To lose weight you need to sustain a caloric deficit .

To preferentially lose fat instead of lean tissues like muscle, it is helpful to also consume a relatively high amount of protein , adequate amounts of healthy fats, and enough carbohydrate to replenish muscle glycogen and support moderate and high intensity physical activities (which will themselves also spare lean tissue).

Moreover, both protein and fiber may improve fat loss success rates. Both nutrients will lead to increased satiety, helping you to feel more full for an energy-matched volume of food.

Key Targets

Calories – to calculate your daily caloric intake we use the Mifflin St. Jeour equation to determine basal metabolic rate. This formula uses your age, height, weight and gender to determine resting caloric needs, and is generally quite accurate (e.g. more accurate than the Harris-Benedict formula) . Together with your daily activity levels and the explicit workouts you log on BodBot, this determines your maintenance calorie level. From this baseline, we add a 20% deficit. Note that, if you are already lean, your caloric deficit should not be too great in order to spare lean tissues (not to mention sanity). While larger caloric deficits may be appropriate for very overweight individuals needing to manage other health risks, they are subject to a number of potential negative side effects, and should not be undertaken without consultation with a doctor . Also note that a caloric deficit does not have to occur every single day, and it can be useful to think in terms of a net caloric balance over a weekly period (read: don't stress yourself out over a single day's lapse).

Protein: protein as a macronutrient provides at least three benefits in fat loss. As discussed above, in addition to the critically important benefits of sparing muscle and increasing satiety, dietary protein also leads to more thermogenesis compared to other macronutrients . While by no means a critical effect, more heat is produced in the digestion of protein compared to other macronutrients, thereby providing a slight metabolic advantage. For these reasons, and the added protein needs of the physically active, BodBot sets a high protein baseline of 2.0g/kg . Note that high levels of protein consumption appear to be quite safe, barring any pre-existing kidney impairment .

Fiber: in addition its effects on satiety, fiber’s general-purpose health benefits are also quite attractive .

Fat: is necessary for proper endocrine function, and a base level of dietary fat should be consumed for this reason . In addition it appears that there may be benefits to a moderate fat diet over a very low fat diet in terms of adherence .

Carbohydrate: carbohydrates play a critical role in the replenishment of muscle glycogen (as well as liver glycogen), which is the primary fuel source for high intensity activities like lifting weights or sprinting . Barring medical contra-indication, some form of resistance training should be a part of any high quality fat loss strategy, and carbohydrate intake is recommended for this reason. Your optimal intake will depend on the type and quantity of your physical activity, and BodBot will adjust this daily based on your glycogen expenditure. Note that as long as protein and fat have been accomodated, and the primary composition of the carbohydrates is of a high quality (read: not refined sugars) a relatively wide range of intake is permissible.

Additional nutrients

Omega-3 fatty acids – in addition to their health benefits, omega-3 fatty acids may provide a material fat loss benefit in the already overweight .

Calcium – important in the maintenance of bone density, calcium is of extra importance on a hypocaloric, high protein diet. Note that while a high protein diet with a calcium deficiency may impair bone density, high levels of both nutrients appear to provide the best outcome for bone health . In addition, high dietary calcium may also provide some marginal benefits to the processes of fat loss itself .

Iron – more likely to be deficient in women, a risk of deficiency is possible in both genders on a hypocaloric diet. Iron is involved in large number of bodily processes, but there is risk of both deficiency and overconsumption .

Magnesium is critically important to the functioning of mitochondria, and the majority of people in the US are deficient in it. To learn more, click here.

Finally, do note that additional nutrients will be displayed as health reference points, though they may not aid specifically in fat loss.

The nutritional requirements for efficient muscle growth are straightforward:

• Consume a caloric surplus
• Consume an adequate amount of protein
• Eat an adequate amount of carbohydrate to replenish muscle glycogen
• Get enough essential and healthy fats –both to reach your caloric targets and to help sustain the body’s endocrine system

Calories: to calculate your necessary daily caloric intake we use the Mifflin St. Jeour equation to determine basal metabolic rate (generally more accurate than the Harris-Benedict formula) , in conjunction with your baseline activity levels and the explicit workouts you log on BodBot. On top of that, your recommendation for gaining muscle includes an additional surplus of 20%.

While muscle growth can be accomplished with a smaller or greater surplus (and indeed, in edge cases, without a surplus – e.g. if you’re new to exercising, coming off a lengthy layoff, or obese), 20% over baseline should represent a good starting point. Note that there is little evidence to support huge caloric surpluses increasing the rate of muscle growth, and you should think carefully before going dining-plate-cowboy on your intake (unless fat gain is also the goal, in which case yeehaw, giddyup).

Naturally if you do not experience weight gain at a predicted 20% surplus, you can look to increase calories in successive weeks.

As far as expected rate of progress, this will depend heavily on lifting experience (novices will typically gain more quickly), age, and other factors. To temper expectations, 1lb of muscle gained every two weeks would be an excellent rate of progress (which would be well over 20lbs of muscle in a single year).

Protein: beyond a baseline level of protein, age and activity level can also increase the demand for dietary protein. Protein ranges between 1.4-2.0g/kg appear to provide a sufficient quantity for training adaptation – and BodBot errs on the high side in your recommendation (2.0g/kg). Note, however, that while higher levels of dietary protein are unlikely to provide additional benefits in terms of muscular hypertrophy , assuming you have healthy kidneys they will not do you any harm .

Fats play a critical role in the body’s endocrine system, and higher fat diets have been shown to help favorably regulate circulating sex hormones – e.g. testosterone in men . For these reasons, dietary fat is recommended in a range of 20-35% of daily calories .

Carbohydrate: carbohydrates play a critical role in the replenishment of muscle glycogen (as well as liver glycogen), and are the primary fuel source for high intensity activities like lifting weights or sprinting . Your optimal carbohydrate intake will depend on the type and quantity of your physical activity, and BodBot will adjust this daily based on your glycogen expenditure. Note that as long as protein and fat have been accomodated, and the composition of the carbohydrates is of a high quality (read: not refined sugars) a relatively wide range of intake is permissible.

Additional nutrients are provided as reference points, however a few nutrients are of additional interest:

Zinc is an important mineral which is often found to be deficient in athletes . Zinc is also important for proper testosterone production, with zinc deficiencies leading to potential impairment . Proper zinc levels may also play a useful role in promoting a healthy appetite, certainly useful when attempting to gain weight .

Magnesium is critically important to the functioning of mitochondria, and the majority of people in the US are deficient in it. To learn more, click here.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: while the effects are likely marginal, omega-3 fatty acids appear to aid in the preservation of lean body mass in older individuals and populations recovering from trauma, and they may even have body composition benefits in healthy and young adults .

Losing fat while gaining muscle can be tricky, and many people will get their best results alternating between periods explicitly devoted towards losing fat and periods devoted to gaining muscle. That said, it is certainly possible, and if you are 1) new to resistance training, or 2) coming back to resistance training after a prolonged lay-off, or 3) obese - it may be very achievable (although if you are obese, you might wish to start with fat loss as your goal).

The overall objectives of this goal are improvements in body composition, and improvements in nutrient partitioning. I.e. total body weight may remain the same, but calories need to be better distributed to lean tissues vs. fat. To that end, we recommend maintenance levels of calories with relatively high levels of protein. Fats are set at a level to support favorable endocrine functioning, and carbohydrates at a level to effectively replenish muscle glycogen and thereby support resistance training.

It should go without saying, but resistance training will be an absolutely critical component in shifting body composition. Neither resistance training or proper nutrition are likely to yield large dividends without the presence of the other.

Calories: to calculate your necessary daily caloric intake we use the Mifflin St. Jeour equation to determine basal metabolic rate (generally more accurate than the Harris-Benedict formula) , in conjunction with your baseline activity levels and the explicit workouts you log on BodBot.

As far as expected rate of progress, this will depend heavily on lifting experience (novices will typically gain more quickly), age, and other factors. To temper expectations, 1lb of muscle gained every two weeks would be an excellent rate of progress (which would be well over 20lbs of muscle in a single year).

Protein: beyond a baseline level of protein, age and activity level can also increase the demand for dietary protein. Protein ranges between 1.4-2.0g/kg appear to provide a sufficient quantity for training adaptation – and BodBot errs on the high side in your recommendation (2.0g/kg). Note, however, that while higher levels of dietary protein are unlikely to provide additional benefits in terms of muscular hypertrophy , assuming you have healthy kidneys they will not do you any harm .

Fats play a critical role in the body’s endocrine system, and higher fat diets have been shown to help favorably regulate circulating sex hormones – e.g. testosterone in men . For these reasons, dietary fat is recommended in a range of 20-35% of daily calories .

Carbohydrate: carbohydrates play a critical role in the replenishment of muscle glycogen (as well as liver glycogen), and are the primary fuel source for high intensity activities like lifting weights or sprinting . Your optimal carbohydrate intake will depend on the type and quantity of your physical activity, and BodBot will adjust this daily based on your glycogen expenditure. Note that as long as protein and fat have been accomodated, and the composition of the carbohydrates is of a high quality (read: not refined sugars) a relatively wide range of intake is permissible.

Additional nutrients are provided as reference points, however a few nutrients are of additional interest:

Zinc is an important mineral which is often found to be deficient in athletes . Zinc is also important for proper testosterone production, with zinc deficiencies leading to potential impairment .

Magnesium is critically important to the functioning of mitochondria, and the majority of people in the US are deficient in it. To learn more, click here.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: while the effects are likely marginal, omega-3 fatty acids appear to aid in the preservation of lean body mass in older individuals and populations recovering from trauma, and they may even have body composition benefits in healthy and young adults .

Sexual health is intimately intertwined (oh yeahhh, that's right) with cardiovascular health, and for this reason there is a tremendous overlap between this goal and general health. In men erectile dysfunction can be a predictor for cardiovascular disease, and erectile dysfunction is frequently co-morbid with cardiometabolic risks like hypertension . In women a variety of cardiometabolic risk factors are also associated with an increased prevalence of sexual dysfunction . For more information on the high level health recommendations that can improve cardiometabolic health (and thereby sexual health) - please click on the basic health goal. Now, that said, there are a few nutrients worth a slight extra consideration for sexual health:

Omega-3 fatty acids: in addition to their benefits on general health, omega-3 fatty acids may also increase levels of nitric oxide, one of the key vasodilators in erection and sexual response .

Arginine is an amino acid and a precursor for the synthesis of nitric oxide. For this reason, arginine has been used - in conjunction with other compounds - as a potential treatment for erectile dysfunction . Note, however, that very high levels of supplemental arginine could pose cardiovascular risks, and should not be considered without proper medical consultation .

Zinc is a frequently deficient nutrient which, by preventing dietary deficiency, may have a role to play in favorably regulating sex hormones .

Folate deficiency may impair nitric oxide synthase, therby impairing vasodilation. An adequare dietary intake can help alleviate this risk .

Magnesium is critically important to the functioning of mitochondria, and the majority of people in the US are deficient in it. To learn more, click here.

As the rate of neuroscientific research continues to increase, the effects of diet and lifestyle on the brain are beginning to be understood in new and very interesting ways. It appears that a properly structured diet can not only reduce the risk of neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s , but also favorably impact brain plasticity processes like neurogenesis. Of course, while this is very exciting, it is probably best to understand the role of diet in cognitive performance as 1) the prevention of nutritional deficiencies and 2) the prevention of nutritional insults. Evidence for further cognitive improvements beyond these activities is limited, and your personal quest for telepathic omniscience may not be satisfied by diet alone.

At a high level, optimizing for cognitive health should start with optimizing for general health. That is, the brain is subject to metabolic and vascular processes as with the rest of the body, and wild metabolic deficiencies or risk factors are likely to also have deleterious impacts on the brain. To this end, controlling total calories (and potentially practicing sustained caloric deficits), while eating sufficient dietary protein and fiber is likely to lead to better cognitive outcomes.

While a number of vitamins, minerals and other compounds are implicated in maintaining or improving cognitive health, omega-3 fatty acids have perhaps the most diverse and impressive clinical track record. We look at each of these nutrients in turn, with the upfront caveat that more research is still necessary:

Prevent Deficiencies:

Omega 3 Fatty acids, and in particular the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA – appear to play an important role in cognitive health. Critical in early neuronal development, there is also some evidence that omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s as well as cognitive decline . While the effect sizes in Alzheimer’s are likely to be marginal, the ameliorative effects on cognitive decline appear to be more robust , albeit not conclusive .

Omega-3 fatty acids appear to have beneficial effects on a number of cognitive processes in otherwise healthy individuals consuming diets relatively deficient in omega-3 fatty acids (DHA in particular) – including cerebral bloodflow , memory , attention processes , reduction of anxiety and some forms of depression . Omega-3 fatty acids may also favorably impact learning in children, particularly those with symptoms of ADHD (which might be close to, but not completely equivalent to all children ever) .

At a lower level, omega-3 fatty acids – and DHA in particular – have been shown to limit the production and accumulation of amyloid beta (a key peptide in Alzheimer’s), favorably modify BDNF and neurogenesis , potentially increase neuronal receptor expression and generally exert a variety of neuroprotective effects .

While omega-3s are not a panacaea for cognitive health – particularly where no deficiency exists, they are a very sensible addition for the mindfully-minded.

Vitamins C and E both appear to lower the risk of vascular dementia while prevention of vitamin C deficiency seems to offer some protection against cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s . As well, vitamin E may offer a marginal benefit against Parkinson’s .

Lutein and zeaxanthin: appear to favorably impact cognitive function and rate of decline in the elderly, particularly in conjunction with DHA .

Vitamin K: plays important roles in the nervous system, and may have a role to play in cognitive health, though more research is needed .

Vitamin B12: required for neurological function, deficiency appears to be linked to cognitive decline .

Folate: another b-vitamin (B9) with strong epidemiological evidence, folate appears to play a role in proper cognitive functioning with deficiency linked to neurodegenerative conditions .

Choline: is the precursor molecule for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, and dietary choline appears to play some important role neuronal development in addition to a variety of general health processes . Choline may also potentially protect against depression and stress , and may have some favorable role to play in cognitive decline and memory - though the evidence is still very preliminary .

Vitamin A: deficiency appears to negatively impact neurogenesis

Cholesterol: plays an important role in cognitive function (e.g. the myelin sheath), but may present risk factors with consumption of both too little and too much .

Potassium: in addition to being critical to all neuronal signaling, potassium might reduce the risk for vascular dementia as well as potentially Alzheimer’s .

Zinc: deficiency impairs neurogenesis .

Magnesium: appears to have a role to play in synaptic plasticity: and might provide a marginal benefit in the treatment of Alzheimer’s as well as recovery from traumatic brain injury . It may also potentially play some role in reducing the risk of vascular dementia . To learn more about magnesium, click here.

Monounsaturated fats: may confer a marginal benefit against cognitive decline, although more research is needed .

Protect Against Insults:

Sugars: high sugar intake can produce more variability and spiking of energy throughout the day , potentially impairing cognitive performance. In hypoxia models, refined carbohydrate diets have also been shown to contribute to spatial learning deficits . Beyond this, the general health benefit to limiting sugar, especially for metabolic health, also make this a logical prescription for cognitive health .

Sodium: high sodium intake, particularly when exercise is deficient, may be a risk factor for cognitive decline .

Trans Fat: The general deleterious health effects of trans fats would be enough for a strong prohibition, and it also appears trans fats have negative effects on neuronal and cognitive health .

Saturated Fat: While a deeper understanding of saturated fat indicates it may not be as problematic as previously believed, there are indications it would still be wise to limit saturated fat intake for cognitive health – particularly relative to consumption of polyunsaturated fats .

In general, a diet rich in protein, healthful fats, fruits and vegetables – that minimizes processed foods high in excess sugar, sodium and trans fatty acids – will promote health and reduce risk factors for a legion of diseases .

Note that while calorie management can be an important tool for health, the quality of nutritional intake is still critically important. To illustrate the point, a 2500 calorie diet of pure sugar and trans fats (warning, don’t try this at home) vs. a 2500 calorie diet of protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats will result in dramatically different health outcomes.

As far as specific targets, we start with calorie recommendations derived to achieve maintenance energy levels (note that if you are currently obese, a caloric deficit is a fine idea), while protein levels may be set a bit higher than the RDA to account for both athletics (and indeed you should be getting some level of vigorous activity to achieve optimal health) and aging –two clear instances where more protein is useful . Fiber is similarly set at or above government guidelines, both as a partial representative for vegetables and fruits, and also for its relatively robust and broad health benefits .

While a myriad of nutrients are implicated in good health (or its absence), a few nutrients are worth extra consideration – these are discussed below. It should go without saying, but if you have any preexisting medical conditions their demands should supersede any and all recommendations provided here - be sure to consult with your doctor.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and DHA and EPA in particular, can provide a range of health benefits. These include aiding in cognitive functioning, liver health , weight management and potentially in the prevention of cardiovascular disease .

Potassium – may reduce the risk of hypertension, stroke, and potentially cardiovascular disease .

Sodium – while a critically important nutrient, is often wildly overconsumed by virtue of its almost ubiquitous inclusion in processed foods. High levels of sodium can increase the risk of hypertension , stroke, and cardiovascular disease .

Trans Fats – Just don’t. While providing no discernible benefit, trans fats are linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and appear to negatively affect endothelial cell function . Trans fats are also linked to cognitive decline .

Saturated Fats – while the picture has become a little more intricate lately, moderating consumption of saturated fat (and preferring polyunsaturated fats like omega-3s, as well as monounsaturated fats) is still a prudent strategy for general health, and it appears is connected with lower instances of cardiovascular disease . For this reason BodBot follows the American Heart Association’s recommendation to keep saturated fat below 7% of total calories.

Sugars: high sugar intake, and particularly the sugar added to foods, has been linked to a myriad of health risks. These include type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease .

Magnesium: deficient in the majority of US adults, magnesium deficiency is linked to increased rates of inflammation as well as risks for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease . To learn more, click here.

Monounsaturated Fat: epidemiological evidence is generally favorable for the effects of monounsaturated fats on metabolic syndrome and obesity as well as cardiovascular disease .

Calcium: is critical to bone health and the prevention of osteoporosis .

Vitamin D: plays a similarly important role in bone health and deficiency also appears to be linked to increased rates of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality . Note that the importance of dietary vitamin D is elevated when not receiving adequate daily sunlight.

Iron: both iron deficiency and excess can lead to serious negative health consequences, and iron intake is worth monitoring for this reason .

Niacin (Vitamin B3): can have positive effects on HDL levels, as well as help reduce the risk of cardiovascular events .

Cholesterol: while the precise role of dietary cholesterol in cardiovascular disease and health is undergoing more scientific debate , for some portion of the population restriction of cholesterol may be prudent. For this reason you should consult with a doctor (and you should be doing this anyway) before any dramatic changes in cholesterol consumption.