Learn about the key nutritional principles required for you to fuel, recover, and create long term sustainable results.
You Will Learn:
What calories are and what happens when you’re in a surplus, deficit, or maintenance
What macros are and the importance of each macronutrient for your paticular goals
The three food sources every meal should contain to acquire a sufficient amount of vitamins and minerals
How to strategically use nutrient timing and meal frequency to optimize performance and recovery
The purpose of supplements and when to implement them to further enhance your results
The Battle Against Nutrition
The hidden truth behind why you keep losing your battle against nutrition…
Diet.
When I hear someone say that they are going on a "diet", I absolutely cringe because it screams short term unsustainable results.
The moment you break your "diet", an all out binge eating spree can occur with even more reason to break it again, and again, and again with little to no substantial progress towards your goal…
The truth is every "diet" can work, but not every diet compliments your values and goals in a way that creates long term sustainable results.
What works is not the "diet" itself.
It is the underlying fundamental nutritional principles that people are consistently sticking to that works.
The lack of education on these nutritional priorities is why we have 242,000,000 Americans overweight and obese…
The fitness industry is filled with an oversaturated amount of information with a mass amount of people following advice from diet gurus and popular fitness influencers like it is a religion.
If we are going to overcome this obesity crisis, then we must shift our focus away from diets and more towards principles.
Calories
Calories (energy) is the #1 factor in achieving your goal of muscle building. The only way to maximize muscle gain is by being in a caloric surplus. This means you are consuming more calories, than you are burning, or you are giving your body more than enough energy than it needs to recover. Your body will either store the excess energy into its energy stores (glycogen, fat, or muscle) or use it to synthesize muscle. If you are consuming enough protein, then your body can use excess body fat as another source of fuel to aid in the muscle building process.
Now that we know what happens when you are in a caloric surplus, let us talk about maintenance. Maintenance is the number of calories your body needs to maintain itself. This happens when the number of calories you eat and the number of calories you burn are equal. The result is no weight gain and no muscle loss. Later in the program, you will learn more about how we can strategically ramp up your metabolism and enhance the fat loss process by bringing your calories back up for Refeed Days.
The only way to lose weight is by being in a caloric deficit. This means your burning more calories than you are consuming, or you are giving your body less energy than your body needs. To survive, your body must take the missing energy from its energy stores (glycogen, fat, or muscle). If your consuming enough protein, then your body will not rely on muscle for energy and instead use your fat and other sources for fuel.
Maximizing muscle building requires being in a caloric surplus and maximizing fat burning requires being in a caloric deficit. This means you cannot maximize fat loss and muscle gain simultaneously. The only exception is if: you are completely new to weight training, previously had muscle but stopped weight training (muscle memory), have amazing genetics, or are taking drugs. To prevent yourself from endlessly switching back and forth from bulking (gaining muscle & fat) to cutting (losing fat & muscle), focus on building muscle first then focus on lowering your body fat % last.
Macronutrients
To maximize your results, prevent plateaus, and achieve your goal physique as fast/simple as possible, you must monitor your Macronutrients (Macros). Your macronutrients consist of Protein (4 calories/gram), Carbohydrates (4 calories/gram), and Fats (9 calories/gram) which all add up to make your Total Calories for the day. Monitoring your macronutrients is essential so that you get the necessary number of nutrients specifically for your body to burn fat, recover, build strength, maintain muscle, and maintain metabolic speed (metabolism) which slows down naturally dieting.
Micronutrients
Micronutrients are essential vitamins, macro-minerals, and trace minerals which are important for optimal health and performance. If we do not get the right number of vitamins and minerals, then muscle growth is hindered, and we are at greater risk for diseases. Fresh raw foods are what we need to regulate our metabolism and get the most energy and benefit from our food. Macro-minerals are important for nerve signaling, muscular contraction, tissue structure and function, and bone structure. Trace minerals are small amounts of minerals that our bodies need for very important functions like absorbing macronutrients, muscle growth, and maintaining bone integrity. Consuming a wide variety of vegetables daily from leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, brightly colored vegetables, and nuts are all required to get the right amounts of vitamins, macro-minerals, and trace minerals for your body. For each meal, focus on having a protein source (meat), a fibrous carb (vegetables, fruits), and a starchy carb (whole grains, sweet potatoes).
Meal Frequency & Timing
The total number of calories that you have eaten by the end of the day will determine if you lose or gain muscle. You can eat 1 giant meal or 6 small meals, it is up to personal preference and how you deal with hunger cravings to meet your calorie requirements. If you are maintaining a caloric surplus and hitting your macros, then you will gain muscle no matter how many meals you eat. The muscle building process can be optimized if the previous criteria is met. Research has proven that Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) is maximized by consuming 20-40g Protein/meal every 3-4 hours.
There are specific moments throughout the day where eating certain nutrients are more effective for maximizing energy levels and recovery. Protein is important first thing in the morning so that you switch your body from a fasted (catabolic state) to a fed (anabolic) state. This will drive nutrients into the muscles and protect them from deteriorating. The most important time to maximize the recovery and muscle building benefits of protein is before and after your workout.
Eating low glycemic carbs (whole grains, fruits, vegetables) throughout the day and for pre-workout is optimal for providing you with sustained energy. Eating high glycemic carbs (white bread, white potatoes, cereals) for post workout is optimal for quickly restoring energy levels and transporting nutrients into muscles for repairing.
Avoid fat post workout. Fat will slow down digestion and the release of insulin which is what delivers the nutrients into the muscles. Refueling with protein and carbs post workout will give you all the energy you need for the next day and for recovering as quickly as possible.
Supplements
The sole purpose of supplements is to: fill in the missing gaps in your nutrition that were not fulfilled in the above Pyramid of Nutrition and to also enhance progress. To maximize the effectiveness, you must consistently achieve your daily nutrition goals.
We are an official partner of Legion Athletics for your supplement knowledge and needs. Legion is the #1 brand of all-natural sports supplements in the world. If you want the best supplements that will help you lose weight, recover faster, build muscle, and improve your health, then use the code "INFITNITE" to receive 20% off your first order and receive Double Reward Points if you are a returning customer.
Fuel Your Warrior Avatar
The Pyramid of Nutrition Priorities are the fundamental nutritional principles that every Warrior must learn before effectively implementing a nutrition strategy. Once you’ve learned these principles, then a customized nutrition strategy based on your body, your goals, and when/how you want to eat can then be fully implemented. We make fully customizable nutrition strategies for every Warrior to fuel and recover from their training. Apply for 1:1 Online Coaching below to get started creating the best nutrition strategy to accomplish your goals!
Recent Training Articles
These are Warrior Nick’s fat loss results in just 4 weeks.