Broken Diet - Berardi

How to fix a broken diet:
3 ways to get your - or a
client’s - eating on track
For presentation notes...
JOHN BERARDI, PHD, CSCS
Nutrition buzzwords and slogans:
* “Just eat whole foods.”
* “Only eat what your grandmother would recognize.”
* “Eat more fat and fewer carbs.”
* “Eat only what runs, flies, swims, or is green.”
ANNOYING
(and ineffective)
Let’s try coaching instead:
#1: Listen to what clients want to accomplish.
#2: Learn how they live right now.
#3: Discover what’s really important to them.
Then...
#4: Work together; create a personal/unique approach.
#5: Observe, measure, and adjust (when necessary).
Preaching.
More rules.
Develop a framework for
evaluation and coaching.
TALK nutrition?
COACH nutrition!
Because...
Every plan stops working or
breaks eventually.
Step #1:
Identify and remove nutrient
deficiencies.
This overhaul isn’t only unsustainable.
It rarely even fixes what’s
broken in the first place.
The Mission Impossible approach:
* “I have to cut sugar, dairy, carbs, and saturated fat.”
* “I have to eat more protein, healthy fat, and veggies.”
* “Not a lot of fruit, though.”
* “I have to start drinking lots of water too.”
* “And training...twice a day.”
JISSN study #1
* 70 athlete diets studied (210 days of meals).
* 100% were deficient in at least 3 nutrients.
* (Calcium, iodine, zinc, vitamins D and E.)
JISSN study #2
Why does this matter?
Energy, appetite, strength, endurance, mood, CNS function, and learning all
rely on an adequate intake of nutrients.
* 4 diet plans (Atkins, South Beach, Dash, Best Life).
* All deficient in at least 6 nutrients.
* (Vitamins B7, D, E chromium, iodine, and molybdenum).
How to measure deficiencies:
* Clinical assessment: blood, saliva, urine.
* Nutrient analysis: 3 day food record w/dietitan.
* Online diet calculator: Fitday or Livestrong.
Even simpler:
* Water
* Vitamins and minerals
* Protein
* Essential fatty acids
British Journal of Psychiatry:
* Fish oil and multivitamin to prison inmates.
* 35% reduction in violent behavior.
* 26% reduction in antisocial behavior.
Nutrition Reviews:
* Fish oil and multivitamin to children.
* Decrease in antisocial/violent behavior.
* Increase in cognition and test scores.
Step #2:
Adjust food amount (kcal)
and food type (macros).
Step #1:
Biggest bang for your buck:
Get rid of deficiencies.
Calorie control:
The goal is to achieve calorie control without calorie counting. Counting is
distracting, annoying, and often flat-out wrong.
Men
2 palms of protein
Women
1 palm of protein
2 fists of veggies
1 fist of veggies
Stop here.
Most clients can eliminate deficiencies and get their
food portions right and just stop there.
2 cupped hands of carbs
1 cupped hand of carbs
2 thumbs of fats
“I type”
1 thumb of fats
“V type”
“O type”
I Type (ectomorph)
* High revving / fast metabolism:
* Thyroid and SNS dominant.
* Sensitive to catecholamines.
* High energy:
* Fidget and pace
“I Type” (ectomorph):
For men
For women
V Type (mesomorph)
* Strength and power build:
* Calories toward muscle/bone.
* Anabolic hormonal drive:
* Testosterone dominant
* Growth hormone dominant
“V Type” (mesomorph):
For men
For women
O Type (endomorph)
* Engine idles / slow metabolism:
* Parasympathetic dominant.
* Lower NEAT.
* Higher propensity for fat gain.
“I type”
“V type”
“O type”
“O Type” (endomorph):
For men
For women
Higher carb
Lower fat
Lower protein
Moderate carb
Moderate fat
Moderate protein
Higher fat
Higher protein
Lower carb
Step #2:
Step #3:
After eliminating deficiency, adjust
food amount and type.
Fine-tune the details of frequency,
timing, cycling, etc.
Meal frequency?
Are you sure?
After eliminating deficiency and adjusting food amount - if necessary, type
- everything else is very minor and debatable.
Calorie and carb cycling?
* Non-workout (or low intensity / short duration):
* baseline diet of protein, veggies, fat.
* Workout (weights / longer duration, high intensity):
* add extra carbs to the baseline.
* Is it grazing? (small meals every few hours)
* Or is it bigger meals? (2-3 meals a day)
As long as we eat the right foods in the right amounts, meal
frequency is a matter of personal preference.
Before/during/after workout?
* Probably doesn’t matter much unless:
* The rest of your diet is really bad, or
* You’re training for maximal muscle adaptation
* You’re training with high volume and intensity.
Before/during/after workout?
* If needed, here’s what to do:
* Eat normally around the workout.
* During activity:
* BCAA (10g) per hour of exercise, or
* P (15g) and C (30g) per hour of exercise.
Step #3:
Eliminate deficiency, adjust food,
then fine-tune.
Summary:
* Remove red flags and nutrient deficiencies.
* Control calorie intake without counting them.
* Consider body type and activity level.
* Observe progress carefully, adjust as needed.
* Do all this long-term before trying other stuff.
The end.
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