balance motivation log

[balance]

Welcome all!
This is a log to keep track of a 12 week run I am about to begin. I was fortunate enough to win Gearheads extremely generous 12 week coaching giveaway. Here’s a link to the thread where he offered up the deal.

https://forums.steroid.com/anabolic-...-giveaway.html

This is the first time I have had the opportunity to work with a trainer/coach with regards to fitness/lifting. I’m really hoping I can take full advantage of this. The coaching covers diet/nutrition, lifting exercises, and compound selection. Basically Gearhead plans all aspects for this 12 week run. His programming is no cookie cutter or run of the mill programing. I can already tell just by how detailed oriented he was with his questioning to best ascertain an ideal diet and schedule to help optimize my programming. Seriously this was very detailed and in depth! I’m am extremely thankful and excited for this opportunity and help to reach my goals. It’s awesome having this sort of knowledge behind me but also a little daunting knowing that it’s on me to carry it out.

A little background about myself currently 45 years old, 6 foot, 198lbs, bf = ? Not really sure but my current pic below can give an idea where I am at right now.

I have been on and off health kicks since I was 20 years old. Most of these health kicks lasted 2-4 years. By health kicks I mean lifting
4+ days a week and eating with a conscious effort towards positive results. Never used anabolics until very recent trt (began Spring 2018). There were several consecutive years though where I did not exercise or eat with any regards to healthy habits (basically behaved like the general public). Through those years of little exercise and poor eating habits I never allowed myself to go over 196 lbs, with my average being approximately 186 lbs the majority of the time, waist never exceeded 36".

About 4 years ago I got back on a health kick and have been feeling amazing since. I began the kick by getting back into childhood sport (surfing), and calisthenics on the days out of the water, intermittent fasting everyday and eating/drinking healthy. For me calisthenics was lots of pull ups, push ups, ab stuff, and squats with bands but I would do this eod sort of with a bro split type routine. In 4 months I dropped from 190 lbs to 160 lbs. It was amazing surfing at 160lbs vs 190 lbs. my abilities were on par (if not exceeding) that of my teen years. For past 2 decades I had just written off my skill level decline to age factor.

About three years ago I moved to a new state and away from my ability to go surfing. Like many other times in my life I went back to lifting weights as a hobby (I greatly enjoy lifting). In this transition from surfing and calisthenics to lifting weights (I focus on compound lifts with bro style split now) I managed to go from 160lbs to 180lbs in less than 2 years. Waist size increase was only about 1/2" to 1" with this 20 lb gain. This was all a product of eating extremely good and lifting minimum 4 days a week. I was making good progress but could feel the gains slowing as I was approaching the heaviest and leanest I have been through the years.

Through this time of lifting I could definitely feel the increased recovery time needed after exercise compared to 10-20 years ago. I was pretty wiped out most of the time and energy levels were less than ideal. So in the Spring 2018 I began a TRT protocol of 200mg weekly through a local wellness clinic (weighed 180 lbs pictured below before beginning trt).

So after beginning TRT I have put on another 20 lbs in less than a year. Being on HRT I began doing more compound research/learning. That brought me to this forum and it’s wealth of helpful knowledgeable members. I was fortunate enough to come across Gearheads offer and here we are!

Goals goals goals we all got them!
So what are my goals? I want to be JACKED! lol Now seriously I want what most folks here are after. That’s more muscle and less fat. Thing is the order is a little bit twisted for me. I want the focus to be less fat for now. Basically I would like the abs I had in the 170lbs picture but, I want to try and stay around 200lbs. So I guess that’s a bit of a recomp. I will say if I end up at 210lbs and abs that works too lol.

I am planning to update this thread often with progress, insight, and sometimes just some random stuff to keep it moving. I really appreciate those that can follow along and provide any insight, encouragement, or even just random stuff to help keep it moving forward.

Thanks again to Gearhead for this opportunity and too all the folks that can follow along.

Thank you
b

160 lbs


170 lbs


180 lbs


190 lbs


200 lbs (current)

[Obs]

Following

[Obs]

Damn good job btw!

[Old Duffer]

Also following

[Obs]

You did all that with trt and less gh will make you huge

[Capebuffalo]

Gotta see the wheels.
You put 20 lbs since spring just on trt?
You are going to freaking explode on cycle.
Your base is fantastic.
Hard to say without seeing your back and legs but I guess 15-18 bf.
Following. Now kill this shit.

[balance]

Yes the 180 lbs pic was before trt early May this year.
TRT began middle of May. I also was off trt for a little over a month around August. My lower body is fairly proportional to upper, maybe a little bit skinnier. I’m not really concerned with leg growth but I don’t skip leg days lol. I actually really like deadlifting too.
I may end up actually doing a little more lowerbody exercises as I’m kind of trying to work around some elbow issue (golfers elbow). It doesn’t get that aggravated if I don’t do too much pulling work for upper back. Thanks for the kind comments.

[ghettoboyd]

Very nice base to start my friend kudos to your efforts...I will be following and can’t wait to see the results you are in good hands with GH...enjoy the ride...

[Capebuffalo]

What did you work today? What did you eat?

[BG]

Subscribed and jealous a little because you won

[balance]

Very nice base to start my friend kudos to your efforts...I will be following and can’t wait to see the results you are in good hands with GH...enjoy the ride...

Many thanks bro. I saw you are doing the January contest I will be following you too!

[balance]

Subscribed and jealous a little because you won

BG is jelly lol!!!!!!
Man every time I see your avi I think about the years and years of dedication.

[Capebuffalo]

BG is jelly lol!!!!!!
Man every time I see your avi I think about the years and years of dedication.

You know that’s Phil Heath in the avi right? Lol

[Proximal]

Insane base & response to trt. Unofficial prediction, Mr. O in 2030. This is going to be a VERY interesting thread to watch & read! Way to go thus-far & best of luck with this!

[balance]

What did you work today? What did you eat?

Eggs my man eggs!



I will log up a day of eating shortly but to give you a general idea my first three meals everyday consist of eggs (6-10 whites to one whole per meal). Quantity wise it just depends upon whether it’s pre or post workout and if I’m training that day or not. I tend to eat pretty much the same everyday. I’m one of those people that can eat same stuff over and over and it really doesn’t bother me much.

Preworkout today
Eggs (6 white, 1 whole), cup of oatmeal, 1/2 banana and coffe

Drink preworkout stim on drive to gym

Post workout
Eggs (6 white 1 whole), 2 cups white rice

Meal 3 now (only had enough to prep 2 egg meals this am so chicken now)
9 oz white meat chicken, 3/4 white lenders bagel smidge kerrygold butter, 3/4 gallon of water drank since waking up.

I have been following GH diet to a tee for almost a week and feeling really good with it. Still just trt but I can say my muscles feel fuller and I’m less stomach bloated with GH strategic diet layout.

Gym this am
Shoulders and arms

Standing overhead press sop heavy weight for me
4 sets 4-8 rep range per set

Seated overhead press lighter higher reps
4 sets 12-8 rep range

Standing land mine overhead press 6-10 rep range
4 sets (final set drop set)

Superset tricep pushdown with V bar and seated bicep DB curls. 8-12 rep range.

Abs decline bench set steep
2 sets 25 reps unweighted
I usually do 4 sets at 26 reps per but planning on squats tomorrow so like to keep core fairly fresh and hit abs again after legs.

Received cutrent labs back from trt clinic yesterday. Labs look pretty good discussed with clinic yesterday. Then GH went over the labs with me giving even better detail and insight. Then discussed gear selection for this 12 week run. I’m trying to get gear in motion but waiting on response currently.

I need to learn the multi quote reply. Any tips?

[balance]

You know that’s Phil Heath in the avi right? Lol

What?
That guy in pic has a white head!?

Or r u saying bg IS PH!!!

[Capebuffalo]

What is a standing land mine?

[balance]

Proximal thanks buddy!
I get feeling you must be the really cool teacher, I remember having a few of those

[balance]

What is a standing land mine?

Shove barbell end in corner of room on floor. Most gyms have metal plates in the corners for this. Then load up whatever you can press overhead. Both hands hold end of barbell like you grab a post hole digger to begin hole. Thing is at some point cleaning this weight from the floor to your chest (starting position) starts to get a little unwieldy for me it’s 3 plates. If your gym has CrossFit type boxes you can use that to start/end set on so u don’t have to clean weight all the way from the floor.

Cape I know u ohp a lot more than me so I’m not sure if you would like the setup hassle on this exercise as you likely will be starting with a lot of weight. It’s a good movement for me as I can really feel front delta firing as weight is tilted on the fulcrum up and forward. I like to really squeeze at top to and feel the traps gettin hit too.

[Capebuffalo]

Shove barbell end in corner of room on floor. Most gyms have metal plates in the corners for this. Then load up whatever you can press overhead. Both hands hold end of barbell like you grab a post hole digger to begin hole. Thing is at some point cleaning this weight from the floor to your chest (starting position) starts to get a little unwieldy for me it’s 3 plates. If your gym has CrossFit type boxes you can use that to start/end set on so u don’t have to clean weight all the way from the floor.

Cape I know u ohp a lot more than me so I’m not sure if you would like the setup hassle on this exercise as you likely will be starting with a lot of weight. It’s a good movement for me as I can really feel front delta firing as weight is tilted on the fulcrum up and forward. I like to really squeeze at top to and feel the traps gettin hit too.

I’ve been seeing those more and more lately on line but had no idea what they were called. Looks to be a good movement. May have to try them now.

[charger69]

Do you now have government secret clearance after completing the GH questionnaire?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Proximal]

Proximal thanks buddy!
I get feeling you must be the really cool teacher, I remember having a few of those

TY. Some days cool, others not so much, lol. You're going to crush this.

[balance]

Do you now have government secret clearance after completing the GH questionnaire?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh man it’s crazy! Lots of deep questions there seriously. Childhood eating habits and other traits about myself.

[RaginCajun]

what does your daily diet look like from GH?

[GearHeaded]

Wow, I'm surprised guys haven't been hammering you with questions about what your cycle looks like !


well guys I haven't been around much the last few days, been swamped with some personal projects trying to finish. So anyhow we got a bit of a delayed start on the programming , but I'm guessing by next week sometime everything should have 'arrived' and balance will be full bore into this thing

[Old Duffer]

Not only am I patient, but there was mention of secrets. ;-)

Watching n waiting

[GearHeaded]

so the diet is set up for Balance where food 'timing' is critical. we have things formulated where some meals during the day are set up as "lipolytic'' opportunities and some meals as "anabolic ' opportunities.
most diets are formulated with the idea that its just all about 'calories in vs calories out' over a weekly period. I on the other hand think the body is primed every single hour to either be burning fat, or repairing tissue (anabolic).
so based on this idea, the timing of the macros you eat in the day is very important.

I cycle protein, fats, and carbs and have select food choices based on the 'Time of the Day' and I also formulate the diet based on the training schedule (and intensity/volume).
heres a little glimpse into what we are doing right now.

Balance has a 'training days diet', a 'rest days diet' and a 're-feed days diet' . the macros and calories on each of those are completely different.
his training days diet --
he trains in the morning. we want to take advantage of the lipolytic benefits that come with morning training (your in more of a primed position to burn body fat in the morning after having slept for 8+ hours and being fasted). So the first meal is going to be protein and lower glycemic 'slow' carbs. we don't want a huge insulin spike at this time (this is the opposite of what I do with guys that are purely going after mass). So something like oatmeal is a good choice here with a half a banana. the fiber and little bit of healthy fats will also slow the digestion of these carbs and provide steady energy for his workout , but he will be burning fat during his workout as well.

for guys that are in a bulking phase, and not a recomp like balance is doing, then I would go with fast acting carbs in the morning with exogenous insulin. for guys that are just cutting, we would likely go NO carb for breakfast.
so this first meal of the day is a good "balance" (fitting term considering whose doing the diet

after training is over , we go right to the high glycemic fast acting carbs with zero fats. 80g of carbs coming from white rice or a white bagel.

these first two meals of the day are also only 40g of protein. rather then his normal 60g with every other meal.. the reason for this is to not bog down digestion in the pari workout timing window, as the carb digestion is the most important.
I'm a big believer that the "anabolic window'' needs to be about carb consumption , not protein .

now the couple meals after his workout are 60g protein and 45g carbs coming from high glycemic carbs (and not fat). the focus here is an anabolic focus taking in nutrition to help recover from the workout.

as we move towards the later part of the day, farther away from when the workout took place. we transition over to low glycemic carbs and adding in some veggies and some healthy fats.
we don't want the insulin spike at these times. we want a slow and steady approach with our carbs. protein is fixed at 60g. the emphasis is recovery, but also more of a lipolytic opportunity.
we already used a bunch of glucose to refuel glycogen in the muscle cells earlier that day when Glut 4 levels were elevated. now we are just gettin in the calories and micro nutrients we need to recover, and hoping our body switches over back over to burning fat for fuel.

we end the day with just protein and fats, no carbs. this is the exact opposite as I do for other clients who are trying to put on mass or who may train in the later afternoon.
again, this is all completely customized for Blanace's specific needs, situation, schedule, and training program.

ok this post is too long already..
real quick..
the rest days diet . he still starts the day off by having protein and his oatmeal. now normally for a 'fat burning' diet I would not have any carbs in the first meal of the day on an off day . BUT for Balance I'm still trying to put a lot of muscle on him too. so what I need to do is try and suppress morning cortisol levels (which if elevated is going to make him catabolic and prone to muscle loss), but I can't do this with too many fast acting carbs and calories.. so the oatmeal will generate just enough of an insulin spike and blood sugar rise to limit cortisol, while NOT spilling over too much and blunting the lipolytic effects we are trying to get in the morning.

note: with someone trying to gain pure mass. I would simply do 10iu of exogenous insulin upon waking as my cortisol suppression . but with Balance, we are not needing to go the insulin route.

the rest of the rest days diet is formulated for recovery and getting in plenty of good micro nutrients and protein and fats. this is a low carb day, as there is little to no Glut 4 response in the body and much less ability to utilize carbs.

then there is the Re-feed days diet. this is once every 7 days and must fall on a training day.. here we go low fat and we pound protein and carbs all day to replenish and refill the body as much as possible.. during the week there is some depletion that is taking place. I don't want this depletion to carry out any longer then a week as that will limit muscle gains. the re-feed day diet is designed to keep him Anabolic plus enhance recovery. BUT keep in mind this is NOT a 'cheat day' and calories are not over the top at all.. its all clean and well managed.
protein is at 300g, carbs are 340g, fats 25g
there is zero reason to do any actual 'cheat days' at the starting point of this diet (or any diet for that matter)..

anyhow guys thats some info into the diet for right now

[Obs]

Damn thats low fat

[ghettoboyd]

I just read that whole thing GH and I seriously couldn’t be more impressed with the detailed explanations of your methods...much respect brother I learn something from you every day...glad you’re here...

[GearHeaded]

Damn thats low fat

yeah its only that low one day per week though on the re-feed day.. on the non training days its 100g of fat, and 50g of fat on training days. also keep in mind these are 'direct' sources of fat (example, adding an avocado to your meal). trace fats are accounted for in this program , but are not calculated in the daily macro break down

[GearHeaded]

I just read that whole thing GH and I seriously couldn’t be more impressed with the detailed explanations of your methods...much respect brother I learn something from you every day...glad you’re here...

much appreciated ghettoboyd! we can all learn a thing or two from each others experiences, so I'm glad to share what I can and pick up what I can here as well

[balance]

Awesome short explanation GH!
GH spent a ton of time explaining this to me in great detail, and tailoring this plan to optimize my eating to reach my goals. I have been tracking everything I eat (weighing everything and logging on MFP) for over 3 years and this methodology he has laid out really intuitively makes sense and makes things easier (provided you are consistent). While I am still weighing out portions to meet my macro goals I have not logged on mfp the last few days as I’m starting to believe as long as I stay consistent with measuring portions and consuming clean foods at the appropriate times we can just manipulate macros later as need be to continue progress towards goal.

Here’s a breakdown of exactly what I have eaten so far today.

Meal 1
Breakfast (preworkout out)
6 egg whites, 1 whole egg
1 cup of oatmeal plain
1/2 banana
1.5 cups coffee (cream only)
Preworkout (stim) on drive to gym

Meal 2 (directly post workout)
Eaten in car parking lot at gym
6 egg whites, 1 whole egg
2 cups white rice

Meal 3
10 egg whites, 1 whole egg
3/4 lenders plain bagel light butter
after this meal I am also usually 80% done with a gallon of water
(I make a gallon daily with 2 tablespoons of lime juice)

Meal 4
9oz all white meat chicken
3 pieces of Ezekiel bread light butter
Gallon of water finished off here and now drink seltzer water with remaining meals.

Meal 5 (dinner)
9oz low-fat ground turkey taco seasoned (family did taco night, I just eat the meat).
1 whole avocado
1/2 cup fresh pico de gallo (this is a bit of a cheat normally for me I choose a better vegetable here like fresh spinach broccoli etc)

Meal 6
Not sure yet depends upon how I feel around 9-930pm. Ideally I do
9oz white meat chicken
1.5 serving of almonds
But if I’m still pretty full or being lazy I do protein shake for 60grams protein (I have dymetize protein that’s nearly 0 carb)
1.5 serving of almonds

I’m really not a fan of protein shakes over real food and try to not exceed 1 per day. I don’t drink them post or preworkout normally either. I really don’t think my body truly utilizes what’s on the label of these tubs so I try to focus on whole foods.

Another thing worth mentioning I’m not a huge seasoning fan. It’s not that I don’t like it somewhat but a lot of them are loaded with sugar and other crap. If I do use seasoning it’s usually something like hot sauce, siracha, soy sauce, buffalo flavor sauce, as these are mostly salting sauces without sugar. With that said I mostly just salt my food to taste with iodized salt.

Also while the eating method (diet) laid out by GH looks super low in fat it’s not really. When he says you need to consume 25 grams of fat with this meal. What he’s stating is eat enough avocado or nuts (almonds) that give you this amount of fat. He’s not saying just eat any crap that also contains 25 grams fat. Also while meals like he mentioned my breakfast are mainly protein and a slow carb (oatmeal) he’s ok with me lightly buttering the pan for the eggs and the fat in the one egg is fine (actually very beneficial for other nutrients and slowing digestion of other foods consumed at this meal). Basically be reasonable with food choices to minimize certain macros at certain times to optimize that specific meal for the time of the day.

[balance]

Funny thing when I got this eating plan from GH last week first thing I did was scan through the pages to find the total calories for training days, off days, and refeed days. He calculates stuf a little differently than I have previously (I was used to counting everything on the labels) so his total calorie numbers were pretty low to me. I was like OH CRAP! I’m going to be hungry constantly! Well at least there’s a once a week refeed day I thought. Then I took the time to really read what he had laid out and thought this sounds like a bit more than what I have been eating!? So I started the plan right away and am now just about a week in and I’m definitely eating more than before, quite a bit more. My muscles feel fuller and midsection is definitely less bloated. All that and I’m eating more. Honestly the refeed days might be biggest challenge for me to get it all in.

[RaginCajun]

so the diet is set up for Balance where food 'timing' is critical. we have things formulated where some meals during the day are set up as "lipolytic'' opportunities and some meals as "anabolic ' opportunities.
most diets are formulated with the idea that its just all about 'calories in vs calories out' over a weekly period. I on the other hand think the body is primed every single hour to either be burning fat, or repairing tissue (anabolic).
so based on this idea, the timing of the macros you eat in the day is very important.

I cycle protein, fats, and carbs and have select food choices based on the 'Time of the Day' and I also formulate the diet based on the training schedule (and intensity/volume).
heres a little glimpse into what we are doing right now.

Balance has a 'training days diet', a 'rest days diet' and a 're-feed days diet' . the macros and calories on each of those are completely different.
his training days diet --
he trains in the morning. we want to take advantage of the lipolytic benefits that come with morning training (your in more of a primed position to burn body fat in the morning after having slept for 8+ hours and being fasted). So the first meal is going to be protein and lower glycemic 'slow' carbs. we don't want a huge insulin spike at this time (this is the opposite of what I do with guys that are purely going after mass). So something like oatmeal is a good choice here with a half a banana. the fiber and little bit of healthy fats will also slow the digestion of these carbs and provide steady energy for his workout , but he will be burning fat during his workout as well.

for guys that are in a bulking phase, and not a recomp like balance is doing, then I would go with fast acting carbs in the morning with exogenous insulin. for guys that are just cutting, we would likely go NO carb for breakfast.
so this first meal of the day is a good "balance" (fitting term considering whose doing the diet

after training is over , we go right to the high glycemic fast acting carbs with zero fats. 80g of carbs coming from white rice or a white bagel.

these first two meals of the day are also only 40g of protein. rather then his normal 60g with every other meal.. the reason for this is to not bog down digestion in the pari workout timing window, as the carb digestion is the most important.
I'm a big believer that the "anabolic window'' needs to be about carb consumption , not protein .

now the couple meals after his workout are 60g protein and 45g carbs coming from high glycemic carbs (and not fat). the focus here is an anabolic focus taking in nutrition to help recover from the workout.

as we move towards the later part of the day, farther away from when the workout took place. we transition over to low glycemic carbs and adding in some veggies and some healthy fats.
we don't want the insulin spike at these times. we want a slow and steady approach with our carbs. protein is fixed at 60g. the emphasis is recovery, but also more of a lipolytic opportunity.
we already used a bunch of glucose to refuel glycogen in the muscle cells earlier that day when Glut 4 levels were elevated. now we are just gettin in the calories and micro nutrients we need to recover, and hoping our body switches over back over to burning fat for fuel.

we end the day with just protein and fats, no carbs. this is the exact opposite as I do for other clients who are trying to put on mass or who may train in the later afternoon.
again, this is all completely customized for Blanace's specific needs, situation, schedule, and training program.

ok this post is too long already..
real quick..
the rest days diet . he still starts the day off by having protein and his oatmeal. now normally for a 'fat burning' diet I would not have any carbs in the first meal of the day on an off day . BUT for Balance I'm still trying to put a lot of muscle on him too. so what I need to do is try and suppress morning cortisol levels (which if elevated is going to make him catabolic and prone to muscle loss), but I can't do this with too many fast acting carbs and calories.. so the oatmeal will generate just enough of an insulin spike and blood sugar rise to limit cortisol, while NOT spilling over too much and blunting the lipolytic effects we are trying to get in the morning.

note: with someone trying to gain pure mass. I would simply do 10iu of exogenous insulin upon waking as my cortisol suppression . but with Balance, we are not needing to go the insulin route.

the rest of the rest days diet is formulated for recovery and getting in plenty of good micro nutrients and protein and fats. this is a low carb day, as there is little to no Glut 4 response in the body and much less ability to utilize carbs.

then there is the Re-feed days diet. this is once every 7 days and must fall on a training day.. here we go low fat and we pound protein and carbs all day to replenish and refill the body as much as possible.. during the week there is some depletion that is taking place. I don't want this depletion to carry out any longer then a week as that will limit muscle gains. the re-feed day diet is designed to keep him Anabolic plus enhance recovery. BUT keep in mind this is NOT a 'cheat day' and calories are not over the top at all.. its all clean and well managed.
protein is at 300g, carbs are 340g, fats 25g
there is zero reason to do any actual 'cheat days' at the starting point of this diet (or any diet for that matter)..

anyhow guys thats some info into the diet for right now

“the fiber and little bit of healthy fats will also slow the digestion of these carbs and provide steady energy for his workout , but he will be burning fat during his workout as well”

Please explain how this works?

Any research?

How can one have eaten a slow digesting carb and burn fat at the same time during his/her workout? I understand that the body will be burning these cals for energy and also burning cals due to digestion but how does that relate to burning fat? Seems like some bro science.

[balance]

“the fiber and little bit of healthy fats will also slow the digestion of these carbs and provide steady energy for his workout , but he will be burning fat during his workout as well”

Please explain how this works?

Any research?

How can one have eaten a slow digesting carb and burn fat at the same time during his/her workout? I understand that the body will be burning these cals for energy and also burning cals due to digestion but how does that relate to burning fat? Seems like some bro science.

Good question RC!

I’m not sure if this is the correct answer but I will take a stab at it (if I’m wrong GH can hopefully chime in for clarification).

Basically I’m fairly carb depleted by the time I wake up. This means I may be going catabolic, which is not ideal for me. Why I am carb depleted you may ask? If you look above at my post detailing what I ate on my last training day my last real complex carb intake (not counting 1 cup vegetables at dinner) was at about 4:00pm. So other than one cup of vegetables with my 6:30pm dinner (cheated a hair with not an ideal carb as it was fresh pico de Gallo, so I ate a little less than 1 cup knowing this is less than ideal vegetable source, tomatoes based vegetable so there is some trace sugar involved). Now 14 hours later it’s breakfast time my body is looking for
easy fuel source. So this meal is approximately 1 hour prior to lifting so carb source ideally would be low glycemic like oatmeal, also helping to slow the digestion a bit there are the fats provided in the one whole egg consumed and cream from coffee (no sugar).

So going into training about an hour after this meal
I likely will burn through those carbs from breakfast (30 grams). Now what gets used to fuel the remainder of the workout and cardio post lifting? Well hopefully it’s fat. Now this is kind of how I believe this is designed to work. Is this exactly what’s going on I have absolutely no idea. However I can tell you this since starting this method of eating last Thursday I am definitely eating more than before. My muscles feel noticeably fuller yet my stomach is less bloated.

Something to note unfortunately I have been resorting to protein powder crap (it’s no carb) for my last meal of the day along with 45 grams of almonds (for my fat intake). The downside to this is that the powders likely don’t provide as much true protein to my bidy and it digests quickly compared to real meat. Overnight a slower digesting protein (like steak) would probably be ideal but by 9:30pm I’m not usually that amped to wolf down 9oz of real meat.

[RaginCajun]

Good question RC!

I’m not sure if this is the correct answer but I will take a stab at it (if I’m wrong GH can hopefully chime in for clarification).

Basically I’m fairly carb depleted by the time I wake up. This means I may be going catabolic, which is not ideal for me. Why I am carb depleted you may ask? If you look above at my post detailing what I ate on my last training day my last real complex carb intake (not counting 1 cup vegetables at dinner) was at about 4:00pm. So other than one cup of vegetables with my 6:30pm dinner (cheated a hair with not an ideal carb as it was fresh pico de Gallo, so I ate a little less than 1 cup knowing this is less than ideal vegetable source, tomatoes based vegetable so there is some trace sugar involved). Now 14 hours later it’s breakfast time my body is looking for
easy fuel source. So this meal is approximately 1 hour prior to lifting so carb source ideally would be low glycemic like oatmeal, also helping to slow the digestion a bit there are the fats provided in the one whole egg consumed and cream from coffee (no sugar).

So going into training about an hour after this meal
I likely will burn through those carbs from breakfast (30 grams). Now what gets used to fuel the remainder of the workout and cardio post lifting? Well hopefully it’s fat. Now this is kind of how I believe this is designed to work. Is this exactly what’s going on I have absolutely no idea. However I can tell you this since starting this method of eating last Thursday I am definitely eating more than before. My muscles feel noticeably fuller yet my stomach is less bloated.

Something to note unfortunately I have been resorting to protein powder crap (it’s no carb) for my last meal of the day along with 45 grams of almonds (for my fat intake). The downside to this is that the powders likely don’t provide as much true protein to my bidy and it digests quickly compared to real meat. Overnight a slower digesting protein (like steak) would probably be ideal but by 9:30pm I’m not usually that amped to wolf down 9oz of real meat.

you are somewhat carb depleted in the AM but you are not fat adapted at this time. You are having carbs in 3/4 meals so you are not carb depleted. It takes A LOT to deplete your body of glycogen. Check out Lyle’s U2 diet.

Your diet is sound, just don’t believe what was written as far as burning fat during your workout when you have had carbs and protein before your workout.

[GearHeaded]

you are somewhat carb depleted in the AM but you are not fat adapted at this time. You are having carbs in 3/4 meals so you are not carb depleted. It takes A LOT to deplete your body of glycogen.

the human body has TWO energy metabolisms. Fat burning and Glycogen/glucose burning. you do NOT have to be depleted of carbs or glucose or be 'fat adapted' in order to burn body fat. the body is very efficient at burning both at the same time and switching back and fourth between the two multiple times throughout the day and the night.

this is human biology 101..

but as it relates to bodybuilding or 'bro science' , um yeah the fact that you do not need to be depleted or 'fat adapted' in order to burn body fat can be seen with guys like Jay Cutler who dieting and got down to 4% body fat while consuming 800 grams of carbs per day.


I think the KETO whacko's have somewhat brainwashed people into thinking that in order to burn fat you have to be fat adapted and not have any carbs. this is utter BS (though for most people burning more fat then carbs for energy is easier when carbs are low.. this is just common sense)

we all burn both fat and carbs all day long every single day. some of us may happen to be better carb burners for energy and some of us better fat burners for energy . but our body can switch back and fourth between the two at a moments notice

[GearHeaded]

“the fiber and little bit of healthy fats will also slow the digestion of these carbs and provide steady energy for his workout , but he will be burning fat during his workout as well”

Please explain how this works?

Any research?

How can one have eaten a slow digesting carb and burn fat at the same time during his/her workout? I understand that the body will be burning these cals for energy and also burning cals due to digestion but how does that relate to burning fat? Seems like some bro science.

again. biology 101. the body is capable of utilizing carbs and fat for energy at the same time and switching between the two at a moments notice.

throughout a workout, your not JUST using a glycogen dependent stimulus. example-- if you do bench press for 15 reps for 5 sets, sure a large part of that bench press is going to utilize glycogen for energy , BUT the fatty acids in the blood stream will also be mobilized for energy as well.
again, the body can and is forced to use both fuel sources.


So your question should not be "how can he have eaten carbs and still burn fat during his workout" .. the answer is so simple. again the body utilizes fat and carbs for energy all the time all day long. especially during a workout.

perhaps your question should be , "how can he have eaten low glycemic carbs, and expect to burn more body fat then had he eaten a large amount of high glycemic carbs" or something like that.

because again, no matter what the scenario is , anyone is going to burn both carbs AND fat during a long strenuous training session.

the reason the diet is set up the way it is with that first meal is so he can utilize a bit MORE fat for fuel then he would in a different scenario (like training in the middle of the day after consuming large amounts of carbs all day).

I'm simply slowing down his digestion with that first meal of the day (so he stays lipolytic longer since being fasted and waking up in the morning) so that he gets a slower 'trickle' of carbs into the blood stream to help fuel the workout, but in a limited capacity (again he is going to burn these carbs and fats at the same time).
IF he instead consumed say 2 cups of white rice at this time, there would be a massive insulin spike, which would push him away from his lipolytic status that he's in upon waking, plus possibly cause a blood sugar crash that may zap energy levels in the middle of his workout.
this is part of what I mean by "providing him steady energy".. the low glycemic carbs will help avoid any blood sugar crash.

but its a "biological given" that he will be burning fat during his workout. this is not a question and does not enter the equation. IF we can keep him in a more lipolytic state with his food choices though, he will end up burning MORE fat (its not a question of IF he will burn fat or not, its only a question of 'how much').

note: when I say "lipolytic" or "lipolytic state" , this is NOT fat burning. this is simply being in a position where your body is liberating fatty acids from stored body fat stores. BUT keep in mind guys, that is NOT fat burning. just because your bodies fat stores release fat into the blood stream does not mean that fat has be used as energy. nope it can go right back to being stored. it needs to be liberated into the blood stream and THEN it has to be used by the cell for energy in order for it to be "burned" . this of course happens during training (and multiple other times throughout the day) .
SO . by Balance training in the morning, with limited carbs, he is already in a state of Lipolysis (this happens to everyone when we sleep). he will more easily be able to burn body fat during his workout because there are fatty acids floating around his blood stream already (his body, ie, cells, is going to burn up these fatty acids and available glucose and glycogen to fuel his workout).

he will have steady energy from his nutrition. and burn fat during his workout as well . this is simply how the body works. AND being it works this way we can manipulate things, like diet and training, to take full advantage (thats why the diet is set up for him the way it is).

[Obs]

the human body has TWO energy metabolisms. Fat burning and Glycogen/glucose burning. you do NOT have to be depleted of carbs or glucose or be 'fat adapted' in order to burn body fat. the body is very efficient at burning both at the same time and switching back and fourth between the two multiple times throughout the day and the night.

this is human biology 101..

but as it relates to bodybuilding or 'bro science' , um yeah the fact that you do not need to be depleted or 'fat adapted' in order to burn body fat can be seen with guys like Jay Cutler who dieting and got down to 4% body fat while consuming 800 grams of carbs per day.


I think the KETO whacko's have somewhat brainwashed people into thinking that in order to burn fat you have to be fat adapted and not have any carbs. this is utter BS (though for most people burning more fat then carbs for energy is easier when carbs are low.. this is just common sense)

we all burn both fat and carbs all day long every single day. some of us may happen to be better carb burners for energy and some of us better fat burners for energy . but our body can switch back and fourth between the two at a moments notice

What about someone like me that burns both in pretty much any amount I eat?

I have proven to myself through mapping bg levels that I naturally shred carbs fast but even if I eat a ton of fat there is no real added storage.

[GearHeaded]

Rajun cajun -- maybe I totally misunderstood your question. so my answers above may be totally off base.

but the way I read the question, made me think that you were assuming that a human body couldn't burn both carbs and burn fat for fuel. or that somehow eating a bowl of oatmeal would stop a body from being able to burn fat for energy during a workout.

the body burns fat just fine without being depleted or carbs. plenty of athletes around the world stay very lean year round eating a majority of their calories form carbs. the reason this is so is because they are simply efficient at burning fat for fuel and carbs for fuel at the same time.