NUTRITION 101

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YOUR GUIDE TO MACROS, MEAL TIMING

AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN
CONTENTS
NUTRITION 101
3-12 CALORIES & MACROS
Calories & Energy Balance
Macronutrients
Reading Nutritional Labels
Calorie Expenditure

13-17 LIFESTYLE
Managing Nutrition
Digestion & Appetite
Alcohol & Meals Out
Training & Recovery

GET STARTED
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THE
2
INTRODUCTION

HEY!
Welcome to Nutrition 101 - the only guide you'll ever
need to help you navigate all things food.
The purpose of this guide is to give you all of the tools required to manage
your nutrition effectively. I'll be touching upon all the key principles
surrounding food and drink, as well as ways for you learn the 'why' and 'how'
behind any successful nutritional approach.

I'll be covering everything from calories, to macronutrients, to simple day-to-

day structuring of your food. I'll be elaborating on all those dieting buzz-
words you see dotted around social media, and ultimately helping you to
adopt habits that will make dieting feel like less of a chore.

CONTINUE
CALORIES & MACROS
The numbers around nutrition. Understanding the nutritional
make-up of the food and drink you're consuming is key to
ensuring that you're hitting the targets for you to progress
towards your goals.

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CALORIES AND 4

ENERGY BALANCE
Calories are king when it comes to nutrition. Your ability to consistently eat an
adequate amount of calories to satisfy your goal will be a key determining factor
in how you progress. Fat loss is simple (not easy) - you must burn more calories
than you consume. It’s the basic principle behind losing fat. You’ll hear most
people refer to this as a calorie deficit.

When it comes to calories, you've got three choices;

1 Maintenance Calories
2 Calorie Deficit
3 Calorie Surplus

Let's start with maintenance calories. As the name suggests,

consuming your maintenance calories will allow you to do just that -
maintain. It occurs when you burn the same amount of calories as
you consume.

If you want to lose fat, you'll need to be in a calorie deficit. Put

simply, this is consuming less calories than you burn day-to-day.

Opposingly, a calorie surplus is required during a gaining phase. This

requires you to consume more calories than you expend each day.

Understanding your current situation and from there deciding on your

goal is crucial towards determining which caloric approach you take.

MACRONUTRIENTS
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5
MACRONUTRIENTS
Macronutrients constitute the general
make-up of the calories you’re consuming.
The calories within a food/drink will be
dictated by the presence of each
macronutrient within said item. The four
macronutrients, and their energy make-up,
are as follows;

PROTEIN - 4KCAL/G

FATS - 9KCAL/G

CARBS - 4KCAL/G

ALCOHOL -7KCAL/G

Each macronutrient plays its own role

within the body, and obviously within
fat loss. Let’s look into each
macronutrient individually, and how
you’d generally structure these within
your diet.

PROTEIN
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6
PROTEIN
Protein is essential for growth, repair, and retention of muscle. It’s arguably
the most important macronutrient where body composition improvements
are concerned. General sources of protein are:

1 FISH
As a general rule of thumb, anywhere
between 0.6-1.2g per lb of bodyweight is
2 EGGS recommended, with the magic number of
1g/lb often utilised.
3 DAIRY
I’d recommend the lower end of the scale
4 TOFU for those who are newer to tracking, or are
carrying more body fat. 0.6-1g would be
5 MEAT (RED & WHITE) suitable. If you’re leaner, are more
experienced tracking, and are carrying more
muscle tissue, 1-1.2g would be fine.
The foods that make up your protein
intake should be mainly whole
protein sources such as those listed
above. You could also supplement where appropriate to top up towards your intake. You’ll
notice that some of your carbohydrate and fat sources do contribute towards your protein
intake. These are of course contributory, but you should aim to consume >70% of your daily
protein hit through actual protein sources where possible.

FATS
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7
FATS
Dietary fats are essential for regulating hormonal function, as well as
providing the body with energy to operate day-to-day. They are the
most energy dense macronutrient, weighing in at 9 calories per gram.
Dietary fats can be sourced through…

1 DAIRY 4 SEEDS

2 EGGS 5 OILS

3 NUTS 6 MEATS (MOSTLY RED)

Requirements for fat intake is generally person

dependent, but to maintain regular hormonal and
cognitive function, I’d recommend a minimum of
0.2-0.3g of fat per lb of bodyweight. For example, if
you weigh 150lbs, a minimum daily fat intake of
30- 45g is recommended.

CARBS
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8
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates are your body’s main source of fuel and will also aid in your body’s ability
to recover after exercise. Ensuring you're fuelling your body with an adequate amount of
carbohydrates across the day, and in particular around your training window, is key to
keeping training intensity and
recovery optimal.
They can be found within;

With carbohydrates being the

most interchangeable of the 1 RICES
three dietary macronutrients,
there’s no real set amount that’s 2 PASTAS
right to consume. The general
rule-of-thumb is that
carbohydrates will account for
3 BREADS
the calories left over once you’ve
set out your protein and fat …as well as other grains and fruits and
goals. vegetables.

That being said, you may opt for

a more carbohydrate-dense diet
at the expense of some dietary
fats, provided calories are kept
the same, and you don’t drop
below the minimum threshold
of dietary fats mentioned earlier
in the guide.

ALCOHOL
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9
ALCOHOL
Alcohol is classed as a macronutrient. Unlike the other three
macronutrients, it doesn’t provide any real nutritional benefit. Alcohol isn’t
particularly ‘off-limits’ when it comes to losing fat, but it is important to be
conscious of the calories you’re consuming when drinking it.

I’ll elaborate further on tools you can use to accommodate alcohol later in
the guide.

NUTRITIONAL LABELS
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READING 10

NUTRITIONAL LABELS
Being able to read nutritional labels and being conscious of the make-up of the
food and drink you're consuming will help you to gain a better understanding of
nutrition in general. Generally, your food/drink packaging will contain the
following displays;

The nutritional values

displayed are relevant to
the recommended serving
size above the traffic light
system - in this case, 150g.

Values for calories, fats,

saturated fat, sugars and
salt are shown, with a
coloured system used to

indicate percentage of daily targets used by said serving. The nutritional values
displayed are relevant to the recommended serving size above the traffic light
system - in this case, 150g.

Values for calories, fats, saturated fat, sugars and salt are shown, with a coloured
system used to indicate percentage of daily targets used by said serving.

This system is only relevant to government guidelines, and isn't directly

relevant to your individual needs.

Beneath the traffic light system, the energy content for a standard 100g serving is
shown. This is usually detailed in further on the reverse side of the packaging.

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The reverse of the packaging is similar in the sense that it provides a nutritional
breakdown similar to that of the front, but with the added detail of fibre content, as
well as values based on a standard 100g serving.

When tracking your

nutrition via apps like
MyFitnessPal, it's important
to ensure that the figures
on the app reflect that of
the packaging.

It's also essential that the

serving size reflects that of
the packaging, as well as
accounting for difference in
values between cooked
and uncooked weight.

EXPENDITURE
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CALORIE 12

EXPENDITURE EAT
5%
TEF
Although a lot less controllable than 10%
calories in, it's still important to gain an
understanding on calories out. These
are divided in sub-catergories, which all
play their individual part in your daily NEAT
15%
expenditure. Combined, these become
your TDEE (Total Daily Energy
Expenditure).
BMR
70%

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) - this is the fuel your body burns to
generally survive day-to-day. Breathing, vital organ processes and blood
1 circulation are just a few components that contribute towards your
BMR.

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) - walking, fidgeting and

2 other general movement forms fall under the category of NEAT, along
with other unplanned forms of exercise.

TEF (Thermic Effect of Food) - the energy requirements to process

3 food within the body would be classed as TEF.

EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) - unlike NEAT, EAT relates to

4 energy expenditure related to planned forms of exercise like
resistance training, sports, and cardiovascular training.
LIFESTYLE
 LIFESTYLE
The variables outside of the numbers - these are all essential
towards being able to sustain your nutritional strategy long-
term. Being aware of them and knowing how to control them
will be difference between stagnant progress and achieving
your results.

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MANAGING 14

NUTRITION
Nutrition is obviously the foundation of any successful regime - whether that's
performance-based, aesthetic goals, or a combination of the two. It would be
naive to assume that there won't be some nutritional sacrifice when it comes to
achieving your goal, but that being said, finding a balance between harnessing
progress and still enjoying your food and drink is key.

Your ability to be able to manage those two variables will be crucial towards
short and long-term progress;

Go too hard, too soon, and you risk burning yourself out.
You make progress, but struggle to sustain it

OR

You amble your way through without any effort. It's

sustainable and doesn't feel like a chore, but becomes a lot
less so when you aren't achieving progress.

As well as the initial management of nutrition from a personal control

perspective, it's also important to manage the external factors that can impact
on your ability to progress, such as;

1 Appetite 2 Digestion 3 Social Occasions 4 Training & Recovery

I'll elaborate further on these variables through the remainder of the guide.

APPETITE & DIGESTION

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APPETITE AND 15

DIGESTION
As with any nutritional approach, the beauty generally lies within consistency of
execution each week, and the ability to adjust calories incrementally based on
amount of progress.

If calories are consistently being hit, appetite is still in a good place, and you’re
digesting your food well - it’s probably a good time to increase your food.
However, if you're struggling to manage the food you're currently consuming,
adding in an extra 200cals per day isn't going to do you any favours.

Similarly, when in a fat-loss journey, if appetite is sufficient, and hunger

management is in a good spot, you could look to further reduce calories to
harness progress. If appetite is causing issues and you find you're consistently
hungry, it's probably worth assessing the food you're consuming rather than
aimlessly pulling calories down.

For these reasons, your nutritional adjustments should generally be limited to

100-200cals per increase. These would generally be in the form of
increased/decreased carbohydrates (25-50g). Protein and fats will generally
remain fairly consistent, although you may eventually increase protein intake to
either increase satiety (fullness) during a fat-loss phase, or to accomodate for
trace protein for carbohydrates when these are increased during a gaining
phase.

SOCIAL OCCASIONS
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SOCIAL OCCASIONS 16

Social events happen - they don't discriminate against whether you're dieting or
not. They shouldn't be feared either, as there's a way to still enjoy meals out and
drinks whilst making progress towards your goals.

It obviously some effort and a sense of maturity to do so. Below are a few
examples of how you can both prepare for and accommodate social occasions;

1 2
TIP 1 TIP 2
Prepare for your meal out by 'banking' some
Be as active as possible during the week leading
calories during the week. Let's say your calorie
up to your social occasion. This doesn't mean
target each day is 2000 calories. Consume 1800
hammering double-sessions everyday - it's
calories per day Monday-Friday, and you'll
simply an emphasis on the importance of your
essentially have an extra 1000 calories to play with
general activity levels. Get out for a few brisk
on Saturday. Ensure you're not undercutting your
walks, and make sure you're hitting your step
protein intake to save calories, and opt for an
target.
amount that is as least impactive on training and
recovery as possible.

3 4
TIP 3
Make smarter choices when you're out and
about, whilst still ensuring you're consuming
TIP 4
If you're struggling to get the nutritional
things you like to eat. If you're simply ordering
values for the meal you've ordered, try to find
something because it's lower in calories, but you
something similar in MyFitnessPal and track
don't enjoy what you've ordered, you'll be more
that in. Failing that, over-estimate the calorie-
inclined to over-indulge elsewhere as a result.
content of the food you've consumed, and
Ensure you're getting in a decent amount of
work the rest of your day around it.
protein, eat until you're full, and be realistic with
what you're consuming.

TRAINING & RECOVERY

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TRAINING AND 17

RECOVERY
Your nutrition is obviously a focal component of improving body composition and/or strength
progressions. For that reason alone, the food you consume shouldn't simply be x-amount of
calories to lose fat/gain muscle. You should be treating food as a tool to fuel your sessions, and
aid recovery between said sessions.

Your ability to rest and recover allows you to replicate intensity and execution week-on-week.
Knowing when to pull-back and listening to your body is essential to long-term results. If you're
consuming poverty-calories, you can't expect your body to muster up the energy to allow you
to train with intent. You wouldn’t run your car on fumes, so don’t treat your body in the same
vein.

Ensuring your nutrition is complimenting your recovery is important. Opting for nutrient-
dense foods as readily and often as possible will ensure that your body has the nutrients
it needs to repair and recover. Prioritise protein intake and ensure you’re consuming
enough calories to warrant recovery.

Your recovery is essentially the foundation for which your progress will be built on.
Progress will be short-lived if you can only manage a couple of weeks before your body
gives up. Treat it with respect!

The aspects of nutrition mentioned

within this guide are hugely important to
whether you’ll progress or not. They’re
the cornerstones of your fitness journey,
and hopefully this guide can educate you
to be able to manage your nutrition
adequately enough to not only make
progress, but to improve your overall
lifestyle and help you to adopt healthier
habits throughout all aspects.

FINISHED
 NAIL THE BASICS,
REAP THE REWARDS