Nutrition & Recovery for Natural Lifters: Protein, Calories, Sleep

The short version

Protein: 1.6–2.2 g per kg of bodyweight per day. More than that buys very little.
Gaining: a 10–15% surplus, aiming for 0.25–0.5% of bodyweight per week. Faster is mostly fat.
Cutting: 0.5–1% of bodyweight per week, protein high, training intensity kept.
Sleep 7–9 hours. It is the highest-return recovery intervention there is, and it's free.
Supplements that earn their place: creatine monohydrate, caffeine, and a protein powder if it makes the target easier. That's close to the whole list.

Calories: the frame everything hangs on

Start with a working estimate of maintenance: 33–38 kcal per kg of bodyweight for someone lifting hard three to five times a week, towards the top of that range if you're also doing event work or a physical job.

That is a starting guess, not a truth. Eat at it for two weeks, weigh yourself several mornings a week under the same conditions, and use the trend to correct the number. Your scale is a measurement device with a lot of noise in it — water, salt, food volume and training stress all move it by a kilo or two day to day.

Protein

The evidence lands on 1.6–2.2 g/kg/day for maximising muscle gain. Above roughly 2.2, the extra protein isn't doing much for growth — though it does help with fullness when dieting, which is a decent reason to sit higher in a cut.

Bodyweight	Daily protein (1.6–2.2 g/kg)	Practical split
70 kg	112–154 g	4 meals of ~30–38 g
85 kg	136–187 g	4 meals of ~35–47 g
100 kg	160–220 g	4–5 meals of ~40–45 g
120 kg	192–264 g	5 meals of ~40–50 g

Spread it across three to five meals with at least 0.4 g/kg in each. Total intake matters most; distribution is a modest optimisation on top of it. Prioritise complete sources — meat, fish, eggs, dairy — or combine plant sources deliberately and aim towards the higher end of the range if you're vegan.

Carbohydrate and fat

Once protein and calories are set, the split is largely preference — with two floors:

Fat: at least 0.6–0.8 g/kg/day. Going lower for long periods tends to make people feel terrible and is unnecessary.
Carbohydrate: everything left over, and for hard training that should be a lot — typically 3–6 g/kg. Carbohydrate is what fuels heavy sets, medleys and repeat efforts; low-carb training is a handicap you don't need.

For strongman specifically, carbohydrate intake around events matters more than for bodybuilding, because events are glycolytic. A day of yoke, farmers and stones runs on muscle glycogen.

Gaining and cutting, at sane speeds

Phase	Calories	Rate of change	Length
Lean gain (beginner)	+15% of maintenance	0.5% of bodyweight per week	4–9 months
Lean gain (intermediate+)	+8–12%	0.25% of bodyweight per week	4–9 months
Fat loss	−15–25%	0.5–1% of bodyweight per week	8–16 weeks, then a break
Maintenance	±0	Stable	As long as you like — underrated

The natural lifter's version of "bulking" is disappointing on purpose. You cannot force muscle to grow faster than the rates in the training guide by eating more — you can only add fat alongside it. A 100 kg lifter gaining 0.25–0.5 kg a week is doing it right.

Strongman weight classes

If you compete in a class, plan the gaining phase backwards from the weigh-in. Sitting 2–4 kg over the limit eight weeks out is manageable. Sitting ten over is a bad competition prep dressed up as an off-season.

Eating around training

1–3 hours before: a normal meal with protein and carbohydrate. Keep fat and fibre moderate if you're training soon after.
During long sessions or event days: 30–60 g of carbohydrate per hour from a drink is genuinely useful once a session runs past about 75 minutes.
After: a protein-containing meal within a few hours. The "anabolic window" is much wider than it was sold as — total daily intake is what matters.
Competition day: familiar foods only, small and frequent, plenty of fluid and salt. Nothing new on the day — ever.

Sleep: the actual performance enhancer

If you are drug-free, sleep is the biggest single lever you have over recovery. Short sleep is associated with reduced training performance, worse body composition outcomes when dieting, higher perceived effort, and a meaningfully greater injury rate in athletes.

Aim for 7–9 hours. The boring tactics are the ones that work: a consistent wake time, a dark and cool room, caffeine cut-off eight hours before bed, alcohol kept away from heavy training days, and screens down for the last half hour.

If you can only fix one thing on this entire page and you currently sleep six hours, fix that. It will do more than any programme change.

Supplements worth the money

The list is short, which is good news for your wallet.

Supplement	Dose	Evidence	Worth it?
Creatine monohydrate	3–5 g daily, any time	Strong — the most studied sports supplement there is	Yes. Cheap, safe, works
Caffeine	3–6 mg/kg, 45–60 min pre	Strong for strength, power and endurance	Yes — but don't need it every session
Whey or other protein powder	As needed to hit the target	It's food, not magic	Yes, if it makes protein easier
Vitamin D	10 µg (400 IU) daily in autumn and winter	Corrects a common deficiency; UK guidance	Yes in the UK, October to March
Beta-alanine	3–6 g daily	Modest benefit for 1–4 minute efforts	Maybe, for medleys and high-rep work
Citrulline malate	6–8 g pre	Small and inconsistent	Optional
Test boosters, BCAAs, fat burners	—	Little to none in people eating enough protein	No

If you compete in a tested federation

Supplements are not tightly regulated and contamination is a real, documented problem. Buy batch-tested products only (Informed Sport or equivalent), keep the tubs, and remember that "I didn't know it was in there" is not a defence at a hearing.

Stress, and the rest of your life

Your body doesn't have separate recovery accounts for work stress, poor sleep and heavy squats. High life stress measurably blunts recovery and adaptation, which is why hard training weeks that would normally be fine can flatten you during a bad month.

The practical answer isn't to stop training, it's to flex the volume. In a heavy week at work, cut a set from each exercise and keep the intensity. You'll maintain nearly everything, and you'll still be training in a fortnight — which is more than can be said for the person who tried to force it.