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Carb Back-loading

Is not about eating less, but about eating smarter

Date : 26/02/2013

Author Information

Alessandra

Uploaded by : Alessandra
Uploaded on : 26/02/2013
Subject : Nutrition

There's an interesting school of thought which to a science geek like me makes most sense, that eating most of our carbs at night, could help us get and stay lean. So what I do I go study it, try it on myself, try it on non body builders and compare my results. Here is how it works. In the powerlifting and strength training world is called carb back-loading, originally invented by John Kiefer. The feeding protocol dictates to eat very low quantities of carbohydrate in the morning, then higher amounts of carbohydrate after performing your resistance training and towards the end of the day. What's the theory behind this method? In recent studies relating to the idea of carb timing participants were put on a calorie restricted diet for six months; A control group that eat carbs throughout the day And the experimental group, who ate their carbs mostly at dinner (approx 80% at night). The groups ate the same amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, and fat The only difference was how they distributed their carbohydrate intake. They all had BMIs greater than 30 at the start of the test

The group eating their carbs at night, lost more weight and body fat, compared to the control group. On top of that, they also experienced better satiety levels. Greater weight loss in the abdominal circumference and body fat mass reductions were observed in the experimental diet in comparison to the control group. Also interesting to note is that hunger scores were lower and greater improvements in fasting glucose. This is evidence that a simple dietary manipulation of carbohydrate distribution appears to have additional benefits. It might also be beneficial for individuals suffering from insulin resistance and the dreaded metabolic syndrome. But why is that eating most of your carbs in the evening could be beneficial to body composition and satiety levels? The hormone cortisol, plays a key part in all of this. Cortisol naturally peaks when you wake up known as the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Also, exercise and acute stress significantly raise cortisol levels. Cortisol together with epinephrine is involved in the "fight or flight" response. When you are faced with something stressful the adrenal glands secrete cortisol. Cortisol prepares the body for a fight or flight response, by increasing glucose in the blood to supply an immediate energy source to your muscles (in case you need to fight or to run away from a threat). Cortisol inhibits insulin production to prevent glucose from being stored; this is because in a situation of emergency you want to use the energy from it immediately. Of course stress these days has nothing to do with fighting or running away like it used to in caveman times. Today either you address or resolve the situation and then your hormone levels begin to return to normal. Many of us are overly stressed these days, meaning that our bodies are in a constant state of elevated cortisol levels, and this is where it gets problematic in terms of health. There are lots of reasons why raised cortisol is not good for your health, one of them is weight gain. When you are under stress, cortisol provides the body with glucose (gluconeogenesis in the liver) to get into your protein stores. The problem is when you have elevated cortisol levels your blood sugars remain high, because cortisol inhibits insulin's effect, making you insulin resistant. The high sugars in your blood aren't being dealt with, yet the body continues to pump out insulin, which you are now resistant to. Eventually the pancreas will struggle to meet this high demand for insulin, glucose levels in the blood will remain high, and so this unhealthy cycle continues and theoretically you can become tipe 2 diabetic. How this results in weight gain? Cortisol can take triglycerides (fat) from storage and relocate them to visceral fat cells (deep in the abdomen). Visceral fat cells have more cortisol receptors than subcutaneous fat (fat under the skin), so greater amount of cortisol is produced as a result. If you have high blood glucose levels and insulin suppression (due to high cortisol), your cells are being starved of the glucose they need. So, hunger signals are sent to the brain, causing you to eat more, and the vicious cycle continues. And we all know by now that unused glucose, which can't make its way into the cells, is eventually stored as body fat. But fear not! There is light at the end of the tunnel and all the above can be manipulated to the advantage of becoming metabolic and fat burning. Cortisol gradually builds up overnight, peaking in the morning when you wake up. This is a natural and normal process, in fact, it is something we can use to our own advantage. When cortisol levels are high first thing in the morning, it triggers the breakdown of triglycerides into free fatty acids (FFAs) for metabolisation (lipolysis). So first thing in the morning cortisol could actually help you burn fat, BUT your nutrition must be right for this to happen. Don't Eat Carbs At Breakfast!!!!!!!!!!! It appears that eating a high carb breakfast is the worst thing you could do IF YOUR AIM IS TO BURN FAT, because carbs switch your body from being a natural fat burner, to a sugar burning and a fat accumulator. In essence not eating carbs at breakfast allows cortisol levels to naturally reduce (about 2 hours after waking). If you eat those morning carbs, you keep your cortisol levels elevated, which is not good for the body. I have applied this method for years and had the best results in terms of energy level, hunger control, cravings, strength and FAT LOSS. I eat pure protein upon waking-up, then follow my own choice of nutrition throughout the day according to my goals, body composition, season, etc. and have a moderate meal of carbs before going to bed. Carb back-loading work even on a metabolic diet (eating only protein and fibre) or ketogenic diet (eating high fats). So here is the answer to the many times I am asked why or if I don't eat carbs: I do!! I JUST EAT THEM IN A SMARTER, MORE EFFICIENT WAY.

This resource was uploaded by: Alessandra

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