Determining carb sensitivity: why high protein/low carb should NOT 1st choi
Hi all, time to write another blog
Now i must admit, part of the reason why i have not been blogging as of late is that i have been partying like a rockstar! haha! Yes, i admit it! Life is too short not to have fun in my opinion. still eating super, super clean but the weekends are my time to party! Life is too short not to and as i have mentioned before my physique is not the be all and end all for me 
Now, the topic of todays blog relates to carb sensitivity. High protein diets have without doubt, gone mainstream. Hell, there are a lot of people using them in some form or another. As i have mentioned in the previous blog "cardio phobia and high protein madness", in my opinion they are WAY overdone! Some folk are using diets that are 70-80% protein year round!! I could think of nothing worse! I think of lot of this goes with the "go with the crowd mentality" too, people see everyone else using them and think that they must rather then testing the waters with a more balanced diet first.
Let me tell you something a hell of a lot of people on this site may not even be aware of: You CAN build a lean, hard body without a high protein low carb diet! Now i admit, to get SUPER ripped, i use one for competition purposes. But the bulk of the time i use a diet that is high in carbohydrate, moderate in protein and low in fat and am building muscle and keeping lean without much problem
A high carb diet should be everyones first point of call in my opinion. The reason: to determine carb sensitivity.
Now carb sensitivity if you will basically relates to tolerance of carbohydrate. Your muscles have a saturation point or threshold for stored glycogen: after that point is reached, unless there is sufficient activity, the glycogen excess will be stored as body fat. The problem with high protein, low carb diets is that they asssume everyone is carb sensitive: not true! In fact, the vast majority of people will be able to consume a large ammount of carbs when resistance training without putting on body fat.
By starting with a diet high in carbohyrdrate, you are able to determine how many carbs you can consume without gaining much fat. For example, right now i am consuming nearly 400gms of carbs per day. That is a lot of carbs! but i know that is how much i am able to handle. I personally know of ectomorphic bodybuilders who eat around 600gms of carbs per day in the off season! Most people on this site are probably choking reading this, but, they stay lean. And that is my point, determining carb sensitive FIRST gives you a point you are able to come back to in the off season. Also, remember as your lean mass increases, your capacity to consume greater quantities of carbs will also increase.
The other problem, i have with high protein/low carb diets is what i call metabolic adapation: You see, when you go for prolongued periods eating low in carbohydrate your body becomes lazy and inefficient at process carbohydrates. The result? A reintroduction of carbs results in large increases in bodyfat levels, and people WRONGLY assume they are therefore carb sensitiive.
No, you are not carb sensitive, rather, you have become metabolically inefficient at processing carbs!!
A classic example of this is a friend of mine: He had been eating a high protein low carb diet for approximately 25 weeks. He then went on holidays for 2 weeks to italy and as such was eating food high in carbs. the result? he gained 10kgs (22 pounds) in two weeks!!! He is not alone, i have seen bodybuilders blow up massively in a matter of days after a contest due to chronic high protein, low carb dieting!
Myself, i use a high protein, low carb diet for competition purposes and then move back to a diet high in carbs for maintence and growth. All transitions on and off a high protein/low carb diet must be carefully planned and monitored. Unless you plan on never eating another carb again for the rest of your life, high protein, low carb diets are not viable long term solutions in my opinion
The other thing, high protein low carb diets are not really balance in my opinion. I mean, in my pre contest diet there was no fruit or dairy, and that is no fun. Remember, dairy and fruit are health foods, and should never be forsaken permanently for want of a lean physique.
There are some classic bodybuilders who NEVER went high protein, low carb either. Mike Metzner is a classic example, he typically used a diet that was 60% carb, 25% protein and 50% fat.
Clarence bass (who is still ripped to this day and has been recorded on numerous occasions at 2.4% body fat) started off using a high protein low carb diet but found he lost muscle mass. He switched to using a balanced diet and was able to get leaner, faster whilst holding more muscle!
The point i am trying to make here is start with a balanced diet first. Work out how many calories you need each day and then create a calorie deficit with diet, cardio or both. This WILL get you leaner and harder. High protein, low carb diets should only been used for breaking a plateua or competition purposes, then you can move back to a balanced diet for growth and maintence whilst stay lean. Determining how many carbs you are able to handle is valuable information, and will give you a point you are able to refer to at later periods. And, to reiterate what i said eariler:
IF YOU HAVE GAINED A LOT OF BODYFAT AFTER REINTRODUCING CARBS AFTER PROLONGUED LOW CARB DIETING YOU ARE NOT CARB SENSITIVE, RATHER INEFFICIENT AT PROCESSING CARBOHYDRATE!
Started with a balanced diet first and go from there accordingly
Yours sincerly
The good doctor
October 24, 2008 at 5:49 pm
nice write-up
December 25, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Hey man I completely agree with you on this post. I know from first hand experience that carb intake varies depending on how your body reacts to them. At one point I tried the lo-carb thing and found I lost A TON of fat, but also muscle WHILE TRYING TO GAIN muscle. I now have been eating around 400 carbs and am still lean and might even up the intake for more mass.