NUTRITION PLAN

[Mathew // Lean Bulk]

OVERVIEW

Your nutrition plan is designed to support lean muscle growth by fueling your body with the right balance of nutrients while minimizing unnecessary fat gain. You will be doing something called a Lean Bulk. To achieve this, you’ll follow a slight calorie surplus with a strong emphasis on high-quality protein to optimize recovery and stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

Given your demanding schedule, the key to success is creating a frictionless, repeatable routine. Your plan prioritizes convenience, relying on protein shakes, prepped meals, and portable snacks to keep you consistent even on your busiest days.

The primary objective is simple: consistently hit your daily protein target while keeping calorie intake moderate. By making nutrition as automatic and effortless as possible, you’ll establish the consistency needed to steadily build muscle while maintaining a lean, athletic physique.

Your Diet Fundamentals

  • Slight Caloric Surplus: Eat enough to fuel muscle growth, but avoid overeating to minimize fat gain.

  • Protein First: Hitting protein goal daily is #1 Priority as it is essential to recover and build muscle.

  • Consistency: Create a frictionless routine to ensure you are hitting your macro goals. Make it mindless.

EATING IN A CALORIC SURPLUS

You burn calories 24/7, even when you’re not moving. Just by staying alive — breathing, pumping blood, digesting food, and thinking — your body uses about 1,600 calories a day. This is called your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) — the number of calories your body needs to keep you alive at rest.

When we factor in your daily activities — walking, errands, and any other physical activity — you burn roughly 2,000 to 2,200 calories a day. This is called your maintenance calories — the amount you’d need to eat to maintain your current weight with your current lifestyle.

For the next 4 weeks, your daily target will be set at 2,100 calories. This is a starting point to help you get comfortable with tracking and give us a clear picture of your true maintenance calories based on your daily lifestyle.

Your Macros

  • Calories = 2,100kcal

  • Protein = 160g

  • Carbs = 200g

  • Fat = 65g

STRUCTURING A MEAL

Since you are starting out, it is best to make simple, separate meals rather than complex mixed dishes like curries or casseroles.

Why:

  1. Logging 4oz of grilled chicken + 1/2 cup of rice (uncooked) + 1 cup of broccoli + 1 tsp oil is easier and more accurate than a ladle of curry where each portion can have different macros due to the multiple ingredients.

  2. Eating similar, repeatable meals makes tracking mindless and fast.

  3. Constructing a plate that’s oriented towards protein + veggies first helps you feel satiated

Food Guide

Use this guide I’ve created for you as a simple rule of thumb for choosing foods when crafting your meals.

VIEW FOOD GUIDE PDF

HOW TO IMPLEMENT

Because you have a busy schedule, it’s important to simplify your nutrition and macro tracking by building a consistent routine. The best way to do this is through meal prepping or purchasing ready-made meals.

1.How to Track Macros

You don’t know how much you’re consuming unless you look at the numbers.

Step 1: Use a Macro Tracking App

  • Choose one that is user-friendly and that allow you to log meals, save meals, scan barcodes, and see protein, carbs, fats, and total calories in real time

Step 2: Weigh & Measure Your Foods

  • Use a food scale to weigh your snacks and ingredients (MEASURE EVERYTHING AND WEIGH IT RAW/UNCOOKED)

Step 3: Focus on Consistency

  • Don’t stress on hitting all macronutrients. Your main focus is hitting your protein goal of 160g first before trying to fulfill your carbs or fats.

Step 4: Meal Prepping

  • I strongly recommend batch-prepping your meals so you only have to measure ingredients once, rather than weighing everything each time you cook. This saves time, reduces stress, and makes it much easier to stay consistent with your tracking.

  • You don’t have to meal prep everything yourself. You can order pre-portioned meals online from meal prep companies, or buy ready-made meal prep containers from grocery stores like Safeway. Another option is to get bulk catered food from restaurants like Chipotle, then weigh and portion it out into meals.

Step 5: Watch for Hidden Calories

  • Be aware that coffee creamers, cooking oils, sauces, and snacks can be heavily dense in calories.

MEAL PREP OPTIONS

  • COOKUNITY (www.cookunity.com)

    • Pros:

      • Large selection of meals from various chefs

      • Solid tasting meals (sometimes)

      • Categories organized by diet

    • Cons:

      • More Pricey

      • Taste is inconsistent between orders

      • Has been known to have quality issues of freshness

YOUR PROGRAM

OVERVIEW
EXERCISE