Due to my being unable to email any questions to Brock direct, can any of you T-stud/studettes answer two questions I have regarding the above diet. (1)Is HMB an acceptable equivalent to Andro for lessening muscle break-down? (2)Is there an ‘indicative’ daily calorie calculation & fat/protein ratio to use for this diet i.e Opus uses 12cal/kg with a 70%fat/30%protein ratio?
HMB: Try searching the forum and the magazine for HMB. I’ve tried it in past years and had ZERO results… apparently that’s the consensus among almost everyone who tried it objectively. Seems to be just a huge marketing scheme by Bill Phillips & EAS to bring in the money. Things like Betagen that get results are probably getting them from the creatine, not the HMB, as there isn’t that much HMB in it. Save your money. If you want something anabolic to help prevent muscle breakdown but want to stay away from prohoromones, try Methoxy7 or even another company’s Methoxyisoflavone product.
Calorie calculation: You're going to have to play with it some. In Brocks article, he does give a formula for figuring it. In the T-Dawg diet they say to multiply your weight (in U.S. pounds) by either 16, 17 or 18, depending on your metabolic rate. I, and others, always multiply body weight by 12. In his Appetite for Construction column (or Massive Eating article, I forget) John Berardi has a different method. Badsically just pick any method, since it's really a crap shoot anyway, then adjust your calories gradually if you are losing weight too fast or too slow. Remember though, you need to cut whatever number you come up with in HALF if you are following the fat fast. So, if you are supposed to take in 4000 calories a day for maintenance, you take in 2000 a day on the fat fast. Of those 2000 a day, 50% form fat, 50% from protein. This is all in the original article, I think.
No HMB is shit, I have yet to hear 1 person say that they got anything out of it. The first time I did the Fat Fast in Spring I couldn’t get my hands on any Andro, I instead used Methoxy and Tribex to keep my muscle. These two worked great and i lost next to no muscle but it is expensive compared to using the Andro as I was going through a bottle of Methoxy every 51/2 days. You can do a search on my name to see what I all took.
Rowbie, are you sure BodyOpus is 12cal per kilogram? Or did you mean 12 cal per pound?
I have been flamed mercilessly for this, but I felt an effect from HMB. The pain and soreness from an intense workout would definately go away three or four days faster while using it. That said, I would work out more often and I didn’t gain any muscle but I did damage my shoulder. It would seem it did nothing to build muscle, but the soreness of a workout would only last two days top. I wouldn’t spend any money on it with the the much more effective alternatives.
Hi guys, many thanx for the feedback. I’ll probably give the Methoxy a go, as any Andro product is outlawed here in New Zealand & Aussie as well, and as our currency exchange rate is currently worth half the U.S, I can’t really afford to have some customs agent to seize & take an imported supplement home to try on his dog.
And yeah, the Opus 12 cal/kg was a typo should have been lbs.cheers :o)