The 3 Levels of Nutrition: Where Do YOU Rank?
Writing weekly articles and newsletters has taught me one big lesson in 'content' creation.
If your clients are asking about it, everyone is asking about it.
After a dozen or so coaching calls with online personal training clients in the month of April, one thing is clear.
Summer is coming and people want to know more about nutrition.
Up here in northern Vermont a few 65+ degree days has everyone remembering that summer is just around the corner. It has served as a great reminder that winter hibernation is over.
Questions like...
"My diet this winter sucked, where do I start in fixing that?" and "Do you think this green tea extract will help me lose 8 pounds?"
**Please, no, no, it will not. Put the green tea pills down.
I love the curiosity behind all of the questions. Consistent questions around a specific topic let me know that you are in the mindset to change.
A quick aside, I actually wrote a great article about behavior change back in 2021...it relates specifically to New Year's Resolutions...but the concept of behavior change rings true. You can check that out here if you're interested.
Regardless of the specificity behind the question, I have a pretty consistent answer. From a coaching perspective, it is super important for me, and you, to find out what you are comfortable doing as it relates to change.
If you view your diet as 'terrible' and are looking for a place to start, any change towards the greater good is going to be beneficial. Does that mean we have to count every calorie and macronutrient? No, it doesn't.
If you're ready to swallow half a bottle of green tea pills because the label says 'fat burner' on it, then maybe you're in the frame of mind to learn a little bit more about what 'fat burning' really is in the body.
Everyone starts at a different place when it comes to nutrition (and fitness, for that matter). Here is how I figure out where to start.
The 3 Levels of Nutrition
Level 1: Consciously surrounding your environment with nutrient dense food.
Notice I didn't say 'surrounding your environment with good food'. It isn't as easy as good food/bad food. This is 100% a conversation for a different day, but nutrition education isn't always accessible, nor reliable. Level 1 is all about understanding that the environment we spend time in is better optimized for positive choices. Instead of grabbing a package of tiny muffin bites, have bananas on the counter. When you want to grab a bag of chips for a snack, replace that with beef jerky.
With digital resources like pick up and delivery groceries, monthly or weekly food subscriptions, ACCESS to nutrient dense food has never been easier, leverage these resources to make sure you are stocked and ready to make new decisions.
Level 2: Counting and tracking 1 nutrition number.
After you've got a handle on level 1 - and maybe you already have great choices in your environment- the next level is about tracking one nutritional number. Options for level 2 include; total daily calories, daily grams of protein, or daily grams of fiber.
Why not carbohydrates or fats? Well, in the pecking order of weight-loss (or even building muscle) and the context of this article, the two most important metrics are 1) total calories eaten each day and 2) total protein intake and then a distant 3) is total grams of fiber, which helps promote feeling full and some awesome gut-health benefits.
The secret sauce to level 2 is that it doesn't need to be more than 1 number. In an effort not to go 0 to 100, this is more like going from 10mph to 50 mph. You're creeping along, because you've dominated level 1, and are ready to go at a comfortable speed.
You 100% will see weight-loss from tracking 1 metric- so long that you can stick with it, consistently**.
If you want to read more about nutrition strategies, you can check out this article and this article.
**People always ask 'how long is consistently?' - 90 days of 90%. You have to be 90% consistent for 90 days. This means that out of 90 total days you tracked a metric for 81 of them.
Level 3: Counting 2 nutrition numbers.
Once you have a handle on consistently surrounding your environment with the goods AND can count 1 nutrition number consistently for 90 days, you are ready to add in 1 more number. Looking at the list of options from level 2, we add one more. 90% of the time I recommend tracking total daily calories and total daily grams of protein. By doing this, from a weight-loss point of view, you will be able to manage your calorie deficit AND maintain your current amounts of muscle by eating/tracking protein.
Level 3 brings the same consistency requirement- 90% over 90 days. If you can crush 81/90 days consistently tracking TWO aspects of your nutrition, good things will happen.
That's it. 3 Levels. Could we go for the whole sha-bang and count our calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fats? Yeah, we definitely could. However, for the normal everyday person, that isn't really necessary. In my experience, that level of detail is reserved for specific (high level) athletic events OR specific health reasons. Both scenarios, high performing athletics and specific health reasons, would require much more in depth nutritional guidance from a Registered Dietician.
As we wrap up this article, remember the context behind the 3 levels you just read about. To answer questions like "how do I lose ___ pounds" or "how do I fix my diet", even general questions like "how do I eat better"...you need to find where you fit in the 3 levels. By knowing where you are at, what you are ready for, and what educational gaps need to be filled, you can start to develop REAL answers that will actually help YOU.