Take a look at this Nutrition Pyramid created by Eric Helms.

How many of you have worried and researched which whey protein in best for you and will give you the biggest hit of protein? (I have!)

How many of you have worried about consuming too many Carbohydrates late into the evening worrying it will turn straight into fat? (I DEFINITELY have!)

How many of you have considered the latest fat burning supplement to get you ripped for summer? (Not me, well not yet anyway…)

Again, take another look at the pyramid.

The Pyramid provides a back to basics view with the order of importance (the base the most important, the tip the least) focused on calories and macronutrients, with supplements being the least important within the diet, despite what you might think with the amount of advertisements we have

forced upon us in the health and fitness industry.

This pyramid can be just as easily used for either muscle gain or for fat loss.

1) Energy Balance. CALORIES ARE KING.

The fundamental process to any bodyweight goal is understanding calories. If you want to gain weight then you should be consuming more calories than you are burning and if weight loss is your goal you need to aim to be in a calorie deficit.

How many calories should I be consuming? Simply type into google ‘Online Calorie Calculator’. They will ask your age/gender/height/weight and an activity level. The outcome figure will be to maintain your current weight with suggestions of how many calories you should consume to gain/ lose weight. These calculations serve a great starting point which you can easily tweak as you move on and progress, i.e. not losing weight? Drop your calorie goal. Losing too much too quickly? Increase things by 5-10% until you’re losing at a more sensible rate.

Using the app MyFitnessPal is the easiest way to track the food you are eating on a daily basis.

2) Macronutrients.

This stage is the breakdown of where the calories come from. Protein, carbohydrates and fats are your Macronutrients. Your macro split is very individual dependent on your goal. Protein intake tends to be pretty consistent day to day. Have a play around with fats and carbohydrates ratios and see what works best for your lifestyle, training regime and energy levels.

Remember that it’s easy to get caught up in this part but don’t get too concerned… remember that calories are king!

3) Micronutrients. Our micronutrients are made up from vitamins and minerals. We are talking about very small quantities within our diet but can make a large difference within our general health, performance, mental state and hunger levels.

Get in your 5 a day and eat a good variety of food. Perhaps take a multivitamin too if you’re worried and you’ll likely be covered.

4) Nutrient Timing.

This is how we distribute our calories throughout the day. Some individuals may be strict on meal frequency, calorie cycling and nutrition pre and post workout.

The majority of us will not need to worry about this stage, as long as you are hitting your calorie target across the day and feeling energised to train and keep focused at work, consuming your dinner before or after 7.30pm will make little difference to the bigger picture.

5) Supplements. These are not essential and are in place to supplement the diet if there are any shortages in any areas. Yes they serve a purpose but if you are eating natural foods throughout your day the chances are that supplements are not essential.

I cannot stress enough the importance of starting at the bottom tier of this pyramid then once you understand your calorie intake through the help of MyFitnessPal. It is very unlikely that you are not getting your results purely because you’re not on the correct supplement and I can be sure that your calories are the issue! Get wise, get results.

All the best with the training!

Dan Phoenix