Why Nutritional Harmony is the Heart of Your Health

Over the last few weeks, I’ve explained a little about the four dietary essentials: Protein, Fibre, Carbohydrates, and Fats. And how they work to support our internal balance, protect our muscles, and keep our minds sharp.

But facts are only useful when it becomes actionable in our daily lives. Nutrition isn’t about restriction or "doing without" it’s about harmony. It’s about understanding your body’s daily energy needs and providing the right nourishment to meet them.

Why the "Old Rules" Feel Outdated

For many of us, these old rules of nutrition, the ones that told us to just eat less and move more, seem to have stopped working. You might be following the same routines that once worked well for you, only to find that your body is responding very differently now.

It’s important for me to tell you this, it isn't a failure of willpower, and it isn't your fault. This is a natural shift in how your body communicates with itself. To feel balanced and healthy, we need to look at the numbers on the back of a food packet and start understanding the relationship between the energy we take in and the quality of the nutrients we choose to consume.

Adopting A New Way of Thinking

Our bodies naturally change how they prioritise energy over time. You might be noticing that things don't feel quite the same as they used to, which is usually down to three different reasons.

It’s possible that your body has become more sensitive to how it processes carbohydrates. It might find it harder to use them for quick, immediate energy and become more inclined to store this energy for later as body fat.

Our bodies are incredibly responsive to the world around us, So when we try to starve (very low calorie diet) ourselves or push through exhausting exercise without enough support, your body can interpret this as stress or danger, and as a result produces more cortisol (stress hormone). This can actually lead to the body holding onto weight as a way of protecting itself during what it perceives as an energy crisis.

As we age, our bodies aren't as quick to mend and maintain their own tissues. This makes what we eat, like protein absolutely vital for keeping our bodies strong and our metabolism steady [1].

Instead of clinging to old routines that feel like a struggle, it’s better to move our focus toward working with our bodies. By focusing on nourishment, you’re providing your brain and your muscles with the exactly what they need to keep you feeling strong, capable and steady throughout your day.

Your Daily Energy Harmony

Now it’s time to take a closer look at how our bodies use energy throughout the day, when just counting calories is not enough, We’ll start off by looking at your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). This is just the total amount of nourishment your body needs to support everything you do in a 24-hour period.

Your TDEE is calculated from four parts, and these are,

TDEE=BMR+NEAT+EAT+TEF

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the baseline energy your body requires just to stay alive keeping your heart beating and your organs functioning while you are at rest. A big part of this energy is dedicated to maintaining your muscles. Muscle is active tissue it takes energy just to exist. As we get older, our bodies can become a less efficient at repairing and maintaining muscle this is called sarcopenia. If we lose that active tissue, our total energy needs drop. This is often why it feels like a metabolism is slowing down, when in reality, the body just has less active tissue to support.

Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) is the energy you use for every movement that isn't a dedicated workout. This includes walking to the kettle, gardening, folding laundry, or even just standing up to stretch. For most of us, this is actually a much larger part of our daily energy use than our exercise [2].

Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (EAT) refers to your planned workouts like a gym session, a jog, or a fitness class While these sessions are vital for your heart health and bone density, they usually only account for about 5–10% of your total daily energy. This is why it’s impossible to "out-train" a diet that isn't meeting your body’s needs.

The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is the energy your body spends just to break down, digest, and absorb what you eat. By choosing high-quality nutrients, you can actually slightly increase your daily energy use without any extra movement

Protein has a high digestion cost (20–30%). Your body uses a lot of energy just to process these building blocks while Fats & Carbohydrates have a much lower cost (5–15%), as they are much easier for the body to process and store. On average, the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) only accounts for about 5-10% of your total daily energy expenditure.  While this digesting bonus is great, it is important to remember that it is just a small part of your total daily energy, think of it as a helpful extra rather than something to be focused on.

How you choose to fill your daily energy budget determines how good you feel. By changing how you thing about your meals, you aren’t just eating, you’re providing your body with the support it needs to stay in balance.

For protein, aim for roughly 1.2g–1.5g of protein for every kg of your body weight [3]. Although this number does depend you your goals, try to include 25/30g of protein in every meal. This helps keep your body in a steady state of repair (Muscle Protein Synthesis), helping to protect your muscle tissues  

Fibre, gently build your way up to 30g per day.Fibre acts as a natural "brake," slowing down how quickly energy enters your bloodstream. This helps keep your blood sugar steady and helps your body efficiently clear away what it no longer needs. By adding colourful vegetables, beans, or seeds, you add physical size to your meal so you feel full.

Carbohydrates, think of these based on your activity level each day. Carbohydrates are stored in your muscles as a reserve called glycogen. On a quiet day at your desk, those reserves stay quite full. On a day when you’re more active or lifting weights, those reserves need to be topped back up. Focus on slow-releasing options like oats, quinoa, or root vegetables. These provide a steady stream of energy.

Fats, include a small, high-quality source in most of your meals. Certain vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are fat-soluble, meaning your body simply cannot absorb them without a little bit of healthy fat. This is especially important for things like bone density [4]. Prioritise healthy minimally processed oils like olive oil, avocado oil and Omega-3s found in oily fish or walnuts.

It’s really easy to think that the best way to reach a weight loss goal is to eat as little as possible. However, when we drop our nourishment below our BMR needs, the body perceives an emergency [5]. To keep you safe, it makes a few adjustments, NEAT Drops, when your body realises it isn’t getting enough energy, it subtly encourages you to move less to save what it has. So you could end up tired and irritable. Consistent under-eating tells your body that resources are scarce. This triggers a rise in cortisol, your stress hormone. If your brain isn't getting enough nourishment from your meals, it will start to "borrow" what it needs from your own muscle tissue affecting your BMR.

The solution isn't to fight against these natural responses, but to work with them. By meeting your protein and fibre goals within your daily energy budget, you send a clear signal to your body: "You are safe, you are well-nourished, and you are supported."

Before you prepare your food, try running through this mental checklist

Have I included enough protein to protect my muscles and support my BMR? Is there enough fibre here to support my internal balance and keep my blood sugar steady? Have I included a small, healthy source of fat to help my body absorb its vitamins? And finally, Does the amount of energy on my plate match the activity I’ve done, or I’m going to do today?

Mastering your nutrition isn't about perfection. It’s about learning to listen to what your body is asking for and responding with kindness. When you provide the right nourishment, the protein, the fibre, the healthy fats, and the movement to your body this is when you will start to feel your best.

Real change isn't about an overnight overhaul, it’s like a gradual process of rebuilding trust in how you nourish yourself.

You don’t need to get everything right straight away, perhaps start by focusing on just one thing, like reaching your protein goal at breakfast, and take some time to notice how that feels. When we focus on one small, sustainable shift at a time, it removes some of the pressure to be perfect. This isn't about following a rigid new set of rules, it’s about creating space for these habits to actually fit into your everyday life.

It’s human nature to expect immediate results, but making changes like this takes time to settle. By lowering the stakes and taking the pressure off the outcome, you give yourself the freedom to explore what actually works for you, by learning what makes you feel most capable.

Ultimately, the goal is develop an intuitive understanding of what you need to thrive. When you provide the right support without the expectation, you’ll find your body responds by feeling more resilient, stronger and more capable.

References

Volpi, E., et al. (2004). Is the decline in muscle mass inevitable with aging? Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care.

Levine, J. A. (2004). Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). Best Practice & Research Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Phillips, S. M., & Van Loon, L. J. (2011). Dietary protein for athletes: from requirements to optimum adaptation. Journal of Sports Sciences.

Griel, A. E., et al. (2007). Dietary fat consumption and bone health. Nutrition Research Reviews.

Müller, M. J., et al. (2015). Metabolic adaptation to caloric restriction and subsequent refeeding: the Minnesota Starvation Experiment revisited. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Disclaimer: I love sharing the science behind how our bodies work, but please remember that this post is for educational purposes only. My goal is to empower you with general nutritional and fitness guidance to support your long-term health. This isn't a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Every "body" is unique, so please check in with your doctor before starting a new nutritional or training programme to ensure it’s the right fit for your individual needs.