How to create a maintenance blueprint

Building a blueprint that actually maximizes performance and satiety

What is a blueprint?

At EPN, we like to have clients craft a blueprint of their daily calorie intake to feel their best from an energy and performance standpoint.

This blueprint balances rigidity and flexibility so that it can be replicated whether you’re at home or traveling for the weekend.

You may have multiple blueprints to flex between, given your goals.

Once you have a blueprint for hitting your protein and maintenance calories based on your goals, eating on the fly, planning meals, and navigating food becomes much easier.

The next 5 examples are based on a range of maintenance calories at approximately 2,000 calories per day, with a protein goal of 120g daily.

Early morning workout blueprint

Are you part of the 5am breakfast crew? You’ll want to get some food during or just before your workout.

In this scenario, we’re also increasing meal sizes directly after your workout for recovery.

Late afternoon Workout Blueprint

Are you hitting the gym right after work? You’ll likely feel better grabbing a later afternoon snack and prioritizing carbs around lunch and dinner.

Rest Day blueprint

Our rest days should look very similar to our workout days with a few tweaks, you can either eliminate the snack in lieu of a larger lunch or dinner, or you can keep it in for consistency’s sake!

Shift Work Blueprint

Are you a nurse? Or do you work 10-12 hour shifts with a commute?

Sometimes, 3 meals isn’t enough frequency on very long work days, and breaking food into four meals can be incredibly beneficial to hunger management.

Date night blueprint

Want to indulge in a decadent meal when you’re out with your significant other but still maintain maintenance calories?

We will prioritize nutrient—and protein-dense meals earlier in the day to allow for the larger dinner.

So what’s the takeaway?

You’ll notice snacks are not a foundational pillar in our blueprints. Given that snacking is usually low in protein, they have a lower impact on satiety vs intake.

Blueprints are generic enough to mold around eating out or at home. There are no specific macro profiles that we’re recommending here, so that provides you flexibility.

You get to figure out what works for you! By practicing and tweaking to your goals, you’ll find a blueprint that makes you feel your best and balances satiety.