Plans and macros
The three phases, targets, and the tolerance band.
From the coach training built into FuelPath. Members and coaches read this inside the app with per-lesson progress.
1The three phases
Fuel means eating at or just above the measured burn: it builds the base for new clients, and it is where a client holds a new composition after a Cut or Build. Cut strips body fat in a controlled deficit while holding strength. Build adds muscle with a controlled surplus.
The order and duration are yours to set per client. The cycle is a teaching arc, not a calendar: most people run Fuel to Cut to Build and back to Fuel, but the plan builder lets you order any sequence with any week counts. There is no separate maintenance phase: holding is a Fuel block anchored at the measured burn.
2Suggested Paths: start from science, not a blank page
The plan editor ships six prebuilt paths: The Classic (Fuel, Cut, a short re-Fuel, long Build), The Full Year (52 weeks with two holding blocks), The Lean Track (two cuts split by a Fuel block, no Build), The Builder's Year (long Builds with two 4-week mini cuts), The 12-Week Kickstart (short Fuel into a first Cut), and The Seasonal Year (calendar quarters).
Every card carries Why this path works: the nutritional reasoning (moderate deficits protect lean mass, maintenance blocks reset appetite and re-measure the burn, mini cuts keep a long Build lean) plus practical coaching notes. Read it once per path and you can explain any plan to any client.
Apply loads the phases into the editor; the weeks are yours to tune before saving. The template is a starting point built on the evidence, not a prescription.
3Set targets, all three phases at once
The macro planner calculates once from their stats and populates all three phases (Fuel 105, Cut 80, Build 110 percent of estimated TDEE; protein high everywhere). Each phase stays editable by hand, and a holding Fuel block anchors down toward 100 percent of measured burn.
Day types adjust targets daily on the athlete's side: rest trims about 10 percent from carbs, refeed adds it back. Their rings, adherence, and Daily Brief all judge against the adjusted number, so you never need to hand-adjust for a rest day.
4The tolerance band
The adherence tolerance on each client page (default 5 percent) is what counts as on plan. Land within it and their rings earn a green check, and the day counts as on plan in every adherence view you see.
Tighten it for a contest prep, loosen it for a maintenance block or a beginner. It is a coaching dial, not a setting to forget.