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Bodybuilding and Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live program


Theresaann
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Hey there,

 

Just wondering if anyone has ever utilized Dr. Fuhrman's High Nutrient content way of eating with their bodybuilding/fitness goals.

 

I like this approach because essentially he says eat up to 2 pounds of greens a day (1 cooked, 1 raw), unlimited beans, 4-5 pieces of fruit, moderate nuts and seeds, depending on how much bodyfat one needs to lose, and only 1-2 servings whole grain/day.

 

What I like about it is no "counting" etc, just eating as much high nutrient content plant foods as one wants. I'm kinda lazy and get all stressed out having to think about macronutrients and timing meals all day, etc. So this appeals to me. And I have found that if I do restrict those grains and eat a lot of beans its way easier to lose bf without feeling hungry.

 

Anyone else ever utilize these guidelines as their "official" nutrition philosophy?

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I never read his book, but I think "Eat To Live" is geared towards wegiht loss, not putting on muscle ( bodybuilding )

 

Correct. It's a low calorie diet and has nothing to do with bodybuilding. It's not meant to bring you down to athletic levels of body fat but more in the normal/skinny range. I follow a lot of the principles of the book though. I eat mainly whole foods with the exception of TVP, very limited amounts of oil and some sugar (in stuff like mustard or maybe I'll have some on my oatmeal). I eat a lot more veggies than I used to, specially greens which I think everyone should do, but on most days my veggie intake is around 600 grams and I eat maybe 3-400 grams of fruit. But for a vegan athlete to limit starch to 1 serving a day and nuts to a handful and then eat beans, veggies and fruits would be really hard. I eat between 3100-3400 calories, doing that on the eat to live plan would not be very easy but that's what so great about the plan. It's hard to eat a lot of calories.

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I follow his plan, and I gain mass on it. Eat to Live is not the best to follow to gain muscle. If you want to gain muscle or compete athletically, he has other plans to follow, which I do. They entail eating at least one pound cooked and one pound raw vegetables, one pound of fruit, at least one cup of beans, 3oz+ of nuts/seeds, and more starchy vegetable/grain servings. The way I follow it, is I eat about 4-5oz of nuts and seeds, way more veggies than the guidelines ask for, about 5 cups of beans (I think, since I always cook up two cups dry beans), and no starchy vegetables or grains.

 

You might want to check out Eat for Health instead of Eat to Live if you want to focus on athletics. Eat to Live is a weight loss book/plan and Eat for Health is a general lifestyle plan, and can be extended to athletics. He has a newsletter on his athletic plan, which I could email to you if you want to PM me your email. He also has two teleconferences on the subject, but those can only be streamed from his member center.

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I follow his plan, and I gain mass on it. Eat to Live is not the best to follow to gain muscle. If you want to gain muscle or compete athletically, he has other plans to follow, which I do. They entail eating at least one pound cooked and one pound raw vegetables, one pound of fruit, at least one cup of beans, 3oz+ of nuts/seeds, and more starchy vegetable/grain servings. The way I follow it, is I eat about 4-5oz of nuts and seeds, way more veggies than the guidelines ask for, about 5 cups of beans (I think, since I always cook up two cups dry beans), and no starchy vegetables or grains.

 

You might want to check out Eat for Health instead of Eat to Live if you want to focus on athletics. Eat to Live is a weight loss book/plan and Eat for Health is a general lifestyle plan, and can be extended to athletics. He has a newsletter on his athletic plan, which I could email to you if you want to PM me your email. He also has two teleconferences on the subject, but those can only be streamed from his member center.

 

Cubby I would like to have that athletic plan newsletter also. Could you send it to me? I will send you my email in a personal message.

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I have to say regarding not being able to build muscle on this way of eating....I'm not so sure about that. Seems that there are bodybuilders/athletes who eat only RAW food, which doesn't include cooked grain or cooked starchy vegetables, that are able to build muscle.

 

I do know that I feel SO much better really limiting grain and starchy vegetables to not more than one serving a day. Beans don't seem to have the same bloating/fat storage effect that grain and starchy vegs do. But I don't really eat more than 1-2 cups of them a day. But if I DON'T eat them everyday, my blood sugar gets whacked out and I crave more grain. They seem to have a very balancing effect on my blood sugar. And I notice if I eat at least 2 fruits, I also don't get cravings for sweets or refined grains as much.

 

I really think Dr. Fuhrman is on to something. Maybe its my age (45-but thanks to high nutrient content, plant based eating and regular exercise I look more like 25), but I just don't do well with that much grain, whole or otherwise. Thanks cubby for forwarding the athletic plan!

 

Peace!

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