THE OG: Diet Introduction I

Let's look at some of the general principles informing Vince Gironda's approach to dieting

Welcome back to THE OG, my series on all things Vince Gironda. We had a little bit of a hiatus, but now I’m ready to tell you everything you want and need to know about Vince’s approach to nutrition and dieting. Let’s start with the basics of his approach, before we examine specific diets in detail.

Once again, all quotations are from Vince’s 1984 book The Wild Physique.

Oh yes, and while we’re here, for the last two days of this month, you can get 24% off a full year’s subscription to IN THE RAW. Just follow this link.

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People are often skeptical of my statement that bodybuilding is 85 percent nutrition. I have frequently observed a certain type of individual who assumes exercise is the "cure-all" for all problems and proceeds to train without paying any attention to diet. This is a common occurrence, especially among beginners. (The Wild Physique, p.79)

Pretty much everybody knows Vince’s statement about bodybuilding being 85% nutrition, even if they don’t know Vince said it. He really meant it, without exaggeration. No amount of exercise can overcome a bad or, even worse, wrong diet. You can spend your life in the gym, but if you aren’t eating in a way that provides what your body needs to grow, at the right time, you’ll get nowhere.

Vince was pretty sure that most bodybuilders, especially the run-of-the-mill ones, really don’t understand just how important diet us, or that they’re not eating anywhere near as much or as well as they think they are.

The average bodybuilder vastly underestimates the value of diet and overestimates how good his own eating program is. What is enough protein and calories to maintain the average person’s weight is grossly inadequate when trying to pack on pounds of muscle. My diets are designed for the hardcore bodybuilder who must fight for every inch of muscle size, relying on diet—not steroids—for a positive nitrogen balance. You'll find that in order to succeed you are going to have to be just as dedicated to your diet as you are to your training. (The Wild Physique, p.79)

Again, the Gironda principles, which I outlined at the beginning of the series (part one and two), apply here. In particular, the principle of specificity. Each one of Vince’s diets serves a purpose. You choose a diet based on your purpose and follow it until you’ve achieved it.

Do you want to build mass? Choose the mass-gain diet.

Maybe you want to lean out in preparation for a competition or just to look better on the beach this summer? Choose the cutting diet.

But once you’ve achieved your goal, that’s it. You don’t stay on the mass-gain or the cutting diet forever. In the same way that adequate rest from exercise is needed to continue making progress, Vince believed you needed to “change to a different regimen to give the body a chance to rest in order to make further gains possible.” It’s also necessary to give up a diet if you stop responding to it, which Vince says can happen.

One aspect of Vince’s general approach to nutrition that you might not be familiar with is “innate animal wisdom.” This follows the lines of the Gironda principle of self-experimentation. Just as you need to find what works for you in terms of exercises, you also need to find the right approach to food for you.

That doesn’t mean there are no general principles, however. It simply means there’s enough variation at the level of individual physiology, not to mention the fact different people want to achieve different things with their diets, that an individual approach is necessary.

What you have to do is understand your needs and, most of all, yourself—observe and pay attention.

Here’s how Vince describes “innate animal wisdom”:

My observations over the years have shown me that people naturally seem to prefer some foods over others. Some prefer to eat meats with few starches and carbohydrates, while others seem to naturally eat a vegetarian diet with little or no meat. At other times, people will eat more or less of certain foods in answer to a specific need of the body. If you eat too much of one food, you get a distaste for it, which is the body's way of telling you to change your diet. This food selection is derived from a wisdom that is instinctively and obediently observed—what I call “"innate animal wisdom.” (The Wild Physique, p.80)

So Vince says that it’s not always correct for a person to eat a primarily meat diet when they’re chasing gains. A lacto-vegetarian diet (fruit, nuts, vegetables, and dairy products) or even a fully vegetarian diet might be called for.

Diets often serve a detoxifying purpose.

Nervous fatigue due to excessive stress, often associated with superachievers and workaholics, calls for the substitution of high-protein foods (excess phosphorus) with a lacto-vegetarian diet plan until the nerves have regenerated and calcium phosphorus supplies are brought back into proper balance. When eating too much protein over long periods, toxins build up in the tissues and the vegetarian diet allows the body to alkalize and normalize, due to the natural cleansing and detoxifying action from all the roughage consumed. (The Wild Physique, p.81)

We’ll talk about fasting—Vince advocated periods of fasting—and detoxifying diets at length in due course.

Vince’s general advice about dieting is advice I think we would all benefit from heeding.

My advice to you is this: Be wise enough to recognize your natural cravings for food. You are neither a total carnivore (meat eater) nor a total vegetarian. Don't fight against your own nature, like someone trying to swim upstream. Go with it, learn your body's rhythms, and you'll benefit. (The Wild Physique, p.81)

Further general advice he gives concerns food sources and the need to prioritise natural whole foods rather than processed foods and junk foods: again, very sensible.

Cut out all processed and junk foods from your diet. If you have a choice between a baked potato and greasy french fries. take the baked potato. Fresh fruits and vegetables are better than canned ones and stone-ground whole wheat bread is better than refined white bread. A glass of milk has more nutrition in it and will do more for your bodybuilding than a dozen cases of soda. (The Wild Physique, p.82)

Vince also advocates consuming “as many raw or lightly cooked foods as possible.”

Thus vital nutrients and enzymes are not destroyed in the cooking process and the foods are easier to digest. (For example, raw meat [steak tartar] digests in one hour while well-cooked meats take over four hours, burdening your system.) (The Wild Physique, p.82)

If you’re interested in the nutritional benefits of raw food, check out these two posts on Francis Pottenger (one and two). I think it’s highly likely Gironda knew about Pottenger and his experiments. Vince was extremely well informed about nutritional science.

Next week I’ll talk a bit more about some general principles, including Vince’s approach to the three main macronutrients, before we look at specific diets.