Ask Lyle McDonald #13

Subject: Zone Diet Question

Hi Lyle,
Okay, have a question for you.  I am a woman using the Zone diet to lose weight.   Supposedly I am supposed to eat 11 blocks of protein and the appropriate amount of fat and carbohydrates that go along with this.  As a block of carbohydrates is 9 grams, I am technically eating 99 grams of carbs a day if I stick to the diet, correct?   For the most part, I find that I am carb sensitive and do not eat as many blocks of carbs as I should to achieve my own personal Zone where I do not get brain foggy after a meal. So I can safely say that I am eating less than the 99 grams of carbs each day. Well, according to a post you made regarding ketogenic diets, Protein Power and Atkin’s when comparing them to CKDs like Body Opus, you said that anything less than 100 grams over the long haul would put someone in ketosis, right?

To one degree or another yes.  In research, any diet which is less than 100 grams will be considered ‘ketogenic’ to some degree.  Now, at 100 grams of carbs/day, I’d be surprised if someone was showing urinary ketones, but a blood test would probably show that the person was in ketosis (defined as a blood concentration of ketones of 0.2 mmol/dl or higher).

This is what I described in the above paragraph, so why does Sears say ketogenic diets are unsafe when he is advocating it himself for those who eat 11 blocks or less?

Ooh, I could go off no a rant and a half-here but I’ll try to restrain myself.  Basically, many diet authors (and exercise gurus, etc) fall into the following trap: to make people believe more in their given system (Zone, Atkins, whatever), they have to make it sound as if every other approach out there is a crock of shit.  So Atkins has to make anything non-ketogenic sound like a death-trap.   Sears has to make both keto diets and the food pyramid sound bad.  And the food pyramid folks have to slam the Zone and Atkins diets.

Basically, this is marketing bullshit, plain and simple.  It’s kind of like when some new product (say a new creatine comes out).  Not only do the marketing people have to tell you how wonderful it is, they have to spend a lot of time telling you why every other product on the market is total shit.

Quite amusingly, one list I’m on recently discussed Sears, and some of his comments about ketosis (most of which demonstrate a real ignorance of the physiology of ketosis, but I said I wouldn’t rant).  Someone commented that in private Sears acknowledges that ketogenic diets have their uses, it’s just in public that he shoots them down (again, marketing hype and nothing more).

What folks need to realize (maybe before I die but I’m not holding my breath) is that there is no single approach (dietary, exercise, supplement) that is ideal for everyone.   Many people do just fine on high-carb, low-fat diets, others do not. Many do wonderfully on the Zone, others do not.  Many do wonderfully on Atkins, others do not.

Basically, if you’re carb-sensitive, and you get your best results on a Zone-ish diet (I say Zone-ish because Sears would probably give you an earful about not hitting the ‘magical’ 30-40-30 ratios) with less than 100 grams of carbs, I wouldn’t worry about it too much.  Outside of some good general guidelines for nutritional stuff (i.e. get sufficient protein, don’t take calories too low, get a good source of EFA’s) there aren’t nearly the hard and fast rules that many want you to think their are.  Just too much biochemical individuality.

If ketosis is achieved according to weight or lean body mass, and you have thoroughly explained this in your new book, just say so and I’ll be glad to purchase the book to get an answer to my question.

It does seem bodyweight/mass would affect the development of ketosis, but I’ve never seen it approached that way in the studies.  Ultimately, the 100 grams/day value comes from what’s necessary to feed the brain under normal dietary conditions.  Under those conditions, the brain needs a little more than 100 grams of carbs per day to sustain itself.  If those carbs aren’t available, it will either:

a. have to break down a lot of body protein to produce glucose
b. have to switch over to ketones (only if they are available)

While brain size may scale to some degree with body size, I don’t know how much it would affect glucose requirements.

Subject: Protein Absorption and Ann de Wees Allen

First of all, kudos on the book. I have been an avid follower for some time, and bought my copy immediately. Very pleased.

Thanks, glad you liked it.

Now, to my question. You recently answered the question – “Is there a maximum amount of protein that is absorbed in one sitting?” – in your Mesomorphosis column (March 15, 1999) as follows:  “I’ve never found anything to suggest that this is the case. While there is probably a maximum rate that protein can be digested, it should all eventually get absorbed. If it didn’t, you’d be pooping big pieces of undigested protein, which just doesn’t happen.”

Ann de Wees Allen has stated that there is a 30 gram maximum within a two hour period regardless of body size, and that the remainder will be burned or stored as fat. What is her basis for this?

First off, let’s look at this logically. Considering that body organs tend to scale (somewhat) with body size, does it make any logical sense that 30 gram/2 hour would hold regardless of body size? It sure doesn’t to me. Basically, her statement implies that a 120 lb. woman has the same ability to assimilate protein as a 240 lb. man. Considering that this dictum surely doesn’t hold for any other system in the body, I don’t see why it should hold for protein. A larger individual has a larger stomach, GI tract, liver and vice versa.

Beyond that, let’s look at some math. Assume you have a 240 lb. individual who is consuming 1 gram protein/lb. (240 grams/day). According to Allen, he can only assimilate 30 grams/2 hours. So to get 240 grams/day would require 8 feedings, requiring 16 hours of the day. Assuming that person sleeps 8, when in the hell is he supposed to train (without throwing up)?

Ok, enough of that. What is her basis? I have no idea. I’ve seen this claim for quite some time (Colgan makes a similar comment) but nobody seems to have any references (someone sent me an email from Allen regarding this and she said to see Colgan’s book since it had references on this…..it didn’t). My hunch is that this is one of the wonderful bodybuilding myths that has perpetrated itself through the field for years, and is now accepted as fact (Will Brink would have harsher words about this as he’s currently offering a monetary reward to anyone who can show some research data to support the 30 g/meal idea).

My personal guess is that years ago bodybuilders decided that they wanted to eat 1 g/lb., and wanted to eat 6 times per day. Assuming an average bodybuilder was 180 lbs., that’s 180 g protein/day or 30 g/meal. Since there was no data to support either this high a protein intake OR eating that often, someone had to make up a rationale, and stated that ‘The body can only absorb 30 g/meal.’

Will’s idea is that the early supplement companies pushed this 30 g/meal concept since they only wanted to include 30 g of protein/serving to keep costs down.

Either way, I think this is one of those bodybuilding myths (like ‘milk makes you fat’) that has no data behind it and refuses to die.

Do you disagree with this basis? Why do you posit it would all be pooped out?

I should have been more clear in my earlier response. Ultimately we’ve got two different issues here as I’ve seen it claimed that:

a. The body can only digest 30 g protein/meal b. The body can only assimilate 30 g protein/meal

Issue ‘a’ would suggest that any protein over some 30 g limit goes undigested (meaning it would get pooped out which just doesn’t happen). Animal protein is digested with about 97% efficiency and we don’t see bodybuilders eating humongous protein intakes shitting it out.

Issue ‘b’ is ultimately what DeWees Allen is getting at. Basically, whether a given nutrient is oxidized off/stored as fat depends on how quickly it hits the liver (which is a function of digestion primarily). So if a ton of amino acids (the breakdown product of protein) hit the liver all at once, many of them will be burned off for energy (this has to do with enzyme kinetics). If you look at the first part of my protein article, this comes up in the study comparing casein and whey protein. With whey (the ‘fast’ protein) there was greater leucine oxidation, presumably because the AA’s hit the liver more quickly than in the casein trial, and had to be burned off.

Thing is, whole food proteins take so long to digest (3+ hours) that this is probably only an issue for individuals who eat nothing but pre-digested protein powders. One paper I have mentions an average release of AAs through the intestine as 6 g/hour or so. So even if you at 100 grams of animal protein at one sitting, it’s only getting released to the liver at 6 g/hour (which I assume represents transporter kinetics) which means that oxidation should be the same for 30 or 300 grams of protein. The 300 gram intake will simply take longer to completely digest.

This topic has been on my mind for some time.

Mine too. If anyone has any references on this issue, please send them my way.

Subject: Body composition confusion

Lyle, Thank you for the wonderful info I have gotten by reading your responses to questions on this site. I thought this question was best addressed to you since you are very familiar with checking bodyfat. Based on the formula that you have on the page,only fat measurement under the skin is taken into account,without any regard to lean body mass. This means that two people that are the same age and have the same measurement in millimeters of fat have the same bodyfat percentage. This seems ridiculous,since one of the people could have a completely different lean mass weight,therefore giving a totally different percentage. This explains why a very massive person at ten percent bodyfat looks much softer than a smaller person at the same percentage. I have even heard Dan Duchaine make this statement on a couple of occasions.

By definition, Percentage of bodyfat = (lbs. of fat/total bodyweight) * 100

So if someone has 20 lbs. of fat at 200 lbs. total bodyweight (180 lbs. of lean body mass), they have 10% bodyfat. So you ask, how can someone who is only 180 lb. and 10% bodyfat have the same skinfold percentage? Because the 180 lb. person at 10% bodyfat has 18 lbs. of bodyfat (162 lbs. of lean body mass). Basically, a lighter individual with the same percentage of bodyfat, will have proportionally lower amounts of lean body mass and total body mass.

Subject: Localized bodyfat

I don’t get it—- I surf, I swim, I do everything, I ride 20 foot waves in the middle of January out at the end of Long Island (Montauk Point). I have survived one minute hold downs in the middle of winter while surfing, I skateboard a mile a day. In April I went from 170 to 153 on Atkins, reduced a lot of visible fat. Now I’m just trying to lose that additional flab around my stomach. Yet my father has the same body structure I have, pushups have increased my shoulders and chest romantically, but I cant lose that flab. Is it possible I’m stuck with it???

Welcome to the wild world of being a man (as well as the joy of genetics). Chances are you have the same rough bodyfat patterns that your father has. As well, it sounds that he (and you) both have ‘typical’ male bodyfat patters (which means most of it accumulates around your midsection with less on chest or legs). FWIW, I’m in the same boat. I can gauge changes in my bodyfat levels with two skinfolds (abs and iliac crest) because my thigh skinfold hasn’t changed in years (always about 4-5 mm).

Now, you didn’t mention what your bodyfat was to begin with, or where it ended in dropping from 170 to 153. For most men, abdominal bodyfat is the last to be lost (and the first to be gained back) and most men won’t show visible abdominal until they get to sub 10% (I don’t have abs even at 8% bodyfat). So basically it’s just gonna take time and persistence (or liposuction, ha ha).

Also I am on a low carb diet now but at college, its very hard to sustain. I feel like shit always watching what I eat, is it possible if I went on a moderate (55g) carb diet, what should my dietary fat intake be to burn off my fat, or would I just gain weight?

Ultimately weight loss or weight gain comes down to caloric intake. Considering your very high activity levels, you can probably handle far more calories than someone who sits in front of their computer all day. I usually use 15 cal/lb. as an estimated maintenance level for calories (at 153 lbs., that’d be 2295 calories but you may need more considering your activity levels). So to lose fat (or not gain), you need to be at or slightly below this level.

Will I prevent myself from gaining weight if I just eat under 2000 calories a day?

I would expect this to be the case.

Also what Supplements do you recommend? there seems to be 40,0000,000000000 different ones out there, I’ve tried many without success- what’s good to lose some extra bodyfat? Thermogenics? ECA?

Thermogenics can definitely be helpful. As well, a few men have reported better loss of stubborn (read: abdominal) bodyfat by using yohimbe (and caffeine) in the morning before doing some aerobics. You should go read Elzi Volk’s Yohimbe articles for more details. Beyond that I am a big believer in ECA, and regularly use it while dieting. As far as other supplements, I’ve seen one or two positive comments about the new Metabolic Thyrolean stuff (though I still want to read the study they did). A good protein powder will never hurt, or a basic multi-vitamin. That’s basically all I use myself.

Subject: Healing slowed metabolism

Hello Lyle ! I have read some of the archives very informative thank you for them ! I have done the Atkins diet for 26 days and made the mistake of eating too little calories. My metabolism slowed down and I had some muscle and strength loss . I have decided to switch to cyclic ketogenic diet to preserve my muscle and to have a break once in a while from hi fat hi protein foods . My question (finally) is can I start the diet right away or must I increase my metabolism first ? how can I increase it efficiently ?

Ultimately, increasing a damaged metabolic rate simply takes some time, although nobody is quite sure how long it takes. My usual suggestion is 1-2 weeks off your diet (meaning maintenance calories and normal carb intake) every 4-6 weeks or so as that is usually sufficient to correct any major metabolic problems. Of course, if someone had been on starvation level calories for a very long-time it might take longer. Since you’ve only been on a too-low-cal diet for 26 days, I’d think that 1-2 weeks of gradually increasing calories should be more than enough. You can start by adding 100 calories/day for a few days, than a 100 calories/day more, etc until you get up to your rough maintenance level (14-15 cal/lb. is usually about right for women). Good luck.

Subject: What to eat on CKD

After finishing my second week and a CKD with fairly good results I just have to ask you for some additional guidance.Just the thought of a few more weeks of steaks, bacon, pork chops,etc. makes my HDL level go up. I use a whey-MCT drink to try and fill in the fat intake requirements but if there was any way you could write or steer me towards a sample diet, i.e. For breakfast have x amount of this, and at the same time suggest other than all animal based food. All your info to date has been top quality and I look forward to each issue of the e-mag

Unfortunately, I’m really the wrong person to answer these types of questions. I have the ability to eat the same 4-5 meals every day for months on end without getting bored, so I tend not to think much about diet planning. I think your best bet is to pick up one of the many lowcarb cookbooks for meal ideas.

I will say that on a keto/CKD, it’s generally difficult to avoid lots of animal based foods, simply because non-animal based foods tend to have a lot of carbs in them.

Subject: Abdominal Fat/C-Section

Hi Lyle, Enjoyed reading your Bodyopus experiences online and your column in Mesomorphosis. My question is rather specific. I am a 45 year old woman who has been following a Zone diet for a year. I have had good results. I fluctuate between 120-125 lbs. and have 20% body fat. I am 5′ 2″. My problem is related to a C-section that I had over 17 years ago. The operation left me with a pouch of fat that seems to be the first place fat sticks to anytime I gain weight. Yes, it shrunk a bit as I lost weight on the Zone, but it is nowhere as flat as I would like it to be. As it hangs off my abdomen, it makes wearing jeans, etc. very uncomfortable. I am fairly active, I rollerblade an hour a day and lift weights on 3 days a la Dan Duchaine’s suggestions in Body Opus. I do not have a problem with my thighs or my butt. Any suggestions short of surgery? I am beginning to think that this (surgery) is really my only option as I have actively tried to rid myself of this albatross for 17 years with little or no success.

I can’t imagine any specific reason that a C-section (which involves cutting open the abdominal wall during childbirth, for those who don’t watch ER enough) would affect bodyfat levels. While I have no doubt that you’ll have a real problem toning up the muscles (since they were physically cut and probably won’t heal completely), I don’t see why this would affect bodyfat levels.

More likely, this bodyfat pattern is probably related to changing hormone levels (both after the pregnancy as well as with increasing age). Unless you’re on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), you’re hormonal profile is gradually becoming more male-like (meaning a higher ratio of testosterone/estrogen).

Back when I was personal training, I trained many older women. I noticed that while some maintained a typical ‘female’ bodyfat pattern (fat primarily on lower body), many developed a very ‘male’ bodyfat pattern (fat primarily on abdominals). When I thought to ask, the general pattern was that those women who were put on HRT prior to menopause maintained normal female bodyfat patterns. Those who had gone off of estrogen (for any period of time) typically developed very male bodyfat patterns (that strangely didn’t go away when HRT was introduced). My mom is in this category, after menopause, she started carrying a lot of fat on her abdomen, but not so much on her legs anymore.

So my suggestion is twofold.

1. Firstly, I would highly recommend you pick up the book “Awesome Abs” by Paul Chek. Despite the cheesy name, it’s got some excellent drills (many aimed at postural type stuff) that I successfully used with women who had poochy ‘lower abs’. With little to no change in bodyfat, decreases in waist size of 1″ in a month were not uncommon, simply from re-teaching the ‘lower abs’ to maintain proper posture. It’s only $9.95 but worth every penny.

2. Try the increasingly more recommended yohimbe before morning cardio approach. This seems to help with stubborn bodyfat levels. While I can’t say for sure that it will help with your specific problem, it’s probably worth a try. I’d recommend you read Elzi Volk’s articles on yohimbe for more info/side effect/contraindication info.

Good luck!

Subject: Low Carb Diets and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs)

Lyle, I have been diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). To help correct it I was put on Luvox, which stops the re-uptake of serotonin in the brain. Does a low carb diet lower serotonin levels? I am tapering off the pills and I am concerned that a very low carb diet would interfere.

While I haven’t seen any specific data, I’m gonna speculate (and give my reason for this speculation) that it does tend to lower serotonin levels.

First and foremost is the observation (by most people) that their level of arousal (or in my case, generally pissed-offedness) goes up. While this isn’t automatically related to serotonin (there are known increases in levels of the catecholamines on lowcarb diets), in that serotonin tends to be relaxing there might be some affect.

Beyond that, we can examine some of the biochem behind serotonin production. Serotonin is ultimately produced from the amino acid tryptophan (which is why folks used it for so long as a sleep-aid). This requires that serotonin cross the blood-brain barrier. Normally, there is competition between tryptophan and other large neutral amino acids (LNAA’s) which means that there is less tryptophan transported across and less serotonin produced.

Now, when insulin is released (from dietary carbohydrates), the LNAA’s are pushed out of the bloodstream, but tryptophan isn’t. This means that the ratio of Tryp/LNAA goes up, more tryptophan crosses the blood brain barrier, and more serotonin is produced.

Now, since insulin is (and stays) low on a low carb diet, this would suggest that overall serotonin production should be decreased. Whew!

Subject: Carbing Up and Ketogenic Diets

Lyle, I just found you guys. Great article on “Carbing Up on the Ketogenic Diet” but I have questions. I read and applied DiPasquale’s and Duchaine’s diet. Loading on Duchane’s was insanity. The diet kind of worked for me but I did something wrong that you mention shouldn’t be done in your article. I am powerlifter. I would like to cut some fat. I am around 15-18% (more like 18%) at 196. My performance goes up as my weight, bodyfat level does. I put fat on in the waist, as most males. The thicker my waist, the more solid I feel and do in the squat and to some extent the deadlift. Doing the AD/BO…as you noted and I found out…was a strength killer…no energy for the weight, until you carb load. DiPasquale and Duchaine differ on this…MCTs. Do you think I could do the MCTs to enhance energy levels for workouts. I use the Ephedrine/Caffeine/Aspirin (ECA) combination prior to workouts now. What would your read on doing MCTs prior to workout be? Could I increase make my workouts more effective and continue to lose fat?

All I can really say is maybe. On the one hand, MCT’s become available for energy much more quickly than do regular long-chain fats. On the other, weight training shouldn’t be using any fats for fuel in the first place (except during the rest period). Still, it might be worth mixing up one of DiPasquale Kool-Aid/MCT shakes to see if anything happens. If it doesn’t work, I’d suggest you try a totally different approach, something we call the Targeted Ketogenic Diet (TKD). As you know, with the CKD, you alternate periods of low-carbs with periods of high-carbs. Unfortunately, this means that you only really have lots of energy for high-intensity stuff for maybe 1-2 days. For bodybuilding, this isn’t a huge deal since, strictly speaking, bodybuilding isn’t a performance oriented sport. For powerlifting, you run into problems.

Ok, with the TKD, you only consume carbs right around your workouts (this means no weekend carb-load which takes some of the fun out of the diet). This provides a few benefits:

a. raises blood glucose to help with high-intensity training (this has to do with something called central drive, which represents how well the brain sends signals to the muscle, which may be impaired on a lowcarb diet) b. you get glycogen resynthesis following training to keep you stocked up for your next workout c. you still maintain ketosis while you’re not training (since carbs around workouts go preferentially to muscle glycogen, instead of the liver)

So this approach might give you the best of all worlds: sustained training intensity with maintained ketosis when you’re not training.

The usual place to start is with 25-50 grams of carbs taken before workout. Depending on your size and training volume, you may need more than this. If you have to take in 100 grams of carbs or more, you may wish to split them up 1/2 about 30-60 prior to training, and the rest immediately after the workout. As well, putting some protein in both of these drinks may help to prevent unnecessary protein breakdown.

Choice of carb isn’t critical for pre-workout carbs, since any carbs stored as liver glycogen will just end up getting dumped during the workout. After training, you will want to avoid fructose (and sucrose ideally) to avoid refilling liver glycogen.

If even that doesn’t work, you may wish to try a moderate carb diet (such as the Zone) instead of the CKD for fat loss.

One more note for you, I have been using Louie Simmons program. It has really jump started my lifts. Tying chains to the bar has been a great way to overload through the full range of motion.

While I”d love to play with some of Simmons ideas. I train at a distinctly non-hardcore gym. I’m surprised they aren’t yelling at us for using chalk. Dragging in chains would freak them out (might be worth it <g>).

Subject: Alcohol and Muscle Gains

Dear Lyle, You’re the best man, that’s why I have so many questions for you: 1)Can you tell me what are the effects of alcohol in muscle gains? Just a couple of beers in the weekends can mess up your gains? And what’s the relation between alcohol and androgen levels?

Well, once again I had to farm this question out to my resident endocrinology/enzyme expert, Elzi Volk. I was expecting maybe a few sentences, but got one of her trademark book-length answers. Take it away Elzi:

Elzi Volk: “There are many studies that document the effects of alcohol on hormones and fuel metabolism (many of the latter we have discussed on the lowcarb list). The acute effects of alcoholic beverages will depend greatly on the alcohol content and metabolic state of the individual (i.e. fed or fasted). However, according to some references, even acute ingestion (versus chronic) will cause metabolic and hormonal changes (as Jack posted last week; he’s the man with all the references since his specialty is alcohol addiction).

Ethanol acts directly on cell membranes and on intracellular metabolism, but also has indirect effects. Many of the well-known effects are as a diuretic and suppression of testosterone. As well, serum cortisol levels increase significantly with high blood alcohol levels (100 mg/ml). Lesser amounts of alcohol usually do not cause a significant increase in cortisol levels, although timing may be an important factor. As well, fasting conditions may potentiate cortisol level increases.

Alcoholic men experience hypogonadism due to suppressed testosterone production from the testicles. Even short-term acute administration of alcohol decreases LH binding to receptors in the testicles. Long-term exposure decreases the number of these receptors. Alcohol also decreases testosterone synthesis by affecting several enzymes. This may change the pharmacodynamics of prohormones that a male athlete may be taking while drinking alcohol. Considering that EtOH induces some of the cP450 enzymes responsible for metabolizing xenobiotics, even one or two alcoholic drinks will change metabolization of oral prohormones.

Men exposed to chronic alcohol administration also experience feminization, but the mechanisms for this is less clear. Possibly due to decreased hepatic clearance of estrogen and/or increases in peripheral conversion of adrenal androgens to estrogens.

How much alcohol will affect androgen levels will probably depend on several factors: net amount of EtOH, individual absorption and metabolization (AlDHD and other enzymes), fasting/fed state, etc. In all probability, a few drinks, especially on top of a meal, will not affect muscle gains. If you are glycogen depleted, as on a ketogenic diet, they may increase catabolism of muscle tissue. If you are taking the prohormones at the same time, even a few drinks will probably change metabolism of these substances. Unless you drink to get roaring drunk, you should be fine.

Recommendation: buy one or two drinks and nurse them as long as you can. Try a straw :)”

Subject: Tom Platz Serious Growth Workouts

What you think about Tom Platz (Serious Growth 3) Workouts(level 1,2 and 3 training)?

People seem to fall into one of two categories with the workout: they either do great, or it overtrains the hell out of them. I personally think there are some problems with trying to apply Bulgarian weightlifting principles to bodybuilding. The main one is that weightlifting doesn’t’ cause nearly the muscle damage (from eccentric trauma) that bodybuilding training does (because the weight is usually dropped after being lifted). This means that recovery from Olympic movements should be somewhat faster than after traditional bodybuilding movements.

And what about that “Gain 4 pounds of muscle in 10 days” thing: (hyper phase)High Protein and Low carbs(40g) for 5 days and them protein starvation next day (fruits only), them the (Critical Mass) – high protein/high carbs/medium fat and 7,000 calories a day for 10 days working out 5 (30 minutes) sessions a day. Is it crazy or there’s any logical fundaments behind that?

The basic idea is the same as the current protein cycling fad which keeps coming and going (see Tjorborn Akerfeldt’s ABCDE plan, as well as Dr. Marcus Jones’ protein cycling ideas over on test.net). The basic idea is that, by starving the body of protein, protein storing enzymes will upregulate so that, when protein is finally eaten again, it will be stored at a higher than normal rate. While it’s true that enzymes downregulate, it’s also true that a considerable amount of stored body protein (think: liver proteins and muscle mass) will be lost during the low-protein phase, while the body adapts. The lost protein has to be resynthesized before any extra is gained. I have a feeling that any gains from such a strategy will be small, because enzymes will upregulate back to normal levels by the time you’ve resynthesized all the protein you lost.

Subject: Bruce Lee’s body fat

So, You were also a martial artist in high school? Me too, I study Jun Fan Jeet Kune Do. Bruce Lee’s ideas taken hold into martial arts really, no style as style-therefore no limitation as limitation.

Oh yeah!?! <deep Asian voice>

Well, you’re kung-fu is not good enough to defeat me! Heh, heh, heh.

Sorry, bad kung-fu movie flashback.

Well anyways, I didn’t write this to argue over which style is best(I think all styles confine,and therefore must be done away with) I just wanted to say, I got your book, and plan to go CKD’n it this summer. I’m on The Zone plan right now for maintenance and bulking.  My question is Lyle, –I’m guessing you’ve seen Enter The Dragon. In that movie, Bruce Lee reached the absolute leanest, most muscular shape in his life. He was more ripped that Dorian Yates from what I see. And the thing is, Bruce let his wife cook all his meals. he didn’t cook, or have the time to study nutrition, so he just sorta used the common knowledge back then(1973) to eat a so called healthy diet. Apparently it worked for him.

Unfortunately, one has to wonder if is extreme leanness, which he maintained for long-periods of time, was tied into his unfortunately demise. One account I read suggested that the stayed pretty dehydrated most of the time, due to his hectic schedule on the movie. You have to wonder (although it’s more interesting to think that he got his heart ripped out in a death match).

yet when you look at the photos of him in the early 60s,before he started lifting, his stomach was like homer Simpson’s. I know weightlifting alone can’t reduce fat.

Actually that’s not strictly speaking true. Many individuals can couple weight training with a small-moderate caloric deficit and lose fat quite well, without any cardio activity involved. Not everybody mind you, but many can do it quite well. when you get right down to brass tacks, fat loss is caused by a deficit between how many calories your body needs (determined by metabolic rate and activity) and how many you consume.

It’s probably safe to assume that Lee burnt a tremendous amount of calories in his martial arts training (he also did weights to improve his martial arts and I seem to recall that he ran on top of all of that). He was known (according to the accounts I have read) of training incredibly intensely, and pushing himself beyond all reasonable limits (which as I mentioned above, may have been part of his untimely death. Of course, I have a couple of Bruce Lee Conspiracy Theories but I’ll spare the readers of Mesomorphosis). But, assuming his diet was relatively unrefined, he probably created a huge caloric deficit and burnt a lot of fat.

Do you think some are just born with an ability to see amazing results in muscle gain and fat loss?, or would this kind of drastic change more likely involve some secret ketogenic dieting?

I doubt there was any (sorry for this one) ‘Ancient Chinese Secret’ (TM) to his results. Bruce coupled super intense workouts with what I can only assume was basic, wholesome nutrition. I’m quite sure he also had some pretty amazing genetics to go along with it. That’s a winning combination without any secrets.

-By the way, the book is very cool. It’s a little complicated so far, but I’m putting it all together.

Glad you liked it.

Subject: Hardgainers and size??

Hi, I consider myself a hardgainer! I’m 23, 6’1″, and weigh 180 lbs. What do suggest for some quality size?

Food and squats. Not necessarily in that order. Here’s a simple rule that people should take to heart: if you’re diet and training is not making you grow to begin with, no supplement (with the possible exception of steroids) is going to change that. The best supplement *might* add 5% to the gains you’re getting right now. But 5% of zero is still zero.

I’m on creatine, and have tried various testosterone boosters including androstenedione and androstenediol and I did make some gains. My workouts are the basic movements in the 4-6 rep range for about 3 sets. Unfortunately with my busy work schedule, I find it difficult to have 5-6 meals a day. I’m almost tempted to give weight gainers a shot – I’m desperate!!! HELP!

Well, you didn’t give me a lot of information about your current training or diet. If you’re a real hardgainer, I’d suggest no more than 3 workouts/week. I’m currently growing quite well training twice per week for about an hour per workout (don’t believe anyone who tells you that it’s impossible to grow with that little work). Assuming you have a high metabolic rate you may need a lot of calories to put on weight. Start at 18 cal/lb. and work from there. Your goal is to find a caloric intake that puts a slight amount of bodyfat on you over a 1-2 week period. That should be more than sufficient to support muscle mass gains.

If your schedule won’t allow you to eat 5-6 meals/day, a weight gainer is a possibility. But you can mix your own weight gainer that’s cheaper, more nutritious and cheaper. Personally I drink a lot of milk (approximately 1 gal/day), and use it as a base for weight-gain drinks. I’ll take 12 oz of 1% milk (about 200 calories), throw in cup of yogurt (120 calories), a half-scoop of protein powder (30 calories), a banana (100 calories), a tbsp. of peanut butter (100 calories) and some carbo powder (like Ultra Fuel) if I need more calories. That’s got 30+ gram of protein, some good carbs, lots of calories, and some healthy fats (flax oil could work in place of the peanut butter, if you can stand the taste). Nonfat milk powder is an easy addition to weight-gain drinks too, adds goodly amounts of calories and protein. Since I can’t digest it (lactose intolerant), I use lactose-free protein powder instead.

So you might try 3 full meals (breakfast, lunch,dinner) and 2-3 liquid meals on top of that to get your caloric intake up where it needs to be. Of course, you should follow your workout with some carbs and protein too.

As far as training, while I don’t know your specifics, here’s my current workout:

Monday: High-bar squat: warmups, 2X5 Stiff legged deadlift: 1X5 Bench press: warm-ups, 2X5 Pulldown: warm-ups, 2X5 Calf raise: warm-ups, 2X5

Friday: Bent-legged deadlift: warm-ups, 2X5 Shoulder press: warm-ups, 2X5 Barbell curl: warm-ups, 2X5 Shrug with hold: 1X10 then hold bar until it falls from my hands. This is a combination trap/grip exercise.

Note: not everybody is suited to low-rep training, and many hardgainers seem to grow better with higher rep sets.

Note that this workout isn’t set in stone, it’s just what I’m currently using (with very good results). I started with weights that were comfortable for the first 4-6 weeks, before it started getting challenging. Now my goal is to add a little bit of weight to the bar each week. I currently add 2.5 lbs. to squats, DL, SLDL, bench and pulldown, and only 1 lb./week to shoulder presses and curls. Of course, this necessitates that you get some small weights. Another option is to use a double progressive system (i.e. do sets of 6-8 reps). When you can get 2 sets of 8, add weight to the bar and stay with it until you build up to both sets (in perfect form of course) again.

My goal is to add weight to the bar consistently for the next 3-5 months (already been doing so for the past 3 months).

That’s basically the secret to mass gains: consistent, progressive work on a handful of compound exercises coupled with a nutritional, high-calorie/high protein diet. Once you’ve got that dialed in, then you can start experimenting with supplements. Until you get that dialed in, no supplement will make an ounce of difference.