You'll want to read this!

[fig]

Are you looking or more information pertaining to bulking or cutting?

Cutting ATM. I just started the 2 week prime today and I would like to cut now and for the 8 week Blast as well. However, following this one, I will be bulking w/ Prop. So if you have links....I'll take em both Thanks.

[Ronnie Rowland]

Cutting ATM. I just started the 2 week prime today and I would like to cut now and for the 8 week Blast as well. However, following this one, I will be bulking w/ Prop. So if you have links....I'll take em both Thanks.

A prime is simply a lay-off from the gym. You'll want to do an extended reload (not blast) in order to get cut! For now I will copy/past the fat loss diet plan in this thread. It may take up a few pages.

[fig]

A prime is simply a lay-off from the gym. You'll want to do an extended reload (not blast) in order to get cut! For now I will copy/past the fat loss diet plan in this thread. It may take up a few pages.

Thanks Ronnie. Greatly appreciated!!

[VASCULAR VINCE]

Thanks Ronnie. Greatly appreciated!!

ditto!!! never realized fats stablized blood sugar..

[Ronnie Rowland]

ditto!!! never realized fats stablized blood sugar..

I've seen people be unsuccesful at slowly tapering down carbs when preparing for a show and have to go straight into ketosis in order to stabilize blood sugar because they did not eat enough fat for breakfast and dinner. Some need a little right before bed time as well or they will wake up starving in the middle of the night with the skakes.

[Ronnie Rowland]

Cutting ATM. I just started the 2 week prime today and I would like to cut now and for the 8 week Blast as well. However, following this one, I will be bulking w/ Prop. So if you have links....I'll take em both Thanks.

POST 1-

Slingshot diet-"Carb/Calorie Cycling":

A recent report showed that taking carbs down to 100 per day burned away almost as much body fat as being in a state of ketosis (no carb diet) but many experience blood sugar crashes with such low levels of carbs because the body will be fighting to stay out of ketosis. Carb cycling is the superior way to "lose body fat" during the beginning of a diet phase. Keeping carbs/calories in check 5 days per week is the best way for everyone! The body responds in a positive manner when 2 non-consecutive carb/calories up days are included each week. It does so by driving up anabolic hormones and increasing thyroid hormone output-hence speeding up the metabolism and increasing lean muscle mass. When carbs and calories are constantly kept low, your body adapts and the metabolism slows down. A great approach is to use a 3 low-1 high-2 low-1 high carb/calorie rotation).

Monday-low carbs
Tuesday-low carbs
Wednesday-high (carbs should be clean on this day-lower fat intake in order to stay at a maintenance calorie level), Decrease protein intake to make up for extra calories coming from carbs!
Thursday-low,
Friday-low,
Saturday-high in carbs, calories and fats (cheat day eat some junk carbs and fats), Decrease protein on cheat day as well.
Sunday-low.

Note: Do gradual carb depletion by taking out 50 grams of carbs out of diet every 2 weeks until you hit around 100 per day. If you need to go below 100 it can be best to go into ketosis at this point if blood sugar begins to crash. Even in ketosis do 1-2 carb up days per week. Decrease protein on carb up days to remain at maintenance calorie level. Do not decrease fats or blood sugar can crash. Add in some junk food carbs like pizza/ice cream on the cheat day (day 6 Saturday). A few extra calories on Saturday is fine. I recommend increasing carbs by around double on first carb up day. On the once a week cheat meal day you can increase calories by even more depending on your size and metabolic rate.

Factor in how much cheating you should allow on your cheat days and stay within your limits. At the end of the low carb days, your energy levels will drop, but the high carb days will rejuvenate your energy levels and get you ready to train for a few more days before becoming depleted once again. By adding in the additional fats and carbs during the cheat meal days it helps pull glycogen into the muscles! You can have Pizza, Mexican food, hamburger/fries etc on cheat days. The extra sugar and calories is going to boost your metabolism, make you sharper in regards to your diet the rest of the week and give you something to look forward to-“big-time”. You have to be disciplined but you need one day each week to look forward to where you can ease the cravings for junk food. Wait and cheat during your evening meal. By night-time your muscles will be absolutely full and vascular from all the extra glycogen stored in the muscles. Focus on making the first carb up day a clean eating day full of complex carbs and have some junk food like pizza for your cheat meal to drastically increase calories and increase t-3 (thyroid hormone that regulates metabolism) output.

[Ronnie Rowland]

POST 2-

Sample Diet for low carb days: Designed for those who work out in the morning.

Summary:

Meal 1 (protein/carbs
Meal 2 (protein carbs)
Meal 3(protein and carbs)
Meal 4 (protein and fats)
Meal 5 (protein and fats)
Meal 6 (protein and fats)


Important Note: If you normally need 2000 calories each day to maintain your bodyweight, you should only reduce calories to 1500 in order to lose body fat. Everyone should keep carbs around 150 grams per day unless you begin to experience low blood sugar. In general, between 25-100 grams of fats each day will suffice. But those with a very fast metabolism may need more fats if you are consuming upwards of 2 grams of protein per pound of body weight and losing more than 2 pounds of body weight after the first week of reducing carb intake. Protein intake should be adjusted at 1-2 grams per pound of body weight to fit your metabolism and dietary needs


Sample low carb day diet used for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Most females would obviously need to consume less protein, overall calories through smaller portion sizes and reduce meals to only 5 per day!

Meal 1: 10 liquid eggs (50 grams of protein, 1 cup oatmeal (60 grams of carbs).

(Workout)

Meal 2: Whey protein shake (50 grams of protein) and banana (25 grams of carbs)

Meal 3: Lean Protein like baked chicken (50 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat) and 1 slice of whole wheat bread (25 grams of carbs)

Meal 4: Tuna in water (50 grams of Protein) and 6 Almonds (5 grams of fat)

Meal 5: Large portion of lean meat such as chicken, salmon, fish, lean sirloin or London broil (50 grams of protein), large salad (green leaf romaine) with 4 TBS of extra virgin olive oil (60 grams of fat), a small amount of cheese (7 grams of fat), serving of green beans.

Meal 6: Whey protein shake (50 grams) with 1 tablespoon of smart balance peanut butter (8 grams of fat)

That turns into approximately 300 grams protein, (only 125 grams Carbs), and around 100 grams of fat.




Sample diet for first High carb day for Wednesday:

Meal 1:10 eggs-1 whole egg and 9 egg whites (5 grams of fat and 50 grams of protein, 1 and 1/2 cups of oatmeal (90 grams of carbs).

Meal 2: Whey protein shake (50 grams of protein) and 2 bananas (50 grams of carbs)

Meal 3: Lean Protein like baked chicken (50 grams of protein, 5 grams of fat) and 1 large sweet potato (50 grams of carbs) and a large apple (25 grams of carbs)

Meal 4: Tuna (50 grams of Protein) and 6 Almonds (5 grams of fat)

Meal 5: Large portion of lean meat such as chicken, salmon or London broil (50 grams of protein) salad (green leaf romaine) with 2 TBS of extra virgin olive oil (28 grams of fat), a small amount of feta cheese (7 grams of fat) and serving of green beans.

Meal 6: Whey protein shake (50 grams) with 1 tablespoon of smart balance peanut butter (8 grams of fat)



Sample diet for cheat day for (Saturday)


Note: A cheat day consists of being able to eat 1 large meal containing anything you want within reason and having a desert and protein shake later that night. Make the other 3-4 meals like those found in the first carb up day. It’s usually best to eat these 2 meals later in the day so you do not over do it.

Meal 1: 8 eggs-1 whole egg and 7 egg whites, and blueberry pancakes cooked in olive oil and sugar free syrup.

Meal 2: Lean Protein like chicken and 1 slice of whole wheat bread.

Meal 3: Whey protein shake (50 grams of protein) a big bowl of cheerios and 1 banana.

Meal 4: Pizza, chips, salad.

Meal 5: Whey protein shake (50 grams) with ice cream and fruit






Sample foods to eat on diet:

PROTEIN:
Liquid Egg whites
Skim milk
Canned tuna, salmon, chicken
Baked-chicken, fish of any kind,
Grilled extra lean hamburger meat, London broil, filet mignon
Whey protein shake

CARBS:
Fruits of any kind
Any green vegetables
Sweet potatoes
Whole wheat bread
High fiber cereals-fiber one, raisin bran and cheerios

FATS:
Almonds
Cashews
Smart balance peanut butter
Extra virgin olive oil

Sample low carb spices

1. Magic Seasoning Blends:
a) seafood magic
b) poultry magic

2. Mojo Mama:
Blackened Dry Mojo All Natural

3. Mediterranean Spiced Sea Salt
4. Montreal Chicken seasoning
5. Mrs. Dash
a) Table Blend
b) Tomato, Basil, Garlic
c) Italian Medley
d) Grilling blends steak





SEPARATION OF CARBS AND FATS

It's been my experience that separating carbs and fats for the most part is the best route to take when trying to lose body fat. Combining saturated fats from protein sources like eggs and meat with a lot of carbs (especially Hi GI carbs will cause an insulin response to the utmost and cause the body to store more body fat)! This prolonged insulin response is called hyperinsulinemia. It can be good at times for building muscle but not so good when you are trying to rid the body of unwanted body fat. Consuming a lot of dietary fats in the presence of a lot of carbs (an insulin producing food) increases the chance of fat being stored as body fat. Insulin is a storage hormone that can push dietary fat into fat cells. So, you want to eat lean protein with insulin producing carbs so the amino acids from the protein will be pushed into muscle cells and build lean muscle! Consuming a moderate combination of carbs and fat in one meal also makes it harder for the body to break them down. Healthy fats and low GI carbs are different and can be combined if needed but separating fats and carbs should be your goal.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Some fats are needed to be combined with carbs in morning and fats are needed in evening/night to keep blood sugar levels stable when reducing carbs/calories. In order to keep from going hungry eat plenty of green veggies like broccoli, green beans and asparagus throughout the day.

[Ronnie Rowland]

POST 3-

CARB CUT-OFFS

Carb cut-offs later in the day are very important for fat loss. Weight-training triggers the release of both anabolic and fat burning hormones, but it's while you sleep that the most body fat is burned because you are then in a fasted state. Your body needs to be in a state of lipolysis (the breakdown of fat stored in fat cells) which happens when glycogen levels become depleted at night. If you load up on late-nights carbs you won't hit lipolysis whilst asleep nor will your body release as much Growth Hormone. If you sleep only 4 to 5 hours a night as opposed to 7-8 hours, it leaves you with too much ghrelin (a hormone that increases appetite) and too little leptin (a hormone that decreases appetite and can decrease metabolic rate) and increase sugar cravings.

Protein: Protein levels should be kept high in order to build or keep the body from eating muscle tissue during exercise or times of being in a calorie deficit. Everyone, regardless of their body type, needs about a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight to maintain and/or gain lean muscle mass. Protein is used in gluconeogensis during exercise and fasting when carbs are low. Some of the energy your body uses will come from protein sources during periods were carbs are kept low (for i.e.; later in the day and while you sleep). I recommend that everyone keep protein at 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight during a long term cutting phase. Those with a slower metabolism will need less (for i.e. only 1 gram per pound of body weight). Too much protein can also make you fat due to producing a calorie surplus. What happens is glycogen levels spill over and the extra calories are stored as body fat. With some peoples metabolism 2 grams of protein would make them fat and 1 gram would be a bit low. So, I they would need to take in 1.25 grams of protein and multiply it by their body weight. Then I divide that by 5 or 6 meals, depending on how many meals you are getting in for that day. When eating 6 meals per day I personally take in about 60 grams of protein during each meal while my wife Kathy takes in only about 40.

Eat your protein first because you’ll get fuller faster which will keep you from eating as many carbs and fats. This is good for body fat control! Tuna, chicken, salmon, turkey, egg whites and London broil are all good staples. Steer clear of the fattier deli meat that contains nitrates. Fatty red meat is not the best choice to make because it contains about 8 grams per serving and a serving is only about 4 ounces. In those 4 ounces you will only get roughly 25 grams of protein and a whopping 10 grams of saturated fat (not good)! This means you might need another serving of fatty ground beef to get your protein needs for that meal. However, the same 4 ounces of fish, turkey or chicken has about the same protein but only around 2 gram of fat or less. Therefore, you can eat more food while taking in fewer calories! Whey protein used twice a day as a meal-replacer works very well when combined with fruit earlier in the day and essential oils at night because it will bloat you and keep you satisfied. Smaller meals consumed throughout the day decreases body fat levels over-time. Every time you eat (especially protein) your body burns calories when it breaks down the food during digestion. This is why your body heats up every time you eat. The time spent in a heated state will burn more calories than when you are skipping meals. Protein will make you gain weight when added to what you are already eating but will make you lose body fat when it replaces some carb and/or fat calories! Why? Because for every 100 calories of carbs or fats consumed, only about 5 calories will be burned off through digestion. But for every 100 calories of protein you take in around 25 calories will be burned through the digestion process. This is why it’s so important to trade a lot of carbohydrate calories for protein calories when trying to lose fat. When whey protein is used, always add a small amount of essential fats such as smart balance peanut butter, almonds or mixed nuts to slow down the digestion rate and keep you full. Fruit can be added to whey protein post workout or during the earlier part of the day. Eating frequent meals prevents hunger pangs. Drink around 1 gallon of water per day to keep the body hydrated and to boost the metabolism and try to stay away from wheat, gluten and dairy products to get absolutely ******. I have never put a lot of emphasis on meticulously counting each and every calorie consumed, rather I concentrate on eating, with proper food combinations so that the food is broken down properly and absorbed. Never let yourself go hungry. When you are hungry it means that your body is using muscle tissue for energy, as opposed to body fat!

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are not bad for you in moderation, but when trying to lose body fat, you're body needs to be in a state of lipolysis (the breakdown of fat stored in fat cells) which happens when glycogen levels become depleted. High Glycemic carbs should be kept to a minimum on low carb/calorie days and consumed in moderation during the cheat day. The brain and nervous system needs roughly 50 grams of carbs coming from glucose to maintain daily functions. Carbs should never be eaten without adequate amounts of protein. Doing so really spikes insulin levels and cause an increase in body fat! It’s very important to combine a fibrous carb (green vegetable) or (fruit) with each meal to provide energy needed to train and carry out daily functions, but not load your glycogen stores to the point where you don't hit lipolysis until much later on. Focus on diet just as much as or more so than training when trying to get shredded! Do not make the mistake of reducing calories too much when trying to shed body fat. If you normally take in 2500 calories per day you should only reduce calories to 2000-2200 per week until you start losing weight at about 1-2 lbs per week. If you lose more during the first week, don’t worry because it will be a lot of water. Going lower can eat away muscle tissue. Just as you have to periodize your training, the nutrition plan must also be periodize. Staying on a low calorie/low carb diet for too long will not just lead to fat loss, but a lot of muscle loss as well. A mistake most people make when trying to lose body fat is sticking with the same exact calorie-carb reduced meal plan seven days a week. This will not work well because the body has a finely tuned system that protects itself from starvation mode. When the body feels threatened it begins to store body fat after only a few short weeks as opposed to releasing it. By including two- weekly calorie/carb up days, you can trick the human body by giving it a calorie surplus–hence negating the slowing down of the metabolism that comes from calorie depletion. Protein should not need to be reduced during the first carb up day but it can be reduced some during the cheat day because the body can readily use fats and carbs for fuel when in a calorie surplus. All carbs, whether they are of fruit, rice, bread, potatoes, ice cream, milk or pure sugar, eventually turn to glucose and they will all elevate insulin levels. It’s the slower burning carbs with a lower glycemic index like fruit and steel oats that you want to consume because they provide more energy for training and can help keep body fat levels a bit lower because the initial insulin spike is less. Let me be clear, all carb sources will count towards your daily carb intake regardless of their Glycemic Index. This includes all fruits! Mixing foods found on the lower end of the glycemic index scale with foods found on the higher end of the glycemic scale will reduce the glycemic index of the high glycemic index carbs when eaten in the same meal. In addition, eating low glycemic carbs has a carry-over-effect to the next meal. For instance, eating steel cut oats would lower the glycemic level of a white potato if a potato was eaten in the meal following the oats. Relying on fibrous carbs helps improve ones conditioning. Everyone should think of high-fiber foods as a diet aid. Strive to consume 30 grams or more of fiber per day. Slowing down carb absorption also helps keep your energy up longer during the day when dieting. If you take in 30 grams of carbs that are absorbed quickly, you're going to process them quickly, and then you're going to feel tired, hungry and depleted. When you take in the same amount of carbs with a high amount of fiber, they'll stay in your system longer, and you'll have a lot more energy. The fiber also slows down the digestion of protein. The longer that it takes your body to process the protein, the more efficiently it will use each gram! During a cutting phase you’ll do better sticking to foods such as green vegetables/salads with extra virgin olive oil and lean protein sources later in the day and fruit, cereal and/or oatmeal along with lean protein sources during the morning. Carbohydrates and protein break down slowly throughout the day as well as burns body fat. Remember the Krebs cycle! Your last 3 meals should be composed of proteins and fibrous carbohydrates, such as green vegetables. Breakfast should be the largest meal of the day! Keep food volume up (especially lean protein sources). Consume 5-6 meals per day) to keep hunger pangs at bay, speed up the metabolism and to prevent muscle loss or weakness. Trade carbohydrate calories for protein calories gram for gram on the five lower carb days and you will lose weight! Replace an equal amount of carbohydrate calories with extra virgin olive oil for dinner and you will lose weight. Stay around 150 grams of carbs on low carb days as a baseline (you may need more if you start losing muscle or begin to experience low blood sugar. All carbs whether they are fruit or whatever turn to sugar and spike insulin (a fat storage hormone). So it’s very important to read the label or do some research on the internet to find out how many carbs are in each food you consume. You’ll also need to read the labels on each food consumed so you can see how many macronutrients of protein, carbs and fat you are ingesting. Focus on slow burning carbs as opposed to fast burning carbs. Adding in some slow burning carbs with fast burning carbs helps lower the glycemic index of the fast burning carbs. Keep this in mind if you decide to take in some High glycemic index carbs, mix them with a low gi carb source. If you are involved in a lot of outside activities (for i.e.; long distance cycling) you can bump carbs up to 200 or more on low carb days. By using this method it keeps your body guessing, and not allowing it to get used to any particular amount of calories. Hence the reason you won’t hit major plateaus while cutting. You should consistently loose body fat on a weekly basis. Another thing I want to touch on briefly is choice of carbs. As I mentioned, very low glycemic carbs like that of dry sweet potatoes are good for weight loss. There are several studies around that show people who ate only sweet potatoes with several of their daily meals ended the 12 week study leaner than the other group who ate rice, brown rice, pasta, and bread for sources of carbohydrates. The reason for this is that the slow release of carbohydrates to the blood stream resulting in even insulin levels throughout the day.

Fats: Fats are very important in a cutting diet. Fats can be used as an energy source when we become carb depleted or at rest by undergoing beta oxidation. Dietary fats spare the burning of glycogen, and this aids in pulling more carbs/water into the muscle. This means you don’t need as many carbs to prevent the deflated muscle syndrome! *****-3 fatty acids increase insulin sensitivity in the muscle cells. The receptors for insulin are both fat cells and muscle cells. The benefits gained by ingesting EFA’S is that the insulin receptor sites of the muscle cells will become more sensitive than the insulin receptors on the fat cells. An increase in sensitivity of the muscle cells will push more amino acids from protein sources into the muscle cells and away from the fat cells! They are good for hormonal levels, and they taste great. I personally have had great success with combining moderate amounts of fats with high protein meals eaten later in the day. My typical sources are salmon, ***** 3 eggs, almonds, smart balance peanut butter, extra virgin olive oil and macadamia nut oil. I try and get around 100 grams of fat during my last 3 meals of the day. You’ll need to replace an equal amount of carbohydrate calories with essential fats up to 3 times daily for fat loss. Those with a slow metabolism that are taking in only 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight will need to eat fewer fats to lose weight. My suggestion is to not go below 50 grams of fat daily because doing so can cause permanent joint problem from a lack of lubrication when pumping iron and going too low will slow down the fat burning process! Adipose tissue is certainly affected by both insulin levels (produced from carbs) and ASP (produced from fats) because higher quantities of either force the body to become less efficient at eliminating either. Insulin is not the only regulator of fat storage. Adipose tissue is also composed of fats by a hormone called Acylation Stimulating Protein. This hormone doesn't need insulin to make you fatter because it's released from fat cells directly in response to blood chylomicrons (fats produced in the intestinal lumen following the absorption of digested fat) which are responsible for storing triglycerides in adipose cells. Guess what hormone can increase the number of ASP in the body? If you guessed insulin you are correct! So, by controlling carb intake you indirectly reduce ASP levels-hence less body fat will be stored when dietary fats are consumed. By watching the kinds of fats you eat, along with the amounts, you can help control how many calories get stored as body fat. Basically, ASP works for dietary fat storage like insulin works for carbohydrate storage. Understand here that how well the body deals with insulin and ASP cannot always be equated to an individual’s metabolism because thin people who have a hard time gaining muscle can also be considered clinically obese (for i.e. some marathon runners). This is due to their having a poor lean muscle mass to body fat ratio.

There are a lot of people with a condition known as “insulin resistance”. Once you develop high levels of body fat your body will no longer respond to insulin as it should. What happens next is it only takes a small amount of carbohydrates to really shoot those insulin levels through the roof-hence body fat will be stored at a fast rate of speed. When too much insulin is produced, you will be left with too little sugar in the blood stream and some will get stored in the fat cells. This puts you in a viscous cycle where the fatter you get the easier it is to keep putting on the wrong kind of weight (body fat). This makes it very hard to lose body fat. But don’t panic! Once you lose the fat, gain the muscle mass, and establish outstanding insulin sensitivity, you will be able to control your body fat levels. This is great news because once you get lean you’ll probably be able to eat roughly 200-300 grams of carbs on the low carb days as opposed to 150 grams or so for maintenance and be able to consume a few more carbs later in the day. Also, you may be able to increase your carb up/calorie up days to 3 per week as opposed to only 2. Why? Because once you get lean, the metabolism speeds up! Losing weight is fairly easy, but stripping straight body fat off while maintaining or gaining lean body mass is tricky. Men in general have an easier time losing body fat because they carry more muscle mass. The more muscle mass you can acquire through the proper weight training regimen along with a high protein diet-the faster your resting metabolic rate will be just sitting around doing nothing!

FINAL NOTE: RAW LIQUID EGG WHITES MIXED WTH A SCOOP OF PROTEIN POWDER MAKES A SUPERIOR MEAL REPLACER FOR FAT LOSS AND GAINING MASS. I USE THEM 1-4 TIMES DAILY!

[Archangel.]

Ron, I just read over your diet for cutting fat post twice very thoroughly, but it is a lot to take in IMO. I think I get it for the most part and I will be trying to use it to the best of my ability during my 20 week blast, as my goal is to shed some fat and hopefully gain some quality size and strength.

My Q is concerning dairy while using this approach. I love skim milk, low-fat chees, cottage chees and low-fat yogurt. Can I incorporate these foods and how??
I've gotta know the truth on this one Ron, thanks

POST 3-

CARB CUT-OFFS

Carb cut-offs later in the day are very important for fat loss. Weight-training triggers the release of both anabolic and fat burning hormones, but it's while you sleep that the most body fat is burned because you are then in a fasted state. Your body needs to be in a state of lipolysis (the breakdown of fat stored in fat cells) which happens when glycogen levels become depleted at night. If you load up on late-nights carbs you won't hit lipolysis whilst asleep nor will your body release as much Growth Hormone. If you sleep only 4 to 5 hours a night as opposed to 7-8 hours, it leaves you with too much ghrelin (a hormone that increases appetite) and too little leptin (a hormone that decreases appetite and can decrease metabolic rate) and increase sugar cravings.




Protein: Protein levels should be kept high in order to build or keep the body from eating muscle tissue during exercise or times of being in a calorie deficit. Everyone, regardless of their body type, needs about a minimum of 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight to maintain and/or gain lean muscle mass. Protein is used in gluconeogensis during exercise and fasting when carbs are low. Some of the energy your body uses will come from protein sources during periods were carbs are kept low (for i.e.; later in the day and while you sleep). I recommend that everyone keep protein at 1-2 grams of protein per pound of body weight during a long term cutting phase. Those with a slower metabolism will need less (for i.e. only 1 gram per pound of body weight). Too much protein can also make you fat due to producing a calorie surplus. What happens is glycogen levels spill over and the extra calories are stored as body fat. With some peoples metabolism 2 grams of protein would make them fat and 1 gram would be a bit low. So, I they would need to take in 1.25 grams of protein and multiply it by their body weight. Then I divide that by 5 or 6 meals, depending on how many meals you are getting in for that day. When eating 6 meals per day I personally take in about 60 grams of protein during each meal while my wife Kathy takes in only about 40.

Eat your protein first because you’ll get fuller faster which will keep you from eating as many carbs and fats. This is good for body fat control! Tuna, chicken, salmon, turkey, egg whites and London broil are all good staples. Steer clear of the fattier deli meat that contains nitrates. Fatty red meat is not the best choice to make because it contains about 8 grams per serving and a serving is only about 4 ounces. In those 4 ounces you will only get roughly 25 grams of protein and a whopping 10 grams of saturated fat (not good)! This means you might need another serving of fatty ground beef to get your protein needs for that meal. However, the same 4 ounces of fish, turkey or chicken has about the same protein but only around 2 gram of fat or less. Therefore, you can eat more food while taking in fewer calories! Whey protein used twice a day as a meal-replacer works very well when combined with fruit earlier in the day and essential oils at night because it will bloat you and keep you satisfied. Smaller meals consumed throughout the day decreases body fat levels over-time. Every time you eat (especially protein) your body burns calories when it breaks down the food during digestion. This is why your body heats up every time you eat. The time spent in a heated state will burn more calories than when you are skipping meals. Protein will make you gain weight when added to what you are already eating but will make you lose body fat when it replaces some carb and/or fat calories! Why? Because for every 100 calories of carbs or fats consumed, only about 5 calories will be burned off through digestion. But for every 100 calories of protein you take in around 25 calories will be burned through the digestion process. This is why it’s so important to trade a lot of carbohydrate calories for protein calories when trying to lose fat. When whey protein is used, always add a small amount of essential fats such as smart balance peanut butter, almonds or mixed nuts to slow down the digestion rate and keep you full. Fruit can be added to whey protein post workout or during the earlier part of the day. Eating frequent meals prevents hunger pangs. Drink around 1 gallon of water per day to keep the body hydrated and to boost the metabolism and try to stay away from wheat, gluten and dairy products to get absolutely ******. I have never put a lot of emphasis on meticulously counting each and every calorie consumed, rather I concentrate on eating, with proper food combinations so that the food is broken down properly and absorbed. Never let yourself go hungry. When you are hungry it means that your body is using muscle tissue for energy, as opposed to body fat!

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrates are not bad for you in moderation, but when trying to lose body fat, you're body needs to be in a state of lipolysis (the breakdown of fat stored in fat cells) which happens when glycogen levels become depleted. High Glycemic carbs should be kept to a minimum on low carb/calorie days and consumed in moderation during the cheat day. The brain and nervous system needs roughly 50 grams of carbs coming from glucose to maintain daily functions. Carbs should never be eaten without adequate amounts of protein. Doing so really spikes insulin levels and cause an increase in body fat! It’s very important to combine a fibrous carb (green vegetable) or (fruit) with each meal to provide energy needed to train and carry out daily functions, but not load your glycogen stores to the point where you don't hit lipolysis until much later on. Focus on diet just as much as or more so than training when trying to get shredded! Do not make the mistake of reducing calories too much when trying to shed body fat. If you normally take in 2500 calories per day you should only reduce calories to 2000-2200 per week until you start losing weight at about 1-2 lbs per week. If you lose more during the first week, don’t worry because it will be a lot of water. Going lower can eat away muscle tissue. Just as you have to periodize your training, the nutrition plan must also be periodize. Staying on a low calorie/low carb diet for too long will not just lead to fat loss, but a lot of muscle loss as well. A mistake most people make when trying to lose body fat is sticking with the same exact calorie-carb reduced meal plan seven days a week. This will not work well because the body has a finely tuned system that protects itself from starvation mode. When the body feels threatened it begins to store body fat after only a few short weeks as opposed to releasing it. By including two- weekly calorie/carb up days, you can trick the human body by giving it a calorie surplus–hence negating the slowing down of the metabolism that comes from calorie depletion. Protein should not need to be reduced during the first carb up day but it can be reduced some during the cheat day because the body can readily use fats and carbs for fuel when in a calorie surplus. All carbs, whether they are of fruit, rice, bread, potatoes, ice cream, milk or pure sugar, eventually turn to glucose and they will all elevate insulin levels. It’s the slower burning carbs with a lower glycemic index like fruit and steel oats that you want to consume because they provide more energy for training and can help keep body fat levels a bit lower because the initial insulin spike is less. Let me be clear, all carb sources will count towards your daily carb intake regardless of their Glycemic Index. This includes all fruits! Mixing foods found on the lower end of the glycemic index scale with foods found on the higher end of the glycemic scale will reduce the glycemic index of the high glycemic index carbs when eaten in the same meal. In addition, eating low glycemic carbs has a carry-over-effect to the next meal. For instance, eating steel cut oats would lower the glycemic level of a white potato if a potato was eaten in the meal following the oats. Relying on fibrous carbs helps improve ones conditioning. Everyone should think of high-fiber foods as a diet aid. Strive to consume 30 grams or more of fiber per day. Slowing down carb absorption also helps keep your energy up longer during the day when dieting. If you take in 30 grams of carbs that are absorbed quickly, you're going to process them quickly, and then you're going to feel tired, hungry and depleted. When you take in the same amount of carbs with a high amount of fiber, they'll stay in your system longer, and you'll have a lot more energy. The fiber also slows down the digestion of protein. The longer that it takes your body to process the protein, the more efficiently it will use each gram! During a cutting phase you’ll do better sticking to foods such as green vegetables/salads with extra virgin olive oil and lean protein sources later in the day and fruit, cereal and/or oatmeal along with lean protein sources during the morning. Carbohydrates and protein break down slowly throughout the day as well as burns body fat. Remember the Krebs cycle! Your last 3 meals should be composed of proteins and fibrous carbohydrates, such as green vegetables. Breakfast should be the largest meal of the day! Keep food volume up (especially lean protein sources). Consume 5-6 meals per day) to keep hunger pangs at bay, speed up the metabolism and to prevent muscle loss or weakness. Trade carbohydrate calories for protein calories gram for gram on the five lower carb days and you will lose weight! Replace an equal amount of carbohydrate calories with extra virgin olive oil for dinner and you will lose weight. Stay around 150 grams of carbs on low carb days as a baseline (you may need more if you start losing muscle or begin to experience low blood sugar. All carbs whether they are fruit or whatever turn to sugar and spike insulin (a fat storage hormone). So it’s very important to read the label or do some research on the internet to find out how many carbs are in each food you consume. You’ll also need to read the labels on each food consumed so you can see how many macronutrients of protein, carbs and fat you are ingesting. Focus on slow burning carbs as opposed to fast burning carbs. Adding in some slow burning carbs with fast burning carbs helps lower the glycemic index of the fast burning carbs. Keep this in mind if you decide to take in some High glycemic index carbs, mix them with a low gi carb source. If you are involved in a lot of outside activities (for i.e.; long distance cycling) you can bump carbs up to 200 or more on low carb days. By using this method it keeps your body guessing, and not allowing it to get used to any particular amount of calories. Hence the reason you won’t hit major plateaus while cutting. You should consistently loose body fat on a weekly basis. Another thing I want to touch on briefly is choice of carbs. As I mentioned, very low glycemic carbs like that of dry sweet potatoes are good for weight loss. There are several studies around that show people who ate only sweet potatoes with several of their daily meals ended the 12 week study leaner than the other group who ate rice, brown rice, pasta, and bread for sources of carbohydrates. The reason for this is that the slow release of carbohydrates to the blood stream resulting in even insulin levels throughout the day.

Fats: Fats are very important in a cutting diet. Fats can be used as an energy source when we become carb depleted or at rest by undergoing beta oxidation. Dietary fats spare the burning of glycogen, and this aids in pulling more carbs/water into the muscle. This means you don’t need as many carbs to prevent the deflated muscle syndrome! *****-3 fatty acids increase insulin sensitivity in the muscle cells. The receptors for insulin are both fat cells and muscle cells. The benefits gained by ingesting EFA’S is that the insulin receptor sites of the muscle cells will become more sensitive than the insulin receptors on the fat cells. An increase in sensitivity of the muscle cells will push more amino acids from protein sources into the muscle cells and away from the fat cells! They are good for hormonal levels, and they taste great. I personally have had great success with combining moderate amounts of fats with high protein meals eaten later in the day. My typical sources are salmon, ***** 3 eggs, almonds, smart balance peanut butter, extra virgin olive oil and macadamia nut oil. I try and get around 100 grams of fat during my last 3 meals of the day. You’ll need to replace an equal amount of carbohydrate calories with essential fats up to 3 times daily for fat loss. Those with a slow metabolism that are taking in only 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight will need to eat fewer fats to lose weight. My suggestion is to not go below 50 grams of fat daily because doing so can cause permanent joint problem from a lack of lubrication when pumping iron and going too low will slow down the fat burning process! Adipose tissue is certainly affected by both insulin levels (produced from carbs) and ASP (produced from fats) because higher quantities of either force the body to become less efficient at eliminating either. Insulin is not the only regulator of fat storage. Adipose tissue is also composed of fats by a hormone called Acylation Stimulating Protein. This hormone doesn't need insulin to make you fatter because it's released from fat cells directly in response to blood chylomicrons (fats produced in the intestinal lumen following the absorption of digested fat) which are responsible for storing triglycerides in adipose cells. Guess what hormone can increase the number of ASP in the body? If you guessed insulin you are correct! So, by controlling carb intake you indirectly reduce ASP levels-hence less body fat will be stored when dietary fats are consumed. By watching the kinds of fats you eat, along with the amounts, you can help control how many calories get stored as body fat. Basically, ASP works for dietary fat storage like insulin works for carbohydrate storage. Understand here that how well the body deals with insulin and ASP cannot always be equated to an individual’s metabolism because thin people who have a hard time gaining muscle can also be considered clinically obese (for i.e. some marathon runners). This is due to their having a poor lean muscle mass to body fat ratio.

There are a lot of people with a condition known as “insulin resistance”. Once you develop high levels of body fat your body will no longer respond to insulin as it should. What happens next is it only takes a small amount of carbohydrates to really shoot those insulin levels through the roof-hence body fat will be stored at a fast rate of speed. When too much insulin is produced, you will be left with too little sugar in the blood stream and some will get stored in the fat cells. This puts you in a viscous cycle where the fatter you get the easier it is to keep putting on the wrong kind of weight (body fat). This makes it very hard to lose body fat. But don’t panic! Once you lose the fat, gain the muscle mass, and establish outstanding insulin sensitivity, you will be able to control your body fat levels. This is great news because once you get lean you’ll probably be able to eat roughly 200-300 grams of carbs on the low carb days as opposed to 150 grams or so for maintenance and be able to consume a few more carbs later in the day. Also, you may be able to increase your carb up/calorie up days to 3 per week as opposed to only 2. Why? Because once you get lean, the metabolism speeds up! Losing weight is fairly easy, but stripping straight body fat off while maintaining or gaining lean body mass is tricky. Men in general have an easier time losing body fat because they carry more muscle mass. The more muscle mass you can acquire through the proper weight training regimen along with a high protein diet-the faster your resting metabolic rate will be just sitting around doing nothing!

FINAL NOTE: RAW LIQUID EGG WHITES MIXED WTH A SCOOP OF PROTEIN POWDER MAKES A SUPERIOR MEAL REPLACER FOR FAT LOSS AND GAINING MASS. I USE THEM 1-4 TIMES DAILY!

[Ronnie Rowland]

ron, i just read over your diet for cutting fat post twice very thoroughly, but it is a lot to take in imo. I think i get it for the most part and i will be trying to use it to the best of my ability during my 20 week blast, as my goal is to shed some fat and hopefully gain some quality size and strength.

My q is concerning dairy while using this approach. I love skim milk, low-fat chees, cottage chees and low-fat yogurt. Can i incorporate these foods and how?? yes you can have some dairy but some hold water with dairy due to allergies and MUST AVOID. It's the sugar/carb content you have to watch in no fat dairy.
i've gotta know the truth on this one ron, thanks

above

[Archangel.]

above

2 Q's:

I have armidex @ 1mg/tab, how should I dose it while on my blast for the purpose of limiting water retention, and also in the prevention of gyno?

I also have some clen, how and when should I dose that to optimize its fat shedding assistance?

Also, since the the armidex limits the estrogen, will taking it on cycle cause me to make less gains than if i didn't use it?

Thanks Ron

[creactiveprotein]

Ronnie, great thread, tell me what you think of this cycle, im a first time user and dont want to run 20 weeks my first time out, just to avoid possible side effects.

- test e 500mg for 8 weeks
- HcG 250mg E4D during cycle

PCT

Nolva 40/40/20/20
If im taking HcG throughout the cycle, do I even need it in PCT?

Im basically trying to use as little substances as possible with this cycle. My goals are to shed some fat and add lean mass, not real concerned with packing major mass. Thanks for your time!

[Ronnie Rowland]

Ronnie, great thread, tell me what you think of this cycle, im a first time user and dont want to run 20 weeks my first time out, just to avoid possible side effects. 8 WEEKS IS NOT LONG ENOUGH TO GIVE YOUR BODY TIME TO ADJUST-HENCE MORE SIDE EFFECTS! You will shed more fat with a 20 week cycle. 8 weeks is not long enough to do much. My advice to you is wait until you are ready to do a 20 week cycle before taking steroids. If you are not ready for 20 weeks you are not ready IMO.
- test e 500mg for 8 weeks
- HcG 250mg E4D during cycle

PCT

Nolva 40/40/20/20
If im taking HcG throughout the cycle, do I even need it in PCT? no

Im basically trying to use as little substances as possible with this cycle. My goals are to shed some fat and add lean mass, not real concerned with packing major mass. Thanks for your time!

above