Many of you who follow me, don’t know this about me.
In college, I was very into Olympic lifting and bodybuilding.
That was well before the development of Crossfit and social media popularity of these sports, so my hobby was not exactly as “mainstream’ as they are now.
I used to get lots of stares at me across the gym as I walked around with my chains criss-crossed over my chest.
I was a bit self conscious about it, but I loved the sport & I found training strengthened by self confidence tenacity and grit which helped me through many life challenges.
My friend, and training partner, Jeremy & I liked to push the limits and experiment with our training workouts to see how far we could push our bodies -- and we created what was then a unique training program that helped us gain strength and muscle mass without doing “typical” bodybuilding things like:
👉Separately creating “bulking” and “cutting” phases⠀
👉Eating 6 meals / day⠀
👉Having the same macros and same 10 food items for every single meal months at a time ⠀
👉Consuming a lot of bars / protein shakes
While I no longer lift at that level, I still like to lift heavy things when my body is feeling well rested.
In this BLOG post, we will cover 4 things that a lot of people in the fitness world believe, however, their have been proved as myths.
I know it’s still being recommended by many mainstream bodybuilding gurus that during “bulking” you should consume ~1.8 x your body weight in grams of carbs, (ex 1.8 x 150lb = 270 g carbs/day) however, muscle growth can still occur with smaller doses of “time targeted” carbs and slightly elevated protein intake.
One of several theories around needing high carb intake came from the simplistic understanding of how to stimulate protein synthesis. It is true, eating carbohydrates can raise insulin exponentially more than eating protein, however both protein and carbs can have the desired outcome of raising insulin to stimulate an increase in muscle protein synthesis.
👉Furthermore, in gathering blood sugar data on my athletes, I’ve come to learn that far fewer grams of carbs are needed to raise blood sugar but be able to recover 2 hours following the meal.
👉Elevated BS 2 hours after consuming a high carb meal is a symptom of blood sugar dysregulation and metabolic inflexibility. Being metabolically inflexible will make “cutting” much more difficult as the resting metabolism is in part regulated by insulin sensitivity.👈
In order to “lean bulk” I work with the individual 1st having biometric testing to identify their percent lean body mass to fat mass as well as their metabolic rate. These tests are routinely available at the community through a local University Kinesiology/Exercise Physiology department.
Based on the biometric data collected, and the metabolic flexibility of the individual the macronutrients are calculated based on their training program intensity and duration. Carbohydrates are then dosed based on the diurnal rhythm of the body (humans are more insulin sensitive in the a.m.) and the training time, intensity, and duration.⠀
There are several reasons I believe this theory and practice has stuck around for so long.⠀
1️⃣It is believed that it may help to speed up metabolism and aid in weight loss
There have since been studies that provide evidence for increased resting metabolic rate increases with a decrease in meal frequency and studies PMID: 22719910, no change in rate of weight loss with meal frequency at either 3 or 6 times per day PMID: 19943985 and alterations in nutrient timing and frequency appear to have little effect on fat loss or lean mass retention in body builders. PMID: 24864135
2️⃣The previous studies that suggested only 20- 25 grams of protein can be utilized at a given time.
The basis for this theory is from research on protein intake utilization versus oxidation (creating waste products for removal). These studies suggested that the maximum intake of protein in a given meal to minimize oxidation is 20-25 grams. PMID: 29497353.
The problem with these studies were they were single event studies nor well controlled studies (not performed in metabolic wards controlling for all other potential contributing factors).
They also tend to fail to recognize the potential differences in muscle protein synthesis based on physical fitness, age, or digestive capacity.
This 20 year old study to the contrary showed improved protein retention with OMAD in elderly women, PMID: 10357740
3️⃣ During a weight training “growth phase” eating more frequently provides more opportunities to hit macronutrient goals and during “cutting phases” prevents from feeling hungry.
Although this may be true, I always want to verify the reason the person is eating 6+ times a day is not due to impairments in digestion that prevent them from eating larger meals, (such as indigestion, gas, bloating constipation or loose stool), or impairments in blood sugar regulations that is requiring them to eat frequently to avoid blood sugar crashes (symptoms such as low energy, feeling shaky, irritable, brain fog, headaches, or anxiety).
I have worked with athletes that were at the top of their sporting event, and yet they had tests revealing hypochlorhydria, insulin resistance, pancreatic insufficiency, and gallbladder / liver impairments. Although it was surprising, it is common.
The theory to eat 6 meals a day to optimize fitness is a weak argument, newer research suggests that our bodies may just be more complex than this.
Other things that could play a roll:⠀
👉Circadian rhythms may also play a role in optimal food timing for weight gain/loss⠀
👉The meal composition and source of proteins impact the rate of nutrient utilization⠀
👉Studies showing that fasting and time restricted feeding may also increase the utilization of nutrients consumed.
Everyone is a unique individual, and although eating 6 times a day may be optimal for some, it is more likely hindering the attainment of your fitness goals and health goals.⠀
The post exercise feeding window may not even exist!
Super controversial I know, but I’m not alone in this theory. PMID: 23360586
The training theory is based on previous research where the study participants perform their resistance training, fasted.
This would suggest the individual was starting from a state of catabolism, and following resistance training this would of course be further augmented, thus in an effort to reverse this “tissue destructive” state and promote tissue building eating protein and carbohydrates would create an augmented stimulation of muscle protein synthesis.
The truth is most people do not train fasted.
The studies looking at fed-resistance trained athletes do not consistently produce the same hypertrophic gains.
When looking at the actual time window to refuel the studies are generally simply looking at how long the amino acids are present in the blood following ingestion. The presence of a nutrient in the blood does not indicate use of that nutrient by any tissue in the body.
However if we are looking at solely increasing the chances of those amino acids being utilized for muscle protein synthesis and minimizing catabolism, the studies do not suggest there is a time preference pre/post work out.
The research suggests that those ingested amino acids are present in the blood for 2 hours.
So, if you don’t feel like eating prior to training or immediately thereafter, my suggestion is to honor your body’s wishes, wait for your sympathetic tone to return to baseline, and you likely will digest that meal much better than if you eat when your body is still circulating a fair amount of endorphins.
Truth, when someone is well trained and metabolically flexible, the body will be able to utilize both stored sugars and fat to produce energy.
Ever “bonk” during an aerobic event? Bonking or “hitting the wall” is described as running out of glycogen stores, however if your metabolic machinery is well “oiled,” pun intended, then your body will identify the need to mobilize fat for energy and this phenomenon will be much less likely to happen to you.
Let’s look at this more specifically with actual numbers.
The average person’s muscle glycogen stores are between 300-500 grams, multiply this by 4 calories/ gram of carbohydrate, and you have enough glycogen to exercise and burn 1,200 and 2,000 kcal. Most people are not exercising and burning nearly this many calories at any given event and they are even less likely to have trained hard and depleted their stores the day before a long endurance event.
My suggestion, take inventory of the previous week’s exercise and carbohydrate intake. Prepare by implementing a pattern of eating your carbohydrate rich food either immediately following glycogen depletion aerobic exercise to maximize refilling of glycogen stores, this will also support metabolic flexibility to not eat high carb at all meals.⠀
Alternatively consider micro dosing your carbs for the exercise you will be performing in the hour or two prior to the event, for example plan on running 3 miles, the caloric burn may be just 180-300 calories, prior to exercise eat ½ that amount in calories from carbs such as a single piece of fruit.
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