REDUCE YOUR CARBS, BUT DON'T CUT THEM ALL OUT AND DON'T STAY ON LOW CARBS TOO LONG I'm not a big fan of very low carb diets (VLCD) or "ketogenic" diets. Although they have worked for many people, most people report that they make you feel like crap, you get "brain fog," you lose muscle along with the fat, and your training intensity suffers from lack of muscle glycogen (even on a "cyclical" ketogenic diet). Low carbs and high activity don’t go well together. The worst side effect of the VLCD is one that few people think of because it requires a long-term perspective and most people are caught up in short term results:
For the average non-competitor, it's very difficult to permanently keep the fat off if it’s lost through VLCD’s. VLCD's set you up for a big rebound.Bodybuilders often use VLCD's successfully before contests, but bodybuilders are extreme athletes with incredible discipline and willpower. I know bodybuilders who are so "hard core" that they can eat nothing but tuna fish out of the can for 12 weeks, then go back to a normal, balanced diet - no problem - no bingeing. That's a rare feat.
Lots of people lose weight on very low carb diets. Few keep it off. I've seen people go on massive, uncontrollable binges of doughnuts, pizza and Ben & Jerry's (Chunky Monkey!), gaining 30 pounds in less than seven days after coming off a very low carb diet. My friend, very low carb diets ain't the long term solution to fat loss. To use one successfully without gaining everything back, you have to know what you're doing and you must be extremely disciplined. Even then, you should consider low carb diets as "last chance" diets or short term "peaking" diets that are fraught with side effects and disadvantages.
The "balanced" diet, which contains a wide variety of foods including about 40-50% of the calories from vegetables, fruit, natural starches and 100% whole grains, is almost always the best way to permanently lose fat and it's the way almost everyone should start. This is sometimes referred to as a "baseline diet." All you have to do is exercise, pick the right types of foods and eat less than you burn each day and you'll lose fat.Once you've mastered the basics and you've reached the advanced stage, THEN I have to admit, despite the potential pitfalls, low carb, high protein diets can help accelerate fat loss even more.
Almost every competitive bodybuilder I've ever met uses some variation of the reduced carb diet. Why? Because reducing carbs provides metabolic and hormonal advantages that high carb diets do not. They also eliminate water retention and give the muscles a hard, dry look.However, there's a right and a wrong way to do the low carb diet. Here are the 4 "advanced bodybuilder's secrets" to using a low carb diet successfully:
1) Don't cut out all your carbs, just reduce them to a moderate level so carbs and protein are balanced and carbs are not the predominant macronutrient. You don't have to cut carbs to next to nothing to get low carb diet benefits. 2) Don't eat a lot of carbs at night, but DO eat natural starches and grains early in the day and after your workouts 3) Don't stay on a reduced carb diet more than 12 to 16 weeks. Always go back to a more balanced diet because it's healthier and more maintainable. Cycle diets like everything else. 4) Take periodic "carb up" days, or "re-feed" days. This will prevent your metabolism from slowing down, keep your thryroid functioning optimally and maintain your energy levels.
RAISE YOUR LEAN PROTEIN AND HEALTHY FATS Conventional bodybuilding and fat reducing wisdom says you should eat one gram of protein per pound of body weight. This is good advice for someone just starting to establish good habits and a baseline nutrition plan. For a 172 pound man, that' s 172 grams a day, or approximately 30 grams per meal spread over five to six meals. However, reducing carbohydrates can give some metabolic and hormonal advantages for fat loss when it's done properly and not taken to an extreme. When you start to bring your carbs down, something has to go up or your calories would drop too low and you would be losing a primary energy source. That something is lean protein and healthy fats.
Although many mainstream low carb diets (such as Atkins) are actually high fat/very low carb diets, competitive bodybuilders usually keep the fats moderate (20-30% of total calories), while eating extremely large amounts of protein - sometimes as much as 40% or even 50%+ of their total calories. This appears to be an "obscene" amount of protein. However, high protein diets are one of the secr ets that bodybuilders use to get so ripped. Eating very high protein speeds up your metabolism due to the thermic effect of protein foods.
GET TOTAL CLARITY OF PURPOSE To get super-lean, you have to decide exactly what you want and zero in on it the way a guided missile locks onto its target. The Great Napoleon Hill called it "definiteness of purpose." Achievement expert Brian Tracy calls it "clarity." Most of us simply know it as having goals, but I like the terms "clarity" and "definiteness of purpose" better than goals. Vague goals can be your downfall.
"I want to gain muscle and lose fat." That's certainly a goal, but it's a poor goal because it lacks clarity. One of the biggest reasons people fail to move up to the advanced level is because they can't decide what they want. They become victims of "flip flop syndrome." Imagine a captain giving no commands and just allowing his ship to just float around rudderless, drifting wherever the currents take it. Or imagine the captain giving instructions to his crew like this: "go east; no, go west; no, go east; no, go west again."
Ridiculous right? But this is exactly what you're doing when you have no specific written goals at all, or when you want to gain muscle one day and lose fat the next (or do both at the same time).You have to make up your mind! "A made up mind attunes itself to tremendous extra power," wrote Napoleon Hill. You must choose a definite course, make a clear-cut, definite decision and follow through with action in one specific direction. There must be no doubt. If on one hand you want to get ripped, but on the other hand you’re worried about losing all your muscle, you will unconsciously sabotage yourself every time.
5 MEALS A DAY FOR WOMEN, SIX MEALS A DAY FOR MEN.... OR JUST FUGGETABOUTIT! Most fitness conscious people already understand the importance of meal frequency, but they figure they can "get by" with three "square" meals. Comparing three "squares" to six meals a day is like comparing a Porsche 911 Turbo to a Yugo. Yes, you can get some results with three well constructed meals, but you'll never get anywhere near your maximum potential (and it will take a lot longer).
The benefits of frequent eating include: a. Faster metabolic rate b. Higher energy levels c. Less storage of body fat due to smaller portions d. Reduced hunger and cravings e. Steadier blood sugar and insulin levels f. More calories usable for muscle growth g. Better absorption and utilization of nutrients
If you want to move up to the advanced level and get super-lean, you have to take advantage of every weapon in your fat burning arsenal. That means five or six small meals a day, or else, as Al Pacino would say, just fuggetaboutit!.
About The Author Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, freelance writer, success coach and author of the #1 best-selling e-book "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Olympian’s News (in Italian), Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom's inspiring and informative articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and motivation are featured regularly on dozens of websites worldwide.
For information on Tom's "Burn The Fat" e-book, click here. To subscribe to Tom's free monthly e-zine, visit the Fitness Renaissance website here: www.fitren.com/subscribe.cfm
