Mike Israetel - The Renaissance Diet 2.0

The contents of this book were carefully researched. However, readers should always consult a qualified medical specialist for individual advice before adopting any new nutrition or exercise plan. This book should not be used as an alternative to seeking specialist medical advice.

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The Renaissance Diet 2.0

Maidenhead: Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd., 2020

9781782558590

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© 2020 by Meyer & Meyer Sport (UK) Ltd.

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9781782558590

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Foreword by Rich Froning Foreword My name is Rich Froning, and I would like to welcome you to the brand-new, revamped Renaissance Diet 2.0 . I have been competing in fitness sport for nine years, and in those years I have won four individual CrossFit Games Titles, three Affiliate Cup Titles, and a second place in each category as well. Nutrition for performance, recovery, and body composition change has been integral to my success. Whether you are trying to qualify for the CrossFit Games, just shed some body fat or gain some muscle to improve your appearance and health, or anything in between, you are going to want to be aware of the tools available for your fitness journey. As far as such tools go, proper manipulation of diet is one of the most powerful. Over my many years in sport, I have encountered countless trends, fads, and misconceptions in nutrition. Some pop up for only a short time, others last decades, and some even come and go every few years. Unfortunately, most meant to notably and sustainably change your appearance and performance do not work in the long term. I have seen too many well-meaning, motivated people get ripped off and denied their best results because they invested in a fad diet approach. The Renaissance Periodization way is different. First of all, as you will soon read, there really is no such thing as “the RP diet.” RP has just synthesized all available scientifically derived, research-backed principles of nutrition to create a detailed set of instructions that you can apply to your own diet or to the diets of clients. This book is the most up-to-date, comprehensive resource on the science and practice of fat loss, muscle gain, and performance-improvement dieting currently available. For those who want the most detailed descriptions of how and why the dieting principles work, RP’s team of professors, PhDs, coaches, medical doctors, athletes, and dietitians have provided just that, with a vast reference library for those that want to expand their understanding even more. Each chapter is summarized with the basics you need to know to understand the process, and several chapters are dedicated specifically to helping you design and execute your own diet based on your goals, step by step. Happy reading, Rich Froning Four-Time World’s Fittest Man

A Note From the Authors A Note From the Authors When we wrote the original Renaissance Diet , it was the first comprehensive description of our diet approach based on the most up-to-date nutritional data available and on our experience with hundreds of clients. Our original book was one of the first to synthesize the current literature on nutrition for body composition and performance and to present it in an ordered, logical, and understandable manner. This early version of the Renaissance Diet was also the first to identify the most important factors for successful dieting and delineate their practical application. It has been a few years since the original Renaissance Diet was published, and two major things have changed since then: First, the interim years of scientific research have increased and refined our knowledge of how to lose fat, gain muscle, and improve performance. Second, through a combination of one-on-one coaching and digital products, Renaissance Periodization has now helped several hundred thousand people with their diets. These people range from those just trying to get in shape for the first time to world champion athletes. This collective coaching experience has refined our strategies and tactics with respect to the application of all our scientific knowledge. The summation of all this data and experience is now available to you, right here in this book. This newest version of the Renaissance Diet is not only updated and refined, but also expanded. Special diet considerations and information on female-specific diet issues have been added along with information on gut health and an extensive section debunking some of the current and pervasive diet fads and fallacies. We put a great deal of effort into making this book bigger and better so that you can use it to become bigger, better, faster, stronger, leaner–whatever your goals call for. We did this because we hate pseudoscience, scams, and quacks. We did it because we want to give you, our readers, our clients, and our friends in science, the best, most up-to-date information so that you can change your body, your performance, and your health for the better. We sincerely hope you enjoy this book and will put the knowledge you gain from it to use in reaching your health and fitness goals. Dr. Mike Israetel Dr. Melissa Davis Dr. Jen Case Dr. James Hoffmann

PART I NUTRITION PRINCIPLES AND PRIORITIES PART I NUTRITION PRINCIPLES AND PRIORITIES

Chapter 1The Diet Priorities CHAPTER 1

Avoiding Pitfalls and Using the Diet Principles to Your Advantage AVOIDING PITFALLS AND USING THE DIET PRINCIPLES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE The differential effects of diet principles provide useful guidelines for programming diets with specific outcomes in mind. Prioritizing the less powerful aspects (such as meal timing and supplements) and taking the powerful principles (such as calorie balance and macronutrient intake) for granted are common mistakes. Someone might eat with exact meal timing and take creatine and whey protein supplements, but if calories and macronutrients vary too much day to day, there simply will not be substantial results. Thousands of people start new fat loss or muscle gain diets every week, and many of them choose diets that are not based on the higher priority diet principles and thus experience minimal results. Perhaps the most commonly neglected dieting principle is calorie balance. Thousands of people restrict various food types to consume only specific foods–unknowingly prioritizing one of the less important diet principles, food composition. Supplements are the most overemphasized principle. People buy countless bottles of pills and powders and take them religiously, expecting big results. While investing so much time and energy into the minor priorities, many of these well-intentioned dieters do not have the willpower leftover to invest in the big priorities that really matter. In a fat loss phase this can mean eating too much (very healthy) food to create a calorie deficit. In a muscle gain phase this can mean eating exclusively healthy food that is high in fiber and not as appetizing, resulting in a failure to create a calorie surplus for weight gain. Both these failures often occur despite a diet with appropriate food composition, well-planned meal timing, and supplements. Unfortunately, these mistakes often involve every bit as much effort as a successful diet. Every year, people find their dieting efforts largely wasted on unimpressive results, leading many to assume they are “hard losers,” “hard gainers,” or otherwise personally flawed. The true underlying problem is simply a mismanagement of dieting principles. By getting to know the diet principle hierarchy, we can ensure that our hard efforts are being spent where they are most effective. As you read about each of the individual diet principles, please keep their hierarchical organization in mind so that when it comes time to program your diet, you can effectively manage the distribution of these factors to meet your goals.