There are a great number of dieting books out there. Some are for direct fat loss, some are for lean muscle mass gain and some are for maintenance. However, not all of them depend on scientific subject studies or biological facts. As a matter of fact, a significant deal of these books are very deceptive. For instance, there was book that suggested the readers to only eat watermelon and cherries for a week. Since these fruits are diuretic. Diuretic food causes water loss in your body, hence temporary weight loss. How temporary? Way temporary. In fact, you will have even more water retention when you stop eating them in such a strict regimen. With that being said, you should definitely read these books with a bit of skepticism and apply some of your own research before you plunge into a diet that could negatively affect your gains.
About Carb Backloading & The Author
John Kiefer is a consultant at Muscle & Fitness Magazine and author of books such as Carb-Nite, Carb Backloading. He has read over 40,000 scientific studies and every statement he makes in his books are based on these studies. Carb Backloading promises you a very simple diet in which you are very strict leading up to your workout followed by a very unorthodox way of eating during the rest of the day which requires you to eat a lot of basic sugars including things like desserts and donuts. It sounds crazy, but I thought I would give it a read and find out what possible grounds he based his science on while writing this book. After completing the book, I was shocked that it all made sense. I even put what I read to use and had some pretty amazing results. Since the book is 300 pages, I will try to sum the whole idea of carb backloading in 300 words or less.
John Kiefer is a consultant at Muscle & Fitness Magazine and author of books such as Carb-Nite, Carb Backloading. He has read over 40,000 scientific studies and every statement he makes in his books are based on these studies. Carb Backloading promises you a very simple diet in which you are very strict leading up to your workout followed by a very unorthodox way of eating during the rest of the day which requires you to eat a lot of basic sugars including things like desserts and donuts. It sounds crazy, but I thought I would give it a read and find out what possible grounds he based his science on while writing this book. After completing the book, I was shocked that it all made sense. I even put what I read to use and had some pretty amazing results. Since the book is 300 pages, I will try to sum the whole idea of carb backloading in 300 words or less.
The Science Behind Carb Backloading
The book begins with the most unusual advice: skip breakfast. He explains that upon waking our leptin levels (hunger hormone) peak so that we feel hungry. However, we can suppress that hunger with a cup of coffee as it contains hunger suppressing ingredients. After leptin levels peak and fall about two hours upon waking, our growth hormone levels begin to peak next. As you all know GH is one of the most anabolic hormones one could ever hope for. Kiefer states that this natural course of hormones will take action IF there is no intervention, breakfast & insulin. It is odd for bodybuilders or even physique athletes to even consider skipping breakfast. However I made a compromise and met Kiefer halfway. Upon waking in the morning I drank my whey isolate shake as Kiefer explains that half a scoop doesn’t trigger insulin significantly enough thus your hormones stay undisturbed, and coffee. Then I waited the suggested 2 hours for breakfast in which there were no usable carbs. (This means you can have dietary fiber but you cannot have sugar, starch, etc.).
The book begins with the most unusual advice: skip breakfast. He explains that upon waking our leptin levels (hunger hormone) peak so that we feel hungry. However, we can suppress that hunger with a cup of coffee as it contains hunger suppressing ingredients. After leptin levels peak and fall about two hours upon waking, our growth hormone levels begin to peak next. As you all know GH is one of the most anabolic hormones one could ever hope for. Kiefer states that this natural course of hormones will take action IF there is no intervention, breakfast & insulin. It is odd for bodybuilders or even physique athletes to even consider skipping breakfast. However I made a compromise and met Kiefer halfway. Upon waking in the morning I drank my whey isolate shake as Kiefer explains that half a scoop doesn’t trigger insulin significantly enough thus your hormones stay undisturbed, and coffee. Then I waited the suggested 2 hours for breakfast in which there were no usable carbs. (This means you can have dietary fiber but you cannot have sugar, starch, etc.).
Since I am used to dieting without carbs, cutting carbs for majority of the day wasn’t a challenge for me. I didn’t feel hungry because I added a lot of fiber to my meals such as cauliflower, asparagus etc. which made me feel full and also helped with getting rid of underskin water retention. For the most part, I ate fish and veggies. If I couldn’t find fish, I had turkey breast or cow sirloin as well as additional fats from walnuts or avocado. The only thing that really bothered me was eating large amounts of carbs late in the day. Nevertheless, I recommend eating your carb-loading meals at most 3 – 4 hours post workout. After that, the metabolic rate significantly reduces as you begin to become less active.
This is just one of the hormonal manipulation suggestions he discusses in relation to dieting. If you want to read more about it or see what else Kiefer has to offer you should definitely pick up his book. He has diet suggestions for every purpose and states exactly how much you need to eat in order to reach a specific goal. I recommend that if this article piqued your interest, you should certainly give Carb Backloading a read. It is OK to still be skeptical as this is a highly unusual approach to nutrition, but you shouldn’t knock it until you try it!
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