Nutrition Warrior Diet

[Joshua Peping]

hi all!
I keep seeing the warrior diet mentioned in the forum. I was wondering if anyone has used this for weight loss? I need to drop at least 40-50lbs. I am doing S&S with a 16kg bell currently. I don’t eat a breakfast and I haven’t for over a decade. I am looking for something get my health back and drop weight.

 

[Steve Freides]

WD can be great for weight loss.

-S-

 

[dc]

Start eating breakfast, a healthy one. Kick starts your metabolism & will help you stop eating s*** later.

 

[Groove Greaser]

Start eating breakfast, a healthy one. Kick starts your metabolism & will help you stop eating s*** later.

Oh man, the old "jumpstart your metabolism" argument. There's a full discussion about it here.
(edit for clarity: I'm not attacking dc btw. The "healthfulness" of breakfast is definitely multifactoral - including especially choice of breakfast food. My only point, as I hope to make below, is that the OP will have to find out what works best for him)

To the OP:

While I'm a hardcore low-carb Paleo guy (and even think everyone should give it a go - at least as a starting place or to learn about themselves), I have come to recognize that every body (see what I did there?) is different. No matter what we tell you, you'll still need to find out what works best for you. Who knows - you might end up doing best with Bulletproof Coffee in the morning. I do think that whatever you decide to try, stick to it for at least a month to truly see how you feel at the end (barring any medically necessary reason to stop).

And while I'm here, I'll pitch the ketogenic diet into the ring. Does wonders for fat loss and insulin sensitivity.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

[apa]

I am quite happy with only 2 meals a day, first one at 11 and the next around 5. I figured out a ball park value of how much calories I need each day with my physically active job and workout then I just plan my meals around a few staple ingredients such as veggies, meat, eggs, butter and potatoes.

Calories in and out is still the best surefire way to drop weight. I don't do that but to each his own. Warrior Diet, Eat Stop Eat, 3 squares... all of them work.

 

[dc]

I stand corrected, by reddit.

 

[Wesker11]

Low carb, low fat, doesn't matter. Eating less does work, therefore fast....

Low-fat vs low-carb? Major study concludes: it doesn’t matter for weight loss

 

[Groove Greaser]

Low carb, low fat, doesn't matter. Eating less does work, therefore fast....

Low-fat vs low-carb? Major study concludes: it doesn’t matter for weight loss

I think this is the most telling bit from that article:

While no caloric intake targets were given, both groups were instructed to consume high-quality whole foods and drinks. Specifically, they were instructed to “maximize vegetable intake ... minimize intake of added sugars, refined flours, and trans fats; and ... focus on whole foods that were minimally processed, nutrient dense, and prepared at home whenever possible.”

Those are great parameters for a range of diets!

 

[Sean M]

I used 18-20 hour fasting 5-6 days a week and lost 30 pounds. Coupled with S&S starting with 16kg like you, but soon upgrading to 24kg and later 32kg.

The book was ahead of its time 15+ years ago, kind of starting the intermittent fasting trend. The diet/pattern itself is pretty standard: undereat during active hours (allowing sympathetic hormones to dominate, use energy, focus, etc), and compensating before rest for digestion, renewal, energy storage, etc. Eat real food, etc.

The book is only okay (too long, and some supplement quackery in my opinion), but the concept of going 12, 16, 18, even 20 hours without food daily can be beneficial strategy alongside proper food choices and the right kind and level of exercise.

I maintain weight/fat percentage with ~16 hours fasting (skipping breakfast) during the week.

 

[Wesker11]

I love fasting, the Warrior Diet wasn't for me though. I like the Eat Stop Eat method. I paired it with Slow Carb and have documented on this forum the results I had. Right now I am pairing it with the Sane diet and I am having even better results. I feel better, stronger, and I am even leaner. I have been hovering between 143-145lbs for the past couple weeks and can easily put the 32Kg overhead.

 

[Dasho]

I have the Warrior Diet book, and it certainly has suggestions for eating in the morning/afternoon. Intermittent Fasting/One Meal per Day is not an absolute. It does suggest foods that are low/no carb as to not trigger a huge insulin response early in the day (kefir, almonds, etc). Maybe try a light breakfast or lunch made up of foods like that, and then have a complete meal in the evening.

My own personal implementation of WD-style eating is to stay at or under ~500 calories before dinner. This allows me to "splurge" on a restaurant (read:unhealthy) meal, or have a healthy meal followed by snacks if I'm still hungry. It's an easy way to lose or maintain weight without too much thought.

 

[LukeV]

I freely admit to trying every diet known to humankind and, as we know, everything works for six weeks so if you try about 104 different diets over two years you should lose a lot of weight, and I did. And I know it's not fashionable to say it but my experience was everything came down to calories in/calories out. The effectiveness of a diet just came down to how easily it made the process of putting less food in my gob. For me not eating is easier than eating smaller meals so intermittent fasting, skipping meals, one-meal-per-day worked great. But ultimately what works best for you will be whatever allows you to put less in your mouth for longer

 

[Steve Freides]

@Dasho, good stuff. My version is that I try to have a Dale's bar and coffee w/ heavy cream during the day. I often teach through what would be a normal dinner hour, so I tend to have a couple of smaller meals whenever I get breaks starting in the late afternoon.

-S-

 

[Wandering Norseman]

Anecdote: I'm down 25# since New Year's Day with exercise and Keto/IF. My wife is down 40+# since last May with Keto/IF and a daily walk.
I drink coffee and heavy cream in the morning (a la now as I type this) then eat an egg bake of some kind (I load these up with meat and cheese, and try to have a spinach salad on the side with nuts, cheese, and oil/vinegar) around 1230-1300. Then based on my day, a protein/greens (Amazing Grass Cacao) shake post-workout or I'll have that as my dinner if I trained earlier in the day. If I'm still hungry/hard training session I'll eat meat and veggies with cheese prior to 1800. After that if I'm still hungry, I'll brink herbal tea.

 

[Marc]

First things first:
If you want to lose that much weight you need to expand more enery than you take in. This is the most basic step. Whether you achieve a calorie deficit via low carb, paleo, low fat any other fad is irrelevant.

You mentione the warrior diet:
I personally am a big fan of fasting and ongoing research hints at benefits of doing so. Also it is a great no-brainer to drastically limit the time in which you eat (try not to eat for 16-20h/day or only eat some small fruit snacks) and therefore is a valuble tool in fat loss. But make no mistake: just restricting the time you eat does not magically burn fat. Calories in vs calories out is (and will ever be) the nr. 1 determinand.
As for food choice: I would not subscribe to any fad. Every reasonable adult knows what is healthy and what is not. Do not turn into a broccoli nazi. If you get to eat, say 2500 calories per day, and you ate 2250 from healthy foods, reaching for a snickers @~250 cals will not do any harm (in fact it rather will keep you mentally sane)
As for macros: aim for 0.8-1g of protein per lbs of bw; ~20-40% of calories from fat and fill up the rest with carbs.
Eat 30-60g of fibre per day.

 

[North Coast Miller]

Start eating breakfast, a healthy one. Kick starts your metabolism & will help you stop eating s*** later.

Poor Richard's advice and I still use it, especially when trying to lose weight. When trying to gain I eat more at night.

I know a lot of research shows no real correlation vs total calories over a day, but if I go to bed hungry I seem to have no problem losing weight.

 

[Michael Scott]

I would be careful on the carb recommendation. Diabetics, like myself, would need a lot more meds if over half of our diet were carbs. Now, having said that, healthy carbs like vegetables, and fruit, to me, would be far better than refined carbs. Without making a delineation, and just saying half your diet should be carbs for you to be successful is a misleading statement.

For example. 200 lb athlete following a 2400 kCal diet.

0.8-1.0 g protein/lb of body weight 160 - 200 g protein * 4 = 640 - 800 kCal
20% - 40% Fat = 480 - 960 kCal
So, that would leave 640 - 1280 kCals from carbs. That is a lot of carbs to consume, process, and not store.

As for macros: aim for 0.8-1g of protein per lbs of bw; ~20-40% of calories from fat and fill up the rest with carbs.
Eat 30-60g of fibre per day.

 

[North Coast Miller]

I would be careful on the carb recommendation. Diabetics, like myself, would need a lot more meds if over half of our diet were carbs. Now, having said that, healthy carbs like vegetables, and fruit, to me, would be far better than refined carbs. Without making a delineation, and just saying half your diet should be carbs for you to be successful is a misleading statement.

For example. 200 lb athlete following a 2400 kCal diet.

0.8-1.0 g protein/lb of body weight 160 - 200 g protein * 4 = 640 - 800 kCal
20% - 40% Fat = 480 - 960 kCal
So, that would leave 640 - 1280 kCals from carbs. That is a lot of carbs to consume, process, and not store.

Wouldn't that hold true for fats as well?

Realistically anything that isn't protein needs to be consumed in equilibrium with expenditure. The problem (aside from refined sugars) is that many of the grain carbs are more nutrient dense than most people might think. If you're counting calories it should be pretty equal at end of day.

Not that you should sub bread or noodles for potatoes, rice, veg, fruit, but it could make up a substantial % of your carbs - medical issues aside - and you'd still be either in surplus or deficit by the numbers.

 

[Michael Scott]

That would depend on the diet you are following. For a LCHF diet like the Keto diet, the answer would be no, as your calories would come from fat first, then protein, and lastly carbs. A more balanced diet, yes.

I agree with you about grains being more nutrient dense than most people are aware of, which can skew calorie counting for many. I am a huge fan of fresh fruit & veggies, that is why I abandoned the Keto plan, I love bananas & clementines. I am doing my due diligence about grains, to have a more rounded meal plan going forward, with grains, beans, veg, good carbs like fresh fruit, and of course quality proteins.

Wouldn't that hold true for fats as well?

Realistically anything that isn't protein needs to be consumed in equilibrium with expenditure. The problem (aside from refined sugars) is that many of the grain carbs are more nutrient dense than most people might think. If you're counting calories it should be pretty equal at end of day.

Not that you should sub bread or noodles for potatoes, rice, veg, fruit, but it could make up a substantial % of your carbs - medical issues aside - and you'd still be either in surplus or deficit by the numbers.

 

[Marc]

I would be careful on the carb recommendation. Diabetics, like myself, would need a lot more meds if over half of our diet were carbs. Now, having said that, healthy carbs like vegetables, and fruit, to me, would be far better than refined carbs. Without making a delineation, and just saying half your diet should be carbs for you to be successful is a misleading statement.

For example. 200 lb athlete following a 2400 kCal diet.

0.8-1.0 g protein/lb of body weight 160 - 200 g protein * 4 = 640 - 800 kCal
20% - 40% Fat = 480 - 960 kCal
So, that would leave 640 - 1280 kCals from carbs. That is a lot of carbs to consume, process, and not store.

My recommendations assume a healthy individual.
What's wrong with the number of carbs? Those calories have to come from somewhere.