Berardi and Carbs - JP Fitness Forums

John M Berardi · 09-05-2006, 12:15 PM

Hey All,

After JP told me about the forum changes, I decided to pop over to say hello.

After reading some threads, it appears that there's some confusion re: my carbohydrate recommendations - and somehow that's turning some folks off to my nutrition advice.

Not, I really don't mind if people disagree with my advice. But they should first understand it before beginning to disagree. So I figured I'd post my thoughts on carbs:

1) The research is 100%, crystal clear. Regardless of your body type, whether you're a diabetic, or whether you're lean and healthy - your ability to handle carbs - any carbs - is MUCH improved during and after exercise.

CLEAR MESSAGE: Your carb tolerance is best during and after exercise. Therefore, that's the best time to eat your carbs.

AUXILLARY MESSAGE: It may be best to eat the bulk of your carbs during and after exercise vs any other time during the day.

2) Depending on your body type, your carb tolerance is different and your strategy should be different. This is all covered in the Individualization Manual in Precision Nutrition.

Here's the synopsis.

A) CARB TOLERANT INDIVIDUALS: If you are the very carb tolerant type, you can get away with more high carb/starchy carb foods outside the workout window. This means you can get away with more carbs throughout the day. You should, of course, still get MORE of your carbs during/post workout than any other time of the day. But, as I said, you can still get away with carbs other times.

Be sure, though, that as your carbs increase, your fats drop. A good range for this type of individual would be 55% carbs, 30% protein, and 15% fat.

B) MODERATE CARB TOLERANCE: If you have moderate carb tolerance, you should likely minimize high carb/starchy carb foods outside the workout window - except, perhaps, after an overnight fast (breakfast). This means you'd try eating some higher carb/starchy carb foods in the AM as well as during/post exercise. The rest of the meals consist of veggie carbs (plus proteins and fats).

This type of person would have a zone-type macro breakdown - 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat.

C) POOR CARB TOLERANCE: And if you're not very carb tolerant, your best bet is to avoid all high carb/starchy carb foods outside the workout window (yes, even during breakfast). This means only veggies outside the workout window (plus good proteins and fats).

This type of person would be on a fairly low carb diet (25% carbs, 35% protein, and 40% fat).

Of course, all of this depends on your goals. The rules above are great for weight gain (assuming kcals are high enough), maintenance, and even moderate weight loss/shifting body comp. However, for radical fat loss, there's a different approach.

3) I'll be adding another manual to PN in the near future detailing how you can know your type and how you can plan your diet for your type.

You see, for all PN customers, our forum contains add-on manuals that provide goal-specific and more fine-tuned recommendations for specific situations. This body-type specific manual is coming soon and will be added to our other great PN add-ons.

Now, a quick note for those of you who think this is "too complicated" or whatever - I encourage you to open your mind. Both myself and world reknowned strength coach Charles Poliquin have come to similar conclusions independently that confirm the above. By applying this system above, we've been able to alter people's physiques quite amazingly.

Sure, good eating for a slightly above average physique can consist of just plain ol' clean eating (eliminating sugars, adding good fats, eating better proteins, more F&V). And that's a good start for most folks. However, for those with stubborn physiques - or for those who want their physiques to transcend the norm, this info above will point you in the right direction.

Even if you're a beginner, why not start doing some of the things above - early on? Remember,good nutrition is a habit. So why not start the habit of eating right for your body type in the beginning? This way you won't have to change habits twice!

ZachL · 09-05-2006, 12:31 PM

Wow, well written post there. Its great having experts like you in the forums. I will definitely look for your article on determining your type. Until then, I guess I'll just keep doing what I've been doing (moderate tolerance approach)

OldGuy · 09-05-2006, 12:50 PM

Good stuff, JB. Thanks.

Lisa~ · 09-05-2006, 01:12 PM

JB, so great to have you here! PN is a fantastic product and I wholeheartedly agree with you.

TrainingGirl · 09-05-2006, 02:37 PM

Awesome. Great to see the breakdown among different types of people. I am a carb tolerant individual and need my carbs. Now I know exactly where to quote when people tell me to cut my carbs!

ShannonB · 09-05-2006, 03:17 PM

Interesting article, makes sense. Glad to see something pro-carb (to oversimplify, of course).

John M Berardi · 09-05-2006, 03:37 PM

No problem - thanks for the welcome.

And re: carbs - just remember, folks, it's all in the response.

You're not carb tolerant, no matter how much you love your oatmeal, if you're around your calorie maintenance figure (and mean annual body weight) and are carrying alot of body fat...

By following the guidelines above, you should be able to maintain 10-12% (for men) and 17-19% (for women) pretty much year-round unless you're bulking up or cutting down.

JoshDunn · 09-05-2006, 04:17 PM

Thanks John,

I've followed the 7 habits and then bought PN but am only finally "getting" it.

Must be slower then everyone else.

Once its all worked out i have no worries.

Great to see you over here as well.

BFG · 09-05-2006, 04:23 PM

Must admit John your carb stance has always been a big turn off for me.

Am interested on your view point on carb tolerance. Do you have any stats as to the percentage of the population that are carb intolerant and to what degree? I just see at the moment this mass hysteria in the US to carbs as though they were terrorist or something!

Only got a B in your new food test as half the things on the good sources of fats I wouldnt touch with a barge poll! And quinoa seems as expensive as saphron in the UK!!!

John M Berardi · 09-05-2006, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BFG

Must admit John your carb stance has always been a big turn off for me.

Am interested on your view point on carb tolerance. Do you have any stats as to the percentage of the population that are carb intolerant and to what degree? I just see at the moment this mass hysteria in the US to carbs as though they were terrorist or something!

Only got a B in your new food test as half the things on the good sources of fats I wouldnt touch with a barge poll! And quinoa seems as expensive as saphron in the UK!!!

Well, you won't find me hating on the carbs. However, physiology is physiology, and there are better times to eat carbs vs. others. Plus, there are better physiologies for tolerating carbs vs. others.

I'm compiling stats right now for my upcoming manual so I'll get you the data when it's done. However, the picture will be murky since "carb tolerance" isn't something that's often measured - and there are no aggregate group of measures that defines it - yet. The best we can do now is look to diabetes stats and pre-diabetic states. Insulin sensitivity is a good marker of carb tolerance - although not a perfect one.

As far as the fats, not really sure what you mean? Which do you consider a problem?

John M Berardi · 09-05-2006, 04:45 PM

Ok all, gotta roll - I should start putting together my presentation for the LA Strength Seminar in LA next weekend!

For those attending, see ya there! For those not, you're missin' out!

And for those interested in asking more questions, pop over to the member's only Precision Nutrition forums. Picking up a copy of PN will get you in (lifetime access), with full access to all the dialogues, advice, free manual add-ons, and other cool stuff that's coming down the pipe. Here's the link:

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/system.html

BFG · 09-05-2006, 04:52 PM

sorry missed ya there was writing a message.

I tend to be of th elower fat spectrum on a cut, going for max density minimal cals, but more within what is deemed to be acceptable levels on a bulk

Cheers for the offer on stats will be some interesting reading as not something that is really that well discussed in the UK when I search

RobLL · 09-05-2006, 06:21 PM

While I have low carbed for four years my fasting blood sugar hangs right around 100. Dr. says I am not at this time diabetic, did the other tests, glucose challenge, and A1c- both OK. But I had a session with retinaopathy, which can, unusual, be the first presentation of diabetes. I take all of this to mean I should continue low carb, and that I am in the poor carb tolerance group.

goldwave84 · 09-13-2006, 06:26 AM

JB (or anyone else)
If I have poor carb tolerance, then I should not be eating my oat meal at bfast right?

goldwave84 · 09-14-2006, 05:45 AM

Cynic · 09-14-2006, 07:23 AM

Goldwave, did you get PN yet? Did you get an e-mail from him? He runs his own forum, so you're best off asking over there.

But I say, if you have a low metabolism and poor carb tolerance, you'll need to cut back pretty hard.

goldwave84 · 09-14-2006, 07:59 AM

Yes, I do post there too. Looks like a massive cutting plan then.