The Warrior Diet
The Warrior Diet has been the subject of a lot of controversy in the fitness world. From the first time its creator Ori Hofmekler first started writing about it several years ago nutritional experts have been lining up to take shots at it and discourage people from trying it. It was, and still is, nutritional heresy.
What is it that makes it so controversial? In a nutshell, the Warrior Diet has you use controlled fasting during the day and controlled overfeeding at night. In other words, skip breakfast and eat little to nothing all day and then follow that up with a large meal at the end of the day.
This breaks every rule in the book - everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you shouldn't let yourself get hungry and eating a big meal before bed is a sure way to get fat. I sure believed the naysayers and steered clear of it.
However, over the last year or so I keep coming across smart people whom I respect who use or advocate the Warrior Diet. After reading more about it in the excellent training book The Purposeful Primitive I had to admit that my curiosity was piqued and I wanted to give it a go.
Several things about the diet make a lot of intuitive sense to me. I've never been hungry in the mornings and would gladly skip breakfast if I wasn't told I needed it. I naturally don't like to eat during the day, preferring to stay focused on my tasks and not have to stop every few hours to eat. I also prefer to eat a big meal at the end of the day and only skimp on it because I'm told it is bad for me. All in all, it seems like if I just ate the way I wanted to without external influences I'd follow something similar to the Warrior Diet.
So, I bought the book and spent a few weeks implementing it. In the book Ori makes a compelling argument for the need to fast during the day and how ancient warriors and hunters would subsist on a similar eating pattern. In fact, the term Intermittent Fasting is becoming more popular as more research identifies the benefits of controlled under-eating and the Warrior Diet is simply a type of Intermittent Fasting.
You are allowed to graze on things like fresh fruits and vegetables and eat some light protein sources like yogurt or kefir during the day if you get hungry, but you can't eat a meal until the 2-4 hour overfeeding period starts at the end of the day. As you do it longer you can eat less during the day and have a shorter overfeeding period, but I stuck with grazing a bit during the day and letting from 5-9 pm be my overfeeding period.
While I was apprehensive at first I was surprised at how quickly I adapted to diet. I thought that hunger would be a huge issue, but in reality it was not a big deal. If I got hungry I would eat half an apple, some carrots or some nuts and be good to go. My energy levels were pretty good and I actually enjoyed not having a post-lunch urge for a nap or having to think about how long I'd be gone and how much food I had to bring with me when I leave the house.
After a couple of weeks, though, I went through a period where I was training hard and riding almost every day. I found that I simply was not able to keep up with my energy demands and that I was crashing later in the day. About that time I read John Berardi's excellent Special Report on Intermittent Fasting and learned a few more approaches to the concept, including fasting 1-2 days a week or following a 16 hour fast/ 8 hour feeding schedule. I didn't want to have to go back to eating "normal" a few days a week and so I decided to try the 16-8 plan and simply shorten the fast.
I kept up my morning fast and started my eating period at lunch instead of dinner. I put my own twist on it by sticking with "live" foods from lunch until dinner and saving my processed "dead" foods for a small window around dinner. So far this plan has worked pretty well for me, although I will say that I would recommend planning your training for later in the day during your feeding period. If you do train or ride in the morning then eating a small to moderate protein smoothie with kefir/ Greek yogurt, fruit, whey protein and juice (avoid milk) beforehand will help keep you from crashing.
Overall my experience has been good and I now see an alternative eating strategy that lines up better with my normal rhythm. While the "eat every 2-3 hours" approach is very effective for those that can adhere to it, the truth is that a lot of people struggle to really take advantage of it. Intermittent Fasting and the Warrior Diet may offer another way to achieve nutritional success that would be worth looking into.
MTB Strength Training Systems is the world leader in integrated performance training programs for the unique demands of mountain biking. As the strength and conditioning coach for World Cup Teams and 3 National Championships, his programs have been proven at the highest levels. James has helped thousands of riders just like you improve their speed, endurance and skills on the trail. Visit www.bikejames.com to sign up for the free Trail Rider Fundamentals Video Mini-Course.
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What is it that makes it so controversial? In a nutshell, the Warrior Diet has you use controlled fasting during the day and controlled overfeeding at night. In other words, skip breakfast and eat little to nothing all day and then follow that up with a large meal at the end of the day.
This breaks every rule in the book - everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you shouldn't let yourself get hungry and eating a big meal before bed is a sure way to get fat. I sure believed the naysayers and steered clear of it.
However, over the last year or so I keep coming across smart people whom I respect who use or advocate the Warrior Diet. After reading more about it in the excellent training book The Purposeful Primitive I had to admit that my curiosity was piqued and I wanted to give it a go.
Several things about the diet make a lot of intuitive sense to me. I've never been hungry in the mornings and would gladly skip breakfast if I wasn't told I needed it. I naturally don't like to eat during the day, preferring to stay focused on my tasks and not have to stop every few hours to eat. I also prefer to eat a big meal at the end of the day and only skimp on it because I'm told it is bad for me. All in all, it seems like if I just ate the way I wanted to without external influences I'd follow something similar to the Warrior Diet.
So, I bought the book and spent a few weeks implementing it. In the book Ori makes a compelling argument for the need to fast during the day and how ancient warriors and hunters would subsist on a similar eating pattern. In fact, the term Intermittent Fasting is becoming more popular as more research identifies the benefits of controlled under-eating and the Warrior Diet is simply a type of Intermittent Fasting.
You are allowed to graze on things like fresh fruits and vegetables and eat some light protein sources like yogurt or kefir during the day if you get hungry, but you can't eat a meal until the 2-4 hour overfeeding period starts at the end of the day. As you do it longer you can eat less during the day and have a shorter overfeeding period, but I stuck with grazing a bit during the day and letting from 5-9 pm be my overfeeding period.
While I was apprehensive at first I was surprised at how quickly I adapted to diet. I thought that hunger would be a huge issue, but in reality it was not a big deal. If I got hungry I would eat half an apple, some carrots or some nuts and be good to go. My energy levels were pretty good and I actually enjoyed not having a post-lunch urge for a nap or having to think about how long I'd be gone and how much food I had to bring with me when I leave the house.
After a couple of weeks, though, I went through a period where I was training hard and riding almost every day. I found that I simply was not able to keep up with my energy demands and that I was crashing later in the day. About that time I read John Berardi's excellent Special Report on Intermittent Fasting and learned a few more approaches to the concept, including fasting 1-2 days a week or following a 16 hour fast/ 8 hour feeding schedule. I didn't want to have to go back to eating "normal" a few days a week and so I decided to try the 16-8 plan and simply shorten the fast.
I kept up my morning fast and started my eating period at lunch instead of dinner. I put my own twist on it by sticking with "live" foods from lunch until dinner and saving my processed "dead" foods for a small window around dinner. So far this plan has worked pretty well for me, although I will say that I would recommend planning your training for later in the day during your feeding period. If you do train or ride in the morning then eating a small to moderate protein smoothie with kefir/ Greek yogurt, fruit, whey protein and juice (avoid milk) beforehand will help keep you from crashing.
Overall my experience has been good and I now see an alternative eating strategy that lines up better with my normal rhythm. While the "eat every 2-3 hours" approach is very effective for those that can adhere to it, the truth is that a lot of people struggle to really take advantage of it. Intermittent Fasting and the Warrior Diet may offer another way to achieve nutritional success that would be worth looking into.
MTB Strength Training Systems is the world leader in integrated performance training programs for the unique demands of mountain biking. As the strength and conditioning coach for World Cup Teams and 3 National Championships, his programs have been proven at the highest levels. James has helped thousands of riders just like you improve their speed, endurance and skills on the trail. Visit www.bikejames.com to sign up for the free Trail Rider Fundamentals Video Mini-Course.
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Bike James I love your series, but this is just a massive disappointment. I just want to point out one thing; nutrition is not magic, it is science. it only works one way. You should know this. It is like in your videos: you don't want to dislocate your shoulders during the race season, you have to do this and this exercise very day. Some one can't just come along and say, if you sit in a hot bathtub for 45 minutes every Wednesday you will have strong shoulders. If nutritionists have been taking shots at this "diet" it is definitely not for nothing. You can't just freestyle nutrition.
Any one want to know why nobody should be on this diet ever? Take some physiology.
Oh and this book: "Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar, and Survival" gives a pretty good explanation of why "overfeeding" yourself at night is not such a good idea. $10.20 from amazon. www.amazon.com/Lights-Out-Sleep-Sugar-Survival/dp/0671038680
Everyone who read at least a little about diets and the fitness world knows that every day some guy chimes in with a revolutionary bogus diet to sell books, supplements or whatever. Personally, I feel like shit if i dont eat every 3 hours and in my book, not feeling good = no good. The "if you're hungry eat carrots" part made me laugh, looks like anorexics are true warriors after all! Just like third world people (except that they dont get to binge at night).
"Intermittent Fasting and the Warrior Diet may offer another way to achieve nutritional success that would be worth looking into."
The point of this article is to make you think about it, get you out of the box. Human body and nutrition in particular is so little known and so specific for every one, you just have to find what works for you and yet be smart enought to look for another, better solutions.
BTW, if you can't go more than 3 hours without eating then what to you do on long rides? I think that you should be able to go for a 4-5 hour ride without needing a lot of food which is not possible if you have trained your body to eat instead of accessing your internal energy stores. Relying too much on the blood sugar-insulin loop for energy instead of being able to easily access the glucagon-glycogen loop is not good for endurance athletes and I think that IF can have some benefits in that area.
Unlike the vast majority of the armchair experts here I actually work with clients on a daily basis and have seen that the whole "eat every 2-3 hours" works for some but not for others. Taking a few nutrition classes does not replace a decade in the trenches...
That said I have to take issue with a few points, mostly to do with arguing techniques. The backing of your argument using a Ph.D.'s (Dr. Berardi) opinion is a logical fallacy, and is called the 'argument from authority'. It's invalid because he may (and judging by his experience, most likely is) a highly intelligent, experienced man, but then so is Dr.Oz, who recommends on his website to use zinc instead of penicillin to treat infections, among other ridiculous claims and poor science, all coming from a well-known cardiothoracic surgeon. If you want to actually back up your argument, a proper double-blind peer reviewed study would be a lot better to refer to.
And finally the reason what they teach in school is often ten years behind is because they only teach (in good schools) information that has gone through the rigours of the scientific process and have been either proven beyond doubt or have a lot of strong evidence behind them. Everything else is still being tested, studied or has not yet been accepted and should be approached in such a way. Again I mean no offence, all respect due but these are flaws in your argument and must be addressed.
As for longer rides, there's a thing called backpacks that you can store food and water in it. They're awesome. I've already done 4h+ roadbike runs at a good pace without running out of energy anyway. Also, as you already know, physical preparation goes a long way to stretch the elastic.
Maybe ill try the warrior diet one day, who knows, but that "article" sounded a lot more like an infomercial than someone trying to provide information. I'm sorry I might have overreacted a little but I've seen that kind of article so many times it feels like groundhog day everytime a new one pops out.
First, my arguments were in response to the original post which implied that no nutritional experts or science were backing up the idea of Intermittent Fasting, which is not true. I would never just point to an expert and say to believe them without looking more into it, that is a lazy argument. However, the fact that there is some science, more than one nutritional expert has talked about the benefits of IF and I do have a lot of experience in the trenches, which should count for something, although it is not a complete argument.
Second, I have to say that everyone who has discounted this is being intellectually lazy. I have provided 3 resources to check out, all of which contain both scientific and anecdotal evidence. It is not up to me to spell it out for you, I have provided the resources and it is up to you to do some homework on it. To post an opinion on this without even reading the free special report I linked to shows that your minds are made up already and you have no desire to look into alternative viewpoints. That is fine, just don't tell me that I am wrong and that there is not basis for this type of diet when you won't even click a link and download a well researched and thoughtful report put together by one of the smartest guys in nutrition today.
Look, I don't have any monetary interest in this at all so I have no idea why some of you think this is an ad for something. I resisted this idea for a long time (this is not a new idea and the Warrior Diet has been around for almost 10 years), however too many coaches that I respect have started to talk about the potential benefits of IF. After trying it myself I felt that there was something there and that it might provide an alternative way to approach nutrition for those that find the "eat every 2-3 hours" advice impractical or ineffective. I am not saying that this is the one and only way to eat, simply an alternative viewpoint.
And not having a nutritional strategy is not the same as "being on the Warrior Diet without realizing it". Intermittent Fasting is far more than just not eating all day and then pigging out at night. You still have to eat smart, avoiding sugar and refined carbs. Plus, the Warrior Diet is one way to integrate IF into your diet, but again, you'd have to follow up on some of the provided resources to know that. Sounding off without further investigation is all too easy.
James, this may work for a small percentage of people, however it will not work for a very large population of the people that frequent this website. If it's not working for the majority of professional athletes, then it is not likely to help the average mountain biker.
Instead of something like this that is an alternative, it may be more beneficial to the athletes on this site to get an idea of exact things to eat that are not processed foods and refined carbs. What vitamins and minerals does the body need, and what foods do we need to eat to get these? Do true organic foods help? What brands are good? Thanks for your help, and keep up the good work.
All sorts of good things can happen when you fast, you fast every night when you sleep. Does extending the fast a few hours suddenly turn you into a muscle and performance wasting mess?
I ask because I know the "nutrition party line", I espoused it for years and still do. However, there are some big questions about the attitude towards any sort of hunger or fasting period and I don't think that anyone can say that eating every 2-3 hours is the one and only way.
And yes, what you eat plays a bigger role but for some, not eating during the day limits their chances to make bad decisions. Eating at night when you are most likely to be at home means that you will be in the most controlled environment possible. For some this may trump anything else. As fat loss and performance training expert Alwyn Cosgrove says "psychology trumps physiology".
1: The scientific sign-off. If we didn't wait for 'science to sign-off' on certain ideas in any field, fitness or otherwise it could be potentially dangerous for the individual or a group, like Dr. Burzyinski's claims about antineoplastin therapy in cancer treatment. In fitness simply going with a new idea before the science chimes in could be potentially dangerous, or it could simply turn out to be a waste of time. Even if time is all we lose, considering how little we have it's usually best to focus on what we know works well, and wait until new information comes out that has withstood the rigours of science. Until then it can only be considered speculative.
2: Anecdotes. This is a small point, but it's an important one. People are easily fooled into believing they are being effected in ways that they aren't, confirmation bias means we can ignore conflicting evidence and focus on reinforcing evidence. It's why witness testimonies in court are generally avoided, they simply aren't reliable, and even less so when they may be influenced intentionally or not, to act one way or the other.
4. Where is the science?, When I looked into your supplied articles as well the only good link I found (that did not have a monetary incentive behind it) was wikipedia, which only had links to papers dealing with increased life span on animals who underwent IF. This is far from scientific backing, this is very preliminary work and is not an indication of efficacy in humans. If it was we would never do clinical trials on people, we would approve treatments immediately after animal studies.
If you feel I'm being unfair, I honestly don't care if IF works or not. If it works, I'll try it, if it doesn't, nothing lost. All I care about is what the facts are, not who said them or if they agree with my ideology or not. Simple as that.
www.mayoclinic.com/health/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/MY00431
www.mayoclinic.com/health/fitness/MY00396
www.mayoclinic.com/health/metabolism/WT00006
www.mayoclinic.com/health/weight-control/MY01628
This warrior diet is not based in science and could be dangerous.
1) Many scientific studies show that strength training dos not improve cycling performance, yet you are following a strength training program for mountain biking. You seem willing to try stuff based on mere speculation, which is good in my opinion.
2) People are easily fooled - look at SportsLegs (ha ha ha). Anyways, a lot of drug studies show that the placebo was only slightly less effective than the actual drug, yet the drug still got approved. The placebo effect is very strong and very real, however it is not a reason to dismiss the results or else you'd throw out studies that showed the sugar pill acting like the actual drug.
Read the book Sugar Nation for a spine chilling look at exactly how "pure" the science behind our food recommendations are. The biggest donors to nutritional science are the grain and cereal companies, do you really think that they are going to fund studies that might contradict the party line of eating grains from breakfast to dinner? The science showing that diet and exercise can help control diabetes is lacking, not becuase it doesn't work but because the funds aren't there. To assume that science is "purer" or somehow has their hands less dirty than the commercial sector is laughable.
I appreciate your quest for the truth and I would never want anyone to take me just at my word. However, your professors have enamored you with the scientific process without being honest with you about the dark side of it.
Lastly, I'm not sure what monetary links I posted. Ori's site is free and so is the special report from JB. Just becuase they make money from selling stuff of their sites isn't wrong. I do have an affiliate account with Dragon Door so I would get a small % of Purposeful Primitive sales but if you think that I would post something just to make money then you shouldn't believe anything I write. Just because someone makes money off of something doesn't make it wrong. The dudes in the lab coats aren't working for free...
Sportslegs (not familiar with the case) sounds like a complete failure of good scientific protocol. Any good clinical study involves a large sample size, with double-blinding (both the patients and technicians are unaware if the patient is receiving placebo or the actual drug) and a control group being in use. This type of study would have proven it to be either as effective as placebo or more effective. I can't say anything about the study, but a quick search of the FDA database did not return any results. The closest thing I found was that it is considered safe by the FDA, but that does not mean that the FDA believes it to be effective, and being a supplement does not have to be FDA approved to be sold in the US.
I haven't seen positive or negative studies regarding strength training in cycling, but science does show increased muscle strength, reaction and endurance almost always improve athletic performance, therefore I can safely say that strength training makes sense, and also because I know I am not physically strong enough to compete and ride at the level I need to. I would be highly suspect of any study that went so far against what is considered to be scientific fact, although I am willing to review them to discover why they came to such conclusions. There may be limiting factors or possibly bad technique used.
I'd love to see where you have the idea that the science behind diet and exercise assisting in the treatment of diabetes is lacking, the current medical consensus is that a controlled diet and exercise are very beneficial, but not curative of the conditions. If you hit the point of being diagnosed with diabetes, it's essentially permanent. Sadly, the damage is very difficult to reverse but it is treatable and most diabetics can live a relatively normal life.
However with everything in Bodybuilding you have to do what works for you, IF works for some but not for others. For me it takes some getting used to, but when it comes to cutting it is the best. But no diet is magic, you need to be hitting your daily intake for calories (+ or - about 500 depending on whether your cutting or bulking) and hitting your macros (protein/carbs/fats), and this has to happen whether your doing IF or a standard diet.
ArmyFork, I know that we disagree on different levels of healthcare, specifically evidence based opposed to alternative medicine. You are obviously very smart and potentially could make a positive impact in the science and/or healthcare system. Get some real life experience in your field that you're passionate about, and you will see firsthand the flaws in the modern scientific method because of how these experiments are funded. I mean this as a complement, no disrespect for sure.
phycoref, bodybuilding is one of the most self-destructive things that one can do. Be extremely careful of the "science" that is involved in it. You're breaking down all of the joints that true strength training builds. I wish you the best, but be careful!
Thanks for compliment as well, I'm currently in a 2 year engineering program but I'm moving onto a four year degree, with plans to go into medical school (I have trouble choosing what I want to do, everything fascinates me). I'm hoping with that I can then get further into medical science so I can help promote better methods of treatment and help people avoid harmful practices, and hopefully move into the research side of medicine.
Science will always be a double edged sword and it is only dangerous when people don't realize that it is. One of my best friends is a paleontologist and a hard-core "science guy" and we have had this discussion many times. It always comes back to the fact that you can't argue with good science but a lot of it gets misrepresented by scientists who fail to add on the all-important "this is what we think" to the end of their statements. Far too often things are presented as fact by the scientific community when they know perfectly well that is not the case.
Thanks again for the great discussion, look forward to doing it again...
I'm fine with it because I'm a weird person, liking other weird persons, living in denial, hating corporations, PC and marketing brochures. But more "normal" people might not like it James, that's all I'm saying...
And whatever you say it is a pretty radical idea - and misused can sabotage someones "training". It's easier to misuse something less obvious than something more "main stream".
I don't have a ph. D., but I feel that this needed to be said... BTW thanks for posting information like this, James!
1. i am always hungry when i wake up (even if i stuffed my face before bed)
2. i REALLY like to eat
3. i eat big dinners anyway
Didn't work for me. Fuzzy brain, starving. I like to eat.
Here's how I get by: I am old and my body wants/needs to get fat. If I want to lean out a bit I might fast 1 or 2 days a week, 24-30 hours at a time depending on when I get my meals on either end. If I'm eating a lot and training hard, I hardly even notice.
Then back to eating lots and riding a lot on the other side.
It was the only way I could get really lean last year. 6'2" 185 or so.
Now i'm post shoulder surgery and I've ballooned up to over 200 pounds. Hehehe.
I would too but not every day
Intersting way to eat, I think it works on some levels but I no that If I have a sweet breakfast in the morning I'm so much better off all day long
www.leangains.com/2010/10/top-ten-fasting-myths-debunked.html
I have followed IF for about 2 years now and it´s a really easy and practical way to eat.
And there is tons of info and studies 'bout it. And it's not something new and unbelievable.
Just stay open minded with dietary stuff and try things out that seem to make sense to you. You might find that one thing or another makes a significant difference, and there is definitely a reason why there are soooooooooooooooooo many different diet ideas out there for everyone's varying daily work patterns.
and that most of the improvements to longevity in modern times have been due to medical care, sanitation and availability of food & water.
www.anth.ucsb.edu/faculty/gurven/papers/GurvenKaplan2007pdr.pdf
Please go back to posting your usual basic physiotherapy stuff, some of it is good.