COMPARE & CONTRAST: Warrior Diet vs Radiant Recovery

[JasonE]

What is the Radiant Recovery® perspective on the other end of the meals/day spectrum (less than 3 meals) a la the Warrior Diet?

I'm still reading her books, but it seems safe to say that Dr. Desmaisson's approach completely invalidates the Warrior Diet. :) Do you really want to starve most of the day just to "feel lean"?

No offense to you WD true believers, but I've never taken Ori seriously, and now I doubt that I ever will. :lol: My disbelief started when I first looked at his book in the store and saw his sample diets and suggestions for supplements (his brand, of course). While I can't argue with the results some of you have gotten, I have noticed that additional eating during the day, prior to activity, is necessary to prevent a crash&burn... the antithesis of peak performance.

If the WD must be modified to add larger meals during the day to permit athletic performance gains, the assumptions behind it seem to be fundamentally flawed. I know I'm open to a verbal whipping from those that have been practicing the WD and know it better than me, so get started. :P :wink:

I am very interested to hear more about the compare & contrast of these diet modalities. It would be particularly cool to have Ori come here and debate Kathleen directly :!: :!:

[Scott Sonnon]

Jason,

IMO, Radiant Recovery is not a "diet" (in the common usage of the term) but rather a method of healing imbalanced biochemistry. As a result, you can't compare it to the WD.

It would be like trying to say that the WD is not valid because it doesn't address the impact of biochemistry upon performance. Of course, though, this is precisely WHY I endorse Radiant Recovery for Performance Nutrition. :wink:

For an individual interested in health, performance and strength, getting "lean" should only be a by-product of healthy nutrition, balanced biochemistry and efficient exercise. In my opinion, only Radiant Recovery addresses this fact comprehensively enough to accommodate the diversity of individual requirements.

[MalB]

Jason,
For myself I find no need to have Ori and Dr. D debate their 2 different approaches.
We each have different needs and only thru our own exploration will we find what works for us.
Personally, I find that the inclusion of breakfast make all the difference in how I feel (great by the way, thanks for asking :wink: ). Yet there are plenty of people I know who don't function as well with breakfast.
And I'm sure both authors could bring forward plenty of people who have been positively affected by their work.
But I would encourage anyone to try any diet, and then see what works best for them. I'm betting it's not any one diet, but a combination of approaches that work best!

[Connie Brown]

Also the best comparison is to try things out oneself, and as a long-time Radiant Recovery person I wouldn't want to try WD. So I couldn't compare it.

I will say though, if a person is sugar sensitive it would be hard to do the WD and not get into imbalances with the three biochemicals that RR deals with.

Blood sugar - during the undereating phase you'd have to be very attentive. raw foods that real people eat are often short & fast (like just fruit) instead of enough quantities of slow carb, resulting in BS swings.

Beta-endorphin - way too easy to get the hunger high and for sugar sensitive people that is not a good thing for the upregulation/downregulation situation.

Serotonin - might deplete this over time, depends on the carb mix again.

[radiantkd]

The radiant Recovery plan is designed to correct imbalance not create it. As Connie mentioned, the idea of not eating or eating very little during the day creates a beta endorphin high. Makes you feel conident, mean and lean. But at a price.

In the old days, warriors did not have access to food in the same way, so starving and gorging was the the food set of necessity. And generally speaking, bodies adapted to it.

However, if folks are eating sweet stuff (even lots of fruit), drinking alcohol, eating processed foods and junk foods, have a diet high in bad fatty acids and low in good ones, that style can be a recipe for disaster.

If you add in the kinds of work outs many of you all are doing, to go without fuel under extreme training conditions puts your body into shock. It means most of what you are doing is *coping* to maintain rather than flourishing. If you want the biggest payout for your effort, then give your body what it needs to restore your vitality and chemistry. Rather than having to burn thourgh a workout, you will find an amazing shift. You get *high* from the results not from pushing into the danger zone.

Warmly,

Kathleen