Quick Question about Thrive

Hi

I did not see an official thread on the Thrive program, so I'll post my question here.

GB Thrive is marketed as a behavior-based program that is flexible enough to accommodate many diets. Awesome! My question is how flexible is it to accommodate pre-existing nutrition behaviors? I follow a randomized fasting schedule of sorts and do not stick to a certain number of meals or macros (some days maybe 1 meal some days maybe 4 meals some days light on protein etc). How incompatible is the thrive course with these behaviors?

Thanks.

So far, completely compatible. In the long-term, I doubt you could stick to this plan and still complete your task (read: master your progressions).

So in other words you eat whatever you want whenever you want? Yea, Thrive is not for you. Its for people who want to make progress in and out of the gym that aren't afraid to accept the title of 'beginner' for a short while to soon be advanced. 

Here is the quick way to know that you are not advanced and Thrive would be ideal for you. 

1) You think low carb is the way to roll yet you still cant see your abs (all of them) 

2) You do intermittent fasting and your not a physique competitor 

3) You allegedly count macros yet you don't look like someone who counts macros 

Let go of your ego and take time to master the basics then earn an ego.

Hi Jeff

very brazen of you to make so many assumptions. Yes, clearly thrive is not for me.

Why would intermittent fasting be only for physique competitors?

Hi Stephen,

There are a few situations where IF would be great. I am going to skip over the medical based reason and address the other two which are really the same goal just at two ends of the spectrum. 

Option 1: You have hundreds of pounds of fat to loose, IF can do good here

Option 2: You are trying to dry out for a comp. or pictures, In this case depending on the person a short time of IF or Keto could do some good.

However, if performance is your game then it is probably not the best. Often times people set too many goals that are not overlapping enough to actually accomplish. An example would be: I want to run a 3hr marathon and bench 500# raw. An example of synergistic goals would be A) GST and performance nutrition to support it B) clean and jerk 200kg and squat 250kg C) well...you get my point. 

The reason IF and performance don't overlap well is because IF takes too much energy away from the performance work. Think of it like you have a bank account and you only have $100. If you speed $50 of energy on IF then you only have $50 left for performance. You will get beat every time this way because someone out there will spend $100 on performance. 

IF has very little application in the performance world. The most optimal situation to be heathy, lean, strong and possess skill is a complicated approach of the right foods at the right times and the right training. 

Hopefully this answers your question Stephen. 

Ha! I can see why Coach likes you, Jeff. 

To be fair, Micawberian, if you're happy with your pre-existing nutritional behavior then you don't need anything else. If you're looking for improvement then changing some pre-existing behavior is exactly what you'd plan on doing. By the way, I don't have Thrive so I'm not telling you where to look or what to do.

I am currently subscribed to Thrive and have to say I am enjoying the deadly combo of Jeff's quality knowledge and blunt humour. However, even though I am only at the beginning stages of the program I will say that I do not think the program is suitable for vegans. Thrive is about using optimal food sources at optimal times and unfortunately for that group of people food sourced from animals work the best for what everyone here at GB aspires to- improved performance . If vegan food were optimal for performance I am sure Jeff would have us all eating soya and salads all the time.

I am a vegetarian and even though I am finding the beginning stages easy to fulfil, I get the feeling that my choice of lifestyle is going to make it more difficult for me down the line than for those who don't exclude food groups.

P.S. If I'm wrong Jeff I will officially add "suspect no. 2" to my forum handle

El Chino said:

I am currently subscribed to Thrive and have to say I am enjoying the deadly combo of Jeff's quality knowledge and blunt humour. However, even though I am only at the beginning stages of the program I will say that I do not think the program is suitable for vegans. Thrive is about using optimal food sources at optimal times and unfortunately for that group of people food sourced from animals work the best for what everyone here at GB aspires to- improved performance . If vegan food were optimal for performance I am sure Jeff would have us all eating soya and salads all the time.

I am a vegetarian and even though I am finding the beginning stages easy to fulfil, I get the feeling that my choice of lifestyle is going to make it more difficult for me down the line than for those who don't exclude food groups.

 

P.S. If I'm wrong Jeff I will officially add "suspect no. 2" to my forum handle

Vegan food can be optimized to have the same effect as non vegan food on the body of an athlete (many god-tier athletes are vegan), if you have a behavior based program, but I do agree that Thrive is going to get hard for vegans.

El Chino, I'm glad to hear that you are enjoying thrive! Based off of our conversations in the private forum I think you are doing really well at it. As for vegetarians and or vegans; as you mentioned Im all about optimal and whatever is optimal I'm all for. That means Im not for or  against any style of eating. In Thrive when we talk about proteins we talk about "complete proteins" that contain all 9 essential/indispensable amino acids that you must get from the diet. It is possible to pair vegetarian protein sources to get the 9, making it a complete protein. The vegetarian way is absolutely possible in Thrive, you just make life a little harder on yourself. For example; You will have to be a lot more diligent about your DHA consumption as its more difficult to come by. 

All, It may appear that I am anti vegetarian, I'm not. I'm optimal. If its not optimal I'm not going to address it in the course. Bottom line is being a strict vegetarian makes it more difficult to get the the nutrients you need in the appropriate doses. If your goal is like mine and you are all about human performance to include nutrition and athletics(read GST) then you eat the most optimal foods irregardless of personal ideals, you train in the most optimal way for long term progress and forgo being the victim of a You Tube fail video. 

Again, I have nothing for or against any kind of eating. In my military travels I would always seek out new foods in foreign countries and some of the people I ran into were vegetarians and they had some really cool food ideas to offer. What I like about vegans and vegetarians is they believe in something and they walk the walk. What I don't like is people who call themselves vegetarians who just eat a who's who of non meat junk food. But then again, plenty of meat eaters do that too. 

Vannybute, Good input. Thrive is going to get hard for everyone. Thrive is one step at a time but that doesn't mean each step is easy. There is one vegetarian in the Thrive private forum thats killing it. I will PM FNP to see if she is willing to weigh in on this.

All, The never ending debate of vegetarian vs. meat eater post was locked. Don't try to restart is here. 

Suspect 003. 

Haha thanks Jeff. I had no intention of reopening the can of worms that is the veg vs meat eater debate, I just wanted to point out to anyone who was reading the thread and who might be interested in jumping onboard with you to realise that if they were veggies then it could be a concern, just like it was for me at first.

I am really interested about this combining of vegetarian protein sources to make complete proteins that you mention though. I'll have to have a good look into it soon as though I love eggs prepared in their many forms, I don't want to be eating them every day due to inevitable fatigue. Any helpful pointers on where I should start would be appreciated.

To everyone else, the course is well worth the money just to set up good lifetime nutritional habits that most of us had the misfortune to never acquire at a young age. Jeff's biting humour is a bonus of course.

El Chino - Start a post in the private form with the title "Thrive Vegetarian" and I will consolidate the stuff I have in there about it and that post will also serve as a jump point for the dozen or so vegetarians in the program. We can make it a collective effort to get you guys food sources that meet the Thrive standards and maybe some of the long term veggie heads can share some tips too. 

Okay, Suspect 003 the vegetarian post is up. Please post all the good tips and tricks you have learned as a vegetarian and some questions you have that we can get answered for you. 

Haha thanks again Jeff! Been stuck at work all day and night and still here so will put my 2 cents in over the weekend once I get a few spare minutes at home.

Suspect 003 out!

I am considering Thrive, but ......

I am a very picky eater.  I don't like any seafood and other than lettuce and baby spinach I don't like vegetables either.    Yes, I know this sounds like the post of a 5 year old kid, but I gag any time I try and eat broccoli, cauliflower, etc.  I can't force myself to eat it, I've tried. 

I get by on a pretty basic "meat and potatoes" type of diet. 

Currently I am eating low carb.  I have done it in the past and dropped a good bit of bodyfat.  I have also don't IF which I found to be awesome at dropping bodyfat, but currently I can't get myself in the right groove to do IF without gorging at the end of the fast.

My eating habits are terrible.

Is thrive something for me, or will it require me to shovel food down my throat that I can't stand?

Think of it this way. In the fractured, contentious, noisy, confusing world of nutritional recommendations, diet fads, and food science, the one thing everyone agrees about is that you need to eat more vegetables. Everyone knows vegetables are good for you. Do you really think you're going to find an effective and even halfway decent approach that says vegetables don't matter? Trying to eat well and avoid vegetables is like trying to get strong and avoid exercise.

So if you really want to improve your eating habits it's worth finding a way prepare them in a manner you can enjoy. There are many options.

Easto said:

I am considering Thrive, but ......

 

 

I am a very picky eater.  I don't like any seafood and other than lettuce and baby spinach I don't like vegetables either.    Yes, I know this sounds like the post of a 5 year old kid, but I gag any time I try and eat broccoli, cauliflower, etc.  I can't force myself to eat it, I've tried. 

 

I get by on a pretty basic "meat and potatoes" type of diet. 

 

Currently I am eating low carb.  I have done it in the past and dropped a good bit of bodyfat.  I have also don't IF which I found to be awesome at dropping bodyfat, but currently I can't get myself in the right groove to do IF without gorging at the end of the fast.

 

My eating habits are terrible.

 

Is thrive something for me, or will it require me to shovel food down my throat that I can't stand?

First off, many people dont like broccoli and it's relatives, because they can taste the compound goitrin.  Luckily, there are many other vegetables to choose from.  it takes about 5 times of trying a food to start to like it, and the mental aspect is everything.  After a lifetime of hating eggs and sardines, I recently convinced myself that these were healthy foods, I would learn to like them, and made myself go for it.  I am now adapted and while I still am not "loving" them, it is no problem to eat them, and is getting me away from some of my bad habits in the process.

Secondly, you are probably not eating low carb if you are eating a "meat and potatoes" diet.  Unless you are mostly eating a "meat" diet.  

Thirdly, you sound like the kind of person who really needs help with your diet, so probably the kind of person this type of program is going to be best for.  I am in the first week, so can't really comment on the prescriptives contained later on.  I think it is time you started looking at food as medicine instead of pleasure, and it may help you get where you need to be more healthy.  Give it a try, there is a 30 day money back guarantee.  However, regardless of whether you do it or not, you definitely need to make some changes with your diet if you are going to live a healthy life, as I'm sure you're aware.  

Good luck!

Easto - I am almost at a loss for words as you have outlined your eating methods of a 5 year old then go on to say that your nutrition habits are terrible then ask is Thrive for you or will we make you shovel food down your throat you cant stand?

I guess the real question is to you want to make progress or not? Going down the current road you have identified that it is not working and you are looking at something new.

My guy, you gotta get some nutritional discipline. Thrive is designed to be one step at a time and you can slow the steps down or speed them up based on your ability to comply. You can take it as slow as you need to make progress but, you will be making progress. Your going to have to eat vegetables. That is not a question of to do Thrive or not its a question of to be heathy or not. 

I hope to see you in the Thrive private forum and Im there to help you and answer your questions but ya' gotta drink the kool aid to get in the club. 

MT Nordic,

Glad to have ya' in Thrive. Post an intro or a question in the private form. 

Cheers,

Jeff

Jeff Serven said:

Easto - I am almost at a loss for words as you have outlined your eating methods of a 5 year old then go on to say that your nutrition habits are terrible then ask is Thrive for you or will we make you shovel food down your throat you cant stand?

 

 

I meant it as a bit of humor - when I think about it I see how silly of a habit it is. 

When I say my eating habits are terrible, I mean that I don't eat a veggies other than lettuces and spinach. 

I guess my choice of words in the previous post could have been chosen a bit more carefully.

Easto,

Lettuces and spinach are a starting ground, thats good but its gonna' take some effort to make it happen. No matter if you do Thrive or not you gotta' get more of a vegetable selection that that. You are going to get tired of those very fast and be unable to meet a heathy minimum after a short while. 

Can someone suggest a vegetable or two I can start out with.  Something easy (easier) to eat.  I will give it a shot, or a couple shots.

I love raw carrots

Dude thats a start now you have 3. Try cooking the carrots next with a little salt and butter, thats a pretty easy way to "choke down" some vegetables