Noobtrition
SET SYSTEM @ MAINTAIN
This is not a diet. Diets are recipes. They show you how to create a specific outcome with specific ingredients. They eliminate ambiguity: Follow the step-by-step instructions.
Recipes have negotiables and non-negotiables.
Non-negotiables are essential. You can't make scrambled eggs without eggs. Negotiables are extra. You can whisk some milk into the uncooked eggs to make them fluffier. You don't have to. But you can.
Person A uses milk to make their scrambled eggs fluffier. Person B doesn't. In the end, even with different negotiables, you still get scrambled eggs.
Non-negotiables are a product of the product itself and can't vary from recipe to recipe. To make scrambled eggs, you need eggs. Always. Person A needs eggs. Person B needs eggs. You can't make scrambled eggs without eggs.
Noobtrition is a collection of non-negotiables for body-composition-based diets — the nutritional framework behind every muscle-building and fat-loss diet I make.
1. Nourish
Eat foods that supply you with the materials you need to thrive and avoid foods that destroy you from the inside out.
If you don't eat, you die. This is easy to forget when you're obsessed with losing fat and building muscle. Food contains a number of things the body needs to keep the lights on that can't be obtained by other means: vitamins, minerals, bacteria, etc…
Food is life.
Unless the food has been frankensteined.
Some of the things we eat aren't so great for us. For example, synthetic trans fats were added to countless food products in the 1990s and early 2000s. If you've eaten GIF peanut butter, you've eaten trans fats. Research has recently found trans fats to be so destructive to our bodies, they’ve been “banned” (even though trace amounts are still permissible, which makes total sense).
Giving your body the materials it needs to thrive predates improving your body composition. Losing fat and gaining muscle are both easier when your insides aren't rotting.
The easiest way to nourish the body and avoid “harmful” foods (without developing an obsessive-compulsive disorder) is to eat mostly Mother Nature's foods.
Mother Nature's food tends to be nourishing as opposed to negative, which isn't surprising because it supported human life for millions of years before people in laboratories invented fake foods.
Mother Nature's food consists of things that can be found in nature (fruits, plants, fish, and animals) and consumed almost immediately, with minimal preparation. Almost every other “food” requires some kind of processing (alteration) in order to become edible.
Processing isn’t inherently evil: Cooking is a form of food processing. However, processing has a dark side. It’s one thing to char salmonella off a turkey leg or turn a cow’s tit juice into cheese. It’s another thing to create a handheld stay-fresh-forever chocolate cake designed to deliver an intense dopaminergic spike in the name of consumer addiction. And so, it’s useful to distinguish between two types of processed foods.
- Low-processed foods are derived from Mother Nature’s materials and have few ingredients. Things like cheese, yogurt, rice, and (some) grains. Low-processed foods have been around for ages.
- High-processed foods are derived from processed materials and have a lot of ingredients. Things like chips, candies, crackers, cookies, cakes, and, of course, protein bars. High-processed foods were created within the past century.
As a general rule of thumb, the bulk of your food intake (around 80%) should consist of Mother Nature’s food and her low-processed variants that serve a nutrient end with minimal negative side effects. For example, blueberries are full of vitamin K, vitamin C, and manganese alongside antioxidants and other compounds that protect against cell damage. Blueberries will nourish you.
The remaining 20% of your intake can creep into the high-processed world as desired. Typically, these foods are eaten purely for pleasure. They have minimal nutrient yield and potentially undesirable side effects. We can all agree: Doritos have more health downsides than health upsides.
Keep in mind, you don't have to eat pure-pleasure foods, but, if you do, your personality should dictate your strategy: You can either use your 20% to indulge in something small every day, or you can “save up” for bigger yet less frequent indulgences.
Bigger yet less frequent pure-pleasure binges are known as “cheat days.” I used to be a big proponent of cheat days. I'm not anymore. They had a hand in my eating disorder. Again, depends on your personality. Many people use cheat days and love them. I don't judge.
Even though Mother Nature's food is better than high-processed food, there are tiers within Mother Nature's food worth noting.
Sadly, fruits and plants are sprayed with chemicals to keep them from rotting. Animals are shoved into small stalls and fed foods their bodies aren't adapted to eat. Fish swim in contaminated waters.
The “easy” solution:
- Eat organic fruits and plants.
- Eat grass-fed meats and animal products.
- Eat pasture-raised soy-free chickens and eggs.
- Eat wild-caught fish.
This isn't a cheap way to live. I can go to Aldi and get a package of massive low-quality chicken breasts for $2 per pound. Pasture-raised soy-free chicken breasts are $12 per pound. A $10-per-pound difference will do some damage to your wallet.
On the other hand, bottom-shelf ground beef at the grocery store near me is usually $3 per pound. At Aldi, grass-fed ground beef is $5 per pound. The $2-per-pound difference is reasonable.
If you can't afford to eat 100% top-tier quality, don't worry. This isn't a deal-breaker. Sometimes the top-quality options aren't much better than the supposed low-quality options; eating wild-caught fish to avoid contaminants sounds lovely until you realize we've been contaminating the wild waters for decades. Just do the best you can. I eat cheap chicken. I used to eat canned tuna. I don't eat organic fruits or plants.
Eating lower-quality foods from Mother Nature won't make or break your body composition, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't care about nourishing your body.
2. Hydrate
Drink water and stay hydrated.
Food nourishes us, but it doesn't do a great job of hydrating us. Hydration is important. You have enough energy stored inside of you to survive for three weeks (on average) without food. Dehydration can turn you into dust in days.
Staying hydrated means replenishing the water your body loses. Dogs, cats, and other animals stay hydrated with a super complicated strategy: They drink water when they're thirsty, and they don't drink water when they aren't thirsty. Probably a sound strategy for humans, too.
Alas, we live in a quantified world. You might have seen recommendations: Drink eight cups of water every day. This isn't a bad place to start, but biofeedback can make it better. The color of your pee can tell you a lot about how hydrated you are.
- If your pee is clear, like the color of water, you're beyond hydrated. Drink water according to thirst.
- If your pee is pale yellow, like the color of butter, you're hydrated. Drink water according to thirst.
- If your pee is sunshine yellow, like the color of lemonade, you could use some hydration. Sip on a cup of water at your earliest convenience.
- If your pee is goldenrod yellow, like the color of apple juice, you're dehydrated. Drink a cup or two of water as soon as you can.
Keep in mind, the color of your pee can vary for a few different reasons. Multivitamins, for instance, can make your pee look more like apple juice and less like lemonade (your body pees out excess water-soluble vitamins). This color guide isn't the law.
Even though water is ideal for hydration, just about any liquid (coffee included) will contribute to the cause, but there are two things to consider when drinking liquids that aren't water.
First, quality. Liquids follow the same rule as solids. Mother Nature knows best. Stay away from high-processed liquids that will rot your teeth.
Second, most non-water liquids (even Mother Nature's kind) contain energetic material. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it can impact the overall direction of your diet if not accounted for. In order to appreciate the energetic burden of liquids, they should be reverse-engineered into solid foods.
3. Energy
Eat more or less energy to turn the dial in the direction of your goal: lose fat or build muscle.
Foods contain energetic material, the amount of which is measured in calories; calories are a proxy for how much energetic material exists within any given food. Three nutrients (known as macronutrients) contain energetic material: carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Each macronutrient has a standardized energetic yield per gram.
- Carbohydrates: 4 calories per gram
- Proteins: 4 calories per gram
- Fats: 9 calories per gram
Your body extracts the energetic material from the foods you eat and uses it to power everything you do (including picking your nose). You can estimate how much energy your body uses on an average day, something known as total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), with this equation:
BODY’S WEIGHT (IN POUNDS) x 14 =
AVERAGE TDEE (IN CALORIES)
Let's assume you weigh 180 pounds. This means your body uses an amount of energy equivalent to around 2500 calories every day, on average.
MAINTENANCE
180 POUNDS x 13 = 2500 CALORIES
The amount of energetic material consumed across an extended period of time (relative to your TDEE) correlates to fat gain and fat loss as well as muscle gain and muscle loss.
Meaningful fat loss occurs during a chronic energy deficit, which is when your energetic expenses are consistently greater than your energetic income.= This forces the body to break down its energetic assets (of which body fat is included) to pay its bills. (Body fat is hoarded excess energetic material.)
The easiest way to create an energy deficit is to starve yourself. Don't confuse “easy” with “recommended.” Starving yourself is stupid. Remember, food is life. You should eat enough to stay nourished.
Unfortunately, a chronic energy deficit isn't great for muscle growth. In fact, muscle loss is a common side effect of a prolonged energy deficit. In general, the body is more comfortable building muscle during energetic prosperity: when energetic income is equal to or greater than energetic expenses.
This isn't permission to eat king-sized portions of food. Your body's ability to build muscle is limited. Eating twice as much won't necessarily double your gains because the body can only synthesize muscle at a certain rate. Imagine two guys building a house. Without equipment and materials, they won't be able to maximize efficiency. Not good. But, at the same time, throwing surplus equipment and materials at them won't necessarily increase their output.
This is important to note because energetic prosperity, especially erring toward an energy surplus, is the catalyst for body-fat accumulation. Muscle growth is always a Goldilocks game of trying to give the body enough energy to feel comfortable building muscle, yet not enough energy to become softer than a sourdough starter.
For fat loss:
Start with a conservative deficit by multiplying your weight (in pounds) by twelve. This represents your daily calorie ceiling — the number of calories you should strive to eat in one day.
BW (POUNDS) x 12
This generally creates an energy deficit. Of course, everyone is different and this is just a starting point. Adjustments might be necessary.
You should lose around one pound every week or two with a conservative deficit, so you'll know rather quickly (within a month) whether or not things are going as they should be.
CONSERVATIVE DEFICIT
180 POUNDS x 12 = 2160 CALORIES
For muscle growth:
Start with a conservative surplus by multiplying your weight (in pounds) by fifteen. This represents your calorie ceiling — the number of calories you should strive to eat in one day.
BW (POUNDS) x 15
This generally creates an energetic equilibrium, if not a slight surplus. Of course, everyone is different and this is just a starting point. Adjustments might be necessary. (Beginners can synthesize muscle at a much more rapid rate, so they might be better off starting with a slightly higher surplus.)
You should gain around 1-2 pounds per month with a conservative surplus, which makes muscle growth more difficult to evaluate than fat loss. Your weight can fluctuate by pounds daily, so noticing a 1-2 pound increase across one month is difficult.
Unfortunately, the only way around the ambiguity is to eat more to trigger a more rapid weight increase, but, with this, you're bound to gain more fat than you otherwise would.
CONSERVATIVE SURPLUS
180 POUNDS x 15 = 2700 CALORIES
Creating a non-changing daily calorie goal is standard practice, but energetic trends beat energetic fads.
Otherwise said, weekly numbers matter more than daily numbers. Let's assume BWx12 yields a 500-calorie deficit. This means the total calorie deficit across the week is 3500 calories.
- Sunday: -500, -500 total
- Monday: -500, -1000 total
- Tuesday: -500, -1500 total
- Wednesday: -500, -2000 total
- Thursday: -500, -2500 total
- Friday: -500, -3000 total
- Saturday: -500, -3500 total
A similar deficit can be achieved by creating a harsher deficit less often. This would also result in weight loss over time:
- Sunday:
- Monday: -1000, -1000 total
- Tuesday:
- Wednesday: -1000, -2000 total
- Thursday:
- Friday: -1000, -3000 total
- Saturday:
For reasons I care not to explain, larger deficits aren't as fruitful as the numbers suggest. A one-day 1000-calorie deficit won't necessarily be twice as effective as a one-day 500-calorie deficit. There are diminishing returns. Still, they can work.
Trends are more important than fads.
I use a ⚡ lightning bolt to codify calories, with one ⚡ representing 100 calories.
On the output side, your 180-pound self needs 2500 calories to maintain the status quo.
MAINTAIN:
180 POUNDS x 14 =
~2500 CALORIES =
25⚡
_______________________
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
On the input side, all food can be transformed into ⚡s. One banana usually contains around 100 calories, which is ⚡. One cup of Cinnamon Toast Crunch contains 170 calories. Add milk and the energetic total probably goes a bit above 200 calories, which is ⚡⚡.
4. Proteins
Eat plenty of proteins to take care of your muscles.
Proteins are one of the three macronutrients. The macronutrients get a lot of press because they're the only nutrients that contain energetic material. Nevertheless, they're still nutrients and different nutrients have different uses in our bodies.
For body composition, proteins are the most important macronutrient because, unlike carbs and fats, they contain nitrogen. Nitrogen is necessary for muscle growth; trying to build muscle without proteins is like trying to build a house without wood.
Even though both proteins and overall energy intake influence muscle-building potential, the two aren't married to each other. Protein intake can be aligned toward muscle growth without energy intake being aligned toward muscle growth, and the reverse can happen, too. Odds of building muscle increase when both are aligned toward muscle growth, but it's not impossible to build muscle when proteins are aligned and energy isn't. In other words, there's a chance the body will build muscle regardless of the energetic environment, but only if you're eating enough proteins. And so, the ideal protein intake is the same, regardless of the objective.
Old-school bodybuilders and strength enthusiasts recommended eating one gram of protein for every pound you weigh.
In other words, if you weigh 205 pounds, then you should eat 205 grams of protein every day. Recent research says you probably only need to eat 0.7-0.8 grams of protein for every pound you weigh. (If you're obese, calculate using lean body mass instead of total body mass.)
I'm lazy. Using a one-gram-per-pound standard makes the calculation easier. I'm also superstitious. Week after week, I'm in the gym. Trying to build muscle. I don’t care about eating a pinch more protein to ensure I'm giving my body the nutrients it needs for muscle growth, especially considering there’s no downside (proteins won’t damage your kidneys unless you have a pre-existing medical condition).
PROTEIN INTAKE:
180 POUNDS x 1 =
180 GRAMS OF PROTEIN
In theory, it doesn't matter which foods you eat to reach this target. In reality, most foods contain substances in addition to proteins, which makes it difficult to ignore the specific foods eaten to reach the protein target. For instance, sardines are protein-rich and they also contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential yet not found in very many foods.
On a more superficial level, many foods contain carbs and/or fats alongside proteins, which affects the overall energy yield of the food. Considering overall energy intake is an important dial determining the direction of your diet, this can't be overlooked. To navigate this a bit easier, I created three categories for proteins.
First, there are lean proteins. Lean proteins contain mostly proteins; their macronutrient distributions are heavily skewed in favor of protein.
Examples: chicken breast, beef liver, tuna, turkey breast, buffalo, elk, mahi-mahi, pork tenderloin, venison, scallops, shrimp, 90/10 (or higher) ground beef, greek yogurt, sardines…
I use a 🥩 steak to codify lean proteins, with one 🥩 representing a hockey-puck-sized portion of a lean protein, which generally contains around 25 grams of protein and 100 calories (one ⚡).
Even though lean proteins have little-to-no carbs and fats, they still contain energetic material because proteins themselves contain energetic material, although the specific amount is debatable. The scientific standard says one gram of protein contains four calories, yet the building blocks of proteins (amino acids) generally aren't used for energy-recycling purposes. Proteins also take more energy to digest and absorb, meaning they will almost certainly yield less than four calories per gram. Alas, best practice (for some reason?) involves assuming they will deliver the full four calories per gram. And so, with every 🥩 comes one ⚡.
🥩+⚡ = one hockey-puck-sized portion of lean proteins
Second, there are chubby proteins. Chubby proteins contain a decent amount of protein alongside a decent amount of energetic material; their macronutrient distributions are split (somewhat) in half between proteins and carbs/fats.
Examples: pulled pork, turkey legs and thighs, chicken legs and thighs, cottage cheese, salmon, most unflavored and unsweetened yogurts, eggs…
Because of their energetic burden, a hockey-puck-sized portion of chubby proteins comes with an additional 100 calories (one lightning bolt).
🥩+⚡⚡ = one hockey-puck-sized portion of chubby proteins
Third, there are purgatory proteins. Purgatory proteins contain a small number of proteins alongside a higher amount of energetic material; their macronutrient distributions are skewed against protein. Examples: black beans, almonds, peanut butter, sausage, milk, most cheeses…
Although the proteins in these foods “count,” I don't see the foods themselves as proteins. I see them as the “other” macronutrient dominating their profile. In other words, peanut butter is a fat, not a protein. Black beans are a carb, not a protein.
The overall energetic impact of reaching the target protein intake depends on the specific foods eaten.
But we can factor out the minimum potential energetic cost of proteins. In other words, what would the cost be if you ate nothing but lean proteins?
This is an easy calculation. There's one ⚡ for every 🥩. Keeping with the 180-pound example, you'd need seven hockey-puck-sized portions of 🥩 lean proteins, which also delivers seven ⚡ units of energy.
MINIMUM ENERGETIC COST OF PROTEINS:
180 GRAMS OF LEAN PROTEINS / 25 =
7🥩+7⚡
____________________
🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
Subtract this minimum potential energetic cost of proteins from the overall calorie ceiling.
1. MAINTENANCE CALORIE CEILING
180 POUNDS x 14 =
~2500 CALORIES =
25⚡
_______________________
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
2. MINIMUM ENERGETIC COST OF PROTEINS:
180 GRAMS OF LEAN PROTEINS / 25 =
7🥩+7⚡
____________________
🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
3. REMAINDER ENERGY AFTER FACTORING OUT 7⚡
25⚡-7⚡=
18⚡
____________________
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
4. FULL PICTURE
180 POUNDS TO MAINTAIN
18⚡
7🥩
As mentioned, reaching your protein quota with real food will most certainly “cost” more energy because you won't eat solely lean proteins. This is okay. You just have to account for the extra energy by subtracting more lightning bolts when the time comes, which is easy (as you will soon see).
5. Carbs & fats
Reaching your target protein intake costs a certain amount of calories thanks to the fact that proteins contain (potential) energetic material. Unless you're eating an abundance of purgatory proteins, you should have some leftover calories. These calories get split between carbohydrates and fats.
Wars have been waged over both of these macronutrients. Years ago, fats were demonized. CHOLESTEROL KILLS! EGGS WILL MAKE YOU DROP DEAD! FAT MAKES YOU, UHHH, FAT? Today, carbs catch a lot of criticizm. INSULIN IS EVIL! ANTI-NUTRIENTS! FRUIT IS SUGAR! YOU DON’T NEED CARBS TO SURVIVE!
I don’t have the audacity (stupidity?) to condemn quality carbs or fats without valid medical reasons.
Both are useful.
Fats are essential, meaning we need them to survive, yet we can’t produce them ourselves. In other words, if you don’t eat fats, your body won’t be very happy (or alive, for that matter).
Carbohydrates aren't essential, but that doesn't make them useless. During muscle-based strength training, your muscles use glucose for energy. Glucose is (preferably) derived from the breakdown of carbohydrates.
Neither carbohydrates nor fats are negative as long as they're put into proper perspective: They are your body's energy nutrients. Unlike proteins, carbohydrates and fats are much more involved in the body's energy-recycling process… unless the type of carbohydrate in question is a plant carbohydrate.
When people talk about carbs, they're often referring to starchy and sugary carbohydrates. Underneath Mother Nature's umbrella, this includes fruit, plantains, berries, honey, roots, and tubers. Looking out a little further, you'll see oats, rice, corn, grains, pasta, bread, and other wheat-flour-based products.
There's a big difference between starchy and sugary carbohydrates and plant carbohydrates.
Plant carbs contain lower levels of starch and sugar. Examples: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, lettuce, celery, eggplant, onions, asparagus, sprouts, lettuce, mushrooms, spinach…
Making a distinction between these two types of carbohydrates is important because plant carbs generally have a skewed volume-to-energy ratio, which means they don't contain much energetic material and they're difficult to eat in large quantities. For instance, you need to eat 3x the amount of broccoli (in volume) to match the caloric yield of potatoes.
- 200g raw broccoli = 68 cals.
- 200g red potatoes = 178 cals.
This doesn't even account for fiber, which is an undigestable type of carbohydrate that won't yield energetic material. Factoring out the 5 grams of fiber, 200g of broccoli contains closer to 50 calories.
Because of the volume-to-energy-and-fiber ratio of plant carbs, I generally don't include them in my calculations. I eat as much of them as I want. I'm not dumb enough to say they don't “count,” but considering 6 cups of broccoli only sets me back around 150 calories, I'm not worried.
I use a 🥦 broccoli to codify plant carbs, with one 🥦 representing a who-cares amount of foliage.
I'm way more measured with starchy-sugary carbs and fats, but, as mentioned, I don't play favorites: I eat both. The only thing I care about is respecting my remainder energy allotment for the day. And I think of energy in 100-calorie chunks.
100 calories of fat = ⚡
100 calories of s-s carbs = ⚡
100 calories of energy from chubby proteins = ⚡
One apple (s-s carb) contains around 100 ⚡ calories. Two tablespoons of peanut butter (fat) contain close to 200 ⚡⚡ calories. One donut with sprinkles (s-s carb + fat) contains around 300 ⚡⚡⚡ calories. One chicken thigh (chubby protein) contains around 100 ⚡ calories (since I already factored out the minimum cost of my protein intake, I'm only considering the “extra” fat content in chicken thighs).
Mix and match.
- 1 donut ⚡⚡⚡ =
- 3 chicken thighs ⚡⚡⚡ =
- 1 apple ⚡ + 2 tbsp peanut butter ⚡⚡…
Of course, there's quality to consider. Fruit is better than frankenfood, but you can eat almost anything without ruining your body composition as long as you respect your remainder energy allotment.
6. Skeleton
This is my theoretical maintenance food intake, what I will refer to as the Status Quo Standard:
STATUS QUO STANDARD
205 POUNDS x 14 =
~2900 CALORIES =
21⚡+8🥩
_________________________
🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩🥩
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡⚡
The 8🥩 of protein pertains to hockey-puck-sized portions of protein-rich foods. The 21⚡ of energy gets chewed into when I eat 2S carbs, fats, and chubby proteins.
This is a theoretical food intake because neither calories nor macronutrients are “foods.”
Translation is necessary.
The next step is turning this theoretical food intake into an actual food intake.
Diet design considers: what specific foods you eat, what specific times you eat, how many times you eat,
meal time
meal frequency
meal density
meal