|
Frequently
Asked Questions
Nutrition
| Question: |
On the
single nutrient days, do I still need to get a certain
number of calories or can I eat as much or as little
as I want? |
| Answer:
|
Consider the single
nutrient days (only protein and only fruit days) to
be days where you can eat as much as you want without
worrying about how many calories you're taking in.
I would NOT recommend eating only small amounts of
food as you still want to feed your metabolism. Eating
too little will slow your metabolic rate. The only-protein
day will most likely be your lowest-calorie day of
the entire program as you aren't eating any energy
nutrients.
When doing all protein,
you're not taking in any energy nutrients but your
body is processing all the protein. You still have
energy requirements that must be filled by stored
bodyfat. When doing the all-fruit day, since many
fruits are rich in fiber and water, you will have
a hard time eating enough to go over your limit. Also,
since your body is coming off low-carb eating, all
the fruit sugar will be stored as glycogen in your
muscles and liver, not as fat.
|
| Question: |
On the
all-fruit day, do I have to eat only fruit or can I
include fruit juices or other foods? |
| Answer:
|
While the primary focus
of this day should be fruit, you can certainly include
fruit juices today as well! Be sure to eat plenty
of raw fruit, however, to be sure you get plenty of
fiber and micronutrients that are only found in raw
fruit. Try to avoid the more sugary, processed juices
as one of the other benefits of this day is the cleansing
effect it has on your body. Including juices with
sucrose and corn syrup will not be the best way to
go.
As far as other foods
go, if you find you can't handle eating only fruit
all day long, you can include a few other zero to
very low protein foods. Since, in terms of nutrient
rotation, this is a no-protein day, foods that contain
very little protein can also technically be included.
I would HIGHLY recommend staying away from processed
foods on this day to give your body the cleanse that
it needs, though. This will help greatly with fat
loss as unprocessed foods are easier for your body
to work with.
If you can't handle
fruit all day, the next best thing would be to include
vegetables instead. If vegetables aren't doing it
for you, switching to very low protein, high-fiber
foods such as whole grain bread is also a possibility.
|
| Question: |
You mention
that I should eat my largest largest meal of the day
after training during the muscle-building phase. Won't
eating so many calories at one time make me fat? |
| Answer:
|
Normally, you would
think eating a big meal would cause you to gain excess
fat. But in reality, THIS is when you SHOULD be filling
your body full of nutrients and calories. After training,
your metabolism is roaring and your body is primed
to USE the nutrients you're putting in for the purposes
of rebuilding and repairing the damage done during
the workout.
That temporary glut of calories is really effective
for building up muscle. You can really feel your muscles
swell up after you eat. What I sometimes do after
is make a big bowl of rice and corn, mix in a little
margarine and some sea salt for flavor (you can use
as much sea salt as you like with no ill effects).
I'll also eat 2 chicken breasts along with it. Potatoes
are also good for this too (you can mash them, add
a little milk and a little margarine to make them
easier to eat). Pasta with low-fat sauce is quite
good as well.
|
| Question: |
Let's
say I love 1 or 2 of your suggested day meal plans.
Could I take one of those day plans and eat the same
thing every day for 5 days? Or maybe eat the same thing
2 or 3 days and the rest of the phase eat the other
suggested day eating plan? It is much easier to for
me to eat the same thing for several days in a row because
I don't have to think much about it and don't have to
cook a bunch of different things and store them in the
fridge. |
| Answer:
|
Actually, to be honest,
I normally end up doing the same thing myself! I try
to vary things as much as I can but I normally gravitate
towards eating many of the same things on a daily
basis. That's no problem at all. Just be sure you
take your multivitamins so that you get your various
nutrients.
In a nutshell, eat the
same things as much as you want - it works for me!
It's easy, time-efficient (leftovers are such a good
thing when you're busy), and if you like the food
and aren't bored, why not eat it!
|
| Question: |
When I'm
eating low-fat on the low-fat day, should I shoot for
0 grams of fat or is some okay? |
| Answer:
|
On the low-fat eating
days, shoot for as low as you can but don't worry
about trying to get zero grams. If you can keep it
under 20 to 30 grams per day, you'll be just fine
but basically, just do the best you can.
|
| Question: |
Dr. Berardi's
meal plans call for a LOT of spinach. I don't think
I can eat that much spinach. Is it okay to substitute
other greens? Also, is the amount cooked or fresh? |
| Answer:
|
Those meals plans are
basically there to help guide you during the low-carb
phase. You don't HAVE to follow the plans exactly
to get results. That IS a lot of spinach (that is
fresh amounts, not cooked, by the way). You may substitute
other leafy greens during those meals.
Just be sure you're
getting enough nutrients by taking a good multivitamin
or "greens" supplement to offset the nutrients
you're not getting from the spinach. The reason it's
there in such quantity is because it is THE most nutritious
of the leafy greens.
|
| Question: |
I'm
a diabetic and can't take in all those carbs. Will I
still be able to use and/or adapt your program to suit
my situation? I'm interested in the course, but have
hesitations due to the large of amount of carb intake
you suggest in certain phases of the program. |
| Answer:
|
Actually, you'd do just
fine with it with a few modifications. The initial
dieting phase is low-carb but it's also low-calorie.
Being diabetic, your best bet would be not to do the
carb-loading but instead to just reduce the overall
caloric intake for that first week.
The following week (which
would technically be a carb load), would instead just
be going back to higher-calorie eating, which has
also has a beneficial effect on testosterone in the
body. Insulin, you've definitely got that covered
already so carb-loading isn't necessary for you.
The training itself
is something you can do without really following the
specific dietary program and it'll still be effective.
But if you can do reduced calorie for one week then
boost overall intake up for 3 weeks, you'll get a
very similar effect.
Bottom line - you'll
do just fine with it with a few changes.
|
|