SBS Diet Setup and Adjustment Skill

SBS Epistemic Style

When uncertain, say so. SBS distinguishes:

• "Strong evidence" (protein for muscle, calories for weight change)
• "Plausible mechanism, limited data" (meal timing, cortisol management)
• "Popular claim, weak evidence" (calorie cycling, specific supplement stacks)

Match this calibration in responses — don't present contested claims as settled.

Calorie Starting Targets (Assume Method)

Use as starting points, then individualize via observed weight trend.

Deficit/Surplus Ranges (Estimate Method)

Deficits for fat loss

• Conservative: 10-20% below TDEE (or about 250-500 kcal/day below maintenance).
• Moderate: about 500-750 kcal/day below maintenance.
• Aggressive: 30-40% below TDEE (or about 750-1000 kcal/day below).

Surpluses for gain

• Conservative/lean-biased: 5-10% above TDEE (or about +125 to +250 kcal/day).
• Moderate: 10-20% above TDEE (or about +250 to +375 kcal/day).
• Aggressive: 15-20% above TDEE (up to about +500 kcal/day).

Prefer percentage-based adjustments for very small/large people; flat kcal is less scalable.

Protein Targets (Direct-use defaults)

By training context

• Lifters (muscle gain/retention focus): 1.6-2.2 g/kg/day (total body mass).
• Non-lifters: 1.2-1.8 g/kg/day (total body mass).

Body-composition-adjusted ranges

• If very high or very low body-fat, scale by fat-free mass: 2.0-2.75 g/kg FFM/day.
• Practical broad range seen across healthy contexts: 1.25-3.1 g/kg FFM/day (low end = sedentary, weight stable, higher body-fat; high end = lean, active, in deficit).

Meal distribution targets

• Usually 3-6 protein feedings/day.
• Aim each feeding for >=0.3 g/kg protein and ~2-3 g leucine.
• Vegan/plant-heavy setups: prioritize complete EAA coverage and at least 3-4 substantial feedings/day.

Fat Targets and Floor

• Typical fat target: 20-35% of calories.
• In very high/very low calorie contexts, practical target range: 0.7-1.5 g/kg/day.

Hard minimum fat floor (SBS height-based)

• If height <150 cm: floor = 30 g/day.
• If height >=150 cm:

fat_floor_g_per_day = ((height_cm - 150) * 0.5) + 30

This is a minimum floor, not a default target.

Carbohydrate Targets by Context

• Typical lifter with performance goals: at least 3-4 g/kg/day if calories permit.
• Endurance-heavy training: at least 6 g/kg/day.
• General balanced (non-performance-priority): about 40-60% of calories from carbs.
• Low-carb: often <=30% of calories (commonly capped around <=200 g/day).
• Keto: usually <=50-60 g/day.

Low-carb/keto are viable for fat loss/maintenance, but not inherently superior for fat loss, hypertrophy, or cardiometabolic outcomes when protein and calories are matched.

Plateau Protocol (SBS-style)

1. Standardize data collection first
   • Weigh daily, morning, post-restroom, same scale/conditions.
   • Log calories/macros daily.
2. Check adherence and confounders before changing targets
   • Sodium shifts, carb shifts, hydration, bowel-content shifts can mask progress.
3. Wait for a meaningful trend window
   • Do not react to day-to-day noise.
   • Use ~1-2 weeks of trend data (or at least a full week of consistent data) before deciding.
4. If rate is slower than target
   • Cut: lower calories mostly via carbs + fats.
   • Keep protein on target.
   • Reduce fat and carbs together until fat floor is reached, then mostly reduce carbs.
5. If gain is slower than target
   • Raise calories via carbs and/or fat according to preference and training demands.
   • For poor appetite in bulks: use more liquid calories and more palatable foods.
6. Reassess after another trend window and repeat as needed.

Coaching Defaults (If-this-then-that)

Top 15 High-Priority SBS Points

1. Calories largely determine weight change direction and pace.
2. Protein is the first macro priority for muscle retention/gain.
3. Maintenance phases between bulk and cut are optional; there is no physiological requirement to include one.
4. Hardgainer problems are usually calorie problems, not protein problems.
5. BMI is useful at population level, but for taller lifters height^2.5 is often more appropriate than height^2 for size-indexing context.
6. Mass gainers are adherence tools (easy calories), not physiologically superior to matched whole-food intake.
7. Calorie cycling (e.g., lower on rest days) is not clearly evidence-supported when weekly calories/macros are matched.
8. Keto is not magic — matched calories and protein drive most body-composition outcomes.
9. Diet pattern choice (TRF, IF, low-carb, etc.) should be based on sustainability and performance fit.
10. Daily scale weight is noisy; use trends across at least about 1-2 weeks.
11. In cuts, reduce carbs/fat first and keep protein high.
12. Enforce a fat floor; very low fat is not a badge of discipline.
13. Carbs support high-intensity performance; lower carbs only when tradeoff is intentional.
14. Recomp is most feasible in newer lifters and/or higher body-fat contexts.
15. If adherence is poor, simplify structure before making extreme macro changes.

Quick Answers (Common Diet Questions)

Health Coverage Minimums

• Fiber: start around 14 g/1000 kcal (or roughly 28 g/day women, 36 g/day men), then individualize tolerance (many do well around 20-50 g/day).
• Hydration: baseline about 3-4 L/day total water (women AI ~2.7 L, men AI ~3.7 L), adjusted for context.
• Essential fats: limit artificial trans fats; include adequate omega-3/omega-6 intake.
• Micronutrients: target RDA/AI, stay below UL; pay extra attention during hard training, low calories, or vegan-heavy diets.

Response Pattern to Use in Chat

When users ask diet questions, answer in this order:

1. Clarify goal (cut/maintain/gain/recomp) and desired pace.
2. Give calorie start with one conservative and one aggressive option.
3. Set protein target with rationale.
4. Set fat floor + target.
5. Set carb target by training context.
6. Give adjustment trigger (what trend means increase/decrease calories).
7. Add 1-2 adherence tactics customized to preferences.

Out of Scope

This skill covers diet, macros, calories, and food strategy. It does NOT cover:

• Supplement pharmacology (creatine, caffeine, citrulline, etc.) → see references/06-supplements-and-ergogenic-aids.md
• Hormones and health markers (cortisol, TRT, amenorrhea, bloodwork) → see references/07-health-markers-and-hormones.md
• Clinical conditions requiring medical advice For these: use the reference files if present, otherwise rely on general knowledge and flag uncertainty.

Reference Files

• references/01-energy-balance-and-calorie-targets.md
• references/02-protein-fat-carbs.md
• references/03-diet-patterns-and-meal-timing.md
• references/04-adherence-and-diet-adjustments.md
• references/05-micronutrients-fiber-hydration.md
• references/06-supplements-and-ergogenic-aids.md
• references/07-health-markers-and-hormones.md