It is overwhelming how many questions we get on the CrossFit Football boards pertaining to nutrition. How much should I eat? What should I eat? Does this supplement work? I am getting fat. Why? But with so much bullshit out there, things can get confusing.

Even a few years back the questions seem never ending. So a few years ago, I started this blog called Talk To Me Johnnie where I would answer questions and I felt like I beat nutrition to death…for years. Since the search function and Google hasn’t worked recently, this will serve as a review from the Talk To Me Johnnie post called, “Just Tell Me What To Eat”.

Eat with abandon: meat, fowl, fish, seafood, eggs, vegetables, roots, tubers, bulbs, herbs and spices as well as animal fats, olives & olive oil, avocados, and coconut (meat, oil, flour) and dairy*.

*Dairy is a gray area, while it is a powerful tool in the strength and weight gain category you have to be smart. Individuals with autoimmune disease should avoid dairy products of any kind. For those without autoimmune diseases, dairy from grass-fed animals is permissible. Dairy from grain-fed animals will not have an ideal omega 3 profile. Heavy cream, butter, and ghee should not be problematic. Occasional consumption of fermented dairy options such as cheese and yogurt is acceptable. Experiment with milk but eliminate it if it is found to be problematic.

**Pasteurized whole milk from grain-fed cows treated with rBGH could offer an increased anabolic environment for the consumer.

Limit: nuts, seeds, and fruit.
Better choices in the nut category include macadamias, cashews, and hazelnuts. Almonds aren’t terrible. Seeds are generally rich sources of linoleic acid because they can be eaten in large quantities (the serving sizes are typically in the tablespoon to 1/4 cup range and can be misleading). Sunflower and sesame seeds are a terrible choices in the seed category. Soaking nuts prior to consumption is recommended but not necessary.

Reduce the serving size if you are going to pick a fruit that has a high metabolic fructose content.

Avoid: Cereal grains including: all varieties of wheat (spelt, einkorn, emmer, durum), barley, rye, oats, triticale, corn (maize), rice (including wild rice), sorghum, millet, fonio, and teff and legumes.

Grain-like substances or pseudocereals including: Amaranth, Breadnut, Buckwheat, Cattail, Chia, Cockscomb, Kañiwa, Pitseed Goosefoot, Quinoa, and Wattleseed (aka aacacia seed). Pseudocereals are the seeds of broad leaf plants whereas grains are the seeds of grasses.

Supplements: Supplements are a tricky bag as there are few to no regulations on them, so you better go for a more quality product. If you can buy a 5 lbs bag of whey protein from Chinese cows fed soy and garbage then don’t bitch at me when you start watching the WOW channel with an iced vanilla soy latte crying your eyes out.

I like whey protein that comes from GF cows. Why? Because it is sustainable and ensures there will be green pastures for my dinner to eat. Feed lots cows are commercially raised on grains are not sustainable and contribute to the destruction of the environment. 

I like Branch Chain Amino Acids or BCAAs for short. Brands like MusclePharm and Xtend make a quality BCAA. I drink BCAAs over the course of the day, pre workout, during the workout and post workout. 

Multi-vitamin: I get the performance packs from Human Performance Specialists. They have everything I need in a pre-packaged pack and it is all high quality. 

Keep it simple, nothing replaces quality food and simple water.

With the “what to eat” taken care of, I can delve into the “when to eat”. I have been teaching the nutrition portion of the CrossFit Football seminar for years and read more research than I care to remember. What I know for sure is that nothing exists in a vacuum and no one thing works for every person. Whether you follow 22 hours of ketogenic IF, carb front loading, side loading or rear loading, there is no such thing as a one size fits all approach. Each person is training for something different and each individual has their own metabolic make up to contend with. How could a one size fits all approach work for everyone?

Therefore, the nutrition recommendations I make on macro-nutrient partitioning are unique to power athletes doing a form of training that requires you to lift heavy weights, sprint and condition. I am not trying to help you run 100 miles, look good in a pair of yoga pants or get abs for spring break. I really don’t care. I want you to perform at your best regardless of what your aesthetic wishes are. Just for reference, I played with a guy who made about 8 million dollars a year and he told me everyday that he got paid a lot of money to look the way he did.

In 2003 while at the Eagles, the S&C staff procured a BodPod to test the player’s body fat. After everyone got tested we found out who was the fattest and made him an award. The desire to not receive the trophy turned into a competition and things got serious. That off-season, I put together some of my best training days to date. I hit some of the best lifts and sprinted faster than I thought was possible. I didn’t miss a meal and ate very close to what is listed earlier in this blog, with the exception of white sushi rice. I arrived at training camp at 306 lbs, measuring 8.2% body fat via the BodPod. I was told by the technician I was the first guy he has seen over 300 lbs under 10%. Maybe he was new, but coincidentally I was voted one of Philadelphia’s 50 Best Looking People that year. Not sure if they are related but I just wanted to throw it out there.

When I reported to training camp, I was ready. Three days into training camp when the pads came out, I started to bruise. Hits that normally wouldn’t have left a mark where causing some bruising, and for the first time in my career I was cramping. The team doctor made a comment that I needed more insulation, with my body fat as low as it was I couldn’t take the punishment. I am not sure if I believed him or not, but I walked into the lunch area and got 12 small glasses of whole milk and starting drink. Every meal was supplemented with 12 small glasses of milk.

Why small glasses? The Dinning Common at Lehigh University only had tiny glasses for some reason.

As I started to lose sight of my lower abs, the bruising went away and I wasn’t getting tired during practice. I can’t tell you for sure if the added body fat helped, but I can tell you I didn’t care. I was paid to play football; it was not a modeling contest.

Around this time, the phrase “What are you training for?” first entered my thought process. When comparing athletes or programs, I always thought in my head, “What are they training for?” and does the training represent the intended goal. I remember we had a free agent TE in Philadelphia one off-season and the guy was shredded. I don’t remember seeing a white guy in this good of shape…ever. I asked him about his training and he told me lived on a spin bike, that spinning and a low carb diet helped him get this shredded. I remember thinking how was riding a spin bike going to get him ready to play in the NFL. He got cut after mini-camp. The program, nutrition and training has to lead to a final goal. Any coach or training partner who lost sight of this goal didn’t last long. My training, sleep and workouts were singularly focused on improving my performance so I could excel on the biggest athletic stage in the world.

I should go back a bit further to 1999 when my agent introduced me to Dr. Mauro Dipasquale. Mauro set me up with my first supplement deal and those talks were my introduction into the world of macro-nutrient partitioning. After some reading and explanation, I followed the Anabolic Diet religiously during my rookie year and my first off-season. During that off-season, I tipped the scales at a thick 336 lbs and was the strongest I have been in life. Unfortunately, I grew too big and slow to be effective. I called Mauro telling him I needed to tweaked the diet to shed some mass. He made some tweaks and I showed up at training camp at fast 305 lbs. I had found my perfect blend of speed and strength and started at left guard for the next 4 years.

I have not deviated much from the tweaks I made in 2000. It was a high protein, high fat model with carb volume adjusted depending on training volume. With the majority of the carbs coming in the 2 PWO meals following training. The first one immediately after training and the second roughly 90 minutes later.

And this is where the phrase “Earn Your Carbs” originated. If I had a rest day or light training day then my carbs were low, if I trained 3 times a day then I earned more. Always keeping the volume of calories and protein relatively constant and adjusting fat depending on the carb intake.

I have found this method to be the most advantageous over the years. However, it doesn’t have a sexy name or a cool catch phrase. And I never fooled myself into thinking it was OK to have my cake and eat it to.

What bothers me about most diets floating around the training world is their unrealistic approach and pie in the sky mentality. They trick the individual into believing he can eat whatever he wants as long as he balances said foods in a magic macro nutrient ratio. Or the other approach of adhering to special timing so you can consume cookies, cake, ice cream and pizza with steroid-like results. I am not saying to never have a cheat day, but earn that cheat day and realize you can’t get max performance out of shit fuel. Any diet that that leads you to believe that eating foods we know lead to systemic inflation or poor gut health is just blowing smoke and trying to sell you a $40 e-book.

Related Content

Podcast: 5 Juicy Reasons You Need a Nutrition Coach
Podcast: Nutrition Do’s, Don’ts, and Do-nuts
Blog: Gaining Through Weight Loss