Strategy report · Updated May 6, 2026
What's working for @thefitnesschef_ on Instagram.
Graeme Tomlinson
1.8M followers · 4.1K posts
“Fat loss without dieting. Evidence-based nutrition. New book out now.”
Engagement rate
3.27%
Per post, last 90 days
Posts per week
5.4
Niche avg 3.8
Average likes
28.4K
612 avg comments
Post mix
Last 90 days · 4,128 posts indexed
01
Top-performing posts
The three posts pulling the most engagement in the last 90 days.
reel 7.88% engagedThe 600-calorie burrito bowl that has more protein than your gym buddy thinks. Save this for Sunday meal prep.
reel 5.46% engagedStop eating "clean" if you hate every meal. Here's how I eat 220g of protein and still have pizza Fridays.
carousel 4.21% engagedPOV: you finally understand calorie density. This plate vs that plate — same calories, very different day.
02
Content pillars
AI-clustered themes the account posts about, with example posts pulled live from Instagram.
- 05
Promo / book launch
7.00%Direct product mentions. Below-baseline engagement — cap at 1 in 10 posts.
03
Posting rhythm
Cadence and timing patterns over the last 12 weeks.
5.4 posts/week
Niche benchmark · 3.8/week
Best days
Sunday · Wednesday
Best hours
7-9am · 6-8pm
04
Signature hooks
Caption patterns the account reuses across high-performing posts.
Stop eating "clean" if you…
Used 14×Stop eating "clean" if you hate every meal.
Stop eating "clean" if it's wrecking your weekends.
POV: you finally understand…
Used 11×POV: you finally understand calorie density.
POV: you finally understand why protein isn't the enemy.
[Number]-calorie [meal] that has more…
Used 9×The 600-calorie burrito bowl that has more protein than your gym buddy thinks.
The 450-calorie wrap that has more fibre than your average salad.
05
Strategy summary
What's working, what to fix, and what to ship next.
TL;DR
@thefitnesschef_ has built a 1.84M-follower audience around evidence-based, anti-diet-culture nutrition. The account's strongest lever is its "calorie comparisons" pillar — visually striking, screenshot-friendly, and pulls 4× the average engagement. Posting cadence (5.4/week) is healthy and 42% above the niche benchmark. The biggest leak is the recent uptick in book-promo posts: they pull half the engagement of evergreen content and risk slowing growth if they exceed 1-in-10.
Working
4- Calorie comparison reels — disproportionate engagement and shares.
- Contrarian one-liner hooks ("Stop eating clean…") that open a curiosity loop in 6 words.
- Sunday + Wednesday posting hits the meal-prep mindset window.
- High protein-to-promo ratio — keeps the audience trusting the editorial voice.
Risks
4- Carousels under-indexed vs reels — missed save/share potential.
- Promo content (~7%) climbing toward the danger zone of 10%+.
- Comment-section under-utilized — only 0.3% of replies come from the account.
- Bio CTA points at link-in-bio but no clear funnel for new followers.
Ship next
4- Test 1 calorie-comparison carousel per week alongside the reel format.
- Cap promo posts at 1-in-12; replace excess with myth-busting one-liners.
- Reply to top 5 comments on every post within first 30 minutes — feeds the algorithm.
- Update bio CTA to a single offer (book OR newsletter), not both.
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