BioRhythm Diet - Revisited

          In light of some of the more recent podcast interviews and articles involving Borge Fagerli and Menno Henselmans, I have some highly consolidated bullet points to share, regarding details to the BioRhythm Diet / Circadian Rhythm related protocols. Following the bullet-points, I've summarized the protocol that I will personally be using from this point forward. I really encourage you to read the articles and listen to the podcasts that I have linked at the end of this post. The information therein is far too expansive to capture in a single blog-post, but I have tried my best to provide some useful take-aways that may help those already using a BioRhythm type eating pattern.

 

Circadian Rhythm & Meal Timing

• Synchronize nutrient intake with daylight hours.
• Over time intermittent fasting can desynchronize circadian rhythm.
• Regular meal times will aid in the establishment of proper circadian rhythm.
• Extrapolating from ‘Blue-Zone’ dietary habits: larger breakfast & lunch, lighter (lean protein & lower carb) dinner.
• Large meals & higher calories at the beginning of the day can reset circadian rhythm and make people move more & increase NEAT.
• Improve overall metabolic health by increasing baseline activity level, via more basic movement (i.e. - more standing + walking, rather than sitting all day).

Nutrient Timing

• Protein should be spaced throughout the day with a double-size serving at the last meal. 
• Protein later in the day (amino-acid surplus during sleep) has benefits pertaining to circadian rhythm.
• The further into the evening you ingest fats, the more fats will be stored, rather than oxidized. Fats ingested earlier (during daylight hours) will preferentially be oxidized.
• The timing of protein & carbs is much more important than the timing of fats due to fats being stored and incorporated into cell membranes, more of a long-term effect.
• There is no magic advantage to ketosis other than appetite suppression.
• Carbs scale with activity levels, although tolerance is very individual.
• Most people who lift (and are otherwise sedentary) greatly overestimate carb requirements.
• Large amounts of carbs are not needed pre-workout. Just have a fruit.  
• Resistance training does not deplete many carbs (One study showed only 40% glycogen depletion after 15 sets per body part).
• No need to rush the carbs in the post-workout period for the purpose of glycogen re-synthesis (for the standard weight-training population, lifting 1x/day). Stores will return to normal levels in 24hrs (survival mechanisms prevent glycogen deprivation). Things change with endurance training or very high volume weight-training multiple times per day.  
• In a Fasted or Keto state, the body will still restore glycogen to ~70%.
• There is no discernible advantage to ‘back-loading’ carbs vs. spreading them throughout the day. In fact, a high carb breakfast tends to out-perform low carb breakfast in all areas (food choices play a key role obviously, i.e.- eating eggs + oatmeal vs. sugary cereal + low-fat milk).
• Carbs in the evening meal have a distinct effect (benefit) on circadian rhythm and can improve sleep quality.
• Cycle calories (bulk/cut days, moderate surplus/deficit) rather than having ‘refeeds’ or super high carb days.

 Bonus

• Don’t take life so fucking seriously. Live more. Play more. Do what makes you truly happy.

 

Ok, so after distilling all that down, here is the general protocol that I will be preceding with;

 

Meal Timing

• Eat all meals between the hours of 7-9 in the morning and 7-9 in the evening.
• Ensure enough food early in the day to have mental and physical surplus.
• Ensure enough food around training for performance and recovery.
• Cycle Carbs and Calories based on activity levels & hunger.

Nutrient Timing

• Protein: 2 - 3 meals during the day (0.4-0.6g/kg), 1 larger portion in the evening (0.8g/kg+).
• Fats taper from high to low (not zero) throughout the day.
• Carbs taper from low (not zero) to high throughout the day.
• If training earlier in the day, add 25-50g carbs to the meal following the workout. Consume the rest/majority of the carbs at the last meal(s).

Generic Meal Template (3 meals/day)

Breakfast – High Protein / High Fat / Low Carb

Lunch – High Protein / Moderate Fat / Moderate Carb

Dinner – High Protein+ / Low Fat /High Carb




Thanks for reading and I hope this has been helpful / informative.

Podcasts
Sigma Nutrition Podcast, Episode73 - Borge Fagerli
Modern Musclehead Podcast, Episode14 - Borge Fagerli
Sigma Nutrition Podcast, Episode51 - Menno Henselmans
Primal Edge Health Podcast, Episode 5, Menno Henselmans
Articles
Should you eat breakfast or not ? - Borge Fagerli (Run this one through a translator)
Menno Henselmans - Circadian Rhythm Protein Timing

BioRhythm Diet / Typical Days Eating + Training Log 4/25/15

Thought I'd include some diet related stuff since you guys seem interested in that. 

My bodyweight is currently hovering around 90kg and my goal is to maintain it while using the BioRhythm diet to Recomp / Consolidate my gains. Things have been going well for the past 2 weeks. I've had to increase my food intake quite a bit to avoid losing weight. At 3000kcals per day I began losing weight rapidly, so I've gradually increased it. 

Here's todays diet log, which is pretty typical of most days, considering that I basically train everyday. 

Breakfast (8am)(493kcal, 31 fat, 11 carbs, 40 protein)

6 Large Eggs 

1 cup Green Beans

2 Fish Oil Pills 

Lunch (12pm)(553kcal, 30 fat, 17 carbs, 54 protein)

Beef (140g)

1 cup Green Beans

1.5oz raw Almonds

2 Fish Oil Pills 

Pre-Workout (4pm)(369kcal, 25 fat, 8 carbs, 29 protein)

Black Coffee

1 scoop Whey Isolate

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

30 Pistachios

Post Workout (6:30pm)(121kcal, 0 fat, 31 carbs, 1 protein)

1 Large Banana

Dinner (7:30pm)(1,751kcal, 5 fat, 350 carbs, 69 protein)

1 can Tuna

1 cup Black Beans

2 cups (Raw) White Rice (cooked in the rice cooker)

Dessert (8:30pm)(446kcal, 6 fat, 83 carbs, 15 protein)

1 cup Blueberries

1 cup rolled Oatmeal

Macro Totals: 3,733kcal, 97 fat, 500 carb, 54 fiber, 208 protein

For anyone who's interested in continually looking at my daily diet, here is a link to my MyFitnessPal page.

And todays training;

Strict Press

20kg x20

40 x5

50 x4

60 x3

75 x2

85 x1

70 x12 (Rep PR!)

60 x10

50 x12

Db Incline Bench

80lb, 3x12

Db Side Laterals

8kg, 3x10

Reverse Tricep Pushdown

20kg, 3x25

FacePull

25kg, 5x25

Diet Update, Back on track!

Diet has been running something like 6 weeks now, average bodyweight is down about 5-1/2 to 6-1/2lbs from the start. For the next week I'm going to be having a break from the diet, eating maintenance calories.

Current running average is 189.5lbs. 

morning weight on this day was 188.4lbs.

data from Libra

Quick run-down of the diet of the last 6-weeks (which I really simplified this time around), in bullet-point format;

• 2500kcals daily 
• Zero Cardio
• Zero Food Weighing
• No strict Macro requirements except for protein, around 1g/lb LBM
• 1 refeed day per week, around 500-600g Carbs
• Still eating according to BioRhythm principles

This has been simple and effective, as evidenced in the weight trend line above. Moral of the story here is not to let fat-loss dieting be an excuse to develop OCD-type behavior. Trust me, I've fell victim to this in the past. Its no fun and can be a bitch of a habit to break. Glad I'm finally over that hurdle. 

Training is also going very well despite the fat-loss diet. Currently Pushing for 5RM PRs in the Squat and Press. But I'll make a separate post to go over training details. 

Recomposition Guide 1.0

I’ve been tinkering with these protocols for quite a while, achieving what I feel like is a great deal of success with my own physique. Everything herein will describe the methods I have used and that I feel are optimal based on experience. Lastly, before diving into this, I’d like to give credit to Lyle McDonald (bodyrecomposition.com/), Martin Berkhan (leangains.com) and JC Deen (jcdfitness.com) for exposing me to these ideas, as well as all the superb info that they put out for free.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recomposition is the so called holy-grail of body transformation. The ideal scenario of simultaneous fat loss & muscle gain. There are varying degrees to which you can manipulate these variables, which will enable you to skew your results in either direction, to suit your specific goal. Lots of folks say that attempts at recomposition largely result in nothing but wheel spinning, but not in my case;



Day 1 - 190lbs

 


Day 55 - 185lbs

Thoughts on who Should / Should-Not use this Protocol

-I believe this will work best for advanced trainees. Rates of muscle gain will be slow for these individuals anyway and I’m of the opinion that bulking is unproductive for them. I prefer slow, gradual progress in both directions (muscle gain/fat-loss). Newbies and Intermediates; please feel free to experiment with my methods, but you may be better served by simply focusing on strength & muscle gain.

-You must be able to track your macronutrient intake. You don’t have to be OCD about it, but be reasonably accurate. Weigh / Measure your food for at least a month to learn your portions, then eye-ball it after that.

-You must be relatively lean (sub 15% body-fat for men). There are various factors why this protocol will work better for lean individuals, primarily because of insulin sensitivity. If you’re fatter than my recommendation, just go with a standard calorie deficit (-20% /day) until you de-fatten yourself.

AGAIN… IF YOU’RE FAT, DON’T TRY TO RECOMP

-You must be patient. I believe part of the reason most people ‘cut’ or ‘bulk’ is because they NEED to see the number on the scale moving to assure themselves that they are making progress. Recomposition requires a bit of patience and a ‘big-picture’ point of view, as day to day fluctuations in bodyweight will be largely irrelevant. You must maintain an objective view. If you’re one of those people who freak out if the scale moves up a few pounds, then proceeds to eat nothing but celery all day… this is not the program for you.

Constructing the Diet

Step #1 – Set maintenance calories

I would assume that most people reading this have a decent estimate of their maintenance caloric intake (or thereabouts), if so (yay), then you already have a number to start with.

If you don’t have any idea what your maintenance is, multiply your bodyweight x 14-16 to determine your daily caloric intake. Lower on the scale if you are sedentary, higher if you are active. I suggest most people start with bodyweight x 14 and make adjustments based on progress. Don’t obsess over the numbers, here. Your actual daily maintenance intake is on a sliding scale from day to day. We’re merely attempting to capture a general average.  

Step #2 – Set caloric surplus / deficit based on goals

Generally speaking, you will have two different days;

Low day: Create a caloric deficit to lose body-fat

---------- (Maintenance – 10-30%)

High day: Create a caloric surplus to gain muscle  

---------- (Maintenance + 10-30%)

Now this is where things can get tricky… Determining your surplus/deficit for each day, relative to your goal. I’m going keep this simple by listing a few standard set-ups, rather than attempting to cover every possible scenario.

Vanilla Recomposition

Low Day: Maintenance –20%

High Day: Maintenance +20%

Recomp – Bias toward muscle gain

Low Day: Maintenance –10%

High Day: Maintenance +20-30%

Recomp – Bias toward fat-loss  

Low Day: Maintenance –25-30%

High Day: Maintenance +10%

As you can see there can be many different combinations for distributing calories. I recommend starting with one of the above and adjusting if necessary.

Matching the diet to the training;

-If you train every other day (3x/week) like most people do, make those the High days, with non-training days being Low days.

-If you train everyday like I do, simply rotate through high/low/high/low. This is what I believe to be optimal and has worked very well for me.

-Having 2 Low days in a row is fine, if they are non-training days.

-Having 2 High days in a row is not recommended under most circumstances.

-Do not have a High day on a non-training day.

Step #3 – Calculate Macronutrient requirements

Macronutrients can be highly variable between individuals, so experimentation is obviously necessary. With that said, these are the guidelines I’d like to see most people start with, adjusting based on results.

Low day: 1.2g/lb(bw) Protein, .4g/lb(bw) Fat, Remainder Carbohydrate

High day: 1g/lb(bw) Protein, .3g/lb(bw) Fat, Remainder Carbohydrate

Meal Pattern

Meal timing is largely irrelevant, although I do think it wise for the majority of calories to come after the training session. Whether you want to accomplish this by using Intermittent Fasting, the BioRhythm Diet (also see this for meal template options), or whatever else, doesn’t matter. Just do it.

In Practice

Let’s say our sample lifter is 180lb with a proposed maintenance of ~2500 calories (bodyweight x14).  He is going to do a Vanilla Recomp;

Low Day: 2500 –20% = 2000 calories

High Day: 2500 +20% = 3000 calories

Based on the above, his macros are calculated as;

Low Day: 215 P / 70 F / 125 C

High Day: 180 P / 55 F / 445 C

Gauging Progress

First and foremost, your performance in the gym is your primary indicator of success. For all intents and purposes, if you’re gaining strength on the compound lifts, you’re gaining muscle.

I personally do not track body measurements via calipers or measuring tape, but if that floats your boat, go right ahead. I primarily use the mirror for feedback on body-comp.

Regarding scale weight, what I’ve found to be the most helpful is to record my morning weight 5 – 7 days out of the week and average them out. When comparing these averages from week to week, you can determine what path your weight is on; generally increasing, decreasing or staying the same.  

If you decide to try out one of these protocols, please provide some feedback.

Just some more food porn...

Grass-fed Beef Short Ribs, procured from a local farm. 

Yee-Haw

BioRhythm Meal Template

Dominik from naturtraining.net asked for a meal template that I would use on the BioRhythm Diet. So here is what a general training day could look like for a 175 - 195lb (80-90kg) male;

MEAL 1:

6 Omega-3 eggs

1 serving Carbs*

+ Non-Starchy Veggies

MEAL 2:

8oz / 225g Red Meat or Oily Fish

1 serving Carbs*

1 Tbsp Healthy Oil

+ Non-Starchy Veggies

WORKOUT: 10g BCAA Drink (optional)

Meal 3:

15-30g Whey Protein

1 Cup / 226g Cottage Cheese

2+ serving Carbs*

+ 5-10g Fats (optional)

Meal 4:

8oz / 225g Lean Meat (cooked)

3+ serving Carbs*

+ Veggies

*Carb Servings

~ Half-cup / 40g Oats (dry)

~ 1 Packet / 28g Grits (dry)

~ 150g Potato (raw)

~ Half-cup / 90g Rice (cooked)

~ 1 Large Banana

~ 1 Large Apple

~ 1 Cup Berries

Protein / Carb servings can be adjusted up or down to suit individual needs. Preferentially you would limit meal #1 & #2 to 1 serving of carbs (or less), while placing the majority of the carbs at meals #3 & #4.

The template could also be used for non-training days, simply by removing the BCAA & Whey as well as reducing some of the carbs at meal 3.

Hope this helps you out, Dominik!

Recipe: Berry Rice Bowl

So this is something I crafted up recently which turned out to be pretty damn tasty. This is a perfect example of an evening meal for those of you utilizing the principles of the BioRhythm Diet.

Ingredients
-Fresh Strawberries/Blueberries/Blackberries/Raspberries (200-300g)
-Cottage Cheese (low fat) or Greek Yogurt (1 Cup / 225g)
-White, Jasmine or Basmati Rice (1 Cup dry / 180g)
-Optional stuff: sweetener, cinnamon, dark cocoa powder 

Step 1: Measure out 1 cup of dry rice, add water and cook using whatever method you usually do. I have a rice cooker and highly recommend that you get one.

Step 2: While the rice is cooking, get your berries into a medium/large bowl and mash them up. 

Mash dat shit up.

Step 3: Add Cottage Cheese, sweetener, cocoa & cinnamon (or any other extra's that you'd like) to the berry paste and mix thoroughly.

Step 4: When the rice is finished cooking, add it into the berry/cottage cheese mixture and stir until a even distribution is reached.

Mountain of rice, Incoming

Step 5 (optional): Add more sweetner/cinnamon to taste and chill the bowl in the freezer for 15mins, then enjoy.

Not Pretty, but Tasty

I find this to be a great change of pace from the standard meat & potatoes, especially when I am craving something sweet. Its delicious and filling, delivering around 850kcal, 40g protein, 165g carb & 4g fat.

Try it and let me know what you think!

Physique Update, Food P0rn & Training Log - Chins & Presses

Chins / Pull-ups

Bodyweight - 2 sets x10
Bodyweight+27.5kg - 3 sets x4  

Strict Press

83.5kg - 3 sets x4 

Dips

Bodyweight+20kg - 3 sets x9,8,8

Morning Bodyweight - 83kg

Not a bad look considering the binge I had yesterday.
 Approx 2500kcal surplus comprised mostly of peanut butter.
What a mess that was. 

Delicious supper this evening. Roast Beef & Mashed Potato w/ Peas

Donny Shankles Jambalaya

My fiancé made the famous Shankle Jambalaya for dinner tonight. We absolutely love it and enjoy it on a regular basis. It’s savory, spicy and truly delivers that amazing Cajun flavor. Not to mention that it’s packed with carbs, fats & proteins for the hard-training lifter. Approx ~4000 calories for the whole recipe.

Do yourself a favor and MAKE THIS MEAL. It will add 10kilos to your lifts, guaranteed. Don’t forget the Louisiana Sauce!

The BioRhythm Diet

This post will outline my favorite dietary protocol and eating pattern, called the BioRhythm Diet. I will not get too far into the sciency stuff, as Borge Fagerli (creator of the diet) has already done that. As a matter of fact, all of his work is quite stellar, so if you are interested in more of his diet & training theory check out his blog and all of his works posted in the articles section of MyRevolution.no (You will have to run these through Google translate, as they are in Norwegian, but trust me it’s worth the hassle).

                             

So here are the main principles of the diet, and my experiences while using it.

The take home points of this protocol

-During the first part of the day (all meals prior to weight training), focus on consuming Proteins & Fats, while keeping Carbohydrate intake low (<30g). Think meat & whole eggs with some additional Fats such as butter (grass-fed), or healthy oils (coconut / macadamia / olive). Also, be sure to consume some veggies and/or light fruit (berries or melon) with each meal.

-Pre-Training, consume 10g of BCAA (or 30g Whey) and a small amount of Carbs from fruit (5-20g).

-Post-Training, consume 30-50g Protein from a mixture of whey & casein, along with 30-50g Carbs from fruit. Including some saturated Fats (~5-15g) from dairy in this meal can be beneficial, as studies have shown this to increase Protein synthesis (link).    

-Eat the absolute majority of your Carbohydrate intake at dinner time, about 2-3 hours before bed. Fat intake should be kept somewhat low during this meal, so focus on lean meats such as chicken breast or beef top-round. My go-to Carb sources in this meal are potatoes, white rice & gluten-free pancakes, but feel free to experiment to find what works best for you.

The benefits I have noticed

-Steady energy all morning and throughout the day. No peaks and valleys like most people suffer due to a High-Carb breakfast.

-Reduced need for morning caffeine. I still have a morning coffee, but just one cup typically fuels me all day, rather than having 2-3 cups throughout the entire day.

-Simplicity. I can eat 3 square meals a day (plus pre/post-workout nutrition) that are delicious & satisfying. No hunger pangs every 2-3 hours. Long-gone are the days of packing Tupperware to eat 5-6 small meals per day.

-Deep, Restful Sleep. In this aspect the BioRhythm diet is pretty much un-matched by anything else that I’ve ever tried. There is nothing better than hitting the sack after crushing a huge Carb-laden meal. It’s truly the best sleep I’ve had in my lifetime. Anecdotally, I believe that I’m actually getting deeper into REM sleep using this diet, because on a regular basis I am having very vivid, almost lucid dreams which don’t usually happen for me.

-Wake up feeling well rested. Obviously a byproduct of a great night of sleep.

-Loss of body-fat. This is surprising considering that my Carb intake is HIGHER than that of my standard diet.

-Increased performance in the gym. Likely because of increased Carb intake, although regardless of the low Carb intake prior to the actual training session.

This is what a typical day of eating looks like for me

Breakfast: Omelet, 4 egg + ½ cup egg-whites w/ mushrooms & salsa, cooked in coconut oil
Lunch: 1 cup F-F Greek Yogurt + 15g Whey Iso + 15g Coconut Oil & Fiber supplement
Pre-Training: 10g BCAA + 2 mandarins
Post-Training: 15g Whey Iso + ½ cup F-F Greek Yogurt & 10g Coconut Oil

Dinner: Chicken Breast w/ 2lb+ (yes, pounds…) Basmati rice or Yukon potato

(Occasionally I will eat a carton of ice cream along-side the rice/potatoes)

So there you have it. A simple eating pattern that allows me to feel great, while losing body-fat and increasing performance in the gym. Do yourself a favor and TRY IT!

If you have questions or would like help setting up your own training & diet, leave a comment or contact me.

Beef Stew a la Glenn Pendlay

Made this tonight and it was delicious. I'll link the original MDUSA video below. Shout-out to Glenn, he's doing awesome things with the MDUSA Team. If you aren't already subscribed to their YouTube channel, I highly suggest doing so.

Perfect meal for a weightlifter.