If you want to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve performance, then it makes sense to go to the experts who have done it for themselves and thousands of customers. In nutrition, Dr. John Berardi is one of the experts worth listening to. Dr. Berardi is an experienced bodybuilder and university professor, and he has provided us with his top 20 superfoods we need to eat.
I ask John about nutrition whenever I can because he knows a lot about what is arguably the most important part of the fat loss equation: nutrition.
CB: Do you suggest any superfoods that you think absolutely should be in everyone’s diet for health and wellness reasons?
JB:
Here are 20 superfoods that I believe are essential to any nutrition plan.
1) Lean red meat (93% lean, top round, brown sirloin)
2) salmon
3) Omega 3 Eggs
4) Low-fat plain yogurt (lactose-free, if you can find it)
5) Supplemental protein (milk protein isolate or rice protein concentrate if you have milk protein intolerance/allergy)
6) Spinach
7) Tomatoes
8) Cruciferous vegetables
9) Mixed Berries
10) oranges
11) Mixed Beans
12) Quinoa
13) Whole Wheat Oats
14) Mixed Nuts
15) Lawyers
16) Olive oil
17) Fish Oil
18) Flax seeds (ground)
19) green tea
20) Liquid Recovery Drinks
If you eat a few servings of each of these foods each week, you’ll be pretty close to that healthy eating intersection I keep talking about.
CB: That’s great John. I want all my readers to go through this superfood checklist and then put these foods on their shopping lists as soon as possible.
Now, speaking of metabolism: what ratio of carbohydrates, fats and proteins is the best for fat loss or is it something that needs to be addressed individually?
JB:
It really needs to be tackled individually. You see, after working with thousands of clients, I discovered that there is no single approach to gaining muscle or losing fat. There are different body types and each type requires a different prescription. For the sake of simplicity here, I will divide people into 3 types:
*Body Type #1 – The Skinny Bastard – The Skinny Bastard is often characterized as having a “fast metabolism”.
*Body Type #2 – The Fat Bastard – The Fat Bastard is often characterized as having a “slow metabolism”.
*Body Type #3 – The Plain Ol’ Bastard – Everyone’s envy. He is the type to easily gain muscle while staying lean. He grows and shrinks in proportion.
Okay, so these definitions might not quite get to Webster, but they do create a nice distinction between individuals. Now, you might be thinking that these distinctions are not always obvious. And you would be right. For most students these distinctions are quite clear. However, with proper training and nutrition, drug use, or surgery, the line can sometimes become blurred.
Drug use and surgery aside, if you don’t know what kind of individual you are, you need to find out what that person would look like with the training stimulus removed.
If the person ended up very skinny, not looking like they bothered to exercise, then they’re a skinny bastard. If they end up really fat, looking thick but very chubby/thick, then they’re a fat bastard. And if the person still looks like he works out, albeit a little worse than now, then he’s just plain bastard.
You see, the most important thing is not how you look today, but how you would look if you didn’t train.
CB: So what does each type require?
JB:
I am generally hesitant to prescribe percentages and grams of macronutrients to clients; After all, isn’t it my job to make things easy for them?
So instead of putting them in the middle of a macronutrient minefield, I keep it simple by translating all those calories and macronutrients into foods they can eat. As an old teacher of mine used to say, “We don’t eat calories, we don’t eat protein, we don’t eat carbs, and we don’t eat fat. People eat food; apples and chicken breasts!”
So my nutrition prescriptions involve recommending different food options at different times of the day. It makes it really simple for the customer. No calculator or advanced math skills required.
CB: What about the nutritionists reading this? How would you recommend that you train your clients with the 3 different body types?
JB:
body type no. Tip #1: The Skinny Bastard – Generally requires a higher calorie and higher carb diet (compared to the other types) when it comes to fat loss. Crash diets, in this group, lead to a large loss of lean mass. These people can lose weight simply by increasing their energy expenditure (usually through lower-intensity cardiovascular work, so as not to stress their already overactive sympathetic nervous system) and cleaning up their diets. These body types can generally lose weight on a diet that is 50% carbohydrates, 20% protein, and 30% fat. Anyway, that’s pretty much what a self-selected nutritional intake would look like. That is why it is quite easy for these people to lose weight.
Body Type #2 – The Fat Bastard – Typically requires a low-calorie diet that prioritizes protein and fat intake while keeping carbs relatively low. When combined with more high-intensity exercise sessions (perhaps 5 weight training sessions, 3 interval sessions, and 2 low-intensity cardio sessions) per week, a 30% carbohydrate, 35% protein, 35% fat diet Fat works pretty well in this group, as long as you pay attention to nutrient timing.
Body Type #3: The Ordinary Bastard – You don’t usually have to lose fat, you bastards! However, when they do, they can usually do so with a combination of the previous two approaches: the fat bastard’s exercise prescription and the skinny bastard’s nutrition prescription.
CB: What about this nutrient timing concept you mentioned?
JB:
Good nutrient timing strategies are based on the fact that the body better handles different types of food at different times of the day. One of the most important nutrient timing strategies dictates that you eat most of your carbohydrates other than fruits and vegetables during and after exercise. This rule is especially important for our fat bastards upstairs. If you haven’t finished exercising, cut out pasta, breads, rice, etc. and walk away from the table.