I'm trying to decide if I should go with ~120g carbs daily/high pro/moderate-low fat or a low carb/high pro/moderate fat diet w/ carb refeed days...
12 hours later...
QUOTE]Does a low carb/high protein diet really give hormonal benefits or is that just bullshit?[/QUOTE]
You are over analyzing shit, you've been asking the same questions for weeks. Pick a method and stick to it and you will see results. Once you stick with it for awhile and learn how your body reacts you can start to change things up. Worrying about whether you show be eating 100g vs 150g of carbs is just tedious to the point of rediculous in the larger scheme of things. It ultimately won't make that much of a difference in the long run provided you've got the rest of it right.
You change your diet and workout regimen plans more than nclifter did(and probably still does), and that's saying a lot believe me. First you want to try DC then complain you can't eat enough protein, then you want options on other methods. Asking which diet is best for you on this board is going to get you 100 different answers and will only serve to confuse you even more than you already are.
For your goals I don't think you can beat DC's methods. If you can't follow his simple instructions then I don't see how anything will work for you because this is as simple as it gets. Personally I can get 400g of protein from real food a day without much trouble, I usually only resort to shakes in post workout nutrition and usually one in the morning due to time constraints. I eat about a pound of red meat(cooked weight), a pound of chicken(cooked weight) and combined with eggs, bread, etc... and a couple shakes I easily hit the 400g mark. DC never said it would be easy so if you're not prepared to make the necessary changes to get your protein requirements met then you aren't prepared to make any changes to your physique. If you have to drink 150g of protein from shakes to hit your mark then so bet it. I go through 2-3lbs of protein a week, but in the long run it isn't much more expensive than steak/chicken/fish not to mention the ease of use.
Personally I can find my meat pretty cheap if I shop around. I just bought a boatload of London Broil, which is the leanest cut of beef that I know of, for $1.69 a pound of my local Ralph's. I then bought about 40$ of chicken breasts at Costco(Foster Farms $2.99lb) and I've found it cheaper at Ralph's from time to time. You can also find hamburger meat, turkey and other meats on sale pretty cheap. Not to mention eggs are cheap as hell as well. Also Optimum protein is priced pretty competitively and it never gave me any stomach trouble. Right now I'm using pro-complex which is more expensive, but their Whey is very economical for someone on a fixed budget.
As for your last question there are plenty of different studies out there that outline diet influence on hormones. Personally I think if you want to optimally grow muscle as fast as possible then you need to eat some carbs. I didn't say you had to eat junk food, or pound down 500g of carbs a day, just that you need some carbs in your diet. I know of one study in particular that showed men who eat at least 100g of fat per day had high natural test levels than those who were eating lower fat diets. So if you want to boost your natural hormones then shove down the protein, make sure to get at least 100g of fat(preferably the good kinds) and fill the rest of your diet with carbs.
It's really that simple. You never mentioned your actual goals in this thread, but if you want to slowly shed some more fat while gaining some muscle then I think DC is the way, but if you can't follow his recommendations then don't waste your time on it. Whatever you choose to do, choose it fast and stick to it. The time you've spent nitpicking over the details could have been better used if applied to an actual decision and you'd probably be seeing some results already. Hell, Body For Life is better than changing your diet daily.
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