Thanks for all the posts guys. I am glad you all tried to help even california law. I have decided not to do the consultation, but still think that Berardi is a great source to learn from. If you guys have anymore advice please let me know.
Dude,
If you’ve got too much cash then do the consult. Its all relative to your income. I would only pay that amount if someone was going to help me get out of some serious pain. If its just for getting bigger and stronger I wouldn’t bother.
you are not fat you would look cracked out if you cut.
[quote]matt_t2004 wrote:
Thanks for all the posts guys. I am glad you all tried to help even california law. I have decided not to do the consultation, but still think that Berardi is a great source to learn from. If you guys have anymore advice please let me know.[/quote]
As others have said, buy the precision nutrition program. You’re obviously willing to spend the money and it covers what you need (including a sample meal plan).
This is a good discussion and highlights some important points.
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Phone consultations are for specific, individualized advice. If you’re not yet using sound, general principles, you should start with that.
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There’s a difference between cost and value. Cost is how much you pay. Value is how much you get. A $200 call could be completely worthless for you or it could be the best money you spend all year. It depends on what you do with the advice given on the call.
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Many folks hire consultants rather than spending hours reading articles because they want a higher level of certainty, a higher level of individualization, and want to cut straight to the “what to do” part of the process.
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There’s something to be said for specialization. If I’m hungry, I pay a farmer to grow my food and a grocer to sell it to me. If my car breaks down, I pay a mechanic to fix it. If the electrical wiring in my house needs upgrading, I pay an electician to do it.
I’m not a farmer, a grocer, a mechanic or an electrician. Nor do I want to be. So I earn my money doing my specialty and I pay other experts to help me with the stuff I don’t know alot about.
So, in the end, if your nutrition is generally good, you’re following the Precision Nutrition habits, and still aren’t accomplishing your goals, you might have some gaps in knowledge or a few “nutritional blind spots.” In which case, an objective expert eye can help.
If your nutrition isn’t in the right ballpark, something like Precision Nutrition is probably better for you.
By the way, here’s some feedback from someone who’s actually done a phone consult with me…It was posted by one Dragon Door.com
After the third week of the velocity diet, I’m down another pound to 210 and another 1/2 inch from my stomach. Thus weight has gone from 223 to 210 and waist from 43 inches to 40.5 inches. I am pushing harder on the weightlifting and my strength continues to grow.
The week was a bit frustrating with weight loss. For a few days my weight actually went up, which I assume is a factor of water retention after my one weekly meal. But the inches continuing to come off my gut are rewarding.
One week to go and I plan to finish the four weeks. It is easier, but it’s still one day at a time. I have zero cravings for any food and I am never hungry except if I stretch out the time period between shakes too far.
I have realized my energy is a lot lower and that I do need more sleep with such low calorie intake.
My heart rate was elevated the first week. That has not recurred. I assume that my body has adapted to the HOT-ROX Extreme.
I’m starting to plan the transition off the diet. I purchased Precision Nutrition and a consultation with Dr. Berardi. The consultation with Berardi is not cheap - $200 - but was incredibly beneficial.
He requests a detailed narrative of prescriptions, supplements, diet, s&c, lifestyle, habits, etc. He scheduled the call within the week. The call was yesterday.
He first went through every prescription I took and we discussed how it might affect weight and s&c. We explored how I might work with my doctor to experiment on whether I might try to wean myself to a lower dose or off the prescription through proper nutrition. We had a detailed discussion of prostrate issues, testosterone and estrogen. He encouraged me to have my blood tested and to experiment with different strategies. He is very big on testing different strategies and monitoring results to see if one gets results.
We then proceeded to lifestyle and how I should fit proper diet and s&C into the demands of my work and family life. Very practical advice. He had read my narrative carefully and was fully focused on the issues that I might face in my life.
We then discussed transition off the velocity diet. We first discussed the diet and how I had been responding and he gave me some great insights. He accepts “radical” diets as something that can be done every once in a while to jolt the body. He does his “get shredded” diet once every two years.
His basic suggestion on transition was following PN (at its core, 5-6 meals of lean protein, fruits and veggies) with low and high carbohydrate days so as to avoid glycogen restoration to the liver. He suggested having fewer high carbohydrate days during the transition and gradually moving to a balance, which I should find through experimentation. We then thought through the finer points of what that might mean for me in terms of my lifestyle, etc, and what strategies I might use as I travel frequently and my schedule is often taken up by situations in which I am not in control.
We then discussed supplements. Given my goals, he for the most part did not encourage s&c supplements as he is a strong believer in the sufficiency of nutrition on a good diet. He did encourage 18 fish oil capsules a day (30% concentration).
We then discussed s&c. Given my goals, he essentially said I needed 5 hours or more a week, with 2 days of muscle destruction (weightlifting) to increase strength and boost metabolism (repairing the muscle), 2 days
of interval training (different type of muscle destruction) and 2 days of slow cardio. We discussed variations on this and what might be involved with each type of activity.
We then talked about ultimate goals for bodyweight and body fat percentages. His PN provides a detailed caliper procedure for body fat. Interestingly, he was reluctant to recommend end goals. He encouraged me to experiment to see what works and what doesn’t and what happens faster and slower. He talked about a reasonable range of goals for me, but encouraged me more to focus on the here and now.
He then told me that I can continue to stay in touch with him through his forums, which one gets access to through buying PN. The forums are an incredibly rich resource that discuss and offer articles on all the issues above and many more in detail.
He is an incredible consultant. He listened, responded to my issues and did not deliver any canned speeches. He answered every question I asked thoughtfully and in the detail I requested. He is humble with his knowledge and not dogmatic. He was very much focused on me and on the details of my life rather than on some ideal. He placed responsibility on me to experiment, monitor and adjust. He recommended a number of books on specific issues I asked about.
I would recommend the consultation to anyone. Like anything else, I’d recommend that you get more out of it the more you put in. I read his articles and PN and many of the relevant forum discussions before speaking with him. All in all, a great experience from which I hope to benefit for many years.
Pete
Keep in mind that all of the advice I shared with this individual was based on his own unique professional, medical, and physiological needs.
Also, I should point out that we’re no longer taking phone consults. My travel schedule and other professional demands prohibit it.
So I’m not weighing on this discussion to try to sell something. I’m weighing in to give another perspective on the process of hiring experts for phone consults and for other consulting services.
I would purchase his book Percision Nutrition. Its $100 and has a wealth of information.
I will say this one thing about nutrition though. I honestly believe nutrition is more important than anything else when training. When you have your nutrition dialed, you can make extremely quick gains. When you are all over the place, so will your performance.
I honestly believe you can’t out train your nutrition. So if you are struggling in building a program, than I would buy his book and see if you can adhere to any of his principles.
If you are already confident about nutrition and looking for specific questions answered that you somehow can’t get answered on this site I would then have the phone call with him.
[quote]John M Berardi wrote:
Also, I should point out that we’re no longer taking phone consults. My travel schedule and other professional demands prohibit it.
So I’m not weighing on this discussion to try to sell something. I’m weighing in to give another perspective on the process of hiring experts for phone consults and for other consulting services.[/quote]
John, seeing how you are no longer taking phone consultation, and can now be perceived as giving an unbiased opinion, at what point do you think someone needs a phone consultation?
Do you look at it from an opportunity cost point of view and ignore at which stage an athlete is at? Vice versa? Something entirely different?
Who would benefit more from PN over a phone consult?
Thanks
[quote]John M Berardi wrote:
This is a good discussion and highlights some important points.
-
Phone consultations are for specific, individualized advice. If you’re not yet using sound, general principles, you should start with that.
-
There’s a difference between cost and value. Cost is how much you pay. Value is how much you get. A $200 call could be completely worthless for you or it could be the best money you spend all year. It depends on what you do with the advice given on the call.
-
Many folks hire consultants rather than spending hours reading articles because they want a higher level of certainty, a higher level of individualization, and want to cut straight to the “what to do” part of the process.
-
There’s something to be said for specialization. If I’m hungry, I pay a farmer to grow my food and a grocer to sell it to me. If my car breaks down, I pay a mechanic to fix it. If the electrical wiring in my house needs upgrading, I pay an electician to do it.
I’m not a farmer, a grocer, a mechanic or an electrician. Nor do I want to be. So I earn my money doing my specialty and I pay other experts to help me with the stuff I don’t know alot about.
So, in the end, if your nutrition is generally good, you’re following the Precision Nutrition habits, and still aren’t accomplishing your goals, you might have some gaps in knowledge or a few “nutritional blind spots.” In which case, an objective expert eye can help.
If your nutrition isn’t in the right ballpark, something like Precision Nutrition is probably better for you.
[/quote]
JB,
Please ignore the questions in my last post. I opened the thread, went straight to the second page and didn’t see that you had already answered my questions.
[quote]matt_t2004 wrote:
Thanks for all the posts guys. I am glad you all tried to help even california law. I have decided not to do the consultation, but still think that Berardi is a great source to learn from. If you guys have anymore advice please let me know.[/quote]
Dude, there is no shame in being confused or ignorant. I am confused and ignorant about many things.
As many others have said, buy Precision Nutrition. I haven’t read it, but I have heard nothing but good things about it - including good things from people who aren’t fanboys. (There are a lot of fanboys, so be careful when you ask for recommendations; as some people think everything is the “best eva”.)
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
five-twelve wrote:
I would purchase his book Percision Nutrition. Its $100 and has a wealth of information.
I’m sure it’s a fine book. But before I laid out any money I’d scan the net, starting with T-Nation. I bet you’d find just about everything the guy has ever written for free in one afternoon.
But if you have 100 bucks that you don’t know what to do with…
[/quote]
I’d agree that you might be able to find much of Dr. Berardi’s general philosophies right here on T-Nation.
That being said, the forums that you get access to for buying PN are very good, and all of the extras that you get access to (very cool interviews, other tools, etc.) are worth the cost IMO.
Not to mention it is all together in one place and in print and can be accessed without a computer.
Thank you Dr. Berardi for contributing to the thread. I am going to be buy the PN book as I was already looking at it before this thread. I am thankful for everyone’s input.
[quote]matt_t2004 wrote:
Thank you Dr. Berardi for contributing to the thread. I am going to be buy the PN book as I was already looking at it before this thread. I am thankful for everyone’s input.[/quote]
Use that extra $100 dollars you would have spent on a collegiate level nutrition text book and a diet analysis software.
Once you figure out how to put all 3 to good use, you will understand.
I am surprised at how many of you denigrate paying for learning. Most professionals spend several thousands of dollars a year in continuing education. I have gladly spent $1,200 on a three-day seminar (on more than one occasion!) It was some of the best money I have ever spent and has lead to my making more money.
Moreover, I spent this money when I was not making very much at all. IOW, I spent the money when I could least afford it because I knew it would lead to more money. (I also have many student loans; but the money I have spent on my education has given me incredible freedom and opportunity.)
Money spent is an investment in yourself. You can put money in an IRA, 401k, property, and in yourself.
I am far from a Berardi fanboy, and have mentioned before that I think he overhypes some things. But his book is universally understood as being top quality.
For $100 someone can educate himself. Someone can learn principles that will help him accomplish his goals. How is that not worth $100?
How many people spend $100 on video games, coffee, or supplements?
I am simply speechless that so many of you consider $100 to be anything other than a wise investment.
If the guy is broke, that’s one thing. I’m not saying he should put the book on a high-interest rate credit card. But if he can afford it, why shouldn’t he buy it?
The OP clearly needs educated. (And this is not an insult; it’s just a fact.) He can spend some money and learn what he needs to further his goals. How much better would his life be if he simply spent $100?
The OP has also stated that he wants to work in the fitness industry. If he read Precision Nutrition and really learned the principles, could he start applying those principles to other people - charging them for it?
I do not want to start sounding like Ryan Lee and his ilk; as they all make me vomit in my mouth. But many of you need to stop thinking about what things cost, and start looking at the value you will get from spending your money.
How many clients would you need to have paying you to make a return on your investment? In a good year, my 401k gets 15-20%. If I wanted to train people, I could charge them (in my market), 70-90 an hour. Would spending $100 help me learn more such that I could charge more people for my services?
Of course. The $100 the OP spends could very easily lead to ten times a return on his investment. If you guys are making 1000% in your IRAs, please put me in touch with your money managers!
Again, I am not saying you should go buy all the shit products Ryan Lee is selling. But if a quality product exists, the money spent is a wise investment.
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
…if a quality product exists, the money spent is a wise investment.
That would depend on whom the buyer is and how much the product costs. In the case of the op I think his 100 bucks might be better spent elsewhere.
[/quote]
I find this an odd comment when you don’t even own the product.
(Based on the fact that above, you said, “I’m sure it’s a fine product and all…”)
So, in other words, how are you qualified to make this assessment without owning it…
Not trying to be argumentative…just want to know where the certainty about the product comes from.
[quote]Mick28 wrote:
CaliforniaLaw wrote:
…if a quality product exists, the money spent is a wise investment.
That would depend on whom the buyer is and how much the product costs. In the case of the op I think his 100 bucks might be better spent elsewhere.
[/quote]
I think it would be EXTREMELY difficult to find that much value for $100, anywhere.
You’d have to own PN to know this, but I think the testimonies and advertisements for it sum it up quite well.