It’s no wonder why there's such a buzz about these
diets: everywhere you look lately there are low carb bars,
low carb drinks, low carb meal replacements, low carb frozen
dinners and so on. In the bookstores, The Atkins diet, Protein
Power and Sugar-Busters have all been best sellers.
Even though there has been a huge resurgence in the interest
in low carb/high protein diets, the low carb vs. high carb
issue is still the subject of much controversy. For every
"low carb guru" who says that low carbs are the
ultimate diet, there is a "high carb guru" with
the opposite opinion. This has caused a lot of people a
lot of confusion.
So what’s the deal? Is the low carb/high protein
diet the best way for bodybuilders to get ripped or just
another fad? From a bodybuilding standpoint, the answer
is an unequivocal yes; reducing carbohydrates really works!
Most bodybuilders can't get that "ripped" look
without some degree of carb restriction. Almost every bodybuilder
or fitness competitor I’ve ever met uses some version
of the low carb diet when getting ready for competition.
The problem is, most people fail to take into account their
goals and their unique body type, so they follow the advice
of the latest "low-carb guru" and take the carb
restriction too far. Zero carb or close to zero carb diets
are in my opinion, TOTAL INSANITY! The other extreme; the high carb, very low fat diet, isn’t
the best approach for bodybuilders either. These diets (60-70%
carb, 20-30% protein and 10% or less fat) were trendy with
bodybuilders for a while, especially back in the 80’s
and early 90’s (Remember Nathan Pritkin, Dean Ornish
and Robert Haas?), but their popularity quickly faded. Those
who tried it discovered that it wasn’t nearly as effective
as the low to moderate carb, high protein diet.
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Why does dropping your carbs help you lose more fat? There
are several reasons, but to avoid getting into a complicated
discussion of nutritional biochemistry, let’s just
say that eating less carbs forces your body to burn fat
for fuel instead of sugar. Reducing carbs and increasing
protein accelerates fat loss by controlling your insulin
and blood sugar more effectively. The high protein in these
diets also speeds up your metabolism because of the "thermic
effect" of protein food. It also helps eliminate water
retention, giving you the "hard" and "dry"
look you need onstage to win contests.
In my opinion, a moderate carb diet, with slight carb
restriction (especially at night) is the most effective
(and most "sane") way for bodybuilders to get
ripped. For example, my contest diet is about 175 -200 grams
of carbs with most of the carbs eaten early in the day.
Every 4th day, I have a high carb day (350 grams) to replenish
my depleted glycogen stores. By contrast, my off-season
diet is 350 - 450 grams of carbs. With 175 - 200 grams of
carbs, that is just enough fuel to provide the energy I
needed to train hard and to prevent me from losing muscle.
Would dropping carbs even further to 30 or 50 grams a day
(like many fad diets recommend) get you more ripped or get
you ripped faster? Maybe. But the problem is, without carbs,
you’ll have no energy to train hard. Sure, tuna fish
and water will get you ripped alright, but if your workouts
suffer because your diet is "killing you," you
aren’t going to look or feel your best.
Another big problem caused by very low carb diets is loss
of lean body mass. The lower you drop your carbs, the more
likely you are to lose muscle along with the fat.
A third problem with very low carb diets is the rebound
effect. The lower you drop your carbs, the faster you will
rebound and gain the fat back when you add the carbs back
in. I swear I’ve seen guys blow up 30-40 lbs in a
matter of DAYS after their contest because they went on
a carbohydrate and fat binge after a four-month zero carb
diet. It wasn’t a pretty sight!
When I experimented with a very low carb diet, (about 40-70
grams a day), I lost huge amounts of lean body mass and
looked very "flat" and "stringy." I
was also one irritable, grouchy SOB. My friends nicknamed
me "fog boy" because (sez them) I stumbled around
in a fog-like daze. One friend who hadn't seen me since
the previous year when I was a "bulked up" and
carbed up 208 lbs, saw me 48 lbs lighter after the low carb
diet (yes, 160 scrawny pounds) and he said, "holy sh**
Tom, what happened to you? You're HALF the man you were
last year!" That was the last time I ever tried an
extremely low carb diet.
Nutrition is a highly individual issue. Some people can’t
seem to lose weight unless they reduce their carbohydrate
intake. Other people can eat bagels and pasta all day long
and they have six pack abs. How many carbs you eat therefore,
depends on your body type. Are you an endormorph or an ectomorph?
Do you have a fast metabolism or a slow metabolism? Are
you naturally lean or naturally heavy? Depending on your
genetics, you might thrive on high carbs or you might need
a high protein, low carb diet to get results. But beware:
even if you think you are the carb sensitive, slow-metabolism
type, the middle path (moderate carb restiction) is the
most sensible way to go.
The only way to determine how many grams of carbs is right
for YOU is to experiment until you find your "critical
level." If you start dropping body fat rapidly at 200
grams a day, then why on earth would you subject yourself
to the torture of going even lower and doing one of those
30-40 grams a day "ketogenic" diets? Why kill
yourself?
Remember, there is no single diet that works for everyone.
There are certain universal nutritional laws that apply
to everyone, but be very careful of "gurus" who
use the words "always" and "never" or
who make sweeping statements like "carbohydrates make
you fat."
If you want to get ripped, you should also pick the type
of carbs you eat carefully - it’s not just the quantity,
it’s the quality. In addition to moderating total
daily carb intake, I also recommend getting off ALL processed
carbs including bread, crackers, pretzels, pasta, bagels
and switching only to natural, unprocessed carbs like vegetables,
oatmeal, yams, rice, potatoes, etc. That single change will
go a long way in helping you get leaner (and healthier too!)
The bottom line is that it’s not correct to say,
"carbs are fattening," but there IS some truth
to the assertion that a low carb diet will get you leaner
compared to a high carb diet – you just have to approach
it in a sensible and individualized way. As in most areas
of your life, going to the extreme with your diet will usually
do you more harm than good.
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Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
About the Author
Tom Venuto is an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified
strength and conditioning specialist, lifetime natural bodybuilder,
and author of the #1 best-selling e-book "Burn the
Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM). 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. For information on Tom's "Burn
The Fa Feed the Musclet" e-book, click
here.
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