T Nation

Warrior Diet/Leangains Questions

#1

I have been reading up on the Warrior diet and leangains, and I really like the sound of both to be honest. I do have a few questions about both though and would love to get some answers.

Warrior Diet;
1. So you only eat once a day, which is post workout? Do you consume anything at all during the day? (water, coffee, tea, omegas, vitamins, etc etc)
2. In your post workout meal, do you still aim to hit your macros/micros?

leangains;
I know its a 16/8 or 18/6 style of eating. Since I train at 5pm, i assume it would be 1st meal at 1pm, second at 4pm (pre workout) and post workout meal right after, and i hit all my macros and micros in that 8 hour window, keeping most carbs pre and post?

Just wanna get these cleared up. Both of these styles of dieting fit my crazy busy life style. Iv been doing 6-7 meals a day for cutting, but its so much prep time that im actually losing motivation...

thanks mates!

#2

Precisely. But I woudl suggest you go and follow the leangains diet; its much better at providing a healthy dose of nutrients, while the warrior one will leave you undernourished.

#3

Hmm ok, that does make sense. I gotta laugh at the 250 views/1 reply though, its like people are sick or scared of this topic.

#4

During the fasting phase in leangains, he states tea, coffee, gum is allowed. Is water?

#5

[quote]JumanjiJim wrote:
During the fasting phase in leangains, he states tea, coffee, gum is allowed. Is water?[/quote]

yes. It’s unusual for any diet to ask you to restrict water.

#6

perfect. muchos gracias friend!

#7

[quote]JumanjiJim wrote:
I have been reading up on the Warrior diet and leangains, and I really like the sound of both to be honest. I do have a few questions about both though and would love to get some answers.

Warrior Diet;

  1. So you only eat once a day, which is post workout? Do you consume anything at all during the day? (water, coffee, tea, omegas, vitamins, etc etc)

[/quote]

If I recall correctly Ori widened the window for eating to more than post workout.

[quote]

  1. In your post workout meal, do you still aim to hit your macros/micros? [/quote]

Considering in your example you will only be eating post workout, how else would you meet nutrition requirements? Duh!

[quote]

leangains;
I know its a 16/8 or 18/6 style of eating. Since I train at 5pm, i assume it would be 1st meal at 1pm, second at 4pm (pre workout) and post workout meal right after, and i hit all my macros and micros in that 8 hour window, keeping most carbs pre and post? [/quote]

Pretty much, although if you wanted to spread the carbs out more liberally, you can do that too.

[quote]

Just wanna get these cleared up. Both of these styles of dieting fit my crazy busy life style. Iv been doing 6-7 meals a day for cutting, but its so much prep time that im actually losing motivation…

thanks mates![/quote]

Right. I am never going back to five or six meals per day. It’s a sentence.

#8

You bet. I understand if bodybuilding and dieting is what you do all day/everyday, but for the common folk who wanna look good/stay healthy but still have a life, eating 5 meals a day and prepping it is foooooooooolish. I had nothing but mad respect for people who can balance it all.

#9

[quote]JumanjiJim wrote:
You bet. I understand if bodybuilding and dieting is what you do all day/everyday, but for the common folk who wanna look good/stay healthy but still have a life, eating 5 meals a day and prepping it is foooooooooolish. I had nothing but mad respect for people who can balance it all.[/quote]

Not all serious bodybuilders eat five or six times per day. It was not until the 70’s or 80’s probably when this trend was set. Old time bodybuilders ate three to four times per day.

And don’t believe everything you hear or read. Do you think all big bodybuilders, even all pros, are eating crispy clean six to seven times per day? :wink:

#10

Oh i know they dont eat clean, trust me. A buddy of mine is sponsored by a well known supplement company. If i ate what he ate, id be worse looking than fat albert.

#11

Have you read The Warrior Diet? It’s my lifestyle of choice - the fast is a controlled fast. I juice during the day and will have a little greek yogurt for protein after 3pm sometimes almonds or peanuts - Pre and Post workout is MAG-10 - my evening feeding is raw veggies, lean protein (usually chicken or fish) followed by cooked veggies. If still hungry black beans and brown rice show up. Sometimes it’s quinoa or spelt. Once a week I’ll go a little nuts and eat what I want. Warrior Diet is about freedom and hunger. Real hunger that you take with you into your life. You should never however, feel under nourished. If you do, you’re not eating enough at night. Read the book if you haven’t already and if you have, read it again. Hope that helps.

#12

You can also blend together fruits,seeds,greens,oats/buckwheat, even whey, and sip it all day. That’s not a fast (if you want something that follows this 16/8 principle strictly) but it works pretty well if your problem is time.

You need a big shaker to carry along but thats usually a 1000/1500kcal home made juice full of good carbs. After that you can eat your regular post workout, and meal, without melting too much fat+protein+carbs

#13

I’ve used intermittent fasting for a large portion of the past 10 years. It’ a very natural way of eating for me.

In the original Warrior’s diet you can drink as much water as you want during the day (in fact you should), you can also drink green tea and coffee.

You can also have some veggies and small portion of nuts throughout the day if you have a mechanical hunger to fulfill.

As for the eating window, it’s not only one meal. I would normally have 2 or 3 large meals in the eating window and my total caloric intake wasn’t that much lower (if at all) than my “regular eating intake” would be.

You can also read about the pulse feast diet, which is essentially what I did when I integrated MAG-10 into intermittent fasting.

#14

I could manage a small book with my experience of IF. I followed the WD for some time and loved it. However, like many diets, IMO it has a shelf life and you would do well to cycle them as you cycle training. My biggest warning is that the WD can reinforce a boom and bust cycle, where you’re either living on very little or stuffing your face. People who are already prone to binge eating may be especially susceptible to this. I certainly succumbed to this on several occasions, making me feel ill in the process.

My second observation, which may be backed by some research, is that this type of fasting may promote chronically elevated cortisol levels. So it is probably better to avoid a strict water fast and ingest some energy throughout the day (which Hofmekler recommends anyway).

My last point is that you cannot divorce the diet from the basic principles of energy in/out. If your BMR is 3000 kcals and you ingest this between 6pm and 9pm, as opposed to 7am to 9pm, your body comp, in the grand scheme of things, is not going to be any different.

#15

Hey Chris. With the pulse feast protocol, do you take your vitamins, fish oil and stuff like that during the feast or during the fast with the shake pulses?

#16

im days in to the 16/8 principle and i love it. i feel great. im way more leaner. i still get my macros in but i keep 80% of the carbs pre and post.

i basically have my first meal of protein and fat at 1. my preworkout meal at 4. hit the gym for 530. home by 7 and get my last meal in. no more meal prep like a mad man and timed eating.

i also find that HOT-ROX seems to make things easier…

#17

Ori and Michael Keck recommend whey during the day. Art Devaney recommends bcaa during the day. CT recommends MAG-10 during the pulse feast. What really is the difference? Obviously each protocol works, but how much of a results driven difference is there?