Hello again SMART Fitness family!

In lieu of ending my “cut” and beginning a phase of “lean bulking” I decided to maintain many of the aspects that I performed regularly during my cut, in my bulk. As a quick snapshot they are listed (and then will be detailed) below, without a regard to my training style and format:

1. Intermittent Fasting (IF)

2. Cycling carbohydrates and fats (Carb cycling)

3. Carb backloading

4. Protein regularity

5. TRACKING MY MACROS

So to begin, IF has been something from a crohn’s disease/IBD stand point that I have found has played an integral role in maintaining optimal health. Last month, I came down with a case of H. Pylori bacteria. I have had it now a total of 3 times, re-occurring in bout’s of roughly 1.5–2 year spans between the next. If I had not taken part in IF I do not think I would have been able to function, simply due to the acidic build up that occurs when this bacterium becomes active and pathogenic for me. I eventually had to use antibiotics which I was hoping I would not need to, but even when the medicine began, side effects of the antibiotics were easily mitigated when I continued to practice IF. So what is IF? It is essentially eating for a period of 6 to 8 hours of your day, and fasting on liquids that have 0 calories, or nothing. ie. My “Eating window” is typically 2:30 pm to 10:30 pm. Outside of that, I usually have only tea, water and maybe some artificially sweetened beverages (though rarely here). Below is a link on my how to, to IF.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T9xEIDl1Uw

From a fitness perspective, IF has helped to regulate insulin levels and sensitivity, manage bloating and therefore digestion, resulting in an ability to optimize my training. There are several studies illustrating the role IF plays on insulin, and other hormonal controls. I do not have links, but you can honestly Google “Intermittent fasting and insulin”, where you will find a world of research. From a “Broscience” perspective IF is allegedly not optimal for growth, because well…you aren’t eating every 2–3 hours. I call B.S. on this, but hey if you don’t want to try IF or don’t like it that’s cool, this is my perspective. I’ll just close on the fact that from an ancestral perspective we didn’t eat every 2–3 hours…so maybe there is merit in decreased feeding times and duration.

Now, from a carbohydrate cycling perspective, I’ve discussed this before in other blog posts, so I won’t go too in-depth, but I have found that it is a great, I cannot stress this enough, it is GREAT to cycle carbs and fats. Consistently eating a high fat diet, or high carb diet every day, I found did not benefit me in the gym in terms of strength, stamina, recovery or fatigue. Nor did it help with growth. Conversely, alternating my carbs does. Non-workout days I have roughly 50% of my diet as fat, and as low as 15% carb, while on workout days it ranges from 25% to 50% as carbs depending on the training style and intensity. This has helped to keep me remain insulin sensitive for growth, as well as maintain leanness, while improving strength. Obviously as I bulk my calories will increase and some fat will be accumulated, but I have found this to be a great way to stave off excess water weight/retention, bloating and inflammation. Carbs are in themselves exceptionally inflammatory. Especially starchy, refined or sugary carbs. All of which are typically consumed in excess for the average individual. Hell, even some “organic foods” are high in all 3…ironic isn’t it? So, as someone with IBD: Literally INFLAMMATORY bowel disease, why would I want to cause more inflammation? I don’t and I won’t. So I cycle. It takes a little bit longer of thinking. You know I log onto MyFitnessPal and change from 35% carbs, to 30%, then go from 40% fat to 45%…and I’m done…it’s that simple. Not rocket science. The leg work is done for me, by an app! Consuming excessive carbs for growth to me is absurd, its just a way to increase glycogen stores and cause fat spill over (because what is not used, is stored as fat, not to mention to longer term health implications we are learning daily due to excessive carb consumption), so why bother? If I’m not active, my primary mode of kcal expenditure is fat, not carbs, so I eat fats for calories…there is obviously more to the science of caloric expenditure and use, but that is beyond this post.

In addition to carb cycling, I take part in carb back-loading, which is essentially eating more carbs as the day goes on. For example, I typically train in the evening, so I consume most of my carbs around (before and after) the workout. Outside of that, my diet typically consists of protein, fats and minimal carbs, ie. low carb options, such as berries. I’ve found that this is a great way to increase glycogen in the muscle (over time) and lead to more beneficial training sessions. Additionally, the decreased carbs throughout means I am not bloated, or inflamed. I enjoy this method and will continue it. This does not mean that I am not eating throughout the day, or am eating very little. On the contrary, protein and fats are consumed in higher volume, some 1500 to 2000 kcal. So I am by no means “starving” myself. I recommend this for almost everyone, due to the simplicity of it and the usefulness of it. It not only stops individuals (regardless of GI distress) from overeating (especially those that do not want to track their macros…) but also keeps the individual from feeling groggy, weak, sluggish, bloated or feeling like crap. I’ve noticed that my main “strength” lifts did not suffer huge losses in weight while I was cutting using this method; and when I transferred to a higher caloric diet to increase body weight, this method has helped me to increase weight faster, with higher weight volume and lift frequency. Additionally, it staves of “spill over” of carbs being converted to stored body fat. For example, having a high carb breakfast, then doing no activity, so the body resorts in storing the carbs for later use, in many cases in muscle glycogen, but the majority in body fat (intra- and subcue-).

Next on the list is protein consumption. Having the same amount of protein per gram daily, regardless of caloric intake, and exercise has allowed me to maintain a regularity in protein consumption, and as a result, maintain mTOR production (which plays a role in muscle growth) and protein accretion and synthesis (which essentially leads to protein being used as “the building blocks of muscle”: in the simplest of terms). For myself, I use roughly 1.5 grams of protein per Kg of body weight. This amounts to roughly 165 to 170 grams of protein a day. I do not believe in consuming 1 gram per lb as this is too high in my opinion (which has actually been linked to proteinuremia and other associated kidney issues). The objective for muscle growth with protein is to be in a state where the individual is nitrogen positive. AKA consuming protein to more than just “survive” in rudimentary terms. This is associated, from several studies in the last couple years, to be equated to, 1 gram/kg of lean body mass at the lowest to 1 gram/kg of body weight at the high end. Protein is often over consumed in the fitness and general population, so this is typically not an issue for most. However, if you find yourself finding it difficult to consume adequate protein, supplementation and eating more meat and meat by products can be beneficial (when controlling for carbs and fats). Egg whites for example, are easy to consume, high in protein and are not super filling. My suggestion if you do not have time, or are, for lack of better words, lazy to cook enough, would be to find a good tasting protein powder. I guarantee you have not tried them all, for those that say they do not like the taste. There are so many brands and options available, I am positive you will find one that you enjoy. You simply have to be willing to look and experiment.

Finally, the last task I do that has helped me is to track my macros. I use MyFitnessPal. It is an exceptionally simple app on all electronic devices that tells you how many calories, protein, carbs and fats you eat depending on your goals. Its algorithms are actually quite accurate too, for how it deciphers how many calories one needs based on their gender, age, weight and activity level (I have applied TDE and BMR calculations as I was skeptical, and they were pretty close). The biggest pitfall of this is having to weigh, barcode scan and be mindful of your food. To me this comes easy, I know if I don’t track my food, I’ll not only under eat food, but I’ll over eat unhealthy food. There is no health, performance or longevity benefits in that, so why do it? Tracking is kind of OCD at times, but I would rather be accurate and meticulous than be unaware and oblivious; essentially shooting bullets into the dark night, hoping for my desired outcome. This might be a hard reality for some, realizing that they over eat or under eat, but with time it becomes quite simple to use and do. Almost all restaurants are included in MyFitnessPal, so it makes eating out rather easy (aside from mom + pa shops), while cooking your own food makes the individual less mindless to what they are using. For example, using white flour for cookies, but realizing upon inputting into the app that oats are for more healthy and have more nutritional benefits (this is a rudimentary and obvious example, but you get my point). In my opinion, whether your goal is to lose weight or gain weight, you should be tracking your food, for the majority of the time. Maybe weekends off, or 1 or 2 evenings a week, for a sake of sanity. The rationale is that tracking not only keeps the individual mindful of what they eat, but it keeps he or she on track and committed. It is far easier to just “workout” and “eat”. But to “train” and provide adequate “nutrition” is a completely different construct.

So ladies and gents, that’s what I do and follow. I hope you take some of my advice and implement it if you haven’t already. Training is one thing, but nutrition and lifestyle play a huge role in reaching your goals. In closing, let me ask you this, is having fruit and veggies, over a donut and fries always the answer? To me, I say NOT A CHANCE. But balance is everything. You have to find the balance that works for you. Just make sure you are being honest to yourself. Are you truly doing all that you can to be the healthiest, strongest and best version of yourself? Or are you tricking yourself into thinking you are?

As always,

Stay strong ladies and gents!

David