NUTRITIONAL HANDBOOK

HELLO THERE!Welcome to the nutritional module within the SJFAcademy. Let's talk food! Previously, you may have tried to reduce certain nutrientgroups (carbohydrates/fats) or particular foods in anattempt to lose weight. In this module you are going tobe educated on the fundamentals of weight loss andhow to implement it into your life on your terms. Weight loss is actually pretty simple and can beexplained in three words - a calorie deficit. Eating lesscalories than your body needs to maintain itself will elicitweight loss. When you understand this fundamentalprinciple, and that all foods are broken down intocalories, you will realise you can still eat all the things youenjoy and still lose weight. Initially, you're going to be focusing on getting close to adaily or weekly average amount of calories specific toyour own body and goals. Once that becomes a habit wewill then work to find how much 'whole food' you wantto fill your calories up with.

What you must realise is that weight loss and health, inthe sense of whole foods, are two separate issues. Eatingless calories than your body needs to maintain itself (acalorie deficit) will elicit weight loss - regardless of whatfoods you fill those calories up with. Does that mean I'm disregarding health? No. Instead, Iwant you to have a better relationship with food and beaware that you can, and should, still eat the foods youenjoy. As you get used to consistently getting close toyour calorie target, you can then start to focus on thenutritional quality of your food. This is where 'diets' will have failed you before. Becauseremoving nutrient groups and certain foods is destinedto fail. I know I couldn't go without processed foods andalcohol. Within the Academy you are going toindependently manage your calorie intake in a way thatsuits your lifestyle, taste buds and calorie number. This is where sustainability lies. This is where it canbecome a lifestyle. And this is where real fat loss occurs.Would you want someone telling you how to spend yourmoney? Probably not. So why would you want anyonetelling you what to eat! I have had great long-term success in my life with thisapproach and with endless Academy students over theyears. It's a powerful learning curve that means you willnever have to 'diet' again.

MY FITNESS PALMake sure you have watched the My Fitness Pal videoand screen recording if you haven't done so already. Alsomake sure that you have watched all the othernutritional presentations. After watching the videos you will be aware that MyFitness Pal has its downfalls. But when they areunderstood and over come, the app becomes aninvaluable tool that lets you see what you're eating innumbers (calories & protein). Whilst you're part of the academy I am asking you to logthrough this app just about everyday using the approachexplained. It will teach you what's in certains foods andhow to feed your own body for your own goals. Once youhave left the Academy you can use the app as and whenyou want. You may find you don't need to use itanymore, you may find it keeps you in check or you maydip in and out of using it. Whatever works for you pastyour time within the Academy is fine. I cannot overstate that I do not want to create obsessivehabits. Infact, I believe using this app how I advise doesthe exact opposite. It removes doubt when it comes tofat loss, whilst allowing you to fill your calories with thefoods you want.

INITIAL TASK SHEET

All these are explained on the My Fitness Palpresentation and screen recording but here's abreakdown of what I want you to do initially on the app:

The app will ask you about how much weight you wantto lose. Don't put anything too dramatic as it can makeoverriding your calories later on difficult (something likea pound a week).

Override the numbers with the ones in your onlinearea: Menu - Goals - Calorie, carbs, protein and fat goals.Changing the calories is simple. With the proteinnumber just get it as close to the target number I haveset (the app works in five percentages). The carbs and fatpercentages don't matter because we're not concernedwith them - put them to even percentages.

samjones12021990 Menu - Friends - + top right hand corner - Email or myfitness pal username

Sign up

Override calorie and protein numbers

Add me as a friend

Whether you are using the stepper within your phone ora fitbit I want you to turn it off on My Fitness Pal. This isbecause the calorie numbers already take into accountyour day to day movements. Menu - Steps - Don't track steps.

This is so that I can see what you're eating at my end.Menu - Settings - Diary settings - Diary sharing - Friendsonly

Unlock your diary

Turn stepper off

WHAT TO FOCUS ON

Weekly calorie intake I want your main focus to be on your seven day average(how to access this in the app is shown below). The sevenday average is great for times when you over consume ifout socialising as it allows you to pull calories back overthe following days. This part of the app can only be usedif you log everything you consume over all days.

Use the above diagram as a reference. Scroll down toyour dairy and click the 'Nutrition' button. Before doingthis, ensure you are viewing yesterday's food log (this isyour last full day of logging and will allow for a full sevenday average viewing) . Then click calories (1), thenchange the day view to week view (2). Finally, ensure youare viewing in 'net', not 'total' (3). You will then be able tosee your last seven days net average in relation to yourgoal calorie daily target (4). Like you, I use My Fitness Pal day to day in a noneobsessive way. Concerning myself only with my sevenday average calories, as well as getting close to my dailyprotein number over a seven day average. You will see Iget to eat a lot! However, you will also see that I don't hit my caloriesperfectly. Neither should you. After watching the 'Howwe use calories' presentation you should understandwhy perfection is not required. I am cautious in advisingboundaries in terms of your seven day average because Idon't want you to feel that all is lost if occasionally youare outside of these. But as a guideline boundary I wouldsay 100 calories either side of your daily calorie target iswell within the safe ground when looking at your sevenday average. However, it may be slightly more than that occasionally.It's important to remember that it isn't an open/shutdoor.

After watching the 'Protein, carbs and fats' presentationyou should now understand why we are only reallyconcerned with protein. After watching the My FitnessPal presentation you will also know that the app is overcomplex. To ask you to hit so many nutritional goalsevery day is absurd and unnecessary.

Protein

Use the above screenshot as a reference. Scroll downyour diary and click the 'Nutrition' button then makesure you are on the 'nutrients' section (1). The only thingyou should concern yourself with is protein,everything else below that I want you to ignore.Assuming your calories are close, fluctuations betweenthem will make no difference to your bodycomposition or weight loss. It's important to also note that your calorie deficit alonewill elicit weight loss - even if your protein target is milesoff. Protein's importance lies in its ability to retain andpromote new muscle, as well as keeping you fuller forlonger due to its slow digestion. Which in theory willmake eating less easier! Therefore, it is up to you how accurate you decide to bewith your protein. Realise it will have no impact on youroverall weight loss if some weeks it is low. Alsounderstand that over consuming on your protein targetwill have no detrimental effects on your body. Any excesswill be converted to energy.

Here's a list of high protein sources in relation to theircalorie content:

High protein sources

Chicken breast Chicken breast (cooked) Turkey mince Pork Lean minced beef 1 Egg (large)Tinned tuna (drained)Tuna steaks Tinned salmon (drained)Fresh salmon Prawns (cooked/peeled)Mackerel (cooked)CodBasaWhey protein (30g)Vegan protein (30g)

Food  Protein Calories(100g/raw unless stated otherwise)

23g31g24g29g20g7.7g27g

25.4g23g20g18g23g20g17g24

20g

11016510616913578113106136160802348887110118

*All are averages, barcoding specific items you are eating is stillrecommended*

LOGGING Although perfection is not required, some level ofaccuracy is essential when logging what you eat throughMy Fitness Pal. Simply guessing the amount of oats inyour morning porridge or the quantity of peanut butteron your toast can lead to massive discrepancies on yourseven day calorie average. Here we will look at the threedifferent scenarios of logging within the app to ensureyour calorie intake is fairly accurate.

Barcode only

Scanning pre-portioned food is the simplest of the threeas they aren't required to be placed on the scales.Personally, I make most of my meals out of pre-portioned foods and only use the scales once a day - formy morning oat shake. Anything that involves eating the whole portion like:

A slice of breadFull tin of beans Full pack of pre-cooked chickenBag of crispsLarge eggSquares of chocolate

The list is endless. I advise making up most of yourcalories this way.

Barcode & weigh

This method is just as accurate as the first, however itrequires placing the food on scales to get some idea ofits weight. You're still barcoding and then placing theplate, bowl, cup etc on food scales and hitting reset thenweighing the portion.

OatsRicePeanut butterPastaNon pre-portioned meat

Examples include:

When weighing these kind of foods don't feel they needto be the perfect weight. For example, don't start pullingfour grams of oats out if you're logging 50 grams butthere's 54 grams on the scales. The scales are simply away of improving accuracy as opposed to relying on youreye. You can simplify this by having a specific mug ormeasuring tool that you fill with the food by finding outwhat weight it contains of that particular food when fulland use that going ahead. Therefore disregarding theneed for scales.

Eating out

The beauty of seeing what you're eating in caloriesmeans you can eat or drink out and still keep on trackwith your weight loss. Here there are two sub sections:

Eating out at a franchised restaurant

This is going to be a 'guesstimate'. But a slightinaccuracy won't make any difference to your weightloss journey in the grand scheme of things, assumingyou're not eating out at these places multiple times aweek. Find a generic meal along the lines of what you havehad. For example, I generally opt for a fish and chipswhen at a pub. So I search 'pub fish and chips' and findone that I think suited. Always air on the side of cautionby going for the higher calorie one. 

Eating at a local pub or restaurant

Just about all big chain restaurants and takeaways havetheir meals on My Fitness Pal. Mcdonalds, Dominoes,Nando's, Wagamamas, KFC, Burger King etc. If it's afranchise its probably got most of its menu on My FitnessPal. If not just find one that's close to the meal of yourchoice.

Other pointers:

Logging alcohol is super simple. Most beers are on theapp, wines are searchable by type and glass size andthe same applies for spirits and shots.Don't bother logging spices or herbs because they areso low calorie.You can be inaccurate with the weight of fruit and vegbecause it is so low calorie. Therefore, scales aren't anecessity when consuming them.Low calorie sauces again can be fairly inaccurate. highfat content sauces like mayonnaise should be moreaccurate as they have a very high calorie content.Break your meals at home down and don't just searchgenerically. For example, if you have a baconsandwich don't just search 'bacon sandwich'. Scan thebread and bacon separately for increased accuracy. Don't forget to create meals within the app for ease ofuse!For big home cooked meals don't bother loggingspices and herbs. The vegetables within can be fairlyvague. However you should have some idea of theweight of all other ingredients. If making multiplemeals from one batch simply portion it out as evenlyas you can by eye and divide the total ingredients byhow many portions you have made. This will leave youwith a fairly accurate calorie and protein number.Create a meal and adjust the serving size accordingly.If anything is under 10 calories don't bother logging ite.g. if you have a drop of milk in your morning coffee.

MY FITNESS PAL ROUND-UPNow you are aware that your weekly calorie average isyour primary concern. Your weekly protein target isunderneath that. This stripped back approach to the appis not only simplistic but it is also all that is required foroptimal weight loss. It's important to remember that you shouldn't worryabout how many meals you have a day, how muchprotein you should have per meal, when you should eator what you should make your calories up with. As longas your average calories and protein are close over theweek then that's all that matters. This simplistic and open approach allows you to put yourstamp on your own calorie target. Long-term success isattained when you take control of your own eating anddo so in a way that suits you. You will have your owntaste preferences, calorie target, times of when you caneat, social life, etc. This is why it's essential you are incontrol of your own nutrition. Probably for the first time, you are at the helm of yourjourney. You will learn just how simple it is if given achance. And once graduated from the Academy, you candecide if you want to continue using My Fitness Pal. Mybelief is that educating, not spoon-feeding, will lead tolong-term independent success. A lifestyle, not a diet.