Metabolica e proteine
In risposta a Worldwar e per l'utilizzi di tutti vi posto il link di una FAQ dal sito di Di Pasquale www.metabolicdiet.com
Alla domanda:
Q. How much protein should I be taking for major muscle growth?
la risposta di DI Pasquale è:
A. My advice is to try and get 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. As well, try and take the protein over the course of the day, say every 3 hours or so. In that way you'll get less protein catabolism and an overall increase in protein synthesis. If you follow the Metabolic Diet and make sure you eat some protein every 3 hours or so, you should do just fine. If it's hard to eat that often then you can use an MRP, sports bar and/or some protein powder to fill in the gaps between your meals. The supplements offered on the Metabolic Diet site are all geared for the Metabolic Diet and are all low in carbs.
Inoltre alla domanda:
Q. If I want to gain mass and muscle for ice hockey how protein and calories should I intake per day as well as carbs?
La risposta è:
A. The Anabolic Diet was the predecessor for the Metabolic Diet and was originally written for competitive bodybuilders so they could get down to very low levels of body fat while at the same time maintaining as much of their muscle mass as possible. As such it was set up to be a very low carb diet for 5 days of the week and a higher carb diet (much more socially acceptable) on the weekends. Basically it's almost the same as the Strict Phase of the Metabolic Diet. However, the Metabolic Diet, by outlining the various ways to modify carb intake and find your carbohydrate set point, as well as having the Metabolic Index as a guide to fat loss and body composition, is a more advanced diet.
I wrote The Metabolic Diet for anyone who exercises and wants to look good and perform better. As such it can be used by everyone from competitive bodybuilders to those who just want to lose some weight and or body fat and just look good, because you can adjust your carb intake to the level that works best for you, is not as rigid or restrictive as the Anabolic Diet. In fact the idea behind the Metabolic Diet is to individualize the diet by finding the lowest optimum level of dietary carbohydrates.
Although The Metabolic Diet is not necessarily a low carb diet, it can be for those who are genetically efficient fat oxidizers and as such do very well on low levels of dietary carbs. Because of the low carb overtones, there may be some resistance from people who believe that having high levels of complex carbs in the diet is the only way to go. I ran into this problem big time when I introduced the Anabolic Diet but given that The Metabolic Diet is a variable carb diet, and even in those that do well on low carbs, there are high carb intervals built into the diet, I don't expect the same response today. That's because you're encouraged to find the carb level that works best for unique metabolism.
Also things have changed since I first wrote my Anabolic Diet back in 1994. Since that time low carb dieting has become more popular although hardly mainstream. As well the general population is being exposed to information about the fallacy of low fat diets and the value of fats in our diets. Bottom line is that The Metabolic Diet brings everything the Anabolic Diet has to offer and a lot more, to anyone who is interested in a healthy, trim and fit body.
A. That's a good question. By "catabolic" we mean forces that break down muscle and use it for energy. When existing muscle is broken down, your body will lose its tone and may become flabby. the Metabolic Diet, accompanied by proper exercise actually results in the body producing higher levels of testosterone and IGF-1, anabolic hormones, and lower levels of cortisol, a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that leads to catabolism. By increasing anabolism and lessening catabolism we insure that the body retains important muscle mass and tone while you lose weight.
It has been shown that the carb-loading phase of the diet results in decreased cortisol levels. In one experiment the hormonal effects of muscle carbohydrate loading manipulations followed by a carb poor diet were studied. Carb loading provided decreased levels of cortisol not only during the carb loading phase but also in the following carb-poor time period. Also the higher fat levels and red meat that are allowed in the diet both lead to increased levels of testosterone, the most anabolic hormone in our bodies.
A. If you're overweight, there are probably parts of your body that cause you particular distress. For many people the stomach, thighs and backside cause particular troubles. Often, on the carb-based diets, you'll begin to lose weight but not in the areas where you're at your worst. For instance, your face may become slim while your thighs stubbornly refuse your weight loss efforts. It can be very frustrating.
One of the great things about the Metabolic Diet is that you lose weight in those most troublesome spots from the very beginning. On a higher fat/low carb diet, one of the first places a man will begin to lose weight is in his stomach. While other diets may find it nearly impossible to deflate that spare tire, it's one of the first places the higher fat/low carb diet attacks.
On women, the thighs are also affected quickly. You'll be losing bodyfat in other areas around the body, but you'll find that stubborn cellulite melting away quickly. What happens on the higher fat/low carb diet is that fat stored on your body is treated like dietary fat and is burned to provide energy for the body as needed.
This doesn't happen on a carbohydrate-based diet where your body will do almost anything to save those fat depots. Glycogen and then muscle are used up to provide energy once immediate stores in the bloodstream run out. When the body begins to starve, its metabolic rate slows (and thyroid hormone levels fall) so as to use as little energy as possible. Depot fat will eventually be used but only at a very slow rate.
You don't see as much of a lowering of basal metabolic rates on the higher fat/low carb diet. The body continues to hum along using both dietary fat and the fat on your body for energy. Those pesky, stubborn depot sites in the stomach, thighs and buttocks melt away equally with other bodyfat as your body slims and firms. This is especially true of the stomach in both sexes. In fact, one of the most noticeable initial effects of The Metabolic Diet is the immediate impact it has around the middle.
A. One of the problems with a high carb diet is that, when you lose weight, an awful lot of body tone and muscle can go with it. You can end up looking like a starved chicken. This doesn't happen on our diet. Far from what you've been led to believe, eating fat doesn't lead to getting fat. In fact, high dietary fat is instrumental in increasing lipolysis or the breakdown of fat on the body. On the high carb diet, if you exercise correctly and do everything else right, you'll find that about 60 percent of your weight loss is fat and 40 percent muscle. On the higher fat/lower carb diet, especially when combined with exercise, I've found that those percentages can go way down to over 90 percent fat and less than 10 percent muscle and that's a real boon for someone who wants to maintain body tone as he or she slims down. With the higher fat/lower carb diet, you get down to the weight you want and lose more bodyfat but you also find yourself maintaining a lot more of the lean body mass that makes you look fit and firm.
To visualize this, let's take two women who weigh 150 pounds and are virtually identical. One is put on a popular high carb diet. The other one the Metabolic Diet. If they both lose 10 pounds, you'll find the one on the higher fat/low carb diet losing more bodyfat while retaining more lean mass and muscle tone. You'll not only have lost weight, but retained a firmer body as well.
Often, on the high carb diet, you'll find people dropping the weight but retaining too much bodyfat. They still look flabby. At the same time, they'll lose muscle tone and their body ends up looking shapeless. What's the use?
The Metabolic Diet will help you lose weight while getting you a body with less fat and more shape. Given the choice, which diet would you rather be on?
A. Plateaus, lengthy periods where you will experience no progress, can be a real problem on any diet. They can drive you crazy. You'll be doing everything you're supposed to be doing and, all of a sudden, hit a brick wall. Weight loss stalls short of your goal. This can destroy your momentum and ruin your motivational outlook.
Fortunately, these plateaus occur far less frequently on The Metabolic Diet. The metabolic shift you make to becoming a "fat burning" machine ensures consistent fat loss while the overall energy increase and loss of the couch potato mentality resulting from those dulling high-carb meals keep motivation at a high level. You simply feel better and more energetic on The Metabolic Diet and this pays large dividends in staying active and doing the things necessary to maximize weight loss and body toning.
A. Though the diet in itself will give you weight loss, exercise will be necessary to making the diet as successful as it can be. Along that line, we've provided an exercise program to use with the diet later in this book. With the success you achieve from a combination of the diet and an exercise program, you may find yourself becoming a real "gym rat" if you don't watch out. Exercise, in and of itself, can be very addicting and it will become even more so when you see what it can do in combination with The Metabolic Diet.
Some of you, however, may be concerned about overall endurance on a higher fat/low carb diet. The popular belief is that physical endurance is related to the amount of carbohydrates stored in muscle. Many feel that a diet where less carbs are consumed, like The Metabolic Diet, leads to a state where you get tired faster.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Here's the way the body really works to burn energy. In the popular high carb/low fat diet, when you begin exercising, all the glucose in the blood is used almost immediately for energy. At that point, the glycogen or carbohydrate stores in the muscle are used for energy. After 15 minutes or so, they're gone too. At that point your body has to revert to burning fat or existing muscle for fuel. Unfortunately, when you're on the high carb diet, your body isn't very efficient at burning fat. Sure, you'll burn some fat for energy. But almost half of what will be burned for energy will be protein (the source and substance of all muscle). If you want a body that looks firm and fit, burning protein and muscle isn't a good idea.
Once you've shifted over on the higher fat/low carb diet, though, your body is primed to use fat for energy and to rely less on the glycogen stored in your liver and muscles. As exercise continues the body primarily taps into your fat stores for the energy it needs, sparing the glycogen as much as possible for use when it's really necessary. Fat becomes almost like sugar to the body, and it will favor utilizing fat stores over muscle and liver glycogen stores for energy. The result is that endurance can be enhanced over high carb diets. Also the body tends to lay down less fat and use more body fat for providing needed energy.
Thus with The Metabolic Diet, as against the high carb diets, the end result is a leaner more muscular body since the body is much less likely to make fat and more likely to burn it off. Better body tone results. If you're interested in shaping your body or even going further and doing some beginning bodybuilding, The Metabolic Diet is the diet you want to be on.
A. At this point, a little biochemistry lesson may be in order so you can get a better idea of why The Metabolic Diet is superior to the competition. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the source of all metabolic activity in the human body. In order to get the energy the body needs for muscle contraction, breathing, brain cell function and virtually all other activities, ATP must be generated. People have gotten the idea that you must have the glycogen and the glucose that comes from carbohydrates for the body to produce and replenish ATP and survive.
What people don't understand is that the body can produce glucose without taking in carbs (gluconeogenesis) and that protein and fat can be used to provide energy and replenish ATP. It's a misconception that you must have large amounts of dietary carbs to function.
When carbohydrates make up the bulk of your diet, you basically burn the glucose from the carbs as energy. Glucose enters the bloodstream and it's either used for immediate energy or stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. The glucose not stored as glycogen is made into triglycerides (bodyfat). When needed for energy, the stored glycogen is converted back to glucose and used up directly by a cell or transported through the bloodstream to other body cells for conversion and use as energy.
When fat and protein make up more of your diet, you don't have those large amounts of glycogen or glucose available for energy anymore. Most of your energy will come from the breakdown of free fatty acids in your diet or from the fat stored on your body. As we discussed, some of the energy will come from glucose that is produced from mainly from glycerol (part of our body fat) and amino acids (at least on low carb diets). Instead of burning the stored glycogen or glucose for energy, the body burns free fatty acids or triglycerides (the storage form of the free fatty acids) and the glucose that it makes.
Basically, a diet high in fat activates the lipolytic (fat burning) enzymes in your body and decreases the activity of the lipogenic (fat producing) enzymes. Dietary free fatty acids and triglycerides become the body's main energy source. The triglycerides are broken down to free fatty acids and then ketones, a source that can be used for energy by body cells. In short, the free fatty acids and ketones take the place of glucose and the triglycerides act like glycogen.
When carbs are the main form of energy to the body, the body produces insulin to process it and store it. This is all well and good but one of the problems with insulin is that it activates the lipogenic (fat producing) enzymes on the body and decreases the activity of the lipolytic (fat burning) enzymes. What this leads to is an increased storing of body fat and a decrease in the amount of stored fat that will be burned.
The exact opposite occurs on the higher fat/lower carb diet. After undergoing the "metabolic shift" from being a carb-burning machine to a fat-burner, lipogenesis (the production and laying down of fat on the body) decreases, and lipolysis (the burning of both dietary and bodyfat for energy) increases. You're burning fat as your primary fuel, and instead of using glycogen or breaking down precious protein, you'll burn off the fat on your body for energy as needed.
This can have a big effect on overall bodyfat, and research has now begun to document the fact that while on a higher fat low carb diet, weight loss is due to the almost exclusive loss of bodyfat. In one study of ideal-weight human subjects, it was found that higher fat diets were accompanied by a very strong lipolytic (fat-burning) effect. In another study focusing on obese subjects, it was found that, when offered high carb/relatively low fat diets or low carb/relatively higher fat diets, the subjects on the lower carb diets lost significantly more fat. Though prevailing wisdom would predict that the higher fat diet would simply make people fatter, they actually lost more weight on the higher fat diet.
It may sound crazy, but that's the way the body works. Contrary to what most people believe fat oxidation is regulated primarily by carbohydrate intake rather than by fat intake. Once you've adapted to a higher fat/low carb diet, fat doesn't beget fat. Despite what you've been told, a properly designed higher fat/lower carb diet doesn't put fat on. It takes fat off.
Similar results have occurred in animal studies. Meanwhile, I've seen and heard of the positive effects of a high-fat diet time and time again both in my own practice, and from countless others who have tried it. The fat melts away. At the same time, as a bonus, body tone can be improved markedly thanks to the "protein protecting" nature of the diet.
A. In fact, we don't want you making a lot of changes in your diet in the early weeks. Any diet, even The Metabolic Diet, is going to be hard enough to adapt to. So don't change the amount of calories you're eating. Don't get into some serious body-shaping regimen or otherwise make it hard on yourself. In these first weeks, simply concentrate on replacing the carbohydrates you eat with fat and protein.
If you're going to go through the strict part of The Metabolic Diet and ensure that you go through the "metabolic shift" as quickly and efficiently as possible, do not load up on carbs over the first weekend. Continue the high fat/low carb phase during that time!
Let me repeat this because it's important. I want you to begin the higher fat/lower carb phase of the diet on a Monday. Then continue that phase all the way through the first weekend and second week. On the second Saturday following the beginning of the diet, you'll do your first carb loading. By beginning the diet with 12 days of high fat/low carb consumption, the metabolic shift will occur quickly and with certainty.
Hypothetically, some dieters may decide to begin the diet on Wednesday and then immediately begin carb loading two days later. This isn't close to enough time to make the metabolic shift. Don't do it.
If you go the first 12 days on the higher fat/low carb cycle before performing a carbohydrate load you'll be fine. It may be a little difficult, but it will get the job done.
On the other hand we've included several two week diet plans on these pages that are based on a more moderate dietary carb intake. It might be a good idea to go on this more moderate lower carb diet to see how your body responds to cutting back on dietary carbs. If you don't run into any problems and you feel good then it might be worthwhile to start at the first or induction level of The Metabolic Diet and see whether even lower carb levels are best for you.
A. A complete physical from your doctor is a necessity. If you already have a cholesterol problem, you need to know about it. Cholesterol levels are largely determined by individual metabolism and body chemistry, and genetics play a strong role. If you've had cholesterol problems in your family there's a good chance you may have them, too. And if you have a chronic problem with cholesterol you need to talk to your doctor about how The Metabolic Diet may affect this, and what you can do to limit any adverse affects. Frequent monitoring of your lipid status will let you know where you stand and if changes need to be made.
There are adjustments you can make to The Metabolic Diet to control your cholesterol intake if needed. Marine oils, flaxseed oil, olive oil and other nutritional supplements and alternatives will help. Meat restriction may also be necessary. But, again, this is something you need to work with your physician on. If The Metabolic Diet seems like the answer to you, you'll have to put your heads together to devise a plan where you can benefit from the weight loss and toning advantages the diet provides while keeping cholesterol in check.
A blood workup will be necessary with your physical. It should include a complete blood count, cholesterol levels (total, LDL, and HDL), TSH (a test for thyroid function), fasting blood sugar, serum uric acid, serum potassium, liver function array and BUN. Your doctor may want to go beyond this but, bare minimum, you NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST THE ABOVE BLOODWORK DONE before starting the diet. Along with checking for possible pre-existing problems, these tests can also clear up any future questions you may have about the effect of the diet in these areas.
We also urge you to weight yourself and get a bodyfat analysis before you begin the diet. Weight loss is important but so are inches. You should understand that there are times when, for a variety of reasons, you might not be losing much weight but you're subtracting that ugly bodyfat. It will help keep your enthusiasm high in these moments if you know that progress is being made in other areas and your body is toning up.
It will also be a wise idea to keep track of your body measurements. Especially important are your waist, hips, upper thigh, chest and upper arm. These measurements will serve two purposes. First, they'll give you an idea of how your body is responding to the diet and where you're losing weight the fastest. It will also give you an idea of where your problem areas may be and where you may have to concentrate exercise to get the body you want.
Secondly, measurements will be helpful for motivation when you're retaining fluid or not losing weight for some other reason. If you see those waist and hip measurements going down, despite the lack of weight loss, you'll know you're making progress.
Finally, you should review the use of any medications you may be on. If you're on diuretics, you may want to use them only as needed due to the higher fat/low carb diet's ability to help you shed water.
A. My advice is to try and get 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. As well, try and take the protein over the course of the day, say every 3 hours or so. In that way you'll get less protein catabolism and an overall increase in protein synthesis. If you follow the Metabolic Diet and make sure you eat some protein every 3 hours or so, you should do just fine. If it's hard to eat that often then you can use an MRP, sports bar and/or some protein powder to fill in the gaps between your meals. The supplements offered on the Metabolic Diet site are all geared for the Metabolic Diet and are all low in carbs.
A. The answer is quite variable depending on your metabolism. The usual generic answer is that you should take in 1 gram per lb of body weight and enough calories to make sure you make steady weight gains without too much of an increase in body fat. The amount of carbs you need can be figured out if you go on the Metabolic Diet. By following the steps as outlined on our site you can determine just how much carbs fits your metabolism best.
If you want to gain muscle mass you should eat five to six times a day so that you get a constant intake of protein. By doing that you'll get less protein catabolism and an overall increase in protein synthesis. Although it's hard to eat properly six times a day you can use an MRP and/or some protein powder to fill in the gaps between your meals.
Ritengo quindi che i 4/5 grammi di proteine siano troppi e che siamo meglio alzare i grassi in settimana e poco le proteine.Mentre nei weekend sia opportuno alzare molto i carbo.
Fatemi sapere i vostri commenti
Ciao
Alla domanda:
Q. How much protein should I be taking for major muscle growth?
la risposta di DI Pasquale è:
A. My advice is to try and get 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. As well, try and take the protein over the course of the day, say every 3 hours or so. In that way you'll get less protein catabolism and an overall increase in protein synthesis. If you follow the Metabolic Diet and make sure you eat some protein every 3 hours or so, you should do just fine. If it's hard to eat that often then you can use an MRP, sports bar and/or some protein powder to fill in the gaps between your meals. The supplements offered on the Metabolic Diet site are all geared for the Metabolic Diet and are all low in carbs.
Inoltre alla domanda:
Q. If I want to gain mass and muscle for ice hockey how protein and calories should I intake per day as well as carbs?
La risposta è:
A. The Anabolic Diet was the predecessor for the Metabolic Diet and was originally written for competitive bodybuilders so they could get down to very low levels of body fat while at the same time maintaining as much of their muscle mass as possible. As such it was set up to be a very low carb diet for 5 days of the week and a higher carb diet (much more socially acceptable) on the weekends. Basically it's almost the same as the Strict Phase of the Metabolic Diet. However, the Metabolic Diet, by outlining the various ways to modify carb intake and find your carbohydrate set point, as well as having the Metabolic Index as a guide to fat loss and body composition, is a more advanced diet.
I wrote The Metabolic Diet for anyone who exercises and wants to look good and perform better. As such it can be used by everyone from competitive bodybuilders to those who just want to lose some weight and or body fat and just look good, because you can adjust your carb intake to the level that works best for you, is not as rigid or restrictive as the Anabolic Diet. In fact the idea behind the Metabolic Diet is to individualize the diet by finding the lowest optimum level of dietary carbohydrates.
Although The Metabolic Diet is not necessarily a low carb diet, it can be for those who are genetically efficient fat oxidizers and as such do very well on low levels of dietary carbs. Because of the low carb overtones, there may be some resistance from people who believe that having high levels of complex carbs in the diet is the only way to go. I ran into this problem big time when I introduced the Anabolic Diet but given that The Metabolic Diet is a variable carb diet, and even in those that do well on low carbs, there are high carb intervals built into the diet, I don't expect the same response today. That's because you're encouraged to find the carb level that works best for unique metabolism.
Also things have changed since I first wrote my Anabolic Diet back in 1994. Since that time low carb dieting has become more popular although hardly mainstream. As well the general population is being exposed to information about the fallacy of low fat diets and the value of fats in our diets. Bottom line is that The Metabolic Diet brings everything the Anabolic Diet has to offer and a lot more, to anyone who is interested in a healthy, trim and fit body.
A. That's a good question. By "catabolic" we mean forces that break down muscle and use it for energy. When existing muscle is broken down, your body will lose its tone and may become flabby. the Metabolic Diet, accompanied by proper exercise actually results in the body producing higher levels of testosterone and IGF-1, anabolic hormones, and lower levels of cortisol, a hormone secreted by the adrenal glands that leads to catabolism. By increasing anabolism and lessening catabolism we insure that the body retains important muscle mass and tone while you lose weight.
It has been shown that the carb-loading phase of the diet results in decreased cortisol levels. In one experiment the hormonal effects of muscle carbohydrate loading manipulations followed by a carb poor diet were studied. Carb loading provided decreased levels of cortisol not only during the carb loading phase but also in the following carb-poor time period. Also the higher fat levels and red meat that are allowed in the diet both lead to increased levels of testosterone, the most anabolic hormone in our bodies.
A. If you're overweight, there are probably parts of your body that cause you particular distress. For many people the stomach, thighs and backside cause particular troubles. Often, on the carb-based diets, you'll begin to lose weight but not in the areas where you're at your worst. For instance, your face may become slim while your thighs stubbornly refuse your weight loss efforts. It can be very frustrating.
One of the great things about the Metabolic Diet is that you lose weight in those most troublesome spots from the very beginning. On a higher fat/low carb diet, one of the first places a man will begin to lose weight is in his stomach. While other diets may find it nearly impossible to deflate that spare tire, it's one of the first places the higher fat/low carb diet attacks.
On women, the thighs are also affected quickly. You'll be losing bodyfat in other areas around the body, but you'll find that stubborn cellulite melting away quickly. What happens on the higher fat/low carb diet is that fat stored on your body is treated like dietary fat and is burned to provide energy for the body as needed.
This doesn't happen on a carbohydrate-based diet where your body will do almost anything to save those fat depots. Glycogen and then muscle are used up to provide energy once immediate stores in the bloodstream run out. When the body begins to starve, its metabolic rate slows (and thyroid hormone levels fall) so as to use as little energy as possible. Depot fat will eventually be used but only at a very slow rate.
You don't see as much of a lowering of basal metabolic rates on the higher fat/low carb diet. The body continues to hum along using both dietary fat and the fat on your body for energy. Those pesky, stubborn depot sites in the stomach, thighs and buttocks melt away equally with other bodyfat as your body slims and firms. This is especially true of the stomach in both sexes. In fact, one of the most noticeable initial effects of The Metabolic Diet is the immediate impact it has around the middle.
A. One of the problems with a high carb diet is that, when you lose weight, an awful lot of body tone and muscle can go with it. You can end up looking like a starved chicken. This doesn't happen on our diet. Far from what you've been led to believe, eating fat doesn't lead to getting fat. In fact, high dietary fat is instrumental in increasing lipolysis or the breakdown of fat on the body. On the high carb diet, if you exercise correctly and do everything else right, you'll find that about 60 percent of your weight loss is fat and 40 percent muscle. On the higher fat/lower carb diet, especially when combined with exercise, I've found that those percentages can go way down to over 90 percent fat and less than 10 percent muscle and that's a real boon for someone who wants to maintain body tone as he or she slims down. With the higher fat/lower carb diet, you get down to the weight you want and lose more bodyfat but you also find yourself maintaining a lot more of the lean body mass that makes you look fit and firm.
To visualize this, let's take two women who weigh 150 pounds and are virtually identical. One is put on a popular high carb diet. The other one the Metabolic Diet. If they both lose 10 pounds, you'll find the one on the higher fat/low carb diet losing more bodyfat while retaining more lean mass and muscle tone. You'll not only have lost weight, but retained a firmer body as well.
Often, on the high carb diet, you'll find people dropping the weight but retaining too much bodyfat. They still look flabby. At the same time, they'll lose muscle tone and their body ends up looking shapeless. What's the use?
The Metabolic Diet will help you lose weight while getting you a body with less fat and more shape. Given the choice, which diet would you rather be on?
A. Plateaus, lengthy periods where you will experience no progress, can be a real problem on any diet. They can drive you crazy. You'll be doing everything you're supposed to be doing and, all of a sudden, hit a brick wall. Weight loss stalls short of your goal. This can destroy your momentum and ruin your motivational outlook.
Fortunately, these plateaus occur far less frequently on The Metabolic Diet. The metabolic shift you make to becoming a "fat burning" machine ensures consistent fat loss while the overall energy increase and loss of the couch potato mentality resulting from those dulling high-carb meals keep motivation at a high level. You simply feel better and more energetic on The Metabolic Diet and this pays large dividends in staying active and doing the things necessary to maximize weight loss and body toning.
A. Though the diet in itself will give you weight loss, exercise will be necessary to making the diet as successful as it can be. Along that line, we've provided an exercise program to use with the diet later in this book. With the success you achieve from a combination of the diet and an exercise program, you may find yourself becoming a real "gym rat" if you don't watch out. Exercise, in and of itself, can be very addicting and it will become even more so when you see what it can do in combination with The Metabolic Diet.
Some of you, however, may be concerned about overall endurance on a higher fat/low carb diet. The popular belief is that physical endurance is related to the amount of carbohydrates stored in muscle. Many feel that a diet where less carbs are consumed, like The Metabolic Diet, leads to a state where you get tired faster.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Here's the way the body really works to burn energy. In the popular high carb/low fat diet, when you begin exercising, all the glucose in the blood is used almost immediately for energy. At that point, the glycogen or carbohydrate stores in the muscle are used for energy. After 15 minutes or so, they're gone too. At that point your body has to revert to burning fat or existing muscle for fuel. Unfortunately, when you're on the high carb diet, your body isn't very efficient at burning fat. Sure, you'll burn some fat for energy. But almost half of what will be burned for energy will be protein (the source and substance of all muscle). If you want a body that looks firm and fit, burning protein and muscle isn't a good idea.
Once you've shifted over on the higher fat/low carb diet, though, your body is primed to use fat for energy and to rely less on the glycogen stored in your liver and muscles. As exercise continues the body primarily taps into your fat stores for the energy it needs, sparing the glycogen as much as possible for use when it's really necessary. Fat becomes almost like sugar to the body, and it will favor utilizing fat stores over muscle and liver glycogen stores for energy. The result is that endurance can be enhanced over high carb diets. Also the body tends to lay down less fat and use more body fat for providing needed energy.
Thus with The Metabolic Diet, as against the high carb diets, the end result is a leaner more muscular body since the body is much less likely to make fat and more likely to burn it off. Better body tone results. If you're interested in shaping your body or even going further and doing some beginning bodybuilding, The Metabolic Diet is the diet you want to be on.
A. At this point, a little biochemistry lesson may be in order so you can get a better idea of why The Metabolic Diet is superior to the competition. Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the source of all metabolic activity in the human body. In order to get the energy the body needs for muscle contraction, breathing, brain cell function and virtually all other activities, ATP must be generated. People have gotten the idea that you must have the glycogen and the glucose that comes from carbohydrates for the body to produce and replenish ATP and survive.
What people don't understand is that the body can produce glucose without taking in carbs (gluconeogenesis) and that protein and fat can be used to provide energy and replenish ATP. It's a misconception that you must have large amounts of dietary carbs to function.
When carbohydrates make up the bulk of your diet, you basically burn the glucose from the carbs as energy. Glucose enters the bloodstream and it's either used for immediate energy or stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. The glucose not stored as glycogen is made into triglycerides (bodyfat). When needed for energy, the stored glycogen is converted back to glucose and used up directly by a cell or transported through the bloodstream to other body cells for conversion and use as energy.
When fat and protein make up more of your diet, you don't have those large amounts of glycogen or glucose available for energy anymore. Most of your energy will come from the breakdown of free fatty acids in your diet or from the fat stored on your body. As we discussed, some of the energy will come from glucose that is produced from mainly from glycerol (part of our body fat) and amino acids (at least on low carb diets). Instead of burning the stored glycogen or glucose for energy, the body burns free fatty acids or triglycerides (the storage form of the free fatty acids) and the glucose that it makes.
Basically, a diet high in fat activates the lipolytic (fat burning) enzymes in your body and decreases the activity of the lipogenic (fat producing) enzymes. Dietary free fatty acids and triglycerides become the body's main energy source. The triglycerides are broken down to free fatty acids and then ketones, a source that can be used for energy by body cells. In short, the free fatty acids and ketones take the place of glucose and the triglycerides act like glycogen.
When carbs are the main form of energy to the body, the body produces insulin to process it and store it. This is all well and good but one of the problems with insulin is that it activates the lipogenic (fat producing) enzymes on the body and decreases the activity of the lipolytic (fat burning) enzymes. What this leads to is an increased storing of body fat and a decrease in the amount of stored fat that will be burned.
The exact opposite occurs on the higher fat/lower carb diet. After undergoing the "metabolic shift" from being a carb-burning machine to a fat-burner, lipogenesis (the production and laying down of fat on the body) decreases, and lipolysis (the burning of both dietary and bodyfat for energy) increases. You're burning fat as your primary fuel, and instead of using glycogen or breaking down precious protein, you'll burn off the fat on your body for energy as needed.
This can have a big effect on overall bodyfat, and research has now begun to document the fact that while on a higher fat low carb diet, weight loss is due to the almost exclusive loss of bodyfat. In one study of ideal-weight human subjects, it was found that higher fat diets were accompanied by a very strong lipolytic (fat-burning) effect. In another study focusing on obese subjects, it was found that, when offered high carb/relatively low fat diets or low carb/relatively higher fat diets, the subjects on the lower carb diets lost significantly more fat. Though prevailing wisdom would predict that the higher fat diet would simply make people fatter, they actually lost more weight on the higher fat diet.
It may sound crazy, but that's the way the body works. Contrary to what most people believe fat oxidation is regulated primarily by carbohydrate intake rather than by fat intake. Once you've adapted to a higher fat/low carb diet, fat doesn't beget fat. Despite what you've been told, a properly designed higher fat/lower carb diet doesn't put fat on. It takes fat off.
Similar results have occurred in animal studies. Meanwhile, I've seen and heard of the positive effects of a high-fat diet time and time again both in my own practice, and from countless others who have tried it. The fat melts away. At the same time, as a bonus, body tone can be improved markedly thanks to the "protein protecting" nature of the diet.
A. In fact, we don't want you making a lot of changes in your diet in the early weeks. Any diet, even The Metabolic Diet, is going to be hard enough to adapt to. So don't change the amount of calories you're eating. Don't get into some serious body-shaping regimen or otherwise make it hard on yourself. In these first weeks, simply concentrate on replacing the carbohydrates you eat with fat and protein.
If you're going to go through the strict part of The Metabolic Diet and ensure that you go through the "metabolic shift" as quickly and efficiently as possible, do not load up on carbs over the first weekend. Continue the high fat/low carb phase during that time!
Let me repeat this because it's important. I want you to begin the higher fat/lower carb phase of the diet on a Monday. Then continue that phase all the way through the first weekend and second week. On the second Saturday following the beginning of the diet, you'll do your first carb loading. By beginning the diet with 12 days of high fat/low carb consumption, the metabolic shift will occur quickly and with certainty.
Hypothetically, some dieters may decide to begin the diet on Wednesday and then immediately begin carb loading two days later. This isn't close to enough time to make the metabolic shift. Don't do it.
If you go the first 12 days on the higher fat/low carb cycle before performing a carbohydrate load you'll be fine. It may be a little difficult, but it will get the job done.
On the other hand we've included several two week diet plans on these pages that are based on a more moderate dietary carb intake. It might be a good idea to go on this more moderate lower carb diet to see how your body responds to cutting back on dietary carbs. If you don't run into any problems and you feel good then it might be worthwhile to start at the first or induction level of The Metabolic Diet and see whether even lower carb levels are best for you.
A. A complete physical from your doctor is a necessity. If you already have a cholesterol problem, you need to know about it. Cholesterol levels are largely determined by individual metabolism and body chemistry, and genetics play a strong role. If you've had cholesterol problems in your family there's a good chance you may have them, too. And if you have a chronic problem with cholesterol you need to talk to your doctor about how The Metabolic Diet may affect this, and what you can do to limit any adverse affects. Frequent monitoring of your lipid status will let you know where you stand and if changes need to be made.
There are adjustments you can make to The Metabolic Diet to control your cholesterol intake if needed. Marine oils, flaxseed oil, olive oil and other nutritional supplements and alternatives will help. Meat restriction may also be necessary. But, again, this is something you need to work with your physician on. If The Metabolic Diet seems like the answer to you, you'll have to put your heads together to devise a plan where you can benefit from the weight loss and toning advantages the diet provides while keeping cholesterol in check.
A blood workup will be necessary with your physical. It should include a complete blood count, cholesterol levels (total, LDL, and HDL), TSH (a test for thyroid function), fasting blood sugar, serum uric acid, serum potassium, liver function array and BUN. Your doctor may want to go beyond this but, bare minimum, you NEED TO HAVE AT LEAST THE ABOVE BLOODWORK DONE before starting the diet. Along with checking for possible pre-existing problems, these tests can also clear up any future questions you may have about the effect of the diet in these areas.
We also urge you to weight yourself and get a bodyfat analysis before you begin the diet. Weight loss is important but so are inches. You should understand that there are times when, for a variety of reasons, you might not be losing much weight but you're subtracting that ugly bodyfat. It will help keep your enthusiasm high in these moments if you know that progress is being made in other areas and your body is toning up.
It will also be a wise idea to keep track of your body measurements. Especially important are your waist, hips, upper thigh, chest and upper arm. These measurements will serve two purposes. First, they'll give you an idea of how your body is responding to the diet and where you're losing weight the fastest. It will also give you an idea of where your problem areas may be and where you may have to concentrate exercise to get the body you want.
Secondly, measurements will be helpful for motivation when you're retaining fluid or not losing weight for some other reason. If you see those waist and hip measurements going down, despite the lack of weight loss, you'll know you're making progress.
Finally, you should review the use of any medications you may be on. If you're on diuretics, you may want to use them only as needed due to the higher fat/low carb diet's ability to help you shed water.
A. My advice is to try and get 1 gram of protein per lb of body weight. As well, try and take the protein over the course of the day, say every 3 hours or so. In that way you'll get less protein catabolism and an overall increase in protein synthesis. If you follow the Metabolic Diet and make sure you eat some protein every 3 hours or so, you should do just fine. If it's hard to eat that often then you can use an MRP, sports bar and/or some protein powder to fill in the gaps between your meals. The supplements offered on the Metabolic Diet site are all geared for the Metabolic Diet and are all low in carbs.
A. The answer is quite variable depending on your metabolism. The usual generic answer is that you should take in 1 gram per lb of body weight and enough calories to make sure you make steady weight gains without too much of an increase in body fat. The amount of carbs you need can be figured out if you go on the Metabolic Diet. By following the steps as outlined on our site you can determine just how much carbs fits your metabolism best.
If you want to gain muscle mass you should eat five to six times a day so that you get a constant intake of protein. By doing that you'll get less protein catabolism and an overall increase in protein synthesis. Although it's hard to eat properly six times a day you can use an MRP and/or some protein powder to fill in the gaps between your meals.
Ritengo quindi che i 4/5 grammi di proteine siano troppi e che siamo meglio alzare i grassi in settimana e poco le proteine.Mentre nei weekend sia opportuno alzare molto i carbo.
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