Nutrition — How to Start

"I'LL START
TOMORROW."

We've all said it. Tomorrow becomes next week. Next week becomes never. The problem isn't motivation — it's not knowing where to actually begin.

So here it is. Three steps. That's your start.

1

Know Your Number

Before you change anything, find out how many calories your body burns in a day. That number is your TDEE — Total Daily Energy Expenditure. It's your starting point. Everything else is built on top of it. Without this number, you're guessing.

Calculate your TDEE →

2

Pick One Goal

Lose fat. Build muscle. Or maintain. Pick one. Not all three. Your goal decides whether you eat below, above, or at your TDEE. Trying to do everything at once is why most people do nothing.

3

Give It 30 Days

Check in at 2 weeks — is the scale moving? Is strength going up? If yes, keep going. If nothing is moving, find the problem and fix it now — not at day 30. By day 30 you should feel and see major results. That's the standard. Hold yourself to it.

The goal is not to be perfect on day one. The goal is to still be going on day 30.

Calories

WHAT IS
A CALORIE?

Technically, a calorie is the amount of energy needed to heat one gram of water by one degree. But in food terms, what you see on packaging is actually a kilocalorie (kcal) — 1,000 of those small calories. When a label says 200 calories, it means 200 kcal. The fitness world just dropped the "kilo" to keep it simple. Same thing.

Calories are a rough estimate — not a precise science. The numbers on food labels have a margin of error. Your body's burn rate varies daily. But here's the thing: they're the best tool we have, and they're an excellent starting point for understanding how much you're actually eating. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

Not all calories are equal though. Where they come from matters. Here's how each macronutrient breaks down:

Protein 4 calories per gram

Carbohydrates 4 calories per gram

Fat 9 calories per gram

Alcohol 7 calories per gram

Fat has more than double the calories per gram compared to protein or carbs. That's why high-fat foods add up fast — even in small amounts.

Alcohol sits at 7 calories per gram. Empty calories with zero nutritional value. Worth knowing.

TDEE — Total Daily Energy

WHERE DO
YOUR CALORIES
ACTUALLY GO?

Your body burns calories in 4 ways. Most people think the gym is the biggest one. It's not. Not even close.

BMR 70%

Basal Metabolic Rate — The calories your body burns just to stay alive. Breathing, heartbeat, organ function. Even if you lay in bed all day, your body burns this. It makes up 70% of everything you burn. You can't exercise your way around it — it's the engine running in the background, always.

NEAT 15%

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis — Every calorie burned outside the gym. Walking to the fridge, taking stairs, fidgeting, standing, doing chores. This is 3x more impactful than your planned workouts. The simplest way to boost it: count your daily steps and hit a target.

TEF 10%

Thermic Effect of Food — The calories your body uses just to break down and absorb what you eat. Protein costs the most energy to digest. Carbs and fats cost much less. This is already accounted for in the calorie numbers on food packaging — but it's why a high-protein diet gives you a hidden advantage.

EAT 5%

Exercise Activity Thermogenesis — The calories burned during planned exercise. Gym, running, cycling, sports. Most people think this is the biggest number. It's only 5%. Your daily movement throughout the day matters far more than your one-hour gym session.

Your workouts account for just 5% of your daily calorie burn. Daily movement (NEAT) burns 3x more than the gym. Sitting all day then training for one hour doesn't move the needle much. Move more all day long.

The takeaway

Move more during the day. Not just during your workout. Every step counts more than you think. A daily step count habit will do more for your results than most training programs.

Why Protein Wins

PROTEIN IS
DIFFERENT.

Protein has 4 calories per gram — same as carbs. But what your body does with it is completely different. Protein works harder for you than any other macronutrient.

Benefit 01 It Keeps You Full

Protein triggers satiety hormones stronger than carbs or fat. You eat protein — you stay full longer. You stay full — you eat less overall. Less food in, more fat burned. It's that simple.

Benefit 02 It Costs More to Digest

Your body uses 20–30% more energy to break down protein compared to other foods. This is already calculated into the calorie numbers on food packaging — but it means protein is working harder for you even after you eat it.

Benefit 03 It Builds & Keeps Muscle

When you lose weight, your body can burn muscle for energy. Protein stops that. It protects your muscle while you lose fat — so you end up leaner, not just lighter.

Benefit 04 It Speeds Up Your Metabolism

More muscle = higher BMR. More muscle means your body burns more calories at rest — even while you sleep. Protein builds muscle. Muscle burns fat. The cycle works in your favour.

Low protein is a disaster. Adequate protein is non-negotiable — whatever your goal.

BMI & BMR

YOUR TWO
BASELINE
NUMBERS

BMI — Body Mass Index. A number calculated from your height and weight. It puts you in a category — underweight, healthy, overweight, or obese. It's the most common tool used by doctors and the internet to measure if your weight is healthy.

Here's the problem: BMI doesn't know if you're muscular or fat. A 90kg person with 10% body fat and a 90kg person with 35% body fat get the exact same BMI score. That makes it pretty unreliable on its own.

The real numbers that matter: 12–15% body fat for men. 22–25% for women. That's optimal. BMI won't tell you this — body fat % will. We'll go deep on this in the next chapters.

Still, BMI is a starting point. Use it as a rough guide, not a verdict. Here's the full chart — find your height and weight to see where you land.

⚠️ Don't take this too seriously. BMI is regularly wrong — especially for muscular people. We'll discuss real examples with body fat % in the chapters ahead.

HEIGHT		WEIGHT (lbs / kgs)
in	cm	120 54.4	130 59.0	140 63.5	150 68.0	160 72.6	170 77.1	180 81.6	190 86.2	200 90.7	210 95.2	220 99.8	230 104.3	240 108.9	250 113.4	260 117.9	270 122.5	280 127.0	290 131.5	300 136.1	310 140.6	320 145.1	330 149.7
4'10"	124.5	25	27	29	31	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48	50	52	54	57	59	61	63	65	67	69
4'11"	149.9	24	26	28	30	32	33	36	38	40	43	45	47	49	51	53	55	57	59	61	63	65	67
5'0"	152.4	23	25	27	29	31	32	35	37	39	41	43	45	47	49	51	53	55	57	59	61	63	65
5'1"	154.9	23	25	26	28	30	32	34	36	38	40	42	44	45	47	49	51	53	55	57	59	61	62
5'2"	157.5	22	24	25	27	29	31	33	35	37	38	40	42	44	46	48	49	51	53	55	57	59	60
5'3"	160.0	21	23	25	27	28	30	32	34	36	37	39	41	43	44	46	48	50	51	53	55	57	59
5'4"	162.6	21	22	24	26	28	29	31	33	34	36	38	40	41	43	45	46	48	50	52	53	55	57
5'5"	165.1	20	22	23	25	27	28	30	32	33	35	37	38	40	42	43	45	47	48	50	52	53	55
5'6"	167.6	19	21	23	24	26	27	29	31	32	34	36	37	39	40	42	44	45	47	49	50	52	53
5'7"	170.2	19	20	22	24	25	27	28	30	31	33	35	36	38	39	41	42	44	46	47	49	50	52
5'8"	172.7	18	20	21	23	24	26	27	29	30	32	34	35	37	38	40	41	43	44	46	47	49	50
5'9"	175.3	18	19	21	22	24	25	27	28	30	31	33	34	36	37	38	40	41	43	44	46	47	49
5'10"	177.8	17	19	20	22	23	24	26	27	29	30	32	33	35	36	37	39	40	42	43	45	46	47
5'11"	180.3	17	18	20	21	22	24	25	27	28	29	31	32	34	35	36	38	39	41	42	43	45	45
6'0"	182.9	16	18	19	20	22	23	24	26	27	29	30	31	33	34	35	37	38	39	41	43	43	45
6'1"	185.4	16	17	19	20	21	22	24	25	26	28	29	30	32	33	34	36	37	38	40	41	42	44
6'2"	188.0	15	17	18	19	21	22	23	24	26	27	28	30	31	32	33	35	36	37	39	40	41	42
6'3"	190.5	15	16	18	19	20	21	23	24	25	26	28	29	30	31	33	34	35	36	38	39	41	41
6'4"	193.0	15	16	17	18	20	21	22	23	24	26	27	28	29	30	32	33	34	35	37	38	39	40
6'5"	195.6	14	15	17	18	19	20	21	23	24	25	26	27	29	30	31	32	33	34	36	37	38	39

Underweight <18.5 Healthy 18.5–24.9 Overweight 25–29.9 Obese 30–39.9 Severely Obese ≥40

BMR — Basal Metabolic Rate. The minimum calories your body needs just to exist. Breathing, heartbeat, digestion, keeping your organs running — all of that burns calories before you even get out of bed. This number is your floor. Never eat below your BMR long-term.

The rule

Calculate your BMR. Then calculate your TDEE. Your goal lives between those two numbers. Lose fat — eat below TDEE but above BMR. Build muscle — eat above TDEE. Maintain — eat at TDEE. Simple.

You Can'tOut-TrainA Bad Diet.

"I'LL STARTTOMORROW."

WHAT ISA CALORIE?

WHERE DOYOUR CALORIESACTUALLY GO?

PROTEIN ISDIFFERENT.

YOUR TWOBASELINENUMBERS

You Can't
Out-Train
A Bad Diet.

"I'LL START
TOMORROW."

WHAT IS
A CALORIE?

WHERE DO
YOUR CALORIES
ACTUALLY GO?

PROTEIN IS
DIFFERENT.

YOUR TWO
BASELINE
NUMBERS