The Functional Diet
By Ronnie Rowland, author of the highly praised weight training and diet book, "Functional Training with a Fork". The 7 types of Functional Training and the Functional Diet are explained in great detail in my published book-Functional Training with a Fork. The book is available for purchase on Amazon at this link- Functional Training with a Fork: Innovators of the 7 Types of Functional Training: Kathy C Rowland, Ronnie J Rowland: 9780692502365: Amazon.com: Books
Author's Note: If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask them in this thread. I will answer them when I find time. However, I strongly recommend reading my book first so you can become an expert on nutrition!
The 7 types of Functional Training
1) Slingshot Functional Training (SFT)-Weight Training for bodybuilders. Link provided- http://forums.steroid.com/anabolic-s...want-read.html
2) Basic Functional Training (BFT)
3) Advanced Functional Training (AFT)
4) Highly Advanced Functional Training (HAFT)
5) Group Functional Training (GFT)
6) Post Catastrophic Functional Training (PCFT)
7) Rehabilitative Functional Training (RFT)
The Functional Diet is the healthiest and most sustainable body-fat loss diet in the world. It's also the best diet in existence for people wanting to gain as much muscle size as possible while keeping their body-fat levels as low as their genetics will allow. Regardless of whether your trying to lose weight or gain weight, avoid combining fats and carbs in the same meal as this causes the body to store more fat!
Functional Alert: Just because you are lean or skinny doesn’t mean you’re healthy on the inside. You need a Functional Diet to have good health and to live a long life!
The Functional Diet will determine approximately 70% of your body-fat loss success. Functional Training makes up roughly 20% and Functional Cardio is about 10%. You cannot out train a diet that is too high in calories for your metabolism. The majority of the time a client stops losing body fat, it is their diet in relation to their unique metabolism that is the problem. Ninety percent of the time those same clients wrongly think they are under training with cardio!
Stop Eating at Restaurants
You must begin your lifestyle change by stop eating at restaurants. That’s step #1! The only time you should allow yourself to eat at a restaurant is during your designated once-a-week cheat day. Even healthier-sounding restaurant menu items usually sneak in extra calories by adding butter, oils, sugar, and MSG (appetite enhancer). They also serve large portions because the obese and gluttonous people who keep restaurants in business want a lot of food. If you can’t accomplish step #1, the chance is high that you won’t be able to make it to step #2. Step #2 involves consuming more non-starchy vegetables (Free Foods), fruits, healthy fats, and lean protein in order to crowd out excess refined sugars and unhealthy fats in your diet. This allows you to focus on delicious food that should be part of any Functional Diet plan. Step #3 comes later, once you have adjusted to step #2. In step #3, you reduce calories by 250-500 per day, while keeping macronutrient ratios in balance. It’s very important that you follow these steps in precise order to avoid Functional Diet failure!
Food Preparations
If you are serious about living a functional lifestyle, you must make food preparation a top priority! Prepare your meals in advance. Time management plays a key role in staying healthy and fit. Poor time-management skills leads to procrastination, which can lead to irresponsibility. Irresponsible food preparations is the #1 enemy in losing body fat and remaining unhealthy. Food preparation is where the official work begins. Responsible people will consume the right food. This is what we refer to as doing the actual work. Once the week has been completed, you will feel satisfaction and reward yourself with a cheat day.
When it comes to incorporating a permanent lifestyle change, we believe it’s important for each individual to acquire the right mind-set! You do this by making your mind believe food preparation and exercising are just a regular daily routine such as going to work. In other words, they’re not an option, but rather something you do every day without having the big over-reaching goal in mind. If you neglect to learn how to become a responsible person, you will be going in circles for the rest of your life!
Food Journal
Recording what you eat in a food journal lets you see what you are taking in so you can make any needed adjustments to your diet if you aren’t making progress. Some people like to use diet-tracking apps (e.g., MyFitnessPal) on their phones or computers until they figure out what they need to eat in order to lose body fat. The apps work great because they make this task easier. After you build your food database with the food that you eat, you can log in all of them in a very short period of time. These apps do the math and have a huge database to search caloric and macronutrient content for each food. They summarize the information for you, making it easy to track and record food requirements.
Functional Alert: Using an app on your phone can be much simpler than writing your food list down in a food journal.
Mixing Carbs and Fats
Avoid mixing a substantial amount of carbs and fats in the same meal, except before your evening workouts or late afternoon meals on non-workout days and in your weekly cheat meal. It’s much easier to eat fewer calories if you don’t combine significant amounts of carbs and fats in the same meal because the carbs stimulate your appetite, causing you to eat more fats, which are high in calories. Keeping carbs and fats separated lowers blood sugar and insulin spikes. This lowers your appetite and the body’s production of pro-inflammatory cytokines and free radicals, thus lowering inflammation and oxidation in the body.
Functional Alert: The Functional Diet keeps your energy level stable throughout the day. There are no highs and lows that are experienced on diet plans that allow you to eat moderate amounts of sugar, eat carbs alone, or combine a considerable amount of carbs and fats in each meal. You avoid fats for breakfast and stop consuming any substantial amount of carbs late in the evening and a night. The carb curfew includes your post-workout meal if you work out late in the evening. Eating carbs at night makes you gain body fat!
Natural sugar (e.g., bananas) increase one’s appetite and causes a spike in blood sugar/insulin. However, a banana would create a much smaller blood sugar/insulin spike than refined sugar because it contains some fiber and its chemical makeup is different. Take note that non-starchy carbs on our Free Foods List don’t cause blood sugar or insulin spikes! These foods don’t contain any appreciable calories and are okay to combine with fats. A good example is a big salad with one tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil used as dressing. Add some extra-lean meat and you have a healthy meal that will keep you full. In other words, you can eat an extra-lean steak and salad for dinner, but you need to avoid having a baked potato. Likewise, you can have a baked piece of fish, a potato, and a salad for lunch, but don’t add any fats such as olive oil or butter to the fish or potato, or any type of dressings or oils containing fats to the salad. However, you should mix some carbs and fats around 3 p.m. before evening workouts and on non-training days to remain energetic.
The single largest factor that has contributed to the obesity epidemic in America is gorging on a mixture of carbs and fats during dinner and/or before going to bed! This often causes chronic heartburn and acid reflux. A lot of people who fall into that category tend to skip breakfast because their GI tract was under assault the night before. Stop consuming any measurable amounts of carbs before going to bed to help prevent body-fat gain. It’s best to stick to fats, protein, and Free Foods that don’t provoke an insulin response late in the day, regardless of whether your body responds better to carbs or fats. Moreover, consuming a lot of carbs before going to bed will cause a spike in serotonin levels. You want serotonin to be at its lowest levels during deep sleep and highest when fully awake during the daytime. This helps prevent bouts of falling asleep and waking up throughout the night. It also helps keep you happier during waking hours.
Functional Alert: What are you bringing to the dinner table that could be sabotaging your body-fat-loss efforts?
PROTEIN
Protein should make up the base of all your meals (e.g. skinless chicken breast, fish, lean beef, and liquid egg whites). You burn 3 times more calories during the digestion of protein than carbs and fats. Protein helps stabilize blood-sugar levels and it helps counterbalance the effects carbs/sugar have on the pleasure center of the brain (the part of the brain that tells you, I want more food) by stimulating the reward center of the brain (the part of the brain that tells you, I’ve had enough food)! In order to remain on a Functional Diet, you must consume enough protein in each meal to keep you full and to maintain stable blood-sugar levels. Most Americans do just the opposite! They consume mostly carbs and/or fats in a meal, causing sugar levels to skyrocket, which promotes hunger!
Functional Alert: Never consume carbohydrates without protein because it will spike insulin levels and increase hunger!
The body also has more difficulty turning protein and fibrous Free Foods into body fat than carbs and fats. You need to consume plenty of protein in every meal throughout the entire day, but not so much that you begin to gain body fat or can’t lose weight. Consuming too much of anything—even protein that increases your metabolism approximately three times more than carbs or fats—can cause you to gain body fat. The proper amounts of protein help keep you full so you can avoid the more fattening foods composed of carbs and fats. Dietary protein not only builds stronger bones and muscles, it also builds stronger tendons and ligaments, especially when incorporated with Functional Training.
Functional Alert: Consistent intake of protein on a daily basis reduces your appetite by signaling the reward system in the brain. This reward system consist of a group of neural structures that strengthen future behavior.
Fiber
Fiber promotes the burning of fat for fuel and gut microbe metabolism! It also keeps you fuller and helps the body release deadly toxins. The average American consumes only 10-15 grams of fiber per day. You should be consuming around 20-40 grams of fiber daily. Most people can’t get enough daily fiber through food without overshooting their carb intake. This makes taking fiber supplements is very important! When using a fiber supplement such as psyllium husk, it’s best to start with a low dose (e.g., 3-5 grams) and gradually increase to the needed amount. You can take 5-15 grams at nighttime to reach target goals. Your target goal should be 20-40 grams of fiber per day. The amount of fiber you need is connected to the number of calories you eat in a day. We recommend approximately 15 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories consumed. So if you are consuming 2,000 calories a day, aim to get around 30 grams of fiber. If you are consuming only 1,200-1,500 calories a day aim for 20-25 grams. For those who consume 3,000 calories or more per day, we have found that it’s best not to go above 40 grams of fiber per day in order to prevent stomach upset. Always consume at least 8 ounces of fluid with your fiber supplement to prevent an upset stomach.
Water
Stay well-hydrated on a daily basis—even if you have to force yourself to drink sufficient amounts of water! Start hydrating before you feel thirsty. That empty-pit feeling in your belly is often not hunger for food, but rather your body telling you it’s hungry for fluids. Hunger is often a sign your body is dehydrated. If you don’t get enough to drink, you will feel tired and hungry because your body thinks it needs food for energy. These signals begin before you even feel thirsty. Most people who exercise under normal circumstances who consume a high-protein diet can remain fully hydrated drinking half a gallon (64 ounces, 8 glasses of water) to 1 gallon (128 ounces, 16 glasses of water) per day.
Functional Alert: If you are still hungry after eating, drink around 12 ounces of some form of sugar-free beverage and the hunger pangs will usually leave. Many find sugar-free organic coffee (caffeinated or caffeinated) to be a great appetite suppressant!
MACRONUTRIENTS
Protein, carbohydrates, and fats are macronutrients. You need to consume enough carbs derived from natural sugar and healthy fats to fuel your body. In order to train with the needed intensity to get results, feel good, and have proper brain function, you need some carbs and fats! Protein stimulates the “reward” center of the brain and makes you feel satisfied. Carbohydrates stimulate the “pleasure” center of the brain and makes you want more! Therefore, carbohydrates should never be consumed without adequate amounts of protein to counterbalance the appetite stimulating effects that blood sugar has on the brain! Small to moderate amounts of fats, on the other hand, can be consumed without protein or with Free Foods. This is because fats alone won’t cause sugar levels to soar as carbs will when consumed alone.
The macronutrient ratios I recommend for those trying to lose body fat and be healthy is approximately 40% protein, 30%-40% carbohydrates, and 20%-30% fats. This means 40% of your daily caloric intake should come from protein, 30%-40% should come from carbs, and 20%-30% should come from fats. What I have learned is that if you have good insulin sensitivity and low insulin secretion (good insulin response), you will do better on a higher-carb diet (40%), lower-fat diet (20%). On the other hand, if you have poor insulin sensitivity, insulin resistance, and high insulin secretion, poor insulin response, you will do better on a lower-carb diet (30%), higher-fat diet (30%). Insulin sensitivity determines the effectiveness of dietary macronutrient composition on weight loss in obese people.
Functional Alert: I recommend a baseline diet consisting of 40% protein, 30% carbs, and 30% fats for starters if you are trying to lose body fat. Those trying to gain weight should begin with 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 30% fats!
People who are overweight and have become insulin resistant do better reducing carbs until they reach their target weight goal. However, they should not enter ketosis or go in and out of ketosis. Once they become sensitive to insulin again through losing body fat and adding muscle tone, they sometimes find they can gradually change over to a higher carb, lower fat diet and keep the weight off and function just fine. Some of my clients find they must stay on lower carbs and higher fats permanently in order to remain functional and keep their weight down because they are so carb sensitive. There are people that go crazy and get headaches and/or brain fog without eating higher carbs and there are people that go crazy and get headaches and/or brain fog without getting to eat higher fats. It is up to you as an individual to decide which approach is best for your body type.
As long as you keep yourself in a caloric deficit, you will lose weight regardless of whether you take the higher carb route or the higher fat route. However, many of you will be able to maintain one route as a lifestyle change much easier than the other due to your genetic make-up. Some of you will stay hungry and lose strength taking the higher carb approach, whereas others will feel more satisfied and energetic. On the other hand, some will stay hungry and lose strength while taking the higher fat approach and feel more satisfied and energetic.
It’s very important to consume a high protein diet, approximately 40% of your daily caloric intake. Those who fail to do so will lose some muscle tone and struggle more with weight loss due to staying hungry more often. A high protein/high fiber diet is a requirement for everyone looking to keep their body fat levels down, build muscle, and enhance overall functionality. I have learned that a higher carb, higher fat, low protein diet leads to overeating, weight gain and less muscle tone. This kind of diet also causes hyperinsulinemia, extended release of insulin after meals that causes body fat storage, weight gain, and chronic inflammation/oxidation.
Functional Alert: Chronic inflammation and oxidation are the root cause of all life-threatening medical conditions (e.g., high blood pressure, high blood sugar, and high cholesterol)!
It is up to you as an individual to figure out whether you do better with more carbs or more fats while keeping protein intake at approximately 40% of your daily calories. Once you hit a plateau and are unable to lose anymore inches, then you will want to reduce calories by lowering all three macronutrients in equal increments by 500 calories per day. This constitutes 3500 calories a week from your diet which equals around one pound of body weight. This means that you would have to take in 3500 fewer calories per week over a period of time to lose one pound. You may find you lose more than a pound a week when training hard with weights and adding in some cardio. This rate of weight loss is considered reasonable and healthy. Weight loss does not always happen in a linear fashion. Expect weight loss to occur in increments over time. It is very important to realize that deviating from your diet by only 500 calories per day is all it can take to stall your long term weight loss goals, thus, making portion control of the utmost importance. You must get on the right plan and stick to it. Males should never go below 1500 calories per day to lose body fat and females should never go below 1200. Males should not go below 110 carbs per day and females should not go below 90. This helps prevent blood sugar/insulin imbalance and going into ketosis. Eating fewer calories than what we recommend makes it hard to meet your nutritional requirements and feel satisfied enough to stick with a plan. No one will last long on starvation diets and will always end with a period of binge eating.
Functional Alert: Strive to lose 1-2 pounds per week!
You must not treat body fat loss as a race in order to be successful. No one is successful over the long haul following fad diets! We understand that proper nutrition is by far the hardest part for people to stick to upfront; however, once you begin to see results and understand the relation between diet and disease, it becomes an enjoyable lifestyle. Strive to lose one to two pounds per week on this diet until you reach your fat loss goal. Losing more can cause muscle loss for the slightly over-weight and actually slow down their metabolism in the long run. Those who are considered clinically obese can lose upwards of three to four pounds of body fat per week without losing muscle until they get some weight off. This is because they have more body fat reserves. Those weighing the most can expect to lose more fat and water in the beginning than someone weighing less. It is not uncommon for someone considered clinically obese to lose five pounds or more per week at the beginning of their diet. Your designated weekly weigh-in should always be on Saturday or cheat day morning before breakfast. This will give you an accurate reading on how much you lost for the week.
I do not recommend tracking calories directly. Track macros only because if you hit the macros, you’re sure to be within the calorie range you require. 1 gram of protein = 4 calories, 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories and 1 gram of fat = 9 calories.
Allow me to illustrate.
Let’s say you are shooting for a daily caloric intake of around 1500 calories on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday with the macros of 40% protein, 30% carbs and 30% fats.
150 grams of proteins= 600 calories (40% of total daily calories)
112 grams of carbohydrates-450 calories (30% of total daily calories)
50 grams of fats=450 calories (30% of total daily calories)
600 + 450 +450 = 1500 calories per day
Large calorie increase on Saturday (Cheat day)!
For example:
75 grams of proteins=300 calories
400 grams of carbohydrates=1600 calories
100 grams of fats= 900 calories
300+1600+900=2800 calories on cheat day
Functional Alert: The extra food on your cheat day enhances your metabolic capacity to lose weight. Enjoy the day!
Sample 2,000 calorie baseline “Functional Diet” for both Males and Females
A 2000 calorie Functional Diet is a good starting point for many who are trying to lose weight without feeling sluggish. The best way to lose weight on 2,000 calories per day is through regular Functional Training and Functional Cardio Discuss food substitutions and recipes with your personal trainer. Organic meats and produce are better choices that conventional. Stay away from fish coming from china. The options are many.
Four Key Factors with the Functional Diet
1) Dietary fats should avoided during breakfast. Consume only carbs and protein during the first half of the day. You should start consuming some fats with your protein around 3-4 pm.
2) Avoid mixing any substantial amounts of carbs and fats in the same meal. The only exception to this rule is around 3-4 pm. This includes both workout and non-workout days. It’s best to mix some carbs and fats with your protein late afternoon to prevent energy crashes.
3) Cut off carbs at night and consume protein, fats, and Free Foods.
4) Consume plenty of Free Foods on the Master Food List throughout the day.
P=PROTEIN GRAMS, C=CARBOHYDRATE GRAMS, and F=FAT GRAMS. Also, note that 8 ounces of liquid egg whites is one cup.
Meal 1 (Breakfast): Choose a protein food such as 10 oz. of cooked liquid egg whites, 6 oz. of liquid egg whites with 1 scoop of protein powder, or two scoops of whey protein powder in water. With your protein have your carbs such as, 1 cup of Quaker oats sweetened with Splenda, stevia, or cinnamon or 2 packets of sugar free oatmeal (weight control version has a variety of flavors). Note: If you do not like oatmeal or any food listed on this nutritional plan, you can always substitute it for something with the same macronutrient value such as 2 pieces of toasted Organic Ezekiel bread and a large banana. We do not recommend the low sodium version of Ezekiel 4.9 bread because it does not taste as good. This organic bread is located in the freezer section at Kroger’s or Publix grocery store. If you don’t have time to cook you can mix 8 oz. of liquid egg whites, 1 CARBmaster yogurt (Kroger’s brand), and 1 cup of Quaker oats in a protein shaker and drink. Or add 2 scoops of low carb, whey protein to oats and water.
(40P/60C/0F) Note: If you work out in the morning after breakfast add 40 grams of fat to this meal and take out the fats for meal 3!
Meal 2: Choose a protein food such as 8 oz. of liquid egg whites mixed with one CARBmaster yogurt, 2 scoops of whey protein mixed in water, 6 oz. of egg whites and 1 scoop of whey protein powder, small baked chicken breast, turkey, fish, canned salmon or chicken. Choose a carbohydrate such as a small size sweet potato, 1 slice of organic seven sprouted grains bread, or a 1/3 cup of steamed brown rice. Add a serving of FREE FOODS such as (“BIRDS EYE” steam fresh microwavable whole green beans). NOTE: Another convenient plan for meal 2 is to pre-mix 2 large cans of organic chicken (white meat) with 2 vanilla CARBmaster yogurts and add 1/4th cup of red seedless grapes.
(40P/20C/0F)
Meal 3: PRE-WORKOUT/LATE AFTERNOON MEAL: “ADD FATS TO THIS MEAL!” Example being 8 oz. of non-cooked pasteurized liquid egg whites mixed with 1 CARBmaster yogurt (Kroger brand) or 2 scoops of low carb whey protein powder mixed in water. Add 40 grams of fat to this meal such as peanut butter, cheese, oils, or various nuts. A great pre-workout meal to add with your protein source is a peanut butter and a sugar free jelly sandwich on Organic bread and a medium sized apple. Note: It is okay to add fewer fats to your pre-workout meals and add them for dinner or before going to bed if you have problems with digestion. We generally recommend you wait at least an hour after a meal before working out in order to avoid nausea. Go by what your body tells you!
(40P/60C/40F).
Meal 4 (Dinner): Large salad made of FREE FOODS with a homemade salad dressing (mix together mustard/water/Splenda) and/or white vinegar. You have several options for both fat free and carb free salad dressings such as 10 sprays of Wish Bone or Ken’s Salad Spritzers. Add meat of choice (i.e. chicken). In order to curb your appetite and help eliminate Dysfunctional Toxins, add extra fiber to this meal by drinking 5-15 grams of psyllium husk fiber or organic flax seed with 8 ounces of water.
(40P/0C/0F)
Meal 5: (DESSERT) “ADD FATS TO THIS MEAL”! The following nighttime dessert will get rid of any cravings you may have for sweets and allow you to get a good night’s sleep. Add 25 grams of fat to this meal! Simply heat up 3 level tablespoons of Smart Balance peanut butter or non-stir natural peanut butter (refrigeration not required) in a bowl for 45-60 seconds. Add 1 CARBmaster yogurt into a glass, 6 oz. of non-cooked liquid egg whites, melted peanut butter, 1 ice cube, and stir and let chill for at least 1 minute before eating with a spoon. You can also make this dessert using 2 scoops of whey protein in water along with peanut butter. For further weight loss substitute some PB2 peanut powder in its place. “PB2 can be ordered off the internet and is made by Bell Plantation.” You can avoid fats during meal 5 if the fat limits have been reached from foods such as red meat, cheese, nuts, olive oil, etc. during meal 4 (Dinner). If you are still hungry, have your choice of FREE FOODS such as 1 serving of microwavable green vegetables. “BIRDS EYE” steam fresh whole green beans, broccoli florets, or celery sticks for crunch cravers are great choices to put in a bowl for healthy snacks and eat with your fingers. Do not forget your protein before going to bed!
(40P/12C/25F)
Total daily proteins 200 grams = 800 calories (Approximately 40% of daily caloric intake)
Total daily carbs: 152 grams = 608 calories (Approximately 30% of daily caloric intake)
Total daily fats: 65 grams = 585 calories (Approximately 30% of daily caloric intake)
Total daily calories = 1993 (Approximately 2,000 calories)
Functional Alert: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday use the baseline diet provided above. Calorie loading should be employed every 7th day. Saturday makes a great cheat day! Your designated weekly weigh-in should always be on cheat day morning before breakfast. This will give you an accurate reading on how much you weigh.
Cheat Day
Have one designated cheat day. Once-a-week cheat days are composed of extra carbohydrates, fats, and calories above your normal calorie intake. The extra calories come from an extended cheat meal. We define a cheat day as consuming the same food you normally eat, but you consume more calories by having an extended cheat meal later in the day. This extended cheat meal starts at dinner and lasts until you go to bed. The extended cheat meal can be anything you want (e.g., pizza, popcorn, and ice cream). This means you can go eat at your favorite restaurant for dinner once a week and come back and snack on popcorn and/or ice cream until you go to bed. Most people prefer to have their once-a-week cheat day on Saturday. As your lifestyle change continues, you’ll find out that your stomach will shrink and you won’t be able to eat as much as you used to during cheat days. We have found it’s best to stay on your normal diet until dinner time. This will prevent you from over doing it earlier in the day. Caloric intake should be considerably higher on this day in order to enhance your metabolism. The once-a-week cheat day will prevent you from hitting a body fat loss barrier, and it gives you something to look forward to every week such as visiting your favorite restaurant.
*Always consult your physician before beginning a nutritional program. No liability is assumed by the author or distributors for information contained within. All rights reserved. No part of the “Functional Diet” may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the permission in writing of the authors of the book- “Functional Training with a Fork”. The authors can be reached at [email protected]*
