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Nutrition Nutrition approach?

WarrenEllis

WarrenEllis

Level 4 Valued Member
Good afternoon.
I know Pavel and company aren't nutritionists, and this is the place to talk strength and not diets. A quit search of the forums with the keyword "nutrition" strengthens this. I also know nutritional requirements and tolerance are very unique and personal. However, I am revising my approach to eating, and was curious how every one else in this community "cleans that bell."
Are there any books on the subject anyone recommends? I know there will be some Ori Hofmekler proponents here.
Thanks everyone, interested to read your replies.
 
Not sure if I exactly doing Intermittent Fasting, but I eat dinner early and breakfast late, allowing 15 hours without food. I feel better and it helps me on the toilet. I think giving yourself some space or air in the tubes is good. Its the opposite of what I used to do, eating lots of small meals. Now I basically eat just 2 a day.
 
WarrenEllis said:
Good afternoon.
I know Pavel and company aren't nutritionists, and this is the place to talk strength and not diets. A quit search of the forums with the keyword "nutrition" strengthens this. I also know nutritional requirements and tolerance are very unique and personal. However, I am revising my approach to eating, and was curious how every one else in this community "cleans that bell."
Are there any books on the subject anyone recommends? I know there will be some Ori Hofmekler proponents here.
Thanks everyone, interested to read your replies.
Click to expand...
Love the nutrition threads. Are you asking for general health nutrition books, weight gain/loss?

For a strength-focused group, I think this free guide on nutrition and more is solid: StrongLifts 5×5 Workout Program: The Definitive Guide | StrongLifts

For general nutrition, The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson has a well-rounded approach to a modern 'Paleo'-ish diet. A lot of it most people already know but it is nice to have some points driven home to keep you honest about your diet.

For someone interested in a novel approach to getting shredded, whether that be for bodybuilding or just looking your best at the start of summer, I enjoyed reading Ketogenic Bodybuilding by Robert Sikes. For me personally, I cannot sustain keto; however, you will get shredded and I loooove the cognitive benefits. It is just a pain in the arse trying to keep up with the electrolyte imbalance. I was on keto for endurance training and even some strength training- it did not interfere with my strength gains really but I will admit they were slow moving in comparison to a carb-intake above the keto threshold.
 
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jayjo said:
Not sure if I exactly doing Intermittent Fasting, but I eat dinner early and breakfast late, allowing 15 hours without food. I feel better and it helps me on the toilet. I think giving yourself some space or air in the tubes is good. Its the opposite of what I used to do, eating lots of small meals. Now I basically eat just 2 a day.
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I feel better adopting this approach as well… I have higher energy and a lighter feeling when my system has a longer period without food going in. Sleep is also better.

I have, however, recently tried to up my protein intake to meet the RDI many suggest - 2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight, combined with good quality vegetable/fruit. I am struggling to get the 160 grams of protein in during my preferred eating window. It feels like a lot and I feel heavy/full a lot of the time.

I probably just need to focus on finding foods with higher protein density but I’d welcome any advice or fixes other people have found.
 
Veganism really agrees with me. When I want to cut weight, I do OMAD (one meal a day) and primarily eat lentils/beans. I probably go 3-5 days in a row eating around 500calories (because lentils and beans are so filling) before I eat a day of maintenance-level calories.

When I want to gain weight, I add a lot of oils, seeds and nuts to my regular cooking.
 
I’ve tried a bunch of different ways to eat. I enjoyed Warrior Diet (under feed during the day followed by big feed at night), OMAD (one big feed a day), IF, etc. But those are all ways to eat. I mean I could do OMAD of just protein shakes and protein bars and hit my calories and be satiated. Is that nutritious or healthy? Not long term for sure.

I’ve tried a bunch of different food styles - carnivore, keto, Mediterranean diet, whole 30, etc. I don’t even know what I’d call my food sources nowadays.

I will say my shortest lived experiment was OMAD and carnivore. I like meat. But 3000+ calories in one meal made up of all meat and eggs? Yeah. It was fun for a day or 2.
 
WarrenEllis said:
Good afternoon.
I know Pavel and company aren't nutritionists, and this is the place to talk strength and not diets. A quit search of the forums with the keyword "nutrition" strengthens this. I also know nutritional requirements and tolerance are very unique and personal. However, I am revising my approach to eating, and was curious how every one else in this community "cleans that bell."
Are there any books on the subject anyone recommends? I know there will be some Ori Hofmekler proponents here.
Thanks everyone, interested to read your replies.
Click to expand...
Flexible Dieting by Alan Aragon is the best one-stop-shop for how restructure your eating for health and, potentially, muscle-growth or fat-loss. You can follow this method regardless of whatever dietary preference you have honestly.
 
WarrenEllis said:
Good afternoon.
I know Pavel and company aren't nutritionists, and this is the place to talk strength and not diets. A quit search of the forums with the keyword "nutrition" strengthens this. I also know nutritional requirements and tolerance are very unique and personal. However, I am revising my approach to eating, and was curious how every one else in this community "cleans that bell."
Are there any books on the subject anyone recommends? I know there will be some Ori Hofmekler proponents here.
Thanks everyone, interested to read your replies.
Click to expand...
After getting into many nutrition debates on this site I’m going to sit this one out.
 
This site has lots of general information. https://www.precisionnutrition.com/ They do not advocate one particular way but recognize there may be different right ways for different people. Like training, you have to find out what works for you by trial and error but I don't think this topic is very difficult unless you are looking for elite sports performance or you have a specific medical condition honestly.

Some diets can be effective in the short run but you are better off making sustainable long-term changes.
 
I've had success with paleo, keto, and calorie counting in the past. I've been carnivore for over a year now. I've never been more muscular, leaner, or felt better. I'm always satisfied and never hungry. I don't see myself changing this way of eating.

Anthony Chaffee and Ken Berry are great resources for info if anyone is interested.
 
The Anabolic solution by Dr Mauro DiPasquale. It’s worth a read. He basically just tells you to eat like an adult with a low carb approach.
 
my opinion is to just find something that works for you. There are way too many variables and opinions but a few things do consistently appear in a lot of these approaches. Eat Whole Foods as much as possible. I also like the rule of “don’t be weird” if an old friend offers you a beer, drink the beer. I don’t ever look for “treats” but if family or friends offer me cake, ice cream, whatever it may be, don’t be weird. Carinivor, keto, Mediterranean, OMAD, fasting, all can work but find the one you can easily follow, enjoy, agrees with your tummy, and fits your life style. Example…I use to skip breakfast until my 3 year old wanted me to eat breakfast with him. Now I skip lunch instead, not perfect on a true fasting stand point but I’m not going to let my family eat alone. What I follow is a carnivore ish diet with a don’t be weird exception. 2 meals a day meat an eggs are the majority of it. Fruit and veggies back fill the rest, with a 1-2 x a week a starch or rice. My body tells me when my carbs are too low for too long.
 
Dann said:
my opinion is to just find something that works for you. There are way too many variables and opinions but a few things do consistently appear in a lot of these approaches. Eat Whole Foods as much as possible. I also like the rule of “don’t be weird” if an old friend offers you a beer, drink the beer. I don’t ever look for “treats” but if family or friends offer me cake, ice cream, whatever it may be, don’t be weird. Carinivor, keto, Mediterranean, OMAD, fasting, all can work but find the one you can easily follow, enjoy, agrees with your tummy, and fits your life style. Example…I use to skip breakfast until my 3 year old wanted me to eat breakfast with him. Now I skip lunch instead, not perfect on a true fasting stand point but I’m not going to let my family eat alone. What I follow is a carnivore ish diet with a don’t be weird exception. 2 meals a day meat an eggs are the majority of it. Fruit and veggies back fill the rest, with a 1-2 x a week a starch or rice. My body tells me when my carbs are too low for too long.
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For book authors….Robb Wolf Mark Sisson YouTube Thomas Delaeur powerathlete has a performance approach worth a look as well
 
John K said:
Flexible Dieting by Alan Aragon is the best one-stop-shop for how restructure your eating for health and, potentially, muscle-growth or fat-loss. You can follow this method regardless of whatever dietary preference you have honestly.
Click to expand...
I just bought this as an Xmas present. Having a hard copy to refer to might help to be consistent. Worth a try anyway haha, now where’s my cheesecake, I went to the gym this morning !
 
In general I don’t keep a super close eye on my diet. I eat a relatively simple diet when I’m at home and do my best when I’m traveling.

When I want to drop weight down my go-to diet is the Slow Carb Diet. Tim Ferris introduced it in his 4-Hour Body book; but you can find all the details with some decent internet searching. Tldr; high protein, no sugar diet, with a lot of legumes and beans 6x/wk with 1 refeed day every week where you can eat whatever. It’s usually a good reset for about 4 weeks or so then I’ll go back to my usual habits.
 
Dann said:
my opinion is to just find something that works for you.... Eat Whole Foods as much as possible. I also like the rule of “don’t be weird” ...
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Pretty much all of these 3.

Don't try to shoot for "the optimal diet/nutrition" straight away. You wouldn't pick up the beast expecting to press it for reps on your first go. Nutrition isn't any different, there's no magic combo + numbers + timing + books.

There's good advice from many many many people. Dan John's "eat your protein, vegetables, drink your water, sleep your sleep and walk your walks" is as simple as it gets an pretty much what is recommended by the majority.

Park the idea of "optimizing" and start "experimenting". 12 weeks to build muscles? 12 weeks to build a nutritional habit as well. 3 months of trial and error will teach you more than 1 book.

Protein is excellent for both fat loss and muscle building, find sources that don't cause you distress and you can tolerate. Find the amounts you can tolerate and go with it, then keep upping / lowering it.

Depending on your goals, try to figure out how little or how much you can get away with without swaying from your plan and goal. Find a baseline, put it on the backburner, then decorate around it. Is your recovery improving or worsening? Do you go to bed with a heartburn or thirsty? How's your energy levels? Etcetera... Eat, evaluate, adjust!

Personal experience / example:
I went crazy for years on macro tracking, chicken/rice/broccoli, protein powders, eat before working out and the lot.
I was not happy which meant it didn't work for me.
I wanted to go low carb to shred fat.
I was not happy, wasn't energised, mood swings. So I was doing something wrong. I also went underweight (50kg on a 165cm frame, while training 3-4 hours a day)
I changed again, I am now having 5-6 boiled eggs + dollop of yogurt + berries at breakfast / Beef mince + olives + carrots at lunch / Nuts + some protein powder mid afternoon / A healthy protein vegetable meal with my partner in the evening (plus, most likely, a chunk of whatever I cook for her). I'm packing muscles, I sleep great, I've lost lots of fat in the past 9 weeks, we are happy and jumpy. I train at 5:30am before anybody else wakes and bugs me. During the weekend I relax a bit more, I'll have oats with her at breakfast and let her cook 2 dinners without kicking up a fuss if the carbs to fats to protein ratio is "wrong". She knows I like my meats and fishes, so I get lots of those in huge quantities. The rest of the week I cook for myself. It's all balanced and keeps me happy.
I also had a cheeseless ham and mushroom pizza (and obviously half of hers) 3 days ago and felt like crap afterwards, but I knew it in advance so moved on with my life as usual the morning after.

All of the example / ramble above took me a good 3-4 possibly 5 years to figure out. It's all now on autopilot :)
 
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