Talk To Me Johnnie – After reading the information on fats and ketogenic diets, I am confused. Can you just tell me what to eat?
It seems that I needed some counseling, so I did what any intelligent individual would do, I contacted Chuck Norris for his views on nutrition and the Power Athlete Diet TM. I asked for an accurate prescription for what I should be eating. Chuck responded and delivered the information via a mechanical winged messenger given as a gift by the Gods of Olympus.
Power Athlete Diet TM
Eat with abandon: meat, fowl, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables, roots, tubers, bulbs, herbs and spices as well as animal fats, olives & olive oil, avocados, and coconut (meat, oil, flour) and dairy*.
*Dairy is a gray area, while it is a powerful tool in the strength and weight gain category you have to be smart. Individuals with autoimmune disease should avoid dairy products of any kind. For those without autoimmune diseases, dairy from grass-fed animals is permissible. Dairy from grain-fed animals will not have an ideal omega 3 profile. Heavy cream, butter, and ghee should not be problematic. Occasional consumption of fermented dairy options such as cheese and yogurt is acceptable. Experiment with milk but eliminate it if it is found to be problematic.
**Pasteurized whole milk from grain-fed cows treated with rBGH offers an increased anabolic environment for the consumer.
Limit: nuts, seeds, and fruit.
Better choices in the nut category include macadamias, cashews, and hazelnuts. Almonds aren’t terrible. Seeds are generally rich sources of linoleic acid because they can be eaten in large quantities (the serving sizes are typically in the tablespoon to 1/4 cup range and can be misleading). Sunflower and sesame seeds are a terrible choices in the seed category. Soaking nuts prior to consumption is recommended but not necessary.
Reduce the serving size if you are going to pick a fruit that has a high metabolic fructose content.
Avoid: Cereal grains including: all varieties of wheat (spelt, einkorn, emmer, durum), barley, rye, oats, triticale, corn (maize), rice (including wild rice), sorghum, millet, fonio, and teff and legumes.
Grain-like substances or pseudocereals including: Amaranth, Breadnut, Buckwheat, Cattail, Chia, Cockscomb, Kañiwa, Pitseed Goosefoot, Quinoa, and Wattleseed (aka aacacia seed). Pseudocereals are the seeds of broad leaf plants whereas grains are the seeds of grasses.
There you have it, simple to read and in an easy to follow format.
We can save the amounts for next week when Chuck sends us his thoughts via Bubo the Owl.
Thank you Chuck Norris!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqzQ2qrtBeg[/youtube]
Coudn’t have put it any better or clearer… If I may add one evidently obvious and general “don’t” to complete the list, it would be: as much as possible, stay away from foods with bar codes!!! In line with your “vending machine” foods principle I suppose…
Oh, and stay away from beans also!!!!
Thanks John… And Chuck too!!!!
The most expensive special effects scene in movie history!
Bruce Lee v. Chewbacca
[…] Article courtesy of Talk to Me Johnnie […]
I’m surprised the universe didn’t explode after that display of badassedry.
[…] Just tell me what to eat – TTMJ […]
John, what’s your take on sunbutter, which is made from specially roasted sunflower seeds, and is peanut, tree-nut and gluten free?
Question…What’s the deal with gluten-free pasta? How does that fall into the “grain” category? I know that Robb Wolf is anti-gluten, so what’s the consensus? Thanks.
@Ling… Go back to the article titled “Saturated Fats”… “The one fat that is a problem in the diet is the polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid called linoleic acid. Food sources of linoleic acid include: corn oil, soy oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, oats, peanuts and peanut oil, rice bran, safflower oil, sesame seeds and oil, sunflower seeds and oil, walnuts, wheat products, brazil nuts, pine nuts, hemp, pecans, and pistachios. ” So, sunflower seed butter being made with sunflower seeds would be a no-no 🙂
@Clinton… No-gluten pasta is just that: no-gluten pasta. One of the culprits is gone, but you’ll still be dealing with a food made of a grain or pseudograin, so consisting mostly of starch… So, you’re dealing again with a food from John’s “Avoid” category… Unless you can find a no-phytate, no-lectin, no-starch pasta, no-etc. (you get my drift) pasta, stay away from the stuff!!!!
Eric – Yes! Great job taking the information and making it work for you. You are well armed.
[…] talk to me johnny-Just tell me what to eat Posted in Uncategorized […]
[…] “Just Tell Me What to Eat” – Talk to Me […]
Clinton-
Put a grass fed pork butt in the slow cooker for 12 hours. Shred it into strands. Pour some tomato sauce on top and voila, gluten free, phytate free, lectin free, omega 3-6 balanced, “pasta” that you can eat with abandon. Spaghetti Squash is your other option, but the pork butt sounds really good.
“If man made it, don’t eat it”, and “if it tastes good, spit it out.” – Jack Lalanne
[…] Just Tell Me What To Eat… […]
[…] Just Tell Me What To Eat… Sunday, July 4th, 2010 Daily WOD […]
John,
Thanks so much. I’ve been Paleo for about 1.5 years – pretty strict too: no grains and no dairy. Recently, I decided to start mixing things up w/ my fitness and started following CFFB. After reading the CFFB prescription for eats, I started getting grass-fed whole milk from a local farm. No bad effects as far as I can tell. For example, my fight gone bad score increased by 40 points in 1.5 months and I was doing the dairy thing. I had noticed a bit of congestion – in my lungs and attributed it to seasonal change. I am so anxious about it sometimes. I love the milk in a smoothie with some high quality protein and after workouts. Anyhow, I just want to say thanks for this blog and for this note on eats, especially the disclaimer on Dairy. I am going to tread lightly…
SP
Hey there, I have 2 questions:
1) Are oats really that terrible? I understand about avoiding cereal/grains but I thought oats were quiet low GI, slow release and a good thing to have for breakfast?
2) I try to eat paleo most of the time but after a workout I use a carb supplement called Vitargo, which is fast release for quick recovery. I only use it for this purpose. What is your opinion?
Look forward to your response. Great article! Chris, Belfast, Ireland.
What form of carbs are you allowed to eat if any.
“**Pasteurized whole milk from grain-fed cows treated with rBGH offers an increased anabolic environment for the consumer.”
Could anyone elaborate on this? I’ve been trying to decide on a good milk brand to stick with as I aim to put on some size, I know there is a lot of BGH controversy and it’s limited in most places.
Thanks!
[…] http://talktomejohnnie.com/diet/what-should-i-eat […]
[…] me what to eat” and he put together a pretty simple guide line. Check it out here…http://talktomejohnnie.com/diet/what-should-i-eat […]
That video has to be stretched to death they look like Aliens!
“Pasteurized whole milk from grain-fed cows treated with rBGH offers an increased anabolic environment for the consumer.”
Can you please explain why that is?
I added a gallon of pasteurized milk to my paleo diet and lets just say it was not good for my digestion (read: mud butt). Sorry, I had to say mud butt.
Yes, pasteurized whole milk from grain-fed cows treated with rBGH offers an increased anabolic environment for the consumer. Now put rBGH into google. Do some research. I would say that your “mud butt” is a good indicator you should not drink milk. I guess you get to miss out on the effects of drinking milk.
On a personal note, I am amazed that some who uses the term “mud butt”, would read this blog. I usually equate that terminology with 6-7 year old children and my college football teammate Kirsten Sheriden.
John
[…] friendly diets that recommend eating fresh fruit and whole grains for your carbs (and apparently Chuck Norris is on the same page). WebMD summarizes The Zone Diet so: Like other popular diet books, Enter The […]
Great post. This is more or less paleo, correct?
My main concern is: does this only suit people of Scandinavian, Celtic or Anglo background i.e white Europeans? Would this be just as effective, or less effective, for those of south-east Asian background like myself?
If anyone could point me to any literature regarding a more appropriate paleo diet guidelines for Asians and non Europeans, that would be very much appreciated.
Not sure if it is paleo but that is of little concern. I was not aware south-east Asians were a different species. I thought they were homo sapians. Asians still have live off spring, are bipeds and have opposable thumbs, dont they? Interesting. I will have look into Asians being descended from Aliens and not Andi and Ardi.
The expression is “eat WITHOUT abandon”.
[…] Just tell me what to eat – TTMJ […]
First I would like to say thank you Johnnie for CFFB! I love the program and greatly appreciate the work you out in to make us better. your program has actually lead me to a job at a local gym in my area. They saw me working out and asked if I’d be interested in a job as a trainer.
With that said I hve a few questions. I follow the paleo + dairy diet that you recommend and have great success in the strength gain department. But I have notice lately that my progress has slowed. I know you recommend roots and tubers as part of the diet but that is completely against Robb Wolfs advice. Why is it you recommend them and he doesn’t? How often do you recommend eating them? Also, how often do you recommend we eat? Right now I’m eating a 400+ calorie meal every 3-4 hours but I’m thinking about going to every 2 hours.
Thanks for the help,
Aaron
Robb Wolf recommends you not eat tubers and bulbs???? I am not sure about that as last time I had dinner with Robb we ate about 6 large japanese yams. I am pretty sure Robb recommends better carb choices like roots, tubers and bulbs.
I would say 4-5 meals a day is plenty. Just get your daily caloric intake.
John
[…] on nutrition I am interested in the science but I really just want the “expert” to tell me what to eat. Maybe you want the same. Let’s pretend this is a shitty movie where the main characters […]
Hey John,
what do you think about low fat Quark aka curd cheese? Not sure wether both really means the same. I guess it’s not really a “cheese” and I really would like to know your opinion. I’ve read “Paleo for Athletes” and “The Paleo Solution” but couldn’t find any answer. Robb just wrote, that he don’t want to talk in detail about milk, because he could write the same about it like he did in the grain chapter.
greez
[…] What should I eat? Talk to me Johnnie […]
[…] I was a little surprised to find that we didn’t get more strength gains during the nutrition challenge. As I have thought about it, I think it is from one of two reason. The first being that the CrossFit total, being one rep maximums isn’t an accurate measure of our strength protocol, which was mainly sets of five. It is quite possible that squatting sets of five didn’t adequately prepare the body for a single heavy rep. More to follow on that. The other thing is that we aren’t correctly fueling, and therefore recovering, from training. Below are nutrition modifications that I would like you to consider or try to improve performance, they are listed in order of importance. 1. Post training meal. This is huge, and something we have talked little about because most of our athletes train once a day or have a rest day between sessions. As we increase training exposure and therefore reduce recovery time, this becomes more important. The first 30-ish minutes (glycolytic window) is especially critical because your body is fiending for nutrition. Your post workout meal should have High Glycemic Carbs, Protein and fat. High GI Carbs quickly replenish your muscle and liver glycogen which gets depleted when working out. Protein is used to systhesize muscle and repair tissue damage. The information below comes from from James Fitzgerald and Optimum Performance Training. In the 6 months I used his protocol and followed his nutrition/recovery plan I gained extensive strength and was leaner than I have ever been. I was completely paleo/zone (21) blocks and didn’t include the below recovery stuff in my blocks. Despite the increased intake, I continued to decrease BF. If your don’t know your body fat, or don’t want to guess, I can help you make assumptions. Male: above 12% Body Fat- 40g prot/10g carb 8-12% – 40g prot/25g carb below 8% – 40g prot/40g carb post wod fuel – female: above 16% – 30g prot/10g carb 12-14% – 30g prot/20g carb below 12% – 30g prot/30g carb Eat a balanced PFC meal 60 min after postWoD fuel for everyone (P=protein, F=fat, C=carb) 2. Pre-workout nutrition. It is pretty well known that protein before your workout will improve your workout. A few grams of carbohydrate about 90 minutes before and then some protein or Branched Chain Amino Acids 20 minutes or so before seems to be the consensus for a place to start. Becareful filling up your stomach with solid food right before eating. BCAA supplements can be found at most nutrition and supplement stores if you are leaning that way. 3. Modify Paleo to a Power Athlete: Most of you are pretty strict adherents to a version of paleo, but that may not be sufficient. My belief is that Paleo is an excellent nutritional template for general health, and for a large majority of people will help them increase performance. As you get stronger, a general prescription will become less and less effective at producing resultes, and you will have to tailor your nutrition to your specific needs. Below is the CrossFit Football nutrition for power athletes. It is very much like paleo, but with some minor adaptions. This was developed by John Welbourne with input from Robb Wolf, and Matt Lalonde. Both are nutrition and science wizards, google them for their credentials. What should I eat? CrossFit Football […]
What about beans? Black beans, kidney beans, etc.
Look under avoid.
legumes are a cool way of saying beans.
So if you re-read the AVOID it says to keep away from cereal grains, pseudo grains and legumes.
Legumes would be beans.
hey johnny! found you after finding robb’s paleo podcast. you guys are total ballers!
my question to you: i am in complete agreement about cereal grains and pseudo-grains being a complete detriment to health. but what about white rice immediately after workout as a part of my PWO meal?? as i understand, white rice has had most of the anti-nutrient removed and any left are destroyed when you boil it, leaving it mainly as starch.
what are your thoughts on this? say some white rice and whey protein powder and cinnamon as a PWO meal?? (kinda rice pudding style i guess…)
thanks for your time 🙂
Existence is a strange bargain. Life owes us little; we owe it everything. The only true happiness comes from squandering ourselves for a purpose….
Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence….
[…] to Stealthness. And that involved a great deal of discipline. Just read a great article on diet: Talk to me Johnnie. He goes even further in how to get super lean: Leaning Out. It’s all laid out for you, Right […]
[…] Everyone here should aim to be big, strong, powerful, and athletic. John Welbourn did a really good diet summary post for the power athletes. I stress this type of diet because you’ll have better performance when you are actually […]
[…] Just Tell Me What to Eat… Five Things I Love About CrossFit When a Squat Is Not a Squat Scapular Stability and Pushups Confessions Of A Glamor Girl: On The Danger Of Stereotypes In Fitness […]
[…] what are you supposed to eat? Here is a great article, that is really short but really […]
[…] What Should I Eat […]
[…] What Should I Eat […]
[…] This is what you should be eating. Nobody’s perfect, and we all cheat sometimes, but diet is the most important part of looking, feeling and performing better at Crossfit and at life. Comments comments Tweet ← WOD 6/18/12 […]
I was curious if you ever thought of changing the structure
of your website? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way
of content so people could connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1 or two
images. Maybe you could space it out better?
[…] Just Tell Me What to Eat What is the Paleo Diet Mark’s Daily Apple Whole 9 […]
[…] to me Johnnie — JUST TELL ME WHAT TO EAT Post total reps to […]
[…] Individual Differences – Body Type Just Tell Me What to Eat What’s the Dealo with Weightbelts? 5 favorite quality foods on the go/in the […]
[…] and awkward lifting or farm strength stuff (tires, sandbags etc). And top all that off with some solid nutrition. It’s really not that complex. Check out CrossFit Football for a few months and be prepared […]
Please disregard my comment, I see rice under “avoid”
[…] Medan jag provar på denna diet under de kommande veckorna så kommer min sambo att följa en annan variant, rekommenderad av självaste Chuck Norris. I det stora hela är det ungefär samma diet, men då min rumskamrat tränar en hel del så har han ett större behov av att få i sig kalorier och följer därför C.N’s rekommendationer och får lov att äta vissa mejeriprodukter. För att läsa mer om Chuck Norris dieten: Klicka här! […]
[…] post is from John Welbourne of Crossfit Football on his awesome blog site talk to me johnnie. Here is a link to the original […]
[…] you gents looking to get your grown man on, John Welborn weighs in (keep that dairy out of here though, none of you need […]
[…] CrossFit Football: Fuelling for the power athlete […]
[…] http://talktomejohnnie.com/diet/what-should-i-eat […]
What about taking small amounts of creatine? Say 1-4 grams? Same with L-Glutamine and L-Arginine? I know you said they whole thing about Chinese fed cows…..Bassically I have my whole food intake down and I get EAS Betagen and EAS Muscle Armor for a very cheap discount, so I wanted to try it out. Any thoughts and or comments… Thanks!!
It is like I am taking crazy pills. I have over 200 blog posts on Talk To Me Johnnie. I even have one called Supplement Recommendation where I discuss creatine, glutamine and about everything else you might have a question on.
http://talktomejohnnie.com/2012/07/22/supplement-recommendations/
[…] Just Tell Me What To Eat… […]
[…] plan: eat a la John Welbourne (sans steroids). Here, he told me that protein sans flesh is okay. Here, he taught me how to become Chuck Norris: the KT version. Here, Tyler Durden stirs my […]
[…] You read it on the whiteboard every day but what does that mean to you? There is a vast amount of nutritional resources in print or the web (including those at the bottom left footer of this page ) that I encourage you to read up on. Nobody is the same & finding what works best for you takes some time and patience. BUT if you want the CliffsNotes version, check out what John Welbourn has to say on the matter on his blog, “Just Tell Me What to Eat”. […]
hey john, what do you use for your simple carb intake?
Hell yeah, my weekly beers are still in play! haha
[…] Diet” and applies it directly to strength trainees. The framework is nearly identical to the recommendations Power Athlete HQ and CrossFit Football have for their […]
[…] Tell Me What to Eat – Talk to Me Johnnie. […]
[…] Tell Me What to Eat – Talk to Me Johnnie. […]
I see dairy is listed to aid with weight/strength gain. my question is can you drink milk while trying to cut? I love whole milk and it really helps feeling full longer. so if milk is acceptable while trying to cut my assumption would be stick consumption low to 8oz with meals ( 3x daily) what are your thoughts.
[…] http://talktomejohnnie.com/2010/06/27/what-should-i-eat/ […]
I was just re-reading the diet portion didn’t find the answer. Is it designed for someone to eat for mass and strength? or is it more geared towards appropriate food portions. also regarding WOD’s how does that work, would I just look it up daily and apply it the best I can…
Thanks for your time
[…] Part 2 by Ben Skutnik BLOG: Eating for Two with Abandon – Part 1 by Ben Skutnik BLOG: Just Tell Me What to Eat by John Welbourn PODCAST: Power Athlete Radio Episode 276 Lindsey Mathews BirthFit BLOG: The […]
[…] Eating for Two with Abandon – Part 1 by Ben Skutnik BLOG: Just Tell Me What to Eat by John Welbourn PODCAST: Power Athlete Radio Episode 276 Lindsey Mathews BirthFit […]
[…] Just Tell Me What to Eat by John Welbourn PODCAST: Power Athlete Radio Episode 276 Lindsey Mathews BirthFit BLOG: […]