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Ultimate Fat Loss Plan
- Thread starter PwB
- Start date
MohawkMuscle, having carbs post-workout is a personal decision. I personally don't do it and am not suffering or losing muscle b/c of it. I think it will interefere with adapting to burning fat as a primary fuel source, but doesn't mean it can't be done. Even Charles Poliquin (best strength coach/trainer IMHO) recommends no carbs post-workout and large quantities of glutamine instead for athletes wanting to lean out quickly. I agree with this as well. If you will follow a low carb diet and only consume carbs post-workout, results will still be great. This has been proven time and again. I've also talked to several people who low carb but consume carbs post-workout and fat loss slows/stops for them. Several people have talked about this over at T-mag's discussion board, so it is an individual thing. Besides too many calories, another reason I think the added carbs aren't helpful b/c insulin is anabolic to fat cells just as much as to muscle. Also, insulin has many detrimental effects to ones health, and I'm totally convinced it is unhealthy to frequently raise insulin levels dramatically with high GI carbs. Insulin blocks arteries, shortens our lifespan, causes fat storage, etc. etc. Thoroughly read this incredible article by Dr. Ron Rosedale and see what I mean.
http://www.dfhi.com/interviews/rosedale.html , most of his statements are right on target, except some areas such as his views on saturated fat. The body produces it b/c it is our prime energy source.
Here is an article on an incredible bodybuilder, John Meadows and his fat loading protocol for a precontest bodybuilder.
The End of Days - A New Approach to Pre-Contest Preparation
by John Meadows
You have one more week to go. You can see it now. You slowly walk out on stage, and the crowd erupts into a chorus of cheers. As you gracefully move through your routine, you know...this is your night. No way is anyone going to beat you this time around. You have paid your dues, dieted your ass off, literally. You have trained to the point of "selling buuuuiicks." You have spent hours soaking in your sweat in that nasty tanning bed. It's all coming together, just one last week.
You begin the week with the traditional decarbing. Even though your brain is in meltdown, you know that after the loading phase, you'll look unstoppable. You suffer for a few days more, you're flat tired and in a state of paranoid delusional schizophrenic dementia.
Finally, Wednesday comes. You begin to pound down the carbs. Damn those sweet potatoes are awesome - a little cinnamon and Equal and it's like sweet potato pie. Every 2-3 hours, you take in a little more...then Friday night...WHAM...your muscles bellies are round, full, and your skin appears to be paper thin. You go to bed knowing that after tomorrow night, you are going to give new meaning to the phrase "Freaky Hard."
Ahhh! Time to wake up, the big day is here. You go to the mirror for one last final look....WHOA, WHAT THE F#@$ happened. Your sliced thighs are blurry looking! Your ass, which was sort of striated, is now holding more water than Hoover Dam. Your abs look decent, but DAMN...even your lower back skin has loosened up...But, you can fix it. You whack a diuretic in hopes that the extra film of water will disappear. A few hours later your blood pressure has dropped, and now your vascularity has been wiped away. Finally, you mope out onto the stage, knowing that you blew it....what did you do wrong??
Where did you fail???
If you have competed in the weird sport of bodybuilding, you have no doubt experienced this, or know someone who has. I am going to ask you to try a new approach this season. I must admit, I am a bit reluctant in giving up this information, as I feel it would enable some bodybuilders to beat me, who otherwise wouldn't stand a chance. But oh well, Paul Burton has been good to me, so I am going to provide this info to all of you. Usually, when I explain this approach to pre-contest preparation, most people are too scared to try it anyway, so maybe my fear is unwarranted.
This article will only deal with the last 3 days prior to the show, as I feel that this is when 50% of competitive bodybuilders blow it. The other 49% are simply too fat and didn't pay their dues. The other 1% percent will usually be the winners, politics aside. So first things first: if you are simply to fat when you compete, go back and read every message on the diet boards, and focus on increasing your knowledge of nutrition. Ok, with all that said...LET"S GO!
Let me first ask you some elementary questions. What happens to your water levels when you increase or decrease carbs? Think about when you lower your carbs drastically, what happens? Hopefully you said, I pee my brains out! Yes, when you are low in carbs, water goes right through you. So what are your chances of holding water on stage, if your carbs are low? Little to none, depending on some other factors. I believe that every gram of carb, holds three grams of water. So yes, your muscles will look fuller with carbs.
BUT, there is a very good chance that you will not time the load properly, and end up "spilling over." In other words, you put all those carbs in you, and you look awesome for an hour or two, but then the water starts going places you didn't want it to go. All those weeks of hard work down the drain because you believed that carb loading would greatly increase your chances of looking perfect on stage. I know what you are thinking, “but John, I am flat without carbs, and weak.” “I can't be on stage in that condition.” My response to you is.. I AGREE! But you know, there’s this cool nutrient out there that can "fill out" your muscles, without the chance of water retention. It's called, now brace yourself, hold on tight......FAT!
Let's take a step back now, what have we learned. It's ok to drink water pre-contest, as long as my carbs are low...because my body can't hold water physiologically due to the low carb intake. It's also necessary for me to increase my fat, so that I am full, and have energy. Remember that fat calories provide 9 calories of energy per gram, as opposed to the 4 that carbohydrates offer.
What about vascularity. Well, vascularity comes from blood pressure and red blood cell count. You can effectively drive both of these factors up by eating normal steaks such as top round, eye of round, sirloin, flank, and bottom round. Also cashews and peanut butter help. They both have a lot of mono saturated fat, which will give you energy and fullness, and they both have a little bit of salt that should keep your blood pressure up.
The other great thing about this approach, is that you tighten up, and then stay that way for days on end, as long as you stick to the diet. Also, small adjustments are all that's needed for this to work every time.
Let me give you an example of what I did prior to the 99 USA, where I unquestionably was the hardest competitor on stage.
Wednesday (prior to competition)
Meal 1 - 6 scrambled eggs - Good protein and good fat!
Meal 2 - 1/2 pound pd steak and 1/2 cup of cashews
Meal 3 - Whey protein shake w/ 2 table spoons of peanut butter
Meal 4 - 1/2 pound of steak w/ 1/2 cup of cashews
Meal 6 - 1/2 pound of steak w/ one medium sized sweet potato
Meal 7 - 1/2 pound of salmon w/ 2 table spoons of peanut butter
Water Intake 3 gallons of tap water (need a little sodium!)
Thursday
Water goes to two gallons.
If you look super dry and hard upon waking then repeat yesterday's diet. If you are a little too flat then add an extra steak or two. If you are not quite hard and ripped enough, cut out the potato. That should do the trick.
Friday (day of show)
1 gallon of water up until noon. After noon, no more water is necessary.
I am onstage around 9 pm. Remember yesterday's rules the exact same way.
One more thing. You need to be fat free two weeks out from your contest. Don't make the mistake of trying to hit it the day of the show. Get in shape a little early, and you will display deeper lines, and a more mature look. Also, one week prior to your contest, you can run a practice session of what I have taught you. You will be in good shape, so you your results will probably be extremely close to what you will see during contest week.
There you have it. Remember that I compete around 220, at 5'5". You may be heavier or lighter, and should adjust accordingly. If you want more specifics on how to adjust...just mail me or Dr. Serrano. He also believes in this approach to pre-contest preparation. Lastly, this approach also works extremely well for women!
Best wishes,
John Meadows
2 meals a day may not be best for some, but it is for me. Its just what I do, b/c my busy schedule, convenience, hunger, and to prove a point that meal frequency isnt at the top of the list for body comp changes. Check out my information a couple responses prior about nitrogen levels. Some research is showing that the body stops utilizing protein if its fed every few hours. It seems there are receptor sites that become desensitized similar to muscles w/ insulin, and the only way to resensitize the muscles to aminos is a protein fast or intense muscle contractions (lifting). Theres much more detail above, including some studies showing better protein utilization in a "protein pulse", most protein in a single meal. Also, read the articel below on Fasting for more information about this. Hope it all helps. And again, 4 meals may be optimal for you, or 6, it all depends on what you prefer and how you feel.
Millie, here is some information for you.Fasting normalizes hormone levels
Health & Fitness Benefits
Fasting for mental clarity.
Dr. Yuri Nikolayev, director of the fasting unit of the Moscow Psychiatric Institute, reports that the reason fasting works so well for heightening mental clarity is that it "gives the entire nervous system and the brain a rest. The body is also cleansed of poisons, and the tissues and the various glands are renovated. Resting the brain forms the basis for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric disorders." In Russia, fasting has been used for 50 years as the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. The nationÕs studies show that 70 percent of patients improved mentally after 20 to 30 days of controlled fasting. One Japanese research clinic had 382 patients, all suffering from psychosomatic disease, go on a fast, with a success rate of 87 percent. And the Sapparo Medical Journal in Japan states that "fasting has been repeatedly observed to alleviate neuroses, anxiety and depression.
Fasting for anti-aging
Fasting slows down the aging process by encouraging new cell growth. This rejuvenation is speeded up as the required proteins are resynthesized from decomposed cells. Also, fasteningÕs lowering of the basal metabolic rate, the rate at which the body burns fuel to create energy, promotes longevity.
Researchers Richard Weindruch, Ph.D., and Roy Walford, M.D., have shown that longevity is directly linked to efficient energy consumption. "Thrifty" animals live longer than "burner" animals. Fasting causes a decrease in B.M.R. of around one percent daily until it stabilizes at 75 percent of its normal level. What this boils down to is that tour body needs a break every once in a while from the daily chores of mastication, digestion, assimilation, and elimination. This hiatus will also provide the person fasting with more energy because it will spare the approximately ten percent of the bodyÕs energy budget that is normally spent performing these functions.
Fasting normalizes hormone levels
Signs of premature aging, a lagging libido, and a bulging waistline are all indicative of malfunctioning endocrine or sex glands and diminished sex-hormone production. Scientific fasting has been shown to revitalize these glands and normalize hormone production, thus reversing such processes. A number of biochemical changes occur during fasting. When the body becomes more efficient at burning fuel, it reduces its dependence on glucose and uses fatty acids more efficiently. This means that insulin sensitivity is greatly increased, with more anabolic (muscle-growth) activity as a result. There is also a notable increase in the production of growth hormone, which is responsible for increased lean-body mass, decreased body fat, increased body fat, increased energy, and a reversal in the signs of aging.
Fasting for muscle growth and fat loss
To gain some insight into the control systems underlying the regulation of body composition during lean-body weight gain and fat loss, we can look to the classic Minnesota Experiment, which involved 32 men subjected to long-term semi-starvation and refeeding. In 1996, scientists at the University of Geneva in Switzerland duplicated the methods used in the Minnesota Experiment in order to (1) determine whether the control of energy partitioning between lean tissue and fat tissue during weight loss and weight recovery is an individual characteristic; (2) determine whether the reduction in weight calorie-wasting thermogenesis during weight loss persists during weight recovery, and underlies the disproportionate regain of fat tissue; and (3) integrate the control of energy partitioning and that of thermogenesis in order to explain the pattern of lean-and fat-tissue mobilization and deposition during weight loss and weight recovery. The men were assessed according to body weight, body fat, lean-body mass, and basal metabolic rate at the end of 24 weeks of semistarvation and again after 12 weeks of restricted refeeding. These measurements were used to calculate the parameter known as the P ratio, defined as the proportion of body energy mobilized as protein during weight loss or as the proportion of body energy deposited as protein during weight recovery. The data from this study suggest that lean-and-fat-tissue deposition during weight recovery is to a large extent determined by individual variations in the initial percentage of body fat. So, the lower your body fat is and the more muscle you have, the greater will be your potential to become more fit.
Fasting and protein utilization
A very important factor in building muscle is optimizing the way your body utilizes protein. Fasting has been shown time and again to accelerate the bodyÕs ability to produce protein in skeletal muscle. Studies performed at Cornell University show that when subjects are starved for 24 hours, cellular energy decreases but there is no decrease in cell protein. The body relies heavily on fats and carbohydrates for energy during a fast but spars protein, and if you time the breaking of the fast properly, you can optimize your protein utilization.
According to scientists from Pennsylvania State UniversityÕs College of Medicine in Hershey, protein synthesis in skeletal muscle is markedly stimulated (180 percent of control rate) within three hours of eating in subjects who had fasted for 18 hours. This would be the time period between starvation phases II and III.
Researchers at the Gumma University School of Medicine in Maebashi, Japan, found in their studies on protein synthesis and utilization that starvation considerably increased the amount of the peptide transporter present in the small intestine. This peptide transporter is responsible for the uptake of small peptides (amino-acid chains) in the small intestine. Therefore, during starvation more peptides are absorbed for the synthesis of protein. An interesting side note of the study is that dietary administration of amino acids decreased the amount of peptide transporter present in the small intestine.
Another substance critical to protein synthesis is A. M.P.-activated protein kinase. This is an enzyme important in cellular adaptation to the stress of starvation.
In an article in the December 25, 1998, Journal of Biology and Chemistry the authors assert that, thanks to A.M.P-activated protein kinase, protein production dramatically increased in test subjects who had fasted.
The utilization of proteins and the involvement of lipids (fats) under starvation conditions was investigated by scientists at 15 the Centre d'Ecologie et Physiologie Energetiques, in Strasabourg, France. They that the shift from Phase II (protein sparing) to Phase III (increased protein breakdown) there is a change from the preferential use of lipids to a preferential utilization of proteins. They also found that the total activity of the enzyme carnitine palmitoyl transferase was substantially higher in subjects at the end of Phase II of starvation.
Carnitine palmitoyl transferase is responsible for helping to create palmitoylcarnitine, which facilitates the transfer of long-chain fatty acids from the cytoplasm of the cell into the mitochondria during the oxidation of fatty acids. Carnitine palmitoyl transferase was 48 percent higher in subjects studied at the end of Phase II than it was in fed subjects but was similar in fed subjects and subjects studied at the beginning of Phase III. And the total activity of fatty acyl-CoA (the coenzyme responsible for fat oxidation) was 73 percent lower only in subjects studied at the beginning of Phase III. It appears that a fast must be broken at the end of Phase II or the very beginning of Phase lll for ultimate protein synthesis and fat burning.
A viable option for those who wish to try fasting for muscle growth and health would be to have an early supper, fast overnight (approximately 18 hours), weight train upon waking, and then eat a meal of high-quality proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Or one fast throughout the day and break the fast with an evening meal.
http://www.dfhi.com/interviews/rosedale.html , most of his statements are right on target, except some areas such as his views on saturated fat. The body produces it b/c it is our prime energy source.
Here is an article on an incredible bodybuilder, John Meadows and his fat loading protocol for a precontest bodybuilder.
The End of Days - A New Approach to Pre-Contest Preparation
by John Meadows
You have one more week to go. You can see it now. You slowly walk out on stage, and the crowd erupts into a chorus of cheers. As you gracefully move through your routine, you know...this is your night. No way is anyone going to beat you this time around. You have paid your dues, dieted your ass off, literally. You have trained to the point of "selling buuuuiicks." You have spent hours soaking in your sweat in that nasty tanning bed. It's all coming together, just one last week.
You begin the week with the traditional decarbing. Even though your brain is in meltdown, you know that after the loading phase, you'll look unstoppable. You suffer for a few days more, you're flat tired and in a state of paranoid delusional schizophrenic dementia.
Finally, Wednesday comes. You begin to pound down the carbs. Damn those sweet potatoes are awesome - a little cinnamon and Equal and it's like sweet potato pie. Every 2-3 hours, you take in a little more...then Friday night...WHAM...your muscles bellies are round, full, and your skin appears to be paper thin. You go to bed knowing that after tomorrow night, you are going to give new meaning to the phrase "Freaky Hard."
Ahhh! Time to wake up, the big day is here. You go to the mirror for one last final look....WHOA, WHAT THE F#@$ happened. Your sliced thighs are blurry looking! Your ass, which was sort of striated, is now holding more water than Hoover Dam. Your abs look decent, but DAMN...even your lower back skin has loosened up...But, you can fix it. You whack a diuretic in hopes that the extra film of water will disappear. A few hours later your blood pressure has dropped, and now your vascularity has been wiped away. Finally, you mope out onto the stage, knowing that you blew it....what did you do wrong??
Where did you fail???
If you have competed in the weird sport of bodybuilding, you have no doubt experienced this, or know someone who has. I am going to ask you to try a new approach this season. I must admit, I am a bit reluctant in giving up this information, as I feel it would enable some bodybuilders to beat me, who otherwise wouldn't stand a chance. But oh well, Paul Burton has been good to me, so I am going to provide this info to all of you. Usually, when I explain this approach to pre-contest preparation, most people are too scared to try it anyway, so maybe my fear is unwarranted.
This article will only deal with the last 3 days prior to the show, as I feel that this is when 50% of competitive bodybuilders blow it. The other 49% are simply too fat and didn't pay their dues. The other 1% percent will usually be the winners, politics aside. So first things first: if you are simply to fat when you compete, go back and read every message on the diet boards, and focus on increasing your knowledge of nutrition. Ok, with all that said...LET"S GO!
Let me first ask you some elementary questions. What happens to your water levels when you increase or decrease carbs? Think about when you lower your carbs drastically, what happens? Hopefully you said, I pee my brains out! Yes, when you are low in carbs, water goes right through you. So what are your chances of holding water on stage, if your carbs are low? Little to none, depending on some other factors. I believe that every gram of carb, holds three grams of water. So yes, your muscles will look fuller with carbs.
BUT, there is a very good chance that you will not time the load properly, and end up "spilling over." In other words, you put all those carbs in you, and you look awesome for an hour or two, but then the water starts going places you didn't want it to go. All those weeks of hard work down the drain because you believed that carb loading would greatly increase your chances of looking perfect on stage. I know what you are thinking, “but John, I am flat without carbs, and weak.” “I can't be on stage in that condition.” My response to you is.. I AGREE! But you know, there’s this cool nutrient out there that can "fill out" your muscles, without the chance of water retention. It's called, now brace yourself, hold on tight......FAT!
Let's take a step back now, what have we learned. It's ok to drink water pre-contest, as long as my carbs are low...because my body can't hold water physiologically due to the low carb intake. It's also necessary for me to increase my fat, so that I am full, and have energy. Remember that fat calories provide 9 calories of energy per gram, as opposed to the 4 that carbohydrates offer.
What about vascularity. Well, vascularity comes from blood pressure and red blood cell count. You can effectively drive both of these factors up by eating normal steaks such as top round, eye of round, sirloin, flank, and bottom round. Also cashews and peanut butter help. They both have a lot of mono saturated fat, which will give you energy and fullness, and they both have a little bit of salt that should keep your blood pressure up.
The other great thing about this approach, is that you tighten up, and then stay that way for days on end, as long as you stick to the diet. Also, small adjustments are all that's needed for this to work every time.
Let me give you an example of what I did prior to the 99 USA, where I unquestionably was the hardest competitor on stage.
Wednesday (prior to competition)
Meal 1 - 6 scrambled eggs - Good protein and good fat!
Meal 2 - 1/2 pound pd steak and 1/2 cup of cashews
Meal 3 - Whey protein shake w/ 2 table spoons of peanut butter
Meal 4 - 1/2 pound of steak w/ 1/2 cup of cashews
Meal 6 - 1/2 pound of steak w/ one medium sized sweet potato
Meal 7 - 1/2 pound of salmon w/ 2 table spoons of peanut butter
Water Intake 3 gallons of tap water (need a little sodium!)
Thursday
Water goes to two gallons.
If you look super dry and hard upon waking then repeat yesterday's diet. If you are a little too flat then add an extra steak or two. If you are not quite hard and ripped enough, cut out the potato. That should do the trick.
Friday (day of show)
1 gallon of water up until noon. After noon, no more water is necessary.
I am onstage around 9 pm. Remember yesterday's rules the exact same way.
One more thing. You need to be fat free two weeks out from your contest. Don't make the mistake of trying to hit it the day of the show. Get in shape a little early, and you will display deeper lines, and a more mature look. Also, one week prior to your contest, you can run a practice session of what I have taught you. You will be in good shape, so you your results will probably be extremely close to what you will see during contest week.
There you have it. Remember that I compete around 220, at 5'5". You may be heavier or lighter, and should adjust accordingly. If you want more specifics on how to adjust...just mail me or Dr. Serrano. He also believes in this approach to pre-contest preparation. Lastly, this approach also works extremely well for women!
Best wishes,
John Meadows
2 meals a day may not be best for some, but it is for me. Its just what I do, b/c my busy schedule, convenience, hunger, and to prove a point that meal frequency isnt at the top of the list for body comp changes. Check out my information a couple responses prior about nitrogen levels. Some research is showing that the body stops utilizing protein if its fed every few hours. It seems there are receptor sites that become desensitized similar to muscles w/ insulin, and the only way to resensitize the muscles to aminos is a protein fast or intense muscle contractions (lifting). Theres much more detail above, including some studies showing better protein utilization in a "protein pulse", most protein in a single meal. Also, read the articel below on Fasting for more information about this. Hope it all helps. And again, 4 meals may be optimal for you, or 6, it all depends on what you prefer and how you feel.
Millie, here is some information for you.Fasting normalizes hormone levels
Health & Fitness Benefits
Fasting for mental clarity.
Dr. Yuri Nikolayev, director of the fasting unit of the Moscow Psychiatric Institute, reports that the reason fasting works so well for heightening mental clarity is that it "gives the entire nervous system and the brain a rest. The body is also cleansed of poisons, and the tissues and the various glands are renovated. Resting the brain forms the basis for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric disorders." In Russia, fasting has been used for 50 years as the most effective treatment for schizophrenia. The nationÕs studies show that 70 percent of patients improved mentally after 20 to 30 days of controlled fasting. One Japanese research clinic had 382 patients, all suffering from psychosomatic disease, go on a fast, with a success rate of 87 percent. And the Sapparo Medical Journal in Japan states that "fasting has been repeatedly observed to alleviate neuroses, anxiety and depression.
Fasting for anti-aging
Fasting slows down the aging process by encouraging new cell growth. This rejuvenation is speeded up as the required proteins are resynthesized from decomposed cells. Also, fasteningÕs lowering of the basal metabolic rate, the rate at which the body burns fuel to create energy, promotes longevity.
Researchers Richard Weindruch, Ph.D., and Roy Walford, M.D., have shown that longevity is directly linked to efficient energy consumption. "Thrifty" animals live longer than "burner" animals. Fasting causes a decrease in B.M.R. of around one percent daily until it stabilizes at 75 percent of its normal level. What this boils down to is that tour body needs a break every once in a while from the daily chores of mastication, digestion, assimilation, and elimination. This hiatus will also provide the person fasting with more energy because it will spare the approximately ten percent of the bodyÕs energy budget that is normally spent performing these functions.
Fasting normalizes hormone levels
Signs of premature aging, a lagging libido, and a bulging waistline are all indicative of malfunctioning endocrine or sex glands and diminished sex-hormone production. Scientific fasting has been shown to revitalize these glands and normalize hormone production, thus reversing such processes. A number of biochemical changes occur during fasting. When the body becomes more efficient at burning fuel, it reduces its dependence on glucose and uses fatty acids more efficiently. This means that insulin sensitivity is greatly increased, with more anabolic (muscle-growth) activity as a result. There is also a notable increase in the production of growth hormone, which is responsible for increased lean-body mass, decreased body fat, increased body fat, increased energy, and a reversal in the signs of aging.
Fasting for muscle growth and fat loss
To gain some insight into the control systems underlying the regulation of body composition during lean-body weight gain and fat loss, we can look to the classic Minnesota Experiment, which involved 32 men subjected to long-term semi-starvation and refeeding. In 1996, scientists at the University of Geneva in Switzerland duplicated the methods used in the Minnesota Experiment in order to (1) determine whether the control of energy partitioning between lean tissue and fat tissue during weight loss and weight recovery is an individual characteristic; (2) determine whether the reduction in weight calorie-wasting thermogenesis during weight loss persists during weight recovery, and underlies the disproportionate regain of fat tissue; and (3) integrate the control of energy partitioning and that of thermogenesis in order to explain the pattern of lean-and fat-tissue mobilization and deposition during weight loss and weight recovery. The men were assessed according to body weight, body fat, lean-body mass, and basal metabolic rate at the end of 24 weeks of semistarvation and again after 12 weeks of restricted refeeding. These measurements were used to calculate the parameter known as the P ratio, defined as the proportion of body energy mobilized as protein during weight loss or as the proportion of body energy deposited as protein during weight recovery. The data from this study suggest that lean-and-fat-tissue deposition during weight recovery is to a large extent determined by individual variations in the initial percentage of body fat. So, the lower your body fat is and the more muscle you have, the greater will be your potential to become more fit.
Fasting and protein utilization
A very important factor in building muscle is optimizing the way your body utilizes protein. Fasting has been shown time and again to accelerate the bodyÕs ability to produce protein in skeletal muscle. Studies performed at Cornell University show that when subjects are starved for 24 hours, cellular energy decreases but there is no decrease in cell protein. The body relies heavily on fats and carbohydrates for energy during a fast but spars protein, and if you time the breaking of the fast properly, you can optimize your protein utilization.
According to scientists from Pennsylvania State UniversityÕs College of Medicine in Hershey, protein synthesis in skeletal muscle is markedly stimulated (180 percent of control rate) within three hours of eating in subjects who had fasted for 18 hours. This would be the time period between starvation phases II and III.
Researchers at the Gumma University School of Medicine in Maebashi, Japan, found in their studies on protein synthesis and utilization that starvation considerably increased the amount of the peptide transporter present in the small intestine. This peptide transporter is responsible for the uptake of small peptides (amino-acid chains) in the small intestine. Therefore, during starvation more peptides are absorbed for the synthesis of protein. An interesting side note of the study is that dietary administration of amino acids decreased the amount of peptide transporter present in the small intestine.
Another substance critical to protein synthesis is A. M.P.-activated protein kinase. This is an enzyme important in cellular adaptation to the stress of starvation.
In an article in the December 25, 1998, Journal of Biology and Chemistry the authors assert that, thanks to A.M.P-activated protein kinase, protein production dramatically increased in test subjects who had fasted.
The utilization of proteins and the involvement of lipids (fats) under starvation conditions was investigated by scientists at 15 the Centre d'Ecologie et Physiologie Energetiques, in Strasabourg, France. They that the shift from Phase II (protein sparing) to Phase III (increased protein breakdown) there is a change from the preferential use of lipids to a preferential utilization of proteins. They also found that the total activity of the enzyme carnitine palmitoyl transferase was substantially higher in subjects at the end of Phase II of starvation.
Carnitine palmitoyl transferase is responsible for helping to create palmitoylcarnitine, which facilitates the transfer of long-chain fatty acids from the cytoplasm of the cell into the mitochondria during the oxidation of fatty acids. Carnitine palmitoyl transferase was 48 percent higher in subjects studied at the end of Phase II than it was in fed subjects but was similar in fed subjects and subjects studied at the beginning of Phase III. And the total activity of fatty acyl-CoA (the coenzyme responsible for fat oxidation) was 73 percent lower only in subjects studied at the beginning of Phase III. It appears that a fast must be broken at the end of Phase II or the very beginning of Phase lll for ultimate protein synthesis and fat burning.
A viable option for those who wish to try fasting for muscle growth and health would be to have an early supper, fast overnight (approximately 18 hours), weight train upon waking, and then eat a meal of high-quality proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Or one fast throughout the day and break the fast with an evening meal.
M
MohawkMuscle
Guest
give me an idea of what you eat ina day.
My current diet is for fat loss purposes only, I would not recommend it for long periods of time. It comes from the basics of our bodies needs and research from Dr. Blackburn of Harvard Univ. and his studies on a Protein Sparing Modified Fast, which I talked about in my initial post. Again, this is extreme and unhealthy for most, but for pure fat loss I've found nothing better.
I eat 2 meals a day, 12 hours apart, say 1 at 9am and 1 at 9pm, sometimes 3 meals but usually 2.
I workout in the morning and eat right afterwards. Meal 1 is 1-1.5 lbs chicken, turkey, ostrich, or top round steak. I have this with 3 fish oil capsules and water. I drink water throughout the day, along with shaved ice for (somewhat) of a treat. I cook in a tsp. coconut oil for its health benefits and Saturated fat which doesn't turn toxic like all other fats do during cooking.
My evening meal is similar, 1/2-1 lb. of meat along with the fish oils. Every few days will be a high fat day, either once or twice a week where I'll eat high fat red meat, pork, nuts ocassionally, bacon, etc.
as a note, nclifter6feet6 followed a similar cutting diet some-time back and said he got ripped like never before, although he ate less meals and used a lot of (bad) soy protein, as well as basically 0 fat which again is very unhealthy.
Once my goals are reached I will again start consuming more fat in my diet as well as more protein to increase muscle mass, but for now i'm pursuing an opportunity for modeling (although I will not allow myself to be skinny like most are)
I eat 2 meals a day, 12 hours apart, say 1 at 9am and 1 at 9pm, sometimes 3 meals but usually 2.
I workout in the morning and eat right afterwards. Meal 1 is 1-1.5 lbs chicken, turkey, ostrich, or top round steak. I have this with 3 fish oil capsules and water. I drink water throughout the day, along with shaved ice for (somewhat) of a treat. I cook in a tsp. coconut oil for its health benefits and Saturated fat which doesn't turn toxic like all other fats do during cooking.
My evening meal is similar, 1/2-1 lb. of meat along with the fish oils. Every few days will be a high fat day, either once or twice a week where I'll eat high fat red meat, pork, nuts ocassionally, bacon, etc.
as a note, nclifter6feet6 followed a similar cutting diet some-time back and said he got ripped like never before, although he ate less meals and used a lot of (bad) soy protein, as well as basically 0 fat which again is very unhealthy.
Once my goals are reached I will again start consuming more fat in my diet as well as more protein to increase muscle mass, but for now i'm pursuing an opportunity for modeling (although I will not allow myself to be skinny like most are)
plornive
New member
PwB,
I'm trying not to be closeminded so bear with me here. Your apparent success with this diet has gotten me interested.
Are you just as strong on this diet as with all higher carb diets? Or is your diet just not meant for, say, powerlifters or strongmen? Do you feel that for a given body composition, your diet allows one to be just as strong as with the same body composition on a higher carb diet? Does your diet allow you to increase your strength very easily?
What about bulking? Do you feel you have a better ratio of muscle increase to fat increase on this diet than a higher carb diet? I am simply assuming that you cannot increase muscle mass as quickly with your diet, ignoring fat increase with a higher carb diet.
Do you feel your diet is more anticatabolic (not necessarily anabolic, of course) than carb-based diets?
One more thing:
Assume you have been following this diet for a while (your body has adjusted metabolic pathways, etc., etc.). You are planning to see how much weight you can lift. Don't you think you will fairly quickly be stronger if you eat a bunch of carbs than if you just stick with your diet? If so, wouldn't this affect long-term strength/mass gain if you took some pre-workout carbs regularly?
I'm trying not to be closeminded so bear with me here. Your apparent success with this diet has gotten me interested.
Are you just as strong on this diet as with all higher carb diets? Or is your diet just not meant for, say, powerlifters or strongmen? Do you feel that for a given body composition, your diet allows one to be just as strong as with the same body composition on a higher carb diet? Does your diet allow you to increase your strength very easily?
What about bulking? Do you feel you have a better ratio of muscle increase to fat increase on this diet than a higher carb diet? I am simply assuming that you cannot increase muscle mass as quickly with your diet, ignoring fat increase with a higher carb diet.
Do you feel your diet is more anticatabolic (not necessarily anabolic, of course) than carb-based diets?
One more thing:
Assume you have been following this diet for a while (your body has adjusted metabolic pathways, etc., etc.). You are planning to see how much weight you can lift. Don't you think you will fairly quickly be stronger if you eat a bunch of carbs than if you just stick with your diet? If so, wouldn't this affect long-term strength/mass gain if you took some pre-workout carbs regularly?
I personally am just as strong as I was on a higher carb diet, and actually have problems eating carbs pre-workout. I tried to over a year ago after eating low carbs for quite a long time. I was going to try to go back to a body-for-life type eating plan just for variety, and ate a carb-protein meal about 2 hours before my workouts. I did this about 3 times and each time became very light-headed and dizzy, with mild nausea. At the time I was confused but now think it has to do with low blood sugar or enyme downregulation to handling carbs. The carbs were also moderate GI, slow cooked oatmeal so I wouldn't suspect a blood sugar crash. Again, this is my personal experience and a few others at my gym have similar experiences.
I will admit that strength is not my primary goal, and nor can it be if I chose. The reason being is I used to be very strong about 3 years ago, before I hurt my shoulder playing football in college and having major surgery. I was told I could never play again and it would be a long recover, which it has been. I can't say this plan is optimal for powerlifters, but how many have given it a fair chance. Even with carb ups, Dr. Mauro DiPasquale one several competitions (I believe World Games, etc) using his high fat/high protein/low carb diet during his training and competing. Dr. Serrano and Scott Mendelson write of the benefits of low carb diets for strength athletes, but they too recommend carb ups ocassionally.
Regardless, I do increase strenth steadily when I choose to, but I physically can't lift as much b/c of my shoulder, the injury was bad and also very rare, posterior instability (actually multidirectional, but mostly posterior which isn't common and few dr's are willing to do surgery for it) For my clients at the gym who do follow my dietary advice, they do make stregth gains that are consistant. One in particular increased stregth in all lifts over 6 weeks and lost 38lbs of weight, no cardio, just lifting and dieting low carbs. He also went from borderline diabetic to completely normal in all blood profiles, his Dr. couldn't get over it. Charles Poliquin believes that the biggest factors for increasing stregth and muscle mass are training programs more than diet, and talks about how athletes on low carb/low cal diets readily increase muscle mass and strength on his programs.
I have to run, I'll answer the rest later.
I will admit that strength is not my primary goal, and nor can it be if I chose. The reason being is I used to be very strong about 3 years ago, before I hurt my shoulder playing football in college and having major surgery. I was told I could never play again and it would be a long recover, which it has been. I can't say this plan is optimal for powerlifters, but how many have given it a fair chance. Even with carb ups, Dr. Mauro DiPasquale one several competitions (I believe World Games, etc) using his high fat/high protein/low carb diet during his training and competing. Dr. Serrano and Scott Mendelson write of the benefits of low carb diets for strength athletes, but they too recommend carb ups ocassionally.
Regardless, I do increase strenth steadily when I choose to, but I physically can't lift as much b/c of my shoulder, the injury was bad and also very rare, posterior instability (actually multidirectional, but mostly posterior which isn't common and few dr's are willing to do surgery for it) For my clients at the gym who do follow my dietary advice, they do make stregth gains that are consistant. One in particular increased stregth in all lifts over 6 weeks and lost 38lbs of weight, no cardio, just lifting and dieting low carbs. He also went from borderline diabetic to completely normal in all blood profiles, his Dr. couldn't get over it. Charles Poliquin believes that the biggest factors for increasing stregth and muscle mass are training programs more than diet, and talks about how athletes on low carb/low cal diets readily increase muscle mass and strength on his programs.
I have to run, I'll answer the rest later.
MrMakaveli
New member
PwB, ever since I first read that article a while ago I've had one burning question. Is there any difference at all in eating every twelve ours (as you do) and actually waiting the full 18 as the article suggests?
MASSIVEmorris
New member
I find this all to be very intriguing as well. However, I have noticed good results thus far following a "Targeted Ketogenic Diet" (found in Lyle McDonald's "The Ketogenic Diet" book). As far as eating 2 meals a day...well, even if it was as beneficial as eating 4-6 meals a day...it certainly isn't as fun. Personally, I would find it very hard to go that long without food [between meals]; I would end up binging on carb's or something. But, that's just me.
Again, my main point of all this wasnt that 2 meals is the best, or only way to go, it is just one option and works well for me. MrMakaveli, I believe that 12 hours of fasting is still enough to provide most benefits in terms of increasing protein sensitivity, detox, etc. For a while I was waiting 18 hours but it turned out to be a complete pain in the ass and I personally get hungry in the evening. I also have my best workouts in the morning, so it didn't work well for me. What I did was work out at say 10am, and eat at 11am. I would eat another meal or 2 within 6 hours of this, so my last meal would be at 5pm. Then the next day I would have to eat again at 11 for the 18 hour time. Things come up, etc. and its sometimes a pain to schedule eating like this, so I stay with 12 hours and believe it is very effective. Even if it isn't optimal, I doubt it makes much difference in the long run.
MASSIVEmorris, Lyle's book is outstanding and the TKD is great for fat loss. I choose to eat 2 meals but 4 may be optimal for you. I'm just presenting ideas based on science, health, experience of our ancestors, as well as some theory. If it ain't broke, why fix it? If its working for you keep up the good work. I'm just presenting ideas here, and hope people will implement it if they really do have a tough time losing bodyfat as I do on every diet i've ever tried, and I've tried them all. Again, you are utilizing certain principles with your approach that I totally agree with, such as low carbs for fat loss/health. You can experiment if you desire by eating at least 50% protein after your workout, consuming the rest in 1-3 other meals. Also, the higher fat nature of the diet makes it easier to go longer w/out food. I personally can't handle carbs pre-workout as I get lightheaded and weak, Charles Poliquin mentioned he is the same way. But if it will get you through your workout and stick to your diet, do what you must. Also note that enough carbs pre-workout will inhibit fat burning during the workout. One possible approach that works well is high amounts of Amino Acids and Glutamine during a workout, or before and after it for a similar benefit the TKD provides.
MASSIVEmorris, Lyle's book is outstanding and the TKD is great for fat loss. I choose to eat 2 meals but 4 may be optimal for you. I'm just presenting ideas based on science, health, experience of our ancestors, as well as some theory. If it ain't broke, why fix it? If its working for you keep up the good work. I'm just presenting ideas here, and hope people will implement it if they really do have a tough time losing bodyfat as I do on every diet i've ever tried, and I've tried them all. Again, you are utilizing certain principles with your approach that I totally agree with, such as low carbs for fat loss/health. You can experiment if you desire by eating at least 50% protein after your workout, consuming the rest in 1-3 other meals. Also, the higher fat nature of the diet makes it easier to go longer w/out food. I personally can't handle carbs pre-workout as I get lightheaded and weak, Charles Poliquin mentioned he is the same way. But if it will get you through your workout and stick to your diet, do what you must. Also note that enough carbs pre-workout will inhibit fat burning during the workout. One possible approach that works well is high amounts of Amino Acids and Glutamine during a workout, or before and after it for a similar benefit the TKD provides.
MASSIVEmorris
New member
PwB: Is that so? I've been taking in 30 grams of carbohydrates pre-workout (in the form of "Sweet Tarts"). I didn't think this would be enough to inhibit fat-burning during the workout...maybe it is? I train first thing in the morning and do 30 min. of cardio post workout. So, that's why I think the pre-workout carb's probably don't hurt me too much. However, do you know of a supplement that I could take (that's high in BCAA's ...and glutamine) that could take place of the "Sweet Tarts". I'd willingly give them up if it meant more fat-burning for me.
