8 Steps To Improve Your Progress With Nutrition

If you want to improve your physique or your performance in the gym, you need to have your nutrition on point! That's why I've put together a list of 8 steps that are essential to enhance your nutritional intake and take your results to the next level!

Step 1 - Know Your Goal 

You have to have a set goal if you need to dial in your nutrition. For every goal, there is a certain way to eat to make that goal easier to accomplish. Here are a few goals and their recommended calorie intakes:

• Build Muscle – calorie surplus
• Body Recomposition – calorie cycling leading to an average calorie intake around maintenance
• Lose Fat – calorie deficit
• Improve Performance (strength, endurance, etc) – maintenance calories or above*

*You can make some progress with your performance while losing fat, but it's not optimal.

Step 2 - Know Your Required Calorie Intake

Now that you have your goal set, you have an idea of what your calorie balance should come out like. Here is a simple table to find your calorie intake at various levels, based on your body type:

If you don't know your body type, the simplest way to find out is to wrap your middle finger and thumb around your opposite wrist. If they don't touch, you are most likely an endomorph. If they touch, you are a mesomorph. If they overlap, you are an ectomorph. This test is usually pretty accurate.

This table is a good estimation of the calorie intake required for active individuals. If the only physical activity you do every day is your workout, you might want to take one away from your multiplier factor, since your calorie burning potential is lower than someone who physically exerts themselves inside and outside the gym.

Step 3 - Know Your Macronutrient Ratio

Your macronutrient ratio depends on your body weight and your body type.

First, decide on how much protein you need per day. The general recommendation is 1g/lb of body weight. This is actually a bit more than is required, but it's an easy rule of thumb to remember and it doesn't hurt to have a little extra protein.

After that is decided, the rest of your calories should be divided by Carbohydrates and Fats. Studies have shown that as long as your calorie intake is right, the ratio of carbs and fat isn't too important for body composition. However, there are some guidelines that tend to fit better with people of a certain body type:

• Endomorphs – less carbohydrate tolerant, more fats than carbs, or equal proportions
• Mesomorphs – slightly more carbs than fat
• Ectomorphs – many more carbs than fats

This isn't set in stone, but here are the ratios that tends to work well with people who have tested it:

• Endomorphs – 50% Carbs, 50% Fats
• Mesomorphs – 60% Carbs, 40% Fats
• Ectomorphs – 70% Carbs, 30% Fats

As long as you hit your macronutrient targets within 5-10g, you are doing a great job and will see progress!

Step 4 – Know Your Required Water Intake

Many people only worry about their food intake and forget that they need to optimize their water intake as well!

Water needs vary from person to person. There is a large range of fluid levels that can hydrate a person well enough. To make things easier, I've come up with a simple formula for finding an amount of water to drink per day that never leads to dehydration, or over-hydration which is just as dangerous.

Simply divide your body weight, in lbs, by 2. That is the required ounces of water per day that you should be drinking. Here are a few examples:

• Body weight is 120 lbs – water intake is 60 oz per day
• Body weight is 176 lbs – water intake is 88 oz per day
• Body weight is 200 lbs – water intake is 100 oz per day

The old rule of 8 cups per day doesn't account for the fact that we are all different sizes and require different amounts of water!

One way to make your water intake easier to track, and finish, is to invest in the ISOJug. It's an insulated water jug that also has a spot for an ice pack, leading to cooler water for a longer time. Simply fill up your jog each morning with your required water intake and drink it throughout the day!

Step 5 - Plan Your Meals Ahead Of Time

So you now know your calorie and macronutrient goals. Now it's time to plan out meals that fit those goals easily. Doing this in advance leads to better dietary adherence and better results!

What I like to do is start by picking my protein source for the meal that I'm planning. My go to is either Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast, or 93% Lean Ground Beef.

Once I've picked my protein and optimized the amount for my protein goal, I move onto the fat source. You want a good balance between Saturated Fats, Monounsaturated Fats, and Polyunsaturated Fats throughout the day, so make sure to vary your fat sources regularly.

Lastly, I fill up the calories with my Carbohydrate source. This could be anything from Fruits to Grains. As long as I calculate a good balance that will help me hit my goals for the day, I'm happy!

I could even go for something as simple as this:

• 8 oz (measured raw) Chicken Breast
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil (1 for cooking Chicken, other for sauce)
• ¾ cup (measured raw) Brown Rice
• Seasoning Mix (which I mix with the extra tbsp of oil to use as a sauce over the Chicken and Rice)

Obviously, you don't have to go with something this simple, but that's how easy it can be!

Simply spread out your protein, carbs, and fats between however many meals you want to eat per day and create meals to hit the targets for each meal.

You can eat the same meal day after day, or you can switch it up regularly. Once you get the hang of creating the meals based on your required macronutrients, it's simple to create endless recipes!

Step 6 - Meal Prep Your Meals

The next step to enhancing your nutritional intake and your progress is to meal prep your meals in advance. This will lead to better adherence since there are times where you have little time to eat and simply don't have time to cook. When you already have meals prepared, you don't have to worry about that extra cooking time!

I like to cook a week's worth of meals in advance. I typically do this on a Sunday. If you are making multiple different meals, you can still cook all your proteins at once and season afterwards for the different flavors.

Take my Chicken, Oil and Rice example: if you want this to seem like a different meal, you can switch up the seasonings every single day. The macronutrients will still be almost identical and you don't have to meal prep anything besides the Chicken and Rice in bulk!

Storing your meals in the right containers is important! I recommend the ISOBag Meal Prep Containers. They come in different sizes and are Microwave, Dishwasher, and Freezer safe, making storage and clean up simple!

Step 7 - Prepare For Meals On The Go

You'll never be at home for 100% of your meals if you are like 99% of us! That's why it's important to prepare for meals on the go. If you have pre made meals in your refrigerator but aren't able to take them on the go, what are they really worth?!

That's why I recommend investing in an ISOBag. The one you choose really depends on how many meals you need to take with you, and what else you'd like to keep in the bag. For example, if you are planning on hitting the gym when you are out, you need some extra room in your ISOBag for your gym gear.

If you simply just need to take 1-2 meals and that's it, you can go with a smaller ISOBag designed for a few meal prep containers.

Having an ISOBag on hand will help your adherence immensely!

Step 8 - Analyze Results & Adjust

After a few weeks on your set calorie and macronutrient intake you should start seeing results. If the results don't match your goal, it's time to adjust your calorie intake. When you adjust, you can usually leave your macronutrient ratios exactly the same. Keep the protein intake the same and the carbs and fat adjust up or down with the calorie adjustment.

Analyze your results closely and adjust accordingly. What you are doing now will not work forever. Things change so you have to be willing to change along with them to continue to see results!

Make Some Progress!

Now you know the 8 steps that are going to help you conquer your goals more efficiently and effectively. Follow them closely and results are basically guaranteed. Use the Isolator Fitness products to help you out and stay on track with your diet as much as possible. Good luck!