Off-season condition and growing lean

[modredtrenton]

Matt, have you ever had any clients who do not respond well to a higher fat intake and find themselves bloated or with a lack of energy/performance in the gym due to a higher fat intake and a moderate carb intake? How do you adjust their diet? have you ever seen many clients have success on a lower fat diet (around 50g) even in the offseason?

i am not matt but i have to say that i run very well with very little carbs . the first few weeks you dont feel very well because of the lack of carbs but after then you dont need much carbs anymore. i feel more bloated on carbs and even flex wheeler said in an interview he was much more stable on fat then on carbs. i think it was on one of the round table vids.

[Hannie]

This is prob. not a very high-tech question...but would you advise a pre-contest athlete to drop creatine? Or does it depend on how the person react on creatine.

[Matt Porter]

Matt, have you ever had any clients who do not respond well to a higher fat intake and find themselves bloated or with a lack of energy/performance in the gym due to a higher fat intake and a moderate carb intake? How do you adjust their diet? have you ever seen many clients have success on a lower fat diet (around 50g) even in the offseason?

Most people have had BETTER success on lower fat diets.

Probably for a few reasons:

1.) They probably never gave the higher fat diet a fair shot and also did not conduct the plan right.

2.) They got to fearful of going 'flat' or losing muscle

3.) Most people are retarded and think that they can carb up on junk for 1-2 days & also use tons of processed and saturated fats on for their fat sources.

Low fat diets work and always have given the protein is up there and the carbs are not excessive for the daily activity level for that person.

Be it off-season or contest prep - low fat diets will always work, just some people will suffer more others from an energy output and intake standpoint.

-Matt

[Matt Porter]

This is prob. not a very high-tech question...but would you advise a pre-contest athlete to drop creatine? Or does it depend on how the person react on creatine.

Doesnt matter really...

But I will NOT have them ADD IT IN mid-prep etc... if they took it from beginning fine.

-Matt

[smbarney]

Matt what do you consider low fat? ( no added fat and low fat food sources) and who do u reccomend this type of diet too?

[Matt Porter]

Matt what do you consider low fat? ( no added fat and low fat food sources) and who do u reccomend this type of diet too?

Low-fat is not adding much additional fats to your foods as the protein sources chicken, red meat, whole eggs etc...will fill in the fat void.

When abiding by the super low fat diets like competitors adhere to -- I recommend using omega-3 oils, and GLA caps etc....

Like I said pretty much ANYONE can use this type of diet but it might not suit your body and brain the best....but it surely will work just about every time with the right adjustments and will power

-Matt

[HangingLegRaise]

Matt, I've found that using even 1.5g of carbs/lb of body-mass starts to make me gain a lot of fat after a few months (even with moderate protein and fat contents), but when I've tried trading carbs out for more fat I can lose body-fat or maintain a lower body-fat level quite easily, without even doing any cardio whatsoever.
My question is three-fold;
a) Do you think it's really possible to gain muscle and strength on a low amount of carbs (I'm talking 1g per lb) for the sake of staying as lean as possible?
b) If yes to a, would you think it advisable for most if not all of those carbs to be consumed pre and post workout?
c) If no to a, would you think it advisable for someone to let themselves put on body-fat for the sake of muscle gains?

[Matt Porter]

Matt, I've found that using even 1.5g of carbs/lb of body-mass starts to make me gain a lot of fat after a few months (even with moderate protein and fat contents), but when I've tried trading carbs out for more fat I can lose body-fat or maintain a lower body-fat level quite easily, without even doing any cardio whatsoever.
My question is three-fold;
a) Do you think it's really possible to gain muscle and strength on a low amount of carbs (I'm talking 1g per lb) for the sake of staying as lean as possible?
b) If yes to a, would you think it advisable for most if not all of those carbs to be consumed pre and post workout?
c) If no to a, would you think it advisable for someone to let themselves put on body-fat for the sake of muscle gains?

a.) YES

b.) Actually I had carbs ONLY on weekend....I had a 8 hr cheat period where I blasted pizza and burgers etc....I did however use a high fat plan that was INSANELY HIGH in fats and not exactly 'good fats' I ate a bunless BK quad stacker daily, 1 lb of natty almond or PB daily and lots of whole eggs and steak. I stayed lean and full, and gained muscle and strength.

-Matt

[LayzieBone085]

Most people have had BETTER success on lower fat diets.

Probably for a few reasons:

1.) They probably never gave the higher fat diet a fair shot and also did not conduct the plan right.
3.) Most peple are retarded and think that they can carb up on junk for 1-2 days & also use tons of processed and saturated fats on for their fat sources.

Low fat diets work and always have give the protein is up there and the carbs are not excessive for the daily activity level for that person.

Be it off-season or contest prep - low fat diets will always work, just some people will suffer more others from an energy output and intake standpoint.

-Matt

Thanks for your answer, i have tried carb cycling , and straight higher fat diets, and diets with moderate fat while altering my carb intake and keeping protein at least 1.25-1.5g/lb and found that i have less better gym sessions (lack of performance) and bloat a lot easier on higher fat, not to mention the scale either goes up a lot faster or its harder to cut on a higher fat diet.

lack of energy, bloating, and lack of performance in the gym resulted from both cycling, and straight higher fat diet even with utlizing different sources to see if that was the case. This makes a lot of sense, Thank you very much.

[HangingLegRaise]

a.) YES

b.) Actually I had carbs ONLY on weekend....I had a 8 hr cheat period where I blasted pizza and burgers etc....I did however use a high fat plan that was INSANELY HIGH in fats and not exactly 'good fats' I ate a bunless BK quad stacker daily, 1 lb of natty almond or PB daily and lots of whole eggs and steak. I stayed lean and full, and gained muscle and strength.

-Matt

Thanks for the response. Idk if I could ever do that in the off season, or stick to a keto diet with weekend binges pre-contest because of how my body reacts to wheat, corn and floury products I like to train after my first meal, so I'm going to try pounding the carbs in the first two or three meals of the day and see how it effects my body's ability to deal with carbs.

[youngitalianstallion]

matt i have a couple of questions for you...

1. do you believe in fat loading for a contest? is it usefull for someone who can't handle correctly carbs?
2. is usefull to have a cheatmeal during offseason since in the offseason you eat an high amount of good calories or it's better to safe them for the precontest?

[Matt Porter]

matt i have a couple of questions for you...

1. do you believe in fat loading for a contest? is it usefull for someone who can't handle correctly carbs?
2. is usefull to have a cheatmeal during offseason since in the offseason you eat an high amount of good calories or it's better to safe them for the precontest?

1.) Yes...but not too much fat as the body is not used to breaking down large amounts at a time from prolong dieting. After months of mild food deprivation introducing large amounts of dietary fat could be VERY difficult to digest and break down and could leave you on the ground cramping.

So -- yes a nice supply of quality steak, some fatty fishes and raw nuts could be useful for carb sensitive people -- but just not too much fat at a given time.

2.) I think a cheat meal in off-season is nice for breaking the monotony ---because HOPEFULLY you are also strict in off-season and have a nice regimen you follow opposed to just 'winging it.' THat is for lazy BB'rs that will not make the most of their off-season. Sporadic cheats, or on the go instinctive eating etc... is not good for utmost progress.

Yes 1 -2 cheat is fine, if strict throughout week.

-Matt

[geordz]

i know this is the wrong thread but i have a question regarding depleting in the final week. im 1 weeks 3 days out out and this week carbs have been at 75g fat at 20g protein 275g. i refeed every fourth day from 350-500g depending on how depleted i am and by the 4th day i feel like glycogen stores are almost empty. im carbing up on thursday and friday and leaving saturday to dry out (show is on sunday). i also do 120 min cardio 5 days a wee and 15-20 minn hiit i included 3 days a week. my question is should i go lower on carbs when i deplete monday, tuesday, wednesday or keep at 75g.

[ultraflexed]

Matt, how long is a good offseason to gain a good 5-10 pounds.

[Scott Stevenson]

a.) YES

b.) Actually I had carbs ONLY on weekend....I had a 8 hr cheat period where I blasted pizza and burgers etc....I did however use a high fat plan that was INSANELY HIGH in fats and not exactly 'good fats' I ate a bunless BK quad stacker daily, 1 lb of natty almond or PB daily and lots of whole eggs and steak. I stayed lean and full, and gained muscle and strength.

-Matt

Matt,

Phenomenal thread. Thanks for giving back, for sure.

Interested in b.) above. Would you care to share details, e.g.,

-Starting and ending weight and body comp.
-Sample meals and daily macros
-Training
-Whatever else you feel relevant.

Would you do this plan again and if so (or not) how would you modify it?... (First guess might be fat selection... LOL)

-Scott