This is your nutrition guide if your Centr goal is set to Get Toned, Stay Healthy & Fit, Increase Cardio Endurance or Everyday Strength & Mobility. These goals share the same meal plan under the Healthy, Fit & Toned umbrella.
With expert trainers guiding you through every dumbbell squat, bear crawl and plank, you’ve joined the right team to supercharge your full-body fitness and toning. But getting results is not just about sweating it out on the mat. You’ll need to brush up on your nutrition to fuel your workouts and build lean muscle.
When you select one of the Healthy, Fit & Toned goals on Centr, your dietitian-approved meal plan is immediately customized, with nutrition estimates based on what is needed by the average active man or woman who is training to maximize definition and fitness gains. While this provides a structure and strong base for achieving your goals, you may need to adjust intake to suit your needs.
Why is nutrition key to staying healthy, fit and toned?
- You need adequate calories and carbohydrates to give you energy to train and support lean muscle building.
- You need adequate protein to maximize muscle protein synthesis, the process that drives muscle growth, AKA definition.
- It’s not just about what and how much, but when you eat – to help you perform at your best and to fuel your growth and recovery.
Read on to get your nutrition into gear and set your fitness journey up for success.
Important: If you’re following all the advice in this guide and still not seeing results, or you are concerned about any other aspect of your nutrition, consult an accredited dietitian.
The Healthy, Fit & Toned meal plan
The Healthy, Fit & Toned meal plan is designed to match your training intensity and deliver increased calories via snacks. All variations contain adequate protein, and are balanced for macros (protein/carbs/fats) and micronutrients.
Rather than a focus on weight loss or bulking, this plan is about supporting an improved muscle mass to body fat ratio. To achieve this, you need adequate carbohydrates and calories to help you perform at your best on the workout mat and beyond.
You should aim for 2-3 snacks per day to meet your energy needs. Be sure to check your Healthy, Fit & Toned snacking guidelines for key information.
The daily calorie range for Healthy, Fit & Toned (including snacks) is:
Women: approximately 1500–1800
Men: approximately 2400–2600
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Remember, everybody’s nutrition needs are different. Your requirements vary according to a range of factors including how hard and often you’re training, body composition and muscle mass, your age, size, metabolism, genetics, as well as your specific goals. It’s important that you monitor your progress – as well as your hunger and energy levels – to ensure your nutrition needs are being met.
Your TOTAL calorie intake is key when it comes to getting results. That means you should keep your calorie intake consistent even on the days you’re not training. Your body can still be in recovery mode two days after a big workout.
If you’re swapping meals, be sure to read the ultimate guide to Centr meal swapping and brush up on easy vegetable swaps.
If you’re concerned about the cost of the meal plan, we recommend learning how to make the most of your leftovers, saving our ultimate recipe guide to your favorites, and reading our guide to budget-friendly grocery shopping.
What about protein?
Protein is key to the repair and growth of muscle, so keeping up your protein intake is essential to adding definition. That doesn’t mean you need to go all out with bars and shakes – the regularity of protein intake is more important.
The Healthy, Fit & Toned meal plan includes plenty of protein to support the growth of lean muscle. Smoothies and shakes can be a convenient way to bump up your protein. Learn what to look for in a protein powder.
What if you’re vegetarian or vegan?
The meals in your plan are all dietitian-approved, and the Centr approach ensures most of your nutritional needs – including protein – are met by meals made from natural whole foods. However, high-quality vegan protein powder can be useful to ensure the right mix of amino acids at the right time, so you’ll often see this incorporated into smoothies and snacks.
Check out our top tips for vegans and vegetarians for information on soy, supplements and more.
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Vegan or not, Sergio’s Strawberry Protein Ice Cream is the perfect way to cool down and refuel after a workout.
Help, I’m not seeing any progress!
When you’re training to build cardio capacity, stamina, strength, mobility or definition, the physical changes in the mirror won’t necessarily be as obvious as they would be if you were losing weight or adding bulk. If you’re a beginner, you may see an improvement in tone and definition faster than someone who is already fit and active.
Be patient and monitor how you feel. Try tracking the weights you’re using in your workouts, and your overall performance. If you don’t have the energy to push your training intensity, you may need to lift your calorie intake. It may be just a subtle change is required, so start with an extra snack or larger meal portion and monitor your progress.
If you’re chasing greater physical changes, it could be time to reconsider your goal. If you’re after serious muscle mass, consider switching your goal to Gain Muscle. If your priority is losing excess body fat, you should switch to the Lose Fat goal.
Adapt for success
Your structured Centr meal plan sure does make life easy, but stay tuned into your progress, your hunger and how you’re feeling so you can adjust your food intake accordingly. Listening to your body is the most important part of any health and fitness journey, no matter your goal.
If you have specific, individualized nutrition requirements or body composition goals, it’s best to consult with an accredited sports dietitian.
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