Question thread for our AMA with Dr. Brandon M Roberts and Dr. Peter J Fitschen starting Wednesday April 15th!

[robertven]

@niecey85 I will preface this by saying I am not an RD or eating disorder specialist and those would be the people I would recommend if this is a large enough issue to where eating patterns are disordered and it is stalling progress.

However, I think the biggest first step is understanding why it is you are eating. Typically, if someone overeats due to real physiological hunger they sneak extra bites here and there which can absolutely slow/stall progress; however, when someone throws out the plan entirely and binges there is usually an underlying emotional component that needs to be addressed. I will oftentimes refer clients out to other professionals who specialize in this area if it is a larger issue than something I am qualified / comfortable handling.

 

[niecey85]

@paparazi257 Q4Both:

Fellow competitors you look up to the most?

 

[robertven]

@niecey85 Brian Whitacre has always been someone I've really looked up to in the natural bodybuilding world. Not only is he arguably the best lightweight natural pro bodybuilder ever, but he also is a Tenured Economics Professor and has found really great balance between all of that and his family.

 

[niecey85]

@paparazi257 Q4Both:

Where should the focus be for an individual who moved on from a strength sport to bodybuilding?

 

[thepcwife]

@niecey85 Volume. Training in a way to optimize volume and not worry as much about increasing strength.

 

[robertven]

@niecey85 I would agree with @thepcwife on this. More volume and also focusing on hitting different movement patterns. There is some evidence that doing multiple different movements (eg. squat + leg press + lunge) may result in more balanced hypertrophy across all heads of a muscle compared to doing the same number of sets and reps from just 1 movement (squat in this case).

 

[niecey85]

@paparazi257 Q4Both:

Which aspects of your work in general do you enjoy the most?

 

[robertven]

@niecey85 I truly think I have the best job in the world. I know it is popular for coaches to move towards passive income streams and hire other coaches and while I have written a book and do some speaking/lecturing, I genuinely enjoy coaching and hope to do it for a long time.

A few things in particular that stand out:

- Establishing real relationships with clients as we work through challenges.

- See a client start without really knowing where to go, seeing them buy into your plan and ultimately have success in a way that is as healthy and sustainable as possible.

- Being there on show day with clients.

- Working with a first-time competitor who has a positive experience then decides to continue competing long-term.

- The flexibility of making my own schedule and working for myself.

- Similarly, since I have that flexibility being able to travel for invited talks, still participate in some primary research, skype guest lecture college courses, write a book, etc.

 

[niecey85]

@paparazi257 Q4Both:

How are you spending your time with the social distancing in place?

 

[robertven]

@niecey85 Honestly, I feel like I have been busier than ever with clients. Although my client numbers are admittedly down during this time, as they are for most coaches I am sure, I am spending a lot of time working with clients around all of the hurdles and roadblocks that have / are coming up such as not having a gym, show cancellations, changes to their plans a result of these things, etc.

I'm also still training for shows myself and fortunately have a good amount of equipment in my back garage home gym to where I am still training with heavy bb, db, cables, etc.

I am getting outside and walking the dog quite a bit.

I am also trying to spend time with my wife; however, since she works in the medical field at a hospital she is picking up more shifts and her schedule is all over the place right now.

 

[mcolley10]

@paparazi257 Question for both

With the above said, I understand that often these limitations are created by funding. Either not enough funds to do it the “ideal” way, or perhaps whoever is funding the study wants it done on certain populations or with certain guidelines that come with their money. With regards to bodybuilding, would it not be plausible to establish a gofundme type of scenario where we as a collective community could donate and raise the necessary funds in order to conduct an ideal to study to answer some of our most important questions? Or is it simply that too many individual variance in results will always leave us with an “it depends” type of answer to most things?

 

[robertven]

@mcolley10 I think it would be really difficult due to just how expensive research can be especially when using state of the art methods to get the best answers possible. On top of that, it would be a matter of finding enough of your ideal study population in 1 place in order to do the testing or having to standardize protocols across multiple labs. Also, at the end of the day even the "best" studies still have limitations and there is no "perfect" study design.

 

[thepcwife]

@mcolley10 I think having a gofundme is a great idea. Iirc Dr. Galpin did that to raise funds for his microscope (200k ish). I'm going to try it at some point in the future. I don't think one study can provide all the answers, but this one is going to provide a lot https://motrpac.org

 

[trumpeter2]

@paparazi257 IIFYM - If it fits your macros

How much of a health risk is it when 50% of the daily calories comes from home cooked organic stuff and the other 50% are Haribo or other gummy sweets?

 

[robertven]

@trumpeter2 I think it would depend upon an individual's total caloric intake because the more calories you are consuming the more discretionary calories you have available beyond what is necessary to meet vitamin/mineral needs and keep you feeling full so you stay consistent.

If you are a male who only is eating 1800cals/day during a cut I would be getting probably 90+% of food from nutrient dense foods to ensure micronutrient needs are met and to control hunger.

For most people who don't have an extremely low or extremely high intake a general rule of thumb would be 80-90% or more of cals from nutrient-dense foods.

However, if you are someone who needs 4000-5000+ cals/day you aren't going to be able to get there from nutrient-dense food along and are going to need to eat some "crap" to get there.

 

[trumpeter2]

@robertven I think one could cover those micronutrient needs with supplements

 

[robertven]

@trumpeter2 I would actually argue that may not be as effective. One common trend you see in a lot of the individual nutrient vs. outcome research is the more you isolate individual nutrients from the whole food the more of the effect you lose. I know in grad school I saw numerous labs present data on things like lycopene, sulforaphane, polyphenols etc. and at it always seemed to follow the trend that the more you got away from whole food the more of the effect you tended to lose. There likely is something to be said about the synergistic effects of nutrients/chemicals found in whole food. However, another area requiring more research.

 

[trumpeter2]

@robertven Thanks very informative! I would love to see more. Can't wait til we can test the needs of individuals and the bioavailability of the stuff fast n cheap.

 

[trumpeter2]

@paparazi257 Does stuff like Huel work? It's just powder with the needed macros and micros. Sure it tastes disgusting and takes the whole biting enjoyment out of food but from a health perspective or a bodybuilding perspective is it really worse than real food and how much?

Also shouldn't I be able to go full IIFYM and cover most of my nutrition through protein shakes, supplements and junk food / sweets?

 

[thepcwife]

@trumpeter2 Yes, Huel world work. Meal replacements have been used for a very long time in a lot of different settings (e.g., military, etc). The macros/micros seem decent.

You CAN go full IIFYM.. but is it optimal? Probably not. That's why in our recommendation for BBers we say "during prep we recommend the majority of carbohydrates come from whole grains, fruits, and vegetables while avoiding higher energy-density sources " - I think this applies to life in general. Try to see beyond IIFYM to the full picture of health.