Kandis Joubert is a NASM-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, specializing in corrective exercise and fitness nutrition. She believes real transformation is multi-dimensional, and therefore founded Faceted Fitness LLC.
We’ve all heard the phrase, “You can’t out-train a bad diet.” Exercise and nutrition both play crucial roles in our health and fitness journeys. They work in tandem to produce desired outcomes and results; however, nutrition often lags behind exercise because many people struggle with it more on a mental and emotional level.
Common mistakes related to nutrition
Picking the wrong battles from the start and having minimal understanding of risk versus reward.
Getting distracted by trending topics instead of laying the basic groundwork they keep avoiding.
Aiming at the treetops before gathering the low-hanging fruit.
Relying on a complex, temporary “plan” for quick results without a consistent strategy for long-term sustainability.
Meeting my clients where they are and progressing from there as they prove themselves to themselves has been far more successful in the long run for building self-confidence. Spoon-feeding them plans they don’t understand or can’t integrate into their daily lives both now and in the future doesn’t create lasting change. Until someone can demonstrate consistency in the basics and the mundane, they don’t need complicated macro planning, precise timing, or spend hundreds of dollars per month on supplements when the primary goal is life change and transformation.
A tiered approach that prioritizes, refines, and optimizes habits can help gradually transition someone from basic lifestyle changes to advanced techniques.
Let’s use a pyramid as a visual as we discuss mastering foundational principles before addressing advanced techniques and strategies.
The bottom tier (prioritize) encompasses basics like consistent habits, overall lifestyle changes, and understanding energy balance. The middle tier (refine) focuses on macronutrients and micronutrients and how they play a role in achieving more specific results with body composition and health markers. Finally, the top tier (optimize) highlights the more strategic aspects of nutrition, such as meal timing and supplementation for performance and fine-tuning.
The foundational tier
Think of this tier in terms of basic priorities. This is where mindset matters in building a solid foundation that will last through both good and bad times when you do or don’t feel like it while navigating life’s obstacles.
Developing consistent habits for an overall lifestyle
Developing habits that support consistent eating patterns, rather than sporadic and unpredictable ones, makes it easier to track progress and understand what adjustments lead to what changes. Sustainability matters more than perfection because perfection requires everything to align flawlessly in order to execute a plan good luck with that.
Life will happen. You’ll face bumps in the road and unexpected turns. You will age. Your body will change. But no matter what, here are some lifelong areas of focus that you can benefit from, especially the earlier you prioritize them.
Mind and Emotions: Having a strong “why” and being able to recognize and regulate emotional responses is what will keep you going on days you’re not motivated.
Rest and sleep hygiene: Most people also don’t sleep enough. Our bodies use sleep to recover from the day and prepare our bodies for the next one, so no wonder we feel like trash when we’re chronically lacking sleep.
Hydration: Most people don’t drink enough water or drink as much as they think they do. Track your current water consumption. Women should be drinking around 90 ounces per day, while men should be drinking around 120 ounces per day, adjusted for perspiration and individual lean mass needs. Simply staying hydrated makes a world of difference in how people feel mentally and perform physically.
Muscle mass: Acquiring and preserving an appropriate amount of muscle mass should be a top priority, especially as one ages. This means being mindful of spreading quality protein food sources throughout the day at adequate amounts per day.
Movement: You don’t need to start with lofty goals that you can’t currently sustain. Simply start with more than what you’re currently doing. Not walking at all? Go walk for 20 minutes. Walking for 30 minutes once a week? Bump that up to two days a week. Not strength training at all? Start with 1-2 days per week for 30-60 minutes.
Food quality: Start aiming to get most of the food you consume from whole food sources versus packaged, pre-made, processed, and fast food sources. Cook at home and limit the takeout. Limiting added sugars and sodium alone can yield huge benefits almost immediately, but be aware of where they often hide in common foods.
Understanding energy balance
To lose weight, energy output must be greater than energy input. No matter what diet “worked,” it worked by creating a calorie deficit. Even if hormones have your metabolic rate lower than it should be, or your hunger and satiety hormones (leptin and ghrelin) are out of balance, it still comes down to energy in versus energy out, even if circumstance leaves you deviated from where you should otherwise be. However, one should limit the time they spend in a calorie deficit to avoid bringing their metabolic rate too low, which is ultimately counterproductive in the long run. And if one’s BMR is already low, a calorie deficit that will bring it lower is not the place to start.
To gain weight, energy input must be greater than energy output. You must have extra material to build tissue with. If you’re in a calorie deficit, putting stress on your body, or holding steady at maintenance, you simply do not have additional nutrients left over to build more muscle mass. Case closed. The idea, however, in a calorie surplus for muscle gain is to limit the inevitable fat gain to a minimum while adding muscle mass. This is what you may have heard someone refer to as a “clean” bulk.
The body can still simultaneously lose fat and gain muscle at calorie maintenance. When macronutrients and training are conducive to this result, especially for those newer to resistance training, body recomposition is a great choice to see results while also working to increase metabolic rate.
Online calculators are simply tools they’re not gospel. These can be useful to give you an idea of what your daily calories look like in a deficit, surplus, or at maintenance, but online calculators use limited input rather than actual lean mass (which affects calorie-burning capability during movement) or current basal metabolic rate (which can often be more or less than calculated, depending on various factors). People are also notorious for overestimating their daily activity and underestimating their daily food consumption- even those who are well-educated on this and track regularly! However, regular and consistent tracking helps make accurate observations and, therefore, adjustments to move progress along. If you’re not assessing, you’re just guessing. Period.
The middle tier
This is the building phase of the journey, where those observations from regular, consistent efforts make way for more accurate and specific adjustments to further refine one’s plans. By first focusing on a balanced, nutrient-dense diet of mostly whole foods, one can begin to tweak the nutrients for adequacy with individual needs.
Macronutrients
Proteins: Amino acids that build, maintain, and repair organs, muscle, and connective tissues, contributing to lean mass
Carbohydrates: Our body's primary and preferred source of energy (glucose) that is, therefore, most useful for higher intensity workouts and activity while aiding in the regulation of gut health and regularity (fiber) and sparing protein breakdown (when glycogen stores are low, the body breaks down protein to supply glucose to the brain)
Fats: An alternative energy source to carbohydrates (mainly while the body is at rest or during lower intensity workouts and activity) that contributes to growth and development (especially in fetuses, newborns, infants, and toddlers), regulation of hormones, protection of vital organs, and absorption of other nutrients
Micronutrients
Vitamins: mostly essential, organic substances produced by plants and animals that the body needs to develop and function properly
Minerals: essential, inorganic substances naturally formed in the Earth that are absorbed by plants and animals
Think of macronutrients (the “builders”) as the caloric nutrients our bodies need in larger quantities for energy purposes and micronutrients (the “supervisors”) as the noncaloric nutrients our bodies need in smaller quantities for managing and regulating crucial bodily functions. Macronutrient distribution will depend on performance and body composition goals, while micronutrient distribution will ensure the efficient use of those macronutrients.
The top tier
This tier is for the finer tuning in adjusting for circumstances and filling in gaps for optimal performance and body composition goals. One needs a good history of observations while being consistent with the foundational and middle tiers to pinpoint needs here.
Supplements
Essential: substances that the body cannot produce on its own yet are still required (i.e., water, fiber, some vitamins and minerals like B vitamins, Vitamin C, potassium, and magnesium, fatty acids like omega-3s and omega-6s, and certain amino acids like leucine)
Non-essential: substances that the body can produce on its own but often in small amounts, meaning they may also need to be absorbed from food or supplemented (i.e,. biotin, certain vitamins like Vitamin D and K, certain amino acids like citrulline, beta-alanine, and glutamine, certain fatty acids, nitric oxide, creatine, beta-alanine)
Considering specific goals like muscle gain, fat loss, or performance while addressing unique dietary needs like deficiencies due to allergies, intolerances, sensitivities, or medical conditions will dictate the potential need for nutrient supplementation beyond diet.
Advanced techniques
Here are some examples of common techniques most people are at least somewhat aware of:
Nutrient Timing: influences energy levels, recovery, and performance when needed (i.e., pre-and post-workout nutrition)
Carb Cycling: typically involves more or less carbohydrates on different days of a scheduled routine that matches energy needs accordingly
Intermittent Fasting: scheduled fasting windows that can be used as a tool for weight loss
There is no single magical technique, but rather tools that can be used intelligently (keyword) when sustainable for achieving a specific result.
Making your way up the pyramid
Some strategies and sample questions for self-assessment to determine readiness for advanced techniques can include:
Checking your mindset
“Do I have a positive relationship with food, free from guilt, comparison, or obsession?”
“Can I implement changes without causing unnecessary stress and anxiety?”
“Am I mentally capable of accepting some fat gain during the process of putting on more muscle mass?”
Tracking your habits and noting your body’s response
“Have I built a sustainable and enjoyable eating routine that covers the basics?”
“How have my energy levels, hunger, and moods been?”
“Have I been consistent for at least a few months?”
Being honest with yourself
“Do I rely too much on processed foods or supplements?”
“If trying carb cycling, do I understand my activity levels and how they impact carb needs?”
“To what will I need to say no to get where I want to go, and am I okay with that?”
Whether you’re just starting out or you want to get back on track, identify where you currently are and what you consistently do (meaning, life likely won’t derail you from doing it if it’s no longer convenient or motivating for you). Start here not where you’d like to be and build a solid foundation of non-negotiable priorities. Become rooted and consistent with each tier before moving on. Fall in love with the process itself and subsequently reward yourself for little wins along the way of gradual, sustainable progress. I promise this will save you so much time, energy, frustration, and regret when you’re not circling the same mountains over and over for years or decades.
Remember: Prioritize (foundational tier), then refine (middle tier), and then optimize (top tier).
Kandis Joubert, Certified Personal Trainer & Nutrition Coach
Kandis Joubert is a NASM-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, specializing in corrective exercise and fitness nutrition. She believes real transformation is multi-dimensional, and therefore founded Faceted Fitness LLC, where she uses a multi-faceted approach in helping other business owners and corporate professionals prioritize their health and preserve longevity to amplify their own distinct influence. Additional areas of expertise as it relates to human wellness include mobility and goniometric assessment, prehab and rehab, movement optimization, mindset, lifestyle change and adherence, and body recomposition.
