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.

 


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