Nutrition to the extreme?

[Gunz]

Our middle son is 23. He was a professional athlete. Now he works with professional athletes. He's built like Tarzan and living at home temporarily until he gets his own place.

When he isn't working out for hours at a time, he's eating. He makes organic egg whites with organic spinach every morning for breakfast. He eats organic everything. Instant whey protein. Powdered peanut butter. Organic oatmeal. Inca Red Quinoa--whatever the hell that is. He doesn't drink anything but water. Or decaffeinated black tea.

His Mom and I--and even his girlfriend--are just a little concerned because he's so anal about his diet. Recently he's had some outbreaks of hives. I'm like, dude, eat a freaking pizza once a year, show me you're human.

Is it possible to take this too far?

 

[Devildoc]

As long as the macros are balanced, there's no real danger. Of course, the very-low carb/no carb diets can induce a ketotic event, which is no bueno; but otherwise, if he is hitting the carbs, proteins, and fats in a reasonable way, then he's good to go. Having said that I like the 90/10 plan: I eat low-carb and very disciplined 90% of the time, and eat whatever I want the other 10%. Oh, and the powdered peanut butter? That stuff is awesome.

 

[CDG]

To the medical professionals on the board, is it possible he's hitting his macros but not taking in the right amount of vitamins and minerals? I have read about that being possible, particularly with those who train hard in the gym. You can eat enough PRO/CHO/FAT, but still fall short on overall nutrition needs.

 

[Snake]

My experience and realizations are something like this: Why can't your body stay one particular medicene your whole life. This is because at some point your body rejects it or you need more of it to accomplish the original goal. It's like drug users need even more drugs to attain the same high. As far as I found about my life never stay on the same protein power for too long or even toothpaste. Since at some point your body becomes resistant to the products(or whatever) you use. I'd tell him to vary up his diet. So maybe for his protein powder or oatmeal change up the brand regularly so the body doesn't become accustomed to one specific thing.

 

[Snake]

How does he afford this lol? This has got to cost so much as far as I can tell.

 

[Gunz]

...I'd tell him to vary up his diet...

He won't. He don't listen to me, why should he, I'm just a parent.

He eats no potatoes, no bread, no pasta. He will eat a hamburger without a bun or any condiments of any kind as long as it's from an organic cow, i.e., one that's been raised without antibiotics or hormones. He will not eat hotdogs, sausage or bacon. The hotdogs I understand but sweet Italian sausage in my spaghetti sauce...? And bacon? No bacon makes me want to question his patriotism.

 

[Gunz]

How does he afford this lol? This has got to cost so much as far as I can tell.

Damn right, it costs a lot. I was buying it for a while when he first moved back in. I finally told him I couldn't afford it and if he wants to eat this shit he's got to use some of the money he's been saving up while he stays here rent free.

 

[Lefty375]

My experience and realizations are something like this: Why can't your body stay one particular medicene your whole life. This is because at some point your body rejects it or you need more of it to accomplish the original goal. It's like drug users need even more drugs to attain the same high. As far as I found about my life never stay on the same protein power for too long or even toothpaste. Since at some point your body becomes resistant to the products(or whatever) you use. I'd tell him to vary up his diet. So maybe for his protein powder or oatmeal change up the brand regularly so the body doesn't become accustomed to one specific thing.

I'm not sure there is any scientific data to support this at all. AFAIK, your body, doesn't become resistant to protein. Sounds like bro-science to the extreme. Also, I would challenge you to look up the active ingredients for most toothpaste. You might be shocked to learn they are all mostly the same and you have probably just fallen for the companies multi-million dollar marketing campaign.

You don't need potatoes, pasta or bread. The only thing I would be skeptical of is organic. There is a lot of wiggle room for what qualifies as organic. If it's for ethical reasons, that would be another discussion.

Besides the whole "organic" point, a lot of bodybuilders/athletes I associate with eat the same things. Lean meats, vegetables, some fruits, sweet potatoes or brown rice. Everything else in the grocery store is mostly why the western diet is a recipe for terrible health. It takes me five extra minutes to weigh my food and put the macros in my phone. It's just positioning health over a pack of oreo's or whatever else our fat society eats now. Lastly, I find fresh food tastes a tremendous amount better than processed food. It's interesting that people find something that can sit on a shelf for years, tastes better, than a dish packed with fresh ingredients.

 

[ThunderHorse]

Eating everything Organic is stupid unless you're rowing it yourself. Organic eggs are stupid. Now as far as vitamins are concerned: Broccoli, Kale, sweet potatoes are loaded with micro-nutrients. But the dude needs to be sane and enjoy some booze and pizza.

When I'm trying to cut hard I tighten it up, you can see what I've eaten in other threads. If it's having a crazy effect on his relationships you need to sit him down, as well as his girlfriend. He can stay pretty lean on a "less clean" diet. But if he's trying to perform, having a tightened up diet during competition is better because your body adapts and becomes more efficient.

When I got my leanest, and truly I wasn't even that lean I became snappy because I wasn't getting the correct nutrients. And at a certain point you're just hungry all the time.

 

[Red Flag 1]

[Q

 

[Snake]

I'm not sure there is any scientific data to support this at all. AFAIK, your body, doesn't become resistant to protein. Sounds like bro-science to the extreme. Also, I would challenge you to look up the active ingredients for most toothpaste. You might be shocked to learn they are all mostly the same and you have probably just fallen for the companies multi-million dollar marketing.

Your body at some point will reject a product to where you have to increase the doseage to achieve the same effect. Just like medicene or drugs for that matter. Your body systems are able to get accustomed to repeated things. I am not a bro and have not fallen for million dollar marketing. I am just transferring the clear medical info to what may be practical as far as diet goes...

 

[Lefty375]

Your body at some point will reject a product to where you have to increase the doseage to achieve the same effect. Just like medicene or drugs for that matter. Your body systems are able to get accustomed to repeated things. I am not a bro and have not fallen for million dollar marketing. I am just transferring the clear medical info to what may be practical as far as diet goes...

I genuinely would be ecstatic to see evidence that points to the diminishing returns of eating the same type of macronutrient (like protein), repeatedly. For example, study X shows if you eat chicken X times to reach your protein goal per day, over time you will see reduced performance. From all the peer-reviewed literature I have ever read, your body doesn't respond by going "oh this is SuperWhey B22345", and not "SuperHydro Whey X5000" so I will use it more efficiently.

I would find the studies myself to inform all the bodybuilders and athletes I associate with, but there isn't a whole lot to support your claim.

 

[ThunderHorse]

When it comes to whey, it's whey. But, what other supplements is he taking. Because those would be the doses that would shift. But if you're noticing declining effects, rather than increasing the dosage you can just go stim free for a week or two.

I like to be on a linear diet, do all of my cooking on the weekends and such. When it comes to macro-nutrients, your body gets more efficient when eating the same stuff over a period of time. So if he's training for a race or in season he should dial it in with a cheatish meal every two weeks.

But if he's out of season he should be more varietal in what he chooses to cook and also do a free meal/day once a week if he's as active as you say he is. When body builders are deep into their prep for a show they're at their worst emotionally, that's because they're literally starving. So if he's around 6% BF, maybe he should eat some more and come up to about 10%, he'll still have abs but he'll enjoy his life and you guys won't feel like crap.

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

Our middle son is 23. He was a professional athlete. Now he works with professional athletes. He's built like Tarzan and living at home temporarily until he gets his own place.

When he isn't working out for hours at a time, he's eating. He makes organic egg whites with organic spinach every morning for breakfast. He eats organic everything. Instant whey protein. Powdered peanut butter. Organic oatmeal. Inca Red Quinoa--whatever the hell that is. He doesn't drink anything but water. Or decaffeinated black tea.

His Mom and I--and even his girlfriend--are just a little concerned because he's so anal about his diet. Recently he's had some outbreaks of hives. I'm like, dude, eat a freaking pizza once a year, show me you're human.

Is it possible to take this too far?

Slap a plate down in front of him with a 16oz T-bone, baked potato, corn on the cob and a Lone Star beer to wash it down, and explain "MURICA" to that boy.

 

[Gunz]

He's 5% body fat.

Slap a plate down if front of him with a 16oz T-bone, baked potato, corn on the cob and with a Lone Star beer to wash it down, and explain "MURICA" to that boy.

Yer makin me hongrey, brofus.

I got another kid, my youngest, who hates baked beans and mashed potatoes. Who doesn't like baked beans and mashed potatoes???!!! Nazis. Maybe.

 

[Diamondback 2/2]

He's 5% body fat.



Yer makin me hongrey, brofus.

I got another kid, my youngest, who hates baked beans and mashed potatoes. Who doesn't like baked beans and mashed potatoes???!!! Nazis maybe.

It ain't right...

ummmm white beans/pork with corn bread...I am about to make myself hungry!

Chicken fried steak with white gravy, mashed potatoes, and a side of cream corn....:-"

 

[ThunderHorse]

He's 5% body fat.



Yer makin me hongrey, brofus.

I got another kid, my youngest, who hates baked beans and mashed potatoes. Who doesn't like baked beans and mashed potatoes???!!! Nazis. Maybe.

Well there's his problem, existing at 5% takes a lot of work (effects on relationships and work are huge). He's pretty much at stage body fat %, so he needs to come up to about 8-10% and you should see a positive attitude shift. Or he could just have a free meal every week, slam some beers on a Saturday.

Here's one of the Body Builders I follow and he talks about how he had to pull his name from the NABBA universe competition:

 

[Etype]

My experience and realizations are something like this: Why can't your body stay one particular medicene your whole life. This is because at some point your body rejects it or you need more of it to accomplish the original goal. It's like drug users need even more drugs to attain the same high. As far as I found about my life never stay on the same protein power for too long or even toothpaste. Since at some point your body becomes resistant to the products(or whatever) you use. I'd tell him to vary up his diet. So maybe for his protein powder or oatmeal change up the brand regularly so the body doesn't become accustomed to one specific thing.

Your body doesn't become resistant to nutrition, this is asinine.

There are populations in the world that only eat the same few items from cradle to grave. I'm sure the things the OP mentioned are only a representative sample of what he eats, and not all that he eats.

 

[Snake]

Okay so can anyone explain why the body will become resistant to medicenes or drugs, but not carry this over to foods/beverages? I'm interested in understanding this.

 

[TLDR20]

Okay so can anyone explain why the body will become resistant to medicenes or drugs, but not carry this over to foods/beverages? I'm interested in understanding this.

Your body doesn't become resistant to medicine, the bacteria do. This is called evolution. You can build a tolerance(different than a resistance) to certain drugs(caffeine is a great example) as your body becomes more and more efficient at processing them.

Worsening physiologic condition may make taking more medicine necessary.

I don't become resistant to the proteins and amino acids in food. Cells need nutrients to survive, and grow.