Knowing Vs. Doing—Nutritional Coaching With Dr. John Berardi

He seems smart but his sleeves are clearly too long and his soul patch is entirely too small

Ha, Ryan! That's the first time anyone's criticized my soul patch (and my sleeves). Usually folks go after me for my nutrition advice. But, either way, I hope you enjoyed the videos and maybe learned something along the way. I'll have a few new articles appearing in the CFJ in the coming months.

Hey John,
FYI not all doctors "tell" their patients what to do and expect them to be ok with it....at least I dont! Liked the videos and read Nutrient Timing few years back and loved it. I have an ex-phys background so def loved the physiology and the evidence based approach.
I'm a resident @ Univ of Alabama in Birmingham in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, in the coming years I'll be trying to put together research project and in this field of exercise physiology / metabolic adaptations and what not and would love to bounce ideas off you or Ivy....If you have time shoot me an email, thanks marklejason997@gmail.com Cheers -J

This is a great set of videos, I particuly like the body type points Dr. John made. I've known of his work for some time so it was great to see him talk about his methods even before i started crossfit. I hope there are more videos to come. :)

Sorry, should have read like this:

This is a great set of videos, I particularly like the body type points Dr. John made. I've known of his work for some time even before i started crossfit so it was great to see him talk about his methods. I hope there are more videos to come. :)

Hey John! I enjoyed the video and like your approach for weight loss, but I would like to see something geared more for performance nutrition. Like, how does timing and amount tie into adding more weight to a squat or make you faster.

Great Videos, John!

I purchased Complete Nutrition a while back and this really helps refresh things and put everything in a simpler framework... Definitely have to pass these videos along to all my current members... Keep them coming!

Based on comments, I take it no one is having errors trying to download the videos. My issues must be local to my PC/server.

Would like to see a lot more videos from Dr. Berardi. I will echo the sentiment that it would be great to hear more about CrossFit specific nutrition. (Perhaps he could try CrossFit for some set amount of time and then come up with some feedback?) Either way thanks for the informative and educational video from someone who clearly knows their stuff about nutrition!

I'm with Mark definitely want to see more of John in the journals!...

I learned all my nutritional knowledge from his course with ISSA. He is a primary author in the specialist in nutrition course with ISSA; the course goes in depth with all of his training methods and reasoning behind it. Highly recommend serious crossfitters to check the course out.

Great to see your contributions to the CFJ JB, it will be great to have some evidence based "flexibility" built into CrossFit's very biased nutrition model to this point.

Patience....no doubt more info on performance nutrition is to come. And Mark my guess is that JB will be talking far more about "individual specific nutrition" rather than "CrossFit specific nutrition". I look forward to finding out.

Hi Dr. John, I would love to hear your thoughts on both weight loss and performance nutrition for Crossfitters specifically. Would you be willing to try Crossfit for 3 months to identify personally with our lifestyle??

John is a bright guy and I am glad HQ has opted to have him here.

Thanks for the great feedback, everyone.

Quick comment -- two folks asked if I'd be interested in trying CrossFit to identify with the training and lifestyle.

I should mention there's a CF affiliate in my hometown and that I've trained there several times. In addition, I've done many WODs. And visited/worked out at several CF locations.

[Nowadays, I'm competing in masters level track and field - 100m and 200m sprints. So my training is very "sport-specific" if you want to call it that.]

You'll also be happy to know I'm attending a Level 1 Certification session next month in Toronto to get a better feel for the training CF coaches go through.

So, at this point, I definitely identify with CF training methods. And think I have a good grasp of the nutrition/recovery requirements.

@Jason: good to hear you're one of the docs who works in conjunction with your patients (rather than just telling them what to do)! As far as upcoming projects, drop our team a line at info@precisionutrition.com. When you're ready to kick-start your research ideas, we'll have a chat.

Also, to everyone asking about more "performance nutrition," especially as it applies to CF, that's something I can definitely work on.

In the coming weeks we're hoping to run an article about intermittent fasting and one on calorie cycling. Maybe the next one after that will be a performance nutrition piece.

John,

I've got to say, after watching these two videos and reading the Q&A in a previous CFJ, I feel like I finally found someone whose nutritional philosophy I completely agree with! I love the moderate "no one thing works for everyone" mentality. It's like a breath of fresh air.

BTW, if you had the chance to do it all over again, is there anything you would have done differently regarding your academic background? Just looking for some advice for those of us who have a similar passion for a deeper understanding of how things work :)

@Josh: no regrets on my part...the path I took lead me to where I am. (And I love where I am and what I do). Who knows what might have happened if I did even just one thing differently?

John,
What are your thoughts on the "eating for your type", blood type / geno type diet? I have had some pretty serious allergic reactions to some protein drinks that contain whey and casein protein. When I started "eating for my type" it helped me identify some foods that I was allergic to while other foods it says to stay away from seen to have no affect.

I am about 4 chapters in to the PN certification. I should be a bit farther but the scientific nature of the beginning of this course is causing me to take time to review and digest the material a bit more. I highly recommend it to all CF trainers as it will absolutely make you better at your craft. I don't remember any of my collegiate health and nutrition courses being anywhere near this comprehensive. Not that the various CF certifications are lesser quality but the PN certification is actually less expensive and infinitely more comprehensive than a 2 day seminar. I already am adapting my nutrition coaching based on what I have learned. It should be high on your list the next time you have some extra money burning a hole in your pocket.

Chris Bonner
Guardian CrossFit

Great videos, John! I have a question for you....How do you suggest/recommend diet guidelines for a pregnant or breast feeding athlete? I have managed 9 months of CF training (scaled, of course) and have kept my weight gain on the low side but as I approach delievery I am ready to attack WODs once again, with a slow but increased intensity approach. I'd really like to hear what you have to say in regards to this particular area....it's amazing to me just how many questions I get asked! Thanks!

@Michael: I think if it's working for you (which would mean you're getting healthier, more fit, and performing better), then I like it. Keep it up. That's what we're after from a training/nutrition plan, right?

Chris, thanks for the feedback. I appreciate you taking the time to share your opinion about the Precision Nutrition Certification program. For those interested in learning more about it, here's a link: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/products/certification

@Jennifer: great question and one close to my heart as my wife and I have a 1 and 1/2 year old at home and another little one on the way.

Here's an article with my wife's story: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/amanda-interview.

I also wrote articles on pregnancy nutrition and exercise here. Nutrition: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-to-eat-during-pregnancy and Exercise: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/exercise-during-pregnancy

@Jennifer: good question, and one near to my heart as my wife and I have a 1 and 1/2 year old at home and another on the way. Here's her story, with some interesting tips: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/amanda-interview

@Jennifer: here's an article I wrote on nutrition during pregnancy/nursing: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/what-to-eat-during-pregnancy

@Jennifer: and here's one on training during pregnancy: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/exercise-during-pregnancy

Dr. Berardi,

Loving the videos! They are spot-on and make total sense. I've been having to find these things out through trial and error, and it's so cool to hear it from a PHD.
1 Question: You were talking about making your biggest meal after the workout and then making them smaller and smaller until your next workout. What about breakfast? After fasting for 8+ hours, shouldn't the body get a pretty decent meal so you're ready for the coming WOD?
Thanks
Bryan

Wow! Ask and you shall receive! Thanks John. It looks like I'm on the right course, I've gained 27 lbs and I'm 4 weeks shy of my due date. It seems that with my diet (following the Paleo diet), refusing glucose tests, working out with olympic lifts and circuit training (CF style), has all baffled a majority of the medical community I've had to deal with during my pregnancy. It's almost as if they don't know how to help me. I find it rather amusing! I hope that I too can be at or near my pre pregnancy weight very soon after birth as your wife did. I would LOVE to be back in the gym a week after as well but I do realize we are all different. Again, great information! Thank you very much. You have a beautiful wife and little girl!

Dr. Berardi,
Glad to see you on the CFJ. I'm looking forward to more articles from you. I own the PN program and would highly recommend it.

@Bryan: Breakfast is an individual thing. And, interestingly, although it's become a fitness industry mantra that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day", that's overblown. Many people skip breakfast altogether and have great results. To your question, no, you don't need a big pre-workout breakfast. If you fuel appropriately after your workout (as I discussed in the videos), you'll have PLENTY of stored energy for your workouts. No worries, there.

@Jennifer: it sounds like you're doing great. (And yes, the medical community generally treats pregnant women a little too gingerly, in my opinion). In our situation, my wife's lucky as she has me to argue with the docs :-). (Actually, our doc is awesome and says as long as she continues to be healthy, keep going with what we're doing). Good luck with your delivery, hope you have a speedy recovery!

Fantastic video and great information!

This is a great video. My only concern is that I don't know that I believe that if a person eats less and exercises more they will lose weight. For two years I've seen several different endocinologists and had about every test known to man/woman and no one can seem to tell me why I can't seem to lose weight.

I've brought literally, "years" of food journals and exercise logs to prove what I'm doing and still nothing. I was told that I was allergic to food by an allergy doctor and other doctors said don't worry about. I cut specific foods out and no luck. I've run half marathons, done crossfit for three months now as well as other exercise plans and lifting routines and nothing seems to budge me.

So, IMO, I don't think it is always the case. I wonder if a specific plan for me is what I need.

@Kathleen: thanks for the feedback and the question.

To clarify, in MOST people, eat less (as long as it's the right stuff) and exercise more (as long as you're properly recovering) DOES work. I assure you of that. My team works with 6,000 clients every year and the vast majority sees exactly this.

However, there IS a small group of people - usually women - for whom this advice is - not incorrect - but incomplete. You see, sometimes eating too much less and exercising too much more can actually cause hormone and biochemical shifts that interfere with energy metabolism and - ultimately - your ability to lose weight/fat. It's fascinating (and frustrating).

The next step for you, if you really want to get this area covered, is to work with a very well-trained and experienced coach. Someone who has a health care team available to troubleshoot with you.

Thank you Dr. Berardi, I can assure, this has been the MOST frustrating thing I have ever dealt with. When I KNOW I'm eating better than most people and exercising and nothing is happening. When doctors can't figure things out and disagree with each other, give tests and nothing happens it makes me want to just give up. I just know that inside I have to be better than what it shows on the outside.
If I contact someone at PN would that be a place to start? I live in a small town and a dietician couldn't help me either.
I would love to finally look as good as I know I should and I'm sure just feel better mentally.

Thanks, John! Good stuff.

What about those of us who can't gain weight (ectomorphs)? Eat fast to 110% fullness as much as possible with a 2000 kcal meal post workout? Your advice (high carb/mod protein/mod fat) works great for me. If I drop carbs I waste away.

Quick question: Generally high quality carbs have high fiber and greater satiety than crap carbs so crap carbs are easier to eat a bunch of. What do you recommend to ectomorphs when it comes to balancing quantity with quality? Any recommendations for gainer foods? The only thing that put weight on me was GOMAD, but I have quickly lost most of the 20 lbs I gained with it.
Thanks,
Chris

So glad to see you hear JB! I've followed your work/blog for a while now. I too have recently applied IF to my lifestyle..seen great results. I also love that you're bringing back the importance of the calorie..so many people in the "Paleo Camp" seem to overlook that.
BTW: You are great at public speaking:)

Great videos. Keep them coming please

John, I'd love an article on performance nutrition, too! I've been trying to wrap my brain around trying to get stronger while losing weight. I finally resigned myself to meeting my strength goals, THEN trying to lose weight. My New Year's resolution this past year was to get to 10-12% bodyfat, but it hasn't happened. I'm 25% according to the body pod and 15% according to the Polar calipers. Paleo and BioSignature didn't do anything to help :-/. I'd love something that touches on losing weight without moving to sucksville in CrossFit :D

Great videos.

Looking forward to a performance nutrition piece. I am sure the community is interested in the type/amount/timing for CF'ers who do multiple WODs per day.

JB,

You address the people that workout in the Am and those who workout after work but what strategy would you suggest for those who work out later in the night. I workout three times a week after dinner and the kiddies are put to sleep, usually around 9pm after that I don't eat anything as it's right before bed. Two days a week I train bjj from 6-8pm and don't eat dinner until 9pm.

Should I be eating a small snack for dinner and then eat AFTER I workout? Is eating dinner after bjj ok? Since I'm an endomorph should I eat low carb in both these situations or should these be the only meals with carbs that I eat?

@Kathleen: yes, I think you'd be a great candidate for our next Lean Eating coaching program. It starts in January. Here's the link: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/products/consultation-coaching/lean-eating-for-women

@Chris: I think you'd learn a TON from our Scrawny to Brawny coaching program. If you want, start here at this link: http://www.precisionnutrition.com/6-scrawny-mistakes. And if you like what you read, you can check out the S2B program.

@Antonio: IMO, the post-workout period is the MOST IMPORTANT time to feed of the day. So, you'd want to eat your largest meal of the day after an intense workout, regardless of when it happens.

That's why, for you, I'd save up dinner for after the workout. Maybe have a small meal with the family. Then your biggest of the day after training. Hope that helps.

@Antonio: as far as the carbs, it's something to play around with. I like carb cycling for someone like you, which I'll be talking more about in an upcoming article in the CFJ.

Dr. Berardi: My issue is that I've been on a moderate daily dose of prednisone for about two decades now and will need to maintain this indefinitely for a serious autoimmune disease. As a result, I have had a very difficult time losing weight despite dedicated workouts and following the advice of nutritionists/diet docs.

Have you had clients on prednisone who have successfully lost weight? It's quite frustrating. The program you linked for Kathleen looks intriguing.

Thanks!

I'm not sure what I was expecting from you John as I have never heard you speak but was pleasantly surprised that's for sure. Your information certainly makes sense (I'm a very fast eater, so there's one thing for me to change right there) but just the whole presentation was easy to listen to and informative.

Its a tough crowd here on the CF boards with regards to nutrition because most of us are educated and interested in it, so to come on here and have a lot of support says alot about you.

Look forward to hearing more from you.

Cheers

@Heather: I know how frustrating that can be - although it sounds like your autoimmune condition is being managed and that's great news. As far as working with clients on prednisone, you bet. We have and they've had success. (Of course, as you mention, it's a little slower going. But it's not impossible.)

@Aaron: thanks, I appreciate the feedback. And I very much appreciate the warm reception around here. I'd been warned that the CF community wasn't kind to nutrition folks (especially new ones). But the two pieces I've been involved in (these videos and a previous interview) were VERY well-received. And everyone's been extremely welcoming and cool. So I'm really happy about that and looking forward to participating more.

Perhaps others have already said it, but my guess is you have "killed" your metabolism with years of low calorie consumption. Many, many women suffer from the same thing and literally can't lose weight on 1,500 cals per day. What I do with these women is put them on a true aggressive bodybuilding plan and up their caloric intake substantially. My goal is to "reset" their BMR to something more akin to what it was prior to all of the b.s. After I feel that has occurred we then keep up with the hypertrophy work and gradually cut calories again and normally the weight begins to come off like it should without ever having to go ridiculously low on calories again.

It is nice to see someone who does not feel the need to take "sides" in the dietary program wars. For some time now I have been coming to a belief that there is no "universal diet" that is best for everybody, only diets that are best suited for the individual.

@Chris, thanks for the comments. I agree sometimes with that thought. When I cut out the allergy foods (eggs, wheat, rye, soy, milk, oats) I believe I just had so few choices that I struggled with that and continued a high activity level. After I was told to retroduce those foods I think it helped but now I'm stuck again. It was strange as I put the scale away for three months and just logged food and exercised. After three months, 3.2 lbs weight loss but 16 inches. Now, I'm stuck again. Last month, .25 inches loss and one pound of weight gain.

@Chris and Kathleen: interesting discussion. Funny enough, Chris, we do something quite different in our coaching program. You see, I'm a firm believer in coaxing the system to recovery through parasympathetic activity and the management of physiological stress.

If you haven't read the book "Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers" I highly encourage you to do so, and to think about the implications of chronic glucocorticoid secretion on every system of the body. Especially in women. And how physiological stress can create this problem Kathleen describes.

Plus, consider how stress recovery techniques might prove more useful than a higher volume training + high calorie approach.

Don't get me wrong, both may work in the mid-term. However, in the long term I like to see women pursue what we call "deep health" - that includes body comp and performance but ALSO extends into psycho-physiological health.

I have been following John for years now and glad to see him contribute his expertise to the CF community.

Dr. Berardi. I really appreciated the videos. I have some practical things to try. I am most impressed by your taking the time to respond to people's posts. That says volumes about what kind of person you are. I hope CF keeps the good stuff coming from you.. Can't wait to hear from you again.

Dr. Berardi,
I signed up on the waiting list for the Lean Eating for Women in Januar of 2012. I'm hopeful that I can participate. I'm so determined to figure out what to do to help myself.
I'm going to order the book you suggested too because it's "funny" you mention stress. I've had other people suggest that could be a contributor too. The last few years have been above stressful and then just the brain part of why can't I seem to lose weight when I do what I'm supposed to do. I even had an endocrinologist look at my food journals and exercise journal and just "give up". They ran cortisol tests to see how my body handled that and he gave me the "magic pill" Meridia. Which, by the way, I took faithfully (lol) and that didn't work, plus two months later the FDA pulled it. (Additional stressor) I honestly, don't think I could exercise more. At the peak I was riding my bike 40-50 miles per week. Training for a half marathon and crossfiting two times per week. Why, I just love being active. I want to do things and participate in life.
I'm very hopeful I can partipate in your program and thank you for your kindess and attention in this discussion as well as others that have chimed in. Knowing other people want to help and support helps alot.

@Kathleen: can't wait to work with you in January!

John

I have been looking at your Lean Eating Program and I am really tempted to give it a go. However, I have a question I hope you can answer before I stick my name on the waiting list.

Reading the program summery would lead me to believe that the program is highly prescriptive (I guess that is the whole point). However, is the program so prescriptive that I would have to stop my Crossfit style training for a more bodybuilding style for the duration of the program?

Thanks

John, sounds interesting. I will check it out. You know, in truth, the holistic approach is pretty much always the best.

@Ben: we'd love to have you in the program come January.

As far as your question, the program is prescriptive. However, yes, there is flexibility.

Of course, we generally recommend our clients follow the Lean Eating exercise prescription as we outline it. That's because we designed it to fit perfectly with the nutrition recommendations. And those who do usually end up with the best results.

Now, we have had plenty of clients doing alternative programs (CrossFit included) and achieving great success. So you can certainly join and continue to do CrossFit workouts.

The key is to work with your coach. Our coaches are awesome and they can help modify your program so that you can still get what you want out of the program (fat loss, better health, better performance) while still enjoying the workouts you're doing.

John, first I want to thank you for being so active in Comments here; Chris Mason, commenting above, has also been an extremely active contributor and commenter, for which many users like myself are grateful.

Second, perhaps you could help me reconcile two statements you made that seem to conflict in my understanding of your lecture. You recommend most ectomorphs consume greater CHO than average, a statement I took to be focused on body composition, as seemed to be the subject of this particular lecture. Then you mention that it should be no surprise that the majority of the endurance community eats this way. Isn't that community essentially gunning for the opposite effect of, let's say, adding significant muscle mass? I appreciate any effort to clean up that mess in my brain! Great lecture, looking forward to seeing/reading more.

Excellent video! Would love to hear more on the behavioral sciences and some tools you use with clients to change their limiting beliefs.

@Daniel: thanks for the feedback.

As far as your question, in general, my body-type recommendations are for positive changes in body composition (lean/fat ratio), health, energy levels and performance. So, for these goals, ectos would eat higher carb/low fat, mesos would eat moderate carb and fat, endos would eat higher fat/low carb.

Training itself (and food volume) drives the other adaptations. For example strength training plus a calorie surplus would drive body weight and muscle increases. And endurance training plus eating in calorie balance would drive endurance-related adaptations.

So, you see, ectos still eat like ectos, mesos still eat like mesos, and endos still eat like endos. The amount of food and the type of training determines how the body adapts to those nutrients.

Hope that helps.

@Jeffrey: if you're a fitness professional/coach, I think you'd really benefit from this free 5-day video course for fitness pros. In it, I share some very useful coaching strategies/behavioral strategies.

Check it out:
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/course-for-fitness-professionals

I'm very appreciative of the videos and am looking forward to those coming up next.

I have had success with the paleo approach, but that won't work for my vegetarian family members who struggle with weight, strength, and stamina issues.

I hope that as I begin to follow your work, I will find recommendations for crossfitting vegetarians......

Many thanks!

JB,

Thanks for the videos. Your AT&T analysis (food Amount, Type & Timing) makes simple sense and will find it's way onto the boards at CrossFit Southside. It is refreshing to hear nutrition guidance that is broad, general and inclusive. Blends well with what we teach inside the gym.

I think that the best takeaway from the videos is to ask your athletes how likely they are to follow X or Y prescription.

We periodically run nutrition challenges in the gym, and the more options we have the more people choose to participate AND complete with challenge. We've tried to crow-bar people into Zone challenges, and Paleo challenges, but the the most engagement we get is asking people to pick SOMETHING and roll with it. The "pimp my own nutrition" program seems to work best, especially since individual goals vary so much.

Also, the reading list provided is outstanding. I highly recommend "Influencer", "Switch" and "Crucial Conversations". I am also presently reading The Power of Less, and will pick up the other two on Kindle this weekend. For CrossFit coaches, or anyone who cares about relationships and influencing change, this list is a home run.

Thanks again...and looking forward to the next round of videos.

As if the reading list was not enough...I highly recommend "Influencer: The Power to Change Anything" by Patterson to anyone really interested in change literature.

John,
Thank you so much for the videos. I recently found out that I am insulin-resistant and have a hard time with blood sugar control, but am not yet (and don't plan to be) diabetic. I also have an under-active thyroid which requires quite a bit of medication. I teach a Zumba class twice a week and have recently added Crossfit as well to increase my lean muscle mass, as I have the classic insulin-resistant figure of lean legs and arms with too much fat in the middle. The first two times I tried Crossfit I had hypoglycemia where I had blurred vision, etc., after eating what I thought was a decent carb/protein mix before the workout. For three weeks now I only have eggs with spinich, tomatoes, and feta for breakfast before my workout, no other carbs, and I seem to be doing much better. You mentioned that Type 2 diabetics have more normal blood sugar responses for about 90 minutes post-workout. Does this apply to insulin-resistant folks like me as well? I am now taking a post-workout shake right after Crossfit and then lunch about an hour later. Again, thank you, and I'm going to check out the link about the January women's program.

John is too modest to mention it, but he is the author (with two of his colleagues) of a free e-book on intermittent fasting that was published a week ago and has already gone viral with more than 35,000 views.

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/intermittent-fasting

Thanks for sharing that, Daniel. For those interested in more, definitely check out the book. Also,in the coming weeks, we'll be doing a short article on intermittent fasting here in the CFJ. If you have questions in the meantime, definitely check out the book.

@Annemarie: insulin resistance (as properly diagnosed by a physician, you were diagnosed, correct?) is pretty much the same thing as type 2 diabetes. So, the same nutrition and training strategies work for both. I'm hoping you find your way to the Lean Eating program in January as I know it'll be a huge help in getting your body where you want it to be, and to helping control that blood sugar.

Dr. Berardi,

I am checking out your Intro to Nutrition Coaching videos, which are awesome by the way, and on day 3 you recommend starting level 1's off on 1 gram of fish oil for every 1% body fat they have each day. My question is what is the limit on the amount of fish oil a day that a person should take? Seems like it would be a lot of fish oil for them to be taking every day, and not to mention that it'd be expensive too.

Nicely done JB!

I came across PN and CF around the same time about 4 years ago and together they are a superior match. It is wonderful to see that there is finally a platform for this.

Looking forward to the upcoming articles and information. Thank you! ~j

@Richard: For new fat loss clients, we recommend 1g of fish oil per % body fat up to 30%. So, if someone's over 30% fat, they'd just get 30g. Under 30%, however, we match their intake to body fat %. 10% fat people get 10g. 20% fat people get 20g. And so on.

The ideal delivery system is liquid (2 tbsp is 30g) and the price isn't bad in liquid form. Also keep in mind we recommend this for 2 WEEKS ONLY. After that, the dose cuts in half.

Hope that helps.

I added my wife and I to the Lean Eating waiting list as well, and I'm excited about the possibility! The site says that you're developing a program for athletes, too. Do you think we CrossFitters might be a better fit in that since CrossFit is typically high intensity? You mention that those who follow your exercise programming have the best results, and that makes sense, but I CrossFit because I really enjoy the work and community here in Fresno. I just don't want to hi-jack my own results!

Do you worry about the concentrations of EPA/DHA and trying to get say 30g of EPA/DHA, or just 30 grams of any old fish oil?

@James: that's great, I look forward to having you in the program.

As far as the athlete program, that would be for professional athletes and Olympians. I'd consider most CrossFitters (myself too) recreational. And Lean Eating is perfect for that.

As far as continuing to do CrossFit, in conjunction with your coach I'm sure we'll be able to come up with the perfect mix. We're flexible and reasonable people over at Precision Nutrition. And we strive to help you reach your goals while also continuing to have fun.

@Richard: no, we don't worry about EPA and DHA. With the high dose intake (1g per % body fat) we just count total grams of oil. So, all liquid fish oils contain 5g of oil per teaspoon and 15g per tablespoon. That's all you need to count.

John,

Awesome! Just awesome. Looking for some more free advice in the future. Speaking of free advice...My girlfriend gets night sweats. Is there any correlation to the size or carb content of the evening meal to this? We eat pretty Paleo/low glycemic, we workout in the evenings, and our large meal is 2-3 hours prior to bed.

Josh

@Josh: night sweats can be caused by a host of things. See this link: http://www.medicinenet.com/night_sweats/article.htm. If they're concerning to you and your girlfriend, seeing a doc for a complete evaluation is a good next step.

CrossFit is great, but it amazes me how many CrossFitters, despite our enlightenment designed community full of new ideas and open minds, it amazes me how many CrossFitters still believe that we need drugs. If we are talking health, we cannot even mention drugs unless it is how to get off of them. Because drugs are an unhealthy mechanism that causes addiction and side-effects and kills everyone who takes them, 100% of the time, some slower than others. Healthcare is a industry designed to make money and it kills people. CrossFit, for me, is the exact opposite of healthcare and you never need drugs. Using drugs to get healthier is an insane concept, equivalent to sitting on the couch to try to run faster or sleeping on your textbook to learn new information.

Great stuff, as usual John. I've enjoyed reading/following you since the old T-Mag days. As a current PN subscriber, I wanted to also thank you for helping a relative of mine. She was overweight and in her 50's. I recommended the PN website to her but, never in my life, would've expected her to follow up. She's gone through quite a transformation after joining the personal coaching program, losing around 40 pounds(at last check). just wanted to say thanks. great to see you on the Crossfit Journal.

Been spending a fair amount of time with the Precision Nutrition site and the free videos. Very impressed with the organization and attention to detail that have gone into your program. Consider me a follower and I hope to be a part of the Certification program in March!!! Thanks for everything...

@Eric: that's music to my ears! Thanks for the feedback.

@Colin: would love to have you as part of the PN Cert next March. I know you'll get a lot out of it.

Good stuff John. Cya in Phoenix.

JB, impressive, and dead on wrt to the business we're in being change psychology. Surprised you didn't mention Tony Robbins' work in the reading list - do you have a reason why not?

From the vids to the work you describe to the interaction here with CF, impressive, thanks.

John- I enjoyed your videos and appreciate your "neutral" position on some of the more dogmatic diet programs.

Is there any peer reviewed research that supports your position on food types for different body types?"

Thanks.

@Paul: I think Tony Robbins' work is great but I haven't followed it for a very long time. The books I cite are representative of a broad scope of ideas in change psychology. And, of course, can form a jumping off point for much more exploration. As we used to say in grad school: sometimes we just read research articles for the reference list at the end.

@Robert: there are a few papers suggesting different hormonal profiles in each of the somatotypes. And from there I've done lots of experimentation in my coaching practice. (We've worked with nearly 100,000 clients in over 100 countries).

Unfortunately, however, this area isn't ever going to be well enough funded to be definitive.

(As someone who's been involved in nutrition/exercise research for 20 years, I have to say many of the most interesting fitness/performance questions will never be answered by peer-reviewed studies. These studies require grants and funding to be done properly. And the government isn't handing money out for these sorts of interests. As we say, these ideas are un-fund-able.)

Thanks John.

It is too bad there isn't more investment made in answering some of the questions that could do "the greatest good for the greatest number."

Question, Im an exercise Physiology student, I cant wrap my head around a high carb diet. I can see it working for some based on energy expenditure, but doesn't hyperglycemia lead to diabetes, and a multitude of other problems. So it might work for weight loss but what about overall health. Any information would be great. Thanks.

This is just another example of why I love the CrossFit Journal! Thanks for sharing this information.

Great speaker, great info, great logic! Awesome video!

Hi John,

Thanks for the vid! Great info.
I'm an ectomorph, and was using your scrawny-to-brawny book before starting CrossFit. Once I actually implemented the changes in the book I jumped from 73kg to 85kg in three months :D Enter CrossFit and paleo style nutrition and while my strength and general fitness has skyrocketed (e.g. deadlift went from 110kg to 170kg over the year since I started) I lost all that muscle mass! So if you're after ideas for more journal articles I for one would love to hear your thoughts on how the ectomorph can best implement the CrossFit/paleo-ish lifestyle..

Hey John,

Just saw the two videos and felt compelled to thank you for it. You really expressed exactly what was going through my head for the last few months. I'm 25, studied sports science in Austria and started to train people as a PT in February. What I realized through my experience with my clients, was the same you discussed at the start. It's soo important that you understand the psychology thats driving the process of change. So since I realized this I'm constantly looking for good books and even think about doing another masters degree in psyhotherapy.
Thanks for you book recommendations. Looking forward to reeding them!!

What is your take on Gary Taubes? His writing says that Calories-In/Calories-Out don't really make much of a difference when it comes to body fat maintenance. He has a lot of compelling evidence for this.

I would like to see a video on the Journal of John and Gary talking similar to the series with Dr. Romanov, Louie Simmons, and Glassman.

Thoughts?

Great video, answered the exact question I had about nutrient timing and what type of exercise requires which type of nutrients. Looking forward to buying the book.

Dr. Berardi, Love your video on nutrition. I downloaded part 1 and part 2 and watched; they are so good, but where are the rest to the videos since the two parts do not contain the full episode. ? Please advice.