Natural Hormone Therapy: Training, Eating, Sleeping
Part II - The Diet

By Elena Voropay

Natural Hormone Therapy: Training, Eating, Sleeping
Part I – The Workout

Natural Hormone Therapy: Training, Eating, Sleeping
Part III - The Snooze

From the previous article of “Natural Hormone Therapy: Training, Eating, Sleeping. The Workout.” you have learned the knots and bolts of your endocrine system and how to control your hormones with training. In brief, your hormones are the self-sufficient *chemical messengers of your endocrine system that are produced in one place of the body and transported to stimulated tissues . Hormones control every single action of the body, from sleep to hunger, from desire to train to failure to grow. In plain English, lets say you worked out. With every movement of your muscles you broke down muscle cells. To counterbalance the induced stress and in order to function later on, your muscles now need replenishment. And you can't simply ignore the issue – your hormones will let you know that by altering all physiological actions of internal and external organs. Simply, you will not feel well, and certainly your muscles will never grow unless they are properly fed. Your greatest concern here is to put the body into anabolic or growth state. On the other hand, you need to suppress any further muscle tissue break down of the catabolic state stimulated by lifting weights. You can do all of the above by proper training, eating and sleeping. These are your three main living endeavors that take you to where you want to be – to the state of healthy balance.

With the right type and amount of training you can alter the natural levels of two major muscle builders hormones - Growth Hormone and Testosterone, and the ultimate muscle destructor Cortisol. But all that muscle building is worthless unless you support it with good balanced diet.

The first problem that many bodybuilders face is not eating enough calories throughout the day. It's common sense – physical training burns more energy. But in fear of getting fat, eating becomes a problem. This causes failure to build any additional muscle tissue. Just look around the stick-thin guys with pencil-necks at the gym – they've been working out for years and are still lifting the pink dumbbells. Ok, maybe the weights have changed their color to fashionable silver-black, but that hasn't added an inch to anybody's guns. What's the deal with runway looks? Fear of body lard? Possibly. Hatred of food? Could be. Hormones? Most likely. Especially if you figure out which chemical messengers are involved in eating.

Lesson number one - if you want to build more mass, you gotta eat more. Period. This way you will keep your body in the positive energy balance allowing for growth. Of course, you must stimulate that growth by exercise. Training without good planning and nutritional support for building muscle mass is like a bunch of construction workers without tools and bricks for putting together a building. If you start to eat more and train less, as probably happens in the off season and during holidays, you will grow. Specifically, you put yourself in a true anabolic state, grow muscles, improve even already almost perfect body composition, burn whatever little bits of fat cells you have around your belly button, and take your training above and beyond the expectations. Sounds surreal, but researchers confirm that it is not. A simple increase in calories has shown to enhance the famous anabolic trio - Growth Hormone, Testosterone, and Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1). On the flip side, when you start your cut-up season and starve yourself on another diet, the levels of these hormones drop and catabolism takes off.

Another problem bodybuilders face is eating wrong proportion of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats at wrong times relative to training. Glucose must continuously circulate in the blood to give all the cells some fuel to function and are kept within a certain range by your hormones. The most significant of these include Insulin and Glucagon. These hormones have a profound effect on your anabolism inducing muscle building. When you eat right, you will also minimize catabolic effects of exercise without lowering your fat-burning capacity.

Insulin

Insulin-phobic population on low-carb diets is taking over the world now. That's right, diet creators have ran out of new names and don't know what else to ban out of an already unbalanced tasteless empty meals of weight-conscious foodies. So, now it's hormonal restriction – Insulin-free diet (wonder if anyone thought of that one yet...). The hormone has such a bad reputation, that medical professionals put it on the same list with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. The problem is that not too many really know what the hormone is all about.

Take an average treadmill runner who happens to be a bodybuilder in a shredding phase. Ask him if he wants to spike up his Insulin, and I bet you would get the terrifying killer look. But if the buff is a professional lifter who has as much bulk in between his ears as in between his tits, he would give you a huge jaw-widening smile with a ratifying "Insulin spike? Let’s go for it!!!" So, who is confused here and what's up with all this Insulin fear everyone keeps telling you about?

The mystery of Insulin lies in its ability to help your body build new cells. All kinds of cells, including muscles and fat. It is a peptide hormone secreted by the pancreas which regulates caloric energy levels circulating in the blood at any given time. One of the most anabolic hormones in the body, Insulin is released whenever food is eaten. It stimulates the uptake of nutrients by driving amino acids, glucose and other nutrients into muscle cells, thereby stimulating muscle protein synthesis. And this is exactly what you want – more amino bricks for your dense muscles.

There is an old adage that this hormone is released only after eating carbohydrates. But this is only partially true. Insulin is released after any meal that contains calories. If you train day in and day out, your muscles cry for additional energy all the time. The only way any cells and tissues in the body can grow is if they have enough useful calories to do so.

The mechanism of Insulin is quite simple – you eat, the caloric energy goes to your blood, the levels of circulating glucose increases. Sensing the increase, your pancreas secrete Insulin which transports all nutrients to the targeted tissues and lowers blood sugar levels. How much of the hormone is secreted depends on which nutrients you eat. Carbohydrates are easier to digest and take less time than protein and fats. This is the reason why carbs release all their caloric energy into to the blood stream faster and raise your blood glucose levels higher. Proteins and fats are not so simple. They demand different enzymes and even force different organs to accept them as an energy source. While sugars can be metabolized in a matter of minutes, proteins and fats take hours for nutrient delivery labor. All this mumbo-jumbo inside your stomach translates into more Insulin after you eat potatoes and less after you down your stake. And what happens after an all-time favourite pizza? The combination of carbohydrates, protein and fat you get from every bite balance out each other leading to a moderate insulin elevation.

Meals that have no or few carbs still stimulate Insulin release, but to a much lesser degree. Researchers found that three weeks of low-carbohydrate starvation may significantly lower resting levels of this potent anabolic hormone. Less Insulin in the body – smaller potential for muscle growth or anabolism. And then you wonder where has all the muscle gone after you've been dieting with Atkin's.

But, of course, there is a catch. Even though Insulin stimulates muscle protein synthesis, it also blocks mobilization of fat. It all translates into same or even additional soft lard that covers your growing muscles if you eat more than your body needs. Despite the unbelievable size of your muscles, you may turn into a big chubby fat-covered dude instead of a fearless confident cut-up bodybuilding mountain. The reason? Who cares how much muscle mass your body captures since none is visible under the layer of subcuttenious fat?

Many will tell you that when Insulin levels go up and stay there, you will wrack havoc on your hormones. This is when you will crave 'wrong' and weird foods, feel hungry even after an oversized meal, your moods will resemble your girlfriend's PMS, and you won't feel like hitting the gym at all. Eventually, the only belt you'll be wearing will be hidden under your own skin and made of 100% all natural human fat cells . Not a pretty picture. But taking the beauty factor aside, it may be important to know that hyperinsulinemia can suppress your immune system big time making recovery extremely difficult. The roller-coaster Insulin rides predispose to many dangerous chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and premature death.

Another term you may hear often is called Insulin Resistance. And it is not reserved for the obese population only. In fact, Insulin Resistance can occur when you least expect it. Even the very few ones of us who wear the title of a Bodybuilder like a badge of honour can induce the nasty hormonal condition when we put our best muscle building intentions to practice.

The dilemma lies in overtraining and overeating. Let's say you train to the point where there is not a single existing muscle cell left out undamaged. You did a good thing by stimulating growth. Your body aches so bad, you can hardly move. Now you need all the possible nutrients you can get to support that massive growth. All tissues and organs literally scream for food. And so you eat like a horse. Theoretically you are doing another good thing. When the needed growth is reinforced by nutrient supply, you are at the ultimate state of anabolism. It all goes well for a while, but repeat this too often and you may break your hormonal homeostasis.

The complex machinery of your system wears out and forgets how to balance itself properly. What happens with Insulin here may surprise you. Weight training relies on sugars in your blood, it uses it up, blood glucose drops and Insulin production is suppressed. Remember, Insulin is your anabolic hormone, and after the workout its levels drop so low, that you may faint. Now it is the time to bring Insulin levels up by eating. The more you eat –the higher the blood sugar levels rise, the more Insulin is released. But when the amount of the hormone goes through the roof too often, which will happen if you eat like a horse after every workout, the number of Insulin receptors on the cells will get reduced. As a result, your body becomes less sensitive to Insulin because with fewer Insulin receptors available less hormone can bind to needed cells. Now you are Insulin Resistant.

But what about all the muscle building and anabolic response of this arcane hormone? Is insulin good or bad? Don't know why I keep asking this stupid question, but the answer is- "It depends!" Controlling Insulin production, making sure it is released and supported at the right times and suppressing hormonal production when needed is the key to getting leaner, stronger, denser muscles. If you learn to control, not to limit, your Insulin – you will master the art and science of growing in the right direction.

Inducing this controversial fat storing hormone may actually be one of the best and easiest ways to put layers and layers of rock-hard tissue under your skin. Fostering carb storage does not necessarily translate to increased fat deposition which takes place when you eat more than you need. If you exercise, you need to eat more and stimulate insulin secretion for muscle growth. Insulin is the key to energizing your body by promoting amino acid uptake in muscle and thus improving protein synthesis by up to 30 percent.

If this doesn’t justify this feared hormone for your muscle building gains, then you have to get this – Insulin may increase free or active testosterone levels in the blood by inhibiting production of protein SHBG produced in the liver and by elevating the activity of a T-synthesizing enzyme in the testes. Some Testosterone-conscious bodybuilders have been working hard on their maleness and now may face just the opposite problem – the female looking boobs and muscles due to increased estrogen production. As the natural body’s ability to make T is suppressed due to developed dependence on hormones, aromatase enzyme may convert the male hormone to its female sister estrogen. And believe it or not, Insulin may correct the problem by inhibiting aromatase enzyme and bring the so-much needed hormonal balance. And the last note-worthy comment about Insulin is that it can really do a good thing for your stress hormones – that is to bring them down just enough in order to stop the breakdown of tissues and to start the renewal process.

Controlling your insulin release by timing your meals and particularly carbohydrate intake will help you burn much more fat than you want (if that’s possible). Your iron-pumping routine is important here as studies have shown that Insulin secretion is depressed during training by another hormone epinephrine that goes up with intense physical movement. It may be a good thing this sedating chemical may not be something you need during an electrifying bodybuilding session. But workouts cannot go on forever – even the most cutting-edge robotic machines break, wear down, and can become overheated if left in non-stop operation unsupervised. So, your body needs some rest to repair the damage and bring hormones in balance. Here even Insulin spikes may be beneficial – just after you finished your training. This will promote muscle glycogen synthesis and increase the uptake of protein by the starving muscle cells.

Does your body care which type of activity you engage when it comes to Insulin fluctuations? You bet. Some ancient studies pin-pointed endurance activities as the ultimate carb-burning stoves. But now we know that any high-intensity exercise can deplete glycogen and lower performance. What’s the brand of the utmost carb-burning stove? Owned by the same health and beauty related company that produces a lot of repeated anaerobic reps and sets, the best-selling brands are known as bodybuilding and strength training. These are so efficient that just in one hour they can do the job the whole storage room loaded with old-fashioned running.

One thing to keep in mind here is your Insulin sensitivity level. For many reasons, some bodies may not respond to Insulin spikes optimally. One great way to control your insulin levels is to eat foods which are low on the glycemic index (GI). GI system ranks carbohydrates based on their immediate effect on blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that are quickly enter the bloodstream faster and raise blood sugar quicker. These have the highest GI scores. Carbohydrates that break down slowly release glucose gradually and are ranked lower on the GI scale. have low glycemic indexes. One of the best ways to lower the overall level of the glycemic index in your meals is to include a lean protein source, healthy mono-unsaturated fat (olive oil) and a fibrous vegetable source along with your starchy food. A great sample meal including all these aspects would include 8 ounces of chicken breast, 1 plain sweet potato and 2 cups of steamed broccoli with 2 teaspoons of extra virgin olive oil. The lean protein (chicken) and fat (olive oil), will generally reduce the over glycemic index of the meal.

Glucagon

Take a barbell – it has two ends with appropriate weights on each side to balance the weight. One plate is your Insulin, the other one is Glucagon. The bar that holds them together is your blood sugar. These are your two major hormones that control levels of glucose concentration in your blood. While Insulin lowers blood sugar levels by transporting energy to the needed tissues, Glucagon feeds your blood with glucose from stores available in the body.

There are plenty of us who don’t happen to eat regularly. Take a weight-loss junkie who constantly thinks about losing fat, or even an overstressed office clerk who simply has no chance to eat six nutritious balanced meals throughout the day. Or even an uneducated fitness enthusiast who trains early in the morning on an empty stomach. This is a perfect scenario and the most fertile ground for constantly fluctuating blood sugar levels that go out of advised proportions. If it’s been several hours after your last meal and your food is long gone from your stomach and intestines, there is no more circulating energy from food available for delivery to your starving tissues.

This is the time when your blood sugar drops below normal range and now your body cries for help to stay in homeostasis. Here, your endocrine and digestive systems serve as peacekeepers and send an entire full equipped army of hormones with Glucagon leading the parade. This linear peptide consisting of 29 amino acids is synthesized as proglucagon that is expressed within pancreatic islets and intestinal tract or your guts and processed into glucagons-like peptides (enteroglucagon). Whether or not the hormone cares about its biology, Glucagon knows its function quite well, and so should you.

The fat-hated and liver-loved hormone literally controls your entire sense of being when you are hungry. As its main role is to stimulate an increase in blood concentration of glucose, it has to find available energy sources other than nutrients in your guts. Where does Glucagon get the sugar to put into your blood so that you don’t die when you stop eating? The ultimate energy source is your liver, particularly liver glycogen. As you might know, Insulin helps to store glucose in the liver in the form of glycogen. This is quite an interesting mechanism of Glucagon and Insulin, the two fighting hormones that make each other’s job easier.

When your blood glucose falls way down, Glucagon goes to hepatocytes in the liver and asks these for glycogen, activates the enzymes that depolymerize it and release glucose. But your liver can only store enough energy for your body to function for a few hours, and when it becomes depleted, Glucagon has to ask for help from somewhere else. And that would be your muscles. By the same mechanism of Insulin work, glycogen is deposited in the muscles. So, the hormone activates all the fuel it can found in the lean tissues of the body. The problem is that it also puts your body into a negative nitrogen balance, and this is a catabolic state. This is the time when your muscle building has no go. Isn’t that what you try to prevent? Imagine first working hard day in and day out in the gym in pursuit to lean firm physique, and then wasting all the muscles you tried to build for simple energy.

Gluconeogenesis takes off by activation of Glucagon when non-hexose substrates such as amino acids and triglycerides are converted to glucose. Your body natural metabolism doesn’t really like all that since it has to put a lot of labor into this complicated convergence of non-sugars to energy. And the process is most hated by your brain – the place that lives on sugars only. So, for your overall mental and physical optimal well-being you gotta make sure that your blood sugar levels never fall below normal range and your Glucagon has some time to rest.

Another time when the described hormone does its job is when your blood levels of amino acids are elevated, such as after a protein-rich meal. Here Glucagon also fosters amino acids to glucose by gluconeogenesis. But be careful with too much protein – when you eat plenty of this nutrient, you Insulin levels also go up. This is quite an interesting state when your metabolic barbell is lifted – Glucagon, Insulin and blood sugar go up together. Remember that Insulin opposes Glucagon in its action.

From the first part of the Natural Hormone Therapy: Training, Eating, Sleeping, Growth Hormone (GH) is exactly what you need to synthesize muscle tissue. One key is controlling your Insulin and Glucagon levels as these hormone stimulate and suppress GH respectively. When your blood sugar levels are low, GH is high and vica versa. It may sound like if you want to keep your Growth Hormone levels up, you may need to stay hungry keeping your Insulin low. Certainly, starving people of third-world countries, malnourished, sick and anorexics tends to have high GH levels as all their cells are howling for energy and are so ready to grow. They just don’t have the food to grow on. Insulin becomes an unknown friend for these folks. But hopefully you are not one of them and have no intentions of joining the unhappy crowd. If you function on Glucagon most of the time, as people do with Diabetes Mellitus, your muscle growth becomes problematic.

Eating For Optimal Growth

You pretty much know what a tremendous impact muscle pumping training has on your hormones. But what happens if you take your training completely out of equasion? Don't get me wrong, I don't encourage you to seal off the gym. Just think of other activities that effect your hormonal body state – that would be eating and sleeping. Simply by changing the way you eat has immediate and long term consequences. Your body constantly goes through metabolic peaks and valleys. And there is no way you may ever be able or want to stay in one constant ana-catabolic state. Anabolism or tissue breakdown has to be counterbalanced by tissue synthesis. If we are talking bodybuilding mass here, we mean more anabolism for some serious muscle. But anabolism may also mean synthesis of other tissues, some needed (like cartilage and skin) and some not so much (like adipose or fat). How can you support your system, grow in a good way and feel happy and healthy? Indeed, balancing body hormones and nutrients from food is your secret. And that secret is yours only, as you will have to pay particular attention to your overall lifestyle, priorities, individual preferences, workout and sleep patterns. But once you figure it all out, you will have the knowledge and skill for life that will keep you in the ultimate state of healthy happiness of the fitness world.

Hormonal dieting doesn’t ask you to do a lot of math or go through starvation. There are plenty of foods to choose from, you just need to make the right combinations and eat them when your body is ready to accept these and use to your advantage. Different foods cause different hormonal reactions depending on when they are eaten.

Most diets lead to a plunge in Testosterone levels. If you restrict calories and upgrade your workout you are creating a surefire way to make your anabolic hormones plunge. But these are the hormones that maintain and build your muscles. When you lose muscles, your metabolism drops and you may end up fatter than before.

By eating small nutritious meals, you will increase your metabolism and keep yourself full throughout the entire day. It will also amp up your energy and keep your insulin levels constant. Ideally, you should eat 5 to 6 times per day, with about 3 hours between each meal. Imagine yourself grazing versus hoarding. You want to graze on small amounts of foods several times instead of hoarding on large amounts of foods a few times a day. If you wait too long between meals and overstimulate your Glucagon, you will have the tendency to binge and consume far too many calories later. At that point your Insulin goes up so high, that hyperinsulinemia will give you that feeling of uncontrollable hunger when everything in sight goes into your stomach.

Carbohydrates carry 4 kilocalories per gram that serve to fuel all your body functions, from muscle pumping to heart beating. The magnificence of carbs is that they are the most efficient energy source that become available almost immediately after consumption. But our body’s ability to store sugars is small. Whatever you can’t use now, goes to your liver and muscles for storage as glycogen, and the rest will turn soft. I mean, after a long chain of chemical reactions, carbohydrates you eat will be re-born as adipose cells that guard your density from the outside world. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Knowing when and how much carbs are optimal will work to your advantage only.

Carbs can actually help you burn fat and build muscles, but the time for consuming these has to be right. When carbs turn from muscle-building into fattening is when you eat these before bed, just the time when you don’t need too many sugars to function on. If you eat a balanced diet throughout the day, you should have enough available energy to sleep and recuperate on. But don’t go low-carb crazy – this type of diet may result in protein oxidation for energy, especially when combined with vigorous exercise.

Ever feel sleepy after lunch? Aren’t you supposed to feel energized and empowered after fueling your system with nutrients and calories? Not necessarily so. Years of research have shown that in the few hours following lunch, most people feel drowsier than before they took the first bite. Among many reasons, what, how much and when you eat directly effects how you may feel afterwards. Low-carb high-fat meal, an old Atkins classic, can depress your mood, performance and alertness more than a typical dish cooked with less fat and more carbs. In both meals researchers kept the protein and caloric content the same. So, from here you can tell that a calorie may not be just a calorie when it comes to body fuel.

You may stimulate your GH levels simply by avoiding fast-acting carbohydrates that force your blood sugar levels to go up quickly bringing on an Insulin spike. This is especially important before the workout. If your goal is to burn fat, than you may not need too many carbs as the rise in Insulin levels will be working to preserve the adipose stores. But after you train, everything changes. Here carbohydrates become your best friends as these will stimulate GH level. Add some protein to these, and you will stay in the anabolic state for up to six hours into recovery period. What’s more, you can feel quite safe about not storing any additional fat from the carbs you eat 30 to 60 minutes after exercise. This is your “magic window” of nutrient delivery when everything that goes to your stomach will be beneficially used for lean tissue construction.

Note that restricting carbohydrates to less that 50% of your total calories may diminish your muscle endurance and strength. The reason is glycogen depletion that triggers a phenomenon known as gluconeogenesis when energy is formed by the synthesis of glucose from protein and fats. It may seem appealing if you are interested in burning stored fat for energy, but this mechanism will also burn your muscles for energy too.

Another great thing about eating carbohydrates regularly is that these satisfy all your cravings by optimally working on your appetite-suppressing hormonal reactions. You will also prevent the dangerous side effect of carbo-phobia which has shown to impair Central Nervous System (CNS) function. The explanation lies in fact that your brain’s primary fuel is glucose. Have you ever felt dizzy and fatigued after a tough workout or when you haven’t eaten sugar in a long time? That sensation of weakness is a well-known state for low-carb dieters. Research has also shown that they demonstrate lower scores on intellectual tests and the concentration went south.

Moreover, research has clearly demonstrated that gobbling on your carbs will help you downsize the amount of catabolic stress hormones, such as Cortisol and Adrenaline, which stimulate muscle tissue breakdown and are released during and after exercise.

So, get the carb job done in the morning, before training if you are building muscles, and after your workout, regardless of the goal.

Protein

Proteins are complex molecules with many enzymatic and structural functions that help your body to keep up with daily tissue repair and growth. Contributing amino acids and helping you stay in positive nitrogen balance, protein stimulates hormones necessary for muscle building and functions as cell membrane receptor. Amino acids also assist in maintaining fluid balance through a series of different metabolic reactions. With 4 calories per gram, protein may give you just as much energy as carbohydrates, but protein was not created for energy use only. This is the nutrient in which caloric pool may be next to irrelevant for your muscle building. With all that said, you still should each enough protein for optimal anabolic environment.

Amino acids from protein are needed for tissue growth. Look at the ingredients list of any ‘weight gainer’s’ meal replacement tub and you will see more protein, some carbs and very little fat. The reasoning is probably obvious - protein provides the source of amino acid building blocks needed to synthesize new muscle tissue by repairing the damage done by intense training. Most sports nutritionists recommend that athletes do need more protein for optimum performance and recovery than their sedentary counterparts (about 1.5-2 times more).

But not all protein is created equal. Whey protein has become one of the most popular supplements in the bodybuilding world for a good reason. It has a very potent effect in boosting Insulin levels. It is digested and metabolized much faster that slow-acting egg or milk protein casein. But the last two also help to regulate your appetite through specific hormonal release without causing an Insulin spike like whey.

Let’s say you care about Insulin spikes and try to stay in fat-burning mode. Then it’s better that you restrict your whey protein intake to after training. Namely, the ‘magic hour’ after your iron-pumping session is your prime time for building muscles, when anabolism is prioritized. This is when you want your muscle-growing Insulin to go up. This is the Whey time. But don’t disregard slow working proteins from egg or casein entirely. These best do their job when taken before you put on your weight lifting gloves or your pajamas. The slow action of these aminos will keep your body in positive nitrogen balance for a long time, thus anabolism is continuous when you rest and repair the damage of training.

Aside from supplement cupboard, think of natural foods. What you actually eat may directly impact how much your muscles grow. Specifically, animal sources of aminos may be a much more valuable source for your bodybuilding goals when compared to grain and vegetable protein contributions. All meats, fish and dairy give you complete well-rounded pool of amino acids, while the rest of foods lack one or more amino acids. Metabolic and hormonal response to different proteins varies, as the scientists have demonstrated.

The researchers discovered that, compared to the vegetarian diet, consuming the meat diet produced significantly higher levels of the anabolic hormone Testosterone. They also noticed that the endurance performance time was better after the meat diet than after the vegetarian diet. Not only protein sources matter, but the contribution of fat from whichever diet you choose plays a huge difference as well. Vegetarian diets usually lack sufficient fats, and the anti-catabolic surprise is described next.

Fat

Fat has become an enemy in the world of health and fitness. But this macronutrient is a much needed energizing anabolic promoter, just like carbohydrates and fat. It has twice as many calories than the other two, 9 to 4 and 4 respectively. Thanks to low-fat craze of 1980s and the consequent research feedings of the new century, the feared nutrient might be something that is missing out of bodybuilder’s diet. The many essential physiological functions of fat such energy production, cell membrane and nervous tissue composition, transport of lipid-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, fat synthesizes your steroid hormones, such as Estradiol and Testosterone.

Without sufficient fat in your diet your Testosterone levels will plunge. You will not only fail to build muscles, but also start the fire-fighting campaign of your fat burning. If that’s not enough to make you crave a beautiful cheesy fat-laden piece of pizza, think of your decreased libido. So, you do need fat. Be careful, though, of which one you eat. Monounsaturated fats in extra virgin fresh cold-pressed olive and canola oil and avocados can boost your Testosterone levels and even do a terrific favor to your heart’s health. This is exactly what you need for your hardest ever muscle building weight training and fat burning cardio. The fats you need to think twice about are your saturated fats in animal products and trans fatty acids in margarine. These may give Insulin a hand in its fat deposition.

Several researches indicate that higher fat and lower protein intakes may raise muscle-building anabolic hormones and help them work more efficiently.

More fat and less protein translates into more anabolic muscle-building hormones. While we wait on more research which is obviously needed in this area, some other studies also hint that the low-fat, high-protein route may not be quite the holy grail we all thought it was.

Another thing to consider is the time of the day you eat. In the morning, for example, fat may slow you down more than at night. No wonder dietitians have been recommending to eat cereals, toasts and fruit for breakfast. But try not to force your brain into thinking that low-fat cakes and cookies are good for you! Eating too much sugar at once will make you feel jittery immediately with unavoidable energy crash some time after.

Take Note

While training is paramount in promoting anabolism, what, when and how much you eat contributes to 80 percent of your actual growth. I can't emphasize this enough, but what you put in your mouth is absolutely the most important factor in keeping blood sugar and Insulin levels in the ideal metabolic range for fat burning, muscle building and optimal health and performance. By putting your training and diet together, you can rule your hormones. Precisely, supplementing with protein and carbohydrates before and two hours after the workout sets up the most fertile ground for bulking up lean mass. Do it right, and after your iron-pumping session the levels of Insulin and Growth Hormone will go through the roof. This is your most potent anabolic time. This is the time when you grow with every muscle cell expanding, every fat drop sizzling. Ah, what a heaven!

Besides making regular eating a habit, you may also learn to eat suitable foods to stimulate just the most perfect anabolic state to grow muscles without adding a gram of fat to your best-looking body. Research has demonstrated that one of the best ways to build lean tissue is by feeding your body a combination of protein and carbohydrates after the workout. This promotes an optimal Insulin rise giving you a 50% greater muscle protein synthesis than feeding protein alone. But remember the anabolic importance of fat – besides stimulating your hormonal growth, this nutrient suppresses appetite and Insulin rise making all the nutrients available for utilization slower and for longer. But this is great any time, but not right after your heart-pumping workout when you need energy fast. So, include protein, fat and carbs in the proportions suitable for your goals and energy needs to minimize the fat storage and maximize your fat burning capacity.

References

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• Chandler, R.M., Byrne, H.K., Patterson, J.G., Ivy, J.L. Dietary supplements affect the anabolic hormones after weight training exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 76 (2):839-845, 1994. • Mori, T.A., et al. Dietary fish as a major component of a weight-loss diet: effect on serum lipids, glucose, and insulin metabolism in overweight hypertensive subjects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 701 (5):817-25, 1999.

• Volek, J.S, et al. Testosterone and cortisol in relationship to dietary nutrients and resistance exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology 82(1):49-54, 1997.

• Monteleone, et al. Blunting by chronic phosphatidylserine administration of the stress-induced activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis in healthy men. European Journal of Clinical pharmacology 42(4):385-8, 1992.

• Walberg, J.L., et al. Macronutrient content of a hypoenergy diet affects nitrogen retention and muscle function in weight lifters. International Journal of Sports Medicine 9:261-266, 1988.

• And many many more