By Tom Venuto, author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle"
These days, the carbohydrate issue seems to be the burning question
on the minds of nearly everyone who is interested in getting leaner. Not
a single week goes by that I don’t receive an e-mail with a question about
the low carb/high protein diet. Last week I got this one:
Dear Tom,
Are you a proponent of the low-carb diet for bodybuilders? Although
this is hotly debated, I don't know many "ripped" bodybuilders that have
not tried such a diet. Thanks.
It’s no wonder why there's such a buzz about these diets: everywhere
you look lately there are low carb bars, low carb drinks, low carb meal
replacements, low carb frozen dinners and so on. In the bookstores, The
Atkins
diet, Protein Power and Sugar-Busters have all been best sellers.
Even though there has been a huge resurgence in the interest in low
carb/high protein diets, the low carb vs. high carb issue is still the
subject of much controversy. For every "low carb guru" who says that low
carbs are the ultimate diet, there is a "high carb guru" with the opposite
opinion. This has caused a lot of people a lot of confusion.
So what’s the deal? Is the low carb/high protein diet the best way for
bodybuilders to get ripped or just another fad? From a bodybuilding standpoint,
the answer is an unequivocal yes; reducing carbohydrates really works!
Most bodybuilders can't get that "ripped" look without some degree of carb
restriction. Almost every bodybuilder or fitness competitor I’ve ever met
uses some version of the low carb diet when getting ready for competition.
The problem is, most people fail to take into account their goals and their
unique body type, so they follow the advice of the latest "low-carb guru"
and take the carb restriction too far. Zero carb or close to zero carb
diets are in my opinion, TOTAL INSANITY!
The other extreme; the high carb, very low fat diet, isn’t the best
approach for bodybuilders either. These diets (60-70% carb, 20-30% protein
and 10% or less fat) were trendy with bodybuilders for a while, especially
back in the 80’s and early 90’s (Remember Nathan Pritkin, Dean Ornish and
Robert Haas?), but their popularity quickly faded. Those who tried it discovered
that it wasn’t nearly as effective as the low to moderate carb, high protein
diet.
Why does dropping your carbs help you lose more fat? There are several
reasons, but to avoid getting into a complicated discussion of nutritional
biochemistry, let’s just say that eating less carbs forces your body
to burn fat for fuel instead of sugar. Reducing carbs and increasing
protein accelerates fat loss by controlling your insulin and blood sugar
more effectively. The high protein in these diets also speeds up your metabolism
because of the "thermic effect" of protein food. It also helps eliminate
water retention, giving you the "hard" and "dry" look you need onstage
to win contests.
In my opinion, a moderate carb diet, with slight carb restriction
(especially at night) is the most effective (and most "sane") way for bodybuilders
to get ripped. For example, my contest diet is about 175 -200 grams of
carbs with most of the carbs eaten early in the day. Every 4th day, I have
a high carb day (350 grams) to replenish my depleted glycogen stores. By
contrast, my off-season diet is 350 - 450 grams of carbs. With 175 - 200
grams of carbs, that is just enough fuel to provide the energy I needed
to train hard and to prevent me from losing muscle.
Would dropping carbs even further to 30 or 50 grams a day (like many
fad diets recommend) get you more ripped or get you ripped faster? Maybe.
But the problem is, without carbs, you’ll have no energy to train hard.
Sure, tuna fish and water will get you ripped all right, but if your workouts
suffer because your diet is "killing you," you aren’t going to look or
feel your best.
Another big problem caused by very low carb diets is loss of lean body
mass. The lower you drop your carbs, the more likely you are to lose muscle
along with the fat.
A third problem with very low carb diets is the rebound effect. The
lower you drop your carbs, the faster you will rebound and gain the fat
back when you add the carbs back in. I swear I’ve seen guys blow up 30-40
lbs in a matter of DAYS after their contest because they went on a carbohydrate
and fat binge after a four-month zero carb diet. It wasn’t a pretty sight!
When I experimented with a very low carb diet, (about 40-70 grams a
day), I lost huge amounts of lean body mass and looked very "flat" and
"stringy." I was also one irritable, grouchy SOB. My friends nicknamed
me "fog boy" because (sez them) I stumbled around in a fog-like daze. One
friend who hadn't seen me since the previous year when I was a "bulked
up" and carbed up 208 lbs, saw me 48 lbs lighter after the low carb diet
(yes, 160 scrawny pounds) and he said, "holy sh** Tom, what happened to
you? You're HALF the man you were last year!" That was the last time I
ever tried an extremely low carb diet.
Nutrition is a highly individual issue. Some people can’t seem to lose
weight unless they reduce their carbohydrate intake. Other people can eat
bagels and pasta all day long and they have six pack abs. How many carbs
you eat therefore, depends on your body type. Are you an endomorph or an
ectomorph? Do you have a fast metabolism or a slow metabolism? Are you
naturally lean or naturally heavy? Depending on your genetics, you might
thrive on high carbs or you might need a high protein, low carb diet to
get results. But beware: even if you think you are the carb sensitive,
slow-metabolism type, the middle path (moderate carb restriction) is the
most sensible way to go.
The only way to determine how many grams of carbs is right for YOU is
to experiment until you find your "critical level." If you start dropping
body fat rapidly at 200 grams a day, then why on earth would you subject
yourself to the torture of going even lower and doing one of those 30-40
grams a day "ketogenic" diets? Why kill yourself?
Remember, there is no single diet that works for everyone. There
are certain universal nutritional laws that apply to everyone, but be very
careful of "gurus" who use the words "always" and "never" or who make sweeping
statements like "carbohydrates make you fat."
If you want to get ripped, you should also pick the type of carbs you
eat carefully - it’s not just the quantity, it’s the quality. In addition
to moderating total daily carb intake, I also recommend getting off ALL
processed carbs including bread, crackers, pretzels, pasta, bagels and
switching only to natural, unprocessed carbs like vegetables, oatmeal,
yams, rice, potatoes, etc. That single change will go a long way in helping
you get leaner (and healthier too!)
The bottom line is that it’s not correct to say, "carbs are fattening,"
but there IS some truth to the assertion that a low carb diet will get
you leaner compared to a high carb diet – you just have to approach it
in a sensible and individualized way. As in most areas of your life, going
to the extreme with your diet will usually do you more harm than good.
