Eating for training, without overthinking it

1. Total calories decide the direction

Gaining, losing or holding weight is decided by energy balance, and nothing else you do overrides it. A reasonable starting estimate comes from the Mifflin-St Jeor equation for resting energy expenditure, multiplied by an activity factor — which is exactly how Train Smart sets your target.

Two practical guardrails: don't chase more than about 0.5–1.0 kg of change a week, and don't drop below roughly 1.2× your resting requirement. Faster than that and you lose training quality and, in a deficit, muscle.

2. Protein is the one macro worth counting

Around 1.8–2.2 g per kilogram of bodyweight per day, spread across meals rather than loaded into one. The higher end applies when you are in a deficit, because protein is what protects muscle when energy is short. This range is what the ACSM/Dietitians of Canada joint position statement and the ISSN position stand both support.

If you count one thing, count this.

3. Carbohydrate is fuel, and timing matters more than total

For a community athlete training four to six times a week, the practical version is simple: eat carbohydrate around your hard sessions and your game, and be less concerned about it on rest days. Turning up to a Saturday game under-fuelled is a far more common problem than eating too many carbohydrates.

4. Consistency beats optimisation

A plan you follow four days a week is worth more than a perfect one you follow for nine days and abandon. That is why Train Smart's meal plans are built around the equipment you own, the cooking difficulty you'll actually attempt, and a nominated prep day — a plan that assumes you'll cook from scratch every night is a plan you will stop using in a fortnight.

What we are not going to tell you

Supplement protocols, meal timing windows measured in minutes, and anything framed as a secret. If it needs precision measured in minutes to work, it does not matter at community level.

Where this comes from

Every claim above is sourced: Mifflin-St Jeor 1990 for the energy equation, the ACSM joint position statement and ISSN position stand for protein, the NHMRC Australian Dietary Guidelines and Sports Dietitians Australia for general and sports-specific guidance. The full list, with what each one supports, is here.