NUTRITION: Performance vs Aesthetics

The reason there are so many conflicting opinions in nutrition is that there is more than one way to skin a cat. The number of methods you could employ are near endless... Which is why I always like to talk and work in principles. Principles being the things that are always true, and merely applied through a chosen method. When it comes to performance nutrition and nutrition for aesthetics, there are key principles that differ, and I'm going to cover a few for you now in just enough detail for you to figure out what's right for you. Then I can coach you towards putting that into action. But first, let's just make sure we're on the same page when we're talking about performance and aesthetics.

• Performance: Being able to perform at your best whatever the sport through sustained energy, complete recovery, and complete macro/micro nutrition.

• Aesthetics: Reduction of excess body-fat to reveal muscle mass of the desired amount.

Those aren't dictionary definitions by the way... I literally just pulled them out of my arse to be honest. But it's what I mean when I start discussing the below principles: Calorie Balance For performance the main use of the calorie is to fuel the body for performance. That means enough energy coming in to cover your regular day to day physical processes, PLUS enough to fuel your training/performance in the moment AND enough to fuel adequate recovery after exercise to perform again at the next important juncture. For aesthetics, your performance is not the main priority, often a calorie deficit is. This means that you will be eating LESS than you burn through the combined total of your day to day activity and additional exercise and you will burn bodyfat for energy. This WILL negatively impact your recovery, and WILL negatively impact your performance, but the scale will drop. If your aesthetic goal is to gain weight, you will be in a calorie surplus, to provide excess energy for movement, performance, recovery and subsequently weight gain. You performance will probably be good, weight in the gym will go up, you'll get stronger and potentially more powerful, building muscle in the process. There may however be a point where your weight gain may become detrimental to performance (power to weight ratio), and strength/size don't always transfer well to sport. So long story short, for performance we're pitching calories to maintain in and around 1-2kg+/- your "fighting weight" (where you perform best). For aesthetics you're pitching your calories initially at a 10% deficit or surplus depending on which way you want to progress, with performance potentially taking a hit in the process due to impaired recovery or weight gain depending on which way the needle is moving. Protein The basic recommendation for protein is 0.8g per kg of bodyweight for an untrained individual to not be protein deficient. Add training and optimisation into the mix to help your muscles repair and potentially grow bigger and stronger, you're absolutely going to need more. The basic recommendation for individuals performing high intensity training increases to somewhere in the range of 1.4-2g of protein per kg of bodyweight. Where you pitch within that range comes down to your specific goals. If your aim is performance or weight gain, you may want to edge down the recommendation towards to 1.4-1.8g per kg of bodyweight. This allows more of your total caloric intake to come from the energy giving macros of fat and particularly carbs. This will help provide the energy required for performance and recovery while still providing enough for muscular repair. When in a calorie deficit and aiming to lose body-fat however, you may want to climb up the recommendation closer to 2g per kg of bodyweight. This is because in the absence of consumed energy in the bloodstream, your body will break down stores of energy in the body (body-fat or lean muscle). A higher protein intake at closer to 2g per kg bodyweight is show to help preserve your lean muscle mass, and ensure more of this energy demand comes from stored body-fat instead (ideal). Carbohydrates and Fat Carbohydrates and fat are the main sources of energy for movement within your body. Fat stores more energy but it takes longer to access it, carbohydrates store less but its easier and quicker to digest and access. For fat loss, it is proven that whether you go high carb/low fat or high fat/low carb, it makes no significant difference to your body composition as long as you're in a calorie deficit. So you can do whatever is easiest and most enjoyable for you. Simple as that. For performance and muscle gain, it's slightly different. You need to consider the fuelling for your sport, it's demands, energy systems, and a little about your own preference and what makes you feel like you're performing at your best. So doing what is easiest and more enjoyable may not be best for performance. Generally, an athlete or weight gainer would be consuming more carbohydrates as a source of energy due to its ease of digestion and availability. You could be looking at a range of 5-7g of carbs per kg of bodyweight, (or even as high as 12g per kg bodyweight if you're an extreme endurance athlete). Fat then, as the remaining macronutrient, will make up the remainder of your calorie needs after protein and carbs are accounted for. Calculating YOUR Macros This is never an exact science, but people want it to be... so I'm going to break it down into a little system of how I would initially calculate your macro needs based off you goals. But remember.... this would only ever be a starting point and we would regularly assess performance, progress, how you feel, how you recover, how you sleep, etc to make further adjustments. Everyone is slightly different and what works for some may not work for others. Performance Macros

• Calories - Around maintenance

• Protein - 1.4-1.8g per kg bodyweight

• Carbs - 5-7g per kg bodyweight

• Fat - Remaining calorie amount /9

Fat Loss Macros

• Calories - 10% Deficit

• Protein - 1.6-2g per kg bodyweight

• Carbs - Personal preference

• Fat - Personal preference

• In the absence of personal preference 50/50 calorie split between carbs and fat.

Muscle Gain Macros

• Calories - 10% Surplus

• Protein - 1.4-1.8g per kg bodyweight

• Carbs - 5-7g per kg bodyweight

• Fat - Remaining calorie amount /9

This is all based off protein and carbs being 4 calories per gram, and fat being 9 calories per gram and using the Mifflin Equation for estimating calories (I Googled it for you here). The next challenge is the systems or methods you put in place to apply these principles... but that's for another day. Thanks, Ian.