Nutrition.

Author: classy-giraffe

Glossary.md

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 # Glossary of Key Terms

chapter7/7.1-calories.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.1 What Are Calories"
+parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 1
+---
+
+## 7.1 What Are Calories?
+
+A **calorie** (technically a kilocalorie, kcal) is a unit of energy. One kilocalorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. When we say a food "contains 200 calories," we mean that the chemical bonds in that food, when broken down by your metabolism, release approximately 200 kcal of usable energy.
+
+Your body needs this energy for everything it does: pumping blood, breathing, thinking, walking, and—most relevant to this book—repairing and building muscle tissue after training. Every physiological process in your body runs on the energy extracted from the food you eat.
+
+The energy content of food comes from three macronutrients, each with a different caloric density (known as the **Atwater factors**):
+
+| Macronutrient | Energy per gram |
+|:---|:---:|
+| **Protein** | 4 kcal/g |
+| **Carbohydrate** | 4 kcal/g |
+| **Fat** | 9 kcal/g |
+| **Alcohol** | 7 kcal/g |
+
+These values are averages. The actual energy yield depends on the specific food and how your body processes it (the thermic effect of food, which we'll cover next). But these numbers are close enough for all practical purposes.
+
+> Alcohol is listed here because it does contain energy, but it is **not** a macronutrient your body needs. It is metabolised as a toxin, and its calories come with significant downsides that we will discuss in Section 7.4.5.
+{: .note }

chapter7/7.10-supplements.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.10 Supplements"
+parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 10
+---
+
+## 7.10 Supplements
+
+Supplements are the **1%**. They cannot compensate for a bad diet, poor training, or insufficient sleep. If your total daily protein is below 1.6 g/kg, you are sleeping 5 hours a night, and your training consists of random exercises with no progressive overload, no supplement on earth will produce meaningful results. Fix the foundation first.
+
+That said, a small number of supplements have robust, replicated evidence supporting their use. Below is a tier system based on the strength of evidence.
+
+### Tier 1 — Strong Evidence
+
+**Creatine Monohydrate (5 g/day)**
+
+Creatine is the most extensively researched supplement in sports science history. It works by increasing intramuscular stores of phosphocreatine (PCr), which serves as a rapid energy buffer during short, high-intensity efforts (exactly the kind of effort you produce during a working set). Meta-analyses consistently show that creatine supplementation combined with resistance training produces greater gains in strength, power, and lean body mass compared to training alone [14, 15].
+
+- **Dose:** 5 g per day, every day. No loading phase is necessary—loading (20 g/day for 5–7 days) saturates stores faster but is not required. Daily dosing will saturate stores within ~3–4 weeks.
+- **Timing:** Does not matter. Take it whenever is convenient.
+- **Form:** Creatine monohydrate. Not creatine HCl, not buffered creatine, not creatine ethyl ester. Monohydrate is the cheapest, most studied, and most effective form. Every "advanced" formulation is a marketing gimmick.
+- **Side effects:** May cause ~1–2 kg of water weight gain (intracellular, not subcutaneous). Does not cause kidney damage in healthy individuals. Does not cause hair loss (this myth stems from a single, unreplicated study).
+
+**Caffeine (3–6 mg/kg, 30–60 minutes before training)**
+
+Caffeine improves endurance, strength, and power output while reducing perceived effort. Meta-analyses confirm consistent ergogenic effects across a variety of exercise modalities [16]. Most people already consume caffeine—coffee, tea, pre-workout supplements—so this is less about "should I take it" and more about "how much and when."
+
+- **Dose:** 3–6 mg/kg of body mass. For a 80 kg person, that's 240–480 mg (roughly 2–4 cups of coffee).
+- **Timing:** 30–60 minutes before training.
+- **Caution:** Tolerance develops. If you consume caffeine daily, you may need to cycle off periodically to restore sensitivity. Avoid caffeine within 6–8 hours of bedtime—sleep is more important than any supplement.
+
+**Protein Powder**
+
+Not technically a supplement—it's food in powder form. Whey, casein, and plant-based blends (pea, rice, soy) are all effective at providing amino acids for muscle protein synthesis. The advantage is convenience: a scoop of whey in water takes 30 seconds to prepare and delivers ~25 g of high-quality protein.
+
+Use protein powder when whole food is impractical (post-workout, between meals, travelling). It is not inherently superior to chicken, eggs, or Greek yogurt.
+
+### Tier 2 — Moderate Evidence
+
+| Supplement | Use Case | Notes |
+|:---|:---|:---|
+| **Vitamin D** | If blood levels are <30 ng/mL | Common deficiency; 1000–2000 IU/day. Get tested. |
+| **Omega-3 / Fish Oil** | If dietary intake of fatty fish is low | 1–2 g combined EPA/DHA per day |
+| **Magnesium** | If dietary intake is low, or for sleep quality | 200–400 mg glycinate or citrate before bed |
+
+### Tier 3 — Weak or No Evidence (Save Your Money)
+
+| Supplement | Reality |
+|:---|:---|
+| **BCAAs** | Redundant if total protein intake is adequate. BCAAs are a subset of protein; if you eat enough protein, you already have them. |
+| **Testosterone boosters** | No legal, over-the-counter supplement meaningfully increases testosterone in healthy young males. Period. |
+| **Fat burners** | Expensive caffeine pills with proprietary blends of ingredients that have no independent evidence for fat loss. |
+| **Collagen (for hypertrophy)** | Collagen is an incomplete protein with poor amino acid profile for MPS. Useful for joint/tendon health, not for muscle building. |
+| **Glutamine** | No effect on muscle growth in well-nourished individuals. May benefit gut health in clinical populations but is irrelevant for gym-goers. |
+
+> If a supplement promises results that sound too good to be true, it's because they are. The supplement industry is largely unregulated, and marketing claims do not require evidence. Stick with the Tier 1 basics and invest the rest of your budget in better food.
+{: .practical }

chapter7/7.2-energy-expenditure.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.2 Energy Expenditure"
+parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 2
+---
+
+## 7.2 Energy Expenditure: Where Your Calories Go
+
+Understanding where your body spends its energy is essential for making sense of energy balance. Your **Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)** is the total number of calories you burn in a day. It is composed of several distinct components, which can be grouped into two categories.
+
+### Resting Energy Expenditure (REE)
+
+**Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)** is the energy your body needs just to stay alive: maintaining core temperature, pumping blood, breathing, running your brain, and keeping all your organs functional. If you lay perfectly still in a temperature-controlled room all day, you would still burn this amount. BMR typically accounts for approximately **60%** of total daily energy expenditure and is largely determined by your body size, lean mass, age, and sex [1].
+
+### Non-Resting Energy Expenditure (NREE)
+
+Everything above BMR falls into this category:
+
+- **Thermic Effect of Food (TEF):** The energy cost of digesting, absorbing, and storing the nutrients you eat. This typically accounts for about **10%** of TDEE. Crucially, TEF varies by macronutrient: protein costs the most to process (20–30% of its energy content), carbohydrate is moderate (5–10%), and fat is cheapest (0–3%) [2]. This is one of the reasons high-protein diets are advantageous during a cut—you "waste" more energy just processing the food.
+
+- **Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT):** The calories you burn during intentional, structured exercise—your gym sessions, runs, or sports. For most people who train 3–5 times per week, EAT accounts for roughly **5%** of TDEE. This number is much smaller than most people think.
+
+- **Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT):** Everything else—fidgeting, walking to the car, cooking, standing at your desk, tapping your foot, even the energy cost of maintaining your posture. NEAT is the **most variable** component of energy expenditure and can differ by up to 2,000 kcal per day between two people of the same size [3]. When you diet, NEAT drops subconsciously—you move less, fidget less, and take fewer spontaneous steps. This is a major component of so-called "metabolic adaptation."
+
+### Putting It Together
+
+| Component | Abbreviation | Typical % of TDEE |
+|:---|:---:|:---:|
+| Basal Metabolic Rate | BMR | ~60% |
+| Thermic Effect of Food | TEF | ~10% |
+| Exercise Activity Thermogenesis | EAT | ~5% |
+| Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis | NEAT | ~15–25% |
+
+**TDEE = REE (BMR) + NREE (TEF + EAT + NEAT)**
+
+> The practical implication is clear: your gym sessions, despite feeling exhausting, contribute only a small fraction of your daily burn. NEAT—the spontaneous movement you do outside the gym—matters far more for total expenditure. If your goal is fat loss, staying generally active throughout the day (walking, taking stairs, not sitting for hours on end) is at least as important as adding another set of leg extensions.
+{: .practical }

chapter7/7.3-cico.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.3 Calories In vs Calories Out"
+parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 3
+---
+
+## 7.3 Calories In vs Calories Out (CiCo)
+
+The fundamental law governing body weight is energy balance:
+
+- **Calories In > Calories Out → Weight gain** (energy is stored, primarily as body fat or, if training, partially as muscle)
+- **Calories In < Calories Out → Weight loss** (stored energy is mobilised, ideally from fat)
+- **Calories In ≈ Calories Out → Weight maintenance**
+
+This is not a "diet philosophy." It is a direct application of the first law of thermodynamics to biological systems. No food, macronutrient ratio, meal timing strategy, supplement, or hormone profile can override this relationship. Insulin does not override it. Carbohydrates do not override it. Eating at 10 PM does not override it. The energy has to come from somewhere, and it has to go somewhere.
+
+### CiCo Is the Operating System, Not the Whole Computer
+
+CiCo tells you *whether* you will gain or lose weight. It does not tell you *what kind* of weight you will gain or lose (fat vs. muscle), how you will *feel* during the process, or how *sustainable* the approach will be. Those outcomes depend on the "apps" running on top of the operating system: macronutrient composition, food quality, training stimulus, sleep, stress, and adherence.
+
+This distinction matters because it prevents two common mistakes:
+
+1. **The "clean eating" fallacy:** Believing that eating only "healthy" foods will automatically lead to weight loss. You can gain weight eating chicken breast, brown rice, and broccoli if you eat enough of it.
+2. **The "junk food diet" fallacy:** Believing that CiCo means food quality doesn't matter. You can lose weight eating only candy bars, but you will feel terrible, lose muscle, and your health markers will deteriorate.
+
+### Don't Obsess Over the Numbers
+
+Calorie tracking is a **tool**, not a lifestyle. It is valuable for building awareness—learning what a portion of rice actually looks like, discovering that olive oil is shockingly calorie-dense, realising that your "small snack" was 400 kcal. But the goal is to develop an intuitive sense of your intake over time, not to weigh every gram of food for the rest of your life.
+
+Track diligently for a few weeks or months to educate yourself. Then transition to a more relaxed approach: rough mental estimates, consistent eating patterns, and using the scale and the mirror as your feedback loop.
+
+> CiCo is the operating system. Macros, timing, food quality, and training are the apps running on top of it. The operating system must be in order for any app to work, but running only the operating system with no apps gives you a terrible user experience.
+{: .practical }

chapter7/7.4-macronutrients.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.4 Macronutrients"
+parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 4
+has_children: true
+---
+
+## 7.4 Macronutrients
+
+Macronutrients are the three categories of nutrients that provide energy: **protein**, **carbohydrates**, and **fats**. Each plays a distinct role in the body beyond simply supplying calories. We also cover two additional substances in this section: **fiber**—a type of carbohydrate that deserves its own discussion because of how consistently undervalued it is—and **alcohol**, which supplies calories but comes with significant costs.
+
+The practical order of priority when setting up your nutrition is:
+
+1. **Set your calories** (Section 7.3 — energy balance)
+2. **Set your protein** (the non-negotiable macro for anyone who trains)
+3. **Set your fats** (minimum threshold for hormonal health)
+4. **Fill the rest with carbohydrates** (the flexible macro)
+5. **Get your fiber in** (health, satiety, gut function)
+6. **Minimise alcohol** (it competes with everything above)

chapter7/7.4.1-protein.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.4.1 Protein"
+parent: "7.4 Macronutrients"
+grand_parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 1
+---
+
+### 7.4.1: Protein: The Building Block
+
+Protein is the only macronutrient that directly supplies the amino acids needed to build and repair muscle tissue. When you eat protein, your digestive system breaks it down into individual amino acids, which are then absorbed into the bloodstream and delivered to muscle cells. There, the mTORC1 pathway (Chapter 1) uses these amino acids—especially **leucine**—as raw materials to synthesize new contractile proteins (actin and myosin). Without adequate protein, the growth signal from training has nothing to build with.
+
+**How much do you need?**
+
+The most comprehensive meta-analysis on protein intake and muscle gain, by Morton et al. (2018), analysed 49 studies and found that protein supplementation significantly increased gains in fat-free mass during resistance training, with a breakpoint at approximately **1.6 g/kg/day**—meaning that intakes above this threshold provided diminishing returns for most people [4]. However, the 95% confidence interval extended up to 2.2 g/kg/day, and individual variability is real.
+
+**Practical recommendation: aim for 1.6–2.2 g/kg of bodyweight per day.** Use the lower end during a surplus or maintenance, and the higher end during a caloric deficit, when protein becomes even more critical for preserving muscle mass, maintaining satiety, and taking advantage of protein's high thermic effect.
+
+**Distribution matters somewhat.** Spreading protein across 3–5 meals with at least 0.3 g/kg per meal (~25–40 g for most people) ensures a consistent supply of amino acids and keeps muscle protein synthesis (MPS) elevated throughout the day [5]. This doesn't mean eating 6 meals a day is mandatory—3–4 protein-rich meals is sufficient for the vast majority of people.
+
+**Practical sources:** Chicken, turkey, beef, fish, eggs, dairy (Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, whey), legumes (lentils, chickpeas), tofu, tempeh. Protein powder (whey, casein, or plant-based) is a convenient option when whole food is impractical, but it is not inherently superior to food.

chapter7/7.4.2-carbohydrates.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.4.2 Carbohydrates"
+parent: "7.4 Macronutrients"
+grand_parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 2
+---
+
+### 7.4.2: Carbohydrates: The Preferred Fuel
+
+Carbohydrates are the body's primary fuel source for high-intensity exercise. When you eat carbs, your body breaks them down into glucose, which is either used immediately for energy or stored in the muscles and liver as **glycogen**. During resistance training, your muscles draw heavily on glycogen stores to power the anaerobic glycolytic pathway—the energy system that fuels sets lasting roughly 30 seconds to 2 minutes (i.e., most working sets).
+
+**Simple vs. Complex carbohydrates:** Simple carbs (sugar, fruit juice, white bread) are digested quickly and raise blood sugar rapidly. Complex carbs (oats, rice, potatoes, whole grains) are digested more slowly and provide sustained energy. In practice, the distinction matters less than most people think when carbs are consumed as part of a mixed meal containing protein, fat, and fiber—the other nutrients slow digestion regardless.
+
+**The glycemic index (GI)** ranks foods by how quickly they raise blood sugar. While GI has academic value, it is largely irrelevant for people eating mixed meals. A baked potato has a high GI in isolation, but add chicken, vegetables, and olive oil and the glycemic response is dramatically blunted.
+
+**Carbs are not inherently fattening.** Carbohydrates do not make you fat any more than protein or fat does. A caloric surplus makes you fat. Carbs are simply the most flexible macronutrient—once protein and fat minimums are met, the remaining calories can be filled with carbohydrates based on preference, performance needs, and activity level.
+
+> Carbohydrates are the "fill the rest" macro. Set your protein, set your minimum fat, and use carbs to reach your calorie target. Adjust up on heavy training days if you feel flat, and adjust down on rest days if you prefer.
+{: .practical }

chapter7/7.4.3-fats.md

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+---
+layout: default
+title: "7.4.3 Fats"
+parent: "7.4 Macronutrients"
+grand_parent: "Chapter 7: Nutrition"
+nav_order: 3
+---
+
+### 7.4.3: Fats: Hormones, Membranes, and Essential Functions
+
+Dietary fat is not the enemy that 1990s diet culture made it out to be. Fat is an essential macronutrient: your body cannot function properly without it. It serves as the structural backbone of every cell membrane, is required for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K), and is a precursor for critical hormones—including testosterone and estrogen, both of which play roles in muscle growth and recovery.
+
+**Minimum intake:** A commonly cited threshold for maintaining hormonal health is approximately **0.5–0.7 g/kg of bodyweight per day**. Dropping below this—particularly for extended periods during aggressive diets—can lead to hormonal disruption, including suppressed testosterone in men and menstrual irregularity in women.
+
+**Types of fat:**
+
+| Type | Examples | Guidance |
+|:---|:---|:---|
+| **Monounsaturated** | Olive oil, avocados, nuts | Prioritise — associated with cardiovascular benefits |
+| **Polyunsaturated** | Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel), walnuts, flaxseed | Prioritise — includes omega-3 (EPA/DHA) which are anti-inflammatory |
+| **Saturated** | Butter, red meat, coconut oil, cheese | Keep moderate — not "toxic," but excessive intake is associated with elevated LDL |
+| **Trans fats** | Partially hydrogenated oils, some processed foods | Avoid — no safe level; directly atherogenic |
+
+**Practical approach:** Don't fear fat, but respect its caloric density. At 9 kcal/g, fat is more than twice as energy-dense as protein or carbohydrate. A tablespoon of olive oil (~120 kcal) can easily go unnoticed in cooking but adds up quickly. When setting up your macros, meet the minimum fat threshold, then allocate the remaining calories to carbohydrates.