The E3 Performance Nutrition Framework
Why a framework
Most nutrition advice focuses on isolated goals like fat loss, muscle gain, or hitting numbers. But performance doesn’t break down into isolated targets. Performance is the result of multiple systems working together, over time. When one system is under-supported, everything else suffers.
The E3 Performance Nutrition Framework exists to bring clarity, structure, and priority to those systems — so nutrition supports performance instead of competing with it. This isn’t a diet. It’s a decision-making framework.
How the Framework Works
The framework is built around five foundational pillars.
Each pillar supports a different aspect of performance and health, and each one builds on the last.
When the foundations are aligned:
energy becomes more stable
training feels more productive
recovery improves
digestion becomes easier
habits feel more sustainable
-
This pillar focuses on energy availability and energy quality, not extremes.
For some people, this means fuelling training properly.
For others, it means improving energy stability and reducing crashes.The goal is the same: consistent, adaptable energy that supports performance.
-
Muscle plays a central role in performance and power, injury resilience, recovery capacity, metabolic health and healthy ageing.
This pillar focuses on protein as a strategic tool, not a trend. Training provides the stimulus. Nutrition determines how well your body responds.
-
Stress on the body comes from many places including training, work demands, cognitive load, poor sleep, and general life pressures.
This pillar focuses on regulation and recovery, not just rest days. It looks at nervous system regulation, sleep support, inflammation management and building stress resilience.
-
Before food can support energy, muscle, or recovery, it must be digested effectively. This pillar focuses on digestion first, then gut health.
It looks at improving digestion, dietary diversity, individual tolerance and response, and fibre, fermented and functional foods.
A resilient gut supports flexibility, consistency, and long-term health
-
This pillar focuses on systems and behaviours that make good nutrition easier to maintain.
It looks at systems vs willpower, habit formation, and decision fatigue to help adapt nutrition to different lifestyles and integrate all pillars into daily life. This is what turns understanding into action.
