Eating for strength and recovery

Start with calories, not supplements

Bodyweight in pounds multiplied by 14–16 is a workable starting estimate for someone training three to five times a week. Below that range you will lose weight and, past the first few weeks, some strength with it. Above it you will gain.

Hold whatever number you pick for two full weeks and weigh yourself on the same three mornings each week. Adjust by 200 calories based on the trend, never on a single day's reading.

Protein: the one number worth counting

Aim for 1.6–2.2 g per kg of bodyweight, spread across three or four meals of roughly 30–40 g. Spreading it matters more than the exact daily total once you are in that range, because muscle protein synthesis responds per meal.

• A palm-sized portion of meat or fish is roughly 25–30 g
• Greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, eggs and milk close most gaps cheaply
• Plant-based: combine legumes with grains and add 10–15% to the daily target
• A shake is a convenience, not a requirement

Carbohydrates are the training variable

Carbohydrate is what makes hard sets feel possible. If your sessions fall apart in the last third, the fix is usually 40–80 g of carbohydrate in the two hours before training, not more caffeine.

On rest days you can eat less of it without any cost. That single adjustment — higher carbohydrate on training days, lower on rest days — is most of what calorie cycling achieves, with none of the complexity.

Recovery is nutrition plus sleep

Under seven hours of sleep, strength holds for a while but perceived effort climbs and technique degrades first. If you can only fix one thing this month, fix the bedtime rather than the meal plan.

• Hydration: 30–35 ml per kg of bodyweight, more in heat
• Get 3–5 g of creatine monohydrate a day if you supplement anything at all
• Alcohol the night after a hard session measurably blunts the adaptation
• Eat something with protein within a couple of hours of finishing — the window is hours, not minutes

Cutting without losing the gym

A deficit of 300–500 calories a day, protein held at the top of the range and training volume held steady lets most people lose fat while keeping their lifts. Aggressive deficits cost strength, and the strength is the hard part to rebuild.