..

in d iv id u a liza tio n
9 u id e
@

p re c isio nnutritio n
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..--.
--.

.- .

. -..

The Pre c isio p N utritio n

In d ivid u a liza tio n

G u id e
@
D r.Jo hn M .Bera rd i,Ph.D .

@ 2005,Science Link,Inc.AIIrights reserved.You maynotcopy,shareordistribute

this work in any form atorm edia with the express written consentofScience Link,
Incorporated. Forinquires,contactsales@ iohnberardi.com

TableofContents

lndividualization Guide

Part1:OneSizeFitsAII
The Tailor's C ontinuum :From O ne-size-Fits-A llto Bespoke
During myrecenttripto Europe,Ihad the opportuni
tytovisita mastertailorin a
sm alltown in northern Italy. A distantcousin ofm ine was in the m arketfora new
suit,and eagerto demonstrate the renowned Italian craftsmanship,he broughtme to
the shop ofSignorCaruso.
SignorCaruso hasspenthi
s entire Iife makingand fitting suits. Hisshop issmalland
overstuffed with m aterialand equipm ent. In itIie swatches and bolts ofthe finest
fabrics,from which the finestsuits in the world are crafted by hand;every inch
perfectly fitto the client,every cutperfectly m ade,every seam perfectly sewn.

Caruso's suitsare breathtakingto behold;theyseem able totransform the average

intothe elegant.
Im ustsaythatI've neverbeen m uch ofa suitguy. In fact,form ostof my adultIife,
I've beenthetailor'sworstnightmare,the weightliftingstudent- too oddlyshaped to
fit,too poorto pay. Furthermore,apartfrom a few weddings here and there,I've
neverhad m uch ofa need.

Butwatching Caruso workwas almostinspirational.You see,Caruso makes whatare

called bespoke suits. Bespoke suits are the finestm oney can buy;com pletely
custom ,they are handm ade and perfectly tailored b0th to the custom er's desires and

to his m easurements. Materials,style,fi

t- everything is custom,rightdowntothe
pockettype and styleofstitching.Among connoisseurs,theyare held in higher
esteem than any'ol-the-rack'
'suits,highereven thanthe idmade-to-measure''Iabels,
versions ofthe designersuits custom ized atthe factory. A bespoke suitcan cost

upwards of$4000,and can require3-5 fittings and monthsto com plete.Seeingthe

masterin action,Iunderstood why:theworkmanship and attentiontodetailthatgo

into thisone garmentis trulyastounding. Hejokes thatyou needn'thave an

occasion to wearone ofhis suits - with suits Iike these,the occasions find you.

Tailor M ade N utrition

Guess what? Ifyou wantthe perfectbody,and you wantitdrug free,yournutrition
had betterbe m ore bespoke than off-the-rack. You need to tailoryournutri
tional
plan to yourown preci
se and individualspeci
fications. You need m ore than a diet
copped offa website oroutofa magazine - oratthe veryIeast,you needto know
exactlyhow to m odifythose dietstosui
tyourneeds and helpyou reach yourgoals.

(You do havegoals,don'tyou?)
The purpose ofthisguide isto teachyou how todojustthat,to make yourown
nutrition m ore Caruso than JC Penny. To do that,you'llneed to m odify your

expectations rightnow:this isn'ta dietguide,butratherwhatIwould callaprocess

gui
de.Youwon'
tfindti
psandtri
ckshere.Youwon'
tfindreci
pesandmealpl
ans.

lndividualization Guide

You won'tfind biochem istry. W hatyou'llfind is the m ethod behind nutritional

optim ization and individualization;that is,the m ethod you'llneed to find the perfect
dietforyou.

A warning:thi
s method issimpleto use,butverydemanding in terms ofdiscipline.
M ostofyou willneveruse i
t in its entirety. Butthose ofyou who do w illgetas close
to perfectnutrition asyou can possiblygeton yourown. Mysuggestion isthatyou
read overthe entire process,and tryitasa com pletesystem before you beginto pick
and choose w hat parts ofityou willand willnotuse.

Again,this isn'tforeveryone. M ostwillneverhave a perfectly tailored nutri

tion plan,

justasveryfew willeverown a bespoke suit. Butthen again,those who do willIook

damn good.
As Iongasthis is understood,we can proceed.

W here's Your Tem plate?

There wasone thing in particularaboutCaruso's method thatstrucka note with me.
There is no questionthatthe process ofcreating a bespokesuitisextremely
com plex,requiring a skilled,experiencedtailor,a repeatable method,and a
painstaking attention to detail.Yetdespite aIIthis,Caruso's method came acrossas
alm ostsim ple. In fact,every one of his custom suits starts from a single tem plate.
This tem plate orpattern is then m odified foreach custom eroverthe course ofm any

fittings,eventuallybecomingthe exquisitelytailored suitforwhichtheypay$4000.

Inotherwords,the bespoke suit-the perfectgarment- begins as nothing more

than a one-size-fits-alltem plate.

Rightlyso,I'd say. Nutritionalperfection,justIikethesartorialvariety,isan iterative

process.Thatis,itrequires many iterationsorrepeti
tions ofthe design process to
arri
ve atthe destination. The m astertailordoesn'texpectto turn outa perfectsuit

by reading his custom ers palms orbysom e sortofdivine revelation. Ratherhe calls
hiscustomerin fora fitting,modifying the suittofora betterfit.Then he does it
again and again.

He bringsthe custom erback as oftenas necessary,fittingand modifying untilhe has

created the perfectsui
t.
W ith nutrition,you m ustdo the sam e. You m usttake a sim ple,basic nutritional

templateand testitout;modifying itaccording the resul

ts itbrings you,and onlyyou.
Only by doing so can you arrive atthe destination - the pedect plan.
As itstands now,there isno magictest,no ''eatrightforyourDNA''kind of
prescriptive aid. Currently,the bestwe can do is em ploy a procedure thatm ixes

informedtrial
-and-errorwiththescientificmethod.We begin with a hypothesis (i.e.,a

Individualization Guide

a
bc
ac
so
i
crdni
u
nt
gri
to
i
op
nl
aal
npf
l
ar
o
na
),s
be
at
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oi
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on
we
vehypothesi
,wetesti
(
eathe
tingbasis
and
m
odi
fyh
ta
he
st
on
,

ofthe results ofourtest(m uscle gained,fatIost,etc).

In otherwords,getting to the pedect plan willtake tim e,effort,discipline and
attention to detail. Butfirstyou need a pointoforigin from which to depart,a basic
tem plate thatyou can startwi
th,testout,and modifyas necessary. Inthisguide,1'11

show you how to buildjustsuch atemplate. 1'11show youthe individualization

process,providesom eexample cases,and directyouto somegreattoolsand
resources thatwillaid the proceu .

'

Initially,Everyone H as The Sam e N eeds

So Iet's discuss this tem plate,the m ealplan you'llbegin with. W hile it's true that

you'lleventually need a specialplandesigned to meetyourindividualneeds(both

physiologicaland Iogistical),youdon'tneed onejustyet. Inthe beginning ofyour
nutri
tionaljourneyyourindividualneedsare Iikelythesame as everyone else inyour
position.You need:
A sim ple nutritionalplan thatyou can im plem ent im m ediately,
com plete w i
th correctfood choices and correct habits.

Y
n
o
ex
utm
ye
ua
sr
t.bI
e
th
aa
bs
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eto
tobp
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to
th
ee
as
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tow
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t
ex
yt
ow
ur
ev
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kr
,ynot
nextm eal,and continue itwith every m ealthereafteruntilthe habits thatw illsustain
yourprogress are in place.
Com plex form ulas,supplem ents,m acronutrient ratios,m icronutrientcontentoreven

gasp - caloriesare aIIthings thatyou need notconcern yoursel

fwith ini
tially. Don't
getme wrong;you'lleventuallyconcern yourselfwith aIlofthose things.Theywill
-

becom e the variables thatyou can m odify Iater. Fornow,however,i

t's bestifyou
acceptthatthe rules I'm aboutto give you are the bestplace to start. Ifyou w ish to
startwith a differenttem plate,feelfree to do so - the process described in these
articles willhelp you correctyourini
tialm i
stakes.

Stad N t& 10 Sim ple R ules

Youwillstartoutwitha plan based on the 10 Habi
ts ofHighly Effective Nutritional

Programs. Clevername,no? Possibly illegal,too,Iimagine. Oh well.E-rhe 10 Habits

ofHighly Effective People,bySteven Covey,isa greatbookwhich Irecommend highly
-

perhapsthatandthe extra 3 habi

tswillstave offthe Iawsuit). I
fyou've forgotten

the rules,here's a sum m ary:

Habit 1:Eat every2-3 hours.

Habit2:Eatcom plete,Iean protein with eachfeeding opportunity.

Habit3:Eatvegetableswi
theach feeding opportuni
ty.

Habi
t4:Eatveggies/frui
ts wi
thanymeal;Hothercarbs''onlyafterexercise.

Individualization Guide
Habit5:Eathealthy fats daily.

Habit6:Don'tdrink beverageswith morethan O calories.

Habit7:Eatw hole foods instead ofsupplem ents wheneverpossible.

Habit8:Plan ahead and prepare feedings in advance.

Habit9:Eatas wide a varietyofgood foodsas possible.

Habit 10:Plan to break the rules 10% ofthe tim e.
So far,the Precision Nutrition m aterials have discussed exactly how to use these 10
Habits to form yournutrition plan.

Let's be reallyclearhere. LikeSeniorCaruso'sfirststepsin making a bespoke suit,

the program begins with a one-size-fitsaIIplan. Well,twosizes -we've gotmen's
and wom en's portion sizes to accountfor. However,m en and wom en don't need to

be told to eatmore orIess based on theirgender- theyalreadytypicallydo that.

Each one-size-fits aIIplan,in the beginning,is equallywell-suited to boththe 150 Ib,
7% bodyfatzdhardgainer'and the 250 Ib 22% heavyweight.
Infact,as l'vetaughtyou sofar,mostofmydietaryadvice beginswith this basicset

ofrules(the 10 Habits)and a basictem plate,justIike SeniorCaruso's. Remember,

despite the m yriad differences between individuals,everyone thatcom es to Senior
Caruso's shop starts w ith a basic tem plate and then,aftera few visits,and a bitof
additionalm easurem ent,he individualizes. Likew i
se,alm osteveryone who com es to
SeniorBerardi'sshop begins with a basictemplate andthen,aftera few visits,and a
bitofadditionalmeasurement,gets individualized.
So here's m yadvice to you. Ifyou're currently dissatisfied with yourbody

com position,yourhealth,yourenergyIevels,oryourIevelsofdailyand/orathletic
performance,regardlessofhow novice oradvanced youare (we'IIdeterm ine thatina
minute),startwiththe 10 Habits above. Build a mealplan thatis based exclusively
on the 10 Habits and follow the tem plate thatyou build. Follow thattem plate,
withoutm odification,forabout3 -5 weeks.

D etailsw.wA nd S0 Fo4 h...

Iknow it'sa tough sell.That's Iargelybecauseyou've been conditioned to believe
thatyou need something differentfrom everyone else.You're right! However,the
bestwayto build a custom dietis to begin with a basic plan and individualize based
onyourown personalphysiologicalresponses.You can'tgetmore perfectly
individualized than that!

People tend to worrytoo m uch aboutcalories,m acronutrient ratios,and otherdetails

in the beginning,which in myopinion isjustmisplaced mentalenergy.W orrying

aboutcaloric intake ormacronutrientratioswhile missing meal
s,making gross errors

in foodselection and timing isjuststraighteningthe deckchairsonthe Titanic. In

the shortterm ,in this case the 3 weeks to 5 weeks thatIwantyou to follow a one-

size-fits-allplan,nearlyanysane caloricintake willatworsthave negligible negative

i
mpactonbodycomposi
tion,asIongasthefoodsel
ectionsareexcelent.Ifyou

Individualization Guide

f
i
m
olm
l
ow
edti
h
ae
te1a
0pr
puli
lc
ea
sta
i
obn
oa
ve
n,
dtc
ho
ey
ns
wi
s
il
tebnec.
yS
ai
r
m
ep
cl
r
yi
tp
i
cuatl
,
'a
ttorhi
s
ag
e,fo
d
se
ection,
cal
ics
it
nt
ake
iso
not
.l
,

Ofcourse,such a plan maypromotesom egreatphysicalchanges rightupfront.

However,as suggested above,itmaynot.Yourbody maynotchange ataIIduringthe
first3-5 weeks.Since I'm assumingthatphysicalchange is exactlywhatmostpeople

are Iookingforfrom theirnutrition programs (a Ieanerand/ormore m uscular

physique),1'11share a basic principlewi
thyou here:
To improve bodycomposition inthe Iongterm,you mustforgetabout
body com position in the shortterm .

Remem ber,whatI'm proposing here isa Iong-term procedurefornutritional

optim ization,and in turn,optim albody com position,health and perform ance. To

make itwork,you'llhaveto adoptthe m indsetofthe Iong-term thinker,who

understands thatsuccess in anyendeavorcom es notfrom fads and schem es but
from the continuous application ofsim ple,correctprinciples. So,unless you're

followingthe 10 Habits above 90% ofthetime ormore,putawaythescales,calipers

and calorie-countingsoftwareforthetime being. Getoutyourpen and paperand
com e up with those 6 m eals. Ifyou don'thave the food forthose m eals,m ake a

groceryIistand go shopping.

Oh,butlcan hearthe cries now (from some ofyou).

I'm A dvanced,D am m itl

Up untilnow,I've talked aboutwhatis usefuland necessary in the Hinitialphase''or

the K'initialstager'w i
thoutreally defining whatIm ean by Hinitial-''

It'ssimple,really.lfyourgoalisto improve yourbodycom position and physical

appearance,lhave a sim ple testto determ ine w here you are in yournutritional
career,so to speak. You are in the initialphase ofyournutritionalcareerifyou

answernoto the followingtwo questions:

1. W hen you Iook in the m irror,are you satisfied with yourIevelofm uscularity

and Ieanness? Thatis,have you reachedyourbody com position goals?

2. Ifno,haveyoufollowed a nutritionalplan conform ing to the 10 Habi
ts,dayin
and dayoutforatIeast5 weeks,with no more than 10% ofyourmealsfalling
outside ofthose criteria? Think aboutthatbefore youanswer.Atan average
of6 m eals perday,or42 m eal
s perweek,thatm eans no m ore than 4 m eals
were m iu ed orbroke the rules each week for5 weeks.

The firstquestion is anexample ofoutcom e-based decision making. Ifyouareto

succeed in anyendeavor,you mustbe ableto m easure yourprogress and the

outcome ofyourefforts. Inthiscase,yousubjectivelyassessed yourappearance;if

yousodesired,youcoul
dal
soobjecti
vel
ymeasureyourwei
ght,I
eanbodymassand

Individualization Guide

fatmass.The bottom Iine isthati

fyouaren'tmeasuring results,you'rewastingtime.
And ifyou are measuring results,butdon'tIike whatthe measurementsare telling
you - say,thatdespiteyourcurrenttraining and nutritionalprograms,you aren'tas
m uscularand lean asyou'd Iike -you need to changesomething.

The second question exam ines yourefforts (orIackthereof).Ifyou wantto im prove

yourbodycom p butaren'tconsstentl
y following a nutritionalprogram conformingto
the 10 Habits,eitherstartim m ediately orIearn to acceptyourphysicalshortcom ings,
because they'llbe yours fora long tim e. Hope thatworks outforyou.
M ost people,ifthey're honest,w illanswerno to those questions - even som e
advanced trainees. Letm e be clearon this:there is no directrelationship between

whatsom e referto as i'training age'

'and whatwe'llcallHnutri
tionalage,''which
begins on yournutri
tionalbirth date:the dayyou com pleteyour3-5 week,90% 10
Habits com pliant,one-size-fi
ts-allnutri
tion program . Untilthen,you m y friend are a
nutritionalnovice.

Ifyou answered no tothefirstquestion (i.e.,youstillhave notreached yourbody

comp goals)butanswered yestothe second question (i.e.,ytxlhave truly passed the
novicestage),thenyou are on yourway.You're readyforthe nextstep!
Now,ifyou answered yes to the firstquestion,God bless. You've done whateveryou

needed to doto getto yourgoal,and farbe itformeto criticize yourmethods.They

worked foryou,and that's whatcounts. I'm nothere to teach Picasso how to paint.

Forthe rest,go overthefollowing checklist,and make sure you've done everything

you need to do before proceeding.

S um m ary O fPart 1
1. Use outcome-based decision making.
Ifyou've reached yourgoals,great. Ifnot,examine and change yourmethods.
It neverceases to am aze m e when over-fat people say HButIalready eat

great.'Uh,areyousure aboutthat?

2. Determine yournutritionalage.
Ifyou have been following a 90% 10 Habi
ts compliantnutrition plan forat
Ieast3-5 weeks withoutfail,you have passed the initialphase and can m ove
On.

3. Constructa nutrition plan.

Ignore concerns aboutcalories,macronutrients,micronutrients,antinutrients,

and everything else.Justmake sure thataIIyourm eals conform tothe rules.
The DietGuideshould have setyou up in this regard.

Individualization Guide

Part2:MeasurementandMethod

The W rong A pproach

M osttrainees neverreach theirgoals becausetheyare wai
ting forthe magic bullet,
the one tiportrickthatwillfinallygetthem the bodythey've been Iooking for.
People wantto m ake sim ple,tiny,easyadditions orsubtractions to theircurrent

'plansy'knowing fullwellthatnegligible modi

fi tionswillprobablyyield negligible
results.Adding a d'superfoodr''magicsoup,supplementordrugwillnotcompensate
forgross misunderstanding and misapplication ofkeyprinciples. Subtracting a single
food orremovingaIIcarbs from yourdietwillnotremovethe realstumbling block.

Often peoplejustwantto be validated forwhattheyare currentlydoing.Theywantto

read an article on nutrition ortraining and say,
:W eII,Ido som e ofthat,so I'm
probablyOK,''despite the factthatdoing only '
Jsome ofthat''has Ieftthem farshort
ofthe body they could have.

W ell,I'm nothereto validate you.l'm notgoingtosugarcoatthis,ordum b i

tdown,or
tellyou whatyou wantto hear. I'm here to tellyou the truth,to the extentthat I've
ascertained it. Here's thattruth:

1. Ifyou wanta drastically betterbodythan the one you have now,you need to

make a wholesale changeto yournutrition plan.

2. The magnitude ofthatchange willseem daunting and possiblyintim idating.

You willquestion whetheraIlthis is truly necessary,and you willbe tem pted to
m ake do with Iess m uch Ieu .

3. The process willrequire a signi

ficantdose ofthatforgotten ingredient:
discipline.Di
scipline is a by-productofpurpose and desire,so you'llneed

thosetoo - you willneed to remind yourselfwhyyou're eating this way(how

Iean and muscularyou willeventuallybe,forinstance)and how muchyou
wantto reach yourgoals(orhow itwillfeelto failyetagain).
Butthere is m ore:

1. The system works. Ifyou do itin itsentirety,you willreach yourgoals.

2. Though perhaps overwhelmingatfirst,wi
th practice itwillquicklybecome
sim ple and effortless.

So whatisthissystem ,this rightmethod? Wellin Part1,you designed a starterplan

on which to build,justIikethe tailorbuildsa pattern ortem plate forhiscustom suits.

Now it'stimeto Iearn the artoffitting - bringingthatstarterplanevercloserto the
perfectplan foryou.

Individualization Guide

@
You've G ot To M easure Som ething
Igethundred ofemailseach weekfrom people asking me veryspecificnutrition
questions.Justyesterdaysomeoneasked m e iftheyshould cut100 gramsofcarbs
from theirdietin orderto Iose m ore fat. To be honest,unless it's blatantly obvious

thatthe person isadvanced enoughto make use ofthis information,Idon'tanswer.

Instead,Ijustdirectthem to comprehensive articles and resourcessothattheycan

Iearn to answerthem selves.

W hy? Because even ifIanswered in detailthey would have no way to m ake use ofm y
advice. Mosthave no wayofquanti
fyingwhatthey're doing nutritionally,and no way
ofmakinga m inute change and holding thatvariable constant. Unless you cantell
m eexactlyhow manygrams ofcarbsyou've been getting everydayforthe Iastmonth
orso,and unless you havea wayofcontrolling how m anygrams ofcarbsyou'lleat
forthe nextmonth - alIto a reasonably high degree ofaccuracy - then answering
such a question is a waste oftimeforme,andasking itisa waste oftimeforyou.

Bottom Iine:many people have no idea w hatthey're eating. They m ay try to eat m ore
protein,orhave certain mealsthattheyeatregularly,andtheymayeven have a
vague idea ofhow manycaloriestheyconsume on agood day. Ifyou'regetting the
results you want,this isn'ta problem . Ifyou aren't,however,itis.Vague ideas are of
no use in the process ofoptim ization. You need to m anipulate yournutrition plan

and aIIthe variablescontained in it- andyou can'tmanipulate something you've

neverm easured.

ln The B eginning,Keep A Food Log

Sothe firststep isto know and quantifywhatyou're eating.Com monly,thisis done
bykeepinga food Iog.
A food Iog is analytical;thatis,it'sa toolusedto analyze whatyou've done,after
you've done it. Ithas its place,and that's priorto beginning a solid nutritional
program. Ihave myclients do athree-daydietrecord,in which theychoosethree

typicaldays representative oftheirgeneraleating habi

ts (one work day,onetraining
dayand one weekend day,forexample)and onthose daysrecord everythingthey
eat. Ihave them do this as soon as they sign up with m e,fortwo reasons.
One,Iwantto see how bad theirnutrition is. Two,Iwantthem to see how bad their
nutrition is. Even ifthey don't record theirdiets accurately,they w illhave to m ake a

conscious choice to fudge oromit- which is an adm issionto themselves (though not
to me)thattheirnutrition is poor.
Ofcourse,some are simply Iazyand forgetto record theirdiets,while stillothersare
so deeply in denialthatthey'llIie outrightand feelnothing doing so.Forbothtypes,
sticking to a good nutrition program willbeeitherextremelydifficultorimpossible -

anddealingwi
ththesetypesi
sbeyondthescopeofthi
sarti
cl
e.Formostpeople,

10

Individualization Guide

dietrecordsand food Iogs are excellentmotivationaltool

s,and willhelp them com mit
tothe new dietandthe changes itnecessitates.

So before you begin to m anipulate yourdietin earnest,do a dietrecord. Record

everything you eatforthree days,and eatasyou normall
ywould. Ifforsome reason
on one ofthe recording daysyou have to eatabnormally,scrapthatday.Record
again untilyou have three days offood recordsthatrepresentyourtypicaldiet.
Com pare these records to the 10 Habits outlined in partl and see how wellyou're
reallydoing.

B eyond Food Logs

W hilefood Iogsdo allow you to know whatyou're eating,theydon'tdirectlyhelp you
to m anipulate yourdietto accom m odate change. As food Iogs only analyze what
we've eaten,they're nothelpfulin dietary m anipulation.

W ouldyou enterthe gym,withouta plan,andjustwrite downwhatIifts youfeltIike

doingthatday,complete with yoursets,reps,Ioads? And then,the nextday,enter
the gym ina similarmanner,continuingto record useless,system-less information?
Probably not.

That's why Idon'tpreferrecommendingfood Iogs asa wayto monitoryourintake.

W hytryto keep a record ofprevious habits - good orbad? Inscienti
ficterms,your

nutritionalintake isthe main independentvariable (a variable you m usthave control

over)in yourbodycomp experiment.So m easuring an ever-changing independent

variable isthe bestwayto getnowherefast.

Instead ofrecordingwhatyou did,you should be planning whatyoushould be doing
and stickingto that.Scientificallyspeaking,to make progressyou've gotta fixyour
independentvariables and m easure yourdependentvariables. W hen itcom es to

youreating plan,fixthisvariable by making a planand makingsure you follow the

plan. Then m easure yourdependentvariables,yourresults.

Eat The Sam e Things Every D ay?

As I've recommended ''fixing'
'yournutritionalintake above,Iknow manyofyou will
getconfused and thinkI'm suggestingthatyou haveto eatthesame things every
single day. I'm not.
Remember,in part1,lrecommended com ing up with a varietyofmeals builtaround
the 10 Habits;the m eals from Gourm etNutrition,5 M inute M eals,etc.There are
over135 recipes in the Precision Nutrition m aterials. Ifthat's notvariety,Idon't
know whatis.

However,keepthisonething in m ind before you getcarried awaywiththevariety

thing.Mostofthe people with the absolute bestphysiquestend to eatverysim ilar

Individualization Guide

13

wascompl
etel
yunproven,thenyoucanconsiderscrappingi
tenti
rel
y.
c. Hypothesis was true,butexperim entwas faulty:Yourability to com e up
witha greatnutritionalplan is onething;yourabilityto execute that
plan byadheringto itconsistently i
s quite another. Ifyou didn'tget
results,butonlyate 60% ofyourmealsaccording to plan,you had
betterwork on youradherence beforeyou change the plan i
tselfthere is no sense in changing a planyouwon'tbotherto execute
anyway.
7. Repeatsteps 2 to 6 untilyourexperim ents yield the expected resul
ts:You

mustcontinueto adjustyourplan on the basis ofthe results you'regetting

from i
t.You make changes,trythem out(holdingyourdietconstantfortwo
weekblocks),measurethe resultsand am endthe plan as necessary.

So W hatD oes This M ean In Practice?

These are notjustabstractprinciples lwbntyou to understand.Theydrive ata very
specific m ethod you need to use ifyou wantto tailoryournutrition to yourow n

individualneeds. In nutritionalpractice,usingthe principle ofinformed trialand

errorandthe scientificm ethod meansdoing things a Iittle di
fferentlythan most.
Instead ofhaving m y clients eatrandom ly,ortelling them sim plyto x:eatbetterr''or

givingthem vague nutritionalprinciplesto acton (thenfiguring outwhetherthey did

ornotbydoing a post-mortem ontheirfood Iog),Ihave clientsfollow veryspecific
plans.

Onthe basis ofquestionnaires,tests,m edicalhistory,etc.,alongwith myown

nutritionalexpertise and m y previous experience w i
th clients,Icom e up with a

hypotheticalplanthatlthinkwillgetthe clientthe resul

tsthathe orshewants. 1'11
choosethefoods,the caloriccontent,the macronutrientratios,the nutrienttiming,
everything.

Tw o G eeks A tA Tim e
These planscovertwo-week periods.W hytwo weeks? W ell,it'sjusta num berI've
found to work best. It'sdifficul
tto planforIongerperiods (say,one month),and such
plans become eitherunwieldyoroversim plified;shorterperiods(say,oneweek)
require youto plan m ore often and aren'tqui
te Iong enough to give anychangesyou

make a fairevaluation.Two weeks,I'vefound,isjustright.

To prepare forthose two weeks,the clientand Icom e up with the exactm eals,

grocery Iists and food preparation instructionsthey'llneed in orderto execute my

hypotheticalplan. Im ake sure thatthe plan conform s exactly to the nutri
tional
variables I've set. Itwillhave the exactcaloric content,m acronutrientratios,

micronutrientcontent,etc.As Iong asthe plan i

sfollowed consistently,Ican perform
preciselythe type ofcontrolled experim ent necessaryto determ ine whetherm y

hypothesi
swascorrect.

14

Individualization Guide

I
nbuil
di
ngthepl
anwe take intoconsiderationtheirgoals,theircurrentstatus
,

relative tothose goals,theirIogisticalobstacles(workorschoolcom mitm ents,travel,

appointments,etc.)and anything el
se thatthe clientorIthink is relevant.AIIthe
potentialproblems are worked outin advance.Upon receiptofthe program ,aIIthe
clienthasto do is eatatIeast90% ofthe mealswe agreed he would eat.There is no
need forfood Iogs - aIIIwantto know is whetherthe plan wasfollowed ornot,which
requires nothing more thana few checkmarks on a page. Day 1,Meal1 ...check.
That's it.

Mostpeople tryto measure thevariables.Theycountcalories,gramsofcarbs,etc.alIofwhich is Iargel

y a waste oftim e. Rather,you should hold the variables constant,
and instead,m easure the results!

The FirstM easurem entStandard

Itneverceasesto amaze me how few people regularly measure the results ofthe
choicestheymake. Optimization requiresconstantmonitoring;nutritionally,ifyou

hopeto getgreatresultsand keeptherp coming,you m ustcontinually measure the

outcom e ofyourefforts.

So whatexactlyshould you measure? Well,itdepends on yourgoal. Foreachtype of

goal,there are specific m etrics you can choose to Iook at. Iconsderthere to be
three categoriesofnutritiongoals:performancegoals,health goals,and body
compositiongoals.

However,before measuring results,it's im portantto m easure adherence. Make no

m istake,eating 6 or7 well-designed and well-planned meals a dayfor3 weeks with
90% adherence is a serious,discipline-requiring endeavor. It'sohso easytofool

yoursel
fintothinking you'redoinga greatjob while dem onstrating only65%
adherence.

So,stepone,before measuringanything else,is measuring adherence.Below isan

exam ple adherence chartfrom a clientofm ine. Here's how itworks:

1) Each timethe clienteatsa mealdesignated forthattime slot,he getsto put

an ux''in the box.

Each tim e the client m isses a m eal,he puts a 0 in the box.

3) Each timethe clienteatsa non-com pliantmeal,he puts a * inthe box.

Individualization Guide

15

Week 1
Adherence

Meal1

Meal2

Meal3

Meal4

Meal5

Meal6

(W orkout
Drink)

Day 1

N/A

N/A

N/A

Training Day

Day2
Non-Training
Day

Day 3

Training Day

Day4
Non-Training
Day
Day 5

Training Day
Day 6

Training Day

Day 7
Non-Training
Day

To evaluate this client's success,sim ply tally up the totalm eals scheduled forthe

week (46)and subtractthe boxesthatare ei

therblankorcontain a star(7).Asthis
clientm i
ssed 4 m eals and Rcheated''at3 m eals,they've achieved about85%

(39/46)adherence.
That's notbad. It's betterthan m ostfolks would do. Butitain'tgood enough.We're

Iooking for90% adherence from ourclients.

So,trythis exercise outyourself. Printoff2 weeks ofadherence sheets and m onitor

how wellyou'readheringto yourplan.If,atthe end of2 weeks,you don'tfind at

Ieast90% ofthose boxeswith an xinthem,there'sabsolutelyno pointin measuring
anything else.Since youcan'teven controlthe independentvariable ofthis

experiment(the variableyou havecontrolover),whywould you measurethe results

Iike bodycomp,bodyweight,etc? Seriously,whybother? You can'tdo anything
aboutthem anyway.

Think I'm joking? W ellIet'ssayyoutryouta new nutritionalplan and onl

yadhereto
i
t80% ofthe tim e. And Iet's say you gained bodyfatafterthe firstm onth. W ell

16

lndividualization Guide

surelyyou'llhave totrya new nutritionalplan,right? Maybeyou need toeata Iow

carb dietinstead? AtIeastyou hveto cutcalories,right?

W ellhow the heckare you goingto do ei

ther? How manycalories did youeatthis
week? How m any carbs? How m any willyou eatnextweek?

You don'tknow becauseyou're notadhering tothe plan - to anyplan.So unless

nextweek is betterthanthisweek,you have no wayofcontrolling whatwillhappen.

W henyou don'
teven havethe basicskill(followinga plan)requiredto rem edythe
problem s you'llface,THAT IS THE PROBLEM .
You eitherneed to suck itup and learn som e discipline,Iearn som e food preparation

strategies,orattackthefundamentalbeliefsystem that'skeepingyoufrom even

following a basic planfora meretwo weeks.Orjustgive uptryingto individualize.

Itsounds harsh,Iknow. Butthere com es a tim e where you have to realize that

there's a difference between eating betterthan m ost people and eating perfectlyfor
you.There's noshame in admittingthatyou're unwilling to do whatittakestotailor
the perfectplan.The onlyshame Iies intryingto convince yoursel
fthatyou're doing
everything ittakes whenyou're notevdn coming close.

Ifyou're unwilling,great-justcontinue eating betterthan most- youwon'tgetany

judgmentfrom me.As Iongasyoufollow the basic 10 Habits,you'llbe waybetteroff
inthe Iong run anyway. Ifyou arewilling,continue on.

The N extM etrics

As m entioned above,lconsiderthere to be three categories ofnutrition goals:

1.Perform ance Goals:

Mainlyrelevanttoathletes,these m ightincludefaster40 yard dash times,increased

powerliftingtotals,fastertime trials forcyclists,etc.Generall
y,nutritionforhuman
perform ance has three parts:pre-eventnutrition,post-eventrecovery nutrition and

Iong-term generalpreparation nutrition.

Metricsforperformancegoalsare determined bytheeventitself.Forindividual

sports,ultimatelythe succeu ofthe program asa whole isjudged bythe

performanceasjudged in the event:forsprinters and cyclists,theirtimes;for
powerlifters,theirtotals;and so on. However,often it's difficultorim possible to
separate the causes forboth failure and success. Forinstance,ifa powerli
fter

misses a Iift,ora sprinterperformspoorly,doyou blamethe nutrition program ,the

training program ,orsomething el
se entirely? lt'soften hardto say.
The problem is com pounded in team sports where the playerm ay perform well

withoutanyobjective im pactonteam performance. Forinstance,a hockeyplayer

m aybe ingreatshape and following a greatnutrition program ,butbe on a poorly
performingteam orbe unluckynotto score more goals. Doyou have him abandon
the chickensaladsforBi
g Macs?

18

Individualization Guide

that's right,bowelm ovementm easurement. Exercise and nutritionspecialist

PaulChek recentlyshared with me hisstandard:accordingto Paul,one
should be moving 12 inches offecestwice perday.So you m ightwantto

carry a rulerw ith you on the road. And i

fyou're Iike m e and yourbowl

m ovem ents curve into a perfectcircle,you m ightneed this handy form ula:

Circumference = Pi* Diam eter. (Kidding,folks).

@ Blood values:Anotherwaytotrackgeneralhealth isto have regularblood
work done,tracking the values overtime.Yourdoctorcan helpyouto choose
the rightm etricsforyou,butthings to considerare:

o Cholesterol(HDL,LDL,and HDL:LDL ratio)

o Trigl
ycerides
o Horm onaltests:testosterone,cortisol
o Liverenzym es

o Fasted glucose and insulin

o Oralglucosetolerance test
3.Body Com position Goals:

This isthe bg oneform ostpeople.You eitherwantto Iose fatorgain muscle,or

both. Orm ore to the point,you wantto Iook betternaked. So whatshould you
m easure?
There are a num berofpossibilities'
.

* Bodywei
ght:Thi
s should be obvious. Everytwo weeks,step on a scale and
write yourbodyweightdown.There are a few things to note,however. One,

bodyweightscalestellyoujustthat- yourbodyweight.Theygive you no

information astoyourini
tialbodycomposition(i.e.,how much ofthatweight
is Iean bodymass,how much isfatmass,and whatyourbodyfatpercentage

is),and theyare no help indetermining how m uch ofthe weightyou gainor

Iose isfatorm uscle.Sulice itto saythatthose are importantthingsto know,
particularlywhenfine-tuning analreadyadvanced nutrition plan.
Furtherm ore,notaIIscales are created equal. M ost bathroom scales
available on the m arkettoday are ofdecentquality and w illprobably do;your
m om 's pink scale from herW eightW atchers days in the i70's should probably
be replaced. Betteryet,use a calibrated beam scale,the type found in good

gyms and in yourdoctor'soffice.W ei

ghyourselfatthe same time and on the

same day ifpou ible,justto be consistent- butdon'tbe tooanalaboutthis.

* Body FatPercentage:Measuring bodyweightisthe firstpartofdetermining
bodycomposi
tion;measuring bodyfatisthesecond part.Once bodyfat
percentage is determined,youcan find outyourfatmass and Iean bodymass
using afew sim ple equations.Iwon'tgo into thevarioustechniques,butIwill
outline the three ways in which this is norm ally done:

20

Individualization Guide

Others benefi
tfrom havinga friend dothe assessment,orhavingdigital

photostaken (although Ienstype,subject-to-cam era distance and Iighting

conditions can affectone's appearance in photos,so consistency is an issue

here as well).
lt'sworth noting thatmanyadvancedtrainees relyon perceived appearance
aloneto gauge progress. I'm one ofthem:afteryears oftrainingand nutrition
experience,including a few yearsofseriouscompetitive bodybuilding,Ican
determine my bodyweightand bodyfat% to a relativelyhigh degree of

accuracyjustbyIooking inthe mirror(itmightalso be because I've had more

skinfold and Bodpodteststhan Icareto remember). Ei
therway,you m ight
find thatthis isaIIyou need to make informed changesto yournutri
tion.
IfaIIyou do is weightyourselfon a bathroom scale and Iookatyourselfinthe mirror,
then atIeastdo so with a purpose.W eighyourselfonthesam escale atthe same
timeeverytwo weeks,and when Iooking inthe mirror,tryto notice subtle changes in
yourphysique. Forthe firstfew m onths,you should write itaIIdown.

Ifyou can com mitto recording more,doso.W i

thjusta few bucks,a setof
Accumeasure calibers,you can do more.Ifgourve gota digitalcamera,use thattoo.
Butunlessyou're a hotchick,sending me photosofyou ina skimpybathing suitwill
force m e to alertthe properauthori
ties.

Individualization Guide

21

Part3:OneSizeFitsYou
From G eneralD ecision-M aking to Specific Solutions
W ith yourfullnutri
tionalplan in hand and a selection ofrelevantm etrics to track,you
setoutto eatat9O% adherence fortwo weeks. Afterthose two weeks,you m easure

yourprogress. Run a 40,getsom e blood work done orsteponthescale,depending

onyourgoals.lfyou Iikewhatyou see,continue withthe plan unchanged. lfyou
don't,you needto examine whyand changeyourplan accordingly.
So,there are two possible outcom es:

1. You gotthe resultsyouwanted. Your40 yard times im proved,yourblood Iipid

profile im proved,and you dropped two pounds offatm ass overthe two
weeks.

2. You didn'tgetthe resultsyou wanted.Yourmeasurementsshow Iessthan

expected,negligible orno results.

Ifyourcontrolled experiment(i.e.,yournutri
tionalplan)yieldedthefirstoutcome,the
desired results,congratulations. Ifyouwish to maintainorimproveanyofthose
results,youcan sim plycontinuethe planas is untilyougetthe second outcome.

Ifyourplan yielded the second outcom e,Iess than expected results,then you m ust

change something im mediately.There are three possible explanationsforIessthan

expected resul
ts:
1. The results you wanted were unrealistic.
2. The results you wanted were realistic,butyourexecution was notup to the
task.
3. The results you wanted were realistic,and yourexecution was up to the task,
butyourplan was inadequate.
Each ofthese explanations has its own cause,and i
ts ow n solution. Let's Iook at
each separately.

Unrealistic expectations
Mostpeople would readilyadm itthatexpectingto Iose 10 Ibsoffatorgain 10 Ibsof
m uscle,correctserious blood Iipid issues orcuttheir40 yard tim e from 5.5 to 4.4 in
two weeks is unrealistic.Yetoddly,on the subconscious Ievel,m anywantto believe
thatthese results are notonly possible,thatthey're Iikely.

Individualization Guide

23

(
'
explain the co eptofK
'm icroloading''- using Ioad increases ofas Iittle as halfa

pound to ensure cohtinualstrength gains. 1'11Ietyoujudgethe meritsofaIIthat

yourself.

Forourpurposes,we'lluse itto give usa guideline bywhichto measure ourprogress.

W hen you can'tsettle on an expected resultforyourtwo week m easurem ent,choose
the sm allestincrem entthatyou can m easure and m ake sure thatyou im prove by
thatincrem entevery two weeks.

Here'san example. Let'ssayyou'retryingto puton muscle mass,butaIIyou have at

yourdisposalto measureyourprogress isa bathroom scale.A sim ple buteffective
tactic isto sim ply m ake sure thatevery tim e you step on the scale,yourm easured

weightincreases byatIeastthe smallestmeasurable increment- probably 1-2

pounds. Everytwo weeks,yourgoalis to see thatneedle m ove one notch to the
right.That's it.
Certainly,you could do a m uch m ore detailed m easurem entthan that,butifthat's aII

you do,you're alreadyahead ofthegame asyou're atIeastmoving inthe right

direction.

Inessence,yousim plymeasure in orderto ensure thatyou're progressing inthe right

direction.The magnitude ofthatchange (i.e.,how much actualprogress you make)

is im portant,butsecondary.

Bottom Iine? Make sure you:

Choose a goal.

2. Selecta metricto track yourprogress toward thatgoal.

3. Setyourexpectations,in term s of both upperIim itand rate ofachievem ent.

4. Ifyou can'tdeterm ine a realistic rate ofachievementforyourgoal,tryto

progress by the m inim um m easurable increm enteverytwo weeks.
Once you've done aIIthat,you can getback to executing the plan.

Inadequate execution
Ifyourexpectations are realistic,butyou were unable to m eetthem ,take a Iook at
yourexecution. Did you adhere to the plan itself? Did you violate the 90% rule?
90% adherence is the standard Isetforexecution.W hatthis m eans is thatyou m ust
eatatIeast90% ofthe m eals on yourplan,and thatno m ore than 10% ofyourmeals
m ay be unplanned,m issed orcheatm eals. Iwantto be very clearthatthis i
sn't

some vague orarbitrarynumber. Rather,it'sspecificandwell-chosen.

Individualization Gu e

25

changes?
* You can no longeraccuratelycorrelate the m inutechangesyou makewiththe

resultsyou'regetting(ornotgetting).Sayyoqdidtweakyourplanslightlyin
the hopes ofoptim izing yourresults,and thehwentoutand followedthe plan
only 70% ofthe tim e. You m easure yourresults and see that - surprise there are none. W as the tweak unsuccessful? Ihave no idea,and neitherdo
you - because you nevertried it! Unless you com e reasonablyclose to

isolating the changeyou made -thatis,m aking surethatit'sthe onlychange,

and thatthe restofyourdietwas Iargelyheld constant- you can have no idea
whetheritwould have worked ornot.

ltcom es down to this:you need to m eetthe 90% adherence rule,week in,week out.

Ican'tmake you do i
t,butIcan helpyoutrackit. ln part2 ofthi
s guide Igaveyoua
chartfordoingso.
Now,that's notto saythatyou should m ake no changes to the plan itself. Butthe

changes Iwantyou to make atthis pointare Ioglstlcalchanges - thatis,changes

thathelp you work the plan into yourdaily Ii
fe. I
fyou m issed m eals,prepare m ore in
advance,orhave a backup plan;ifyou don'tIike the taste ofcertain m eals,spice
them up orreplace them with meals ofequalnutritionalvalue. Do whateveryou
have to do in orderto reach 9O% adherence. There is always a way.

Inadequate plan
So,you m easured yourresults,and they're sub-optim al. Once you're certain that
yourexpectations are reasonable and thatyourexecution was excellent,you're

justified in Iooking atthe plan itself. Remem ber,though,thatyou're notstarting with

justanyoId plan.Ifyou walkedthrough the process with me in Part1,you builta
plan based on the 10 Habits - and forgood reason. Those rules are derived from
scientificstudy,m y own data from my clients and m y own personalexperience over
the years,so l'm very confidentthatthey work. Nevertheless,ifnothing positive is

happening,something hasto change.Thi

s principle isthefoundation ofoutcomebased decision making.
W e're not,however,going to abandonthe plan entirely.Rather,we'regoingto
assumethatthe plan is largelysound,andthatitwillserve asthe foundationforour
future plans. Thatassum ption is valid in this case,because Isaid so. You don't

need to believe m e,butbelieving mewillsaveyou a greatdealoftime and energy. If

you do wish to abandon the plan as l've Iaid itout,Ibid you Godspeed. Forthe rest,

Iet'stweak whatwe've got.

Before Imove on to describe whatto changeand in whatorder(whichwillrevealmy

nutri
tionalbiases),Ietme statethatthis process can be used equallywellwith
nutritionaladvice otherthan my own. W antto tweak yourAtkins orZone diet? You

can do that. Heardthateatinggrapefruitforbreakfastwillhelpyou maintainan

erection? W ell,hold yourgrapefruitdietconstantfortwo weeks - and when

26

Individualization Guide

watching the girlnextdoorgetundressed each night,breakoutthestopwatchto

m easure the resul
ts.

Changing YourIntake - W hen and How M uch?

So how do you change yourdietonthe basisofthe measurementsyou'vetaken,and
when? This isthe bg question.The quickansweris,when whatyou're doing works,
keep doing it. Keep doing ituntilitdoesn'twork.
You'llknow when som ething isn'tworking. You'llhave the data. W hen the change
from weektoweekis non-existentoreven negative,it's notworking.

Ifthe change is obviouslynegative,something istakingyou inthewrong direction.

W hat? W ell,here's the checklist:
Step 1:Double-check youradherence.

Asyoushould have gathered bynow,Ibelievethe #1 problem formostindividual

s
notgetting greatresul
tsthrougha basiceating plan based onthe 10 Habits isn'
t
som e secret macronutrientm ix they don'tknow about. lt's adherence. So m ake

sureyou're actuallyfollowing the plan,and this isn'tmerelya discipline,m otivationor

beliefsystem problem .Those can be addressed bya good coach,butnotthrough
nutri
tionalintervention.

Step 2:Checkyourtraining.
Ifyoustarted with a good baseline diet,one knowntoworkforpeople with yourbody
typeforyourchosen goal,and ifyoufollowedthatdietcloselyenoughto earnyour
adherence x's,then the nextstep isto Iook atyourtraining.

Don'toverlook the im portance ofexercise:type,volum e,intensity are alIim portant.

Forexam ple,independentresearch studies conducted atthe Universities of

Pittsburgh and Wyom ing demonstrated that,formostpeople,exercising atIeast5

hours a week is necessaryto im prove body com position. Ifyou're doing atIeast5
hoursofpurposefulexercise,wi
th a Iarge portion ofthatexercising being ofhigh

intensity,you're probablyon the righttrack. Ifnot,don'tblame yourdietjustyet,

blame yourexercise program.

Step 3:AdjustYourDietaryIntake.
Ifyou've pickeda good baseline diet,a one-size-fits-alldiet,and have optimized your

training program yetstillaren'tgettingthe results you'reafter,it'stim etoadjustyour

intake based onyourbodytypeand physiologicalresponsesto nutrition.
Should you increase ordecrease the size ofyourm eals. Cutcalories? Cutcarbs?

lncrease protein? Increase healthyfats? You could make anyofthesechanges,and

many more.The beautyofthis system (creating aspecificplan FIRST,then following

itexactlyfortwo weeks)meansthatyou know the exactcaloric intake,macronutrient
content,etcetcofyourplan.Youdon'tneed to pissaround with food Iogseveryday,
orrecord the contentofyourm eals as Iittle
fnotes to self''in youripod. No one but

Individualization Guide

27

t
khneow
OC
eD
xaa
cm
tl
y
ow
ngha
yt
ou
yowuil
a
lt
deo,b
th
ei
sasu
c
os
re
to
yf
ot
uhe
ini
t
gha
er
ny
fo
wl
a
l
oyw
.eBdytp
hl
e
an
pn
la
ingoi
r
nya
od
uvd
ai
n
dc
ne
't
,y
-oa
un
'l
di
f
youdidn't,THAT'S THE PROBLEM .Ifyou did,then you've gota greatbaseline offood
choicesthatyou cantweaktoforce progress.

NutritionalAq ustm ents

Earlierinthisguide Itold youthatIwon'tsugarcoatthings.So it's im portantthatI
state thefollowing:Iwon'tpretend thatthisguide could giveyou everything you need

to prescribe,monitorand adjustyournutritionalplan fora perfectbody.Itcan't,i

t
took m e ll years ofuniversityto Iearn whatIknow. However,Iwillcoversom e ofthe

majorcategories ofadjustmentsand somesimple rulesofthum bthatwilltake you

furtherthanthe vastmajorityofyourpeers.
Ofcourse,eachofthese adjustmentsand rulesofthum bassumesthatyou passed
checksone (you'refollowing the plan exactly)and two (you're trainingcorrectlyfor
yourbodytype and goal).

Adjusting Carbohydrate Intake

Carbohydrate intake isthefirstthing IIooktowhen individualizingsomeone's
nutri
tion plan.Thi
s isIargelyafunction oftwo beliefs.Thefirstisthatit's veryeasy
to eatthe wrongtypes ofcarbohydrates. Proteinsand fats are easytogetright.

Carbs,on the otherhand are a virtualnutritionalm inefield. Secondly,lbelieve that

carbohydrate tolerance varies w idel
y and that nutrient partitioning is closely related

tothe body's abilityto tolerate carbohydrates.Ifind thatbym atchingcarbohydrate

intaketo an individual's physiologicalcarbohydratetolerance,nutrientparti
tioning
and body com posi
tion can quickly be im proved.
Therefore,to individualize som eone's carbohydrate intake,Ifirstseparate them into
3 carbohydrate tolerance groups - poorcarbohydrate tolerance,m oderate
carbohydrate tolerance,and excellentcarbohydrate tolerance.

1) ExcellentCarbohydrate Tolerance
Those individuals with excellentcarbohydrate tolerance are typically very Iean

and athletic and can rem ain so with a fairl

y high carbohydrate diet. In fact,
these individuals usually needa highercarbohydrate dietto function well.
Deprive them oftheircarbs and replace those carbs with m ore protein and fat
and they'resluggish,perfom more poorly,and actuallycarrya worse body
com position. So,forthese individuals,Ifocus on helping them choose clean
carbohydrates with each meal,typically a m ixture ofstarchy and fibrous
carbohydrates. Ofcourse,the rem ainderofthe 10 Habits stillm ust be
followed.

Forthoseofyou who absolutelyhaveto see the macronutrientsplitlm ight

prescribeforsomeonewi
thexcell
entcarbohydratetolerance,i
t'
susuall
y

28

Individualization Guide
around 55% carbohydrate,25% protein,and 20% fat. Justkeep in m ind thatI

don'tencourage anyoneto be obsessive abouteach percentage pointofeach

macronutrient. Rather,in thisgroup,Isuggestsim plyfollowing the 10 Habits
and ''supplementing''each 10 Habitmealwi
thsome clean,starchy

carbohydrates.

It's interestingto notethatIbelievethatas individuals age,theytypicallyIose

som e abilityto tolerate carbohydrate so you should take this into accountwith

the passingyears and adjustas necessary.

2) PoorCarbohydrate Tolerance
Those individuals with poorcarbohydrate tolerance are typically fatter,m ore
ectom orphic,and require m ore physicalactivi
ty to getIean. These individual
s

do betteron diets higherin protein andfatswith a Iowercarbohydrate intake.

Therefore,forthese individuals,Irequire strictadherence to the 10 Habits.
Forthem ,there are veryfew orno starchy carbohydrates outside ofthe
workoutand post-workoutphases ofthe nutrienttim ing day. Their
carbohydrate intake outside ofthese phases,even on offdays,should com e

from veggies,with a smallamoqntoffruitaswell.

Again,forthose ofyou who absolutelyhave to see the macronutrientspli
tI
mightprescribeforsom eone with poorcarbohydratetolerance,i
t's usually
around 3O% carbohydrate,35% protein,and 35% fat.Again,asstated above,
Idon'tencourage anyone to be obsessiveabouteach percentage pointof
each macronutrient.Justfollow the 10 Habits uncom promisinglyand your

body com p w illcom e in Iine.

3) ModerateCarbohydrate Tolerance
Ofcourse,those individuals w ith m oderate carbohydrate tolerance typically
fallbetween the othertwo extrem es. These indi
viduals do bestwhen eating

theirstarchycarbohydrates onlyduringcertain timesofthe day. Forthem,

theyshouldfollow the 10 Habits,eating non-veggie and non-frui
t
carbohydratesonlyduring and immediatelyafterexercise,buttheycan also
add a smallam ountofstarchycarbohydratesduringbreakfastmeal
s.
The macronutrientsplithere mightbe 40% carbohydrate,30% protein,and
30% fat.Again,asstated above,Idon'tencourage anyoneto be obsessi
ve
abouteach percentage pointofeach m acronutrient.Justfollow the 10 Habits
and supplem entbreakfastw ith starchy carbs and yourbody com p willcom e in
Iine.

Atthis pointyou're probablywonderingwhetherthese suggestionsshould be

followed during periods ofmassgain orfatIoss.

Individualization Guide

29

To
y
hu
er
sg
eosaul
ggdeo
s
st
n
ion
ts
ins
ch
lu
od
ue
l
dbb
ee
co
fo
mll
o
i
nw
geador
b
ee
gs
ae
rd
.le
Fs
os
rw
of
ey
i
g
oh
utrg
sa
pi
e
nco
i
f
r
i
c
wg
eoi
g
ah
l
s
t;I
assupm
o
roig
ng
ress,
onceyou're eating according tosound nutrienttiming principlesand making good
food selections,calorie intake is the m ostim portantfactor.

Adjusting Protein Intake

Adjusting protein intake is afairlyeasy process.There aretwothingsthatIconsider
whentailoring protein intake tothe individual.

1) The firstisto make sure thatthe individualiseatingenoughtotalprotein to

preventa negative nitrogen balance;prettysim ple and mostweighttrainers
and athletes have already gotthis one covered ifthey're approaching lg

protein/lb ofbodyweight.
2) The second isto increasethe protein intake from this pointbased onthe
'

individual's bodytype and carbohydrate tolerance. Ifthe individualhas great

carbohydratetolerance and is Iean,then carbohydrate intake ishigher(as

discussed above)while protein (stillabovethe lF lb mark)and fatintakesare
Iower. Ifthe individualhas poorcarbohydrate tolerance and is fatter,the

opposi
te istrue. Forthi
s type ofindividual,carbohydrate intake is Iower(as
discussed above)while protein and fatintakesare higher.This dietaryshi
ft
helps increase m etabolic rate and m anage insulin concentrations.

In the end,with respectto protein intake,Ifind thatthe bestadvice is to follow the

10 Habits (eating Iean,complete proteinwi

th each meal,every2-3 hours)andto
adjustthatprotein intake based on whatyou're doing with yourcarbohydrate intake.

Adjusting FatIntake
Fat intake is the m osteasily m anipulated and should scale,in am ount,in an inverse
relationship to carbohydrate intake. However,one im portantnote should be m ade
w ith respectto fat intake. As discussed in the 10 Habits,it's im portantto eathealthy

fats daily. Anotherway ofsaying this is:supplem entyournorm alintake with healthy
fats. Add olive oil,flax oil,fish oil,m ixed nuts,flax seeds,etc to yourdaily intake and
thefatsyou're normallygettingfrom yourcomplete proteinsourceswillend upfairly
balanced.

Adjusting Calorie Intake

As mentioned above,food selection and nutrienttiming are criticalto nutrient
partitioning and bodycom position butcalorie intake dictatesweightgain orweight
Ioss.Therefore,ifyou're interested ingaining orIosing weight,the formulashould be
prettysimple;eatmore to gain weight,eatIessto Iose weight. Unfortunately i
t's not
always this sim ple.

Individualization Guide

31

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Extrem e Body Com position A lterations
The adjustments discussed above wi
th respecttocarbohydrate,protein,fat,and
calorie adjustm ents workfantasticallyfortimely,sane alterations in body
composition. However,when individualsare Iooking forsomething more extreme,
such as dropping to below 5% bodyfat,dropping bodyfatridiculouslyfastona time
schedule,orgaining Iean massveryquicklyon a timeschedule,thesesuggestions

above need a bitoftweaking. (The principles above are sound butmayrequire the
introduction ofmore exercise,calorie orcarbohydrate cycling,etc).These extreme
bodycompositiontechniques are beyond thescope ofthis guideso we'llsave them
fora laterdate.

The Resistance
.
Make no mistake aboutit;there are those amongyouwhowillbelievethis Precision
Nutrition Individualization system is baloney. Those individuals willtellyou it's not

thisdifficulttogetinto greatshape.They'lltellyouthatI'm justmaking this stuffup

to sellsomething. They'llgetaIImad atmymethod withouteven understanding it.
Guess what? You'regoingto be tempted to believe them ,mostlybecause this

system does seem a bitcom plicated and di

l icult. How ever,restassured;it's only
difficultatfirst. Eventually,i
t's very,very easy.
So whythe resistance? W ell,there are three types ofindividuals who willm iss the

pointofthisguide:

1) Type 1:The Gym Rat

The gx
ym ratisthe individualwhospends aIIhisfreetime atthegym .This
individualspends Iotsofhoursworking out,perform ing Iotsofsets,Iotsof
reps,etc.This individualwillargue thatmyadvice isRtoo complicated
becauseaIIyou've gotta do to getinto greatshape iseatclean and train''.
However,keep in m ind,thispersontrains...and trains...and trains. Hi
gh
volum esofexescise can masksub-optimaleating patterns,and often do.So
m ake sure you ignore this person's advice unless you're willing to spend aII
yourfree tim e atthe gym .

2) Type 2:The GeneticAdoni

s
The genetic Adonis is the guyw ho can eatpretty m uch whateverhe wants
withoutmuchthoughtorplanning and remains in greatshape Iargelydue to
hissuperiorgeneticmake-up.This individualgotdealtthe geneticwild card
so his advice is Iargelymeaninglessto you unlessyou'vegothisgenetics.

Individualization Guide

32

3) Type 3:TheVeteran

Theveteran isthe individualwho'sgotten ingreatshape withoutendless of

hours in the gym and wi
thoutsuperiorgenetics.This isthe individualyou'll
m ostoften turn to foradvice. His advice willusually be well-intentioned and
sym pathetic.

However,unlessthis person isa dam ngood coach (and coaching credentials

comefrom a combination ofIearningthe coaching process intheoryand

practicing itoverand overagain),youshould always be carefulofthe

veteran'sadvice. Itwillusuallybe good advice.Butsometim es,thingsthat
the veteran has Iearned overtim e and internalized so deeply thatthey
im portant ideas don'tgettheirdue credi
t - the veteran has sim ply m oved on
from them .
This is particularlytrue when itcom es to the system Iaid outin this

lndividualization Guide.W ithoutthe extensive coaching experience Ihave,I'd

neverhave beenable to wri
te thisguide. Infact,before coaching,Iwould

have believed thatHgetting in greatshape doesn'tpaveto beso difficult.'' But

thatbeliefwas false and would only have been in place because I'd have

forgotten myearlyIearningcurve.
It's easytoforgetthe earlystrugglesand habit-building whenyou've have
Iong-since internalized the process. Nowadays mynutritionalprogram isso
refined thatIsim ply Iook in the m irrorevery day and that's aIlthe
m easurem entIneed to altermy nutritionalintake every week ortwo to

accomplish mycurrentgoals. Butin the beginning lneeded a written plan,

regularm easurem ent,adherence accountability,and system atic al
terations.
Precision Nutri
tion Individualization represents a systematicwayoftailoringyour

nutritionalintake;a wayofcreatingthe perfectnutritionalfit,justas my Italianfriend

SignorCaruso creates the perfectsartorialfit.

Ifyou wantthe perfectbody,and you wantitdrugfree,yournutrition had betterbe

m ore bespoke than off-the-rack.You need to tailoryournutritionalplan to yourown
precise and individualspecifications.