Entries by Ori Hofmekler

Question: I love the idea of a "diet" being more of a lifestyle. I like the idea of the warrior lifestyle, and have done it before. My problem is not losing body fat when I am on it, but I know why (food choices). My biggest problem before I start it seriously is the whole idea of "starvation mode". I have always struggled with the fear of losing hard-earned muscle. I guess I have played right into the hands of those who oppose this type of eating style. Can you give me the low down on this starvation mode? Will your body go into starvation mode in a few hours or does it take days, and does starvation mode really exist?

The so-called "starvation mode" is one of the most misleading concepts among mainstream nutritionists. The idea that the body shifts into a starvation mode after a few hours of fasting is preposterous. If this concept were true, the human species would not have survived the primordial conditions that existed thousands of years ago. The truth is quite the opposite. When food intake is low the body will try to compensate for the lack of food by triggering an anabolic mechanism that inhibits protein breakdown in the active muscles while recycling protein from old tissues, broken muscle fibers, and damaged or sick cells into new tissues. There is growing evidence that humans can substantially benefit from periodic fasting and surprisingly rejuvenate tissues. Protein utilization in the muscle, after fasting or undereating, increases by twofold. In the Warrior Diet and the Anti-Estrogenic Diet, we take advantage of this survival mechanism via our recovery meal plan, and thus maximize protein utilization for muscular development - after exercise, as well as after the main nightly meal. Note that the cycle of undereating and overeating is critically important. Chronic or prolonged fasting (over 24 hours), as well as chronic low calorie diets, may cause adverse symptoms of a metabolic shutdown.

Generally speaking, scientists and science have shown clearly that when you undereat, the brain exercises exactly like a muscle exercises. Brain-derived growth factors are triggered and new brain cells are produced by stem cells. Tissue recycling - a controversial issue - occurs. Nonetheless, scientific thinking is dogmatic. They postulate:

"If this is the Prediction then let us start isolating diet elements. Let us isolate the calorie intake alone. Let us then analyze the exercise element alone. Then let us combine the overall diet element and the overall calorie intake element. After that, let us examine the exercise elements and see how the two - exercise and diet - interact."

I contend that these sub-elements cannot and should not be separated. For example, a person adhering to the principle of intermittent fasting, as outlined in the Warrior Diet, should under-eat during the day followed by night eating. After a period of time they will find that appetite and food consumption, their choice of foods, even their taste preferences, will change. This usually manifests within five to six weeks. If you follow this eating cycle for a protracted period, you will eat differently and crave different foods. You will naturally develop a taste for foods at the bottom of the food chain. Your appetite and preferences will morph and become different. You literally will undergo a transformation in habits and tastes.

According to Dr. Mark Mattson, a leading researcher on intermittent fasting, participants who follow a one meal per day cycle have shown a natural tendency to reach a full sense of satiety on a lower calorie intake than the fixed calorie intake requirements imposed in studies. This skews results: instead of letting the participants follow their natural instinct, to eat less and feel full faster rather than observe how a one-meal-per-day approach naturally morphs caloric intake downward, participants are force-fed. They had to keep eating, against their will, to comply with the study's fixed calorie intake terms and precepts. With all due respect, it will take years before researchers realize how things really work in real life. There are so many variable and complexities, various elements are intertwined. There is the feeding cycle element, the food/fuel element, the calorie intake element, the exercise element - there are changes in food availability, and don't forget the gender element! It will take scientists, using classical analysis, forever to analyze and dissect these findings. Perhaps in the distant future science will come to the conclusions what we already know to be true! We already have so much empirical evidence, so much real life experiences (just check out our online Forum), that one can only hope that science will eventually catch up.

Chewing parsley instead of tobacco will soon be the next big thing (but without the spitting).

Feel exhausted from work and clogged by too much coffee? Craving for something…but don't know what it is? Maybe all you need is to chew parsley and notice how your brain is taking off instead of folding down.

Parsley is the world's most popular herb. It has been used traditionally as a natural diuretic, as a detoxifying agent to the kidneys, and as a natural breath freshener. Nonetheless, unknowingly to many, parsley is also a member of the elite superfood group – with pound-for-pound the most dense and bioavailable nutritional content among plant foods. Parsley delivers more Vitamin C than oranges, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin A, folic acid, potassium and calcium than any other green leafy vegetable. Most importantly, parsley is one of the greatest carriers of some of the most potent anti-carcinogenic and antioxidant nutrients, most notable among them are monoterpene glycosides – known as cancer killers; methyl donors that nourish and protect gene integrity; flavonoids, known as antioxidant and hormonal balancing immuno supportive agents; coumarins, which help prevent blood clotting, arterial blockages and strokes; and polyacetylenes, the most efficient bio-electrical conductors believed to potentially support healing and protect against formation of cancer cells.

It's impossible to put a label on parsley. Its unique nutritional composition is so dense and bioavailable that simply said, it will pick up your brain within minutes. The parsley fix routine is simple: Chew a handful of parsley leaves every few hours. Friends who have been using the parsley fix have reported a notable increase in energy levels and overall resilience to fatigue and stress. Parsley will refresh your breath and nourish your brain. Warrior Diet & AEDiet followers can take advantage of the parsley fix during the undereating phase. Once you start it, most likely you won't stop. The more you do this parsley fix, the better it gets. Parsley can be packed in a paper bag or a Ziploc and can be easily carried to work or when on the road. Based on my own experience, parsley sustains itself pretty well for a few days, even in warm outdoor conditions.

Here is a reposting of a question posed after Thursday's Blog on Tactical Nutrition for Intense Prolonged Drills, along with my response. I figured many would benefit from this posting.

Question:

I strength train 4 days a week, on an empty stomach, and follow the recovery meal schedule. I play basketball for about 2 hours, with little rest between games. My pre-workout meal is typically fruit or nuts. I used to drink Gatorade during, but after I read your article about cortisol, I stopped and drink only water. What a difference! I finish with Gatorade (which I probably should not). I noticed within an hour I get woozy and feel like eating anything in site. Why is that?

My response:

If you train your body to shift from carb fuel to fat fuel, over time your body will gain the ability to shift gears without hitting the wall. Saying that, I recommend for those engaged in prolonged drills (over an hour) to have a light pre-exercise meal, either oatmeal or preferably a high quality low glycemic protein shake.

I use the Warrior Diet Meal Replacement 1 hr – 30 min before my training. It nourishes the body without spiking insulin and helps sustain performance for a prolonged period of time.

What you're experiencing now is most likely a hypoglycemic reaction (low blood sugar) because your body is still depending exclusively on carb fuel. This condition should be avoided. Having Gatorade may cause more collateral damage in the long run. When you take away sugar from a "sugar addict", there will be withdrawal symptoms such as a hypoglycemic reaction, with dizziness, fatigue often involving a headache and craving for sweets. Avoid pre-exercise sugar if you can. The size of pre-exercise meals is also important – I take about 4 tbsp. of Warrior Diet Meal Replacement with water and ice until reaching a thick ice cream consistency. It tastes like a real ice cream and gives you a "sugar kick" without having any sugar added. Sometimes I like to mix the Meal Replacement with Warrior Whey in a 2/1 ratio. It tastes slightly less sweet but still creamy and with a higher content of amino acid. Some of my friends like to add a tbsp. of Warrior Rice to the mixture. In any case, 4 -5 tbsp. of this low glycemic meal replacement is highly effective in supporting the body's nutritional demand without spiking blood sugar, and therefore can be the best option for a pre-exercise meal and also as a safe protein snack at any time of the day to help prevent hypoglycemic reaction during exercise or while following prolonged undereating.

I've been asked what is the right nutrition plan in cases of being engaged in prolonged intense drills such as during training camps (boxing or marshal art), long conditioning sessions involving strength and endurance, triathlons, long distance biking, strength conditioning involving split routines as well as military, firemen or law enforcement drills. In all these cases the main goal is to nourish the body in a way that maximizes its capacity to resist fatigue and recuperate. The key for reaching this goal is proper applications of functional meals that keep the body in a fight or flight mode and at the same time supports the neural, hormonal and muscular systems for a long lasting performance.

There are two kinds of functional meals: pre-workout meals and post-workout recovery meals. In order to be effective, each functional meal must be designed to fit the body's specific biological needs before and after physical exercise. Since I've already addressed the topic of recovery meals and how to take advantage of the biological window of opportunity right after exercise to maximize muscular growth and recuperation, there is no need to repeat myself and cover this very topic again. Nonetheless, it's important to note that when it comes down to prolonged physical drills, the size of the meal and its nutritional composition is critically important.

Let's start with pre-workout meals. A pre-workout meal must be fast assimilated and easily digested. It should be also low glycemic to avoid an insulin spike and hypoglycemia later on. For an endurance athlete, a bowl of oatmeal an hour before exercise is fine, but there are better functional meals than oatmeal, for that matter. Ideally a pre-exercise meal should provide the body with all essential amino acids, together with other cofactors including immunosupportive and insulin stabilizing nutrients. Obviously, a pre-exercise meal should be all natural and low glycemic. A high quality chemical-free low glycemic protein shake can do the job. A combination of amino acids, together with hormonal supportive and immunosupportive nutrients, help support the neural, hormonal and muscular systems during the upcoming drill, and thus can be more effective than just carbs coming from oatmeal or other grains.

As for post-exercise recovery meals, the plan is a bit tricky. The first post-exercise meal should provide fast assimilating proteins, cofactors and optimum amounts of slow releasing carbs. Carbs are necessary to immediately inhibit muscle breakdown and also for the finalization of IGF1 and G1+ actions in the working muscle. Now here comes the tricky element: the second and third recovery meals should be low glycemic, if possible sugar free to avoid insulin resistance, hypoglycemia and undesirable fat gain. Therefore, the second and third recovery meals should be made with minimum carbs and should be incorporated after the initial recovery meal, every one to two hours, or during breaks between training sessions.

Following is my personal regime:

Pre-exercise meal: Warrior Diet Meal Replacement – No Sugar Added – 4 tbsp – 1 serving.

Post-exercise recovery meals:
1st recovery: Warrior Milk mixed with Warrior Whey 1/1 – all together 4 heaping tbsp. An hour later:
2nd recovery: Warrior Meal Replacement (No Sugar Added) mixed with Warrior Whey – 3/1 – 4 heaping tbsp all together. An hour later:
3rd recovery: Same as 2nd recovery meal.

Note: If the drill lasts for the whole day, I would increase the gap between the recovery meals from one hour to two hours and if needed, add another recovery meal, i.e. four meals instead of three.

Related article: Recovery Meals - The Key for Maximizing Muscle Gain