it in different directions.