Questions About Fat Loss

Training
382

[quote]AtleticoMadrid wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

I don’t use glutamine anymore (obviously with the peri-workout protocol I’m using there is no need for it). And found out that BCAAs during the workout is not the best option; it is more effective taken 30 minutes prior to the workout.

Thib,

As you’ve refined your nutritional protocols, especially around training, what is the biggest reason for insulin spikes prior to training? Do you find that this is protective of muscle whether in a fat loss phase or when seeking to build as much muscle as possible?

[/quote]

During the workout is the only time where you can actually choose where you send the nutrients you ingest.

Insulin opens up the door to the energy stores (muscle, liver and fat cells). Muscle contractions produce an effect called non-insulin mediated nutrients transport. Basically muscle contraction ‘pull in’ the nutrients toward the muscle being worked.

The contraction brings the nutrients to the doorstep of he muscle tissue… insulin opens up the door. So spiking insulin prior to a workout will allow you to maximize nutrients entry into the muscle. This obviously produce a super anabolic response.

383

Coach,

What would be the best training schedule for someone who can only train 3x a week? Length of workout is not a problem but I am trying to lose 10 lbs of fat and only have 3 days a week to train.

384

Thibs

Quick q for ya. What is the general read you get when measuring a shredded national level or pro bodybuilder when you perform a bio sig read on them? I ask out of pure curiosity as im guessing for the most conditioned, all folds are sub 3mm.

I have have a contest in 4.5 weeks and can safely say all reads will go below 5mm for it (bar sub scap which may not co-operate but will def fall below 6). On my last read, 4 sites were sub 3 anyway and that was well over a week ago.
Anyway dude, thanks for your time.
This q is open to anyone needless to say.

Lock

385

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
AtleticoMadrid wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

I don’t use glutamine anymore (obviously with the peri-workout protocol I’m using there is no need for it). And found out that BCAAs during the workout is not the best option; it is more effective taken 30 minutes prior to the workout.

Thib,

As you’ve refined your nutritional protocols, especially around training, what is the biggest reason for insulin spikes prior to training? Do you find that this is protective of muscle whether in a fat loss phase or when seeking to build as much muscle as possible?

During the workout is the only time where you can actually choose where you send the nutrients you ingest.

Insulin opens up the door to the energy stores (muscle, liver and fat cells). Muscle contractions produce an effect called non-insulin mediated nutrients transport. Basically muscle contraction ‘pull in’ the nutrients toward the muscle being worked.

The contraction brings the nutrients to the doorstep of he muscle tissue… insulin opens up the door. So spiking insulin prior to a workout will allow you to maximize nutrients entry into the muscle. This obviously produce a super anabolic response.[/quote]

Hi coach,

thus it is one more argument against full body workouts for hypertrophy I guess, since the nutrients are dispersed in too many muscles.

But do you think that it forces us to be more specific with the choice of our exercises? For example for the quads, isn’t a squat too “general” of a move? Or is it all about compromising?

386

[quote]gyakujujijime wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
AtleticoMadrid wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

I don’t use glutamine anymore (obviously with the peri-workout protocol I’m using there is no need for it). And found out that BCAAs during the workout is not the best option; it is more effective taken 30 minutes prior to the workout.

Thib,

As you’ve refined your nutritional protocols, especially around training, what is the biggest reason for insulin spikes prior to training? Do you find that this is protective of muscle whether in a fat loss phase or when seeking to build as much muscle as possible?

During the workout is the only time where you can actually choose where you send the nutrients you ingest.

Insulin opens up the door to the energy stores (muscle, liver and fat cells). Muscle contractions produce an effect called non-insulin mediated nutrients transport. Basically muscle contraction ‘pull in’ the nutrients toward the muscle being worked.

The contraction brings the nutrients to the doorstep of he muscle tissue… insulin opens up the door. So spiking insulin prior to a workout will allow you to maximize nutrients entry into the muscle. This obviously produce a super anabolic response.

Hi coach,

thus it is one more argument against full body workouts for hypertrophy I guess, since the nutrients are dispersed in too many muscles.

But do you think that it forces us to be more specific with the choice of our exercises? For example for the quads, isn’t a squat too “general” of a move? Or is it all about compromising?
[/quote]

You are overthinking this. With my proposed para-workout protocol you get plenty of nutrients to load more than one muscle group and you do not need to rely only on isolation moves.

387

[quote]lock_solid wrote:
Thibs

Quick q for ya. What is the general read you get when measuring a shredded national level or pro bodybuilder when you perform a bio sig read on them? I ask out of pure curiosity as im guessing for the most conditioned, all folds are sub 3mm.

I have have a contest in 4.5 weeks and can safely say all reads will go below 5mm for it (bar sub scap which may not co-operate but will def fall below 6). On my last read, 4 sites were sub 3 anyway and that was well over a week ago.
Anyway dude, thanks for your time.
This q is open to anyone needless to say.

Lock[/quote]

Top less bodybuilders in contest shape have folds than are normally 2mm or under. Although rarely will you see someone with less than 1.7mm on a site as the skin is generally this thick.

388

Thib,

This question is not fat-loss related, per se, but more about keeping fat gain to a minimum while building as much muscle as possible.

I’m going to be helping out a new lifter who just signed up my gym, and his goal is to gain as much muscle as possible while keeping bodyfat as close to his starting level as possible/in check.

Since he is lean to start with, hovering around 8-9 percent, and has surprisingly excellent nutritional habits already )plus a handle on what he currently eats to maintain his weight/body comp), then what would be an approximate starting point “bump-up” in kcals to account for the training he will now be doing (since his current maintenance intake was without doing any training) plus the extra needed to stimulate the desired growth without excess fat gain?

389

Thib:

Most of my fat stores in my back (like you), that’s an indicator of insulin resistance right?

So Should i avoid drining those “zero calories” Powder juices? (in other words, will those powder juices spike mi insulin levels, slowing my fat loss? ¿or are they just OK?, since i’m not a big fan of drinking flat water)

Thanks.

390

I read in a competitor forum that eating more frequently doesn’t increase one’s metabolism? Is there supporting evidence of this? Is it new findings or has this been an ongoing issues that has supporting evidence for both sides??

391

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
lock_solid wrote:
Thibs

Quick q for ya. What is the general read you get when measuring a shredded national level or pro bodybuilder when you perform a bio sig read on them? I ask out of pure curiosity as im guessing for the most conditioned, all folds are sub 3mm.

I have have a contest in 4.5 weeks and can safely say all reads will go below 5mm for it (bar sub scap which may not co-operate but will def fall below 6). On my last read, 4 sites were sub 3 anyway and that was well over a week ago.
Anyway dude, thanks for your time.
This q is open to anyone needless to say.

Lock

Top less bodybuilders in contest shape have folds than are normally 2mm or under. Although rarely will you see someone with less than 1.7mm on a site as the skin is generally this thick.[/quote]

Thibs

Yeah i thought as much. Just one other q for ya. Do you believe the only way to get down to that extreme is through a zero carb and reload protocol? What do you believe are the most effective methods?

Many thanks

Lock

392

Coach CT,

I’m dieting for a competition and am wondering if you might give me your input based on my fat distribution (Biosignature standpoint) as well as a reasonable on-stage body weight. Here’s the numbers:

Pec - 3.5
Subscapular - 9.5
Biceps - 2.5
Triceps - 3
Kidney - 8
Suprailiac - 4
Abdominals - 5.5
Quadriceps - 4
Medial Calf - 3

Body Fat - 5.3%
Body Weight - 219

I’ve been following a low-carb/keto diet with a carb reload once per week - my first time with this approach. I’ve got about 5 weeks left before the competition. Let me know if you would like any additional info.

Cheers,
Mark

393

[quote]Mark74 wrote:
Coach CT,

I’m dieting for a competition and am wondering if you might give me your input based on my fat distribution (Biosignature standpoint) as well as a reasonable on-stage body weight. Here’s the numbers:

Pec - 3.5
Subscapular - 9.5
Biceps - 2.5
Triceps - 3
Kidney - 8
Suprailiac - 4
Abdominals - 5.5
Quadriceps - 4
Medial Calf - 3

Body Fat - 5.3%
Body Weight - 219

I’ve been following a low-carb/keto diet with a carb reload once per week - my first time with this approach. I’ve got about 5 weeks left before the competition. Let me know if you would like any additional info.

Cheers,
Mark[/quote]

Your main problem is genetic insulin sensitivity. Your subscap area is still high, while the other insulin site (suprailiac) is in the proper range compared to the others. This tells me that geneticall you are not built to handle carbs well, but that your current regular carb intake is fine.

At 5 weeks out, in your case I would drop the weekly carb reload and add 30-40g of carbs pre-workout (no carbs the rest of the day). This will give you enough fuel for your workouts. I would drop the weekend load because your body is not built to tolerate a high amount of carbs on a day.

At 2 weeks out you drop the pre-workout carbs too and go straight low carbs until you peak for the show.

You can still drop around 7lbs of fat which will naturally lead to 3-4lbs of water loss. So the weak prior to the show you should be around 208 which normall means that you could drop down to the light-heavies (198) with a proper dehydration protocol.

394

[quote]lock_solid wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
lock_solid wrote:
Thibs

Quick q for ya. What is the general read you get when measuring a shredded national level or pro bodybuilder when you perform a bio sig read on them? I ask out of pure curiosity as im guessing for the most conditioned, all folds are sub 3mm.

I have have a contest in 4.5 weeks and can safely say all reads will go below 5mm for it (bar sub scap which may not co-operate but will def fall below 6). On my last read, 4 sites were sub 3 anyway and that was well over a week ago.
Anyway dude, thanks for your time.
This q is open to anyone needless to say.

Lock

Top less bodybuilders in contest shape have folds than are normally 2mm or under. Although rarely will you see someone with less than 1.7mm on a site as the skin is generally this thick.

Thibs

Yeah i thought as much. Just one other q for ya. Do you believe the only way to get down to that extreme is through a zero carb and reload protocol? What do you believe are the most effective methods?

Many thanks

Lock
[/quote]

It depends on the guy. Sebastien dropped down to that level and still had 150g of carbs in his weekly diet and stopped cheats/carbs load only 2 weeks out (you can see his pic in his avatar… his “name” is DaFreak). During his prep he consumed around 350-400g of carbs per day (all peri-workout). He also had a cheat day up to 2 weeks out.

Keven (the other I, BB guy) is competing next weekend and has been on low-carbs (50g or less/day) for 3 weeks, with no cheat. The rest of his prep he had an average of 250-300g of carbs/day (all peri-workout) and also cheated once a week (1 meal) up to 3 weeks out.

I personally need to stay low carbs to get shredded. I can use up to 100-150g per day (all peri-workout) and do fine. Under 100g I lose fat faster but my upper body flattens out.

The difference is that Sebastien handles carbs very well and does’t bloat, Keven is slightly less insulin sensitive and tend to gain a lot of water.

The moral is that everybody is different and you sometimes need to experiment a lot to find the perfect recipe for you.

They did cardio (intervals) twice a day for a good proportion of their prep.

Also keep in mind that their prep was 16 weeks. I prefer a longer prep to go down slowly and avoid losing muscle.

395

[quote]mav31 wrote:
I read in a competitor forum that eating more frequently doesn’t increase one’s metabolism? Is there supporting evidence of this? Is it new findings or has this been an ongoing issues that has supporting evidence for both sides??[/quote]

This is 100% correct. The only benefit that frequent feedings have over more infrequent ones is a better appetite control. But at equal nutrients intake, frequency doesn’t much impact. And yes it is supported by studies.

396

[quote]BAdWolf wrote:
Thib:

Most of my fat stores in my back (like you), that’s an indicator of insulin resistance right?

So Should i avoid drining those “zero calories” Powder juices? (in other words, will those powder juices spike mi insulin levels, slowing my fat loss? Ã?¿or are they just OK?, since i’m not a big fan of drinking flat water)

Thanks. [/quote]

They are ok, when used IN MODERATION. I would not recommend using more than 2 regular drinking glasses per day.

397

Hey Coach, absolute gold mine as usual particularly since I am entering my cutting phase now, too - thanks for taking the time!

I am about to start a MCD diet as suggested by Hyght’s article on T-Nation, seems like a sound protocol.

I am at ~12-13% bf atm and am a little unsure of how to setup my low/medium/high days.

Since I’ve had a recent low back disc herniation, I do not train in the gym very heavily these days besides some basic body weight exercises as well as relatively light weighted chins and dips.

I was thinking, for maximal fat loss, 4-5 low days followed by 1-2 medium days given the relatively low training intensity (2-3 days of full body workout given the little variety of exercises) and virtually no cardio in order not to irritate my disc (l5/s1).

At the moment I do not think that I ‘deserve’ a high day due to this kind of training, however, perhaps I do need one to keep metabolism revving?

Could you please offer your professional on how you’d setup the week for maximal weight loss?

Tremendously appreciated as always,

Jason.

398

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

Keven (the other I, BB guy) is competing next weekend and has been on low-carbs (50g or less/day) for 3 weeks, with no cheat. The rest of his prep he had an average of 250-300g of carbs/day (all peri-workout) and also cheated once a week (1 meal) up to 3 weeks out.

I personally need to stay low carbs to get shredded. I can use up to 100-150g per day (all peri-workout) and do fine. Under 100g I lose fat faster but my upper body flattens out.

[/quote]

Hey Coach, I have a question somewhat related to this that I hope you can help me with. I have recently come off a cut similar to what you mentioned Keven was on and how you have dieted in the past. Basically 6 days a week with very low carbs (only trace amounts), moderate fat (started at ~100, dropped down to 75g) and moderate protein (1g/lb), with a 1 day large carb up.

4 weeks ago or so I started adding in carbs again keeping fat lower (around 75g/day), with carbs being between 100-150g/day and protein bumped up to 1.5g/lb. Results were pretty good which I assumed was mainly from the initial increase in glycogen as well as from the increased protein intake. Now, however, I have no idea what is going on and that is driving me crazy. 2 weeks ago, in order to make lean gains as best I could, I started with a low carb/high fat approach with a 1 day carb up (only ~350g)…that which has often been touted by you and others as a good way to gain for people who store fat easily. My intake was bumped up 235g protein and 180g fat with trace carbs (2700 calories). It has been about 2 weeks since this and my skinfold measurements have shot up! After the first 9 days I gained almost 2lb. which, by the measurements, was basically all fat. This week, 6 days later, I am the same weight but again abdominal and chest skinfolds have shot up saying I’ve lost muscle and gained fat (and as I said this was 6 days after the first 9 so water/glycogen was already low the week before). Strength has been increasing making this even harder for me to understand. Waistline up 1/4in. Fat gain noticeable.

Like I said whats killing me is I just don’t understand this, I have no idea why a low carb/high fat approach would be having this bad of an effect after what I’ve learned on the subject. Could you help clear this up?

Thanks a lot

399

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
mav31 wrote:
I read in a competitor forum that eating more frequently doesn’t increase one’s metabolism? Is there supporting evidence of this? Is it new findings or has this been an ongoing issues that has supporting evidence for both sides??

This is 100% correct. The only benefit that frequent feedings have over more infrequent ones is a better appetite control. But at equal nutrients intake, frequency doesn’t much impact. And yes it is supported by studies.[/quote]

Do you happen to have a reference for that? It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just like to have some scientific references that I know of that I can show people who don’t believe me when I talk about things like meal frequency, etc. Thanks! :smiley:

400

[quote]Christian Thibaudeau wrote:

They did cardio (intervals) twice a day for a good proportion of their prep.

Also keep in mind that their prep was 16 weeks. I prefer a longer prep to go down slowly and avoid losing muscle.

[/quote]

Christian,

What is the best strategy to work intervals into a routine? And what (if any) nutrients should be consumed around the intervals?

I’m currently low-carbing and taking in the minimum peri-workout nutrition protocol on workout days, but would like to include some sprints for their overall endurance/speed benefit and fat-loss benefits.

I know you’ve stated HIIT leads to muscle wasting during a low-carb diet, so I figured I would ask your recommendations before proceeding.

Thanks!

401

[quote]holguint123 wrote:
Christian Thibaudeau wrote:
mav31 wrote:
I read in a competitor forum that eating more frequently doesn’t increase one’s metabolism? Is there supporting evidence of this? Is it new findings or has this been an ongoing issues that has supporting evidence for both sides??

This is 100% correct. The only benefit that frequent feedings have over more infrequent ones is a better appetite control. But at equal nutrients intake, frequency doesn’t much impact. And yes it is supported by studies.

Do you happen to have a reference for that? It’s not that I don’t believe you. I just like to have some scientific references that I know of that I can show people who don’t believe me when I talk about things like meal frequency, etc. Thanks! :D[/quote]

I don’t think there is any evidence that shows that it does speed up the metabolism, so it may be a lack of evidence to the former that proves the latter.