By Pat Sheils, B.S. Health and Human Performance, 3CLICK Fitness Personal Trainer
Howdy everyone. I decided to take a break from counting to 10 for my clients to be able to go over some nutrition tips that I use for not only myself, but also my clients to help make sure that our lifting is being maximized. This feels like a good time to address this since most people are going to start making a shift and getting ready for their winter training, which for most people they view as an “offseason”.
Now to be clear, this blog is going to be more of what I suggest. Think of this as more of a guide to follow instead of a set in stone road map with a bunch of food suggestions. You should consult with a Registered Dietitian for specific prescriptions and personalized advice on your nutrition plan. Always consult with a doctor before making dramatic changes to your diet.
Starting out
The first thing you want to establish is what is your primary goal. This is super important, because when it comes to nutrition it is always going to break down to calories in versus calories out. So the first thing you need to do is decide if you are going to lose weight, gain weight, or keep your weight the same.
- Lose Weight: For this we are defining it in terms of you are trying to reduce weight or body fat. Now even though they go hand in hand, they are also very different approaches as well. So it’s important to decide which one you want to focus on. If you want weight loss, focus mainly on calorie intake and output. If you want fat loss, we need to play with the macros a little bit as well as the calorie balance (we will talk about that in a bit)
- Maintain Weight: This is for the people that might not be as concerned with what the scale says, or their goals don’t involve any sort of weight management or aesthetic goals. This will allow for a lot more freedom with nutrition because usually people in this mentality are more performance goal based, and this means we are working to have the body at peak performance output and the nutrition will follow.
- Gain Weight: This is for the person that wants to pack on some size and build to reach new levels of strength and muscle growth. Usually you can expect to add on an easy 10-15 pounds minimum for these types of goals, and it is always dependent on what the goal is. Usually how most people will start what they consider to be their “off-season” otherwise known as a “bulking” phase.
Now with all of this established, I will say that before you really start to mess with calories at all, you want to make sure that you are at or around your maintenance amount of calories. This is important, because everything else I will talk about is based on you being at this maintenance number. If you aren’t sure why, make sure to read my previous blog I did that talked about the importance of this (Optimize Metabolism Blog). Now lets get to the meat and potatoes of what we are talking about today.
Weight Loss Goal
This will be for those that are looking to drop the pounds. For this we want to focus on strictly making sure you are in a calorie deficit. A lot of people want to just drop the weight as fast as possible, and we can do that, but you are more likely to gain it right back. If you want to make sure it stays off, then follow this advice.
- Month #1 – Starting the process
- Calorie Deficit will start at 200-300 cal deficit
- Macro Breakdown would be
- Carbs – 40%
- Fats – 30%
- Protein 30%
- This month is about dialing in the macros. A majority of weight loss is going to come from just getting the macros dialed. You might also notice that hitting 30% of your calorie intake for protein is going to be considerably more than what you are used to, and this month is for adjusting to that
- Also to note, not a big drop in calories. The goal for weight loss is to keep the weight coming off. If you drop too much too quickly, you are going to bottom out before you even reach the end of the cut.
- Month #2 – The hard part begins
- Calorie Deficit – 500-700 calories
- Macro Breakdown
- Carbs – 40%
- Fats – 30%
- Protein – 30%
- This is the month where things are going to get tough. We drop to the standard 500 cal deficit, but also pay attention to how the body responds. If needed we go a bit past the 500 cals if we are able to (keep in mind the 1200 and 1800 calorie floors for women and men).
- Macros stay the same and we really focus on making sure that the protein is being hit. This is going to help to maintain muscle and strength, but also speed up calorie burn by increasing the amount of work your body needs to breakdown and digest food
- Protein requires the most energy to digest. Also is super filling, and that is huge to have when in a deficit
- Month #3 – The Final Push
- Calorie Deficit – 500-700 calories
- Macro Breakdown
- Carbs – 30%
- Fats – 30%
- Protein – 40%
- This month is to get one final push before we come out of the deficit (never want to stay too long) and this is also where we change the macros. Keep the deficit the same as it was last month, but we take away carbs and replace them with protein. The reason is that when you can’t take away calories anymore, the next thing to go is going to be carbs
- As the carbs go away, we increase protein because they carry the same calorie amount per gram as carbs. Also, since the main energy source for the body is going away as well, the extra protein helps to keep the muscles from wasting away and allows them to have something to repair themselves with.
The weight loss phase is the phase that will have the most going into it, and that is simply because we are taking food away. When that happens we need to be smart with how we do it because the last thing you want is an extensive process to go through to be able to get back to normal. I pace things slowly with my clients and take time with it because this will ultimately lead to the best results long term. After this 3 month cycle, take about 3-5 weeks to go back to maintenance calories and then repeat the cycle. You never want your metabolism to catch up to your calories when in a deficit, so going back up after 3 months in deficit will allow you to keep going down in weight for much longer.
Maintenance Goal
This section won’t be near as much as the last one. This goal is much more straightforward since people in this phase are more concerned with staying the same (as far as the scale goes) and are more focused on improving their performance in whatever it is they do. For clients that I have in this phase, I break it down like this:
- Calorie intake is +200 or -200 from what maintenance calories are
- The reason for the big range is to manage weight and keep within whatever weight range we start at. If we go up too much, take some cals away. If we are going down too much, put some cals in
- Macro breakdown – Varies depending on the person, but the ranges look like this
- Carbs – 40-50%
- Protein – 20-30%
- Fats – whatever is left
The reason for the ranges here is because it all depends on the person with this. A few things to take into consideration are what body type do you have, what kind of training are you doing, and what goal are you going into next?
- Body type plays a role in the amount of carbs you will need. Need to stay fueled, but don’t need to take in maximal amounts here
- Ectomorphs – More carbs. Naturally have a high metabolism, and will need the carbs to maintain and build
- Mesomorphs – Can stay in the middle ranges. Will change them up based on visual and performance feedback, but usually can eat what amount they care to
- Endomorphs – Will need to stay on the lower end. This body type can hold carbs easily, but shouldn’t be afraid of them.
- I like a 1:1 ratio for this body type. 35% for Carbs and Proteins work really well for maintenance
Ultimately this phase is usually more of a placeholder phase between the bulking and cutting phases. Usually you are focused on a goal that isn’t weight based, so more carbs are the way to go and calories around the maintenance amount is going to get you where you need to go. Lot’s of adjusting your food based on how you are feeling and how you are performing.
Gain Weight
This is by far one of the funnest phases that anyone can go through. Now, I know that this is something that not everyone will be fully excited about, but by the end of this phase you are always ready to do it again. This is the phase that gives you the most freedom with your eating. Obviously this doesn’t mean that you can throw down fast food for every meal, but it does allow you for the most Carbohydrate intake out of any phase
- Calorie breakdown – Even to +200 cal surplus
- Macro Breakdown
- Carbs – 45-60%
- Protein – 25-35%
- Fats – whatever is left
- We want to have high carb as well as high protein for this phase. The idea is to maximize the amount of muscle and strength we can add on in this phase. The one thing to keep in mind is that as carbs go up, protein will come down. Usually for protein you want the minimum amount to equal your weight in grams (if I weigh 200 pounds, I want at least 200 grams of protein a day).
What I tell all of my clients during this phase is to be mentally prepared to see your weight go up and to see some fat come in. It is unavoidable and it takes a lot of mental strength to go through this. The best advice I can give is that you need to just have fun with this. Experiment with some of the food that you are eating. Make sure to have meals that you enjoy. But the most important thing of all is to focus on what you are doing in your workouts to track your progress. I want you to see the weights you use go up. I want you to notice how much easier it is to move weights you used to struggle with. That is the beauty of this phase. We get strong as we can be, and make our life so much easier when we go back to our cut phase.
Whew. That was a long one. But there is so much information and so much to cover that it can become overwhelming at times. My hope is that this helps to give you a bit clearer map for those of you that are looking to improve the efficiency of your progress or are looking to start to take more control of your nutrition. Again, use this not as an absolute map, but something to help get you in the right direction for what you are looking for. Enjoy the ride, and have some fun along the way!
For those who are looking to start with tracking their food and their intake, the best app that I recommend to use is My Fitness Pal. It is one of the easiest food tracking apps to use and has a large database of food to be able to access. Another app that I use with clients that are looking to get into the meal prep realm of nutrition is the app MealPrepPro. It helps with being able to set up a meal plan that is more based on your calories and macros and does all the adjustments for you. Check these apps out and go with whichever one that you like and is the easiest to use!
If you’re looking for a great personal trainer near Edina MN, then don’t hesitate to contact your local personal trainers at 3CLICK Fitness today!