Make The Most of Your 98.2%
If you work out 3 hours a week, that’s 1.8% of your time. Even if you trained 3 hours a day (15/week), that would only be 10%.
So how do we optimize that remaining 98% of our time we aren’t with a coach?
You can’t outrun a bad diet. You may have heard this before, and it rings true the older we get. Because so much of our time is spent not exercising, if you are trying to transform the body you’re piloting, we need to make some adjustments to how we drive in the long haul.
All of the tips and tricks we are about to go over hold true whether you want to improve athletic or endurance performance, slap on some muscle, or shed some weight — because it all focuses on building a robust metabolism.
These rules come from over a decade of coaching experience and research. As of writing this I am on a 54 day streak of the following rules and I am stronger, leaner and feel better than I have in years. The magic is in rule 7, which ties everything else together!
So this it what I’ve been up to…
How to Transform Your Body Without Eating Less
- Strength train 2–3 times/week
- Play with your kids, go on a hike, or play daily
- Eat ½ – 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight every day
- Eat at least 3 handfuls of veggies every day
- Drink 64 oz (half gallon) of water — not including coffee, soda, or alcohol — every day
- Sleep, dag-nab-it!
- Track: Protein + Water + Veggies
Using the diagram, we’ll go through these one by one, explaining why these are the most important rules to follow. Stay with me!
Exercise
Boom! You’re already working with a coach 2–3 days a week, and throw in a bike ride or some other activity. Check mark. First one done.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
This is scientist for: take a walk, play with your kids, move at work, get a standing or walking desk. This is all of your non-workout moving around. Construction workers generally have more energy expenditure than accountants. Makes sense, right?
I think this is really the section that sets Coloradans apart from other states — there are so many beautiful ways to get out (especially in Evergreen) — so generally people up here go on a ton of hikes!
Thermic Effect of Food
This means it takes energy to digest food — but it’s not all equal! So we’re going to use that to your advantage.
- The human body is so good at digesting and storing fat (because it wants you to live through the winter, not have a six-pack) that it takes almost no energy to store fat (0–3% of calories).
- We’re pretty good at storing/using carbs too (5–10% of calories).
But coming in hot is protein at a whopping 20–30% thermic effect.
Basically, it takes a ton of calories (that you didn’t need to do burpees or sprints to burn) just to digest.
Protein intake targets:
- If you work out 2–3 hours/week, shoot for 50–75% of body weight in grams/day
- Example: 140 lb person = 70–105 grams of protein daily
- If you train 10+ hours/week, go for 80–100%
- Example: 160 lb person = 128–160 grams daily
Bonus: Humans can’t “burn” fiber — so calories from fiber basically don’t count. Eat your veggies!
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
This is your “idling engine” — how much gas do you go through when doing… nothing?
The thing everyone always wants to hate on themselves for, but we actually do have a good amount of control over this!
To build RMR, focus on building muscle, which makes the tissues of your body you’re piloting more active.
Focus on:
- Strength training
- Eating protein
- Drinking water — aim for 64 oz/day, not including soda, coffee, or alcohol
- Sleep — this is when we rebuild muscle from training and bring down cortisol (that trixy stress hormone)
So… Is There Anything I Should Track?
Yes — but it’s not calories!
Track:
- Protein
- Veggies
- Water
That’s all I recommend tracking.
If you have a Garmin or another tool that tracks sleep, great — but it’s not required.
Unless you’re an actual bodybuilder getting stage-ready, I do not recommend calorie tracking. It can bring unnecessary mental stress and pressure. As a coach with over a decade of experience—and someone who struggled with disordered eating as a kid and young adult—I’ve seen how that can spiral.
It can be useful to track calories for 2–4 days for awareness, but that’s about it.
In Conclusion the 7 rules to transform
- Strength Train-to build metabolically active tissue, and strength for daily activities
- Play-mostly because it’s fun, but also to stay moving and active while not working out
- Eat protein-to build metabolism (via muscle) and to burn 2-10x more calories from eating food
- Eat veggies-to keep your gut healthy, fill your plate and get much needed micro-nutrients
- Drink water-to feel good at rest and play and to build muscle
- Sleep-to rejuvenate physical tissue and hormones
- Track-so you know you actually did it and to stay on target, plus once we have a streak we will work really hard to keep it
Thank you for reading!
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Ian Smith
Owner, Lead Trainer
Mountain Speed Strength & Fitness
Evergreen, CO