Nutrition
Email number 54 - More of the same
"Hey Roman, I want to be defined and I know this is your area of expertise. I am running 5/3/1 and making pretty good strength gains with it. However, I would like to lose 25 pounds in 8 weeks. How can I modify the program and what diet should I use?"
My mouse pointer circles briefly over the "Delete" button, but since I reply to every email I receive, I type in the same answer I've given 53 times before.
"If you do almost everything right, your diet is perfect and you do regular intense cardio, you can lose fat with almost any reasonable training plan."
Then I gave him specific instructions.
And even though I already had a lot of practice answering this question, I wished I understood it better.
Why on earth would anyone want to lose fat this way?
Sure, it's possible, but it's certainly not optimal. And for me, it's all about optimal approaches.
A better way
I have five principles for fat loss programs that I'll share with you below, and none of them are really complicated. Even more straightforward is the overarching theory I use to design extreme fat loss plans. It's the broad basic idea, if you will. It is as follows:
All facets of the program must be aimed at fat loss.
And now we're talking about radical fat loss - not this half-hearted "I just want to lose a few pounds." If you want fast results, it's not enough to modify your diet and do some extra cardio. Heck, if it was that easy, a lot more people would be walking around with decent muscle development and visible abs.
Extreme fat loss is something I deal with every day. My clients want to get lean in the shortest time possible and that's exactly what my programs aim to achieve. For this to be possible, a complete and comprehensive approach is necessary. Keeping in mind the basic idea I mentioned above, this means that all aspects of nutrition, cardio, supplementation and training with weights must be geared towards this specific goal.
My recommendations:
Nutrition
Finding the exact balance of macronutrients that will help you succeed can be a little tricky. Not only is this highly individual, but it's also important to realize that no calorie formula is perfect. In order to achieve radical fat loss with my clients, I have to start somewhere. Here are a few general recommendations to determine calorie intake.
To determine maintenance calories, I use the following formula:
| Current body fat percentage | Caloric Intake |
| 6%-12% | 37 kcal per kilogram of lean body mass |
| 12%-15% | 35 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
| 15.1%-19% | 33 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
| 19.1%-22% | 31 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
| 22.1% and above | 29 kcal per kilo of lean body mass |
The obvious reason for this structure is the rate of fat loss. The more fat you have on your ribs, the faster you can lose it and the more you can lose without sacrificing lean body mass. For this reason, you can eat fewer calories and still maintain a useful rate of fat loss without compromising the metabolic processes responsible for fat loss and muscle gain.
In terms of macronutrients, protein intake is considered to be between 2.5 and 3.3 grams per kilogram of lean body mass. There is no real magic number here. As long as you consume a little more than 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, you should be in the green zone. The reason for a range is to leave some room for individual adjustment, with satiety being the determining factor. If you start with a lower protein intake and feel hungry, then you can increase your protein intake up to 3.3 grams per kilogram of lean body mass. This allows you more flexibility in meal size and food choices.
As for carbohydrates, you should limit your intake to 1.1 grams per kilogram of fat-free body mass if you are insulin resistant or do not do well with carbohydrates. On the other hand, if you do well with carbohydrates, you can go up to 1.6 grams per kilogram of fat-free body mass.
The rest of your daily calorie intake should come from fat. Of this fat, you should consume 1 gram of fish oil per percentage of body fat. If your body fat percentage is 10%, that would be 10 grams of fish oil.
The most important thing to remember here is that you don't need a radical reduction in calorie intake to achieve a radical reduction in body fat. Although a calorie deficit of 400 kcal will not go unnoticed in terms of both satiety and energy levels, the effects in this respect will not be extreme. For fat loss without sacrificing muscle mass, it is much more efficient to generate a higher deficit through an increased level of activity.
Cardio
Do high-intensity interval training (preferably sprints or jumping rope) or complexes at least once a week. In most cases, I have my clients do one HIIT training session and one complex training session per week. I consider complexes to be cardio training and not training with weights.
Supplementation
I recommend the use of fish oil and a fat burner.
Training with weights:
Why is training with weights crucial for fat loss results? I have 3 reasons for this:
- It generates a higher calorie consumption than a cardio workout of the same duration.
- It increases the activity of metabolic processes involved in fat loss over a longer period of time.
- It is better suited to maintaining existing muscle mass, which keeps the basal metabolic rate high.
Now that we've covered the basics, let's take a closer look at how to put together the perfect weight training program for weight loss.
1 - You need to train often
If you want to lose fat, you need to exercise - and you need to exercise often. In almost all cases, it's more effective to spread your activity over a longer period of time (while still getting enough rest). For fat loss, I prefer two workouts per day, splitting the workouts between weights and cardio.
Of course, training twice a day is not possible for some people and in this case I allow them to do their weights workout and their cardio workout back-to-back as long as they make sure the weights workout comes first.
The high training frequency ensures a consistently increased metabolic rate, a strong and constant increase in EPOC (Excess Post Exercise Oxygen Consumption) and a resulting increase in energy expenditure.
Here is an example of a three-week training plan I created for one of my clients whose goal was to lose 18 pounds in 8 weeks.
Week A
| Morning | Afternoon | |
| Monday | Sprint HIIT workout | Training session with weights #1 followed by 15 min rope skipping |
| Tuesday | 20 min. continuous rope skipping | Training session with weights #2 followed by 10 min. walking on the treadmill |
| Wednesday | Complexes without weights | No training |
| Thursday | No training | Training session with weights #3 |
| Friday | Training session with weights #1 followed by 15 min rope skipping | No training |
| Saturday | At any time: training with your own body weight | |
| Sunday | No training | No training |
Week B
| In the morning | Afternoon | |
| Monday | Training session with weights #2 | 20 min. HIIT jumping rope |
| Tuesday | No training | Complexes |
| Wednesday | Training session with weights #3 | Walking on the treadmill |
| Thursday | No training | No training |
| Friday | Training session with weights #1 directly followed by a HIIT sprint training session | Training free |
| Saturday | No training | No training |
| Sunday | At any time: training with your own body weight followed by 15 minutes on the treadmill |
Week C
| In the morning | Afternoon | |
| Monday | No training | No training |
| Tuesday | Some kind of HIIT training | Training session with weights #3 |
| Wednesday | Complex | Training session with weights #1 |
| Thursday | No training | 20 min. Steady Jump Rope Work |
| Friday | Training session with weights #2 | |
| Saturday | Training with your own body weight followed by 10 min. rope jumping | HIIT sprint training session |
| Sunday | No training | No training |
This client trained 23 times in 21 days or an average of 7.6 times per week.
In fact, this client trained five times in 60 hours! This may sound crazy, but if you take a closer look at the training program, you will see that phases with a lot of training are followed by sufficient rest phases.
If this still seems like too much, then read on.
2 - The training sessions must be short
When creating a training program aimed at fat loss, it is important to remember that you will start each training session with a moderate energy deficit generated by your diet. Each training session is designed to increase this energy deficit as much as possible without killing you.
Long training sessions (anything over 45 minutes) are unsuitable for radical fat loss programs. Considering the reduced calories and the structure of the workouts, this would give you the perfect recipe for overtraining, injury and stagnation. I'm certainly an advocate of pushing yourself hard, but there's a fine line between well-intentioned intensity and stupidity, and the dividing line between the two can be defined by how long you train during a fat loss program.
In addition to this, based on what I've observed with hundreds of clients, the decline in performance towards the end of a 45 minute training session is so severe that it's basically pointless to spend any more time training. Unless you have exceptional work capacity (and in this case, the question is why the hell are you fat and need a radical program), 30 to 45 minutes is enough.
Don't believe me? Wait until you try the workouts I've put together for you.
As I mentioned earlier, short workouts will generate enough stimulus because the frequency of the workouts is high.
3 - The workouts need to be done at a fast pace
One of the aspects of training that is least talked about is training density, which is defined as the amount of work you complete in a given period of time. The higher your training density, the higher your calorie consumption will be.
The easiest way to increase your training density is to shorten your rest intervals. I generally don't like rest intervals much and don't recommend long rests even in my hypertrophy programs, but for fat loss it is absolutely necessary to keep the rest intervals short, which will also make the workouts themselves short and miserable.
Here's an example:
| Types of exercises | Examples | Pause (sec.) |
| Between competing upper body muscle groups | Chest and shoulders | 20 or less |
| Between non-competing "large" upper body muscle groups | Chest and back | 15 or less |
| Between non-competing "small" upper body muscle groups | Biceps and triceps | 5 or less |
| Between non-competing "mixed size" upper body muscle groups | Chest and biceps | 10 or less |
| Between straight sets of squats or deadlifts | Squats, deadlifts | 45-60 |
| Between squats or deadlifts alternating with lower body exercises | Squats and reverse lunges | 30 or less |
| Between squats or deadlifts alternating with upper body exercises | Deadlifts and bench press | 25 or less |
| Between non-competing lower body exercises | Lunges and calf raises | 20 or less |
| Between lower body exercises alternating with "small" upper body muscle groups | Lunges and biceps | 10 or less |
| Intermediate lower body exercises alternating with "large" upper body muscle groups | Romanian deadlift and chest | 25 or less |
| Between straight sets of explosive exercises | Repositioning, jump squats, push press | 35-45 |
| Between explosive exercises alternating with "small" exercises | Repositions and curls | 15 or less |
| Alternate between explosive exercises and "big" exercises | Push press and lunges | 25 or less |
These guidelines are rough and advanced. I use them as a starting point and try to reduce the rest times further where I can. If your fitness is poor, then you will probably need to increase the times above. It probably doesn't need to be mentioned that you need to reduce the weight on many exercises.
Additionally, I would like to mention that even for the more advanced of my clients, these numbers are only realistic during the first half of the training session. After this we generally need to add a few seconds.
4 - Workouts need to focus on the most effective exercises for fat loss
Not all exercises are the same. Just as deadlifts are better than leg curls for building mass in the leg curl area, some exercises are clearly superior for fat loss.
My fat loss programs are based on an a-list of exercises to which we add other exercises. Generally speaking, my fat loss workouts consist of two to four circuits, with each of these circuits consisting of four to six exercises. At least two of these exercises are from the A-List.
Without question, the following exercises are the top exercises for fat loss:
- Lunges (all variations)
- Step-up
- Push press (standing shoulder press with momentum from the legs
- Transfer
- One-legged squat variations
- Full body pulling exercises (pull-ups, inverse rowing)
These exercises serve as the basis of each circuit, with at least two of these exercises appearing in each circuit. The remaining exercises are further multi-joint exercises, occasional isolation exercises and usually at least one front or rear core exercise.
Here is an example of a training day in one of my fat loss programs.
Note: Using the workout plan above, this would represent "workout with weights #1". There would then be two more workouts during the given week.
Circuit A
Set Up: Perform A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5 in succession, keeping to the pauses indicated. Pause for 30 seconds between two circuits. Perform the circuit twice. Pause for 60 seconds after the second circuit and continue with circuit B.
| Exercise | Repetitions/Time | Pause (sec.) | |
| A1 | Push Press | 12 | 25 or less |
| A2 | Alternating forward lunges | 15 / side | 15 or less |
| A3 | Pull-ups with close grip | 10-12 | 25 or less |
| A4 | Side Plank | 25 sec/side | 5 or less |
| A5 | Swiss Ball Rollouts | 15 | N/A |
Circuit B
Set Up: Perform B1, B2, B3 and B4 one after the other and keep to the indicated pauses. Perform this circuit once. Rest for 90 seconds after the circuit and continue with circuit C.
| Exercise | Repetitions/Time | Pause (sec.) | |
| B1 | Barbell row bent forward | 8-10 | 25 or less |
| B2 | Deadlift with straight legs | 6-10 | 15 or less |
| B3 | Jumping lunges | 15 / side | 5 or less |
| B4 | Bulgarian split squats | 10-12 / side | N/A |
Circuit C
Set Up: Perform C1, C2, C3, C4 and C5 in succession, keeping to the pauses indicated. Rest for 45 seconds between two circuits. Perform the circuit three times.
| Exercise | Repetition/Time | Pause (sec.) | |
| C1 | Step-up onto a bench | 12 / side | 15 or less |
| C2 | Dips on a bench | 6-10 | 10 or less |
| C3 | Jumping jacks | 15 | 5 or less |
| C4 | Side raise bent over | 10-12 / side | 10 or less |
| C5 | Superman hold | 20-30 sec. | N/A |
As you have seen, each circuit is intense and performed at a fast pace. The key is to perform the circuit as fast as possible while maintaining good form and using a weight that you find challenging in terms of strength and endurance.
5 - Multiple training variables need to be manipulated during a single week of training
This is the change that makes my radical fat loss programs a little more fun than any other program I've tried. And to be honest, I think it makes them more effective too. The reason for the difference is a long look at training from the perspective of someone who has tried pretty much every way of training.
Most fat loss gurus will say that the goal of the training program is not to increase strength or endurance. Those are less important things and I agree.
The primary goal is to lose fat fast. However, it is important to me that the exerciser finishes the program in a better condition than when they started. Getting lean is the primary goal and I insist that all thoughts of strength and hypertrophy are put aside.
However, I also make sure that no one finishes the fat loss program weaker than when they started or with less muscle than when they started.
The rotating change of training styles - provided that you keep the basic idea of the overall program in mind - serves two purposes.
Firstly, this rotation allows you to lose fat faster as your body is constantly experiencing different stimuli and it is difficult for it to adapt. This lack of adaptation is what increases the rate of fat loss compared to other programs.
I hate to use training clichés and colloquial bodybuilding phrases like "keep the body guessing", but staying ahead of the adaptation curve is better for progress. For this reason, I usually add a secondary training protocol to the training program. In the example above, it's bodyweight training. By doing this, I keep the workout varied and the client motivated while accelerating their progress.
Secondly, I like rotating training styles throughout the week because these give me the opportunity to keep an eye on factors that will be important to the progress of the program. Conventional fat loss programs are usually somewhat in line with what I've listed above - at least in theory. The problem, however, is that these programs fail to address strength. More specifically, the fast-paced training regimen used in most fat loss programs necessitates the use of light weights.
Do you know what training only with light weights while in a calorie deficit will do within six weeks? It will make you really good at moving light weights, but very bad at moving heavy weights. And for me, that's unacceptable.
So at least one day a week should be dedicated to using heavy weights (85 to 95% of 5 RM weight). This training session will still be high tempo and intense, but it will also keep you strong. And any strength athlete worthy of the name knows that heavy training is vastly superior when it comes to maintaining existing muscle mass while dieting.
I've had discussions about this with some other trainers who specialize in fat loss and one argument I hear a lot is that taking time off from heavy training during a fat loss program is actually a good thing. They will tell you that this will decondition you so that you will experience stronger growth when you start training heavy again and they disguise this with terms like supercompensation.
I call bullshit. For me, there is no advantage in getting weaker.
To stay strong during a fat loss program, you should train heavy one day a week. Acceptable programs include an abbreviated 5x5 workout or something with low reps and heavy weights using the perfect repetition method.
Final thoughts
Forgive me if I'm repeating myself, but I need to say it again:
All facets of the program must be aimed at fat loss.
I start each day with the hope that this message has gotten through to the world.
If you want to start a fat loss program, make sure you actually start a fat loss program.
This means that for the next six weeks you should not worry about building muscle. You will stop worrying about the amount of weight you are moving.
Instead, you will focus on fat loss - but with the most comprehensive attention to your ultimate goal.
Will you build muscle? Probably not. Will you get stronger? It's possible, but unlikely. You will, however, get extremely lean extremely fast. In addition to this, you will gain exceptional stamina, exceptional strength endurance and increased work capacity. When you start training for mass and strength again, these improvements will be invaluable in taking your body development to the next level.
If you follow my guidance, I promise you will get lean without losing muscle and without becoming a weak shadow of your former self.
By John Romaniello
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/workouts/five-principles-of-radical-fat-loss
You've heard the scary truth. The omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of the typical Western world is so heavily skewed towards omega-6 fatty acids (10:1 or even 20:1) that many of us are little more than walking corpses.
Too much omega-6 compared to omega-3 leads to catastrophic levels of systemic inflammation that will set your joints on fire and make you fat, while ensuring you get an early visit from the Grim Reaper in the form of heart disease.
This is an old-fashioned, scary bedtime story. But that's all it is - a story.
The most famous national bedtime story
Just as Robert Southey wrote the story "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" as a tool for parents to teach their children to respect the privacy and property of others, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio has been used to make people afraid of cake, cookies and other highly processed, fattening products. While I agree that many people should step back from the dessert buffet, there are many valid reasons for this that really have an impact on human physiology.
Omega-6 fatty acids and inflammation
In a previous article, I discussed the biochemical basis of how omega-6 fatty acids such as linoleic acid and arachidonic acid are converted into pro-inflammatory compounds. As mentioned in that article, the consumption of omega-6 fatty acids can actually have anti-inflammatory effects - especially when we are talking about gamma linoleic acid (GLA). This is the number one problem for the omega-6:omega-3 ratio naysayers - omega-6 fatty acids are not automatically pro-inflammatory.
Biochemistry textbooks vs. your body
The next area we need to look at when it comes to the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is the difference between textbooks and your body. Biochemistry textbooks give the impression that the conversion of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids is very simple and straightforward. Well, I'm here to tell you that this is not the case. Biochemistry in real life is chaotic, regulated, controlled, inhibited and compartmentalized. In other words, this means that when you eat a handful of walnuts, the linoleic acid they contain is not automatically transported to the body's "inflammation factory" where it is converted into highly pro-inflammatory, figure-destroying prostaglandins - that's not how it works. In order for linoleic acid to be used for pro-inflammatory purposes, it must be converted into arachidonic acid. What will surprise many, however, is the fact that linoleic acid - even when consumed in the amounts corresponding to the Western diet - is not converted into arachidonic acid. In reality, most of the linoleic acid (the primary omega-6 fatty acid in our diet) that you eat does not end up in your body's pro-inflammatory pathways.
A lengthy review published in Nutrition & Metabolism titled "Increasing dietary linoleic acid does not increase tissue arachidonic acid content in adults consuming Western-type diets: a systematic review", concluded that there is no evidence that changes in dietary linoleic acid content will alter tissue arachidonic acid content in adults consuming Western-type diets. A Western diet is a good model in this situation because it is rich in linoleic acid.
Dietary recommendations that are relevant to you
As a reader of this site, most mainstream dietary advice will simply not be relevant to you. You won't be eating 3 "decent meals" a day that are bursting with grains and lacking in protein. You'll avoid mayonnaise and foods overloaded with corn oil, safflower oil and soybean oil. Data about a diet rich in linoleic acid doesn't impress you because you don't eat that stuff anyway. You follow a carbohydrate-controlled diet rich in eggs, vegetables and a variety of different tasty animals. In your case, the pseudo-negative effects of linoleic acid are not a problem. However, arachidonic acid can be a potential problem. With arachidonic acid, no conversion to another fatty acid is necessary - it just needs to be incorporated into your cell membrane and can be used immediately for this purpose.
The good news is that your body will probably protect you. A study from the University of Connecticut, published in 2010 in the paper Lipids, showed that a low-carbohydrate diet that resulted in higher levels of arachidonic acid led to increased membrane arachidonic acid levels, but this enrichment of the membrane with arachidonic acid did not lead to an increase in the levels of pro-inflammatory arachidonic acid metabolites.
Based on the results of this and other studies, the authors concluded that low-carbohydrate diets can maintain membrane arachidonic acid levels.
Go on the fatty acid offensive
So adjusting your omega-6 fatty acids in your diet to reduce inflammation (unless we're talking about GLA) is a waste of time, but what can you do instead?
Number one is to go on the offensive with fish oil. Increases in dietary EPA and DHA lead to increased EPA and DHA levels in your membranes. Dr. Harris refers to the percentage of fatty acids that are EPA and DHA as the Omega-3 Index. This index is a reliable health marker that shows the direct changes caused by increased EPA and DHA intake in biochemical areas relevant to inflammation.
You can imagine it like this: Your cell membranes are full of omega-3 and omega-6 fats. When it comes to forming eicosanoids (anti-inflammatory or pro-inflammatory molecules), a fatty acid is removed from the cell membrane and converted.
So the more omega-3 fatty acids you can pack into your cell membrane, the more likely it is that an omega-3 fatty acid will be selected and removed from the membrane, leading to the formation of anti-inflammatory (or at worst, anti-inflammatory neutral) compounds. This is the reason that the absolute amount of omega-3 fatty acids in your cell membranes is what really matters. That's right. The all-important omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio of your diet doesn't translate to your cellular membranes - the place where your anti-inflammatory weapons are forged. And following a diet rich in linoleic acid doesn't lead to changes in arachidonic acid levels - at least not the kind of changes that lead to increased inflammation.
What really matters is the amount of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) in your diet. Focus on this for a good 15 seconds a day when taking your fish oil supplement and you have done all that is necessary.
The bottom line
Stop wasting your time trying to tabulate the ratio of two subclasses of fatty acids that don't matter in the grand scheme of things. You're not a typical Western European or North American, you're a power athlete, and aside from walnuts and the occasional teaspoon of toasted sesame seeds in your skillet, you wouldn't give a second glance to any of the top 25 sources of omega-6 fatty acids in the typical diet or the foods they're found in. And even if you ate tons of walnuts and consumed a daily shot of sesame oil, dietary linoleic acid wouldn't immediately find its way to the biochemical pathways that help convert it into pro-inflammatory compounds.
So take your 4 to 8 fish oil capsules a day and lift some heavy weights.
By Mike Roussell, PhD | 01/25/13
Source: https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/omega-6-vs-omega-3-who-cares
Here is a brief summary:
- Progressive overload is also applicable to nutrition. Just like training with weights, gradually increasing your calorie intake will help you gain control over your gains without building excessive amounts of fat.
- If you have just finished a diet, you should not start a traditional bulking phase. Bombarding your body with excess calories after it has been in a calorie deficit will lead to gains in body fat.
- The body wants to maintain a balance, so rapid increases or decreases in calorie intake will lead to problems.
- Use reverse dieting to build muscle. Whether you are starting from your maintenance calorie intake or a diet, you can use this to increase your food intake to build muscle rather than fat.
A mass-building phase doesn't have to mean that you have to say goodbye to your abs. In fact, I would go as far as to say that if you increase your body fat percentage by more than 5% during a bulking phase, you are doing something wrong.
Yes, you should eat more calories if you want to build muscle. But it's a problem if you go from 0 to 100 too quickly - and most people do just that. They add hundreds of calories to their diet practically overnight because they think they can build more muscle. But that's not really the case. They just get fat.
A slower increase in calorie intake can make a huge difference. You will continue to build muscle if you train properly, but you will also stay lean at the same time. Here's how it works:
The progressive overload of eating
The principle of progressive overload is a fundamental principle of training with weights. Progressive overload means that you increase your training weights or training volume consistently and gradually. Any training program that is even remotely sensibly designed uses some form of progressive overload. This overload is responsible for you making progress. However, when it comes to nutrition, no one talks about progressive overload. Progressive overload works when you increase the weight on the bar and it also works when you want to build muscle without building excessive amounts of body fat.
How dieting can go wrong
Let's say your maintenance calorie intake is 2500 kcal and you decide to reduce your calorie intake. It goes well, you lose fat, you can maintain your muscles and you get defined. Excellent. Then it's time to go back to your maintenance calorie intake and follow your original 2500 kcal diet, right? However, since you have lost weight, your metabolic rate has also dropped. And if you immediately go back to eating 2500 kcal per day, this can cause you to build up fat.
This downregulation of the metabolic rate is the reason why you see so many people putting on kilos of fat after finishing a super strict diet. They soon return to their starting weight or even get fatter. If even a quick transition to maintenance calories can cause this, imagine what will happen if you go into an extreme bulking phase straight after a diet...
Homeostasis and metabolic rate
Your body is constantly working to maintain a balance - also known as homeostasis. This is a natural process. And this process is also the culprit when it comes to downregulating your metabolic rate during a diet. How? By this process lowering your metabolic rate in an attempt to close the gap caused by your calorie deficit.
One of the key players in this process is the hormone leptin. Leptin regulates your metabolism. When leptin levels are high, your metabolic rate will also be high. However, if leptin levels drop, as is the case when you are in a calorie deficit, then your metabolic rate will also drop. Even if you try to strategically manipulate your leptin levels with refeeds and cheat meals, your leptin levels will drop during a diet. Have you ever noticed that your diet becomes less effective after the first month? This is because your body is working to restore a state of homeostasis by downregulating leptin levels and thereby lowering its metabolic rate.
Even if you feel ready for a ton more food after a strict diet, your body is not ready for it. And if you go from a state of calorie deficit to a rampant bulking phase, bombarding your slow metabolism with an abundance of calories, it can only go wrong - unless you do it right.
Reverse dieting for fat-free mass gains
Reverse dieting means using a consistent and incremental increase in calorie intake to achieve superior muscle-building results. You gradually eat more without building fat. I've worked with people who have built lean body mass in the double-digit pound range without increasing their body fat percentage by even 1%. Some have even finished their reverse diet leaner than when they started.
The key point of reverse dieting is progressive calorie overload. Instead of overloading your body with too many calories at once, you simply eat a bit more consistently. It doesn't have to be a ton of food to be enough. Assuming that your workout stimulates hypertrophy, a few extra calories each week can do wonders.
It takes time for your body, leptin and metabolism to catch up (keyword homeostasis) when you start eating more. It's just like when you diet to lose fat - your body doesn't restore its balance overnight. A properly planned reverse diet uses this fact to its advantage.
If you chronically eat more than your metabolism uses, then you will build up fat - it's as simple as that. But if you strategically increase your calorie intake each week, you are conditioning your body to slowly increase its metabolic rate. As you eat more and more, your metabolic rate will increase and you will build lean mass without an excessive build-up of body fat.
Doing this in practice is much harder than it sounds. Your eyes will be hungrier than your reverse diet. You need to stick to your numbers during the program to get the most out of it. It takes self-control to eat more without overeating.
Planning a reverse diet
The planning is simple. Start at the baseline - your current amount of macronutrients and calories - and increase your intake from there. This approach works whether you've just finished a diet or not. However, if you have not been dieting, you should skip week 1.
Only use week 1 if you have eaten below your maintenance calorie level. Why? If you're not coming out of a calorie deficit, you don't need that extra 10% increase from baseline. Instead, you will start by gradually increasing calories by 2 to 5% at a time from baseline, which will help prevent you from increasing calories too quickly.
You will also need to know your maintenance calorie amount in order to follow this program. If you are already monitoring your calorie intake, then you have everything you need. If not, document your food intake for one to two weeks to calculate your daily macronutrient intake and your average calorie intake for your maintenance calorie amount. When it comes to maintenance calories, everyone is a little different, so you should monitor your food intake and calculate your averages rather than simply using a formula or calculator on some website.
Week 1
This is the starting point for someone who has been in a calorie deficit.
- Protein: Maintain the same amount of protein. A general rule of thumb is about 2 grams per kilogram of body weight.
- Fats: Increase fat intake by 10% compared to baseline.
- Carbohydrates: Increase the amount of carbohydrates by 10% compared to the initial value.
- Maintain the previous amount of protein. Towards the end of the reverse diet, you can consider increasing your protein intake slightly. This can help you maintain your macronutrient ratios, but is not absolutely necessary.
- Increase your fat intake by 2 to 5% each week compared to the previous week. This range gives you the opportunity to customize your plan based on your body type and how aggressive you want to be. If you are what would traditionally be called an endomorph, then your body will likely respond well to a high-fat diet. So increasing your fat intake by 5% would be a good choice in this case.
- Increase your carbohydrate intake by 2 to 5% each week compared to the previous week. This range also gives you the opportunity to personalize your plan. For example, if you are an ectomorph who finds it difficult to build muscle, you should eat more carbohydrates. In this case, increasing your carbohydrate intake by 5% would be a good choice.
Every following week
Follow the reverse diet until you start to build up too much body fat ("too much body fat" means something different for everyone). When you reach this point, you have two options:
- Adjust your program to be a little less aggressive and reevaluate your status.
- End the program and maintain your calorie intake.
Aggressive and conservative examples
Let's say Bob has just finished a diet and is eating 175 grams of protein, 125 grams of carbohydrates, 85 grams of fat and 1965 total calories. Bob now wants to build muscle without putting on fat. Below are two examples of the calculations for a reverse diet for Bob.
Example 1 is a more aggressive program with an increase in fat and carbohydrate intake of 5% per week. Example 2 is a more conservative program with an increase in fat and carbohydrate intake of 2% per week.
This is only 8 weeks. A true reverse diet would usually last longer. Also, keep in mind that these are just simple examples. Build your program using the guidelines above in the way that suits you best.
Example 1 - Aggressive
|
|
Protein |
Carbohydrates |
fat |
Total calories |
|
Start |
175 |
125 |
85 |
1965 |
|
Week 1 |
175 |
138 |
94 |
2092 |
|
Week 2 |
175 |
144 |
98 |
2161 |
|
Week 3 |
175 |
152 |
103 |
2234 |
|
Week 4 |
175 |
159 |
108 |
2311 |
|
Week 5 |
175 |
167 |
114 |
2391 |
|
Week 6 |
175 |
175 |
119 |
2476 |
|
Week 7 |
175 |
184 |
125 |
2565 |
|
Week 8 |
175 |
193 |
132 |
2658 |
Example 2 - Cautious
|
|
Protein |
Carbohydrates |
fat |
Total calories |
|
Start |
175 |
125 |
85 |
1965 |
|
Week 1 |
175 |
138 |
94 |
2092 |
|
Week 2 |
175 |
140 |
95 |
2119 |
|
Week 3 |
175 |
143 |
97 |
2148 |
|
Week 4 |
175 |
146 |
99 |
2177 |
|
Week 5 |
175 |
149 |
101 |
2206 |
|
Week 6 |
175 |
152 |
103 |
2236 |
|
Week 7 |
175 |
155 |
105 |
2267 |
|
Week 8 |
175 |
158 |
107 |
2298 |
Reverse diet vs. traditional mass building
Start today to build the body you want tomorrow. If you want to build kilos of muscle, try reverse dieting instead of haphazardly eating more than your body can use. You'll end up muscular and strong, but you'll stay lean at the same time.
Let the games begin.
By Benjamin Johnson
Source https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/how-to-bulk-and-keep-your-abs
Natural bodybuilder Cliff Wilson takes a closer look at the so-called "Protein Change Theory" and how you can adjust your current protein intake to match your current level of development.
An examination of protein change theory and the upper limit of protein intake
There is a question that has been asked time and time again over the years by both scientists and lay people alike, and the answer to this question is still not really conclusive. No, this is not a question about the meaning of life? There are more important things to think about. What people really want to know is "How much protein should I eat to build muscle?"
The answer to this question will vary depending on who you ask. I've heard all these answers before. Some say 2.75 grams per kilogram of body weight, others say 2 grams per pound of body weight and then there's the ever popular answer that says you should eat 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. These are drastically different numbers, but where do they come from and which is the right one - who should you believe?
There are many studies that have set out to find out exactly how much protein is needed for optimal growth. Unfortunately, the scientific community has had answers in the past that have been just as varied as the numbers from the bodybuilding community. Different studies show different rates of muscle growth with drastically different levels of protein intake. How can this be?
Well, recent research shows that protein intake is not as clearly definable as many believe. What does this research say about optimal protein intake? The simple answer might just be this...more than you are currently consuming.
Protein Spread and Protein Change Theories
In a recent study review published in The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, Bosse and Dixon examined protein spread and protein change theories. This is an excellent review that not only provides explanations for the inconsistent results of different studies on protein intake, but also gives insight into the way we should look at protein intake in general.
Protein spread theory states that in studies of protein intake during intervention, there must be sufficiently large percentage differences in protein intake in grams per kilogram of body weight per day between groups for differences in muscle growth and strength gains to become apparent (1).
When studies compare high protein intake to low protein intake, the difference in the amount of protein consumed between the low protein intake group and the high protein intake group is not large enough to show a significant benefit of supplemental protein. This helps to explain some of the inconsistencies in studies of protein intake.
The protein change theory is what the average bodybuilder/exerciser should be most interested in. Protein change theory states that for gains in strength and muscle mass, there must be a significant increase in protein intake from habitual protein intake to protein intake during the study (1). This means that a sufficient variance (protein spread) must be ensured, and it must also be ensured that the subjects consume significantly more protein than before the start of the study.
This review draws data from many different studies and shows that the results are not as chaotic as they may appear at first glance. This review presents the most convincing argument yet for protein spread and protein change theories. I can only warmly recommend everyone to read this review for themselves.
Although both protein spread and protein change theories are significant, I would like to draw your attention to the protein change theory as it has the most relevance in terms of practical applications and also tells us how our bodies respond to protein and amino acids.
The Protein Change Theory
The protein change theory shows that the human body can basically get used to a given amount of protein and that additional protein is needed to further stimulate anabolism. When it comes to protein intake, one cannot simply compare grams per kilo per day. Rather, changes from baseline need to be considered.
For example, let's say we have two completely identical bodybuilders who both weigh 200 pounds (about 90 kilos). Our first bodybuilder has a history of consuming 200 grams of protein per day. Our second bodybuilder has consumed 275 grams of protein per day.
Let's assume that our first bodybuilder increases his protein intake to 275 grams per day. Our second bodybuilder leaves his protein intake at 275 grams per day. As you can see below, both of our bodybuilders consume the same amount of protein. The main difference is that there is a difference in the percentage increase in protein intake - and protein change theory tells us that this is important.
Base protein intake and % increase in protein intake
- Bodybuilder #1 - 200 grams 275 grams 37.5%
- Bodybuilder #2 - 275 grams 275 grams 0%
Although these two bodybuilders are completely identical in every way and consume the same amount of protein, the bodybuilder with the largest increase in protein intake will likely build muscle at a faster rate.
However, there is one thing to note about this example. Even though the first bodybuilder is likely to start growing at a faster rate, it won't stay that way forever. The body will eventually begin to adapt to the higher protein intake and the rate of anabolism will slow down. This explains why people with similar protein intakes have different rates of muscle growth over a period of time. The protein change theory demonstrates metabolic adaptations in pure culture.
Metabolic adaptations
Human metabolism involves a myriad of chemical reactions in the body and is astonishingly complex. Protein Change Theory requires that we take metabolic adaptations into account when determining optimal protein intake. In previous articles and videos I've gone into more detail on the topic of metabolic adaptations in relation to fat loss, but these metabolic adaptations are also a determining factor in muscle growth and protein intake. The body will ALWAYS strive for homeostasis regardless of the circumstances.
One thing that very few people take into account is that the human metabolism is not static. There are many things such as size, age, gender and certain hormones that affect metabolism that are out of our control. Even things we can control such as calorie and macronutrient intake, physical activity and body weight/fat-free body mass cause the body to make changes to the metabolic rate in order to achieve balance. A common belief is that the body acts almost like a bank where we can deposit and withdraw calories. The typical "calorie intake vs. calorie expenditure" argument in relation to fat loss and muscle growth is a perfect example of this view. This reasoning states that we need to consume more calories than we consume to lose weight and that we need to consume more calories than we consume to gain weight.
The truth is that this is only part of the picture. The human body is less like a bank and more like a stock exchange. We can make deposits and withdrawals, but the market is subject to fluctuations related to what is put in and what is taken out, As with the stock market, we would need to consider the status of the market before deciding what to deposit or withdraw. Many people cannot yet understand how protein can be the subject of metabolic adaptations in the body. The general opinion regarding protein is that you simply need to ensure that the body has sufficient amounts of amino acids available to build muscle. While this is true, it's not the whole story when it comes to protein and oversimplifies the role of amino acids and proteins in the body.
Protein and amino acids as signaling molecules
You've probably heard it a million times by now - proteins are made up of amino acids and amino acids are the building blocks of muscle tissue...etc., etc. I've read this phrase a million times in magazines and articles. This is usually where the information about amino acids ends in most articles. This misleads many people into thinking that there is some magical amount of protein that is sufficient or optimal. If amino acids are only used as substrates, then this would lead us to think that you simply need to supply enough substrates to get the job done. However, it doesn't quite work like that.
While it is true that amino acids have long been viewed simply as substrates for protein synthesis, it has recently been shown that they also act as modulators of intracellular signal transduction pathways, typically associated with growth-promoting hormones such as insulin and IGF-1. This means that certain amino acids not only serve as substrates for protein synthesis, but also regulate this process (2). This is particularly true for the amino acid leucine and its regulation of the mTOR pathway. If amino acids are signaling molecules and not simply substrates, then this will make them the subject of metabolic adaptations by the body. The body appears to become less sensitive to the anabolic response of amino acids over time, so more protein will be needed to drive further changes. This means that optimal protein intake is no longer a static number.
Protein synthesis and net anabolism
This is still not the whole story of protein intake. While amino acids act as modulators of protein synthesis, there is a limit to the amount of protein synthesis that can be stimulated, so there must be another way in which protein can signal growth. Several studies have shown that stimulation of the fractional rate of muscle protein synthesis reaches its maximum value with a protein intake of only 20 to 30 grams. (3).
When trying to determine what is best for muscle growth, it is foolish to look only at the rate of protein synthesis. A protein intake that is above the maximum amount needed to stimulate protein synthesis can still be beneficial. A common belief among bodybuilders is that if you consume too much protein at once, the excess amino acids are simply wasted. This is quite silly when you think about it. Before modern times, humans did not have access to a steady supply of protein. Homo sapiens would occasionally kill an animal and then stuff themselves to the limits of their intake with meat.
There was no way to put protein aside and save it for later, our ancestors had to eat it immediately. It would be quite inefficient for the body to waste these amino acids, as days could pass between meals with significant protein content at these times.
Overall muscle growth is not simply the result of protein synthesis. Instead, we need to look at net anabolism. To determine net anabolism, we need to look at both protein synthesis and muscle protein breakdown. Contrary to what you might think, the body is in a continuous state of synthesis and breakdown. When synthesis outpaces protein breakdown, we speak of anabolism and when protein breakdown outpaces synthesis, we speak of catabolism.
Additional protein intake after a maximum rate of protein synthesis has been reached can still increase net anabolism by reducing protein breakdown rather than by further increasing the rate of protein synthesis. When protein is consumed in large amounts, the rate of protein synthesis begins to increase - but only up to a certain point. Once the maximum rate of protein synthesis has been reached, intracellular amino acid levels will begin to rise.
If protein intake continues to increase, overall anabolism will continue to increase without a corresponding increase in protein synthesis rate. This response appears to come about because the continuous increase in intracellular amino acid levels sends a signal to the body that it should limit the rate of protein breakdown (4).
The reason this signal reduces protein breakdown is believed to be based on the action of insulin and has no upper limit, as protein breakdown continues to decrease with each increase in protein intake (5, 6). This occurs with a single protein meal, so it is realistic to assume that this applies to every protein meal throughout the day. This not only shows that additional daily protein intake will lead to muscle growth, but also that there is no upper limit to how large a single serving of protein can or should be. In other words, anyone who says you can't consume more than a certain amount of protein during a meal is wrong.
Key messages and implications
The Protein Change Theory provides some interesting key messages and implications regarding protein intake. Let's examine the three most important key messages from this new research.
There is no upper limit or maximum amount of protein above which further increases in protein intake will not lead to further growth
We know that there is no realistic upper limit for protein intake during a meal or a day. We need to move away from the idea that there is a maximum amount of protein that is beneficial within the body. Protein intake and its effects on muscle growth are dictated by how much protein is consumed in the moment and how much protein is added to that baseline. This means that additional protein will most likely stimulate additional growth and there seems to be no point at which this is no longer true. BUT this doesn't mean you should immediately start with 600 grams of protein per day, which brings me to key message number 2.
Protein intake needs to be kept high, but adapted to your individual metabolism.
The Protein Change Theory shows that there is no fixed optimal protein intake that is right for everyone. This means that there is no magic amount of grams of protein per kilogram of body weight that could be used as a scheme for everyone. Although on the surface it may seem like more protein is always better, this is not necessarily the case. It is important to keep in mind that nothing in human metabolism is isolated and that everything works in relation to everything else. Different people will have different macronutrient requirements and it is important to remember that carbohydrates and fats have their own benefits in terms of performance. If protein intake is too high, then carbohydrate and fat intake must be kept unacceptably low to prevent calorie intake exceeding calorie needs.
In the long run, this will ultimately hinder muscle growth. On the other hand, if protein intake is set too high without simultaneously reducing carbohydrate and fat intake, calorie intake will rise above requirements, resulting in a sharp increase in body fat levels.
People with an endomorphic body type will require a much different macronutrient composition than those with ectomorphic qualities. So the goal for each metabolic type should be to consume as much protein as possible without exceeding your calorie needs and without compromising the necessary intake of other macronutrients.
I realize this is quite vague, but learning a little more about individual metabolism is not an easy process. When I work with clients, it can take several weeks for them to really know their metabolism.
Protein intake may need to be slowly increased over the course of a bodybuilding career If the protein change theory is true, then the implication is that a trainee's average protein intake should be increased over time. Since the body appears to become less sensitive to the effects of amino acids over time, it would be plausible to consume higher and higher amounts of protein to continue to stimulate growth.
However, this does not mean that you should consume 1000 grams of protein when you are in your fifties. An increase in protein intake should not interfere with the intake of other necessary macronutrients, but a slight increase in average protein intake over the course of a bodybuilding career might be a good idea.
And what next?
It should be noted that there are many other factors regarding protein intake that influence muscle growth. These include the protein sources chosen, the timing of protein intake and the amino acid composition. These topics open the door to other complex processes that could be the subject of separate articles. For now, we can use the new information to adjust our protein intake accordingly. Plenty more research is needed, but our knowledge of protein and amino acids has grown dramatically over the last few years. The protein change theory is still a relatively new idea and the details are not yet fully known, but ideas like this could help us better understand protein intake as a whole. Each new discovery makes things clearer for those of us in the bodybuilding world. Who knows, maybe in a few years we will know everything there is to know about protein and amino acids. Then we can finally address the question of the meaning of life.
References
- J. Bosse, B. Dixon. Dietary protein to maximize resistance training: a review and examination of protein spread and change theories . J Int Soc of Sports Nutr 2012, Published: September 8, 2012
- S.R. Kimball, L.S. Jefferson. Role of amino acids in the translational control of protein synthesis in mammals. Seminars in Cell and Developmental Biology; 2005 Feb; V. 16 Issue 1, p. 21-27
- Symons TB, Sheffield-Moore M, Wolfe RR, Paddon-Jones D. A moderate serving of high-quality protein maximally stimulates skeletal muscle protein synthesis in young and elderly subjects. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Sep;109(9):1582-1586PubMed PMID:19699838. Pubmed Central PMCID: 3197704. Epub 2009/08/25. Eng
- Wolfe RR, Miller SL. Amino acid availability controls muscle protein metabolism. Diabetes Nutr Metab. 1999 Oct;12(5):322-328PubMed PMID: 10741346. Epub 2000/03/31. Eng
- Pennings B, Groen B, de Lange A, Gijsen AP, Zorenc AH, Senden JM, et al. Amino acid absorption and subsequent muscle protein accretion following graded intakes of whey protein in elderly men. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Apr 15;302(8):E992-E999PubMed PMID: 22338070
- Elango R, Humayun MA, Ball RO, Pencharz PB. Protein requirement of healthy school-age children determined by the indicator amino acid oxidation method. Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Dec;94(6):1545-1552PubMed PMID: 22049165
People hate the topic of nutrition
What I mean by this is that they don't find nutrition-related topics as exciting - at least not as exciting as hot, new exercise programs. I know this because I used to be no different. I loved training hard and reading about new exercises and techniques, but I wasn't really interested in nutrition. I thought that nutrition was something boring. Instead, I wanted to read about the latest Bulgarian biceps mass program. You know, the stuff that's fun. That was a big mistake.
Nutrition plays a much bigger role in building muscle than I ever thought possible. In short, the foods you eat make a difference. You can't make up for bad eating habits with training. So if your progress has stalled, then your diet and supplement approach could be to blame.
With this information in mind, I asked some of the leading nutrition and supplement experts about a few hot topics and compiled their answers into practical information you can put into action today. Sound cool? Well, let's get started.
Aminos at midnight
"Wake up in the middle of the night and drink a protein shake."
I'd bet you've heard this before. The idea behind this advice is that during the night, when our body runs out of energy, we lose some muscle mass. To prevent this, you're supposed to take a few amino acid tablets or even a protein shake in the middle of the night to maintain your muscles and maybe even build some more muscle mass.
But does this work in practice? And if it does work, will the effect be strong enough to produce noticeable gains? How strong would the effect be if an exerciser took a handful of aminos or a protein shake every night for, say, six months? We asked the experts. "I don't believe in this," said elite strength coach Charles Poliquin. "Sleep is for sleeping. As soon as you wake up for more than 3 seconds, you mess up melatonin production and melatonin is part of the hormonal cascade that builds muscle. In addition to this, the digestive system is designed to rest at night."
And what about taking a handful of amino acids before bed? Poliquin said, "A lot of people find this too stimulating and wake up in the middle of the night." Instead, the best thing you can take before bed is something that will keep your blood sugar levels steady. Casein - a slow-digesting protein - is a good choice here.
It's a blow against middle-of-the-night meals. Next, we asked Christopher Mohr, PhD, RD. "An optimal sleep schedule is more effective than disrupting sleep to gorge on a few amino acids," he said. "There is very solid data on sleep quality, hormone levels and their effects on the body. Most exercisers don't get enough quality sleep anyway, and eight hours of restorative sleep will do more for recovery and regeneration than disrupting sleep to swallow a few aminos." Okay, and what about eating before bed? "If you're really worried about this," Dr. Mohr said, "eat some cottage cheese and some raw nuts - two slow-digesting food options - as a pre-bedtime snack."
Mike Roussell, nutrition expert and PhD student in nutritional science added: "I think the effects are more minor than most people would admit." From a muscle-building perspective, you'll benefit much more from undisturbed sleep than from an amino acid boost you get from a middle-of-the-night snack. People don't usually get enough sleep anyway, so you shouldn't forcibly interrupt what little sleep you do get to get some protein. Okay, so setting your alarm for 3am to get some aminos or protein is not a good idea, but what if you wake up at night anyway because you have to go to the toilet? Can you take some "bonus nutrients" in this situation to prevent any possible catabolism?
Roussel said, "Even though the effect will probably be very small, I'm always in favor of doing a lot of little things that add up to a bigger effect. So if you're waking up at night anyway, it can't hurt to take some BCAAs or a protein shake with added leucine." Lastly, we asked Dr. Lonnie Lowery, who cautioned us that all of this is quite speculative given the lack of data obtained with healthy people training with weights. However, he noted that glucose tolerance drops at night while we sleep, so BCAAs or a small protein shake with 10 to 20 grams of protein could be beneficial when you're waking up anyway.
"This snack provides muscle-sparing amino acids that won't provide too many calories and also won't spike blood sugar levels at a time when muscles are more insulin resistant," he said. Like Poliquin, Dr. Lowery felt that some "rest" may be necessary for the digestive tract.
Conclusion: Based on these opinions, what is the final answer? Well, we always encourage experimentation as everyone reacts differently, but here is some general advice:
- Don't purposely wake up in the middle of the night just to grab a protein shake or some BCAAs. The benefits of undisturbed sleep outweigh the benefits of late night eating.
- If you wake up anyway because you have to go to the bathroom or let the dog out, then a small protein shake (half a scoop to a scoop of protein powder) or a serving of amino acids (e.g. BCAAs) won't hurt. Simply place a glass of water and the amino acids on your bedside table or in the bathroom. If you opt for the protein shake option, place the powder in an empty glass with a spoon. Simply add some water at night and drink the mixture. Another option is to mix a small protein shake with some ice and place it on your bedside table. However, don't do any of this if it will disturb your sleep.
- A better method than eating in the middle of the night is to choose your last meal before bed intelligently. Consuming a casein-rich meal such as cottage cheese or a casein protein shake will prevent any potential night-time catabolism if you eat a good breakfast containing an adequate amount of protein when you wake up. (The risk of muscle catabolism usually results from skipping breakfast, not from skipping a meal at 3am. So just drink a casein protein shake with 2 scoops of casein protein powder 30 to 60 minutes before you go to bed. Mix this shake with as little water as possible so that you don't have to go to the toilet too often at night. Mixing the protein powder into a thick pudding (lots of ice, very little water) is a good idea.
Those who are dieting and strictly controlling every single calorie should have some BCAAs right before going to bed - and right after waking up in the morning. Although Poliquin says that a pre-bedtime amino acid intake might disrupt sleep, we believe that most people will have no problems with a moderate dose. Will all this lead to more muscle? Well, at least it can't hurt, as long as it doesn't interfere with sleep. But in reality, you probably won't atrophy during the night anyway.
As long as you eat a good, protein-rich breakfast when you wake up, you probably don't need to panic about nocturnal catabolism. If you really want to get pedantic about nutrient timing, then you should focus your efforts on nutrition around training. It's at these times that your diligence and consistency will have the biggest impact.
The truth about taurine in energy drinks
Taurine: It's the standard ingredient in pretty much every energy drink. But what is taurine and what does it do?
According to Wikipedia, it has not been proven that taurine provides energy. So why is it in energy drinks? There are some conspiracy theories that taurine is actually an energy robber, included for the sole purpose of causing an energy slump so you need that next Red Bull. If you look at the popularity of energy drinks, taurine might be the most widely used supplement on the planet - and yet most people don't even know why it's in most energy drinks, or what it's supposed to do for energy.
So let's find out. First, we asked Dr. Jonny Bowden. "Taurine is an important conditionally essential amino acid and its levels are definitely reduced in hard-training athletes. But the idea of adding this amino acid to a drink to give you extra energy is absolute nonsense," he said.
To dive deeper into the science, we asked Dr. Lowery our question. He noted that energy drinks containing taurine also contain other ingredients such as caffeine or even creatine and that this dilutes the research. "A Danish study review looked at nine years of research from the National Library of Medicine's database and concluded that the energy-boosting effects of most generic energy drinks are mainly based on caffeine. They concluded that the "lesser-known ingredients" of energy drinks - including taurine - need further investigation."
Dr. Lowery told us about another study published by Hoffman and colleagues in JSCR that showed an increase in total repetitions, as well as greater insulin and growth hormone release after squats, when a supplement containing taurine was consumed before exercise. But this supplement also contained creatine, BCAAs and caffeine among other ingredients. Again, no clear conclusion can be drawn. Mike Roussell added: "With all the compounds you can put in an energy drink, I'm not sure why so many companies have chosen taurine. A recent article that looked at a whole range of amino acids and their functions listed the main functions of taurine as "an antioxidant effect, a regulation of cellular redox status and an osmolytic effect". There was no mention of an energy-providing effect." And what about the conspiracy theories? Roussel said, "A 1996 study found that 6 grams of taurine per day led to lower norepinephrine excretion, which the scientists said implied a suppression of the sympathetic nervous system." Isn't that the opposite of what we are trying to achieve?
"Red Bull has been shown to improve performance and mental function, but I would say that these effects are based more on the caffeine and sugar it contains than on other ingredients."
So what is taurine good for?
Taurine is found in muscles in large quantities and it acts as an osmolyte, which means it could have cell volumizing effects similar to creatine. However, Roussel noted that if you want to spend money on supplementing with specific amino acids, you should choose leucine rather than taurine. Bottom line: Most energy drink manufacturers probably put taurine in their drinks simply because Red Bull did it first and the drink became a commercial success. When it comes to marketing, some companies prefer to be on the safe side and copy the top dog rather than develop something of their own. This is seen as a risk by many manufacturers. And even if Red Bull addicts say idiotic things like "I need my taurine in the morning", they are probably just feeling the effects of good old caffeine.
Taurine may have some benefits for some hard-training athletes or bodybuilders, but it plays a minor role compared to high-potency amino acids like L-leucine.
'Maintaining' muscle mass after a mass-building phase
Before you start a fat loss diet, you should try to maintain the weight you gained during the mass gain diet for a while so that the new muscle gains "stick". That's the advice you'll often hear on bodybuilding forums, but is there any truth in it? And is it an own goal to go on a weight loss diet practically overnight? Let's let the experts have their say.
"I don't see any efficiency in staying fat for a few weeks to 'keep muscle,'" said Mike Roussell. He added, "I'm amazed that people still believe that they will lose muscle during a fat loss plan. The field of fat loss has evolved to a point where people losing muscle while dieting is the exception and not the rule.
"If you're a reader of this site and you're still losing kilos of muscle while dieting, then you should be smacked over the head with a big laptop because you're clearly not applying what you're reading! If your fat loss program is metabolically demanding and your diet is low in carbohydrates and includes adequate amounts of protein (and only added amino acids for good measure), then you will not lose muscle while dieting - period."
Dr. Mohr agreed, noting "More important is how you lose that fat. There's no scientific evidence that muscle 'sticks' if it's been there longer. If your mass is really lean body mass and not fat, then it will stay there." And the following seems to be important: the loss of real muscle mass vs. the perceived loss of muscle mass. On a lower-carb diet, the dieter may experience a temporary loss of muscle glycogen that leads to an unsatisfactory pump in the gym, but this is not a loss of muscle mass.
Many bodybuilders also panic that they might lose some upper arm circumference when they go on a diet, but fat is also stored in the arms. If all you lose is fat, then your arms will look more muscular in the long run - always assuming there is some muscle underneath the fat. Hey, fat people have a big upper arm circumference... but they don't look like they're working out. The most important thing is not to be too swayed by the sheer numbers. A large chest is great - but not if 10 centimeters of it is a layer of fat that gives you the appearance of a saggy chest instead of powerful pecs. When discussing maintaining muscle mass, it's important to keep in mind the ratio of true lean muscle mass to fat mass.
One message we've gotten from our experts is that a fat loss diet doesn't have to result in muscle loss if it's done correctly. "Properly" means a reduction in calories, but not an insanely high reduction. It means you're still eating plenty of protein and supplementing with muscle-preserving supplements. A fat loss diet also means that you don't forget the nutrient drinks around your workout, whose additional carbohydrates will not lead to fat storage if consumed in the time frame around a training session with weights. Proper nutrition around your workout can greatly help in maintaining your muscle mass during a diet.
And what if you go from a higher calorie intake to a lower calorie intake very quickly - e.g. from a mass-building phase directly to a dieting phase? Roussell said, "In terms of going directly from a mass-building phase to a fat-loss program, I've never been a big fan of very drastic changes in calorie intake. "For example, if you eat 4000 kcal on Sunday and then start with 2000 kcal a day on Monday morning, that's stupid because you could probably start losing weight on 3250 to 3500 kcal. Change your training program so that it is metabolism based, reduce your calories a little and see what happens. If you lose fat while eating 3250 kcal per day, would you rather only eat 2000 kcal per day?" His recommendation? "Go slowly on your fat loss diet," Roussell added. "Focus on what is the highest amount of food you can eat while still losing fat, not how little you can eat without wanting to hang yourself." Dr. Mohr agrees with this slow transition approach: "Diet, but diet smart. Don't go from 5000 kcal one day to 1200 kcal the next. Sure you'll lose a lot of mass this way, but certainly not just body fat." But Dr. Lowery thinks a little differently about these issues. "The concept of a (new) body mass set point has been around for years and it's no doubt driven by genetic and hormonal factors. I wish I could say that someone should maintain their weight for X months (or years) before trying to make a dramatic change, but as far as I know there is no definitive data on the subject."
# Even though Dr. Lowery is a scientist and doesn't like to speculate without data, we asked him to do just that. His response: "I think the idea of overdoing it a bit with the mass gain cycle and then 'growing into the new weight' over several months is interesting. My own mesocycles have grown to six months for similar reasons (more complete and hopefully permanent adaptations)." "You could say the same thing about dieting." Dr. Lowery added. "Without body mass losses of over 10% (say 15 to 20 pounds), it might be best to maintain the new body weight for many months before trying to go further. This is just a pragmatic suggestion based on what I've seen in clients/patients and what I know about endocrinologic changes."
From this point on, the topic can become theoretical and controversial. Dr. Lowery noted that even the scientists disagree with each other. And this is likely based on human variability. One factor could be where you were physically when you started your mass-building phase or your fat-loss phase. "Progress during a mass-building or dieting phase might depend on your specific body composition at the beginning - not how long you maintained that state," Lowery said.
The concept of "body composition memory" - fat vs. muscle mass at the beginning of a phase of change influencing subsequent progress - has been around since at least the nineties (see research by Dulloo and Forbes) "Some scientists report that excess body fat is oxidized first during dieting (i.e. fat people lose more fat and less muscle mass than leaner people when they start dieting). This could also apply to "excess" muscle mass (i.e. people with a lot of muscle mass lose more protein than people with less muscle mass)," Lowery said.
Based on these ideas, should you go on a strict diet after a mass-building phase during which you've gained both muscle mass and body fat? "It totally depends," Lowery said. "You'd be fatter at the start of the diet, which might help, but you'd also likely have less fat-burning machinery (e.g. mitochondria)." "There are other divergent interpretations among speculative gurus who say that a dieting phase should begin in a fairly lean state. This confusion is based on genetic and hormonal differences between different people." With our heads already on the verge of bursting, we asked Dr. Lowery to get a little more specific. "I wish I could be more specific, but nutrigenomics is a reality," he replied. "Not everyone builds well or loses fat well. That's why any plan someone creates strictly based on your starting body composition is largely speculative. You have to figure out for yourself how well you respond to a mass-building plan or a diet plan and whether there should be a maintenance phase in between."
Lowery then expressed an opinion that is shared by many nutrition and hypertrophy experts: Don't get too fat during mass-building phases - especially if bodybuilding is your goal.
Summary
- Most, but not all, experts agree that there is no reason to "hold" total body mass after a mass-building phase in order to get the new muscles to "stick". However, a slow transition to a dieting phase is better than going straight from a large calorie surplus to a large calorie deficit. Lower your calorie intake slowly
- Your results may vary. The guy who diets down from 30% body fat to 15% body fat is less likely to lose muscle during the diet than another who diets down from 10% body fat to 6%. Similarly, the very muscular, steroid-free bodybuilder will probably need to approach fat loss more intelligently than a bodybuilder who has less muscle mass. The use of supplements such as L-Leucine will help you to ensure that your muscle mass is maintained. Try four 5 gram servings per day with meals. However, due to genetic variation, ultimately the only way to find out what works best for you is to try different strategies.
- Don't get too fat in the first place and you don't have to worry too much about any of this. Always remember that a high calorie surplus will not help you build muscle faster than an ideal calorie intake. Such a surplus will only help you build fat and that's probably not the kind of mass you're after).
The 'energy effect' of superfoods
Superfood blends have been available on the market for some time and people report a feeling of clean energy when using these products. They would not describe this as a stimulating effect but rather a general good feeling. Certain types of superfoods may contain minimal amounts of naturally occurring caffeine, but these amounts are so small that they cannot be responsible for this feeling of energy.
So what is the cause of this? We asked the experts:
"Most of us are so lacking in nutrients that it makes sense that we feel better when we eat 'clean' foods," said Dr. Jonny Bowden. "Superfoods are really good products that contain health-promoting bioactive compounds such as anthocyanins and phenols. Feeling energized is hard to measure scientifically, but I'm not surprised when people feel better when they eat something healthy." This makes sense and perhaps we are naturally meant to feel energized and good when we are well nourished or even over nourished. Most of us don't feel that way because our diets lack these powerful foods. Lowery added that some of these superfoods contain methylxanthines, which have an energy-boosting effect. Berries and green tea, which are often included in superfood supplements, have cognitive and neural/motor benefits.
"In fact, blueberry, spinach and dried strawberry extracts have been shown to not only prevent but even reverse neuronal decline," Dr. Lowery said. "I think these factors likely have something to do with the feelings of increased energy, improved mood and enhanced cognitive function that many superfood users report."
Conclusion: Foods can have drug-like effects. Some of these effects, such as a more positive mood and mental stimulation, can be noticeable with superfoods.
By Chris Shugart
Source https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/hardball-nutrition-for-muscle
