The Nutrition Mistakes Killing Your Performance (Part 5): Wanting to be lean all the time and never tracking calories.
Still crashing in training? If you’ve already cut the fasting, ditched keto, and stopped worshipping bad science, here’s the next mistake: eating ‘too clean’ and ignoring intra-workout fuel.
Mistake #8: Wanting to be lean all the time.
A lot of people are focused on looks these days. They want to look lean all the time, which is good for likes on social media but not for your performance. Being too lean isn’t something you want all the time. It’s better to walk around with 10-12% body fat outside of camp and a bit lower in camp.
People that are too lean mostly can’t perform in training or are always injured. This can have multiple causes: chronically undereating, insane training schedules, not periodizing training….
This leads to every training feeling like a survival session rather than an actual training session.
Imagine looking like a cover model but not being able to perform and constantly dealing with injuries.
Don’t focus on being Instagram ready; focus on being ring ready.
And this obsession with staying lean usually shows up in another way.
Mistake #9: Never tracking calories.
The first thing I have my clients do is track calories for three days. The reason why is simple: it gives me numbers to work with, and I can identify where the issue is exactly. Are your macros out of whack? Are you underfueling? Do you prioritize the wrong macro?
Most people eat with their eyes, not numbers. They see a big portion and think they eat a lot or enough. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Without numbers, you’re playing a guessing game and for most people it’s a losing game. Imagine trying to lose weight but chronically underfueling; you drop the calories even more and face the consequences like burning out, injuries, etc.
This could have been avoided if you tracked first and adjusted from there.
Do you have to track calories for the rest of your life? Absolutely not, but knowing intuitively how much to eat on double, single training days and rest days will only benefit you.
You don’t learn that intuitively by guessing. You learn it by tracking first.
If this sounds familiar, this is exactly what I help fighters fix.
Nutrition Coaching
I help fighters stop underfueling, fix low-energy training, and get lean without sacrificing performance. If you’re struggling with weight loss, underperforming due to poor nutrition, or dealing with a damaged metabolism, DM me “nutrition” on Instagram to get started.
I only take 3 clients every 3 months.
In my 3-month coaching program, I’ll guide you through:
- Restoring training output after chronic underfueling.
- Losing weight sustainably without burnout.
- Learning how to fuel for performance when maintaining and losing weight.
- Cutting weight safely for a fight (only for fighters).
If this resonates, DM me “nutrition” on Instagram.
Until next time.
Alex
