Precision Nutrition Individualization Guide

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The Precisiop N utritio n

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Dr. John M . Berardi, Ph.D .

@ 2005, Science Link, Inc. AII rights reserved. You may not copy, share or distributethis work in any format or media with the express written consent of Science Link,Incorporated. For inquires, contact [email protected]

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lndividualization Guide 1

@ Part 1: One Size Fits AIIThe Tailor's Continuum : From One-size-Fits-A ll to BespokeDuring my recent trip to Europe, I had the opportunity to visit a master tailor in asmall town in northern Italy. A distant cousin of mine was in the market for a newsuit, and eager to demonstrate the renowned Italian craftsmanship, he brought me tothe shop of Signor Caruso.

Signor Caruso has spent his entire Iife making and fitting suits. His shop is small andoverstuffed with material and equipment. In it Iie swatches and bolts of the finestfabrics, from which the finest suits in the world are crafted by hand; every inchperfectly fit to the client, every cut perfectly made, every seam perfectly sewn.Caruso's suits are breathtaking to behold; they seem able to transform the averageinto the elegant.

I m ust say that I've never been much of a suit guy. In fact, for most of my adult Iife,I've been the tailor's worst nightmare, the weightlifting student - too oddly shaped tofit, too poor to pay. Furthermore, apart from a few weddings here and there, I'venever had much of a need.

But watching Caruso work was almost inspirational. You see, Caruso makes what arecalled bespoke suits. Bespoke suits are the finest money can buy; completelycustom , they are handmade and perfectly tailored b0th to the customer's desires andto his measurements. Materials, style, fit - everything is custom, right down to thepocket type and style of stitching. Among connoisseurs, they are held in higheresteem than any 'ëol-the-rack'' suits, higher even than the idmade-to-measure'' Iabels,versions of the designer suits customized at the factory. A bespoke suit can costupwards of $4000, and can require 3-5 fittings and months to complete. Seeing themaster in action, I understood why: the workmanship and attention to detail that gointo this one garment is truly astounding. He jokes that you needn't have anoccasion to wear one of his suits - with suits Iike these, the occasions find you.

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Tailor M ade NutritionGuess what? If you want the perfect body, and you want it drug free, your nutritionhad better be more bespoke than off-the-rack. You need to tailor your nutritionalplan to your own precise and individual specifications. You need more than a dietcopped off a website or out of a magazine - or at the very Ieast, you need to knowexactly how to modify those diets to suit your needs and help you reach your goals.(You do have goals, don't you?)

The purpose of this guide is to teach you how to do just that, to make your ownnutrition more Caruso than JC Penny. To do that, you'll need to modify yourexpectations right now: this isn't a diet guide, but rather what I would call a process

guide. You won't find tips and tricks here. You won't find recipes and meal plans.*

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You won't find biochemistry. W hat you'll find is the method behind nutritionaloptim ization and individualization; that is, the method you'll need to find the perfectdiet for you.

A warning: this method is simple to use, but very demanding in terms of discipline.Most of you will never use it in its entirety. But those of you who do will get as closeto perfect nutrition as you can possibly get on your own. My suggestion is that youread over the entire process, and try it as a complete system before you begin to pickand choose what parts of it you will and will not use.

Again, this isn't for everyone. Most will never have a perfectly tailored nutrition plan,just as very few will ever own a bespoke suit. But then again, those who do will Iookdamn good.

As Iong as this is understood, we can proceed.

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W here's Your Tem plate?There was one thing in particular about Caruso's method that struck a note with me.

There is no question that the process of creating a bespoke suit is extremelycomplex, requiring a skilled, experienced tailor, a repeatable method, and apainstaking attention to detail. Yet despite aII this, Caruso's method came across asalmost simple. In fact, every one of his custom suits starts from a single tem plate.This template or pattern is then modified for each customer over the course of manyfittings, eventually becoming the exquisitely tailored suit for which they pay $4000.

In other words, the bespoke suit - the perfect garment - begins as nothing morethan a one-size-fits-all template.

Rightly so, I'd say. Nutritional perfection, just Iike the sartorial variety, is an iterativeprocess. That is, it requires many iterations or repetitions of the design process toarrive at the destination. The master tailor doesn't expect to turn out a perfect suitby reading his customers palms or by some sort of divine revelation. Rather he callshis customer in for a fitting, modifying the suit to for a better fit. Then he does itagain and again.

He brings the customer back as often as necessary, fitting and modifying until he hascreated the perfect suit.

W ith nutrition, you m ust do the same. You must take a sim ple, basic nutritionaltemplate and test it out; modifying it according the results it brings you, and only you.Only by doing so can you arrive at the destination - the pedect plan.

As it stands now, there is no magic test, no ''eat right for your DNA'' kind ofprescriptive aid. Currently, the best we can do is employ a procedure that mixesinformed trial-and-error with the scientific method. We begin with a hypothesis (i.e., a

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Individualization Guide

@ basic nutritional plan), based on the best information we have, we test it (eatingaccording to plan for a set period of time), and we modify the hypothesis on the basis

of the results of our test (muscle gained, fat Iost, etc).

In other words, getting to the pedect plan will take time, effort, discipline andattention to detail. But first you need a point of origin from which to depart, a basictemplate that you can start with, test out, and modify as necessary. In this guide, 1'11show you how to build just such a template. 1'11 show you the individualizationprocess, provide some example cases, and direct you to some great tools andresources that will aid the proceu . '

Initially, Everyone Has The Sam e NeedsSo Iet's discuss this template, the meal plan you'll begin with. W hile it's true thatyou'll eventually need a special plan designed to meet your individual needs (bothphysiological and Iogistical), you don't need one just yet. In the beginning of yournutritional journey your individual needs are Iikely the same as everyone else in yourposition. You need:

A sim ple nutritional plan that you can im plement im mediately,complete with correct food choices and correct habits.

@ You must be able to put the plan into action today - not tomorrow, not next week, notnext year. It has to be so easy and so complete that you can begin it with your verynext m eal, and continue it with every meal thereafter until the habits that will sustainyour progress are in place.

Complex formulas, supplements, macronutrient ratios, micronutrient content or even- gasp - calories are aII things that you need not concern yourself with initially. Don'tget me wrong; you'll eventually concern yourself with aIl of those things. They willbecom e the variables that you can modify Iater. For now, however, it's best if youaccept that the rules I'm about to give you are the best place to start. If you wish tostart with a different tem plate, feel free to do so - the process described in thesearticles will help you correct your initial m istakes.

Stad N t& 1 0 Sim ple RulesYou will start out with a plan based on the 10 Habits of Highly Effective NutritionalPrograms. Clever name, no? Possibly illegal, too, I imagine. Oh well. E-rhe 10 Habitsof Highly Effective People, by Steven Covey, is a great book which I recommend highly- perhaps that and the extra 3 habits will stave off the Iawsuit). If you've forgottenthe rules, here's a sum mary:

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Habit 1: Eat every 2-3 hours.Habit 2: Eat complete, Iean protein with each feeding opportunity.Habit 3: Eat vegetables with each feeding opportunity.Habit 4: Eat veggies/fruits with any meal; Hother carbs'' only after exercise.

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Habit 5: Eat healthy fats daily.Habit 6: Don't drink beverages with more than O calories.Habit 7: Eat whole foods instead of supplements whenever possible.Habit 8: Plan ahead and prepare feedings in advance.Habit 9: Eat as wide a variety of good foods as possible.Habit 10: Plan to break the rules 10% of the time.

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So far, the Precision Nutrition materials have discussed exactly how to use these 10Habits to form your nutrition plan.

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Let's be really clear here. Like Senior Caruso's first steps in making a bespoke suit,the program begins with a one-size-fits aII plan. Well, two sizes - we've got men'sand wom en's portion sizes to account for. However, men and women don't need tobe told to eat more or Iess based on their gender - they already typically do that.Each one-size-fits aII plan, in the beginning, is equally well-suited to both the 150 Ib,7% body fat zdhardgainer'' and the 250 Ib 22% heavyweight.

In fact, as l've taught you so far, most of my dietary advice begins with this basic setof rules (the 10 Habits) and a basic template, just Iike Senior Caruso's. Remember,despite the myriad differences between individuals, everyone that com es to SeniorCaruso's shop starts with a basic tem plate and then, after a few visits, and a bit ofadditional measurement, he individualizes. Likewise, almost everyone who comes toSenior Berardi's shop begins with a basic template and then, after a few visits, and abit of additional measurement, gets individualized.

So here's my advice to you. If you're currently dissatisfied with your bodycomposition, your health, your energy Ievels, or your Ievels of daily and/or athleticperformance, regardless of how novice or advanced you are (we'II determine that in aminute), start with the 10 Habits above. Build a meal plan that is based exclusivelyon the 10 Habits and follow the template that you build. Follow that template,without modification, for about 3 - 5 weeks.

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Detailsw.wAnd S0 Fo4h...I know it's a tough sell. That's Iargely because you've been conditioned to believethat you need something different from everyone else. You're right! However, thebest way to build a custom diet is to begin with a basic plan and individualize basedon your own personal physiological responses. You can't get more perfectlyindividualized than that!

People tend to worry too m uch about calories, macronutrient ratios, and other detailsin the beginning, which in my opinion is just misplaced mental energy. Worryingabout caloric intake or macronutrient ratios while missing meals, making gross errorsin food selection and timing is just straightening the deck chairs on the Titanic. Inthe short term , in this case the 3 weeks to 5 weeks that I want you to follow a one-size-fits-all plan, nearly any sane caloric intake will at worst have negligible negative

impact on body composition, as Iong as the food selections are excellent. If you *

Individualization Guide 5

@ follow the 10 rules above, they will be. Simply put, at this stage, food selection,immediate application and consistency are critical', caloric intake is not.

Of course, such a plan may promote some great physical changes right up front.However, as suggested above, it may not. Your body may not change at aII during thefirst 3-5 weeks. Since I'm assuming that physical change is exactly what most peopleare Iooking for from their nutrition programs (a Ieaner and/or more muscularphysique), 1'11 share a basic principle with you here:

To improve body composition in the Iongterm, you must forget aboutbody com position in the short term .

Remember, what I'm proposing here is a Iong-term procedure for nutritionaloptimization, and in turn, optimal body composition, health and performance. Tomake it work, you'll have to adopt the mindset of the Iong-term thinker, whounderstands that success in any endeavor comes not from fads and schemes butfrom the continuous application of sim ple, correct principles. So, unless you'refollowing the 10 Habits above 90% of the time or more, put away the scales, calipersand calorie-counting software for the time being. Get out your pen and paper andcome up with those 6 meals. If you don't have the food for those meals, make agrocery Iist and go shopping.

Oh, but l can hear the cries now (from some of you).

@I'm A dvanced, Dam m itlUp until now, I've talked about what is useful and necessary in the Hinitial phase'' orthe K'initial stager'' without really defining what I mean by Hinitial-''

It's simple, really. lf your goal is to improve your body composition and physicalappearance, l have a sim ple test to determine where you are in your nutritionalcareer, so to speak. You are in the initial phase of your nutritional career if youanswer no to the following two questions:

1. W hen you Iook in the m irror, are you satisfied with your Ievel of muscularityand Ieanness? That is, have you reached your body composition goals?

2. If no, have you followed a nutritional plan conforming to the 10 Habits, day inand day out for at Ieast 5 weeks, with no more than 10% of your meals fallingoutside of those criteria? Think about that before you answer. At an averageof 6 meals per day, or 42 meals per week, that means no more than 4 mealswere miu ed or broke the rules each week for 5 weeks.

The first question is an example of outcome-based decision making. If you are tosucceed in any endeavor, you must be able to measure your progress and theoutcome of your efforts. In this case, you subjectively assessed your appearance; if

you so desired, you could also objectively measure your weight, Iean body mass and@


fat mass. The bottom Iine is that if you aren't measuring results, you're wasting time.And if you are measuring results, but don't Iike what the measurements are tellingyou - say, that despite your current training and nutritional programs, you aren't asmuscular and lean as you'd Iike - you need to change something.

The second question examines your efforts (or Iack thereof). If you want to improveyour body comp but aren't consîstently following a nutritional program conforming tothe 10 Habits, either start immediately or Iearn to accept your physical shortcom ings,because they'll be yours for a long time. Hope that works out for you.

Most people, if they're honest, will answer no to those questions - even someadvanced trainees. Let me be clear on this: there is no direct relationship betweenwhat some refer to as i'training age'' and what we'll call Hnutritional age,'' whichbegins on your nutritional birth date: the day you complete your 3-5 week, 90% 10Habits compliant, one-size-fits-all nutrition program . Until then, you my friend are anutritional novice.

If you answered no to the first question (i.e., you still have not reached your bodycomp goals) but answered yes to the second question (i.e., ytxl have truly passed thenovice stage), then you are on your way. You're ready for the next step!

Now, if you answered yes to the first question, God bless. You've done whatever youneeded to do to get to your goal, and far be it for me to criticize your methods. Theyworked for you, and that's what counts. I'm not here to teach Picasso how to paint.

For the rest, go over the following checklist, and make sure you've done everythingyou need to do before proceeding.

Sum m ary O f Part 1

1. Use outcome-based decision making.If you've reached your goals, great. If not, examine and change your methods.It never ceases to amaze me when over-fat people say HBut I already eatgreat.'' Uh, are you sure about that?

2. Determine your nutritional age.If you have been following a 90% 10 Habits compliant nutrition plan for atIeast 3-5 weeks without fail, you have passed the initial phase and can moveOn .

3. Construct a nutrition plan.Ignore concerns about calories, macronutrients, micronutrients, antinutrients,and everything else. Just make sure that aII your meals conform to the rules.The Diet Guide should have set you up in this regard.

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@ 4. Print out your meal plan and post it in visible places.5. Commit to eating according to the plan for at Ieast 3 weeks.

After the three weeks, you may change meals as long as they still satisfy thecriteria. From that meal plan, build a grocery Iist and purchase aII the foodyou will need for one week.

6. Prepare as much of the meals in advance as possible.Don't m iss meals because of inadequate preparation and planning.

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Eat every meal.

8. Count your misses (misses = meals that break the rules, or missed meals).Better yet, plan your m iu es at Ieast a day in advance and turn them intocheat meals. You get 4 misses per week.

9. Proceed to The Next Step.When you have followed your plan consistently (i.e., no more than 4 missesper week) for at Ieast 3-5 consecutive weeks, proceed to the next step,individualization.

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Part 2: Measurement and Method @

The W rong ApproachMost trainees never reach their goals because they are waiting for the magic bullet,the one tip or trick that will finally get them the body they've been Iooking for.

People want to make sim ple, tiny, easy additions or subtractions to their current'ëplansy'' knowing full well that negligible modifiœ tions will probably yield negligibleresults. Adding a d'superfoodr'' magic soup, supplement or drug will not compensatefor gross misunderstanding and misapplication of key principles. Subtracting a singlefood or removing aII carbs from your diet will not remove the real stumbling block.

Often people just want to be validated for what they are currently doing. They want toread an article on nutrition or training and say, ë:W eII, I do som e of that, so I'mprobably OK,'' despite the fact that doing only 'Jsome of that'' has Ieft them far shortof the body they could have.

Well, I'm not here to validate you. l'm not going to sugarcoat this, or dumb it down, ortell you what you want to hear. I'm here to tell you the truth, to the extent that I'veascertained it. Here's that truth:

1. If you want a drastically better body than the one you have now, you need tomake a wholesale change to your nutrition plan.

2. The magnitude of that change will seem daunting and possibly intimidating.You will question whether aIl this is truly necessary, and you will be tempted tomake do with Iess m uch Ieu .

3. The process will require a significant dose of that forgotten ingredient:discipline. Discipline is a by-product of purpose and desire, so you'll needthose too - you will need to remind yourself why you're eating this way (howIean and muscular you will eventually be, for instance) and how much youwant to reach your goals (or how it will feel to fail yet again).

But there is more:

1. The system works. If you do it in its entirety, you will reach your goals.

2. Though perhaps overwhelming at first, with practice it will quickly becomesimple and effortless.

So what is this system, this right method? Well in Part 1, you designed a starter planon which to build, just Iike the tailor builds a pattern or template for his custom suits.Now it's time to Iearn the art of fitting - bringing that starter plan ever closer to theperfect plan for you.

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@You've Got To M easure Som ethingI get hundred of emails each week from people asking me very specific nutritionquestions. Just yesterday someone asked me if they should cut 100 grams of carbsfrom their diet in order to Iose m ore fat. To be honest, unless it's blatantly obviousthat the person is advanced enough to make use of this information, I don't answer.Instead, I just direct them to comprehensive articles and resources so that they canIearn to answer themselves.

W hy? Because even if I answered in detail they would have no way to make use of myadvice. Most have no way of quantifying what they're doing nutritionally, and no wayof making a minute change and holding that variable constant. Unless you can tellme exactly how many grams of carbs you've been getting every day for the Iast monthor so, and unless you have a way of controlling how many grams of carbs you'll eatfor the next month - alI to a reasonably high degree of accuracy - then answeringsuch a question is a waste of time for me, and asking it is a waste of time for you.

Bottom Iine: many people have no idea what they're eating. They may try to eat moreprotein, or have certain meals that they eat regularly, and they may even have avague idea of how many calories they consume on a good day. If you're getting theresults you want, this isn't a problem. If you aren't, however, it is. Vague ideas are ofno use in the process of optim ization. You need to manipulate your nutrition planand aII the variables contained in it - and you can't manipulate something you'venever measured.@

ln The Beginning, Keep A Food LogSo the first step is to know and quantify what you're eating. Commonly, this is doneby keeping a food Iog.

A food Iog is analytical; that is, it's a tool used to analyze what you've done, afteryou've done it. It has its place, and that's prior to beginning a solid nutritionalprogram. I have my clients do a three-day diet record, in which they choose threetypical days representative of their general eating habits (one work day, one trainingday and one weekend day, for example) and on those days record everything theyeat. I have them do this as soon as they sign up with me, for two reasons.

One, I want to see how bad their nutrition is. Two, I want them to see how bad theirnutrition is. Even if they don't record their diets accurately, they will have to make aconscious choice to fudge or omit - which is an admission to themselves (though notto me) that their nutrition is poor.

Of course, some are simply Iazy and forget to record their diets, while still others areso deeply in denial that they'll Iie outright and feel nothing doing so. For both types,sticking to a good nutrition program will be either extremely difficult or impossible -

and dealing with these types is beyond the scope of this article. For most people,@

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diet records and food Iogs are excellent motivational tools, and will help them committo the new diet and the changes it necessitates.


@So before you begin to manipulate your diet in earnest, do a diet record. Recordeverything you eat for three days, and eat as you normally would. If for some reasonon one of the recording days you have to eat abnormally, scrap that day. Recordagain until you have three days of food records that represent your typical diet.Compare these records to the 10 Habits outlined in part land see how well you'rereally doing.

Beyond Food LogsWhile food Iogs do allow you to know what you're eating, they don't directly help youto manipulate your diet to accom modate change. As food Iogs only analyze whatwe've eaten, they're not helpful in dietary manipulation.

Would you enter the gym, without a plan, and just write down what Iifts you felt Iikedoing that day, complete with your sets, reps, Ioads? And then, the next day, enterthe gym in a similar manner, continuing to record useless, system-less information?Probably not.

That's why I don't prefer recommending food Iogs as a way to monitor your intake.Why try to keep a record of previous habits - good or bad? In scientific terms, yournutritional intake is the main independent variable (a variable you must have controlover) in your body comp experiment. So measuring an ever-changing independentvariable is the best way to get nowhere fast.

Instead of recording what you did, you should be planning what you should be doingand sticking to that. Scientifically speaking, to make progress you've gotta fix yourindependent variables and m easure your dependent variables. W hen it comes toyour eating plan, fix this variable by making a plan and making sure you follow theplan. Then measure your dependent variables, your results.

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Eat The Sam e Things Every Day?As I've recommended ''fixing'' your nutritional intake above, I know many of you willget confused and think I'm suggesting that you have to eat the same things everysingle day. I'm not.

Remember, in part 1, l recommended coming up with a variety of meals built aroundthe 10 Habits; the m eals from Gourmet Nutrition, 5 Minute Meals, etc. There areover 135 recipes in the Precision Nutrition materials. If that's not variety, I don'tknow what is.

However, keep this one thing in mind before you get carried away with the varietything. Most of the people with the absolute best physiques tend to eat very similar

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@ things day in and day out. So don't Iose sight of this fact in your quest for unlimitedvariety and a great body too.

Nutritional PlanningYou know now that you have to plan in advance and how to hold that plan constant.But how? And why?

As I said in Part 1, optimizing nutrition requires a m ix of informed trial and error andthe scientific m ethod. Let me explain what I mean by that.

Inform ed trial and error means:

1. That your trials should be informed. You need to gather the best informationyou can about nutrition and use it to inform the nutritional choices you make.That's why you're holding the Precision Nutrition materials and that's that'swhy in Part 1 we built a plan based on the 10 Habits - to replace randommanipulation with informed choices based on the best nutritional knowledgewe have available to us. The nutritional plan you start with, and everysubsequent change you make to that plan, must be based on the bestpossible nutritional information you can get a hold of.

2. That you should be performing trials. You must not only implement what youlearn about nutrition into your daily Iife, but im plement it such that you canjudge whether or not it's working for you. Don'tjust try things - try andevaluate the results! This requires that you're trials be performed in a certainway, and 1'11 describe that way in detail in the remainder of this section.

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That you should be prepared to err, and that you should have a plan to dealwith errors when they are made. You must anticipate that not aII of thenutritional changes and manipulations you make will work for you - evensome of the ones that work for your friends, even some that work for myclients, even some that worked for your grandparents back when they Iived inthe oId country. The whole point of this exercise is to determ ine what worksfor you, so be prepared to find that you may be different from those aroundyou. You may add 400 calories to your daily diet and see no increase in Ieanbody mass in two weeks; I may do it and put on 2 lbs over that same period.W hat do you plan to do at that point? Shake your fist at the heavens andabandon the plan? Or have another change waiting to be made just in case?

And what is this talk of the ''scientific methodF'? Well, it's just a fancy way of sayingthat you need to control your diet and measure the results that that diet brings you.You understand the principle of informed trial and error, but how exactly should yourtrials be performed? And how can you dilerentiate between success and errof

That's where the scientific method comes in. Here's what it is, and how it applies to

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12 lndividualization Guide

@1. Observe the phenomena: Gather aII the information about nutrition you can.Think about your ultimate goals, in terms of body composition, health andperformance. Do you want to get Ieaner or more musculaf Amelioratedigestive problems? Still be able to run the floor in the fourth quarter of abasketball game?

2. Form a hypothesis: Build a diet plan that will get the results you want andbring you closer to your goals.

3. Predict outcomes on the basis of that hypothesis: Set a goal for the results ofyour nutrition plan. I usually work in two week blocks, so if I wanted to Iose fatI might set a goal of Iosing 2 pound: of fat in two weeks.

4. Test the prediction using a controlled experiment: With nutrition plan in hand,follow it with at Ieast 90% accuracy for the predetermined period of time. Thatmeans controlling aII the nutrition variables - you must eat exactly as you hadplanned.

5. Record results and compare to hypothesis: Measure the results of the pasttwo weeks of planned eating (i.e., the controlled experiment). Using the fatIoss example, after two weeks of eating according to my plan, I would weighmyself and do a body fat measurement with skinfold calipers. lf mymeasurem ent showed that I Iost 2 or more Ibs of body fat, I would considermy hypothesis validated - eating according to my plan allowed me to Iose thebody fat I wanted to Iose. If I wanted to Iose more body fat, I would continuewith the plan until it no Ionger worked.

6. If results don't match the hypothesis, modify or elaborate on your hypothesis:If on the other hand I Iost only 1 pound of body fat, Iost no body fat at all, orGod forbid, actuallygafned body fat, then I need a better hypothesis and/or abetter experiment. Here are the possibilities:

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a. Hypothesis was insufficient: Often the plan you came up with will betoo Iow or too high in calories, protein, carbs, fat, etc. to get the resultsyou wanted. You will need to use your best, most informed guess tomake a change; the general principles of your plan, however, willremain intact.

b. Hypothesis is false: The nutritional plan you came up with didn't workbecause it was just plain wrong, either for you or in general. lf youstarted with a good plan based on good information and proven resultswith others, you should assume that this is not the case until you haveno other choice. That is, don't abandon a good plan entirely unlessyou're pretty sure that it's useless for you; often you just need tomodify it. lf you started with a plan you had Iittle confidence in and

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@ was completely unproven, then you can consider scrapping it entirely.c. Hypothesis was true, but experiment was faulty: Your ability to come up

with a great nutritional plan is one thing; your ability to execute thatplan by adhering to it consistently is quite another. If you didn't getresults, but only ate 60% of your meals according to plan, you hadbetter work on your adherence before you change the plan itself -there is no sense in changing a plan you won't bother to executeanyway.

7. Repeat steps 2 to 6 until your experiments yield the expected results: Youmust continue to adjust your plan on the basis of the results you're gettingfrom it. You make changes, try them out (holding your diet constant for twoweek blocks), measure the results and amend the plan as necessary.

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So W hat Does This M ean In Practice?These are notjust abstract principles l wbnt you to understand. They drive at a veryspecific method you need to use if you want to tailor your nutrition to your ownindividual needs. In nutritional practice, using the principle of informed trial anderror and the scientific method means doing things a Iittle differently than most.Instead of having my clients eat random ly, or telling them simply to x:eat betterr'' orgiving them vague nutritional principles to act on (then figuring out whether they didor not by doing a post-mortem on their food Iog), I have clients follow very specificplans.

On the basis of questionnaires, tests, medical history, etc., along with my ownnutritional expertise and my previous experience with clients, I come up with ahypothetical plan that l think will get the client the results that he or she wants. 1'11choose the foods, the caloric content, the macronutrient ratios, the nutrient timing,everything.

Tw o G eeks A t A Tim eThese plans cover two-week periods. Why two weeks? Well, it'sjust a number I'vefound to work best. It's difficult to plan for Ionger periods (say, one month), and suchplans become either unwieldy or oversimplified; shorter periods (say, one week)require you to plan more often and aren't quite Iong enough to give any changes youmake a fair evaluation. Two weeks, I've found, is just right.

To prepare for those two weeks, the client and I come up with the exact meals,grocery Iists and food preparation instructions they'll need in order to execute myhypothetical plan. I make sure that the plan conforms exactly to the nutritionalvariables I've set. It will have the exact caloric content, macronutrient ratios,micronutrient content, etc. As Iong as the plan is followed consistently, I can performprecisely the type of controlled experiment necessary to determine whether my

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@In building the plan, we take into consideration their goals, their current status

relative to those goals, their Iogistical obstacles (work or school commitments, travel,appointments, etc.) and anything else that the client or I think is relevant. AII thepotential problems are worked out in advance. Upon receipt of the program, aII theclient has to do is eat at Ieast 90% of the meals we agreed he would eat. There is noneed for food Iogs - aII I want to know is whether the plan was followed or not, whichrequires nothing more than a few checkmarks on a page. Day 1, Meal 1 . . . check.That's it.

Most people try to measure the variables. They count calories, grams of carbs, etc. -alI of which is Iargely a waste of time. Rather, you should hold the variables constant,and instead, measure the results!

The First M easurem ent StandardIt never ceases to amaze me how few people regularly measure the results of thechoices they make. Optimization requires constant monitoring; nutritionally, if youhope to get great results and keep therp coming, you must continually measure theoutcome of your efforts.

So what exactly should you measure? Well, it depends on your goal. For each type ofgoal, there are specific metrics you can choose to Iook at. I consîder there to bethree categories of nutrition goals: performance goals, health goals, and bodycomposition goals.

However, before measuring results, it's important to measure adherence. Make nomistake, eating 6 or 7 well-designed and well-planned meals a day for 3 weeks with90% adherence is a serious, discipline-requiring endeavor. It's oh so easy to foolyourself into thinking you're doing a greatjob while demonstrating only 65%adherence.

So, step one, before measuring anything else, is measuring adherence. Below is anexam ple adherence chart from a client of mine. Here's how it works:

1) Each time the client eats a meal designated for that time slot, he gets to putux'' in the box.an

Each time the client misses a meal, he puts a 0 in the box.

3) Each time the client eats a non-compliant meal, he puts a * in the box.

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Week 1 Meal 1 Meal 2 Meal 3 Meal 4 Meal 5 Meal 6 (WorkoutAdherence Drink)

Day 1 X X X X * X XTraining Day

Day 2 X 0 X 0 X X N/ANon-Training

Day

Day 3 X X X X X X XTraining Day

Day 4 X X X 0 X X N/ANon-Training

Day

Day 5 X X X X X X XTraining Day

Day 6 X X X 0 X * XTraining Day

Day 7 * X X X X X N/ANon-Training

Day

To evaluate this client's success, simply tally up the total meals scheduled for theweek (46) and subtract the boxes that are either blank or contain a star (7). As thisclient m issed 4 meals and Rcheated'' at 3 meals, they've achieved about 85%(39/46) adherence.

That's not bad. It's better than most folks would do.Iooking for 90% adherence from our clients.

But it ain't good enough. We're

So, try this exercise out yourself. Print off 2 weeks of adherence sheets and monitorhow well you're adhering to your plan. If, at the end of 2 weeks, you don't find atIeast 90% of those boxes with an x in them, there's absolutely no point in measuringanything else. Since you can't even control the independent variable of thisexperiment (the variable you have control over), why would you measure the resultsIike body comp, body weight, etc? Seriously, why bother? You can't do anythingabout them anyway.

Think I'm joking? Well Iet's say you try out a new nutritional plan and only adhere toit 80% of the time. And Iet's say you gained body fat after the first m onth. W ell

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surely you'll have to try a new nutritional plan, right? Maybe you need to eat a Iowcarb diet instead? At Ieast you hàve to cut calories, right?

lndividualization Guide

@Well how the heck are you going to do either? How many calories did you eat thisweek? How many carbs? How many will you eat next week?

You don't know because you're not adhering to the plan - to any plan. So unlessnext week is better than this week, you have no way of controlling what will happen.W hen you don't even have the basic skill (following a plan) required to remedy theproblems you'll face, THAT IS THE PROBLEM.

You either need to suck it up and learn some discipline, Iearn some food preparationstrategies, or attack the fundamental belief system that's keeping you from evenfollowing a basic plan for a mere two weeks. Orjust give up trying to individualize.

It sounds harsh, I know. But there comes a tim e where you have to realize thatthere's a difference between eating better than m ost people and eating perfectly foryou. There's no shame in admitting that you're unwilling to do what it takes to tailorthe perfect plan. The only shame Iies in trying to convince yourself that you're doingeverything it takes when you're not evdn coming close.

If you're unwilling, great - just continue eating better than most - you won't get anyjudgment from me. As Iong as you follow the basic 10 Habits, you'll be way better offin the Iong run anyway. If you are willing, continue on.

The Next M etricsAs mentioned above, l consider there to be three categories of nutrition goals:

1. Performance Goals:Mainly relevant to athletes, these might include faster 40 yard dash times, increasedpowerlifting totals, faster time trials for cyclists, etc. Generally, nutrition for humanperformance has three parts: pre-event nutrition, post-event recovery nutrition andIong-term general preparation nutrition.

Metrics for performance goals are determined by the event itself. For individualsports, ultimately the succeu of the program as a whole isjudged by theperformance as judged in the event: for sprinters and cyclists, their times; forpowerlifters, their totals; and so on. However, often it's difficult or im possible toseparate the causes for both failure and success. For instance, if a powerliftermisses a Iift, or a sprinter performs poorly, do you blame the nutrition program, thetraining program, or something else entirely? lt's often hard to say.

The problem is compounded in team sports where the player m ay perform wellwithout any objective impact on team performance. For instance, a hockey playermay be in great shape and following a great nutrition program, but be on a poorlyperforming team or be unlucky not to score more goals. Do you have him abandonthe chicken salads for Big Macs?

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@ Performance nutrition, therefore, is often geared toward:Supporting recovery from the type of training the athlete will need to do toachieve success

2. Getting the athlete the body composition that correlates most highly withsuccess in their sport

In other words, while ideally you want to see a direct improvement in performancefrom your improved nutrition (and you should certainly measure that performance),you may have to settle on im proved body composition. Now that doesn't mean thatyou should train or eat Iike a bodybuilder; rather, you should train and eat first untilyou have the same body composition as the best athletes in your sport, then trainand eat until you peform Iike they do.

In short, if you're trying to increase performance, measure both the performanceitself (times, scores, etc.) and your body composition (see below).

2. HeaIth Goals:

While everyone touts general health, few have it as an explicit goal, even fewer followprograms that will improve it, and fewer still measure their progress toward it. This isa huge mistake.

Part of the problem is that health is b0th dilicult to subjectively assess, even moredilicult to quantify objectively - and almost impossible to sell as an important goal tothose who are in a position to Iearn to maintain it for Iife, namely the young. Trytelling an 18 year oId kid that he should worry about heart disease, and if you'reIucky you'll get a blank stare in return. Tell him that with good nutrition he could puton 20 Ibs of Iean body mass and get down to 7% body fat, however, and he'll havedreams of aII the Iadies he'll be able to score dancing through his head. Hey,whatever works, but at some point in everyone's Iife, health becomes a critical issue- and the time to build the required nutritional habits for good health is early on.

But there are both plenty of reasons to measure the im pact of nutrition on yourhealth, and plenty of ways to do it. For example, you could measure any or aII of thefollowing:

* Skin condition: Good nutrition can often have a marked impact on your skin.Is your skin dry and scalf Acne or blemish ridden? You could record this andtrack it over tim e.

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* Gastrointestinal health and quality of bowel movement: We often have clientscome to us to help us work through GI issues, and though the process is oftenIong and involved, for some people it is absolutely necessary. Measurements

can range from simple recording of maldigestion iuues to motility timing to,@

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that's right, bowel movement measurement. Exercise and nutrition specialistPaul Chek recently shared with me his standard: according to Paul, oneshould be moving 12 inches of feces twice per day. So you might want tocarry a ruler with you on the road. And if you're Iike m e and your bowlm ovements curve into a perfect circle, you m ight need this handy formula:Circumference = Pi * Diameter. (Kidding, folks).

@ Blood values: Another way to track general health is to have regular bloodwork done, tracking the values over time. Your doctor can help you to choosethe right metrics for you, but things to consider are:


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o Cholesterol (HDL, LDL, and HDL:LDL ratio)o Triglycerideso Hormonal tests: testosterone, cortisolo Liver enzymeso Fasted glucose and insulino Oral glucose tolerance test

3. Body Com position Goals:

This is the bïg one for most people. You either want to Iose fat or gain muscle, orboth. Or more to the point, you want to Iook better naked. So what should youmeasure?

There are a num ber of possibilities'.

* Body weight: This should be obvious. Every two weeks, step on a scale andwrite your body weight down. There are a few things to note, however. One,body weight scales tell you just that - your body weight. They give you noinformation as to your initial body composition (i.e., how much of that weightis Iean body mass, how much is fat mass, and what your body fat percentageis), and they are no help in determining how much of the weight you gain orIose is fat or muscle. Sulice it to say that those are important things to know,particularly when fine-tuning an already advanced nutrition plan.Furthermore, not aII scales are created equal. Most bathroom scalesavailable on the market today are of decent quality and will probably do; yourmom 's pink scale from her W eight W atchers days in the i70's should probablybe replaced. Better yet, use a calibrated beam scale, the type found in goodgyms and in your doctor's office. Weigh yourself at the same time and on thesame day if pou ible, just to be consistent - but don't be too anal about this.

* Body Fat Percentage: Measuring body weight is the first part of determiningbody composition; measuring body fat is the second part. Once body fatpercentage is determined, you can find out your fat mass and Iean body massusing a few simple equations. I won't go into the various techniques, but I willoutline the three ways in which this is normally done:

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@ Skinfold calipers: Measures the thickness of skinfolds at variouslocations. I use this method with clients aII the time, not because it'sthe most accurate at measuring body fat percentage, but because itallows me to measure subcutaneous fat (fat below the skin) and trackthe fat distribution at the various specific locations. Most people plugthe thickness measurem ents, usually in millimeters, into equations tofind body fat; often 1'11 just track the thickness itself. I'm not alwaysinterested in body fat percentage - often I just want to know that I'mIosing body fat over my abs, and even a one-site skinfold measurementcan tell me that.

Bioelectrical Impedance: Measures the speed that of a small-currentthrough the body, and uses the differences in electrical resistance ofvarious tissue types to determine body fat percentage. While thismethod is very popular, it's not very useful: depending on yourhydration Ievels, you can get very different results even when your bodycomposition hasn't actually changed; even with controlled hydration,these devices aren't aII that accurate.

Underwater Weighing/ Bodpod: Measures body fat by placing thesubject in either a water tank or an air-pressure controlled chamberand using displacement formulas to determine body fat percentage.These methods are considered accurate enough to be used inresearch studies (we used a Bodpod at the University of WesternOntario Human Pedormance Lab), but they're not without theirdrawbacks. They're expensive to use and difficult to find, so unlessyou have easy access to one, you should probably use anothermethod.

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@ Girlh: Using a tape measure to take girth measurements of your arms, chest,waist, etc. can be a great way to track progress - though again, it gives you nodirect information about body com position change. That is, a two inchincrease in the circumference of your upper Iegs could be equally a result ofmuscle gain or fat gain, or some combination of the two. Never the Iess,these measurem ents can be very helpful and informative. You could do acomprehensive girth measurement every two weeks, or even select a singletrouble area (waist, for instance) and monitor that alone. l have aII my clientstrack girth measurements regularly, although not always every two weeks.

* Appearance: It stands to reason that if you are training to Iook better, or if youare a bodybuilder or fitness competitor, your perceived physical appearanceitself is a valid 'xmeasurement'' or indicator of progress. Subjectivity, however,is often a major problem here: people Iook at themselves in the mirror and areeither too critical or not critical enough - or worse, they're one way today andthe other way tom orrow. Consistent and honest appraisal is difficult for some,and unbearable for others. Some people are better off working with the

previous three objective measurements (body weight, body fat % and girth).@


Others benefit from having a friend do the assessment, or having digitalphotos taken (although Iens type, subject-to-camera distance and Iightingconditions can affect one's appearance in photos, so consistency is an issuehere as well).

lt's worth noting that many advanced trainees rely on perceived appearancealone to gauge progress. I'm one of them: after years of training and nutritionexperience, including a few years of serious competitive bodybuilding, I candetermine my body weight and body fat % to a relatively high degree ofaccuracyjust by Iooking in the mirror (it might also be because I've had moreskinfold and Bodpod tests than I care to remember). Either way, you mightfind that this is aII you need to make informed changes to your nutrition.

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If aII you do is weight yourself on a bathroom scale and Iook at yourself in the mirror,then at Ieast do so with a purpose. Weigh yourself on the same scale at the sametime every two weeks, and when Iooking in the mirror, try to notice subtle changes inyour physique. For the first few months, you should write it aII down.

If you can commit to recording more, do so. With just a few bucks, a set ofAccumeasure calibers, you can do more. If gourve got a digital camera, use that too.But unless you're a hot chick, sending me photos of you in a skimpy bathing suit willforce me to alert the proper authorities.

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@ Part 3: One Size Fits YouFrom General Decision-M aking to Specific SolutionsW ith your full nutritional plan in hand and a selection of relevant metrics to track, youset out to eat at 9O% adherence for two weeks. After those two weeks, you measureyour progress. Run a 40, get some blood work done or step on the scale, dependingon your goals. lf you Iike what you see, continue with the plan unchanged. lf youdon't, you need to examine why and change your plan accordingly.

So, there are two possible outcomes:

1. You got the results you wanted. Your 40 yard times improved, your blood Iipidprofile improved, and you dropped two pounds of fat m ass over the twoweeks.

2. You didn't get the results you wanted. Your measurements show Iess thanexpected, negligible or no results.

If your controlled experiment (i.e., your nutritional plan) yielded the first outcome, thedesired results, congratulations. If you wish to maintain or improve any of thoseresults, you can simply continue the plan as is until you get the second outcome.

If your plan yielded the second outcome, Iess than expected results, then you mustchange something immediately. There are three possible explanations for Iess thanexpected results:

1. The results you wanted were unrealistic.

2. The results you wanted were realistic, but your execution was not up to thetask.

3. The results you wanted were realistic, and your execution was up to the task,but your plan was inadequate.

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Each of these explanations has its own cause, and its own solution. Let's Iook ateach separately.

Unrealistic expectationsMost people would readily admit that expecting to Iose 10 Ibs of fat or gain 10 Ibs ofmuscle, correct serious blood Iipid issues or cut their 40 yard tim e from 5.5 to 4.4 intwo weeks is unrealistic. Yet oddly, on the subconscious Ievel, many want to believethat these results are not only possible, that they're Iikely.

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Blame 7 minute ab commercials, blame the cabbage diet, and blame whomever youwant. But once you stop blaming, start accepting reality. Often things are Iessdifficult than we think they'll be but take much longer than we think they'll take.That's the reality. So accept it.


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However, remember this; not achieving things you could not possibly have achieved,no matter how good your nutrition, tells you nothing about how to optimize your plan.If your nutrition plan has produced Iess than your expected results, take a Iook andsee if they were realistic first.

How? You need to determine two things about your goals:

1. Upper Iim it of achievement. How m uch can you truly hope to achieve,assuming you do everything right, and do it consistently for as long as ittakes? W ill you be able to run a 4.4? Do you have aII the other resources inplace to do so, Iike a great running coach, a great training program, etc? Orwith respect to body com position, can you really be 225 Ibs at 5% body fat,and if so, are you willing to do everything it takes to get there? Does yourIifestyle afford you the ability to achieve the upper Iimit? If not, are you willingto change it? What, realistically, do you hope to achieve?

2. Rate of achievement. How Iong should it take to reach your upper Iimit ofachievem ent? W ill you im prove at a consistent rate, or will improvementcome faster at some tim es than at others? lf consistent, how muchim provement should you expect every two weeks? If variable, how Iittleimprovement should you be willing to accept during periods of slow returns,and how Iong should you expect those periods to Iast?

These are not sim ple questions to answer, and in some cases you will simply nothave the expertise to answer them. But if want to have a standard by which to judgeyour progress, you need those answers. So how do you go about getting them?

For specific goals, consult an expert or someone who has achieved what you want toachieve. Consult as many people Iike this as you can find, and take an average oftheir responses. Find people who have direct experience achieving the goals youseek. Generally, knowledgeable coaches will help you out with this for free or for aIow cost.

But if you're at a com plete Ioss, you can do what I do. Ever heard of the KaizenPrinciple? It's a Japanese concept (or at Ieast, a Japanese word for a universalconcept) that was popularized in North America by Dr. Edwards Deming, and latertouted by Anthony Robbins, Charles Poliquin and a number of others).

The basic premise is that you should make continual progress, even if only in verysmall increments, and that by doing so you can achieve goals thought beyond yourreach. So for instance, Tony Robbins used the principle to convince people to makesmall strides towards personal development goals, and Poliquin used it to support or

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('explain the co ept of K'microloading'' - using Ioad increases of as Iittle as half apound to ensure cohtinual strength gains. 1'11 Iet you judge the merits of aII thatyourself.

For our purposes, we'll use it to give us a guideline by which to measure our progress.W hen you can't settle on an expected result for your two week measurement, choosethe smallest increment that you can measure and make sure that you im prove bythat increm ent every two weeks.

Here's an example. Let's say you're trying to put on muscle mass, but aII you have atyour disposal to measure your progress is a bathroom scale. A simple but effectivetactic is to simply make sure that every time you step on the scale, your measuredweight increases by at Ieast the smallest measurable increment - probably 1-2pounds. Every two weeks, your goal is to see that needle move one notch to theright. That's it.

Certainly, you could do a much more detailed measurement than that, but if that's aIIyou do, you're already ahead of the game as you're at Ieast moving in the rightdirection.

In essence, you simply measure in order to ensure that you're progressing in the rightdirection. The magnitude of that change (i.e., how much actual progress you make)is im portant, but secondary.

Bottom Iine? Make sure you:

Choose a goal.

2. Select a metric to track your progress toward that goal.

3. Set your expectations, in terms of both upper Iimit and rate of achievement.

4. If you can't determine a realistic rate of achievement for your goal, try toprogress by the m inimum measurable increment every two weeks.

Once you've done aII that, you can get back to executing the plan.

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Inadequate executionIf your expectations are realistic, but you were unable to meet them , take a Iook atyour execution. Did you adhere to the plan itself? Did you violate the 90% rule?

90% adherence is the standard I set for execution. W hat this means is that you m usteat at Ieast 90% of the m eals on your plan, and that no more than 10% of your mealsmay be unplanned, missed or cheat meals. I want to be very clear that this isn'tsome vague or arbitrary number. Rather, it's specific and well-chosen.

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It's specific, in that it Ieaves no room for error. It gives us a simple way to measureadherence. Count up the total number of meals you are supposed to eat each week,and multiply by 0.1to give you the total number of unplanned, missed or cheat mealsallowed each week. So an average plan that indicates 6 meals per day, multiplied by7 days, gives me a total of 42 meals per week; 42 multiplied by O.lgives me 4.2unplanned, missed or cheat meals per week. Round down to give you the magicnumber 4 - the num ber of times you can violate your plan each week.

It's well-chosen, in that 90% adherence is just right for Iong term success. Certainly,100% adherence would be best, but we're dealing with human beings here. In aII butthe most extreme cases (for example, bodybuilding contest preparation), 100% isneither feasible nor necessary. W e want to account for spontaneity, the inevitablemissed meal, and my desire to get my weekly pizza fix. 90% adherence allows for aIIthat. You can eat your favorite foods guilt free, you can miss a meal, you can eat in arestaurant - just not more than 1O% of the time. So take your 4 chances per weekand make the best of them.

But keep in mind that 90% is 90%. It's a real, objective number. It's not 80% or 67%or 50% or 15%. It's high, and it requires discipline. Yes, its true that you may still beable to see some results by adhering only 80% of the time, assuming that you have agreat plan. However, it's a slippery slope. Most of the time, 80% adherence will getyou Iess than 80% of the results you could have had, and 50% adherence will get youfar Iess, possibly even nothing. I have no data on this, it's just my own experiencewith myself and my clients - so take it for what it's worth.

Another problem with adhering Iess than 90% is that you start to Iose control over thenutritional variables. Remem ber, the whole point of this article series is to teach youhow to manipulate and optimize your plan - how to tailor your nutrition. Thatrequires tight control of what you're eating, at the very Ieast. Poor execution meansthat:

You no Ionger have accurate data on your nutritional intake. When you starteating too many unplanned, missed or cheat meals, the nutritional analysisyou have of the plan itself no Ionger correlates well with your actual intake. Toget that info, you would have to keep a food Iog again - and we've alreadydiscussed the drawbacks of doing that.

* You no Ionger have control over the variables. Too much variation from theplan can mean that you're getting too many calories, too Iittle, too much or tooIittle of a macronutrient, etc. W hatever the case may be, consistency is noIonger assured, and the controlled experiment you sought to pedorm onyourself is compromised.

* You can no Ionger manipulate the variables with any degree of accuracy. Sayyou want to increase calories, cut carbs or implement some new cutting edgestrategy. Without control over these variables, how do you plan to make those

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Individualization Gu e 25

@ changes?* You can no longer accurately correlate the minute changes you make with theresults you're getting (or not getting). Say yoq did tweak your plan slightly inthe hopes of optimizing your results, and theh went out and followed the planonly 70% of the time. You measure your results and see that - surprise -there are none. W as the tweak unsuccessful? I have no idea, and neither doyou - because you never tried it! Unless you come reasonably close toisolating the change you made - that is, making sure that it's the only change,and that the rest of your diet was Iargely held constant - you can have no ideawhether it would have worked or not.

lt comes down to this: you need to meet the 90% adherence rule, week in, week out.I can't make you do it, but I can help you track it. ln part 2 of this guide I gave you achart for doing so.

Now, that's not to say that you should make no changes to the plan itself. But thechanges I want you to make at this point are Ioglstlcal changes - that is, changesthat help you work the plan into your daily Iife. If you missed meals, prepare more inadvance, or have a backup plan; if you don't Iike the taste of certain meals, spicethem up or replace them with meals of equal nutritional value. Do whatever youhave to do in order to reach 9O% adherence. There is always a way.

Inadequate planSo, you measured your results, and they're sub-optimal. Once you're certain thatyour expectations are reasonable and that your execution was excellent, you'rejustified in Iooking at the plan itself. Remember, though, that you're not starting withjust any oId plan. If you walked through the process with me in Part 1, you built aplan based on the 10 Habits - and for good reason. Those rules are derived fromscientific study, my own data from my clients and my own personal experience overthe years, so l'm very confident that they work. Nevertheless, if nothing positive ishappening, something has to change. This principle is the foundation of outcome-based decision making.

We're not, however, going to abandon the plan entirely. Rather, we're going toassume that the plan is largely sound, and that it will serve as the foundation for ourfuture plans. That assumption is valid in this case, because I said so. You don'tneed to believe me, but believing me will save you a great deal of time and energy. Ifyou do wish to abandon the plan as l've Iaid it out, I bid you Godspeed. For the rest,Iet's tweak what we've got.

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Before I move on to describe what to change and in what order (which will reveal mynutritional biases), Iet me state that this process can be used equally well withnutritional advice other than my own. Want to tweak your Atkins or Zone diet? Youcan do that. Heard that eating grapefruit for breakfast will help you maintain anerection? Well, hold your grapefruit diet constant for two weeks - and when

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watching the girl next door get undressed each night, break out the stopwatch tomeasure the results.


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Changing Your Intake - W hen and How M uch?So how do you change your diet on the basis of the measurements you've taken, andwhen? This is the bïg question. The quick answer is, when what you're doing works,keep doing it. Keep doing it until it doesn't work.

You'll know when something isn't working. You'll have the data. W hen the changefrom week to week is non-existent or even negative, it's not working.

If the change is obviously negative, something is taking you in the wrong direction.W hat? Well, here's the checklist:

Step 1: Double-check your adherence.As you should have gathered by now, I believe the #1 problem for most individualsnot getting great results through a basic eating plan based on the 10 Habits isn'tsome secret macronutrient mix they don't know about. lt's adherence. So makesure you're actually following the plan, and this isn't merely a discipline, motivation orbelief system problem. Those can be addressed by a good coach, but not throughnutritional intervention.

Step 2: Check your training.If you started with a good baseline diet, one known to work for people with your bodytype for your chosen goal, and if you followed that diet closely enough to earn youradherence x's, then the next step is to Iook at your training.

Don't overlook the importance of exercise: type, volume, intensity are alI important.For exam ple, independent research studies conducted at the Universities ofPittsburgh and Wyoming demonstrated that, for most people, exercising at Ieast 5hours a week is necessary to improve body composition. If you're doing at Ieast 5hours of purposeful exercise, with a Iarge portion of that exercising being of highintensity, you're probably on the right track. If not, don't blame your dietjust yet,blame your exercise program.

Step 3: Adjust Your Dietary Intake.If you've picked a good baseline diet, a one-size-fits-all diet, and have optimized yourtraining program yet still aren't getting the results you're after, it's time to adjust yourintake based on your body type and physiological responses to nutrition.

Should you increase or decrease the size of your meals. Cut calories? Cut carbs?lncrease protein? Increase healthy fats? You could make any of these changes, andmany more. The beauty of this system (creating a specific plan FIRST, then followingit exactly for two weeks) means that you know the exact caloric intake, macronutrientcontent, etc etc of your plan. You don't need to piss around with food Iogs every day,or record the content of your meals as Iittle ëfnotes to self'' in your ipod. No one but

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@ the OCD among you will do this sort of thing anyway. By planning in advance, you'llknow exactly what you ate, because you either followed the plan or you didn't - and ifyou didn't, THAT'S THE PROBLEM. If you did, then you've got a great baseline of foodchoices that you can tweak to force progress.

Nutritional AqustmentsEarlier in this guide I told you that I won't sugar coat things. So it's important that Istate the following: I won't pretend that this guide could give you everything you needto prescribe, monitor and adjust your nutritional plan for a perfect body. It can't, ittook me llyears of university to Iearn what I know. However, I will cover some of themajor categories of adjustments and some simple rules of thumb that will take youfurther than the vast majority of your peers.

Of course, each of these adjustments and rules of thumb assumes that you passedchecks one (you're following the plan exactly) and two (you're training correctly foryour body type and goal).

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Adjusting Carbohydrate IntakeCarbohydrate intake is the first thing I Iook to when individualizing someone'snutrition plan. This is Iargely a function of two beliefs. The first is that it's very easyto eat the wrong types of carbohydrates. Proteins and fats are easy to get right.Carbs, on the other hand are a virtual nutritional minefield. Secondly, l believe thatcarbohydrate tolerance varies widely and that nutrient partitioning is closely relatedto the body's ability to tolerate carbohydrates. I find that by matching carbohydrateintake to an individual's physiological carbohydrate tolerance, nutrient partitioningand body composition can quickly be improved.

Therefore, to individualize someone's carbohydrate intake, I first separate them into3 carbohydrate tolerance groups - poor carbohydrate tolerance, moderatecarbohydrate tolerance, and excellent carbohydrate tolerance.

1) Excellent Carbohydrate Tolerance

Those individuals with excellent carbohydrate tolerance are typically very Ieanand athletic and can remain so with a fairly high carbohydrate diet. In fact,these individuals usually need a higher carbohydrate diet to function well.Deprive them of their carbs and replace those carbs with more protein and fatand they're sluggish, perfom more poorly, and actually carry a worse bodycom position. So, for these individuals, I focus on helping them choose cleancarbohydrates with each meal, typically a mixture of starchy and fibrouscarbohydrates. Of course, the remainder of the 10 Habits still m ust befollowed.

For those of you who absolutely have to see the macronutrient split l might

prescribe for someone with excellent carbohydrate tolerance, it's usually@


around 55% carbohydrate, 25% protein, and 20% fat. Just keep in mind that Idon't encourage anyone to be obsessive about each percentage point of eachmacronutrient. Rather, in this group, I suggest simply following the 10 Habitsand ''supplementing'' each 10 Habit meal with some clean, starchycarbohydrates.

It's interesting to note that I believe that as individuals age, they typically Iosesome ability to tolerate carbohydrate so you should take this into account withthe passing years and adjust as necessary.

2) Poor Carbohydrate Tolerance

Those individuals with poor carbohydrate tolerance are typically fatter, moreectomorphic, and require more physical activity to get Iean. These individualsdo better on diets higher in protein and fats with a Iower carbohydrate intake.Therefore, for these individuals, I require strict adherence to the 10 Habits.For them, there are very few or no starchy carbohydrates outside of theworkout and post-workout phases of the nutrient tim ing day. Theircarbohydrate intake outside of these phases, even on off days, should comefrom veggies, with a small amoqnt of fruit as well.

Again, for those of you who absolutely have to see the macronutrient split Imight prescribe for someone with poor carbohydrate tolerance, it's usuallyaround 3O% carbohydrate, 35% protein, and 35% fat. Again, as stated above,I don't encourage anyone to be obsessive about each percentage point ofeach macronutrient. Just follow the 10 Habits uncompromisingly and yourbody com p will come in Iine.

3) Moderate Carbohydrate Tolerance

Of course, those individuals with moderate carbohydrate tolerance typicallyfall between the other two extremes. These individuals do best when eatingtheir starchy carbohydrates only during certain times of the day. For them,they should follow the 10 Habits, eating non-veggie and non-fruitcarbohydrates only during and immediately after exercise, but they can alsoadd a small amount of starchy carbohydrates during breakfast meals.

The macronutrient split here might be 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and30% fat. Again, as stated above, I don't encourage anyone to be obsessiveabout each percentage point of each macronutrient. Just follow the 10 Habitsand supplement breakfast with starchy carbs and your body comp will come inIine.

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At this point you're probably wondering whether these suggestions should befollowed during periods of mass gain or fat Ioss.

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@ These suggestions should be followed regardless of your specific goals; assumingyour goals do not include becoming a obese. For weight gain or weight Ioss progress,once you're eating according to sound nutrient timing principles and making goodfood selections, calorie intake is the most im portant factor.

Adjusting Protein IntakeAdjusting protein intake is a fairly easy process.when tailoring protein intake to the individual.

There are two things that I consider

1) The first is to make sure that the individual is eating enough total protein toprevent a negative nitrogen balance; pretty simple and most weight trainersand athletes have already got this one covered if they're approaching lgprotein/lb of body weight.

2) The second is to increase the protein intake from this point based on the'

individual's body type and carbohydrate tolerance. If the individual has greatcarbohydrate tolerance and is Iean, then carbohydrate intake is higher (asdiscussed above) while protein (still above the lF lb mark) and fat intakes areIower. If the individual has poor carbohydrate tolerance and is fatter, theopposite is true. For this type of individual, carbohydrate intake is Iower (asdiscussed above) while protein and fat intakes are higher. This dietary shifthelps increase metabolic rate and manage insulin concentrations.

In the end, with respect to protein intake, I find that the best advice is to follow the10 Habits (eating Iean, complete protein with each meal, every 2-3 hours) and toadjust that protein intake based on what you're doing with your carbohydrate intake.

Adjusting Fat IntakeFat intake is the most easily manipulated and should scale, in amount, in an inverserelationship to carbohydrate intake. However, one im portant note should be madewith respect to fat intake. As discussed in the 10 Habits, it's im portant to eat healthyfats daily. Another way of saying this is: supplem ent your normal intake with healthyfats. Add olive oil, flax oil, fish oil, m ixed nuts, flax seeds, etc to your daily intake andthe fats you're normally getting from your complete protein sources will end up fairlybalanced.

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Adjusting Calorie IntakeAs mentioned above, food selection and nutrient timing are critical to nutrientpartitioning and body composition but calorie intake dictates weight gain or weightIoss. Therefore, if you're interested in gaining or Iosing weight, the formula should bepretty simple; eat more to gain weight, eat Iess to Iose weight. Unfortunately it's notalways this sim ple.

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1) Muscle Gain

If you're after muscle gain, it usually is pretty simple: increase food intake. Itypically recommend increasing food intake by 25OkcaI every two weeks (ofcourse, using outcome-based decision making along the way).


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But rem ember, there are some conditions that must be met before you canexpect to see mostly Iean gains with this increase in food intake.

a. You must be adhering to a specific energy intake in order to know howmany calories to increase your energy intake by. Sure, blasting a ton ofadditional energy into your system will cause weight gain; but Iikelymore fat gain that you'll be comfortable with. So we're back to theadherence thing. Make sure your adherence is good and only then willyour 250 calorie bump have any utility.

b. You must be training appropriately for your muscle-building goals.

c. You must be eating for your body type (carbohydrate tolerance);selecting good food choices and appropriate nutrient timing isparamount.

2) Fat Loss

Optimal fat Ioss, on the other hand, isn't quite as simple since manyindividuals who habitually under eat tend to have depressed metabolic rates.lncreasing exercise volume to 5 hours per week, with a high percentage ofthis exercise com ing from high intensity exercise, will help im prove metabolicrate. Also, increasing protein intake will help increase metabolic rate.

However, with most of my clients who are habitual under eaters, my first stepis to adjust their food type and timing, while increasing calorie intake. Thisincrease is situational and depends on how far oîf their current eating isrelative to what they should be eating. When I increase calorie intake in thismanner there is typically no change in body weight during the first few weeksbut Iean body mass goes up while fat mass goes down. With this newtendency toward good nutrient partitioning and increased metabolic power, Inow begin to decrease calories by about 250 every two weeks.

Of course, for this to work, the same rules apply as with muscle gain.Adherence has to be there, as does an appropriate exercise program andgood nutrient timing.

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For aII calorie adjustments, keep this in mind; with respect to calorie intake, whenyou make these changes, make sure you keep everything else the same. Your mealswill Iook more or Iess the same, just Iarger or smaller. The changes will be spread

evenly across the entire meal too. Don't reduce the size of your chicken salad by @


@ taking out 50% of the spinach; take 10% out of the spinach, 10% off the chickenbreast, etc. Spread the change evenly across the meals.

Extreme Body Com position AlterationsThe adjustments discussed above with respect to carbohydrate, protein, fat, andcalorie adjustments work fantastically for timely, sane alterations in bodycomposition. However, when individuals are Iooking for something more extreme,such as dropping to below 5% body fat, dropping body fat ridiculously fast on a timeschedule, or gaining Iean mass very quickly on a time schedule, these suggestionsabove need a bit of tweaking. (The principles above are sound but may require theintroduction of more exercise, calorie or carbohydrate cycling, etc). These extremebody composition techniques are beyond the scope of this guide so we'll save themfor a later date.

The Resistance .Make no mistake about it; there are those among you who will believe this PrecisionNutrition Individualization system is baloney. Those individuals will tell you it's notthis difficult to get into great shape. They'll tell you that I'm just making this stuff upto sell something. They'll get aII mad at my method without even understanding it.

Guess what? You're going to be tempted to believe them, mostly because thissystem does seem a bit complicated and dilicult. However, rest assured; it's onlydifficult at first. Eventually, it's very, very easy.

So why the resistance? W ell, there are three types of individuals who will m iss thepoint of this guide:

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1) Type 1: The Gym Rat

The gxym rat is the individual who spends aII his free time at the gym. Thisindividual spends Iots of hours working out, performing Iots of sets, Iots ofreps, etc. This individual will argue that my advice is Rtoo complicatedbecause aII you've gotta do to get into great shape is eat clean and train''.However, keep in mind, this person trains...and trains...and trains. Highvolumes of exescise can mask sub-optimal eating patterns, and often do. Somake sure you ignore this person's advice unless you're willing to spend aIIyour free time at the gym.

2) Type 2: The Genetic Adonis

The genetic Adonis is the guy who can eat pretty much whatever he wantswithout much thought or planning and remains in great shape Iargely due tohis superior genetic make-up. This individual got dealt the genetic wild cardso his advice is Iargely meaningless to you unless you've got his genetics.

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3) Type 3: The Veteran

The veteran is the individual who's gotten in great shape without endless ofhours in the gym and without superior genetics. This is the individual you'llmost often turn to for advice. His advice will usually be well-intentioned andsympathetic.


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However, unless this person is a damn good coach (and coaching credentialscome from a combination of Iearning the coaching process in theory andpracticing it over and over again), you should always be careful of theveteran's advice. It will usually be good advice. But sometimes, things thatthe veteran has Iearned over time and internalized so deeply that theyimportant ideas don't get their due credit - the veteran has sim ply moved onfrom them.

This is particularly true when it com es to the system Iaid out in thislndividualization Guide. Without the extensive coaching experience I have, I'dnever have been able to write this guide. In fact, before coaching, I wouldhave believed that Hgetting in great shape doesn't pave to be so difficult.'' Butthat belief was false and would only have been in place because I'd haveforgotten my early Iearning curve.

It's easy to forget the early struggles and habit-building when you've haveIong-since internalized the process. Nowadays my nutritional program is sorefined that I sim ply Iook in the mirror every day and that's aIl themeasurement I need to alter my nutritional intake every week or two toaccomplish my current goals. But in the beginning l needed a written plan,regular measurement, adherence accountability, and systematic alterations.

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Precision Nutrition Individualization represents a systematic way of tailoring yournutritional intake; a way of creating the perfect nutritional fit, just as my Italian friendSignor Caruso creates the perfect sartorial fit.

If you want the perfect body, and you want it drug free, your nutrition had better bemore bespoke than off-the-rack. You need to tailor your nutritional plan to your ownprecise and individual specifications.

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Documents

Precision Nutrition Individualization Guide