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by Lyle McDonald
Lyle McDonald is the author of the
Ketogenic Diet as well as the
Rapid Fat Loss
Handbook and the
Guide to
Flexible Dieting. He has been interested in all aspects of human
performance physiology since becoming involved in competitive sports as
a teenager. Pursuing a degree in Physiological Sciences from UCLA, he has
devoted nearly 20 years of his life to studying human physiology and the
science, art and practice of human performance, muscle gain, fat loss and
body recomposition.
Publication Date: February
15, 1999
Feedback
Hi Lyle!
This is a feedback letter that I've been wanting to write for over a
month but I only just got my internet/e-mail access again after
moving house from the States to my native Australia 4 weeks ago.
I'm the guy who wrote in 6 weeks ago about cutting lower abdominal
fat. After reading your response on Mesomorphosis, I went on a 2
week cutting cycle using your recommendations, although I made some
slight adjustments.
The great news is that I did manage to get my BF down from 8% to 6%
(which seemed impossible before). My diet was very clean (typical
bodybuilding type) and I weight trained 3 days on (30 minutes plus
5-10minutes cardio), one day off (cycle). I ate 12kc/lb for 2 days
in a row, then 14kc/lb for one day (cycle). I also added 100mg of
lipoic acid with each meal on my weights day off. I also did the
following cycle:day 1: ECA, day 2: ECA + 8mg yohimbine, day 3: 16mg
yohimbine. I took a dose 35 minutes before morning training, an hour
before lunch, then mid-afternoon.
This program worked great for me (and I've tried lots of cutting
programs). And for the first time in my life I had defined abs!
After finishing up on a bulking program this week I'll be starting
this exact cutting program again next week. Thanks a lot for your
advice and I look forward to your next column in Mesomorphosis!
Regards,
Name withheld because I didn't ask permission to use this email.
ABCDE Diet and Muscle Gain
Hello Lyle and Greetings from the Motherland of Bodyshaping,
Greece (but more on that in another email) I've been following your
work through Mesomorphosis.com and I have to say kudos for a sincere
and honest approach on dieting matters. I would like to hear your
opinion on the ABCDE diet that was presented last year in MM2K. I
understand you had a debate with Akerfeldt in the newsgroups last
year but I wasn't able to track them down. I personally feel that
the worst thing about ABCDE is that Bill Phillips is related to it.
Well, you just can't have it all I guess. Aside from the BS in the
original articles ("Be sure to take HMB every day", hah hah hah
hah), I feel that ABCDE has a potential for muscle gain. Well, what
is your view? Please feel free to get technical if you feel like it,
I can stand it.
Actually, I didn't have a debate with Akerfeldt last year (I would
have liked to though), but rather I wrote a rather involved article
looking at his claims and the research he used to support them.
Overall, I was unimpressed with much of the research he cited for a
variety of reasons. I won't go into detail on them here because the
article is archived at The Powerstore (http://thepowerstore.com).
Additionally the feedback I've seen about the diet have been almost
exclusively negative. Invariably, individuals gain a lot of fat
during the bulking cycle and lose a lot of muscle during the dieting
cycle. This is probably related to the ridiculously high calories
suggested during the bulking cycle and the ridiculously low calories
suggested during the dieting cycle.
Other than that, I thing the 'general' concept of alternating cycles
of mass gains and fat loss is sound. I just don’t think it's
possible to put on a significant amount of 'real' muscle mass in 2
weeks (most of the gains you'll see are glycogen and water). And the
starvation diet 2 weeks will just cause a lot of muscle loss. As I
saw it, the ABCDE diet was just a way for Phillips to introduce two
new products (Myoplex Lean and Mass for the diet and mass cycles
respectively). But I wouldn't do it as outlined.
Hunger on the CKD
OK I just finished trudging through your 20 week log of
bodyopusizing. Learned a lot and thanks for taking the time to write
it. I just entered my first carbup phase of my first week (it took
me awhile to discover this diet) I've lost 9lbs which doesn't
concern me to much, since I felt fairly strong throughout my
depletion w/o What does concern me is how bad and hungry I felt Wed
and Thu. I only know one person personally who has done this diet
and he lost his appetite as advertised and from your posts so did
you.
For reasons I really haven't figure out, the appetite blunting
effect of ketogenic diets doesn't show up in all people. Personally,
I totally lose my appetite, other folks I know are just as hungry as
on other diets.
Ok I went into Ketosis at 6:30 Tuesday evening felt great, wed
felt like shit at about 3500 calories instead of the planned 2500
due to sheer hunger, still wanted CARBS! Thursday ditto. Thu I felt
so bad I decided to drive 45 minutes to see if the only place that
sells supplements (Twinlab and Weider only) had any MCT oil. Thanks
be to the Bodybuilding Gods they did and it helped me feel better
energy wise but then I was nauseated. Do you have any suggestions on
what I might do different?
Here is a little run down on what I did without buying the
book:
Calorie intake by the book
ate 70% Fat, 30% protein
bacon and eggs in the morning
whey protein with olive oil once a day
tuna with mustard and mayo
Pork rinds
Steak for dinner
hard boiled eggs for snacks
a shit load of coffee, No diet soda (well ok I had one on Wed)
Mixed it up a little with some hamburger and Steak-umms, etc.
Over all except Wed I kept my intake between 2500-2750 with the
70/30 ratio intact. Also I ate about every 2 to 3 hours, stayed in
ketosis the whole time and burned a shit load of fat Aerobics I rode
about 60 miles this week, which is a far cry from my normal 150-200
mile weeks so I didn't over do them.
It looks like my first week will be successful but I won't make it
much longer being so damn hungry?
Any suggestions would help although you've already helped a lot.
There are a few supplements that can be useful for blunting
appetite. Probably the strongest is the old-standby, the ECA stack.
The ECA stack plus a keto diet pretty much leaves me having to force
myself to eat enough. Another option is yohimbe which blunts
appetite for some folks (I believe Elzi Volk addressed this is
detail in her adrenoreceptor articles). Finally, a simply fiber
supplement (or some fibrous veggies) can help with appetite.
And truly finally, if you find that you just can't control your
appetite on a ketogenic diet, you may have to consider a different
diet. simply put, a diet is only as good as your ability to stay on
it. You might find that the increased food volume on a
Zone/Isocaloric diet allows you to control calories better than a
ketogenic diet, making that the better choice.
Heavy Labor and CKD
I have read your twenty week experience (once for familiarity
with the subject and now reading again to get more in depth) and
your technical papers. I was impressed with what you talked about
and decided to go ahead with the Bodyopus diet. I have not yet
purchased the book (but will, soon) but I have a good understanding
of what's going on, I think. I am also keeping a daily journal of
the experience. Before I get to my question here is a little
background. I have lifted for about five years now doing off and on
again workouts, serious for a few months and lazy for a few months.
I have just recently started back again after a 6 month break (Note:
I work in construction and have a very physical job of digging holes
and mixing concrete and the such, this will be important info. for
my upcoming question). So it usually does not take long to get back
in "shape". Today marks my tenth day of dieting. For the first 6 day
I at low carbs about130gr per day on a 2500 calorie diet and for the
last 4 days have kept it below 30 gr. of carbs on 2500 calories.
Right now my ratios look like this: 65% fat 6% carbs and 25%
protein. (roughly). Now Sunday I woke up and ate one moderate carb
meal and ate the rest of the day of fat and protein. I test for
ketosis in the morning right when I wake up and at night before I go
to bed. Since Sunday I have not been out of ketosis. Morning levels
show small to moderate levels (on ketone sticks) and night time
shows large levels. Today I had one cheeseburger, small fry and
small coke the carbs in this meal where 101( I give myself this one
day break a week for psychological reasons and since last week in 6
days I lost two pounds and all my body measurements went down, this
morning I checked my waist measurement to see if any change and had
lost another half inch off waist a total of 1 inch in 10 days. so I
figure what it going to hurt went way over crab allotment but still
on course for 2500 cal) after about 3-4 hr. after I had that meal I
checked ketones to see what change there was in level of ketones, I
figured I wouldn't be in at all but I still showed moderate amounts
of ketones! Is that possible after 101 carbs, actually had 21 gr.
For breakfast for a total of 122gr of carbs and hardly know change
in state of ketosis?
The 30 gram rule for developing ketosis comes out of studies on
sedentary folks. When you add intense exercise (or a heavy labor
job), the story changes. Basically, ketosis is contingent on the
depletion of liver glycogen, which causes a bunch of stuff to happen
that I'm going to ignore here since it's not hugely critical. The
point is that muscle glycogen has no direct effect on the
development of ketosis. however, the depletion of muscle glycogen
has one important effect: when carbs are refed, muscle glycogen is
preferentially refilled first, liver glycogen is refilled last. The
practical implication of this is that folks who have established
ketosis and depleted muscle glycogen can usually get away with more
carbs without affecting ketosis. Case in point: back when I was
first dieting (was it really 3 years ago), I had the occasional
lapse and ate like a half-box of high-sugar cereal. yet I'd still
wake up showing urinary ketones. Basically, the carbs went to refill
muscle glycogen without affecting liver glycogen status (and hence
ketosis).
OK sorry for such a long intro here is the questions. First what
effect does my work have on my diet and training, particularly the
Bodyopus diet?
Calories would be the main aspect. If you've read my ramblings here
before, my general rule of thumb is 12 cal/lb. for dieting. But this
assumes a more 'normal' daily activity than heavy labor and an
assumption of maintenance calories at 15-16 cal/lb. It's likely that
your daily maintenance calorie level is much higher than 15 cal/lb.
because of your job. So you may need to set calories higher during
the lowcarb week to ensure that you avoid too big a deficit and
stall fat loss.
I realize I may need more calories but what, if any change should
be made in carb up on the weekend? Do I need more?
Probably not. There is a limit to how many carbs can be stored in
the muscle. It's conceivable that you're depleting your body faster
because of your job but that would only mean that you needed to
carb-up more often, not necessarily eat more carbs during the
carb-up.
Could the level of activity I do during the day effect the
results of this program? When I started I weighed 187.5 on a 6'
frame. In six days I lost 2 lb. and all body measurements dropped. I
didn't do body fat (no caliber's) but now I have them and bodyfat,
by your recommended sites, is 10.25% I want to get down to 5-6%. I’m
doing 4 cardio sessions a week(running) in the morning on an empty
stomach with the C.E.A. stack and waiting 2 hr. before I eat.
Duration of cardio is 20-30 min. at 75-80% intensity (147-157 beats
per min). Training wise I do about 3 sessions a week working on Mon
chest, back-- wed legs and Fri shoulders and arms. IM thinking of
changing it around and working on Mon and Tues. to take advantage of
the carb up Diet wise I eat four meals a day 500 cal per meal for
2500-2600 calories. Any changes you could suggest to any of the
above would be greatly appreciative.
2600 cal at 187 is about 14 cal/lb. which I would guesstimate is
probably pretty close to right (again, factoring in your
high-activity job). More importantly, I suggest you make adjustments
based on fat loss. If you’re losing significantly less than 1 lb.
fat/week, drop calories by a couple hundred per day and see what
happens. If you're losing more than 2 lbs./week (not including water
weight), chance are you're losing muscle and need to increase
calorie levels.
Chronic Alpha-lipoic acid use and its effects
I am a 20 year-old bodybuilder(5"9 168lbs, BF=11.5%), who has
been using pretty much chronic doses of ALA(ranging from 800mg to
2000mg a day) for 3 months. I know that the toxic dose for ALA is
about 30gr for a person of my bodyweight, but what concerns me is:
Is it possible that such high dosages might impair the normal
functioning of the glut-4 transporters within the muscle cell(since
ALA is fat soluble it can enter the cell and therefore build-up over
time).
This is a good question and I'll admit total ignorance. For those
who don't know, ALA (alpha-lipoic acid, not to be confused with the
essential fatty acid) appears to mimic insulin and increase glucose
uptake. Since the body's normal method to move glucose into the cell
is via the Glut-4 receptor, the question is whether the body might
downregulate the body's normal function (akin to exogenous
testosterone shutting down normal gonadal function). And the only
answer I can give is I don't know. I'm not aware of any long-term
ALA research (hell, most of it is in German anyhow) to look at this.
My guess is that any potential decrement would reverse fairly
rapidly when a person quit taking it.
Also, what is the best operating dose for ALA?(i.e. At what
maximum dosage does the supplement reach its highest
glucose-disposing efficiency).
Once again, I can't really say since most of the human research
appears to be in German. The few folks I know using it (usually on a
CKD) are using 1.2-2 grams/day somewhere in that range.
Finally, do you suggest cycling ALA due to down-regulation of
glut-4 transporters(is down-regulation even possible?)?(I omitted
glut-1 transporters since they are an inherited genetic trait, and
therefore do not change over time).
I don't see how it can hurt to cycle ALA (like just about anything
else) but I can't say for sure if it's necessary. If there are any
ALA experts out there, please drop me a line.
Yohimbe With or Without Meals
Hi Lyle,
I just read in the Sept. Q and A your response to a question
regarding. yohimbe in which you said to take yohimbe on an empty
stomach. You went on to say that any insulin response would negate
any effect other than an exaggerated insulin response. Inasmuch as
it is impossible to avoid insulin (even in the fasting individual,
glucose is present in the system and so, presumably, too is insulin)
how can this be?
Although I'm sure Elzi Volk addressed this in her article, I'll take
a stab at it here. You're 100% correct that there is always insulin
present (except in the case of Type I diabetics) and if there's not
you're in trouble. In all likelihood, there is some critical
concentration of insulin above which it seriously inhibits the
effects of yohimbe. After an overnight fast, insulin is pretty low,
meaning that you're looking at maximum lipolysis (and most likely
the maximum impact of yohimbe on fat cells). Even a small increase
in insulin tends to stop fat burning so avoiding eating (and this
might even include protein which raises insulin to a small degree)
would allow yohimbe to have it's greatest effect.
Also, I remember in one of the Q and A sections in MM2K Dan D.
indicated that one fellow (who wasn't getting much of the "expected"
response to yohimbe) ought to take his yohimbe. with food to allow
the alkaloid more time to be leached (for lack of a better word)
from the raw material contained in OTC yohimbe products. I'm sure
you are correct (smarter and better looking) but would you please
explain. Thanks.
Once again, I'm sure Elzi addressed this but will take it again
here. When you look at the studies on yohimbe, a pretty good pattern
shows up: In studies where yohimbe was taken with food, nothing
happens, if taken after an overnight fast with no food, stuff
happens. So while the suggestion to take yohimbe with food might
mean that more active alkaloid is absorbed, the resultant insulin
response from that meal would negate any effects.
Type of Diet While Using Clenbuterol
What type of diet would you recommend while on a cycle of
clenbuterol? Low carb, high carb?
I'm torn on how to answer this question. I'll give three answers.
1. On the one hand, it probably doesn't really matter what kind of
diet you are on while using clenbuterol. Considering its rather
potent effects (in most people at least, I took clenbuterol for 2
weeks and got zero results), it may not matter what kind of diet
you're on as long as it's hypocaloric (below maintenance).
2. On the other hand (there are 5 fingers, ha ha ha), based on its
mechanism of action (and this includes ephedrine as well), I would
expect clenbuterol to be more effective on a low (or simply lowered
carb diet). Insulin is ultimately THE regulator of fat breakdown. So
lowering insulin with diet would probably allow clenbuterol/ECA to
work better.
3. Finally, I'm not a huge fan of clenbuterol to begin with and
would suggest you use ECA. The main problem with clenbuterol is that
it stops working so damn quickly (usually a couple of weeks) as
beta-receptors downregulate. So if you need to drop fat quickly
(i.e. for a contest) clenbuterol might make sense. But for longer
term dieting, I think ECA is the better choice since it won't quit
working so quickly (if at all).
Tarataxone and Water Loss
I was inquiring about a supplement I read about "taraxatone".
I was trying to get information about it. Do you know anything about
it. Or if it is even legal, if so how to obtain it.
Having to dig the memory banks but I believe taraxatone is simply a
herbal diuretic (i.e. water pill). Which is great if you need to
drop water for some reason (e.g. bodybuilding contest, making weight
for a competition) but pretty much worthless for other applications.
As far as I know, it merely contains various herbs (haven't seen the
package but I would guess dandelion root, buchu leaves, watermelon
seed and a host of others) so I don't see why it would be illegal.
If you read the muscle comic books (err, magazines), I'm sure you'll
find an ad for it.
Protein Questions
lots of talk about getting enough protein. I know from a
variety of articles that you should space out protein consumption
during the day to keep a level amount in your system, but what is
the body doing with this protein? my question is, when you ingest
protein (of any kind) how long does it "last" in your system? In
other words, if your body doesn't make use of it right away, how
long is it before the effectiveness is lost and you need to take in
more protein?
Ahh, all these topics and more have been covered in my article on
protein metabolism so I'd suggest you look there first than come
back in case anything was left unanswered. Proteins vary somewhat in
their digestions. A protein powder will digest more quickly than
whole food and a recent study found that there is even variability
in how quickly protein powders (well, whey vs. casein) digest. On
average, most proteins probably take several hours to digest, during
which time they are releasing amino acids into the bloodstream. Much
of those aminos are broken down in the liver while some get released
into the bloodstream for use. I would say as a general rule, the
body pretty quickly makes use of any incoming protein. One paper I
have mentions that the shift from net protein synthesis to net
protein breakdown is finished within about 6 hours after a meal. So
this would probably the high end to go between protein containing
meals.
Finally, as I'll be discussing in part 4 of my protein article, the
body tries to regulate the concentrations of amino acids pretty damn
tightly. So any aminos which are not used for tissue synthesis will
be oxidized and disposed of.
Gaining Lean Mass with Minimal Fat Gain
I've been training for about 6 months and I am trying to ad
more lean body mass without gaining too much fat. I'm 5'6" 156 lbs.
and 13% BF. I am planning on going on Body Opus after I gain 5-7 of
lean mass. I would like to know what kind of nutritional program I
should use while trying to achieve this. I supplement with whey
Protein and creatine. I saw on your Body Opus page that you
experimented with a mass gaining program with Body Opus. Dan does
not say anything about this in the book. Could you tell me how it
worked for you and if it will help me accomplish my goal.
In hindsight (and as I've discussed before in this column), I don't
think Bodyopus is the ideal mass gaining diet. The main reasons are
hormonal since keto diets tend to keep anabolic hormones lower and
catabolic hormones higher. Additionally, it can be difficult to
consume sufficient calories since many folks lose their hunger.
Finally, we don't know the long-term consequences of ketogenic diets
in terms of health so I'm wary of suggesting folks stay on them long
term.
Beyond that, my basic mass-gaining template (which should be
adjusted as necessary) is:
1. Calories: 10-20% above maintenance to start, adjust upward or
downwards based on fat gains
2. Protein: 1 gram/lb.
3. Fat: 15-25% of total calories
4. Carbs: the rest
Of course there's some variance in this for individuals. Some folks
seem to do worse with too many carbs and do better with more
protein. Basically you want to find the place where you're gaining
weight steadily with only small changes in bodyfat measurement (by
calipers). That's your ideal place for mass gains with minimal fat.
Abdominal Fat
Lyle
1) Duchaine mentioned in Bodyopus that his CKD was great at
targeting abdominal fat on men and thigh fat on women. What is your
opinion of this? Besides CKD's being better fat burners for some
people than high carb diets, is there any reason medically to
believe abdominal fat is better targeted on a CKD?
While I never came across any research looking specifically at this
topic, I have a feeling that any effects in this regard are ties
into adrenoreceptors and insulin. As has been discussed in this
forum and articles on this web site, there appears to be differences
in adrenoreceptor density/activity in so-called 'stubborn' body-fat
depots (abs in men, legs in women). Overall, it seems that these
area are more resistant to breakdown. Considering that insulin is
THE primarily regulator of lipolysis in humans (the catecholamines
adrenaline and noradrenaline being the other regulator), it makes
some sense that lowering insulin would make these fat depots more
likely to be lost.
Anecdotally when dieting yourself (or among your clients) have
you noticed better ab fat targeting based on macronutrient profile?
For example high carb vs. zone/isocaloric vs. CKD.
It's hard to say for me only because all of my bodyfat is around my
abdominals. Meaning that any fat I lose will come from that area.
Beyond that, I have heard anecdotal reports of such happening and a
female bodybuilder I prepped for a contest last year definitely lost
lower-bodyfat more effectively on a ketogenic diet.
I have stubborn abdominal fat - my measuring technique probably
sucks but at least it is consistent. No matter what diet I perform,
I seem to have difficulty making ab progress. It seems like if I
lose 1 mm (a big victory) I'll quickly gain that 1 mm back on my
mass phase. E.g. 1 step forward, 1 step back. Are there any
supplements or tricks (besides ECA) which might help me in this
area...Yohimbe perhaps?
I have heard from several people who have found success with ab fat
by using yohimbe prior to morning cardio and I think that's the best
choice.
2) You recommend a reasonable amount of cardio Monday morning on
a fasted state to jump start ketosis, and also recommend cardio on
Wed and Thurs (assuming a Mon-Fri no carb schedule). I detest
jogging and it seems most cardio will drain me physically as well as
greatly affect my leg workout recovery. Is moderate paced walking
for 30-60 minutes a good alternative? This seems to save my energy
and quite frankly I love to walk.
Yup. In fact, I generally recommend that cardio intensity be kept
fairly low for heavily muscled individuals who are training
intensely. First and foremost, it spares your joints from unneeded
pounding. Second, it avoids forcing you into overtraining.
3) Instead of the "Grande Depletion Workout," can I substitute 90
minutes of mosh pit warfare at a Dead Kennedy's show? This would
lead to one helluva carb up I bet, or deplete too much mass and
leave me with a 1 way ticket to a Holiday in Cambodia...
I must say this is one of the most unique questions I've seen.
Considering the general whole-body nature of moshing, it wouldn't
surprise me if this worked just fine. The best thing you can do is
simply judge your weekly fat loss and make a decision based on that.
If you find that you're spilling over too much fat during the
carb-up, take that as indication that you're not depleting muscle
glycogen sufficiently. Otherwise, mosh away.
Also, I thought DK broke up years ago.
Finally, I have to add: "CHEMICAL WARFARE, CHEMICAL WARFARE,
CHEMICAL WARFARE, WARFARE, WARFARE. CHEMICAL WARFARE, CHEMICAL
WARFARE, CHEMICAL WARFARE, WARFARE!!!!!!"
CKDs and Bodyopus
Lyle,
Great advice in your Q&A section! I am like so many others 160 lbs.,
10% body fat and want to be 180 lbs. at 6-8%. A point Charles
Poliquin made is increasing aerobic endurance will hinder strength
gains. It made me think of trying to lose fat while gaining muscle,
and although your body tells you it isn't going to work, "Look idiot
you want me to move more weight but you just cut my energy supply in
the form of a diet," I wanted to overlook it. I knew this to be
true, but thanks for spelling it plan and simple, and one and for
all. Now, what is CKD and is there somewhere I can find the
guidelines for it?
I have the Bodyopus book, read it, like it, but was afraid it might
lower my natural testosterone levels even more (which are already
low) making it harder to build muscle. Will this happen?
I honestly don't know. In looking at all the diet research, none of
the studies appear to have measured testosterone levels. Now, some
studies have suggested a link between dietary fat intake and
testosterone (testosterone goes up as dietary fat increases, with
the maximum occurring about 30-35% of total calories).
Unfortunately, we can't directly extrapolate from these studies
(which contained carbs) directly to keto diets.
Is CKD the same diet idea or plan?
CKD (cyclical ketogenic diet) is simply a more general term for
diets like Bodyopus, the Anabolic Diet, Rebound Dieting. Basically,
any diet which alternates periods of ketogenic and non-ketogenic
eating would be classified as a CKD. Bodyopus is perhaps the most
detailed of the CKD's in terms of the guidelines for carb-ups and
the weekly diet.
What happens when you want to stop the CKD or Bodyopus diet? Is
the body more sensitive to storing fat, or are you okay if you keep
your calories at a maintenance level?
I haven't honestly found (either in myself or folks I’ve talked to)
any tendency to store fat beyond what happens whenever you come off
of any diet. That is, although I've seen claims that keto diets
alter fat cells so they are more likely to store fat, I didn't find
any evidence of this in the studies. Additionally, I know of
individuals who have successfully maintained their bodyfat levels
after a CKD. The key is not to jump straight back into high carb
eating as that will tend to bloat you and can cause hyperinsuliemia.
Gradually increasing carbs (mainly veggies) seems to work best for
coming off of a CKD with minimal impact on bodyfat.
Aerobic Exercise
Hi I am 19 years old I was wondering what are the best non
group aerobic activity ex: jogging, cycling. If you would answer my
question I would be grateful. Thank You.
Finally, an easy one. The best non-group aerobic activity, as far as
I'm concerned, is the one that you will do. That is, unless you are
training for a specific competitive event (running a 10k, cycling)
any differences in one aerobic mode vs. another are going to be
small. Sure, we can point to cross-country skiers who tend to have
the highest aerobic capacity of anyone on the planet but that's only
critical if you're going to be competitive. So pick the one that you
enjoy, or pick several and alternate between them. Any differences
in benefits from one activity will be negated if you hate doing it.
ECA Stack Equivalent?
I have noticed a lot of products using Citrus Aurantium (6%
Syepherine) instead of Mua Huang or Ephedrine in their thermogenic
products. I was wondering if they worked as well as the Mua Huang
based products. Another thermo blend uses something called
norephedrine in its formula. Again it is supposed to reduce the
jitters that are commonly found with the other thermo products.
Synephrine, no, norephedrine, probably.
Synephrine is not quite in the same class as ephedrine. Strictly
speaking, it raises temperature by causing vasoconstriction (closing
of blood vessels) not by increasing thermogenesis. So while it may
make you feel warmer, it's not causing you to burn anymore calories.
To the contrary norephdrine appears to have thermogenic effects
similar to ephedrine. If I recall, one animal study suggested that
it had greater thermogenic impact but you have to be careful in
extrapolating from animal models since there are differences in
adrenoreceptors between species.
ECA, Xenadrine, and Glycogen Stores
Dear Lyle,
For the past few months I've been using the pre-packaged ECA stack
Xenadrine, and have been pleased with the results. However, I just
noticed a claim of theirs which I do not understand. They claim that
their product promotes the use of fat stores for energy during
exercise BEFORE muscle glycogen stores are depleted. Any idea if
this is true and how it works? And if so, should I cut down on my
carb intake?
During aerobic exercise, elevating free fatty acids (with caffeine
or with fat infusion) does spare muscle glycogen. So in that ECA
tends to increase blood levels of free fatty acids, their claim
might be true during aerobic exercise.
However, weight training is anaerobic in nature, meaning that it
does not and can not rely on free fatty acid breakdown for energy.
So even if you elevate blood free fatty acids with ECA, it shouldn't
impact glycogen use. |
