Performance Enhancing Diets

December 8, 2017


Thumb adam nelson 2

PED's:

It was the end of the D10 Tour. I was completing the final walk through of the stadium at Rice University, when I saw it - a spent bottle of a pre-workout drink with a name like Gamma Super Pro Explode. Really? So many smart, athletic men and women on this field and I find this. Clearly, we - the D10 - have some work to do. This thread on PEDs will examine supplements, dietary habits and other recovery methods that work without the concern for heart attacks, gynecomastia, or unwanted facial hair. Basically, we’re going to get real. So let’s start with the basics.

As world-renowned sports nutritionist John Berardi said,”If you’re not growing, it’s likely your diet, not your training, that’s holding you back.” No truer words have been spoken. When I first started training with Charles Poliquin (If the name sounds familiar, you’ve probably read Tim Ferriss’ “Tools of Titans” book recently), we started with the diet. In one month, I went from 265lbs at 23% bodyfat to 263lbs at 18% bodyfat. Here’s what we did:

1.Eat every 3 hours - I stopped thinking of meals and started thinking of eating sessions. I ate six times every day. If I missed a session, it counted as a cheat (see #3 below).

 2. “If it doesn’t run, swim or fly, and it ain’t green, don’t eat it.” Pretty simple. We eat a lot of crap, because we don’t know what to eat. Now you do. It doesn’t matter what Paleo, Heart Health, South Beach diet you’re following now, all of them except the peanut butter diet adhere to this rule of thumb (granted, some of them may have additional rules too).

  3.Cheat 10% of the Time. If you know you’re going out on the town, plan ahead. Missing an eating session, bingeing on Oreos and cheesy puffs, or drinking a few adult beverages, won’t derail you if you plan ahead. Just make sure that you’re strict 90% of the time.
 4.DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES. Cut out mocha - frappa - latte -cinos, soft drinks, milk...any drink with calories (that really only leaves water). You’ll be surprised at how quickly you’ll produce results. NOTE: You must drink lots of water.

     This is by no means a comprehensive list nor was it intended to be. We’re going to have an on-going dialogue about supplements, diet, and other recovery methods.