With FitPro LIVE fast approaching, we’re making sure you’re up to speed on all the innovative sessions taking place at LIVE in July and, most importantly, what you will gain from attending. FitPro presenters Sam Feltham and Brian St. Pierre discuss ‘Is nutrient timing dead?’ and share their excitement about our forthcoming event.
Brian St. Pierre
Brian St. Pierre is director of performance nutrition at Precision Nutrition, working with sports teams including the San Antonio Spurs and Cleveland Browns. Author of several nutrition books, he’s a registered dietitian, certified sports nutritionist and strength and conditioning specialist. At FitPro LIVE, Brian will deliver a number of incredible sessions to strengthen your nutritional expertise and keep your critical thinking ticking over. This week, we’re picking out ‘nutrient timing’, which sounds impressive but what we wanted to know is does when you eat actually really matter? Does it matter for your health? Body composition? Performance? Brian takes a closer look at the evidence … You can join the conversation at LIVE but, for now, tune in to Sam Feltham’s YouTube interview with the Precision Nutrition expert, which took place on the Smash The Fat founder’s YouTube channel on 16 April at 15:00 …
Sam Feltham: I have followed Precision Nutrition ever since I came into the fitness industry and for anyone out there who doesn’t know what Precision Nutrition is – I would say that they’re probably the biggest educator on nutrition out there within the fitness industry.
Brian St. Pierre: That sounds about right!
SF: Brian, how would you describe ‘nutrient timing’?
BP: In the simplest terms, I would say that it’s the specific consumption of specific nutrients at specific times. For the most part, people are talking about protein and carbs before, during, after and around your workout. But this could be extrapolated to how often you eat; do you eat the majority of your carbs and calories at breakfast or at night, do you do intermittent fasting and skip breakfast? Because timing is all a part of that. The nutrient timing window in Martin Berkhan’s version of vitamin fasting lean gains – they just shrink your eating window and so that’s essentially a function of your timing nutrients, not neccessarily around your workouts, but around the entire structure of your day. Therefore, really, it’s based on when you’re eating, but mostly people are talking about workout nutrition.
SF: So, for you, is nutrient timing completely dead and it doesn’t matter, or has it always been there and it always will be there? Watch the video below from minute 7:28 to see Brian give his full answer.
BP: Absolutely, of course it’s not dead. It’s a concept within the fitness industry which got taken too far. It’s simply one tool in your tool box of nutrition. It should not be the entire foundation of most people’s approach. Depending on your needs and goals, nutrient timing can be incredibly important. We could go as far as sipping water during an athletic event; this is technically nutrient timing. Water is a nutrient. It’s all relevant.
We know that total intake drastically outweighs timing in terms of your progress marker, so you could have the best nutrient timing in the world, where you have protein and carbohydrates before training and maybe some slower or even faster ones immediately after training, but if you don’t consume enough total calories, you’re not going to gain the muscle. So far in a way, total intake is more important but, as you get to the more extreme ends of progress, people who want to get to single digit body fat or the extreme ends of muscle gain, then nutrient timing becomes more and more important – it’s on more of a continuum than a black and white yes or no question.
SF: So, in terms of sports performance and bearing in mind elite athletes, is nutrient timing more important in relation to sports people do you think?
Watch the video below from minute 9:41 to find out how nutrient timing differs for the elite sports person ….
With FitPro LIVE at the forefront of our minds, find out what is getting Brian St. Pierre so excited pre-LIVE by watching the clip from minute 19:07 …
Brian St. Pierre at FitPro LIVE 2015
If after watching that clip you want to meet Brian in person and ask him all your own questions, then don’t miss his sessions:
Paleo: The good, the bad and the ugly
Paleo – do the results match the hype? Do we really need to avoid dairy, legumes and grains to achieve optimal health? Explore the pros, cons, insights and fallacies of Paleo. Brian shares wisdom gained from over 20,000 clients and what it teaches us about which nutrition camp to belong to.
The cost of getting lean
Six-pack abs. Tight butt. Lean, vibrant, flawless health. That’s the image the industry is selling. Ever wondered what it costs to achieve that ‘look’? There are trade-offs as you attempt to lose fat and improve your health. Help clients get the body they want while living the life they enjoy.
Carbs: Who needs ‘em and who doesn’t?
Many clients see carbs as ‘the enemy’. Others expect sophisticated carb timing and cycling schemes. Many are simply eating too many of the wrong types. Simplify clients’ nutritional programmes, keep them properly fuelled and meet a variety of carb needs with a clear approach you can use with every client.
Is nutrient timing dead?
Nutrient timing sounds impressive. Science- y. The way sport and exercise people throw it around, you’d think it must be important. But is it? Does when you eat really matter? For health? For body composition? For performance? Brian takes a closer look at the evidence.
Attend FitPro LIVE to ask Brian your questions …
Sam Feltham at FitPro LIVE
Join Sam for his lecture entitled The relatively simple science of slimming.
In 2014, the Institute of Fiscal Studies found that total calories in the UK over the past 30 years has decreased by 22.6% and asked, “If calories are declining, why is weight increasing?” Although this seems complex, the answer is relatively simple. Using Socratic questioning and evocative storytelling, Sam will explain …
About Sam Feltham
In 2011, Sam was named one of the World Fitness Elite Trainers of the Year in The Independent and USA Today and is founder of one of the UK’s fastest-growing fitness boot camp franchises Smash The Fat Fitness and Fat Loss Boot Camps. Most recently he authored the book Slimology: The Relatively Simple Science of Slimming to help him fulfil his major definite purpose in life, which is to help as many people as possible obtain and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Book your ticket today for FitPro LIVE and read up on all our innovative sessions. Redefine your limits at FitPro LIVE this July.
