Good going sonny. I also am a lifelong believer in a lowfat, high carb and moderate protein diet. I run very well on it, though I avoid high GI carbs. Many studies show that this is a very good diet for preventing fat gain on an ad libitum diet. In other words you eat as much as you feel like as long as it meets the macronutrient criteria. I tend more towards 15% fat, but it's mostly from polyunsats. To answer you insulin question, insulin insensitivity requires fat, in other words it's not the carbs that cause the prob, but the combo of carbs and fats. I think I'll plagerize a recent article from Dave Greenwalt (apologies to Dave) that is humorous and informative:
Stuck Low-carbers Today No Different Than
Stuck Low-fatters of the 1980s
Low-carbing has reached epidemic proportions and the fear
of carbohydrates now needs its own medical classification
much the same as being afraid of spiders or heights.
Gee whiz! If I had a nickel for every person I spent time
with who has this false belief that carbs are evil I'd be a
rich man. Men, women, it makes no difference. The current
thinking among tens of thousands of dieters is that the best
way to lose fat is to cut carbs.
I've coached many in my Superfit Coaching Club who cut
carbs too much (very common) and guess what - energy down,
fat loss slows or stops and they can't figure it out. So,
what do they do? They cut carbs and calories further. Oops,
that didn't work either. Now what?
The twin brother to this situation is the person who
literally goes into convulsions when they look at an energy
bar they'd like to try but they see it has 12-20 grams of
sugars per serving. "Oh my God - whatever will I do? I'm not
buying that crap! I'll buy the low-carb bar because I know
that'll help me get ripped!"
GIVE ME A BREAK!
As much as we were duped by the media in the 80s that all
fat must be eliminated from our diets, people today are
being duped into thinking that it's the carbs that are the
thorn in their proverbial fat loss side.
Allow me to give you some real-life examples of
statements from coaching members and others I've counseled
recently who seem to really be fixated on carbohydrates and
are even fearful of consuming ANYTHING with sugars. See if
you share some of their thoughts today.
Example 1: Sugars in Energy Bars are Scary?
"My final question is about the OptiPro Bars you
recommended - the Peanut Butter in particular you mentioned.
Although I haven't tried that yet, the Blueberry Muffin is
excellent as well. Noting the macronutrients, the 40g of
carbs is made up largely of sugars. Does this pose any
threat to insulin spikes or such?"
This member's definition of "largely" must be 38% because
the Opti-pro Meal Peanut Crunch contains 15 grams of sugars
out of 40 total grams of carbohydrates. I consumed no less
than one of these bars a day as I prepared for my last
bodybuilding competition. I competed at 4.8% bodyfat.
Example 2: This person's carbs are less than 100g 4 out of 7
days a week! And this person's exercising like a madman.
"But the days are ROUGH - since I workout first thing in
the morning, that's my "last gasp" and then it's swimming
upstream all day - get that heavy weight around my eyelids,
kinda feel like I'm sleep walking, that type of thing. I'm
getting through, the issue isn't sticking to the nutrition
plan nor anything else, it's the lack of progress. Carbs are
fairly low - I have most of my carbs on training days and
then the bulk of them before/after training. So non-training
days are really a drag. I'm not going low enough to kick
into ketosis."
Can anyone guess why his eyelids are hanging all day?
Example 3: The Dangers of Fruit Consumption?
"Ok about Fruits and Veggies. I am pretty picky. I do eat
green beans sometimes, and peas, and broccoli and
asparagus..and salads. I do love fruits too. But a few
different times I have heard that they are too high in sugar
and I shouldn't have them to lose fat. So what the heck?? I
cut em out. I am used to that since I did Atkins for 6
months."
But, even though the fruits were eliminated this member
was still "stuck" in weight. Hmmm - maybe it wasn't the
fruit after all.
Example 4: Here's a nice goal for ya - ELIMINATE SUGARS and
then life will be good. Not REDUCE but ELIMINATE sugars.
"Hi David, My goals for this 8 week cycle: I want to
increase strength by 10%, therefore increasing muscle mass.
Lose 2% bodyfat, eliminate sugar(you know this has been the
hard thing for me.) I am taking citrimax to help with the
cravings and I have just about totally given up diet coke!!"
Amazing as it may seem - eliminating sugars was not high
on my list of recommendations for this person.
Example 5: Oh yeah, and let's make sure we NEVER eat carbs
after 6pm too - because it's well documented that eating
carbs after 6pm will KILL all chances of fat loss. Gawd!
"One other thing, I'm pretty sure that right now I'm not
getting enough carbs daily, any good advice on which foods
are good to eat to add carbs but not fat. Right now I get
carbs from oatmeal at breakfast, some veggies at
mid-morning, yogurt and wheat bread at lunch, and some from
a Myoplex at mid-afternoon. I try to eat a dinner with
little or no carbs since I have to eat so late, around
8:00pm, (is that too late for a meal?) due to getting home
so late because of my workout schedule."
Hard to believe this person was stuck isn't it? I mean,
after all, they don't eat carbs late at night and they don't
eat ANYTHING after 8pm. Gee, what could be causing them to
not lose more bodyfat?
Example 6: Taking Things to Extremes
"Perhaps others are like me in their "fear" of carbs -
having gone through the BFL, Phillips mentions many times
the dangers that America has with too many carbs. They eat
all of the fat free foods and wonder why they're fat -
because they overeat the FF foods, often rich in carbs.
Perhaps Phillips stresses this too much, but I suspect
others are careful of carbs, due in part to his book. In
addition, since carbs are more easily converted to fats than
protein, they do make me think before taking them in."
Well, it's good to think about any macronutrient before
chowing it down but to be SO hung up on carbs is unhealthy
and propagates a myth - that carbs are the root of fatness
in America.
UNTRUE!
Overconsumption of EVERYTHING is the cause. We Americans
are gluttonous pigs! Face it!
And even though I've been guilty of pounding the
"government is an idiot for telling us to eat super low fat
foods in place of high fat foods" drum because America is
truly fatter than ever - it's not BECAUSE America listened
to the entire government messages that we are fatter.
America heard the part about eating low/no fat foods more
often but they didn't listen to the parts where we were told
to reduce fat-laden foods and do everything in moderation.
This is where I break into my "yeah but" alter ego
"Well, yeah but, I like pizza"
"Well, yeah but, there's just so much GOOD food all
around us"
"Well, yeah but, I am busy and have to rely on fast
food daily"
"Well, yeah but, the people I live with eat like total
sh&^# and I feel obligated to eat like they do so I
don't offend them."
"Well, yeah but, how can anyone resist all the cookouts
and beer-swelling parties that are all around you?"
"Well, yeah but, I eat 2 boxes of fat-free cookies
(just like THEY say) and then have a 3/4 lb burger, 44
ounce REGULAR COKE with cheese and fries and pie- If I
follow the guidelines half way won't it still work?"
No, and it wasn't the carbs. You overate calories and
didn't listen to the entire message about moderation,
substitution and planned indulgences.
So I'm not accused of only exposing a problem with no
solutions let me leave you with some maxims that will
certainly help put anyone on the path to better health and a
leaner body:
Eat more veggies
Eat more fruits
Eat more WHOLE GRAINS
Eat less processed crap
Don't fear carbs! Fear processed bottom-feeder toxic
waste that barely passes a government inspection and fear
the overconsumption of ANY macronutrient (carbs, proteins
and fats).
Fear imbalance
Fear the elimination of whole food groups
Fear fad diets
Fear teaching your children how to do everything at an
extreme (Atkins)
Fear having such a lack of control in your own life
that your children follow suit
Fear looking like everyone else
Fear dieing a very old person at a very young age
Fear forcing your relatives to watch and care for you
as you suffer in agony during your last 10 years of life due
to the nutrition and exercise choices you make today
There are all kinds of things to fear - carbs do not
really top the list.
Don't run and hide from energy bars with 15 grams of
sugars.
The epidemic of "stuck" low-carbers today are no
different than the "stuck" low-fatters of the 80s.
People take things to extremes. Stop it!
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