Nutrition Basics: What Actually Works

Low carb. High protein. Keto. Fasting. Paleo. Atkins. Now GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic.

Over 20 years in this industry I've seen them all, and I've tried plenty of them myself. Here's the big secret: they all work. For a while.

Then you get sick of them, and you give up.

Why do they work in the first place? Because every single one of them eliminates calories. That's it. Different mechanism, same outcome; less energy in.

But taking such an extreme approach is almost always short-lived, and it can leave you in a worse place with food than when you started.

So here's what I actually tell people, built from 20 years of practising this on myself and coaching hundreds of others toward their goals. This is my nutrition basics.

Start with the basics, and get them right

Build your nutrition in layers, and master them one at a time. If one layer slips on a given day, don't panic and don't scrap the lot, just hold onto as many of the layers as you've already built each day.

1. Eat 800g of fresh fruit or veg a day (or a mix of both)

Nothing canned, nothing fried, nothing dried or sweetened. You can cook it, just don't fry it. The extra fibre, the micronutrients, and sheer volume of food will help you feel fuller and improve your health, all for very few calories.

Prioritise eating more of this so that you want to eat less of things that your body doesn’t need.

2. Eat 1.6–2.2g of protein per kg of bodyweight

Start at the lower end and build up if you're struggling to hit it. Protein is the building block of your body, it's what builds muscle, hair, nails, bones, and replaces dead cells. It's not optional, it's vital.

Eat more protein so that you retain your muscle (which is metabolically active) and keep your metabolism high.

3. Drink 2 litres of water a day

Slow and steady, a glass or so an hour. Start your day with a glass of warm water, because you're probably dehydrated right now. Most of us are. Water is the cheapest health hack going.

4. Sleep longer, and sleep better

Not strictly nutrition, I know, but the knock-on effect is huge. Less sleep means less recovery and more stress. That leads to poor decision-making, which usually means reaching for convenience food (and it's rarely the good stuff). Sleep better and you make smarter choices, recover better, and feel better.

Work out 8.5 hours back from when you need to get up, and set that as your bedtime. Try to be in bed by then, even if you're not asleep yet. Keep the lights dim, have a warm drink (not caffeine), and build the habit. You'll be sleeping longer in no time.

5. Cut back on alcohol

It adds no nutritional value, but it does add serious calories, and it slows your metabolism - your body treats it as a poison and prioritises clearing it before it processes anything else you've eaten.

6. Avoid heavily processed food where you can

Rough rule of thumb: the longer the ingredients list, the more processed it is - and if there are ingredients on there that don't sound like food, it's probably not food. Processed sugar is the big one. It adds calories with no real benefit. Avoid it where you can, when you can.

7. Measure your progress - properly

If your goal is fat loss, you probably want to be smaller, or fit into a smaller size. So measure that. Grab a tape measure and check your waist weekly. The number will go up and down, but if the general trend is down, it's working. If it's not, cut back on food or move to step 8.

If your goal is strength, track your key lifts; squat, bench, shoulder press, deadlift. Those numbers should be climbing. If they're not, it's either not enough fuel (see step 8) or an inefficient training programme (that's where a place like CrossFit Ancoats comes in).

Your weight on its own is a poor measurement of most goals. At best it's a weak correlation. At worst, it's flat out misleading.

8. Calories matter

Calories are a unit of energy, nothing more. Too much energy in, and your body stores the excess for later - that storage system is fat. Too little, and it dips into the stores to cover the gap. It's a savings account.

Tracking calories can feel outdated and tedious, but it's genuinely key to optimising toward a specific goal. Note where it sits on this list though: last, on purpose. It's the most precise tool here, but it's also the hardest to sustain, and most days you won't get it exactly right. That's fine, so long as you've held onto the rest of the list.

One last key - Exercise.

The benefits to your health of regular, structured exercise can't be overstated. The post isn't about exercise so I won't go into any depth here. Only to say that a combination of cardio for your heart and lungs, weight training for your muscle and bones and body weight training for your stamina are vital levers to pull. One well structured hour, three to 5 days a week is plenty.

Don't let it rule your life

This is basic advice, not a rulebook. Stay aware of your goals and targets, but remember life is made up of the moments we actually live in. The glass of champagne at a celebration. The slice of birthday cake. The fancy dinner out. Those are the moments that become memories - live them, enjoy them.

Get the mundane parts of your day right, and you'll be a happier, healthier human for it.

Want help putting this into practice?  Get in touch and we can help you become a fitter and healther version of yourself. No matter how fit or unfit you might feel, we can guide you.