These days, the carbohydrate issue seems to be the burning question
on the minds of nearly everyone who is interested in getting leaner.
Not a single week goes by that I don’t receive an e-mail
with a question about the low carb/high protein diet. Last week
I got this one:
Dear
Tom,
Are you a
proponent of the low-carb diet for bodybuilders? Although this
is hotly debated, I don't know many "ripped" bodybuilders
that have not tried such a diet. Thanks.
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.
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.
Recommended
Reading - " Burn The Fat " By Tom Venuto
