T Nation

Berardi Cheat Meal Timing

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

I recently went to a 6 hour John Berardi presentation on nutrition in Victoria BC Candada.

Before everyone flames me for my question and ideas (because i know this site is full of Berardi lovers), i totally agreed with everything Berardi said… except this one thing:

At the presentation, Berardi stated that if you have a client that MUST have a cheat meal, to have the client eat it as a post workout meal. Now i know that cheat meals are bad no matter what time,
i’m not defending that, i AM however puzzled at the time Berardi recommended the cheat meal. He claims that post workout your metabolism will deal with foods (even cheat foods) much better since you have just worked out. This makes sense to me, not arguing that. What i AM concerned about is the approach taken on this subject. Berardi is claiming that if you MUST eat a cookie and chips every day, have it as your post workout meal. Why? Because you body is in such a state that it will handle junk foods better post workout.

So here’s my question.

Would it not be better to eat a nutrient dense, high protein, high carb meal post workout, and eat the cookie and chips in the morning? I KNOW that your body would not handle the cookie and chips as well as it would post workout, but it is my belief that a nutrient dense post workout meal is a MUST. It seems to me that Berardi’s logic has an approach of PREVENTING unwanted body composition changes, whereas my approach encourages PROMOTION of desired body composition changes.

Remember, i understand that cheat meals are always bad… this situation would only be for a client that MUST have a cheat meal everyday for whatever reason.

I’m not nearly as educated in Berardi in this field, so i’m completely open to the possibility that everything i’ve questioned is wrong. However, everything i’ve ever read always underlines the importance of a nutrient dense post workout meal.

puts on flame suit

Opinions?

#2

FLAMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

#3

thank goodness i’m wearing my suit. I am an impenetrable force.

#4

Maybe Berardi will weigh in here, but I don’t think he is advocating that you eat cookies and chips everyday as a PWO meal.

His “rule” is 90% adherance to the mealplan, which basically means you get no more than 2-3 missed/cheat meals a week.

I have heard that Berardi will eat a good amount of pizza and wash it down with some beer after training on fridays. That’s his cheat, and I doubt he does it any further than that.

What makes sense to me is that if you have ONE cheat meal a week then eating a sleeve of cookies and washing it down with a couple protein shakes during the post-workout window isn’t too terrible.

#5

I know that Berardi isn’t ADVISING people to eat cheat meals post workout. He was advising people to eat cheat meals post workout if they HAD to eat them.

And yes, i agree thats not a terrible idea… i’m just thinkign that it would be a BETTER idea to have a nutrient dense meal PWO and have your cheat meal in the morning…

Hopefully all my points are clarified now.

#6

[quote]reidgower wrote:
I know that Berardi isn’t ADVISING people to eat cheat meals post workout. He was advising people to eat cheat meals post workout if they HAD to eat them.

And yes, i agree thats not a terrible idea… i’m just thinkign that it would be a BETTER idea to have a nutrient dense meal PWO and have your cheat meal in the morning…

Hopefully all my points are clarified now.[/quote]

I actually do not agree with you. Having a cheat meal in the morning, or outside of the peri-workout window, is not a good idea for lots of reasons (insulin spiking at the wrong time is number 1). Solid PWO nutrition is important, so there is nothing saying you can’t eat a solid meal with your cheat food, unless your cheat food is an entire pizza.

#7

Well, i’m certainly not an expert either, but actually i’m inclined to agree.
It seems to make more sense to have a cheat meal in the morning than after a workout.

It seems logical that the best time to eat a “cheat” meal is when your body is in it’s most catabolic state; when most of what you’re eating will be used to replenish glycogen stores and not turned into fat.

Now i guess it would depend on when you are at your most catabolic state. After working out for 1 or 2 hours or after not eating for 8+ hours?

I’ve always held the belief (and suggested to others) that if you want a cheat food…cookie, whatever, have it in the morning.

Of course i could be completely wrong.

#8

i think Berardi’s suggestion to have your cheat meal post-workout has to do with your bodies carb tolerance. the same reason for the “‘other’ carbs PW only” rule. so if your cheat meal is going to be full of less-than-optimal carbs (which most are) it would make sense to eat it post-workout when your carb tolerance is better