Low Carb for the Tall Ectomorph

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

Im looking at Shugart’s diet that he is on and im thinking of giving it a try.
Im a tall ectomorph 6 feet 4 235 pounds, always been thin my whole life exept when i was 19 i gained 30 odd pounds up till now im 25 now. My question is regarding carb intake for this diet, i have developed a (gut) only 2 top abs visible, all the fat seems to be around belly button :frowning: but i have hardly any fat anywhere else, arms, legs, back are all lean. Whenever I’ve tried to go on a low carb diet -100 grams a day i get shaky and weak as all hell, crave sweet food like u wouldnt imagine.
Any other tall lanky bastards out there who have the same problem with the lower carb intake? if so how did u deal with it.

Peace
HHH

2

HHH, how long did you try eating fewer carbs?

Depending on your body’s state of carb-dependence, it can take up to even two weeks to get fully adjusted. This being said, the first four days get you past the worst of it, and from then on things go markedly better. Considering you were always lean before a few years ago, and remain generally lean now, I would have to assume you have become very insulin resistant to have put that weight on.

Give the diet a solid week before you write it off.

3


HHH,

I’m the Mini-Me version of you. I’m 5’8" 165lbs. All my body fat seems to localize itself in the abdominal region. Here’s testimony of my fat distribution, as evidenced by skinfols, as of 1/1/05:

Pectoral: 5mm
Triceps: 5mm
Suprailiac: 15mm
Subscapular: 13mm
Umbilicus: 25mm
Thigh: 5mm
Mid-Axillary: 12mm

My extremeties stay very lean. At 4-5mm I can start to see striations in the the quads and pecs. My bottom to rows of abs were blurred completely by fat, however.

Now for the good news! As a former college distance runner (raced 5000m in 15:00, trained 70-80mi/wk) I thought I’d never have to watch my diet or supplement my training with intervals, etc. I had gained 35lbs and a lot of strength, and that’s all that mattered to me. In November, I woke up one morning and nearly shat myself when I came to the harsh realization that my abs were gone. A distance runner that used to carry 5% BF, and my abs were gone!

That was my wakeup call. Since Dec. 1, I have finally convinced myself that I need to pay attention to diet, and do some interval training (5 X 1 minute jump rope or 5 X 1 minute hard on the bike/running, twice/week).

Now for the good news! As of 1/4/05, my skinfolds dropped as follows:

Pectoral: 4mm
Triceps: 5mm
Suprailiac: 12mm
Subscapular: 10mm
Umbilicus: 21mm
Thigh: 5mm
Mid-Axillary: 10mm

Furthermore, I’ve been taking HOT-ROX since 1/1/05, while still watching my diet. I’m not really restricting calories, however, just being smarter about things. If it doesn’t run on the land, fly in the air, swim in the sea, or grow out of the ground, I don’t eat it - period. I’m making sure I eat 6-7 times/day, get 75% of my carbs before about 3pm, stay away from a lot of fats in the morning, and never eat a meal rich in both carbs and fats.

My current skinfolds (1/19/05) are as follows:

Pectoral: 3mm
Triceps: 4mm
Suprailiac: 11mm
Subscapular: 9mm
Umbilicus: 15mm
Thigh: 5mm
Mid-Axillary: 10mm

Total body weight has gone from 162.5lbs to 164.5lbs.

Although the first two weeks of no bread, pasta, etc., was hell, as you can see, the effects are profound, and it did get MUCH easier. The abdominal skinfold decreased the most, by far, and the best part is that I feel the diet is sustainable.

So keep it up! The changes were subtle for me at first, but really start to become noticeable as your BF drops into the single digits.

Attached is a horrible pic to get and idea of where I am today… I know, I’d better run to the store and purchase some lats. Sadly enough, I can do upwards of 20 pullups - but they’ll get there!

4

Bill t
Thanks for the huge response,i appreciate it.
Im going to give it another shot with the low carbs try and stick with it for a week or 2 and c how i feel.It should do the trick as ive never been on a low carb diet ever,so a change of pace would be nice.
Increasing my cardio might be another option,when i talk about increasing my cardio i mean intensity.

Thanks again

HHH

5

[quote]HHH wrote:
Im looking at Shugart’s diet that he is on and im thinking of giving it a try.
Im a tall ectomorph 6 feet 4 235 pounds, always been thin my whole life exept when i was 19 i gained 30 odd pounds up till now im 25 now. My question is regarding carb intake for this diet, i have developed a (gut) only 2 top abs visible, all the fat seems to be around belly button :frowning: but i have hardly any fat anywhere else, arms, legs, back are all lean. Whenever I’ve tried to go on a low carb diet -100 grams a day i get shaky and weak as all hell, crave sweet food like u wouldnt imagine.
Any other tall lanky bastards out there who have the same problem with the lower carb intake? if so how did u deal with it.

Peace
HHH [/quote]

I am currently 6’ 4" at 217lbs. At one point I was up to 234lbs with the same waist size as present (I got really sick and could not even get to the gym for 3 months and lost 30lbs mostly lbm).

As to your question I found if you eat cottage cheese between meals… it made all the difference for me. Do not eat any high GI (glycemic index) carbs. The pwo drink is the only exception.

Size is relative. My parents see me at 217lbs and think I am huge. Throughout highschool I was 140lbs and after college I was 175lbs and gained about one lb per year after that. Only in the last 5 yrs did I really gain weight (I did not eat enough protein in the past).

6

Its not low carbs it is the type of carbs.They are not all created equal.Get them from fruits and vegetables and as close to how nature made them.Grains suck unless you are already in shape.Then, oatmeal would be the best but dont fully cook itThe only exception would be your post workout shake…