Nice personal story from a former client of mine on the topic of meal frequency.

Check it out

Jc had a blog called Fitness Food Porn, which later turned into the more politically correct Fitness Food Blog. He revamped his site completely and now has lot's of new content. Worth spending some time there.

Also, check out his killer cheesecake recpie in the Recipe section.

I'm a fool for cheesecake.

This just in from Lyle.


Meal Frequency and Energy Balance - Research Review


I’d note, tangentially and I’ll come back to this below, that there is no data in humans that skipping a single meal or even a day’s worth of meals does anything to metabolic rate. Human metabolism simply doesn’t operate that quickly and various research into both fasting and intermittent fasting show, if anything, a slight (~5% or so) increase in metabolic rate during the initial period of fasting. The idea that skipping breakfast or a single meal slows metabolic rate or induces a starvation response is simply nonsensical.

Very comprehensive article on meal frequency, go read it. Lyle is a pillar of common sense and integrity, a rarity in this industry, and you can find my reviews of his writings here.

I've written about meal frequency on this site before:

Here

And I've discussed the matter with Tom Venuto (who is a proponent of high meal frequency):

Here

I've been knee deep in client work, which is why I haven't updated in a while. I'm also now managing my own column in the one and only swedish bodybuidling mag we got here www.body.se. Also been working on the book, or at least trying to fit it in when I can.

Jesus, can't believe it's been two months since last update. I'll get better.

I just threw together some questions people sent me these last few weeks, enjoy.

For those new to the site or intermittent fasting, my approach is described here:

Interview with Leigh Peele
- This interview covers a lot of issues about intermittent fasting and how I prefer to go about it.

Intermittent Fasting Roundtable
- General discussion, also featuring Brad Pilon and Mike O'Donnell.

Sure-Fire Fat Loss
- How to lose fat with intermittent fasting, the fast and smart way.

Excerpt from Knowledge and Nonsense
- A piece I wrote for Jamie Hale, about the basic principles of the approach.

You can also click the "Interview" tag for miscellanous discussions regarding intermittent fasting.

And finally, you can see how well my approach works in practice by viewing client results, my transformation and various testimonials.


Intermittent Fasting FAQ November

A few random questions people sent me the last few weeks.

Q: Can intermittent fasting be combined with PSMF?

PSMF, which stands for Protein Sparing Modified Fast (or Protein Strictly Mother Fucker), is the nefarious invention of Lyle McDonald. PSMF is decribed in the The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook. My Review is here.

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A: Yes – in fact, the earliest creation of my system were more or less days of post-workout overfeeding combined with PSMF type days (though not quite as extreme). For some people, including me, PSMF spread over 3 meals eaten within 8 hours feels a lot less restrictive vs the default high meal frequency approach.


Q: What’s the maximum amount of fructose allowed in the post-workout meal?

A: I’m probably going to have specific guidelines in the book, but you can’t go wrong on this one if you don’t do something completely retarded for your post-workout meal (too much processed junk).

Even so, fructose isn’t all that bad in moderation, according to a recent study*. In this particular study researchers gave a) 90 g carbs in the form of 30g fructose and 60 g glucose or b) same amount, all glucose, and found no difference in muscle glycogen synthesis after testing (post-workout).

Basically, fructose and glucose in a 1:2 ratio replenishes muscle glycogen just as well as pure glucose due to different metabolic pathways. Sucrose, which is part fructose and part glucose, should therefore not be completely shunned post-workout.

The KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach to Leangains rules in favour of a starch based meal followed by a sugary treat for those high carb feasts I always include post-workout.

* Wallis, et al. Postexercise muscle glycogen synthesis with combined glucose and fructose ingestion. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2008 Oct;40(10):1789-94.


Q: Why is protein kept so high on rest days?

A: Protein is kept high for three reasons.

1) Highest TEF* of all macronutrients; 20-25% of the energy gets wasted as heat, making the true metabolic impact closer to 3,25 kcal/g** (carbs and fat have a TEF around 2-4%, making the effect negligible).

* = Thermic Effect of Feeding.

** = Livesey. Metabolizable energy of macronutrients. Am J Clin Nutr. 1995 Nov;62(5 Suppl):1135S-1142S

2) Greatest effect on satiety.

3) Spares muscle protein stores. While, 1 g/lb may be adequate assuming energy balance, it is not so during dieting conditions. In a calorie deficit, de novo gluconeogenesis, which is the conversion of dietary protein or muscle protein to carbs, is greatly accelerated. Having an ample supply of protein available from the diet, ample in this case being much more than enough (>1 g/lb), prevents amino acids from muscle being used in the dnl process.

You'd want to maximize these three factors to lose fat while preserving muscle mass, but even so I generally recommend a higher than adequate protein intake for anyone wanting to maximize lean gains and avoid fat gains regardless of energy balance (more so for reasons 1 and 2 when in energy balance).


Q: Martin, am I allowed to drink any fluids during the fast?

A: Of course, this ain’t Ramadan. You're free to drink unlimited water, coffee, diet pop or other non-caloric beverages during the fast.


Q: Can I change the feeding window on a day to day basis or can I the 16-8 split on weekdays while eating normally on weekends?

A: Yes, but there are benefits to using a fairly regular eating pattern on all days - regular in this case meaning if you're used to feeding between 1-9 pm you'd be well served trying to stick to it when possible.

Ghrelin, a hunger hormone which is partly regulated by anticipatory feeding, is why people get hungry on times they're used to eating - regardless of actual need (one reason the 6-meal-a-day crowd get hungry again shortly after having eaten).

When you change meal pattern you're also "reprogramming" ghrelin to a certain extent and shitfting back and forth too much may mess with this adaptation to some degree. Not a big deal, worst thing that can happen is you get a bit hungry - and real world experience tells me that nothing bad happens if you resort to a regular eating pattern a few days (i.e 16-8 split on weekdays, regular on weekends). Problems, which in this context means a grumbling stomach, only seems to arise if you move the feeding phase back and forth on a daily basis (1-9 pm one day, 4 pm-12 am the other day etc).


Q: I want to try intermittent fasting, but I'm not sure it will work for me. Does intermittent fasting work for everyone? Have you identified a body type that does better or worse with intermittent fasting?

A: Probably not, but I'm surprised how well the 16-8 split works and the fact that almost everyone likes it. I've only dealt with a handful of people for whom the 16-8 split was challenging to maintain, and in those cases it was more a question of external factors (irregular shit work, extremely high energy expenditure that made it impractical to eat a few, very large meals etc). In the beginning, when I used to recommend 16 hours of fasting across the board, some women didn't do as great as men; this was solved by shortening the fast to 14 hrs for women.

If I were to pinpoint a certain body type, assuming we can put such a label on people, I would have to say endomorphs do exceptionally well on the approach. Exceptionally well meaning it works very well for fat loss in these cases and endomorphs meaning people that usually struggle to maintain a normal weight and always have problems getting lean and staying there.

General

Q: How should I train?

A: I'm biased towards lower volume, higher intensity, compound based workout routines and I think you can go a long way just pressing, squatting, deadlifting and chinning.

I believe the great majority will do better just trying to get as strong as possible; if aestethics is a high priority, maximizing relative strength will go a very long way towards a lean, muscular physique. This is a core principle of my training ideology. Adding 10 lbs to your bench is not impressive if you also added 10 lbs of body weight, but adding 10 lbs to your bench, or 15-20 lbs to your deadlift, while only adding 5 lbs of body weight will go a long way to ensure most of the weight gained is lean mass (exception being the rank beginner where strength gains will be rapid due to neural adaptation).

As for how to train more specifically, well that's probably another blog post in it's own, but if I were to recommend a few resources that has influenced my thinking on the subject, I should mention Mark Rippetoe and Stuart McRobert. The former for his sensible, tell-it-like-it-is approach to training and coaching, and the latter for opening up my eyes to the key princples beyond effective training. It wasn't until I read Beyond Brawn I actually started seeing consistent progress.

Starting Strength



"Starting Strength is a unique approach to coaching weight training, written by coaches and designed specifically for training beginners. Learn how to effectively and safely coach the basic core lifts and their programming in an easy to do, step-by-step process. Featuring the most heavily illustrated exercise chapters in print, Starting Strength shows the reader not only how to teach the lifts, but how to recognize and correct technique errors..."

- Starting Strength Wiki


Practical Programming



Practical Programming offers a different approach to exercise programming than that typically found in other exercise texts. Based on a combined 60+ years of academic expertise, elite-level coaching experience, and the observation of thousands of novice trainees, the authors present a chronological analysis of the response to exercise as it varies through the training history of the athlete, one that reflects the realities of human physiology, sports psychology, and common sense.

-Starting Strength Wiki


Brawn



Beyond Brawn

The sequel to Brawn. If I were to recommend only one book on the topic it would be this one.



A great book, very comprehensive and highly influential on my own training. I was surprised when I checked out the review section and found an old review from the highly criticial Lyle McDonald where he gave it 4 out of 5 stars:

"At just under 500 pages, BEYOND BRAWN is, bar none, THE most comprehensive book I've ever read on the topic of bodybuilding, and I¹ve read several hundred books.
BEYOND BRAWN is written in very non-technical language. With 22 total chapters, no aspect of productive weight-training has been overlooked.."

And I'll cosign on that.

Some of you may recall that I announced an 8 week summer competition to celebrate the 1 year anniversary of this blog. Here, I'm showcasing four of the seven competitors that followed through (three had to drop out due to events related to travel and new job opportunities). The winner (Aaron) received the consultation fee in return.

Aaron, before at 203 lbs




Aaron, after at 186 lbs



Despite facing many challenges throughout the consultation period, Aaron managed to skillfully juggle a hectic work schedule and social events with his diet and training regimen; this netted him a loss of 17 lbs and a personal best in the deadlift. Having shown such success in a not-so-diet-friendly environment, I think Aaron was worthy of being crowned the winner of the lot.

I love the Leangains approach! The problem I usually have with dieting is hunger. With the Leangains approach, I actually felt full during the eating phase. The morning hunger wasn't bad at all, and knowing a filling meal was coming made it very easy to tolerate. Martin provided a detailed plan and was always available to offer feedback. I highly recommend the Leangains approach, and I intend on maintaining this lifestyle for the health benefits of IF'ing and the ease of use. It is so nice to not be thinking of 6 meals a day and to be free of the constant planning and cooking.

- Aaron


Tiffany, before at 150 lbs




Tiffany, after at 145-146 lbs (4 weeks)







Tiffany was only able to remain on the diet and training regimen for 4 weeks (due to relocating), but made impressive progress during that time. I was quite surprised that a mere 4-5 lbs fat loss had such a profound impact on her physique.

I've tried many different diet plans over the years, and they've all pretty much worked as long as I've complied with them. In the past, my dieting success has been directly linked to my motivation. I'm willing to put up with a lot of blood, sweat and tears (and hunger!) if I am motivated enough. Once the motivation is gone though, I always slip back up to a weight that's easier to maintain, because I'm not motivated enough to maintain a weight that requires deprivation and constant hunger. I'm also not motivated enough to drastically change my lifestyle. I would rather enjoy restaurants and bars at 20% bodyfat than eat perfectly clean all the time in order to be 15%. It's just not that important to me. My experience with intermittent fasting has been great because I've been fairly successful without much motivation. It fits so well into my schedule and lifestyle that it's not very painful. It still requires some discipline, but on this plan I will be able to maintain a lower bodyfat level without feeling deprived. I do miss breakfast, but it's a sacrifice I can easily make. It's way easier to give up breakfast than to give up restaurants and bars. Also, even though I miss breakfast, I definitely do NOT miss the mini-meals, or having to carry tupperware containers around with me everywhere. Even if I were to stop following a strict IF regimen, I will certainly never go back to 6 meals a day. I am thoroughly convinced that 6 meals a day has no positive effect on body composition. The only thing 6 meals a day ever did for me was to make my diet MUCH more difficult in every aspect - hunger, food obsession, convenience, compliance, feelings of deprivation, etc. I am much happier now that I know I can be more flexible with my diet and still make progress.

- Tiffany

Einar, before at 205 lbs



Einar, after at 186 lbs



Einar lost an impressive amount of body fat while gaining strength consistently throughout the consultation period, but I fear these pictures may not do his body transformation full justice.

Before I contacted Martin I didn`t know much about calorie counting or how to put together an efficient training routine. As I got started with the diet and training routine Martin gave me I was surprised of my own progress, I lost weight and gained strenght at the same time, something I didn`t even think was possible. All of this was done with the leangains approach, which saved me a lot of wasted time eating and preparing food. Any questions I had were answered with a detalied explanation, leaving little room for mistakes.
I would highly recommend Martin your personal trainer as he certainly has helped me to understand a lot about dieting and training.

- Einar

Megan

Megan made an impressive change to her physique, whilst gaining a good amount of strength and cardiovascular fitness, but has choosen not to display her pics for personal reasons. I have included her stats here instead.

Megan, before

Body weight: 265 lbs

Bench Press: 80 lbs x 5
Squats: 135 lbs x 6
Deadlift: 175 lbs x 5

Megan, after

Body weight: 240 lbs

Bench Press: 115 lbs x 8
Squats: 185 lbs x 8
Deadlift: 235 lbs x 4

I've struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember and when I say I've done every diet under the sun I really, really mean it (it's such a cliché right!?). They all work, but I always end up rebounding (aka binge eating...) once the feelings of deprivation hits me. BUT! I can honestly say that I think intermittent fasting may just be that missing part of the puzzle I've been looking for. Oh, and not to mention being made aware of all stupid mistakes I've made in the past! During the eight weeks I've been doing this diet, I've managed to be "strict" without feeling the need to overeat when I feel a setback or when I feel deprived. That's a first! I'm REALLY psyched about the progress I've made so far and I think hiring Martin was the best investment I've made in a very long time.

- Megan

Last week I participated in an intermittent fasting roundtable at Mike O'Donnell's blog. Nothing groundbreaking if you're familiar with the gist of my protocols and ideas, but well worth a read to see what Mike and Brad has to say about IF.

On the topic of blogs, you should also check out Lyle's six part series on the hormones of body weight regulation. A very good and comprehensive read about leptin, the body fat set point and it's implications for the dieter.

Another blog of interest is Chris Highcock's Conditioning Research which has heaps of studies on intermittent fasting.

That's all for today, but later this week I'll be announcing the winner of the anniversary/summer competition and post some new client results.

Mission Statement: all reviews will be my honest assesment on the material in queston. My opinion will never be influenced by personal bias or my opinion of the author.

The Metabolic Repair Manual

"If you have ever seen the frustration of a woman who hates her body to the point of starving herself and training for so many hours that it is a wonder she can walk, all in the effort to lose those "last pounds" then you might start to understand why I do what I do. I just can't let that happen anymore, not when I have the answers."

- Leigh Peele

Who is this book for?

This a book for chronic dieters that might have caused significant damage to their metabolism by years of calorie deprivation and yoyo-dieting. The book provides a practical approach with the objective of fixing a 'broken' metabolism.

What will I learn from it?

This book attempts to answer the question why you're not losing fat despite a rigid diet. You will learn the functions of various hormones and their effect on your metabolism, and you will learn how to get your fat loss back on track again.

Strong points

* Good points about some common mistakes made by everyone including experienced dieters. This video is pretty telling: Food counts.

* Although it is geared towards the 'professional dieter', male and female, it feels like this book is specifically aimed towards women. In that category it is a welcome addition, since it deals specifically with many general behaviors and issues pertaining to this group.

* Good primer on hormones and their effect on metabolism.

* The R.E.P.A.I.R program is based on sound priniciples.

Weak points

* In the chapter 4, there is a brief summary of some of the advice given in The Fat Loss Troubleshoot (another book by Leigh). The advice (goal setting, behavioral strategies etc) is generally quite sound, but the training and diet advice given here feels generic and haphazard. I get the feeling that Leigh went 'let's throw this in the mix just for the hell off it', and I suspect it may only serve to confuse the reader.

* Book layout, and even language in some areas, feels a bit lacking.

* The absence of a reference list; this seems like a bit of a cheap move considering all the research Leigh apparently put into the subject.

Overall

Albeit lacking some polish (editing mainly), my impression of this book is mostly positive. Interactions between hormones, metabolism and calorie balance is quite complex, particularily when it comes to women, yet Leigh manages to fit together the pieces quite well; I particularily liked the fact that Leigh discussed topics like water retention, periods and the effect on scale weight (a seeminly small issue which can be quite a mindfuck for some people, causing much frustration and discouragement). So, this book comes recommended for frustrated dieters and people interested in the subject of metabolism in general.

Time for another client update.


Karl, before at 185 lbs



Karl, after at 173 lbs






Karl, before at 185 lbs




Karl, after at 173 lbs



Despite getting absolutely ripped, Karl gained strength during the 11 weeks we worked together (period included one off-week, making it 10 weeks of effective dieting in total).


Johan, before at 182 lbs



Johan, after at 170 lbs



Johan, before at 182 lbs



Johan, after at 170 lbs



Johan, before at 182 lbs



Johan, after at 170 lbs



Even though Johan got his conditioning to a point where he looks as if he's ready to step on a bodybuilding stage, he retained his strength very well during this dieting phase.


James, before at 160 lbs



James, after at 170 lbs



James consulted with me a while ago, after which he proceeded on his own and used my diet to gain some quality mass. These pics were taken after 16 weeks of a mass phase followed by 4 weeks of a diet phase. As you can see the difference in body fat is minimal, yet he looks a lot thicker on the after-pics. The net result seems to be about 10 lbs of pure muscle on his frame.

Here are some of the excellent strength gains he made:

Bench press

at 160 lbs: 185 lbs x 6
at 170 lbs: 235 lbs x 5

Squat

at 160 lbs: 245 lbs x 6
at 170 lbs: 285 lbs x 5

Deadlift

at 160 lbs: 265 lbs x 5
at 170 lbs: 310 lbs x 5


Matthew

Another successful example of the Leangains approach to quality mass gain, Matthew reports the following results after 12 weeks.

Bench press

at 175 lbs: 205 lbs x 8
at 184 lbs: 245 lbs x 7

Front squat

at 175 lbs: 205 lbs x 5
at 184 lbs: 255 lbs x 4

Deadlift

at 175 lbs: 340 lbs x 4
at 184 lbs: 405 lbs x 5

Though there are no adequate before-pics of this client, Matthew reports no measurable fat gain despite having added 9 lbs of mass to his frame. In fact, he reports feeling slightly leaner than before.