response to the Dave Pulcinella video “The 6 Foods that Work.”

This post is a response to the Dave Pulcinella video “The 6 Foods that Work.”

Recently Dave has been on the scene with No Bullsh%* Bodybuilding’s Ian McCarthy and has been receiving some attention here on the forums. Dave was quoted in a post named “Bull!@#* Bodybuilding” and I really tore into him. If you’re curious, here’s the link [url]http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=151738753&p=1025409693#post1025409693[/url]

Anyways, I didn’t want to just flame another poster without also contributing some positive input. So here’s my response to “The 6 Foods that Work”



[b]6 Food Guidelines that Work[/b]




[b]1. Keep a Food Journal[/b]

If you bite it, you write it. Keeping a food journal is one of the best ways to manage your nutrition. It keeps you accountable and is cited in the scientific literature as being an effective tool for weight management. Here’s a full text link one long term study that used food journals [url]http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2515566/[/url]

A food journal will help you memorize your food’s calories and macronutrients. It’s just like using flash cards to learn multiplication tables. The repetition of entering these foods will create a database in your brain. Try using a free online or smart phone app tool like [url]www.myfitnesspal.com[/url]

[b]2. Have a Plan[/b]

I’m a big fan of the 80/20 rule and not a fan of micromanaging. If you have a game plan for about 80% of your calories, it shouldn’t be any trouble getting the rest. So in other words, have a game plan, but not too detailed. Here are some ways to accomplish this.

A. Plan ahead on your food journal for a majority of your meals. Leave some room for change in plans or uncertainties.

B. Stick to a basic routine for most of your meals. If you have a few meals that hit close to the same amount of calories and macronutrients that you can cycle in, it will still give you some structure to work with for the rest of your choices.

C. Get your trouble areas out of the way early. So if you are always low on protein and high on fat, then consider starting off your day with a lean and high protein breakfast.

That’s just some examples. You can find something that will work best for you and your situation. Some days you can’t plan at all and some days you’ll have to bring all your food with you. Just roll with the punches and remember that one bad meal never made anyone fat just like one awesome meal never made anyone lean.

[b]3. Learn to Cook [/b]

People who are successful in the long term learn how to adopt their nutrition choices into a lifestyle change. Eating a variety of tasty foods is a hell of a lot more appealing than eating the same 6 bland foods every day.

Want to learn how to cook? [url]www.Allrecipes.com[/url] allows you to search for recipes based on nutrition content. If you look at the bottom of their recipes, they place a nutrition facts label to give you a good idea of what you’re getting. They have a “quick and easy” sub folder for y’all that want to start simple.

Cooking will also save you money. I see so many posts with a title like “broke college student needs help with bodybuilding foods.” Preparing meals yourself is the #1 cheapest way to eat. Star with a less expensive protein like chicken breast, ground beef, eggs, etc. and go from there.

[b]4. Avoid Extremes[/b]

Anything that eliminates whole food groups, foods, nutrients, etc. should be looked at with scrutiny. All foods can fit into a balanced diet. The human body is a resilient and adaptive machine. It’s not going to break down because you feed it a bowl of ice cream.

There are lots of gurus who would tell you otherwise. They say there’s only one way of doing it. Avoiding extremes also brings me to my next point…

[b]5. Beware of Disordered Eating Behaviors[/b]

Keep an eye on disordered eating behaviors. Sometimes you can’t help but be a little high strung about food and reaching your goals and there is a time and a place to be very diligent (end of bodybuilding competition preparation, before a weigh-in for a sporting event) I recommend that you don’t get too stressed about your diet. Some examples I would look out for are:

A. Labeling foods as “good” or “bad” based on their name and not their nutrient composition or taste. Foods don’t have virtues. They’re just delivery vesicles of nutrients and flavors to your body. Treat them accordingly.

B. Stress and anxiety when you don’t have control. Do you sweat bullets when you have to dine out at a place you didn’t plan beforehand?

C. Meaningless rituals. Do you eat every 2 hours on the hour even though there’s no scientific literature to support this habit? Just an example.

D. Social isolation. Find yourself avoiding interactions with others in order to maintain control of your diet?

E. Binge eating. A binge is never healthy.


[b]6. Find the Balance[/b]

More is not better. More is never better. More:
Fiber
Protein
Vitamins and minerals
Strictness
Flexibility…

… is not better.

A symphony works because all the instruments play at a tone, intensity, and tempo that compliment with all the others. Figure out the balance that works for you because every person plays a different song.

Can I be the first to call for this to be a sticky?? I think so!!!

Great thread Tony! Everything I would like to say but much more articulate than I ever could! :)

You're proving to be a superb antidote to the potentially injurious rants of folks like Dave.

Awesome tips. I wish I would have seen this when I started out instead of the garbage on the main site. Still struggling getting over some of their nonsense.

In for later reading!

Orsonwellsclap.jpg

Well done. This needs to be stickied.

awesome post, awesome tips...

Easy advices that everyone should follow and consider. Could be novices or experts, but this applies to everyone.

Still in for Dave response!

great post and I also say this needs to be stickied

excellent

Some great general guidelines here, couldn't have said it better myself. The one that rings loudest time and time again, and the one I see skewered most of all, is [b]5: Beware of Disordered Eating Behaviors[/b].

I'm no one special, but personally see terrible eating behaviours echoed throughout the fitness community by people whose goal is to simply 'look good'. Their eating habits become so uncontrolled that they end up as hermits living by their 'eat-every-2-hour' gospel. The foods they're eating never change from day to day, and their end goal of 'looking good' has become lost in translation. They become more obsessed with the way they're eating (seeing minimal results) than their actual goal of progressing towards an aesthetically pleasing physique.

I suppose what always baffles me most is that these eating disorders effectively remove them from society and people in general, the very place in which they wished to 'look good' in the first place. These eating disorders are more prone to cause stagnation than progression, because you end up overlooking everything else in favor of some strange rules to eating that you've established in your mind.

I've certainly fallen victim to this before, but have managed to objectively step back, recognize my problem and fix it before it ruined everything. And by everything I mean not just gym progression but also social presence.

Anyway, very good post buddy, thanks for sharing.

On spread :( Great post.

Bumping to first page because this is something alot of newbies need to see.

[QUOTE=DaBubzy;1028170073]Bumping to first page because this is something alot of newbies need to see.[/QUOTE]

Agree!!

still needs to be stickied!

[QUOTE=Ben6485;1028172753]still needs to be stickied![/QUOTE]

I also agree with that but I suspect the title would have to change.

[QUOTE=rand18m;1028173233]I also agree with that but I suspect the title would have to change.[/QUOTE]

Obviously
I think the title should be
"6 Food Guidelines that Work"

Yeah, what this forum definitely needs is another sticky. We've seen how successful the others have been in stopping people from asking questions to which they contain the answers, right?

[QUOTE=Makween;1028181973]Yeah, what this forum definitely needs is another sticky. We've seen how successful the others have been in stopping people from asking questions to which they contain the answers, right?[/QUOTE]

Are you certain the number that read the stickies and don't ask questions at all is zero?

[QUOTE=rand18m;1028183173]Are you certain the number that read the stickies and don't ask questions at all is zero?[/QUOTE]

Of course not. I wasn't actually being completely serious, but I guess tone is difficult to convey on a messageboard.

FWIW, I do actually think that people are more likely to read non-sticky threads than they are stickies, although I do understand the problems with that reasoning (namely that it relies on the thread staying on page one forever).

[QUOTE=Makween;1028183883]Of course not. I wasn't actually being completely serious, but I guess tone is difficult to convey on a messageboard.

FWIW, I do actually think that people are more likely to read non-sticky threads than they are stickies, although I do understand the problems with that reasoning (namely that it relies on the thread staying on page one forever).[/QUOTE]


The point is that we have no idea how many people benefit from the stickies, there is no way to quantify the benefit based on how many people ask questions here due to the fact that they didn't read a sticky.

(but you are correct we have a lot of stickies, over time I assume some come and go)

[QUOTE=rand18m;1028188203]The point is that we have no idea how many people benefit from the stickies, there is no way to quantify the benefit based on how many people ask questions here due to the fact that they didn't read a sticky.

(but you are correct we have a lot of stickies, over time I assume some come and go)[/QUOTE]

...I understood your point. As I said, I wasn't being serious.

This is an excellent thread, but I think that anyone who reads the existing stickies and understands them is unlikely to need it and those who don't read the stickies or understand them won't do so with this one either.

This does me no good in writing. Be in my documentary and say this on camera. My email is sh*ttyuselessbodybuildingdocumentariesthatnoonegivesash*tabout@hotmail.com.

[QUOTE=Douche100;1028192283]This does me no good in writing. Be in my documentary and say this on camera. My email is sh*ttyuselessbodybuildingdocumentariesthatnoonegivesash*tabout@hotmail.com.[/QUOTE]

LOLerz^^

[QUOTE=Douche100;1028192283]Be in my documentary and say this on camera.[/QUOTE]We already know the counterparty's perspective:

[QUOTE=mike pulcinella;1022941093]My brother is on FIRE right now talking about all this IIFYM stuff! Here's his latest blog post...strong words! *"BULL**** BODYBUILDING"

If you're calling yourself a "bodybuilder", and you're not willing to a few simple things like have a grocery shopping day, eat certain foods, eat something every few hours, follow a list of foods called a "diet", then maybe you need to find another sport.

Real Bodybuilders have no problem doing any of these things, and if you were to put dog **** on that list of foods called a "diet", a real bodybuilder would figure out a way to eat it.

If you can't do these things, it's ok. You're just not a real bodybuilder, that's all. Call yourself a "recreational body shaper", or "fitness enthusiast". Just stop calling yourself a bodybuilder.

And if you're not willing to do these things, or if they're too uncomfortable for you, that doesn't mean you need to scramble to find scientific research to validate your behavior and then call real Bodybuilders "bull****" because they ARE willing to do these things. It's ok, just don't do them.

And it really doesn't matter if eating every 2 hours raises metabolism or not, does it? Because even if we knew it was the premier way to increase BMR, you still couldn't do it, so lets give that a rest.

I'm glad bodybuilding is difficult. It's the reason I chose it in the first place. It's incredibly challenging and therefore incredibly rewarding. If everyone could do it, it wouldn't be as special to me.

And finally, don't presume to tell me what I should and shouldn't have to do within the context of MY sport, a world you've never stepped foot in and about which you know literally nothing. You're in MY world whenever you talk about "bodybuilding". Act accordingly and show some respect. You're in the presence of someone who can do things you cannot and never will.[/QUOTE]

The info in your post is good.

It's really got nothing to do with Dave however, not sure why it's directed at him and not to everyone in general.

[QUOTE=SamChang;1028089683]Some great general guidelines here, couldn't have said it better myself. The one that rings loudest time and time again, and the one I see skewered most of all, is [b]5: Beware of Disordered Eating Behaviors[/b].

Anyway, very good post buddy, thanks for sharing.[/QUOTE]

Thank you. I Realized I left binge eating out that list, so I edited it in. It's certainly something you see a lot after extended periods of deprivation and especially after some bodybuilders compete.

[QUOTE=rand18m;1027878193]Can I be the first to call for this to be a sticky?? I think so!!!

Great thread Tony! Everything I would like to say but much more articulate than I ever could! :)[/QUOTE]

Thank you, you're too kind.

[QUOTE=Douche100;1028192283]This does me no good in writing. Be in my documentary and say this on camera. My email is sh*ttyuselessbodybuildingdocumentariesthatnoonegivesash*tabout@hotmail.com.[/QUOTE]

Lol! I understood that reference.

[QUOTE=naturalguy;1028211813]The info in your post is good.

It's really got nothing to do with Dave however, not sure why it's directed at him and not to everyone in general.[/QUOTE]

Well, like I said. My post linked above was directed more toward Dave. This post is a response to his "6 foods that work" and I was just trying to offer some alternative advice.

[QUOTE=WonderPug;1027880483]You're proving to be a superb antidote to the potentially injurious rants of folks like Dave.[/QUOTE]

You too, brother. Keep up the good work!

[QUOTE=naturalguy;1028211813]It's really got nothing to do with Dave however...[/QUOTE][B]Not exactly.[/B]

[I]You either know or should know why it does have something to do with Dave as you posted multiple replies in the relevant threads. [/I]

Anyway, to refresh your memory, please watch:

[youtube]NnPDWklSLz8[/youtube]

[QUOTE=foodandfitness;1028216713]
Well, like I said. My post linked above was directed more toward Dave. This post is a response to his "6 foods that work" and I was just trying to offer some alternative advice.



[/QUOTE]

You could have just contacted Dave with it.

What Dave was doing is a whole different world from what you are posting about. Dave was doing something extreme (competitive bodybuilding at a high level) so it does take extreme measures.

Unless I am wrong (and I could be) that was a documentary where he was talking about what works for him during contest prep. I've seen the DVD's and it was not an instructional video for the general public.