Week 0 - The Setup +

We start with Week 0 which is all about goal setting, learning how to measure progress and choosing your method for the program. There are 5 steps to run through before Friday. Click on the blue writing in each step for the link to find more information.

1. Join the program facebook group from the link in the email and watch the FNC Group Program Overview video in the facebook group. If you don't have the email, check your SPAM first, then if it's still missing please email info@fortitudenutritioncoaching.com.au and we will send it to you.

2. Read "Goal Setting and Find your why". Reading this article and doing the “find your why” activity is probably only 15-20 minutes out of your week but being clear on your goal and motivation may just be the most important thing you do in this program.

3. "Watch the video describing the different methods" and pros and cons of tracking macros/ counting calories, food journaling and habit checkboxes. Decide which method will be best for you during this program (don’t worry, you can change during the program). Then click on your one chosen method (tracking, journaling or habits) for the next steps.

4. Read about how to "measure your progress"

5. When you’ve got your head around all of that, you might like to start looking at the "List of Nutrition Skills" you could work on each week.

Week 1 starts on Friday

Week 1 - The Start +

Each week of this program will start on a Friday. This is to give you the weekend to plan and prepare for how you will work on your nutrition skill for the week.

Please read this whole section before making your decisions.

For everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 1 - List of Nutrition Skills

• If you are not sure where to start, we’d suggest - Including Protein with Each Meal. We’d really recommend sticking to 1 skill each week to give you the most amount of time each week to make this skill a habit.

• However if you are already confident with protein at each meal and are looking at more, try - Building Meals and Days of Eating

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’d suggest starting with The ABC Recipe for building habits

For those that are food journaling:

• Your first nutrition skill might be writing out your meals and how you feel for a week. That might help you realise where your priorities lie for the next few weeks.

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Your first nutrition skill might be learning how to track macros using either the:

• Diet Builder Guide

• MyFitnessPal Guide

• We’d really suggest aiming to hit your maintenance Calories this week. We’ve explained why and added a video to help show you how in this article - Plan Diet Phases / Fat Loss Phases and Maintenance

Our first Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

Week 2 +

It’s the start of Week 2!

We hope you made a great start with your first focus and are ready to either spend another week building on that or you are ready to choose your next nutrition skill.

Please read this whole section before making your decisions.

For everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Run through your reflection for Week 1 with The Post Check In

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 2 - List of Nutrition Skills

• If you are not sure where to go next, we’d suggest - Include Plants with Meals. If you’ve made a great start with protein and look to add plants, it might help during the week to learn more about Building Meals and Days of Eating

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’d suggest Make it Easy.

For those that are food journaling:

• Reflect on your first week. Can you notice any areas that were easy or hard? Anything that might be an obvious choice to work on from the List of Nutrition Skills. Can you start to link how you feel with your food choices, sleep/fatigue, appetite. Are there any patterns?

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Run through the progress log to check in with yourself after week 1, reflect on how things went, what you will focus on this week and build up your progress data - Progress Log Check In

• Tracking is a skill, it takes time to learn how to do it well. When you aren’t sure what to do, check out the guides for FAQs and videos or post in the Facebook group. We’ll continue adding more FAQs as we get more questions:

• Diet Builder Guide

• MyFitnessPal Guide

• If you aimed for maintenance in week 1, then week 2 could be time to start your fat loss phase, if that’s your goal. If during the maintenance week, your weight crept up a little, your PAL rating might be a touch high. So reduce it by a point then set your 10-20% deficit.

• If your weight went down even though you were aiming for maintenance, your PAL might be a point too low. You could just keep going with your target, or if comfortable you might consider just a 10% deficit.

• If your weight remained stable and you feel good and are ready to start a fat loss phase, choose a 10-20% deficit and make the reductions from mostly discretionary foods, alcohol and focus on high volume foods to keep full whilst dieting.

• This skill might really help: Understand Satiety: How to feel full and stay full

FAQs: I’ve added info and video explanations for 2 questions this week:

• How do I log indulgences in the FNC Diet Builder?

• Why do we have minimums for macro targets?

Follow this link for the answers and information: Diet Builder FAQs

Our next Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

Week 3 +

For everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Run through your reflection for Week 2 with The Post Check In

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 3 - List of Nutrition Skills If you are not sure where to go next, we’d suggest - Understand Carbohydrates. If you are feeling confident with building meals, it might help during the week to learn more about Writing your meals out in advance

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’d suggest Make a Plan

For those that are food journaling:

• Reflect on your week. Can you notice any areas that were easy or hard? Anything that might be an obvious choice to work on from the List of Nutrition Skills.

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Run through the progress log to check in with yourself after week 2, reflect on how things went, what you will focus on this week and build up your progress log data - Progress Log Check In

• If you’ve just finished your first week of a fat loss phase, check in with progress. 1 week is a short amount of time, we typically wouldn’t change targets or make a larger deficit until we saw 2 straight weeks without any progress.

• Weight loss on the scales of between 0.5-1% per week is a great aim but also consider progress in measurements, with energy, mood, training and nutrition skills.

• If your progress is slower than this, we’d suggest waiting 1 more week before changing your Calorie target.

• If your progress is much faster than this, consider reducing your deficit and slowing down a touch, especially if you are feeling a lot of hunger and a drop in energy.

• If you are looking to simplify your tracking, using the Diet Builder can allow you to hide the carbs & fats numbers and simply look at total Calories, protein and plants - follow this link: Hide carbs & Fats

• If you are ready to look at more skills, choose something from the List of Nutrition Skills.

If you are using MyFitnessPal to track, be cautious of the food entries you are selecting. The drawback of MFP is the amount of inaccurate food data in the app. We wouldn't want you to be putting in the effort but not getting results due to incorrect information. Read our blog to learn more about what to look for - MPF: When the numbers don't add up.

Our next Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions about the program but want to send them anonymously, you can do so at any time through the following link. They will be answered or addressed in the program Facebook Group:

Anonymous Questions

Week 4 +

For everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Run through your reflection for Week 3 with The Post Check In

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 4 - List of Nutrition Skills

• If you are not sure where to go next, we’d suggest - Understand Dietary Fats.

• If you are feeling confident with building meals, it might help during the week to learn more about Eat Mindfully, With Purpose and Reduce Boredom Eating

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’d suggest Make it Attractive

For those that are food journaling:

• Reflect on your week. Can you notice any areas that were easy or hard? Anything that might be an obvious choice to work on from the List of Nutrition Skills.

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Run through the progress log to check in with yourself after week 3, reflect on how things went, what you will focus on this week and build up your progress log data - Progress Log Check In

• If your average weight has dropped, update your “current weight” in the top left of the Progress Log, this may drop your Calorie target just a touch to help you maintain your rate of progress.

• If you’ve had 2 straight weeks without any progress (no change is scale weight, measurements, how you look/feel, no change in how clothing feels), then consider making a drop in Calories. If your deficit is set to 10%, you could change it to 15-20%.

• If you using MyFitnessPal, check that you aren't making this common mistake: MFP - When the Numbers Don't Add Up

• If you are ready to look at more skills, read something from the List of Nutrition Skills.

Our next Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

Week 5 +

For everyone:

We are at the halfway point of the entire program. We are available in the Facebook group, via email, via weekly group call opportunities, via 1-1 video calls to help you make progress and set yourself up for long term success, well past this program. Please don’t hesitate to ask for help.

Also for everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Run through your reflection for Week 4 with The Post Check In

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 5 - List of Nutrition Skills

• If you are not sure where to go next, we’d suggest - Write out your meals in advance or Be mindful of snacking

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’d suggest Make it Satisfying & Rewarding

For those that are food journaling:

• Reflect on your week. Have you noticed some positive habits becoming more automatic? When are you journaling, all at once, at the end of the day, after each meal? Have you noticed that it can be hard to remember what you ate? Have you tried Writing your meals out in advance?

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Run through the progress log to check in with yourself after week 4, reflect on how things went, what you will focus on this week and build up your progress log data - Progress Log Check In

• If you are following our fat loss plan for the program, this is the end of 3 weeks of the diet phase, with 3 more to go before a diet break in week 8. If you haven’t thought about your plan, now would be a great time to read this article - Plan your diet phases, breaks and maintenance.

• How are things going? If you are noticing progress - great, just keep going and enjoy noticing the changes over time. It might be a good time to read over all the different Measures of Progress.

• If progress has stalled for 2 weeks, then do an audit - are you still tracking carefully or have you started estimating more? If you believe you are tracking accurately but progress has stalled for 2 weeks, it might be time to drop the Calories a touch, maybe 5-10% from what you have been doing.

• Don’t forget to update your “current weight” in the top left of the Diet Builder Progress Log to ensure the Calorie target reflects your smaller body as you progress.

• If you are ready to look at more skills, read something from the List of Nutrition Skills.

Our next Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

Week 6 +

For everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Run through your reflection for Week 5 with The Post Check In

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 6 - List of Nutrition Skills

• If you are not sure where to go next, we’d suggest - Eat Until 80% Full and/or Have a Plan for Buying Meals.

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’d suggest Breaking Habits, which is a great one if you have identified habits that you want to stop doing.

For those that are food journaling:

• Reflect on your week. What’s working really well and can you identify anything that you want to change. If you do identify a habit that you want to change, see this week's habit breaking article, linked above.

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Run through the progress log to check in with yourself after week 5, reflect on how things went, what you will focus on this week and build up your progress log data - Progress Log Check In

• If you are following our fat loss plan for the program, this is the end of 4 weeks of the diet phase, with 2 more to go before a diet break in week 8.

• If progress is going well but you’ve just started to notice an increase in hunger, that’s ok, there are 2 more weeks and if that helps you manage the hunger, knowing there is a break coming up soon, then perfect! It might also help to revisit the article on Understand Satiety - Feel Full and Stay Full

• Don’t forget to update your “current weight” in the top left of the Diet Builder Progress Log to ensure the Calorie targets reflect your smaller body as you progress.

• If you are ready to look at more skills, read something from the List of Nutrition Skills.

Our next Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

Week 7 +

For everyone:

After 6 weeks of using your chosen method, notice how you feel and you consistent you have been. If you haven't been consistent and don't enjoy your method, it's not a problem - you might have just learned that tracking macros, food journaling or habit building isn't the best method for you right now.

If this resonates with you, then take the opportunity over the final 2 weeks of this program to look at the other methods and see that there are others ways of doing things that may suit you more.

For everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Run through your reflection for Week 6 with The Post Check In

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 7 - List of Nutrition Skills

• If you are not sure where to go next, we’d suggest - Rate Your Hunger and/or Understand Flavours and Sauces.

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’ve now gone through each of our 6 strategies, so you might like to revist one that really helped you, or go back to the start with the ABC Recipe, or you might need a good reminder of keeping things simple with Pick One Thing.

For those that are food journaling:

• Reflect on your week. What’s working really well and can you identify anything that you want to change. If you've stopped journaling aren't journaling as consistently, it might help to start looking at building habits to help continue your improvements.

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Run through the progress log to check in with yourself after week 6, reflect on how things went, what you will focus on this week and build up your progress log data - Progress Log Check In

• If you are following our fat loss plan for the program, this is the final fat loss week before a week at your new maintennace.

• Are you noticing any signs of diet fatigue? More hunger, more thoughts about food, more temptation, less energy or a drop in sleep quality? If so, we would really recommend revisiting the article on Diet Phases & Diet Breaks.

• If you are noticing just a little hunger creeping in, to help you through the next week of dieting, it could help to focus on Eating Slowly.

• Don’t forget to update your “current weight” in the top left of the Diet Builder Progress Log to ensure the Calorie targets reflect your smaller body as you progress.

• If you are ready to look at more skills, read something from the List of Nutrition Skills.

Our next Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

Week 8 +

For everyone:

After 7 weeks of using your chosen method, notice how you feel and you consistent you have been. If you haven't been consistent and don't enjoy your method, it's not a problem - you might have just learned that tracking macros, food journaling or habit building isn't the best method for you right now.

If this resonates with you, then take the opportunity over the final week of this program to look at the other methods and see that there are others ways of doing things that may suit you more.

For everyone, particularly those working on habit building:

• Run through your reflection for Week 7 with The Post Check In

• Choose a nutrition habit to work on in Week 8 - List of Nutrition Skills

• If you are not sure where to go next, we’d suggest - Understand Calories, Kilojoules and Energy Balance and/or Reduce your "forbidden foods" List.

• Choose a habit building strategy to read and try to use the strategy to help you through the week. We’ve now gone through each of our 6 strategies, so you might like to revist one that really helped you from the list of Habit Building (and breaking) Strategies.

For those that are food journaling:

• Reflect on your week. What’s working really well and can you identify anything that you want to change. If you've stopped journaling aren't journaling as consistently, it might help to start looking at building habits to help continue your improvements.

For those that are tracking macros / counting calories:

• Run through the progress log to check in with yourself after week 7, reflect on how things went, what you will focus on this week and build up your progress log data - Progress Log Check In

• If you are following our fat loss plan for the program, it's time for a Diet Break at your new maintenance target. Don’t forget to update your “current weight” in the top left of the Diet Builder Progress Log to ensure the Calorie targets reflect your smaller body as you progress.

• Start thinking ahead. Are you planning on another fat loss phase after a break or are you planning on maintaining where you are at now?

• If it's a Diet Break, plan it. 1-2 weeks is a good length after a 6 week diet phase. Aim to keep your meals and food choices similar, just increasing portions.

• If it's long term maintenance, make sure you respect maintenance and do some planning. Try not to make sudden changes. If you've been tracking, then continue tracking your new maintenance for 2-4 weeks. Try to keep your food choices fairly similar for the first couple of weeks, just with bigger portions. When that feels comfortable, then consider adding more food variety. You could then step away from tracking in a planned, gradual way. Only track 6 days per week, then 4, then 2.

• After a fat loss phase, temptation and cravings can be higher. Suddenly exposing ourselves to more food variety and indulgences may make maintenance harder or even cause you to overshoot your Calories. Take it slow!

• We would really recommend revisiting the article on Diet Phases & Diet Breaks.

• If you are ready to look at more skills, read something from the List of Nutrition Skills.

Our next Group Call opportunity will be tomorrow - Saturday - Please check the facebook group for the time and link.

The End of the Program +

It's the end of the program but we hope it's just the start of the next phase for you. A maintenance phase before another fat loss phase, long term maintenance of your results, continued progress for your muscle gain or athletic performance goal. Whatever it is, we hope you now have the tools and knowledge to plan and manage nutrition for your goals.

We would love to hear about your experience over the past couple of months and would really appreciate your feedback though this form (which can be completely anonymous if you choose): Program Feedback Questionnaire