I have been following the massive eating plan for a couple of weeks now, and have been having a protein/carb meal as my first meal of the day…my question is, would changing this meal to a protein/fat meal be a bad idea? I sort of just assumed that since it is my first meal after fasting for 8 or so hours, I would probably want to get some carbs in since I was in a catabolic state (much like post-workout). Any advice about changing breakfast to a protein/fat meal would be appreciated.
In another thread Chris Shuggart mentioned that John Berardi had said at breakfast your body is more primed for the entire range of macronutrients and is more forgiving regarding the meal combinations. It makes sense given 8 hours or more without food. Consequently, I’ve changed my typical P+C oatmeal and protein powder breakfast to a more isocaloric one, by adding a tablespoon of peanut butter. Whether this is ideal or not, I don’t fully know, given JB hasn’t really commented on it.
How long have you been doing the massive eating, and have you seen good results? I have felt damn hungry in the few hours after eating some of my pro/carb meals, probably because of the lack of fat, but other than that it seems okay so far…I think I may try your idea of adding a TBSP of peanut butter with breakfast, thanks.
I’ve been using Massive Eating meal combinations for the majority of the time since I discovered T-Mag, which was earlier this year (around April or May, maybe). To help with hunger, make sure your carbs are giving you enough fibre. When I consume 250g of carbs a day, 50g are usually fibre. I make sure I get a decent amount of fruit and vegetables, with my staples being broccoli and apples (although I still probably don’t eat enough vegies!). Oatmeal is another nice source of fibre. As for my results, they’ve varied a bit. I find the Don’t Diet calculations perfect for my current training schedule, which involves large amounts of calories being burnt through Renegade Training. However, I found them a bit high for standard fat-loss purposes. I have an incredibly slow metabolism though. As for gaining muscle mass, again, I put on too much fat using the standard calculations and had to cut them back slightly. Generally, you should experiment and adjust accordingly. Do what works for you =)
Steve- I definitely know what you mean about being hungry more often. I’m thinking that it could be because of either of two reasons (or a combination of the two). First, I know that Massive Eating is intended to allow you to eat at more than what you assumed your maintainence level to be, so we could just not be eating enough. I know that when I did the calculations, Berardi’s formula for maintainence put me at about 600 calories over what I thought my maintainence was. In part, it was because I had never taken into account the thermal effect of food. I honestly think that following this protocol will allow us to increase our maintainence level. Secondly, both fat and fiber both slow down digestion and stave off hunger. I think that I was getting hungry because I wasn’t getting enough fat in my P&F meals because I was afraid of overconsuming. What I didn’t take into account was that I would still be consuming a similar amount over the whole day. As far as fiber is concerned, I get all my carbs (excluding post workout) from oats, apples, yams, and vegetables, so I’m not too worried about that. If you up your fiber and your fats are already sufficient and are still hungry, try one of two things: Increase total calories (as you have underestimated your needs) or increase protein (what I’ve done). I’m at 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat right now. I eat eight meals per day (including two smaller protein shakes with a few fish oil caps that count as P&F). Usually, this incorporates three P&C meals and three P&F, with an emphasis on the P&C at breakfast (although I do have a whole egg) and post workout, and the third varying depending on when I train. Right now, I’m at about 2g of protein per pound of bodyweight. It seems like a lot, but it fills me up, and keeps the bodyfat in check. Good luck.