RESULTS

Energy Balance

This nutrition estimate is designed to support a healthy RMR, account for the thermic effect of food, and support all work inside and outside of the gym. You will have the potential to build muscle and burn fat at the same time while consuming this quantity of food, pushing yourself in the gym, and being consistent in all aspects of the fit lifestyle. This is the foundation for a body recomposition. We always advise you listen to your body and adapt accordingly, and this estimate can serve as a reliable initial baseline custom tailored to you.

Additionally, the other nutrient estimates on the site are based on this energy balance therefore this helps serve as a reference point to launch an accelerated muscle growth or shred phase.

10% Energy Surplus

Consume 10% more calories than you’ll burn. Expect a small weight increase with the addition of a good amount of muscle, a steady rise in strength, and potentially some added body fat. Possible examples of people who might consume a 10% energy surplus…

• Beginner and recreational lifters
• Fatphobic people
• Endomorphs
• Advanced lifters who aren’t very active outside of the gym
• You can also consume a small energy surplus on a specific day where you train lagging muscle groups or high priority muscle groups to improve the development of those specific muscles

15% Energy Surplus

Consume 15% more calories than you’ll burn. Expect a gradual weight increase with the addition of a great amount of muscle, a surge in strength gains, and added body fat. Possible examples of people who might consume a 15% energy surplus…

• Mesomorphs
• Advanced lifters who are moderately active outside of the gym
• You can also consume a moderate energy surplus on a specific day where you train lagging muscle groups or high priority muscle groups to quickly improve the development of those specific muscles

20% Energy Surplus

Consume 20% more calories than you’ll burn. Expect a quick weight increase with the addition of a substantial amount of muscle, rapid and consistent strength gains, and immanent fluff. Possible examples of people who might consume a 20% energy surplus…

• Ectomorphs
• “Hard Gainers”
• Athletes in their offseason seeking a dramatic transformation
• Those training two times in one day
• Advanced lifters who are very active outside of the gym
• You can also consume a high energy surplus on a specific day where you train lagging muscle groups or high priority muscle groups to very rapidly improve the development of those specific muscles

Linear Dieting Energy Deficit

Linear dieting is a nutrition strategy where you’ll have the same calorie deficit every day of your shred phase unless you take a diet break. If you want to lose body fat without having any extremely high or low carb days throughout the week and eat more total food each day, linear dieting is for you. Expect gradual, sustained weight loss.

If you choose to use linear dieting for your fat loss journey, make sure you calculate the proper calorie intake and macros to support your activity level for that specific day. For example, over the course of one week if you’re resting for 2 days, training and relatively sedentary for 4 days, and training and highly active for 1 day, please calculate the necessary food intake for each specific day. Linear dieting does not mean you’ll eat the same thing every day. Linear dieting means you’ll have the same net calorie deficit every day. Your food intake will change if your activity level changes to ensure you’re in the proper calorie deficit for that specific day.

We have nutrition estimates designed to produce weight loss at .5%, 1%, and 1.5% of your bodyweight per week. Expect natural weight fluctuations every day but the gradual reduction of bodyweight will average around .5, 1, or 1.5% per week pending which deficit you choose. We recommend you choose weight loss at a rate of .5-1% per week as this will better preserve your muscle and health.

Lastly, if you lose ~5% of your total bodyweight, we advise you recalculate calories and macros based on your new, lower bodyweight. Because it doesn’t cost as much energy to move your new, lighter frame, your calorie intake will be lower for the same amount of work, cardio, intensity of cardio, etc. Remember, you’ll have same net energy deficit every day with linear dieting therefore your calorie intake will have to continue to drop lower and lower, you’ll have to do more work, or you’ll have to do more intense cardio. With steadily declining food or consistently increasing work you’re destined to get fatigued. We advise you take diet breaks to help maintain your health and refresh your body, mind, and desire to keep losing body fat when you get bogged down.

Diet Breaks

Diet breaks are a highly recommended, carefully crafted recess from energy restriction. These are earned breaks aimed at recovering your health rather than cheat meal filled, all you can eat, free for all’s.

During a diet break you will consume an energy surplus driven through a very high carb intake. Consuming this continuous energy surplus for ≥72 hours will lead to enhanced restoration of your training performance, muscle mass, and hormonal health. Expect to feel the stress of dieting alleviated but also a drastic but temporary increase in bodyweight. You will consume an extremely high amount of carbs; therefore, you will hold a lot of water, glycogen, and likely consume a sizeable volume of salt.

You don’t have to make the diet break last 3 days, but 3 days will provide more positive hormonal changes compared to a 1 or 2 day pause in dieting. A 1 or 2 day diet break is great for psychological reprieve but not as many beneficial physiological changes will occur. Nevertheless, 1 or 2 day diet breaks do have a purpose to restore your mind’s vigor, and you can take them if you’d like. Additionally, you don’t have to consume all of the carbs, but if you’re hungry and your body is telling you to eat, please eat!

When Should You Take a Diet Break?

Take a diet break when your body is craving for one. If you have a larger weekly calorie deficit and you’re losing weight faster, you’ll likely want more frequent diet breaks. For example…

• If you’re shredding at 1.5% bodyweight lost per week, you will probably want a diet break every 3-6 weeks
• If you’re shredding at .5% or 1% bodyweight lost per week, you will probably want a diet break every 6-10 weeks

Besides the magnitude of your calorie deficit and corresponding rate of weekly weight loss, there are other potential reasons to take a diet break such as…

• You lose motivation to shred. Dejection is one of the biggest struggles while losing weight. A negative mood might depress your training performance and even prompt uncontrolled binge eating which could reverse the progress you’ve made. The body is nearly a perfect physiological engine from the neck down but the part that’s above the neck makes the decisions so it’s best to keep that healthy, sane, and happy.
• Your weight loss plateaus for >3 weeks and you’re lowering calories or increasing physical work to create a larger energy deficit.
• Your strength starts to dramatically decline at a rate you’re uncomfortable with or your weight training starts to become more of a burden than a stress relief.
• You accumulate many signs and symptoms of metabolic adaptation.
• We recommend you don’t go longer than 10 weeks without a diet break, even if your weekly calorie deficit is small. The only exception would be losing a very high amount of body fat and if that’s the case, please get blood work to check your leptin.
• You simply want to look at your progress. Remember, you’re going to be in a sustained calorie deficit, and over time, even with refeeds during the week, your muscle glycogen will gradually lower. If you hold less carbs, you’ll hold less water. The muscle cell is ~75% water. Essentially, you’ll still have some body fat and your muscles will be flat; therefore, you think you’ll look “skinny fat.” Sometimes you just need to eat carbs, restore your glycogen, and see your muscles full again in order to stay on track and appreciate the progress you’ve made. If you want to see what you’re transforming into, please do so! You can take smaller, 1-2 day diet breaks if you want to see your progress and get a little stress relief, especially if you’re linear dieting or using 1 refeed day per week.

One Refeed Day Per Week Energy Deficit

If you want to steadily lose body fat and have 1 day per week of controlled, strategic overfeeding, using 1 refeed day per week is for you. Because of the temporary calorie surplus for 1 day, the 6 fat loss focused days will have a little larger calorie deficit than linear dieting. Additionally, you’ll have more weight fluctuations compared to linear dieting because you’ll have a higher carb intake for 1 day during the week. Making use of 1 refeed day per week is ideal for those who want…

• A little mental reprieve each week from dieting
• Potentially faster fat loss compared to linear dieting as fewer carbs on shred days might translate to faster carb depletion and thus enable more fat burning
• Better preservation of muscle mass in the specific muscle group(s) you train and consume your refeed day on

If you choose to use one refeed day per week, make sure you calculate the proper calorie intake and macros to support your activity level for that specific day. For example, over the course of one week if you’re resting for 2 days, training and relatively sedentary for 4 days, and training and highly active for 1 day, please calculate the necessary food for each specific day. Even on the shred days where you’re in an energy deficit, make sure you’re in an appropriate energy deficit for that day’s specific activity level. Additionally, make sure you’re eating enough food on your refeed day to be in a calorie surplus for that specific day.

We have nutrition estimates designed to produce weight loss at .5%, 1%, and 1.5% of your bodyweight per week. Expect natural weight fluctuations every day but the gradual reduction of bodyweight will average around .5, 1, or 1.5% per week pending which deficit you choose. We recommend you choose weight loss at a rate of .5-1% per week as this will better preserve your muscle and health.

Lastly, just like linear dieting, if you lose ~5% of your total bodyweight, we advise you recalculate calories and macros based on your new, lower bodyweight. You simply won’t burn as many calories moving a lighter frame therefore nutrition changes are inevitable during a fat loss phase. But remember, the entire point of weight loss is to change your body so you should expect to change your nutrient intake to match the new you! Of course, feel free to take a diet break when you need to as well.

Two Refeed Days Per Week Energy Deficit

If you want to steadily lose body fat and have 2 days per week of controlled, strategic overfeeding, using 2 refeed days per week is for you. Because of the temporary calorie surplus for 2 days, the 5 fat loss focused days will have a much larger calorie deficit than linear dieting. Additionally, you’ll have the most weight fluctuations refeeding 2 times per week because you’ll significantly reduce and increase your carb intake throughout the week. Expect dramatic fluid shifts. You can consume your refeed days back to back or space them out however you’d like. Making use of 2 refeed days per week is ideal for those who want…

• More frequent mental reprieve each week from dieting at the expense of more hardship during fat loss focused days
• Potentially faster fat loss compared to linear dieting as fewer carbs on shred days might translate to faster carb depletion and thus enable more fat burning
• Better preservation of muscle mass in the specific muscle group(s) you train and consume your refeed days on

Because you’ll likely train each muscle group ~2 times per week, spacing your refeeds out and taking them when you train particularly high priority muscle group(s) can really help preserve those specific muscle group(s). For example, if you train legs 2 times per week (Monday and Thursday), you can start your refeed days on both leg days (Monday and Thursday). Give yourself energy to fuel training and accelerate gains after the workout ends by timing a 24 hour refeed period around your lift!

If you choose to use two refeed days per week, make sure you calculate the proper calorie intake and macros to support your activity level for that specific day. For example, over the course of one week if you’re resting for 2 days, training and relatively sedentary for 4 days, and training and highly active for 1 day, please calculate the necessary food for each specific day. Even on the shred days where you’re in an energy deficit, make sure you’re in an appropriate energy deficit for that day’s specific activity level. Additionally, make sure you’re eating enough food on your refeed days to be in a calorie surplus for both days.

We have nutrition estimates designed to produce weight loss at .5%, 1%, and 1.5% of your bodyweight per week. Remember, using 2 refeed days per week will create dramatic changes in water weight throughout the week but the gradual reduction of bodyweight will still average around .5, 1, or 1.5% per week pending which deficit you choose. Make sure you have patience and trust the process when using 2 refeed days per week. We recommend you choose weight loss at a rate of .5-1% per week as this will better preserve your muscle and health. Making use of 2 refeed days per week and losing weight at 1.5% per week will lead to extremely low calorie intakes on Shred Days.

Lastly, just like the other dietary strategies, please recalculate your calories and macros when you have a sustained loss in bodyweight of ~5% and take diet break when you need to as well.

Reverse Dieting to Minimize Weight Regain

After a fat loss phase ends nobody wants to regain the body fat they just lost. We know you did not make consistent sacrifices simply to have all that work go to waste. We believe a fat loss phase is only successful if you keep the body fat off, restore your strength, and most importantly, expeditiously recover your health. Metabolic adaptation and hormonal irregularities are naturally inevitable with shreds, but our goal is to help you rapidly restore and repair optimal health and hormonal function. If you continue to undereat and deprive your body of the raw materials you need to properly function, keeping the weight off will be more difficult as you’ll have a slower metabolism, you won’t burn as many calories outside of the gym due to chronic fatigue, and you won’t burn as many calories in the gym due to a sustained limitation in your training performance.

This nutrition estimate is designed to promote a progressive return to good health while keeping the body fat off. This calorie intake is undereating relative to your predicted energy balance which is not optimal for health restoration, but it is carb filled to improve your leptin, strength in the gym, and vigor outside of the gym. This is not a slow 100 calorie/week increase that dramatically prolongs suffering while keeping your health and mood depressed.

Expect to gain weight with any dieting strategy where you increase your carb intake because you will store more water, glycogen, and likely consume more salt (which can make you hold water). Please understand gaining water is not gaining body fat. Also, remember if you ever want to restore your health, vitality, and optimal training performance, you’ll have to eat carbs one day and hold the water associated with such. We recommend you consume the carbs sooner rather than doing a slow reverse diet which simply prolongs the misery of not eating enough to support healthy function.

This reverse diet option is broken down into 2 phases. To reiterate, both of these phases are undereating relative to your predicted energy balance which is not optimal for your physiological health (hormones, bones, muscles, metabolism, and general function). However, these phases will help keep your mind at ease and reassure you, you aren’t regaining body fat back after prolonged energy restriction. This approach is a balance of catering to both physiological and psychological health. We recommend each phase last ~7 days. An example of finishing a shred and using this reverse dieting strategy would be…

• Days 1-7 = consume phase 1 calories and macros
• Days 8-14 = consume phase 2 calories and macros
• Day 15 = return to energy balance

If this increase is too fast for your comfort, you can also…

• Consume phase 1 and wait until your weight stabilizes before jumping to phase 2
• Consume phase 2 and wait until your weight stabilizes before jumping to energy balance

Reverse Dieting to Jump Start the Recovery of Health and Performance

Prolonged calorie restriction is accompanied by extreme hunger, especially if you’ve been undereating for many weeks or severely undereating with a large difference in your current calorie intake and the energy balance estimation. If you’re very hungry and craving food constantly, it’s a sign of reduced leptin, increased ghrelin, and increased cortisol. The potential impact of these hormonal changes can be reduced thyroid hormone (the dreaded slow metabolism), impaired reproductive health, sleep deprivation, muscle and bone loss, chronic fatigue, and a holistic deterioration of your health and well-being. Our goals are to recover your health, help you feel like you again, and keep improving your body composition.

This nutrition estimate is designed to expedite a return to health, rapidly reduce hunger, and immediately amplify your training performance. This nutrient surplus is mildly similar to a diet break in that it is deliberately carb filled and only meant to last a short duration. Think about all those carbs you’ve been craving: pasta, bagels, sweet fruit, cereal, honey, and simply more of the food you’ve already been eating such as rice and potatoes… Eat them in a controlled, tactical manner.

If you want to rapidly feel reenergized both in and out of the gym, we advise you consume this reverse dieting strategy for the first 3 days of your food increase. Expect a tremendous gain in water weight due to the high calorie and carb intake but keep in mind you’re only overeating from energy balance by a few hundred calories which will not equate to even one pound of tissue gain. Also, keep in mind a healthy chunk of the tissue weight you gain from increasing calories and carbs will be your old muscle coming back, and muscle helps you stay leaner in the long run. A scientifically based, carb-filled energy surplus by a few hundred calories for 3 days will certainly lead to far less body fat gain and positive hormonal changes compared to binge eating or uncontrolled cheat meals!

The Reverse Dieting Options

We want to review the multiple reverse dieting strategies you can use after you finish your shred or begin a controlled food increase if you’ve accidentally been undereating and you’re feeling the signs and symptoms of metabolic adaptation. You deserve to be comfortable with your nutrition when you decide to eat more food; therefore, we’ll give you the best evidence based options and you choose the reverse dieting strategy that suits you.

Option 1 – Minimize Weight Regain
This option is ideal for those who’s primary goal is to gain as little body fat back as possible after the shred ends even if it means continuing to undereat and prolong your stress. This option is also well-suited for those who think they might be currently undereating and want to increase food without adding body fat.

• Days 1-7 of the food increase – consume Minimize Weight Regain Phase 1 calories and macros
• Days 8-14 of the food increase – consume Minimize Weight Regain Phase 2 calories and macros
• Day 15 – consume Energy Balance calories and either moderate or high carb macros
• Always make changes as your body, goals, and lifestyle habits change

Lastly, remember we want you to be comfortable as you increase your calorie intake. Therefore, if these recommended food increases are too quick for your liking, you can also eat a specific amount of food until your weight stabilizes. If phase 1 lasts longer than 7 days, that’s perfectly fine!

Option 2 – Jump Start Your Recovery, Then Minimize Weight Regain
This option is ideal for those who want to balance rapid health restoration with keeping body fat off. If you’re constantly starving, feeling miserable, and tired, your body isn’t asking you to eat more; it’s begging you to eat more. Therefore, we advise you eat more sooner rather than later. If you are not constantly starving, drained, and fatigued, your body is telling you, you likely do not need a quick phase of a temporary large energy surplus. Listen to your body and decide if it is stressed and craving a lot of calories. If you decide to do a temporary, large energy surplus, we advise…

• Days 1-3 of the food increase – consume Jump Start the Recovery of Health and Performance calories and macros
• Days 4-10 of the food increase – consume Minimize Weight Regain Phase 1 calories and macros
• Days 11-17 of the food increase – consume Minimize Weight Regain Phase 2 calories and macros
• Day 18 – consume Energy Balance calories and either moderate or high carb macros
• Always make changes as your body, goals, and lifestyle habits change

Lastly, if your body is telling you to increase food at a faster rate, please listen to it and increase food sooner. For example, if your weight is stable and you’re hungry at day 8, jump to phase 2 instead of waiting until day 11 to start phase 2.

Option 3 – Return to Energy Balance Immediately
This option is ideal for those who are excited to jump into a new, consistent routine, feel reenergized fast, and balance growing new muscle with staying relatively lean.

• Day 1 of the food increase – consume Energy Balance calories and either moderate or high carb macros
• Always make changes as your body, goals, and lifestyle habits change

Option 4 – The Rapid Restoration of Health, Performance, and Muscle Growth
This option is ideal for those who want to the fastest return to health post calorie restriction and immediately start adding a lot more muscle. The likelihood of fat gain is increased after a prolonged shred phase but a healthy chunk of the fat lost during the shred will remain off, especially if considerable body fat was lost.

• Days 1-3 of the food increase – consume Jump Start the Recovery of Health and Performance calories and macros
• Day 4 of the food increase – consume Energy Balance calories and either moderate or high carb macros
• Always make changes as your body, goals, and lifestyle habits change.