Without a doubt one of the most common questions that I receive from my clients on a regular basis is what should they eat and how much they should eat to achieve their health and fitness goals. Unfortunately there is no generic one size fits all response to this question. How a person should eat and how much they should eat is dependent on numerous factors such as age, gender, genetics, training goals, lifestyle, etc. Very rarely if ever do I design the exact same Nutritional Plan for two completely different individuals. Even if the two individuals in question have similar goals, my plans are never identical and are constantly changing depending on how the person is looking and feeling each week. Therefore there is much more complexity to perfecting the absolute best meal plan then simply following a diet that can be found online that’s been designed  for the masses and has no real science, structure or merit behind it. With that said, there are a few basic principles and guidelines that I follow when designing my Customized Nutritional Plans for both my clients and myself. Some of which I’ve shared with you below.

Are You Training for Performance or Aesthetics?

Before designing your own nutritional plan or enlisting in the services of an online coach to help you with your plan, you first need to ask yourself what you are training for. The question might seem fairly straightforward however it’s important that you answer it honestly and with assurance, or you will continue to struggle with your diet. If you are training to lose a great deal of weight in a specific period of time, your goal might be considered more aesthetic base. If you are training for a half marathon or an Ironman, then your goal might be considered more performance base. Defining your goal is the first step to designing your nutritional plan. Obviously someone who is trying to lose weight is going to need to reduce their overall caloric intake and increase their cardiovascular output. The person who is training for a specific sport however will be training primarily for the purpose of improving upon their strength and performance. In this case the person will most likely need to increase the overall caloric expenditure so that they can keep intensity levels high in the gym and remain competitive within their desired sport.

Define Your Goal & Execute Your Plan

Once you’ve defined your goal, then you can design your plan. When it comes to strategizing the most effective eating habits for your goals, sometimes having a general understanding of proper nutrition is not enough. You can not just simply follow a diet that may have worked for a friend or loved one, nor can you just start choosing “healthier” options in hopes that you will reach your goal. Remember, even healthy foods can contain LOTS of calories. Therefore if your goal is to lose weight and all you do is consume healthy foods but don’t keep track of your portions, then it can become very frustrating when you hit a plateau with your training or even worse, actually start to regain the weight that you originally lost. The same can be said if you are training for performance. Just because your favourite athlete claims to follow a particular diet and eat a particular way, does not mean that you should just copy what he or she is doing. You do not live nor do you probably train the exact same way as the professional athlete lives and trains. Therefore why would you eat the exact same way that they train?

Customized & Simplify

Anyone who trains with me on the floor or who works with me online knows that I NEVER record or keep track of any weights that they lift or workouts that they complete. I don’t do this because I’m lazy, I do this because it’s irrelevant. When it comes to my Customized Nutritional Plans, I take a very similar approach. Once a client and I have reached their target training goals and their set program that they have booked with me has expired, I delete the entire plan from my hard drive all together. Should the client decide to continue to work with me, or take a few months off before they return to allow me to continue to assist them with their diet, we simply start a new. During this period of time my client has changed and therefore the diet needs to change as well. What may have worked for one of my clients last year, may not and most likely will not work for them again this year. As we age, our bodies change. And as a result, we must change with them. Always make sure to take time to customize your approach as to how you go about constructing your own nutritional plan. Don’t just assume that because something worked for you once, it will work for you again. When it comes to improving upon your own athletic performance and refining your own aesthetics, many times nothing makes sense.

Keep an Open Mind

Finally, like anything we attempt to do in life, I think it’s extremely important to maintain and keep an open mind to what we are doing and how we are doing it. Even though I’m nearing twenty years in this industry, I’m constantly learning new fitness concepts and training techniques and are open to applying them to both my clients’ workouts as well as my own. Don’t be afraid to try a new diet plan. Don’t be apprehensive when it comes to rotating your macronutrients. And don’t become discouraged when something doesn’t work or does not pan out has you had originally planned. Be willing to make mistakes and be eager to learn from them.

“Instead Of Thinking Outside The Box, Get Rid Of The Box.”
Deepak Chopra

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove