The Ultimate Cutting Diet Revised

 

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The Ultimate Cutting Diet – Devised By Pro Natural Bodybuilder Layne Norton Pre-Contest Dieting: Pre-Contest Dieting : Obviousl Obviously y the most m ost pertinent issue regarding pre-contest preparation is the diet aspect of preparation. It is not enough to just clean up what you eat, it must be far more drastic than that.

When you see the winner  of  of a bodybuildi bodybuilding ng competition onstage, rest assured they tracked their  calories, carbs, proteins, fats, and never missed meals.

If you want t o do wel welll in a bodybuil bodybuilding ding competition, competition, you s hould expect expect t o do not hing less less . Befo re I begi begin n talking about a pro per pre-cont est diet, we need need to examine examine exactly exactly how long a person s hould diet diet f or a contest . The f irst t hin hing g that s hould be be done is an “asses “asses sme sment” nt” o f your body. body. Loo k yourself yourself over and be be honest about your f aul aults ts , strengths, and about about how long you think think itit will will take fo r you to get into into st age shape.

Importance Im portance O f Slow Diet Dieting ing Keep in mind that if you think you have Keep have around 25 lbs of f at t o los e, you are not going to be able able to lose it all in 10 weeks weeks and keep keep all

 

mass . Ai Aim m to diet as slo wly as po ss ibl ible. e. T he of your lean body mass severity of your calorie deficit will, will, to a large large extent, determine determine how much muscle you retain/lose.

Short periods of high severity dieting (more than 1000 kcals  per day da y below maintenance ma intenance level) are not too muscle wasting, wast ing, but prolonging them for more than a few days will certainly  cause one to lose a good deal of muscle.

 As a genera generall rule o f t humb, los lo s ing 1 lb o f bo dyweight per week wee k will allow all ow o ne to retain mos mos t o f their muscle muscle mass mass . One One can probably probably los e up to 1.5 lbs lbs per week and retain mos t, if not all of their muscle muscle mass (provided their training and and nutritio n are opt im imized). ized).

Dieting Too Fast? If one tries t o push t hei heirr body to lose more than 2 lbs lbs per week week f or  any length length of time, then they will will begin begin to experience experience quite quite a bit o f mu muscle scle loss . It is f or t his reaso n that I usually try t o give myself myself enough time so t hat I only need need to lose 1- 1. 1.5 5 lbs per week at mos t. If If one is naturally ecto morphic (has an easy time los los ing weigh weight) t) however however,, they may may want to diet f or a s hort er period of time, and and I would would recommend recommend a time period period o f 11-15 weeks. IfIf one is naturall naturally y endomorphic (has (has a hard time los los ing weigh weight), t), t hen they may may want want t o lengthen their dieting time time to 16-22 weeks. If this is the f irst time that you have ever ever done a contes t t hen you you would want to also give yourself an extra week week as you will probably experienc experience e a hitch at so me point along the way.

Diet Information The diet diet that o ne f ollows f or t hei heirr contest wi will ll be be the single single mos mos t im important portant determin determining ing f actor o f how well well they will plac place e in the competition. A perso n can have have all the mass mass in the world but if they do not come in razo razo r  sharp o n contes t day, then the mass mass wil willl mean mean litt litt le. Judge Judges s almost alw always ays go f or conditioning over siz e. To design a proper proper diet o ne should give give themselves themselves adequate time time to los e the necessary body f at t o achieve that af orementioned shredded loo k.

Being said, what kind of diet is optimal for a person to follow?

Well The Diet Should Have Three Main Goals: 1. Spare as much muscle mass as po ss ible. 2. Los e as as much much f at as poss ibl ible. e. 3. Not cause the person to lo se intensity in the weight weight roo m.

Unfortunately, these goals all seem to contradict each other.

When the body is in a st arved (calorie (calorie def ici icit) t) s tat e, muscle muscle loss can occur altho altho ugh a calorie calorie def ici icitt is required requi red to lo se f at. This calorie calorie def ici icitt will also cause one t o f eel less energetic. To get around the negatives, negative s, t here are small small adjustments adjustments and litt le tricks to aid in in the accomplishm accomplishment ent o f the po sit ive ives. s.

 

Before discussing discussing the diet, it is important to discuss the three macronutrients and their roles.

Protein Protein is probably the single mos t important macronutrient f or t he purpos purpos es o f maintain aintaining ing muscle muscle on a diet. Die Dietary tary pro tein is hydrolyzed (broken down) into it’s co nst itutive amino amino acids during during digest digest ion. These amino acids are released into the bloodstream where they may then be taken up by cells (usually muscle cells). cell s). Dietary Dietary pro tein is also very import import ant as am amino ino acid avail availabil ability ity is the s ingl ingle e most im import port ant variable variable f or  prot ein synthes is to occur. T his means means that pro tein synthesis increases in a linea linearr f ashion (directly (directly propo rtio nal to plasm plasma a amino amino acid concentrations ) until t he plasma plasma amino amino concentrat ions are approximately approximately twice that o f normal plasma plasma concentrat ions. To To generalize generalize f or t he less s cien cientif tif ical ically ly incli inclined, ned, ingesting ingesting enough dietary dietary pro tein is very import import ant f or s omeone who is loo kin king g to gain muscle, or maintain maintain it while while dieting. Die Dietary tary pro tein s pares muscle by helping helping increase increase prot ein synthesis (and thus indu induce ce net muscle gain)) and by acting gain acting as a muscle muscle sparing sparing subst rate as it can be used used f or glucogensis (s ynthesis o f gluc glucos os e). Dietary Die tary prot ein however however,, is not as muscle sparing as are carbohydrates carbohydrates when used as a subs trat e f or  glucos gluc os e synthes is. Prot Prot ein is is also a very “expensive “expensive”” molecule molecule f or your bo dy to use as energy energy..

The body would much rather store amino acids than oxidize them as protein oxidation yields yields less net ATP ATP produced per amino acid when compared to fat or carbohydrates. Therefore, T herefore, it can be stated that dietary protein has a thermogenic effect on the body body..

Carbohydrates Carbohydrates have probably gotten the worst reputation of the macronutrients due to the ketogenic dieting rave. Ketogenic dieting dieting ref ers to reduci reducing ng carbohydrate intake to practical practically ly not hing hing,, while while s im imultaneously ultaneously raising f at and prot ein intake. intake. With litt litt le glucose glucose f or the brain to utilize f or energy energy,, the bo dy will will begin begin producing keto nes. Ketones are by-products of f at oxidation and the brain brain can use ketones f or energy. energy. This

 

indeed ed have a pot ent f at burning ef f ect, as insulin level levels s will be severely reduced reduced due due to lack of  does inde carbohydrate intake. Low insulin levels levels correlate with high rates of f at o xida xidatio tio n. Indeed Indeed,, the ket ogenic diet diet may be the single best best way to lose t he maxi maximu mum m am amount ount of body f at in the shor tes t amount of time. However,, if you will quic However quickly kly refer to our go als during a pre contes t diet you will notice that ma maintaini intaining ng muscle muscle is number number one on our list, with f at los s s econd. If one has not properly scheduled scheduled enough time time to lo se body f at and t hey are in in need of drast ic measures, measures, t hen using a keto keto geni genic c diet diet may be their only choice choice in order to become cont cont est - ready in in time. Unf ort unately unately,, they will not not ma maintain intain an optimum am amount ount of mu muscle scle mass mass .

For those who have given themselves ample time to prepare, I do not suggest using a ketogenic  diet. Instead, I recommend reducing carbohydrates, but keeping them high enough to possess the muscle sparing benefits of carbohydrates while still losing body fat.

Importance Im portance Of Car Carbs bs While While Cutting Cutt ing There are several main reasons that I recommend retaining carbohydrates.

T he firs t reaso n being being that carbohydrates are much much more more muscle muscle sparing than f ats during times times of st ress when glucos glucos e becomes a prim primary ary so urce of f uel (i.e. (i.e. anaerobic anaerobic exercise, exercise, injury, injury, inf ection, et c). The muscle sparing eff ects o f carbohydrates o ccur via via several dif f erent mechani mechanisms. sms. When When the body is in a low energy st ate, it may try to produce energy by converting amino amino acids to gluc glucos os e. Carbohydrates prevent t his since they can be easily broken down (and converted if need be) to gluc glucos os e molecules. molecules. Carbohydrates t hen spare dietary protein from oxidation and these proteins can be stored rather than oxidized.Carbohydrates are also very muscle muscle sparing during during exercise. exercise. When When one lift s heavy weigh weights ts , t he primary primary pathway that is us ed to produce ATP (cellular energy currency) is the anaerobic or glycolytic pathway (as the name implies this pathway operates in the absence of oxygen). T he only subst rate f or t his pathway is is glucose, which can be

 

obt aine ained d f rom dietary dietary carbohydrates or by breaking breaking down glyc glycogen ogen (the cell’s cell’s st ored f orm of gluc glucos os e).

If one is on a ketogenic or extreme “low carb” diet however however,, the body will need to utilize another  source to synthesize glucose from.

Since glycogen Since glycogen levels levels are low o n a keto geni genic c diet, t he body will actually actually convert amino amino aci acids ds to gluc glucos os e and t his glucos e will will be used in the anaero bic pathway to pro duce AT P. T hese amino acids will come f ro m dietary prot ein, am amino acids acids f rom the cellular cellular amino amino acid poo poo l, and f rom muscle muscle tiss ue. T he latter s ituatio n is where one wo uld experie experience nce muscle muscle loss . Dietary Dietary prot ein would be sacrif sacrif iced fo r AT AT P production and t he depleted depleted amino am ino acid poo l would not bode well well f or pro tein synthes is rates , thus causing a net loss in muscle muscle mass mass .

Muscle Sparing Carbohydrate Carbohydrates s Carbohydrates are also muscle sparing because they are a cause of insulin release. Now I know  your thinking, “but Layne, you just said in your intro that low insulin insulin levels were great for fat  burning!?” 

Yes, yo u are corr ect. I did indeed indeed say t hat lo w insulin insulin levels levels are goo d f or f at burni burning. ng. Insulin inhibi inhibits ts lip lipolytic olytic (f at burning) activity activity and must must be kept kept lo w if o ne wishes wishes t o burn a maxim maximal al amount amount of f at. However However,, the pesky re-o ccurri ccurring ng theme of maintaini aintaining ng muscle muscle prevents prevents us f rom to tally exclu excluding ding insulin insulin fr om our precont est diet arsenal, as insulin happe happens ns t o be one of the most anaboli anabolic/anti-catabo c/anti-catabo lic hormones in the body. body. Insulin bindi binding ng to the cell mem membrane brane causes causes all so rts of reactions in your body that are benef benef ici icial al to maintaining and gaining muscle tissue. Insulin inhibits protein breakdown and amino acid oxidation, thus promot ing muscle muscle maintenan maintenance ce or gain. Insulin also also has an antagonist (inhi (inhibitory) bitory) af f ect with regards t o several catabo catabo lic hormones, includin including g cort isol. Cort Cort isol is a hor mone t hat is released during during times times o f st ress such as dieting, lif lif ting, injury injury,, etc. Cort iso l produces glucos e by breaking breaking down pro teins, including including muscle muscle tis sue. Cort iso l is is t he primary primary catabo catabo lic hormone that is released when when one lif lif ts or do es any kind kind of activity activity..

Insulin release inhibits inhibits the activity of cortisol by preventing its release from the pancreas, thus sparing muscle tissue from cortisol’ cortisol’s s catabolic effects.

 

Furthermore, it is interesting to note that long-term exposure of cells to ketones (i.e., ketogenic  diet) retard insuli insulin-induced n-induced activation of the insuli insulin n surface receptor receptor..

T his causes o ne to become extreme extremely ly sensitive to carbohydrates when they begin begin ingest ingest ing them agai again n af ter t hey finish dieting and and could lead lead to an undesired post diet f at gain. Carbohydrates act t o maintain maintain muscle mass while dieting by maintaining cellular osmotic pressure and cell volume. Cell size is an indicator  of the “st ate” that the body is in. Whe When n cells cells are of large volum volume, e, itit s igna ignals ls that the body is in a f ed stat e. When cel celll volume volume is low it signals that the body is in a st arved stat e. Wi Witho tho ut delving delving to o f ar into t he science science behind behi nd this, t rust me when I say t hat you wo uld like like your your bo dy to think it is in a f ed st ate as this will increase increase the levels levels of f at burning hormones and anabolic anabolic hormones. hormones. Cell Cell size also indi indicates cates t he anabolic anabolic st ate of the cell.. When cell When cell cell volume volume is high high,, pro tein s ynthesis rates inc increase. rease. IfIf cell volume volume drops, t hen prot ein synthesis levels dro p. It is easy t o inf er we would like t o maintain cell volume, especially when dieting.

The problem with extreme low carbohydrate diets is they cause severe reduction in cell size.

The Gl Glycogen ycogen Factor  T he body st ores carbohydrates inside cells cells as glycogen. glycogen. For every gram of gly glycogen cogen st ored, t he body st ores around 2.7 2.7 g of water water.. Theref ore, cells that have greater greater glycogen levels levels will will also have more more vo lum lume. e. One can see then how lo w carbohydrate diets s everel everely y decrease decrease cell size due t o severe glycogen glycogen depletion. Concluding, carbohydrates help maintain muscle by increasing cell volume. One more issue to consider is

 

ormance.. If you ref er to the goals o f a pre-cont est diet, you will will see that num number ber three maintains maintains that perf ormance you must must keep a high leve levell of intensity in the gym. gym. This is im import port ant f or s everal reaso ns. IfIf perf ormance begins begi ns to suf f er er,, then a perso n will will undoubtedly los e strengt h. T his could lead to a subsequent loss of  muscle mass mass due to decrea decreased sed s timu timulation lation f rom a decreased decreased t raini raining ng overload. Theref ore, it is import import ant that perf ormance be kept kept at an opt im imal al level. level. Low glycogen levels levels have been been ass ociated with increased f atigue and and decreased decreased perf ormance in athletes (endurance, (endurance, st rength, power out put, etc).

The Resear Research ch

Several studies have shown that consuming adequate amounts of carbohydrates before, during, and after exercise may attenuate the increased fatigue and increase performance.

It is worth noting that one such study concluded that “the rate of recovery is coupled with the rate of muscle glycogen replenishment and suggests that r ecovery supplements should be consumed  to optimize muscle glycogen synthesis as well as fluid replacement.” 

It can t heref ore be concluded that an adequate adequate s uppl upply y of carbohydrates is crucial f or maintaining maintaining perf ormance and and f or proper muscle recovery. recovery. Fats Fats are very import import ant molecules molecules and are co nsidered ess ential to o nes survival. survival. Indeed ndeed,, f ats are involved involved in ma many ny of the body’s pro cesses whi which ch are require required d f or  survival.. Sev survival Several eral key functio ns o f f ats in the hum human an body are f or energy sto rage and and hormone synthesis. They are the body’s body’s preferred source of st ored energy energy and and the mos mos t ef f ic icie ient nt molecul molecule e f or t he body to burn. (in terms o f energy yield yield per gram, gram, 9kcals/gram). 9kcals/gram). T he main main hormone t hat f ats im impact pact which we are concerned concerned with is testosterone. When calories are restricted, testosterone levels will drop, as the body will suppress its release relea se of anaboli anabolic c hormones hormones in order to s pare nutrients nutrients f or o xida xidatio tio n (energy (energy productio productio n).

 

This makes perfect sense: the body senses it is “starving” and thus it represses it’s anabolic  hormones to prevent nutrients from being used to increase tissue mass and spares them for  energy production.

Fat Intake & Testosterone That’s the f irst hi hitt aga against inst t esto st erone production. production. Drastica Drasticall lly y lowering lowering your f at intake is another hit aga again inst st test os terone production production since f atty acids acids are the substrates f or cholesterol synthesis synthesis and theref theref ore are also al so t he substrates f or test os terone synthesis (cholesterol (cholesterol is is converted converted to t esto st erone, am among ong other  things). thing s). Unf Unf ort una unately tely,, f ats are also also easil easily y st ored as adipos adipos e tiss ue (body fat ) So t here must must be some type of compromi compromise se between ingest ingest ing enough enough f at f or ho rm rmone one maintenance maintenance (and (and subsequent muscle muscle maintenanc aintenance) e) and reducing reducing fat intake enough to decrea decrease se bo dy f at. There has been so me research done on the ef f ects of di dietary etary fat o n testo st erone. The answer answer to , “how much much di dietary etary fat is optimal optimal”” is dif dif f ic icult ult to decipher deci pher,, as there are major major dif f erence erences s in the designs of the perf ormed studies.

This makes it difficult to compare them to each other and come up with a “standard” answer answer..

Several Sev eral st udie udies s concluded that diets low in f at (under 15% of to tal calories) calories) s igni igniff ican icantly tly decreased decreased test os terone levels levels while while diets diets hig higher her in fat (above 30% 30% of to tal calories) calories) increased increased serum serum testo st erone levels. leve ls. Rather than co ntinuin ntinuing g with t his discuss ion I will will provide a link to an article which which covers the s ubje ubject ct quite nicely nicely.. To simplify simplify everything that I have said, said, it s eem eems s t hat o ne should not lower f at below 15% o f dail daily y calories unless unless they would like like to f ace extreme extreme test os tero ne deficiencies. deficiencies. Like ikewise, wise, one sho uld not not inc increase rease f at to say 40% 40% in order order to in increa crease se test os terone. Al Although though f at increases increases test os terone to a degree degree,, it is import im port ant t o remember remember that t est os tero ne is only a small small piec piece e of the larger puzz puzz le. T here are ma many ny ot her  hormones and f acto rs involved in buil building ding muscle other t han just just tes to st erone. By inc increasing reasing f at t o extremely extreme ly high high levels, levels, there will will be less less “space” f or carbo hydrates and prot ein, bot h of whi which ch are very very important im portant f or af orem orementione entioned d reaso reaso ns.

 As with most things in life, life , moderation mode ration is key. k ey.

In o rder to keep hormone productio n regular regular and f at burni burning ng in high high gear, gear, while while allowing allowing enough “s pace” to supply adequate adequate carbohydrates and prot ein f or muscle sparing purpos purpos es I do not recomm recommend end increasing increasing f at above 30% of dail daily y calories. calories. In In order t o co me up with with macronutrient macronutrient t ot als f or a diet, it is necess ary to ass ess how many many lbs lbs per week one will will need need to los e to be in cont est shape. T his is not an exact exact s cien cience, ce, however we can still get a reasonable experience-based estimate. Here are some example calculations so that you may have have an understanding understanding of how t o go about doing this. For For exam example, ple, we we have a subject subject who is a meso morph weighing weighing 200 lbs lbs and has 13% bodyf at. Since Since 3-4% is considered “st age condition”, t hat means means the s ubje ubject ct will need to drop ro ughl ughly y 10% body f at which equates equates t o about 20 lbs. To To r ecap ecapitulate, itulate, I do no t reco mm mmend end dropping weight any f ast er than 1- 1. 1.5 5 lbs per week. Since 20 weeks is a long time to diet , let’s have the subject los e about 1. 1.5 5 lbs per week.

I recommend that one lose approximately 80% of their weight due to calorie restriction and 20% of their weight due to cardio (someone who is ectomorphic should do less cardio, while someone with an endomorphic build should do more cardio).

 

To los e 1.2 1.2 lbs (80%) per week fro m diet, diet, there must be a 600 kcal per day def def ici icitt f rom diet. To lose t he ot her .3 .3 lbs (20%) per week f rom cardio, cardio, o ne should perf orm 3 cardio cardio s ess ions per week, which which burn burn 350 kcals kcal s per ses sion. The best way to det erm ermine ine one’s one’s caloric intake require required d to lose f at at a certain rate rate is t o chart calorie calorie intake fo r a period period o f a f ew weeks weeks and try t o determine determine at what level level the subject subject does not gain weight wei ght (t his is t he caloric caloric baseline).

For those who do not exercise this method, a rough estimate can be made m ade using the following  strategy.

Utilize The Subsequent Equations To Find Your Caloric Baseline: Meso morphs – bodywei bodyweight ght x 15. Ectomorphs – bodywei bodyweight ght x 16-17. Endomorphs End omorphs – bo dywe dyweight ight x 13-14.

So for our subject; 200 X 15 = 3000 kcals per day. This is the subject’s caloric baseline (roughly). So if he wishes to lose 1.2 lbs per week from dieting (caloric restriction restriction of 600 kcals per day); 3000 – 600 = 2400 kcals per day.

Meal Frequenc y Is As Follows: Meso morphs – eat every 2.5 2.5 – 3.5 hours. Ectomorphs – eat every 2 – 3 hours. Endomorphs End omorphs – eat every 3. 3.5 – 5 ho urs.

 

Protein Intake The “golden standard” protein intake for a bodybuilder is around 1 g/lb of bodyweight. This will  will  need to be increased while while dieting. Protein is a thermogenic macronutrient key in sparing muscle tissue when in a caloric deficit (see aforementioned section on protein).

I recomm recommend end the f ollowing prot ein intakes f or dif f erent body types: Mesomorphs – 1.2g/lb – 1.3g/lb. Ectomorphs – 1.4g/lb – 1.6g/lb. Endomorphs – 1. 1.4g/lb 4g/lb – 1.5g/lb.* 1.5g/lb.* For our s ubje ubject, ct, t his equates t o a pro tein intake of around 240-260 g protein per day. day. Let’s go ‘m ‘middl iddle e of the road’ and and set the s ubje ubjects cts prot ein intake intake at 250 g prot ein per day day. This means means 1000 kcals have been been devoted to prot ein intake, intake, leavi leaving ng us with 1400 kcal kcals s f or f at and carbohydrate intake.

Fat Intake Fat intakes intakes are as f ollows: Mesomorphs – 17% – 23% of to tal calorie calories. s. Ecto Ec to mophs – 24%-28% of to tal calorie calories. s. Endomorphs – 23%- 28% of to tal calories Endomorphs calories (f at intake is is increased increased in order to reduce carbohydrate intake, as endomorphs may have a dif dif f icul icultt t im ime e losing f at with higher carbohydrate carbohydrate intakes). For For o ur  subject, this equates t o abo ut 400 – 550 kcal f rom f at per day (45g (45g – 60g f at per day) Once Once again, again, I pref er the ‘middl ‘middle e of the ro ad’ approach and would set his f at intake at aro und 55g 55g f at per day (495 kcals/d kca ls/day ay f rom f at) .

Carbohydrate Intake Whatever calories calories t hat have not been allott allott ed to prot ein and and f at intake will will make make up tot al daily daily carbohydrate carbohydrate intake. For our s ubje ubject ct in questio n, this leaves 2400 (1000 (1000 + 495) = 905 kcals kcals per day f or carbo hydrate intake. T his equates t o 225g of carbohydrates per day. day.

I recommend a higher protein intake for endomorph’s while dieting dieting because of the thermogenic  effect of a higher protein intake and increased protein turnover, not because they need more  protein to maintain maint ain muscle mass.

Re-Feeding One should also also incorpo rate re- f eeds into t heir diet diet plan. plan. Re-f eeds help help boos t a hormone called called leptin, which whi ch is the mot her of all f at burning hormones. As one diets , leptin level levels s dro p in an att att em empt pt by t he body to spare body f at. Periodic, Periodic, proper proper re- f eedi eeding ng can raise raise leptin levels levels and help one continue to burn f at an optimum rate.  rate.  A A pers o n who is lean will need t o re- f eed more mo re f requen requentt ly than t han s o meone who wh o has a higher  body f at percentage. For tho se who are below below 10%, it is probably a wise wise idea to incorporat e re-f eeds two times per week.

 

For those people who are in the 10-15% range, re-feeding every 6-12 days will probably be adequate, for those who are above 15%, re-feeding will will probably not need to be done mor e than once every week to two weeks. Obviously as one loses body fat they will need to re-feed more often.

Re-Feed Days Should Be Planned As Follows: Re-feed on the day you work your worst body part(s) as re-feeding will not only raise leptin, but be quite anabolic. Keep Kee p f at as low as po ss ibl ible e during during re-f eed days days as high insulin insulin level levels s will increase increase dietary dietary f at trans port into adipos e tiss ue. In addition addition dietary f at has litt le to no impact impact o n leptin leptin levels. levels. Reduce Redu ce prot ein intake intake t o 1 g/lb bodyweigh bodyweight. t. Consume as as litt le f ructo se as pos sible as f ructo se does no t have an an im impact on leptin leptin levels. levels. Increase calories calories to maintenanc aintenance e level level (or above if you are an ecto morph) and increase carbs by at least 50- 100% (endo’s (endo’s s tay o n the low end, whil while e ecto’s sho uld stay on t he high high end) end) over nor mal diet diet levels.

Nutrient Timin Timing g  

 

s prev o us us y s cu cus se se e o re re, car o y ra es caus e ns u n r e eas e, e, which whi ch is very muscle muscle sparing, but but also very anti-lipolytic. It is t heref ore important that we construct a diet so that we intersperse long periods of low insulin level levels s in o rder to ma maxim ximize ize lipolysis, coupled with with s hort periods o f high insuli insulin n levels levels to prot ect muscle muscle when when it is at t he greatest risk of catabolism. T here are ess ess entiall entially y two crucial times during durin g the day when when muscle muscle tiss ue is at t he greatest risk of catabolism. T he mos mos t cruci crucial al time time is during your worko ut. As many many of you already know,, working out is actually catabolic. know

When one is in a calorie deficit, the catabolic effect of working out  is enhanced, as the body will attempt to raise low glucose levels by de-aminating amino acids and converting them to glucose.

Nutrient Timing

Cortisol One of the main main hormones that co ntro l this actio actio n is is cort iso l. Unf ort unately this is quite catabolic as so me of thes e amino amino acids acids may come come f rom muscle muscle tiss ue (See (See carbohydrates s ection). ItIt is cruci crucial al that o ne consumes consum es carbohydrates carbohydrates bef ore exercise exercise f or severa severall reasons. Dietary Die tary carbohydrates wil willl provide f uel f or t he anaerobic anaerobic pathway, pathway, and spare muscle muscle tiss ue f rom being converted being converted to gl glucose ucose f or f uel uel.. Dietary Die tary carbohydrates will cause the release release of insuli insulin, n, which which blocks the release of cort iso l f rom the pancreas. Dietary carbo hydrates will increase muscle glycogen levels which will im impro pro ve perf or manc mance e and decrease decrea se f atigue. I suggest one cons um ume e 35% of their to tal daily daily carbohydrates carbohydrates in a me meal al 1.5 1.5 to 2 hours bef ore t heir worko worko ut as t his will will allow allow t he carbohydrates carbohydrates adequ adequate ate t im ime e to be digest digest ed and enter enter t he bloods tream. I also s uggest consuming a shake compos compos ed of 30-40g of whey prot ein along along with with dextro se o r malto malto dextrin during during their  workout.

The carbohydrates in the shake should account for about 20% of one’s total daily carbohydrate intake.

 

This Shake Will Have Several Benefits: Spare muscle muscle glycogen and increase perf or ormance mance.. Spare Spa re muscle tis sue. Maintain a const ant release of insuli insulin, n, theref ore inhibiting inhibiting cort cort iso l release. release. T he cont cont inuous ingest ingest ion of carbohydrates will will ensure ensure that adequate subst rate is availabl available e f or t he glycolytic pathway.

It is also a wise idea to consume a post workout meal composed of whole food, low GI  carbohydrate sources (although one may consume another protein shake if they feel so inclined) about 30 minutes m inutes after finishing the in workout shake.

T his low GI carbohydrate should cont ain about about 25% of your t ot al dail daily y carbohydrates carbohydrates and will will help st abil abilize ize blood sugar levels. levels. You You see, dextro se causes a very large insulin insulin spike, and actually actually can cause cause insulin to be over s ecreted, when when insulin insulin is o ver secreted, blood s ugar level levels s will drop rapidly rapidly as as insulin disposes of the glucos gluc os e into the t issues and one may even even begin begin to experi experience ence hypoglycem hypoglycemia ia (low blood sugar). Low Low bloo d sugar may lead one to experience an increase in hunger. A lower GI carbohydrate and protein meal post workout wil willl help help count count eract this negative eff ect by stabilizing stabilizing bloo bloo d sugar level levels. s. The ot her time time of day when one sho uld consume a meal meal containing containing carbohydrates is upon rising. Waki aking ng up is actually a str ess f ul time on t he body and and in an eff ort to “ready its its elf ” the body releases releases s everal catabolic hormones hormones in order to produce energy energy f or t he f ast ed perso perso n. The main main two ho rmones released released are cortiso l and and glucogen glucogen both o f  which whi ch can be catabolic to mu muscle scle t issue.

Consuming a carbohydrate meal will retard the release of these catabolic hormones and spare muscle tissue. It will also also make you feel better by providing fuel for your brain to run on.

 

T here is so me anecdot anecdot al evidence evidence that s uggests consumin consuming g a meal meal containing carbohydrates carbohydrates may also help suppress hunge hungerr later in t he day. day. I suggest consumin consuming g 15% o f your daily carbohydrate carbohydrate intake at this meal in the f orm of low GI carbohydrates. The remaini remaining ng 5% of your to tal daily daily carbohydrates carbohydrates s hould come come f rom veggies veggi es thro ughout t he day day such as salad, brocco brocco li, peas, etc. If you happen happen to wo rkout af ter breakf ast , merely combin combine e breakfas t and your pre wo rkout meal. Thus 35% + 15% = 50% o f dail daily y carbohydrate intake sho uld be in in pre workout /break /breakff ast meal. Duri During ng these high carbohydrate carbohydrate meals meals o ne sho uld aim aim to keep f at as low as pos sible. Hig High h insulin insulin level levels s increases f att y acid acid transpo rt into adip adipos os e tiss ue, so it is a goo d idea idea to keep your f at low during during times times o f high insuli insulin. n.

You should spread your remaining fat intake evenly over the rest of your low carbohydrate meals. Protein intake should be spread fairly evenly over all of your meals.

Layne Nort Norton on Gallery: The Following Is A List Of Acceptable Protein, Carbohydrate, & Fat Sources While Dieting:

Protein: Tuna or most any f ish. Cottage cheese. Eggs Egg s (especial (especially ly the whi whites tes ). Chicken Chi cken breast ( boneless s kin kinless). less). Turkey breast (boneless skinless). Lean beef . Low f at or no f at cheese. cheese. Low f at pork. Milk protein iso late. Whey protein. Soy protein. Essentiall Essentia lly y mos mos t any ot her source of protein so long as it is low in saturated f at and carbohyd carbohydrates. rates.

Carbohydrates: Sweet Sw eet potato es. Oat meal, oat bran, oat bran cereal (i.e. cheerios). Bran cereal. Brown rice. Wheatt bread (t ry to lim Whea limit it t o 2 slices per day). Beans. Low f at popco rn (low f at butt er spray makes makes this a delicacy delicacy). ). Fruits Fru its (lim (limit it t o 2- 3 servings per day).

 

Malto dextrin (during (during workout ). Dextrose (during workout) Vegetables. Stay away away f rom ref ined grain grains s and anything anything that s ays “enriched” “enriched” or “high “high f ructo se corn s yrup” on the label!

Fat: Omega 3 capsules (i.e. Omega (i.e. f ish o il capsules capsules ). Flax seed oil. Primrose Pri mrose oil. Borage oil. Olive oil. Nuts (limit (limit t o 1 s ervin erving g per day), day), peanut peanut butt er (as long as it do es no t co ntain hydrogenated hydrogenated o ils). Egg yolks. Fish (salmon especially).  All ot her f at sh sho o uld co me as a by- pro duct o f yo your ur car bo hydrat e and pro p ro t ein int ake.

References 1. Nygren J, Nair KS. KS. “Dif f erent erential ial regulatio regulatio n of pro tein dynamics dynamics in splanchnic and skelet al muscle beds by insulin and amino acids in healthy human subjects.†Diabetes 2003 Jun;52(6):1377-85 2. Garrett , Reginald H. and Charles M. Grisham. Biochemist Biochemistry ry 2nd Editio n. Saunders College Publishing. United States: 1999.

 

Hart et al. “Ef f icac 3. Hart icacy y o f a high-carbohydrate diet in catabolic illness.†illness.†Crit Crit Care Med 2001 Jul;29(7):1318-24 4. Yokoo et al. “D “Distinc istinctt ef f ects o f ketone bodies bodies on down-regulation down-regulation of cel celll surf ace insuli insulin n receptor and insulin recepto recepto r subs trat e-1 pho spho ryla rylatio tio n in adrenal adrenal chromaf chromaf f in cells.â cells.†€ J Pharm Pharmacol acol Exp Ther 2003 Mar;304(3):994-1002 5. Meij Meijer er AJ. AJ. “Am “Amino ino acids as regul regulato ato rs and components of nonprot einogeni einogenic c pathways.†pathways.†J Nutr 2003 Jun;133(6):2057S-62S 6. Schliess Schliess F, Haussinger Haus singer D. “Cell volume and insulin s ignaling ignaling.†.†Int Int Rev Cyto l 2003;225:1872003;225:187- 228 7. Chen et al. “Osmotic shock inhibits insulin signaling by maintaining Akt/protein kinase B in an inactive dephosphorylated state.†Mol Cell Biol 1999 Jul;19(7):4684-94 8. Brosnan JT. “Comm “Comments ents on metabolic needs needs f or gluc glucos os e and the role o f gluc gluconeo oneo genesis. genesis.††Eur J Clin Nutr 1999 Apr;53 Suppl 1:S107-11 1:S107-11 9. Shephard RJ, Leatt P. “Carbo hydrate and f luid needs of t he so ccer player. player.†Sport s Med 1987 May-Jun;4(3):164-76 10. Tsintz as, O.K., O.K., William Williams s C., Boo bis, L.Greenhaf L.Greenhaf f , P. P. “Carbo hydrat hydrate e ingest ion and s ingle muscle muscle f iber glycogen metabo metabo lism during pro longed running in man. man.††Journal o f Applied Physio Physio logy 1996; 81 (2) : 801 – 809. 11. Rockwell Rockwell MS, MS, Rankin Rankin JW, JW, Dixon H. “Ef “Ef f ects of muscle glycogen glycogen o n perf ormanc ormance e o f repeated sprints and mechan mechanisms isms o f f atigue. atigue.††. Int Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab Metab 2003 Mar;13(1): Mar;13(1):1-14 1-14 12. Haf f GG, Lehmk Lehmkuhl uhl MJ, MJ, McCoy McCoy LB, LB, Sto ne MH. MH. “Carbo hydrat hydrate e supplementation supplementat ion and res ist ance training†J Strength Cond Res 2003 Feb;17(1):187-96 13. Karelis AD, Pero Pero nnet F, F, Gardiner PF. “Glucos e inf usio n att enuates muscle f at atigue igue in rat plantaris muscle during prolonged indirect stimulation in situ.†Exp Physiol 2002 Sep;87(5):585-92 14. Will William iams s MB, Raven PB, Fo Fo gt DL, Ivy Ivy JL. JL. “Ef “Ef f ects of reco very beverages o n glycogen rest orat ion and endurance exercise exercise perf ormance ormance..†J Strengt h Cond Res 2003 Feb;17(1): Feb;17(1):12-9 12-9 15. T he Journal of Nutrit ion, Sept 2000 v130 i9 i9 p2356 “High Dietar Dietar y Fat Fat Intake Increases Increases Renal Cyst Disease Diseas e Progres sio n in Han: Han:SP SPRD-cy RD-cy Rats . ” Shobana Jayapalan; M. Hos sein Saboo rian; Jef f W. Edmunds; Harold M. Aukema. 16. Am America erican n Journal of Cli Clinic nical al Nutrit Nutrit ion, Dec 1996 1996 v64 n6 p850(6) p850(6) “Ef f ects of dietary f at and f iber  on plas ma and urine androgens and es tr ogens in men: men: a cont ro lled f eeding study st udy.” .” Jo Jo anne F. Dorgan; Jos eph T. Judd; Christ opher Longco pe; Charles Bro wn; Arthur Schatz Schatzkin; kin; Beverly A. Clevide Clevidence; nce; William William S. Campbell; Campbell; Padmanabhan P. Nair; Charlene Char lene Franz ; Lisa Kahle; Philip R. Taylor. 17. Abe T, Kawakam Kawakamii Y, Y, Sugita M, Fukunaga Fukunaga T. “Relatio nship bet ween training t raining f requency and subcut aneous and visceral f at in women.†women.†Med Med Sci Sci Spor Sportt s Exerc 1997 Dec;29(12):1549-53 Dec;29(12):1549-53

Special Thanks To… Ted Te d Fletcher Fletcher – f or his help in editing editing this art icl icle. e. Par Deus and Spoo Spoo k of htt p: p://www //www..mi mindandm ndandmuscle.net/ uscle.net/ – f o r allowing me me to link their leptin lept in articles Bryan Haycock of htt p: p://www //www..t hinkm hinkmuscle.com uscle.com and http://www.h http://www.hypert ypertro ro phy-s pecif ic. ic.com/ com/ – f or  allowing all owing me me to provide a link link to the dietary f at art icl icle e on his web sit e. Vince Mc McConnell Connell of ht http://www tp://www..etf itnes s.com and ht http://www tp://www..dolf zine.com – f or allo wing me to provide a link link to his VICI VICI cardi cardio o article on do lf zine. Dr. Joe Klemczews Klemczews ki of htt p: p://www //www..joes revo lutio n. n.com com – f or all of his help and guidance in preparing prepari ng me me f or my contest s and sho win wing g me me how to get t he f inal week right!

 

Discla Disclaim imer: er: Please Please not e t hat t his art icl icle e is an archived archived article f rom Dr. Dr. Nort Nort on and may may no longer  ref lect all his views on t he subject. Please Please s ee his websit e www. www.biolayne.com and his column in Muscular Development magazine to keep up with his current views.”

 Author:  Auth or:  Pro Natural Bodybuilder Layne Norton