I have been looking into the warrior diet as an option since a part time SRT dude recommended it to me. He is super fit and a certifiable badass as far as fitness and blade work go. He’s not a big guy but extremely strong.
Quick info on me: I am fit and not looking for fat loss as a goal. I am 6’ and approximately 190 lbs. Body fat around 10%, good overall fitness. I run approximately 8-12 miles a week incorporating sprinting. I primarily use the TRX Force and lift weights as a secondary at the local gym. I am big on pull-ups and body weight exercises. In a month or two, I will be working 12 hour shifts on the DuPont schedule (or something similar).
The warrior diet seems like a good way to get the proper amount of calories with one big meal and prevent fatigue from big, possibly unhealthy, meals during a shift. The thinking being that I can use protein (Pro Jym right now) and small snacks during shift and the primary meal coming after shift.
Has anyone used this diet successfully? I am not looking for weight loss but rather a system that would let me optimize my energy levels during work while getting the calories I need in a healthy fashion at the end of a shift.
P.S. I apologize for the brief OP, I have to get some shut-eye.
I have been doing the warrior diet/intermittent fasting for a little over 4 years now. Really have no plans to ever eat any differently.
Shortly after starting I noticed increased energy levels during the day and felt more focused from not eating large meals during the day. I stay lean with no loss in size or strength.
Honestly it is fun to pound a bunch of food in one sitting for me.
If you have questions let me know. Did you read the actual Warrior Diet book or look into Lean Gains yet?
I know the “inventor” of the Warrior Diet and worked with him on a few things back in the day. He was an editor for Penthouse and has no science/med background I’m aware of. Many of the claims for the diet are simply inventions of the author minus any real hard support, and or, fly in the face of what’s known about human phys/bio/nutri
Having said all that, some people feel they do well on IF style diets (the Warrior Diet being but one version of IF) and if it works for you, all good. There has been some studies suggesting IF has some benefits, but to whom, when, where, and why, is not clear at that time.
Personally, It wouldn’t be my first choice for highly active athletic types. In my view, should not be called “intermittent fasting” but “intermittent feasting” because that’s what it really is.
I have a good buddy who is on the warrior diet and he is doing great on it. I personally tried it for a few months and found that it did not work for me. Everyone’s mileage will vary and the best way to tell if it will work for you or not is to try it for yourself. Only then can you make an educated decision, I feel.
I do IF, but not WD. Way to hard to reach your calories with one meal.
On the other hand, not a bad idea for weightloss. Can only eat like 1500 cals in a meal (depending on what all it is), so any adult male will lose weight on that amount.
I feel stronger fasted than fed. If I lift fed, I feel really sick, and I can’t lift well at all.
I do eat prior to BJJ however. For whatever reason, it’s the complete opposite.
Personally, I need a good meal at least within a few hours of a workout to have a solid workout. For example, I never workout on an empty stomach first thing in the morning as some will do as I’ll have no energy. I need at least one solid meal and preferably two.
Ah, I thought that was the one where you only eat once a day. So it’s basically like Leangains, but with a smaller window? I generally follow leangains, but my fasting window changes. Some days its 18 hours, some days it’s 36.
The WD you can eat small “snacks” throughout the day like berries, then you have the 4 hour window to eat everything else. The whole idea of the WD is like when you had to go out and hunt for your food. You might eat berries or something that you took with you while hunting then you had the “feast” at the end of the day. I guess it could be 1 meal, I eat 95% of my food in one meal then have a few things a couple hours later.
It’s been a while since I read the book and I’m pretty sure I have the electronic version of it somewhere if anyone would like to take a look. Just shoot me a PM with your email.
We are talking snacks as in a handful of berries. Yeah I think so. You are not eating anything calorie dense or that spikes your blood sugar.
Anymore at lunch time I’ll have blueberries and a casein shake. I’ve eaten 3 small snacks, 2 snacks, and fasted till dinner. The berries and a small shake at lunch time is what I’ve probably done the longest.
The biggest and leanest I’ve ever been involved 4:1:1 BCAAs, berries, and a small shake 2-3 times during the day then the feast. BCAAS before during and after lifting
It looks like you follow something closer to the Lean Gains? 16h fast 8h eat something like that. There really isn’t one way to go about it like anything thing else diet related.
I follow lean gains in so far as macros. My fasting hours vary though. Usually more than 16/8.
I know there isn’t one way to go about it, and I’m always looking to improve what I’m doing. I’ll give that thread a read.
But fasting means not eating. Mortification of the flesh.
Not eating isn’t the only answer. What you eat when you break the fast is also important.
I’ve read that your body doesn’t really care and it’s all just the totals for the day. Not sure I agree with that. Nutrient timing makes sense to me, and has shown positive results for me.
I think that is the case as well but I merely skimmed the book a while back.
EOD totals are what ultimately matter, according to every source worth reading. Even those who disagree on many key things agree on that. Timing and macro breakdown matter a lot. Timing especially has been an issue for me. PWO timing frustrates me a lot. Hard to curb hunger at times and often easy to overeat. Timing has helped me recover much better though.
It is the Warrior Diet not hunter gatherer diet. The diet is based on the Roman warriors who according to the author only ate at the end of the day.
I started the Warrior Diet on my 35th birthday and stayed on it for one year. I learned a lot during that year. Mostly about hunger. Why did I always get hungry around break time/ same time everyday? Dispite the fact that my activity levels changed from day to day. Most of our hunger is mental. While on the diet I was never really hungry but when feasting I was never really satisfied no matter how much I ate.
While working day shift if I went past a certain time with out feasting I would become depressed and just fill like shit. Another problem is if dinner is a disappointment you are screwed until the next day. I never got below 15-20% body fat while on this diet. Many people have reported gaining weight while on warrior diet. That is why I started reading other books about diet. When I control when I eat carbs and how many I eat I fill and look better. Actually my best results where when I was working night shift. I would work out eat a big meal then go to work and eat lite/under eating phase the rest of the night.
The warrior diet book, anything I have read by Ori Hofmekler, is hard to read it is kind of a round and round style. Maybe he gets paid by the word?? The book could very easily be an article or blog that’s how much info is in it. Most of what Ori Hofmekler writes about is backed by zero science. At least he does not list anything that supports his finding.
To the op if you are interested in the diet buy the book read it then try it for a month or so. You will know if it works for you.
