Only two questions have come in over the past few weeks — but they're both really useful ones. Rest-day carbs and competition-day fuelling.
"On a non-training day, if I'm not starving, do I need to hit my carb macros — or can I finish lower?"
Great question — and the principle behind it is one of the most useful things on the whole plan.
Short answer: yes, you can finish lower on carbs on a rest day. That's not cheating — that's the plan working.
Carbs are a lever, not a floor. Their job is to fuel training — heavy lifts, hard rounds, mat time. On a day you're doing neither, you don't need as many. If you're not that hungry, let them fall. Don't force-feed yourself a potato just to hit a number.
Here's the bit that makes it click: fat loss is driven by your weekly average, not any single day. A rest day where you come in lower isn't a mistake — you're banking a bigger buffer for the week. That's exactly what the Range Method is built for — eat towards the top on hard training days, come towards the bottom on rest days. Your body doesn't tally Tuesday on its own; it responds to the seven-day picture.
Two hard rules that don't bend
- Protein does not finish lower. Ever. Carbs flex, protein doesn't. Every single day, training or not, hungry or not. Protein protects muscle while you cut — and rest days are recovery days, so if anything it matters more.
- "Not starving" is NOT the same as "not hungry" — especially if you're on a GLP-1 (Reta, Mounjaro, Ozempic). Appetite suppression means you can eat almost nothing and feel fine. That's not your body saying "I'm satisfied" — that's a drug turning the hunger signal off. Letting carbs drift lower on a rest day is fine. Quietly under-eating so hard your protein tanks and you're wrecked tomorrow is not.
Rest day, not hungry? Let carbs come lower. Keep protein bang on. Keep fats at your minimum. Know you're helping the weekly average, not hurting it.
That flexibility is a feature of the plan — not a rule you're breaking.
"Competing at the weekend — what macro-friendly snacks would you recommend between matches to handle the adrenaline dump and get HP back?"
Love this question. I've got a whole book on this — here's the short version.
Comp day is not a Shred day. It's a performance day. Don't try to win the deficit on the mats. The calories you eat between matches are fuel, doing a job. One day eating a bit more does nothing to your fat loss — your weekly average absorbs it without blinking. Go and enjoy competing.
The three comp-day rules
- Fast carbs
- Low fat
- Low fibre
Fat and fibre are brilliant normally — but they slow the stomach down. There's nothing worse than stepping on the mat with food sat in you feeling like a brick. So on comp day: boring white carbs. Not the day for kale.
What actually works between matches
- Sip your carbs. Sports drink, watered-down juice, Lucozade. Easiest way to top up without loading the stomach.
- Banana or rice cakes with honey / jam.
- White bread and jam. Cheap. Sits light.
- Sweets — Haribo, Jelly Babies, dextrose tablets. Nothing glamorous. They work.
Electrolytes + salt
If you've cut to make weight or the venue's roasting hot, get electrolytes and salt in. What people call the "adrenaline dump" — that flat, shaky, wiped-out feeling after a hard match — is often your nervous system coming down off a huge surge PLUS dehydration + low sodium + low blood sugar all landing at once.
The between-match protocol
- Eat something small — quickly. Not an hour later. Get carbs in while the recovery window is open.
- Small and often, not one big meal. A proper sit-down feed between matches is how you end up feeling heavy and sick on the next one.
- Don't go cold. Don't lay down. Keep moving lightly. Hoodie on. Stay warm. Lying down after a hard match means you go cold and feel ten times worse coming back up for the next.
Caffeine
Caffeine before a key match is fine if it's your normal dose. Don't stack caffeine on top of comp adrenaline all day. It only makes the crash harder.
The boring one that catches people out
Pack your own bag. Don't rely on the venue. It'll be a burger van and a vending machine, and that's about it.
Protein — don't stress it mid-comp
Little's fine if you fancy it. But carbs are king on comp day. Save the protein feed for after.
Bottom line
Go enjoy competing. Fuel it properly. Don't get precious about the numbers for one day. The plan's built to absorb it.