Thread: Lose Fat, the diet approach.

Okay, I hear what everyone here is saying however…

We can discuss the concept or rather reality of calorie in and calorie out and the speed of one’s metabolism versus the sluggishness of the other. I’d like to take a somewhat different approach here and look at the most anabolic of all hormones and my favourite: insulin, for without, one can not add any weight be it muscle or fat, (and yes, adding fat is part of anabolism the same way adding muscles is).

So let me just give you a sneak preview of how I think about food; some would say to me that peanuts are a fattening snack food. Or carbs (starch) or fruits are the devil himself and one only need to look at such a food macro to pack on the fat, (that would be the keto camp I’d say)!

I don't think it's so much the fruit or the starch that are in question here as it is the GI and GL component of that food and the timing of its consumption. Yes timing is so critical whether you want to pack on the muscle beef or lose that midsection hugging fat.

Basically what I'm saying is that it all depends on how that particular food stimulates your insulin release and the timing it does so. There are times when your cells are insulin sensitive and other times when they are insulin resistant; you've got to capitalise on the sensitive times and minimise on the resistant times. It goes without saying that a highly and finely tuned athlete not only has his metabolism revving and working in his favour, but his whole body is geared to a more efficient way of burning fuel thanks to his insulin sensitivity.

Coming back to blaming peanuts of being the enemy of one’s desire to lose fat, I say they (the peanuts) are the innocent party here and it’s inactivity, over consumption of calories and /or consuming the wrong type of calorie at the wrong time that is the main culprit here that one needs to ponder upon if one is to be really true and honest with one’s self.

Last but not least, once a winning formula, a working solution is found for your weight management issues, then you’d need to be so extremely consistent until the main objective (irrespective of what it may be) is realised. You all deserve nothing less than to realising your true and magnificent potential.

In summary: to me calories = energy, and energy = kick arse workouts, so why reduce calories more than you have to is what I’m asking? Would it not be better to pick and choose the appropriate calories for your body’s need and have more of them instead of less due to wrong food choices coupled with wrong timing? For example, one can have 1500 calories set out haphazardly with the only concern being the caloric count itself, versus 2000 calories that are planned and well thought after based on one’s insulin sensitivity and fitness level.

Over to you now and thank you for reading…


Fadi.

Great post Fadi. You know you'll have to put up a sample diet now which covers all the possible foods, as well as the peaks and troughs for insulin response for the average joe and how to optimise everything :)

awesome fadi... so lets start talking about timing!

Very true, looking forward to seeing a diet plan for someone that trains after work :)

I have problems with grasping the idea of insulin.
As others said, lets get into timing! I can see this has more benfit than neglecting your insulin response.

As someone with a diagnosed bad insulin resistance issue, I'm very interested in learning more about timing and management of insulin release.

Great post Fadi!

Here is a diet to get you started on the idea of nutrient timing, most importantly carbohydrates.

Bodybuilding.com - The Diet Solution: A Concise Diet To Lose Fat & Gain Muscle! - Derek Beast Charlebois

I have lost 20kg in 17 weeks so far on this diet, with minimal muscle loss.

don't we already know this?

all carbs that aren't fruit olr veg to be had the meal before, during or after training

insulin is released after eating anything (but more with carbs then anything else), and in time of stress with the amount of stress the body is being put under detirmining the amount insulin being released

so timing wsie you want to creat an insulin surge before training (through eating) so you can shuttle nutrients into the mucles to be fully charged for your workout then again after training to stored your post meal nutrients (from training)

my journal here was all about that (operation me big)

Originally Posted by Raptor

As someone with a diagnosed bad insulin resistance issue, I'm very interested in learning more about timing and management of insulin release.

Cortisol is your friend while you train e.g. heavy weights / creating overload

Raising insulin lowers cortisol so timing would be very important.

Originally Posted by swans05

don't we already know this?

all carbs that aren't fruit olr veg to be had the meal before, during or after training

insulin is released after eating anything (but more with carbs then anything else), and in time of stress with the amount of stress the body is being put under detirmining the amount insulin being released

so timing wsie you want to creat an insulin surge before training (through eating) so you can shuttle nutrients into the mucles to be fully charged for your workout then again after training to stored your post meal nutrients (from training)

my journal here was all about that (operation me big)

Not everyone is einstien like yourself buddy

And no-one is going to be able to discuss this topic like Fadi can and will.

We all await some more information and stimulating discussion Fadi!

Originally Posted by Belmont

Cortisol is your friend while you train e.g. heavy weights / creating overload

Raising insulin lowers cortisol so timing would be very important.

Interesting Belmont, I'll send a PM to discuss so as to not hijack the thread.

EDIT : Belmont, your PM is full.

Originally Posted by Raptor

Interesting Belmont, I'll send a PM to discuss so as to to hijack the thread.

EDIT : Belmont, your PM is full.

Try now, more than happy to help :-)

why not just explain it here?

Originally Posted by Belmont

Cortisol is your friend while you train e.g. heavy weights / creating overload

Raising insulin lowers cortisol so timing would be very important.

Belmont,

You’ve made two statements above of which one I need some clarification on or at least some substantiation. You said that cortisol is a friend while one trains. There is no denying the fact that cortisol is essential for our life’s existence; it helps us to deal with stressful situations by speeding up the breakdown of muscles (proteins) to insure we have the fuel to keep us ticking over. Of course it does other things as well. However it is this exact function that makes it an enemy and not a friend whilst training as you have suggested. Cortisol also serves to increase blood sugar levels which is absolutely fantastic when a moron is holding a gun to my head or I’m somehow stressed out by other means. Here, I would not just call cortisol my friend but something much dearer than that because its much needed help and generosity in cannibalising my “assets” (muscles for an ultra quick energy release) could make the difference between me living or dying!

Your second statement of which I agree with is that yes, raising insulin levels does lower cortisol levels. And as everyone here should know, cortisol is the physiological antagonist to my favourite anabolic hormone King Insulin. It (cortisol), opposes the Lion by facilitating the destruction of our hard earned muscle on two fronts; the glycogen (carbohydrate) as well as amino acids (muscle protein) front.

To everyone here who likes to take in caffeine before their workouts please know this; caffeine increases your cortisol levels. Yes, caffeine irrespective in what shape or form or how beautiful the packaging the supplement you bought looks like, this beast (caffeine) helps in stimulating cortisol release into your blood stream. And why not? These two destroyers are buddies in crime! One destroys your adrenal glands by exhausting them whilst the other eats your muscles alive! You’ve all heard about caffeine sparing muscle glycogen and facilitating fatty acid release into the blood stream. So from that point of view everyone is led to believe that caffeine is a wonderful drug in helping us trim our love handles. Well wouldn’t be great if it really did this task properly and efficiently without inviting its muscle munching friend (cortisol) to the party?! Something for you to think about.

To some of you I may sound cruel since I can be blunt at times, but please believe me when I tell you that I am 100% committed to giving you what is best for you with not just your muscles in mind, but your health also. Medicine is sometimes damn bitter to swallow but it’s the intention of the giver that you aught to judge and not the bitterness of what is given or in the manner it is given. As long as you recognise that it's medicine and not poison that is being shared here, then all would be hunky dory!


Fadi.