Daily Meal Flow

Daily meal flow is basically my philosophy on nutrition. We layer in complexity and get more detailed but this is the broad brush strokes. What do you think? Is this a plan you could follow long term? 

I like it a lot so far. It's simple enough to comply with using minimal effort and thinking, yet forces me to consider how I'm assembling each meal in advance forcing out more of those random "I forgot to make lunch" kind of meals that have a tendency creep into my diet.

David, Thanks for the feedback. Really good points you make. If it isn't simple you haven't refined it enough, simplifying things is always on the front of my mind when doing anything. 

Hei Jeff, as general guidelines I like it since it makes complete sense for me. As David said, each task makes us think about making conscious choices when preparing food or eating out. For me the challenge is how to make it optimal with regards to the time of the day when I workout. I already asked you in another thread, and it seems to be ok, but not optimal to train in the morning after ~1h of having breakfast. In one of your essays you do mention the benefits of having starches for lunch to prepare for a good workout later on. My hope is that the starch I eat for dinner is the proper fuel for my morning training.

But in any case, it is simple enough to keep following it indefinitely.

Richard, 

Thats funny that you mention this. Coach also works out in the morning and we have had this same discussion at length. 

As always there is optimal and reality. If your choice is to workout in the morning or not at all its a no brainer. There was a period last year where I had to get up early and train at 0530. I don't care for it but it beats the alternative. With that said I think the daily meal flow is more important than the pre/post workout optimal timing thing. I personally would always stick to the daily meal flow and fit the workouts in where I can instead of eating around the workout time.

The reason being when you eat around your workout time you are basically putting the blinders on to your circadian rhythm, cortisol, insulin, energy, natural testosterone levels, etc. through the day to only worry about glycogen replenishment. As Mr Spock says "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" 

Glad you like it. I always like to hear reviews. Thanks

I like it how your answers are always well thought and easy to digest, no pun intended.. hehe

This was my favorite lesson so far, seeing how everything comes together in this simple flow. I think the program is very streamlined and easy to follow and see myself effortlessly following it for the rest of my life (same holds for foundation).

The best thing is of course the huge benefits I have experienced (not placebo adjusted), workouts are easier and more focused, no longer feel an irresistible snack urge and can sleep 1-2 hours less and still feel fresh. It is funny how you spend so many years under the impression that you have a reasonable diet, only to find out that you don't even know the simplest facts of nutrition. Thank both you and Coach for teaching me the basics.

Mattias, 

Im really glad you like it. Thank you. Its amazing how far you can make it with Foundations and Thrive in terms of heath and wellness. 

Cheers,

Jeff

I think the slow implementation of each component makes this program so effective. I've never followed a nutrition program this long in my life, and I've found these last two months to be a relatively easy change. I find that I naturally think ahead more, and make sure my groceries have all the right components. And to boot, it already feels habitual!

I can see myself keeping on track with this long term... The benefits speak for themselves. More and steadier energy during the day and in training, faster recovery, easier digestion (I've had digestion troubles before). This makes it naturally motivating for me to continue.

Plus, I actually find that my cooking is getting better and more delicious! And I don't feel restricted at all.

Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the program thus far . Very much looking forward to subsequent levels!

Cam

Cam, 

Thats great. I am really glad to hear this is the longest you have followed a program. Its working for you! 

I just got to this stage and so far I have to admit it's been quite easy and enjoyable to follow everything. I'm sure it's going to get harder but if you enjoy the basics you are going to look forward to the challenges ahead. If I had hated it I'm sure I would probably have flunked out well before Thrive level 2. The whole flow of it feels natural and not forced in any way. Habits were easy to adopt due to being piece meal rather than overloaded onto us. If the whole of the GB curriculum were this relatively easy I would be doing malteses and iron crosses already.

I always thought I had the basics of nutrition down but like Coach did with Foundation, Thrive has shown me to be the noob I really am. It's great though, learning to set aside the ego and just focus on putting in the work to improve day by day.

I've mentioned this before but going to repeat it here anyway, the improved consistency of my energy levels throughout the day has been remarkable and I can pretty much function at a high level almost till bed time. I used to only do 3 day a week Foundation workouts because my recovery was really poor. I used to feel sore for a few days after each workout. Now I do F7 twice a week and there is virtually no soreness the following day after training.

My sleep patterns have settled also now. I sleep more deeply and feel refreshed when I wake up. Still sleeping 7-8 hours max whereas I used to be able to sleep 10 easily and still feel I needed more. The only drawback to Thrive here was the water consumption amount of 2L was making me get up in the middle of the night to pee. I have now circumvented this issue by making sure I don't drink anything too close to bed time.

So massive props to Jeff and Coach for bringing us Thrive. What with the Wild West nature of the nutrition public subforum I honestly believed that GB would never come out with any sort of nutrition program. I'm glad I was totally wrong. If someone had told me I would be feeling this lively and energetic in 2016 a year ago I would have probably told them to shoot themselves in the face!

Si - El Chino,

Its a pat on the back to both you and I that it was "easy" it means the directions were logical and you had the discipline to complete them. Win for both of us. 

Haha! Yea, I would be doing that iron cross with ya' buddy. 

Thank you for taking the time to write this. I very much appreciate it and its been fun chatting with you through the course. 

Thanks,

Jeff

PS - Still a suspect.

Hi Jeff,

Me and my wife have been on the program for about 8 weeks.  We still have more to unlock, and can't wait.  She says she feels great, and my energy is up and I need less coffee.  So far I've dropped 10 lbs and she has lost 6 lbs without trying.  I like the ramping up, and in terms of following this long term it feels like it runs itself by now.  Everything is almost automatic and takes a lot of guess work out of meals for us.  We like that as we both work late and long hours at times so there are nights we get home and just want to eat dinner not have a long discussion about what to make and how to make it, is this healthy or paleo or  primal or etc.  I've tried other diets low carb and cyclical low carb but usually explode at some point.  On one cyclical low carb diet I used to have dreams about pancakes!  Solid program.

Stelios,

Great to hear about the weight loss, ease of compliance and the long term-ness of the diet. Keep it up!!

With this scheme the mid-afternoon workout seems to be ideal, would that be correct?

To answer your question, I really like the setup and scheme laid out by this program. the cycling of carbs/ fats within a 24 hour period is, to me, novel, and a sound approach. The scheme has really been implemented into my mindset now for every meal I eat, it definitely has long term appeal. I'm getting the impression that portion control is what will be dialed in on with the remaining lessons. What is great about that is now that the macro nutrients have been covered and implemented, what to eat at what time of day, the focus now turns to how much to eat. That information is arriving at right time, and earlier would have complicated things. Kudos for that.  

Minor question: I thought insulin's antagonist, and fat mobilization hormone, was Glucagon, or nah?
 

1 hour ago, Jared Lybbert said:

Minor question: I thought insulin's antagonist, and fat mobilization hormone, was Glucagon, or nah?

That is correct, but not the whole story. There is a number of hormones that act "antagonistic" to insulin in one way or another, among them cortisol, adrenalin or somatotropin (GH).

Agreed.

Its easier to think of it in terms of a zero sum game. If there is less insulin there is less chance of turning food into fat. 

Discussion regarding starch daily flow:

In general, The Daily Meal Flow is a plan that I feel is sustainable for long term (with an adequate physical training schedule).  In the short term, however, I am noticing my questions regarding details with one's specific training schedule.  For example, on 3 days/week of foundation training, I appreciate the lunch starch. Because of the fat burning flow of the morning lay out after 6 weeks of Thrive breakfasts, into noon time, it is tempting to let this ride for longer on the other days ( I believe this may be a fat burning adaptation in the short term).  Example, on the other 4 days of the week (Non Foundation day) I know its still "recovery", but I almost need to remind myself that the starch is necessary, because I totally feel I want to ride that fat burning morning feel into dinner (Just meat/raw veggie lunch).  The night time starch is excellent for the explanations given, and I appreciate the carbs prior to sleeping.  I may be rambling a bit, without a specific question, but wanted to give some thoughts after 6 weeks, as training and food starts to align with many more questions on how to manipulate the daily meal flow... 

I guess I do have a question: If only a beginner, on high rep beginner routines: example Foundation 1/Handstand 1, No ring strength, no 5 rep max work, should starch be limited throughout the daily flow with increased veggie instead in your experience?  I'm just throwing these thoughts out to learn more. I feel so satisfied with this lay out you have given us Jeff, I guess I was just expecting to "suffer" more nutritionally or something (Not feeling robust).  So, I guess that answers the question in your original post, your philosophy on nutrition for the broader strokes for the daily layout, I can see being beneficial for the long term.

Two answers: 1) For the beginner with very little training experience they still need the starch because a majority of your carbs are burnt by basic day to day activities - thinking, breathing, etc. The workout is an addition to those basics. 2) Once completing Thrive there will be a level 2 so the shows not over yet there will be more step but, once you have completed the course and 'know' what the baseline feels like - experiment! Try your idea of no carb lunch for a few weeks and let us know. By having done Thrive you will have a baseline to compare it to. 

Thanks for the response Jeff and for all the information in the essays.  I like in general the clear, succinct, yet packed with solid recommendations for food choices in the framework of a 24-hr flow. It sets up a nice visual for what to expect throughout a day. 

I have to say, I am loving the flow. It is a reasonable amount of change to timing for me. But without doubt this is the longest and best I have felt for a long time. I have had to force myself to deload this week despite my performance being well up and feeling so good. I am sleeping better (and I slept well before) and I am achieving more, with the added bonus of not getting sick and we have had 3+ colds go through the house where everyone got sick except me. Lunch carbs are great, best thing ever and I love having them on the day off as well, and getting the right starch in later in the day is fantastic. Loving it. 

Thats great Jared

Hey Jeff!

First off I haven't posted anything yet so I guess that automatically puts me on your watchlist as one of your suspects but that is a risk I am willing to take. I am loving the programm. I haven't felt this full of energy for years and my recovery from training is also amazing. To answer your question: I think I can follow the program for a long time. It took some getting used to but by now the rythm is firmly established. I am a bit unsure about the portion sizes but the next steps that are unlocking will cover that as far as i can see. So thanks for the programm and I am looking forward to Thrive 2!

Greetings from Germany

Nico

On 09/05/2016 at 7:56 AM, Jared Birbeck said:

I have to say, I am loving the flow. It is a reasonable amount of change to timing for me. But without doubt this is the longest and best I have felt for a long time. I have had to force myself to deload this week despite my performance being well up and feeling so good. I am sleeping better (and I slept well before) and I am achieving more, with the added bonus of not getting sick and we have had 3+ colds go through the house where everyone got sick except me. Lunch carbs are great, best thing ever and I love having them on the day off as well, and getting the right starch in later in the day is fantastic. Loving it. 

Similar. The recovery difference when you dial it in is amazing and whilst I don't feel like I'm restless or anything I never feel sluggish. Very pleased and find it very easy to sustain

Nicolas, Glad to hear!