Deep in a diet when the cravings start to hit you, hard. When you began dieting, your drive to be lean and mean made it easy to say no to the pizza your buddies were noshing on and the ice cream your girlfriend was eating for dessert. Yet suddenly the thought of pizza, a bugger, ice cream, chocolate, cookies, chips–you name it–seems to drive you mad. And it’s getting harder to say no to these mouthwatering foods.

If these cravings have you feeling like a failure, we have good news for you. Not only is this common, but research shows it may be good for your dieting results.

Researchers from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (Boston) found that 95% of subjects who were placed on a low-calorie diet experienced food cravings during the study. Those who lost the most fat while dieting were also those who craved foods that are higher in calories and fat. (They also gave in to these cravings less frequently than those who lost less weight. No surprise there.)

How can this study teach you a few things about your own dieting? First of all, if you find yourself craving foods that are high in calories and fat, such as pizza, burgers and tacos, you’re likely on the right track when it comes to dropping bodyfat.

The second point deals with giving in to the cravings. Obviously, the goal is to cave less frequently. But how? One of the best ways to cheat less often is to have a scheduled cheat day when you get to have one meal that’s “no holds barred” – you can eat anything you want.

Let’s face it

When it comes to dieting, even the most disciplined bodybuilders cheat. This is okay as long as you limit your cheating to about once a week. A scheduled cheat meal helps you stick to your diet, and you feel rewarded when eating it. It’s a winwin situation that helps you lose.

When it comes to the infinite number of foods that you can put in your body, there are good foods and there are bad foods. Clearly, you know to avoid the bad foods Whenever possible, but When it comes to choosing the very best foods for your physique goals, that’s an even harder decision. FullyFlexed is here to make it easier for you to find the best of the best–we call them Power Foods. Be sure to include these items in your diet while following the 5-3-2 Plan for Insane Strength.

1 Eggs
When: Any regular meal
Why: The perfect protein, eggs are loaded with cholesterol, typically thought of as an evil food ingredient, but in reality, full of positive benefits, such as maintaining testosterone levels and the integrity of muscle cell membranes.

• Subjects who ate three whole eggs per day while following a strength-training program produced twice the gains in muscle mass and strength than those who consumed just one egg or no eggs each day.
• In studies, 640 milligrams per day of additional cholesterol from eggs decreased the amount of LDL (bad) cholesterol particles associated with atherosclerosis.

Amounts: 3 extra-large eggs: 255 calories, 21 g protein, 1 g carbs, 18 g fat

2. Organic beef
When: Lunch or dinner
Why: This meat is important due to its protein content, cholesterol and saturated fat, all of which maintain high testosterone levels.

• Organic beef has much higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid and omega-3 fatty acids than conventionally raised cattle, because organically raised cattle are primarily grass fed as opposed to grain fed.
• CLA, a healthy fat, has been proven in numerous clinical trials to help shed bodyfat while helping to boost muscle mass and strength at the same time.

Amounts: 8 oz of 90% lean ground organic beef: 392 calories, 48 g protein, 0 g carbs, 22 g fat

3 Salmon
When: Lunch or dinner
Why: It’s rich in the essential omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA (eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids).

• Subjects consuming higher levels of omega-3 fats reported greater muscle strength than those taking in lower levels of them.
• Omega-3 fatty acids enhance insulin sensitivity, which boosts muscle protein synthesis (muscle growth) and increases glucose and amino acid uptake.
• Omega-3s are readily burned for fuel, sparing muscle glycogen to keep muscles bigger. Additionally, omega-3s have been found to blunt muscle and joint breakdown, as well as enhance their recovery.
• Omega-3s convert into beneficial prostaglandins, hormonelike substances that promote numerous processes in the body.

Amounts: 8 oz of Atlantic salmon: 416 calories, 45 g protein, 0 g carbs, 24 g fat

4 Herring
When: Between-meal snacks
Why: Rich in omega-3s, it also has one of the highest contents of creatine–which can help boost muscle strength and growth–of any food source from the land or sea.

Amounts: 3 oz of kippered herring: 185 calories, 21 g protein, 0 g carbs, 11 g fat (about 2 g of those are omega-3s)

5 Wheat germ
When: 30 minutes before workouts and any time of day you want slow-digesting carbs (use it as breading on chicken or fish)
Why: It is rich in zinc, iron, selenium, potassium and B vitamins, and high in protein with a good amount of branched-chain amino acids, arginine and glutamine.

• It’s high in fiber, making it a great source of slow-digesting carbohydrates.
• It’s great before workouts because it provides a good source of octacosanol, an alcohol that can increase muscle strength and endurance, as well as enhance reaction time in athletes by increasing the efficiency of the central nervous system.

Amounts: 1/2 cup of wheat germ: 207 calories, 13 g protein, 30 g carbs (almost 8 g of those come from fiber), 6 g fat

6 Brown rice
When: Lunch or dinner
Why: Brown rice is a whole grain that provides fiber to help slow down digestion and keep insulin levels steady, supplying you with energy to last throughout the day.

• It’s high in gamma-aminobutyric acid, which is an amino acid that works as a neurotransmitter in the body and which boosts growth hormone levels by up to 400%.
• You can prepare brown rice in a way that will boost GABA levels: soak it in hot water for two hours before cooking to induce slight germination or use a Zojirushi Induction Heating System Rice Cooker & Warmer (zojirushi.com), which has a special setting that gives brown rice a two-hour hot bath before cooking.

Amounts: 1 cup of cooked brown rice: 218 calories, 5 g protein, 46 g carbs, 2 g fat

7 Watermelon
When: Immediately after workouts
Why: Although we typically suggest that you eat fruit as a preworkout carb, since most fruits are slow digesting, watermelon is one of the few fruits that are fast digesting. That means it spikes insulin levels, making it a good postworkout carb.

• The red flesh and especially the white rind of watermelon are high in the amino acid citrulline, which is readily converted to arginine inside the body and boosts arginine inside the body and boosts arginine levels even better than taking arginine itself.
• Higher levels of arginine lead to higher nitric oxide levels and higher GH levels after training, both of which are critical for enhancing muscle strength and growth. Boosting NO levels after workouts means there’s more blood flow to the muscles, which will enhance recovery and aid muscle growth.

Amounts: Two wedges of watermelon: 172 calories, about 4 g protein, 44 g carbs, 1 g fat, approximately 3 g citrulline

8 Tea
When: Mornings and during workouts (brew first, then chill to sip during workouts)
Why: It offers a multitude of health benefits, such as enhanced fat loss, reduced risk of certain cancers and even antimicrobial properties.

• Black tea in particular helps blunt Cortisol levels by half. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone boosted during workouts. It increases muscle breakdown and interferes with testosterone’s ability to stimulate muscle growth. By blunting Cortisol, you are essentially raising testosterone and, therefore, gains in muscle strength and growth. Shoot for four cups of black tea per day to effectively knock down Cortisol.

Amounts: 1 cup of black, tea: 2 calories, 0 g protein, 1 g carbs, 0 g fat

9 Spinach
When: As a side salad with lunch and dinner
Why: Spinach not only promotes health through its rich supply of antioxidants, but it has ingredients that increase muscle strength and size.

• It’s a great source of glutamine, the amino acid that is highly important for muscle growth, immune function and gastrointestinal health, as well as for boosting GH levels and even metabolic rate.
• In addition to glutamine, spinach provides octacosanol (see wheat germ) and beta-ecdysterone, a phytochemical that stimulates protein synthesis.

Amounts: 10 oz raw spinach: 65 calories, 8 g protein, 10 g carbs (6 g of those being fiber), 1 g fat

10 Ezekiel 4:9 bread
When: Any time of day When you would eat slow-digesting carbs
Why: Made from organic sprouted whole grains such as wheat, millet, spelt and barley, and from legumes such as lentils and soybeans, this bread is a complete protein, which means it contains all nine of the amino acids your body needs for muscle growth.

• These whole grains and legumes also digest slowly, promoting superior fat burning throughout the day and more energy during exercise.

Amounts: Two slices of Ezekiel 4:9 bread: 160 calories, 8 g protein, 30 g carbs (with 6 g of fiber), 1 g fat

11 Walnuts
When: Between-meal snack, especially at bedtime
Why: Walnuts are one of the few nuts that are truly rich in the omega-3 fatty acids, critical for muscle growth and strength gains.

Amounts: 1 oz of English walnuts (about 14 walnut halves): 185 calories, 4 g protein, 4 g carbs, 18 g fat (with almost 3 g of omega-3 fats)

12 Broccoli
When: As a side with any meal
Why: Broccoli contains a phytochemical that gets converted to another naturally occurring chemical called diindolylmethane, which reduces the strength of estrogens by converting them to weaker varieties in the liver.

• This helps to diminish estrogenic effects (fat gain and water retention) and strengthens testosterone’s anabolic effects (muscle strength and growth).
• It also contains the antioxidant sulforaphane–a compound that forms from the inactive compound glucoraphanin When you chew it. Sulforaphane works in synergy with DIM to provide antiinflammatory properties, which enhance joint and muscle recovery, as well as fight cancer.

Amounts: 1 cup of chopped broccoli: 31 calories, 3 g protein, 6 g carbs, 0 g fat

13 Brazil nuts
When: Between-meal snack
Why: They are a rich source of monounsaturated fats, promoting heart heath and joint healing while minimizing bodyfat.

• These nuts are abundant in the trace mineral selenium, a component of the enzyme that helps convert the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) to the more active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine (T3). Thyroid hormones are important for keeping metabolic rate high and supporting muscle growth.
• Newer research from Italy suggests that selenium is critical for muscle strength.

Amounts: 1 oz of Brazil nuts (about six): 186 calories, 4 g protein, 3 g carbs, 19 g fat (6 g monounsaturated fat), plus more than 500 micrograms selenium

14 Organic milk
When: At breakfast or in protein shakes between meals
Why: Milk contains both whey and casein protein.

• It contains the potent anabolic factor insulinlike growth factor-l, which is critical for stimulating muscle growth.
• Research shows organic milk is higher in omega-3 fats and the healthy fat which increases muscle mass and strength while simultaneously helping to drop bodyfat.

Amounts: 1 cup of low- fat milk: 102 calories, 8 g protein, 12 g carbs, 2 g fat

15 Pomegranate juice
When: In a preworkout protein shake
Why: It has a potent antioxidant content, which promotes health and wards off many diseases.

• UCLA researchers have found that it’s effective at protecting NO against oxidative destruction and enhances its levels in the body.

Amounts: 2 oz (added to a protein shake): 34 calories, 0 g protein, 8 g carbs, 0 g fat

Protein
Protein is critical for providing the building blocks that make up muscle, and bodybuilders need ample Amounts of it–between one and two grams per pound of body-weight per day. But some power protein sources provide other ingredients that will further boost muscle strength and growth beyond that from just protein alone.

Carbs
After protein, carbs rank right up there on the body builder’s diet, especially When he’s trying to pack on strength and size. Carbs provide the energy to get through workouts and keep the muscles fuller by stocking them with glycogen (the stored form of carbs) to pull water into the muscles to maximize their volume. The following six carb sources have a few more tricks up their sleeves to further push growth and strength to new levels.

Fats
Fat used to be the “f” word in bodybuilding circles. Today, we know that fats are critical to muscle strength and growth, particularly the healthy ones, such as monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated omega-3 fats.

Drinks
Water is the most critical nutrient you can get. The more water you consume, the fuller your muscle cells will be, which can push muscle growth forward. Any fluid you drink provides water, but it’s the other ingredients in that drink that can make or break your progress. These three are worth their weight in gold–drink up!

Sixty! Seventy-five! Ninety! Maybe you’ve read those out sized figures in sentences that go something like this: nutrition is X percent of bodybuilding success. This is hyperbole to the extent that it implies what you eat is more important than how you train or getting enough rest. You need all three qualities to grow. However, it is true that where most bodybuilders least maximize their potential is not in their workouts or allowing for enough rest between workouts. It’s a failure to adequately feed their muscles throughout the day every day. In the second stop of our yearlong journey, H.U.G.E. spells out the nutrition guide-lines that will help a hardgainer muscle-up. (See H.U.G.E., part 1: training, for the first five rules.)

Nutrition rules – Follow these six rules and use the sample H.U.G.E. diet as a guideline for your nutrition plan.

6 Up the frequency.
To add muscle but not fat, shoot for a daily total of approximately 18-20 calories per pound of bodyweight. For example, if you weigh 180, aim for 3,240-3,600 calories per day. Forget about the old “three meals per day” formula and eat approximately every two and a half hours. Our H.U.G.E. diet prescribes eight meals per day, although half of those meals (includ-ing those that occur pre-and post-workout) are made up wholly or primarily of a protein shake and another is a 300-calorie snack. If you’ve been following a more traditional eating plan, most, if not all, of our meals are undoubtedly smaller than you’re accustomed to. More frequent but smaller meals allow you to feed your muscles throughout the day, maximizing the sort of growth you want (muscle) while minimizing if not preventing the sort of growth you don’t want (fat). Just as you don’t skip workouts, don’t skip meals, and think of any missed meal or junk food meal as a wasted opportunity to grow.

7 Always focus on protein.
On the H.U.G.E. diet, most of the eight sample meals have at least 40 grams of protein. Because protein is the building block of muscle, it’scrucial that you take in an adequate amount of it during each meal from such sources as eggs, low-fat or nonfat dairy products, turkey, fish, skinless white-meat chicken, lean cuts of beef, soy and protein shakes. We recommend at least one pound of protein daily per pound of bodyweight, but hardgainers may need to take in as much as two pounds of protein daily per pound of bodyweight. This is not difficult to achieve with frequent meals that include protein shakes. Our H.U.G.E.diet shows how a 180-pound male can take in 360 g of protein daily, but these are merely sample meals, and other quality protein sources can be substituted, such as salmon instead of chicken or ground turkey for ground beef.

8 Go low (mostly) and high (sometimes).
Carbohydrates fuel your body during workouts and should make up about 30-45% of your calories. The majority of these should be low-gly-cemic carbs, which means they digest slower, provide longer-lasting energy and don’t spike insulin levels, which can enhance fat gain. Examples of low-glycemic carbs sources include oatmeal, whole-wheat breads and pastas, most fruits (apples, oranges, bananas), sweet potatoes and brown rice. Immediately after your work-out is the one time you want to spike your insulin levels by consuming high-glycemic carbs–the elevated blood sugar will better replenish your muscles, and higher levels of the anabolic hormone insulin will boost muscle growth. Examples of high-glycemic carb foods include white-wheat breads, watermelon, angel food cake and sports drinks, such as Gatorade.

9 Fat is not your enemy.
If kept in check, dietary fat has several bodybuilding uses. It aids cell functions, it’s burned as fuel during lengthy and/or low-intensity training, and it’s necessary for elevated testosterone levels, which increases your muscle gains. The key is to limit your intake of foods high in unhealthy saturated fat, such as whole-milk dairy products, and trans fat, such as most fried foods, and focus instead on more healthful foods that are high in polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fat (such as nuts and seeds, avocados, olive and canola oils) or omega-3 fatty acids (such as salmon, white tuna and walnuts).

10 Water yourself regularly.
Your body is 70% water and, as a hard-training bodybuilder, it’s crucial that you regularly hydrate yourself for proper growth, digestion and health. Ifyou drink at least one gallon of water per day that should be adequate in addition to the water you take in from other foods and beverages, and, when-ever you feel thirsty, drink up to quell even momentary dehydration.

11 Supplement your gains.
The H.U.G.E. diet advises the use of whey and casein protein powders to augment whole-food meals. In addition, consume a good multivitamin/ mineral supplement each day, take in 3-5 g of creatine before and 3-5 g after your workouts and 5-10 g of glutamine after your workouts. Numerous other valuable supplements can boost your workouts and recovery; those include arginine for enhanced blood flow, Tribulus terrestris and ZMA for elevated testosterone, and caffeine for energy. FullyFlexed regularly explains how to best use such supplements, and you may want to include these and others in | your nutrition plan, dependent on your needs and budget.

Just desserts
Daily, we are bombarded with convenient junk food options–the sort of calorie-dense foods that not only easily convert to fat but also satiate our hunger and thus make us prone to skip bodybuilder-appropriate meals. Once or twice per week, a moderate-sized junk food meal is OK as long as you otherwise keep your commitment to feed your physique with protein-rich meals throughout each day. Modify our sample menu as needed for variety and to fit your schedule. Just as you follow a workout plan, keeping to a mass-making bodybuilding diet is not difficult once you develop a routine, and when you begin to see the additional gains, you won’t want to waver often. Forget the cheesecake–go for the muscle mass.

Next month, in part three of the H.U.G.E program to maximize your mass: rest.

The H.U.G.E. diet
This is sample high-protein diet intended for a 180-pound male. Similar foods can be substituted for taste and variety. Adjust the nutrient levels up or down, depending on your bodyweight.

This being FullyFlexed, we’re not going to recommend an expensive liposuction operation. (Unless, of course, your beloved and rich Uncle Fred left you with several hundred thousand dollars, in which case you can skip this article and call your plastic surgeon.) Rather, we’ve complied a series of tips, tweaks and techniques for you to add to what you’re already doing during the course of a day. Instead of asking you to drop your workouts and follow some one-size-fits-all program, we’ve come up with a list of ways you can increase your caloric deficit each day.

All of the tips presented here use one or more of three bodyfat-fighting strategies: reducing the amount of food you eat (the calories you take in), increasing the amount of exercise you perform (the calories you burn) and boosting your metabolic rate (the number of calories your body requires for body weight maintenance).

Added together, these tips and strategies could theoretically help you synergistically burn up to 3,650 calories a day, but most individuals will want to pick and choose items that allow them to burn up to 1,500 calories (Number of calories burned is based on a 200-pound man who exercises four times a week and currently consumes enough calories for bodyweight maintenance. The total number of calories you burn will likely vary.) a day without requiring a significant change to diet or training regimen. You can still perform the same weight-training exercises and routines–just add our training and nutrition tips to the mix.

1 Add intervals to your cardio work – The Caloric Effect: 150
The Technique: “Interval training burns more calories than steady-state training because you can do more work in the same amount of time,” says Tom Seabourne, who has a PhD in exercise science and is author of Athletic Abs with Scott Cole (Human Kinetics, 2002). To use this calorie-burning technique, Seabourne suggests that you include sprints with your jogging, add jogging to your fast-paced walking or increase the difficulty level or pace when using cardio equipment. “Add 60 seconds of interval training every other minute or so. The harder you work, the more calories you’ll burn,” Seabourne advises.

• Comment: Not only do you burn more calories during these intense interval cycles, but they also rev up your calorie-burning during the hours following your training.

2 Increase your weights by 5%-10% – The Caloric Effect: 500-600
The Technique: “This technique shakes up your workout,” says Steve Zim, fitness expert for NBC’s Weekend Today. “A lot of people get stuck using the same weights and reps over and over. Their bodies acclimate to the workload, and they don’t burn as many calories as they would if they provided their body with unexpected stimulation.” Increasing your training weights 5%-10% is a great way to do this.

• Comment: Research shows that heavy training (in the 6-8-rep range) increases metabolic rate over the subsequent two days, helping you burn up to 600 calories more than after lightweight training (12-15-rep range). In addition, by raising your weight just 5%, you may find yourself more inspired, encouraging you to work harder and burn even more calories.

3 Mix up your cardio – The Caloric Effect: 50-100
The Technique: Got a favorite cardio machine in the gym? Ditch it. You may be surprised by how much more beneficial cross-training is vs. performing the same exercise during every cardio session. “When you include a variety of cardio machines in your routines–treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, cross-country ski machine, stair-stepper–you stimulate the same muscles in new ways or even work different muscle groups. The more groups you use that are unaccustomed to training, the harder you must work at an exercise, thus you burn more calories,” says Seabourne.

• Comment: Use your heart rate as a guide to ensure that you achieve the same level of intensity on different pieces of equipment. Some machines feel more difficult than others, even if they’re set at a level below where you should be training.

4 Avoid consecutive days of rest – The Caloric Effect: 250-500
The Technique: “Try to avoid taking more than one rest day at a time,” Zim says. “You need a rest day after every 3-4 days of training in a row, but subsequent rest days can begin to lower your metabolic rate.”

• Comment: For the best effect on both metabolism and muscle recovery, strive to train three days on, one day off. To keep up your metabolic rate, take off a second or third day only when you feel overtrained or under the weather. Even though you don’t feel like hitting the gym on those days, try doing some kind of aerobic activity for at least 30 minutes.

5 Split your workout in two – The Caloric Effect: 100-300
The Technique: “Instead of doing an hour-and-a-half workout in the morning, try doing 45 minutes in the morning and 45 minutes after work,” says Zim. This revs up your metabolic rate twice a day instead of once. During the last half of a long training session, you may work out with less intensity because of fatigue; by splitting your training, you recover enough to burn more calories in your second 45-minute installment.

• Comment: Calorie-burning can vary based on your intensity. The effects of two metabolism-boosting sessions will stay with you all day.

6 Eat spicey food - The Caloric Effect: 200-500
The Technique: “Spices such as red pepper and cayenne can significantly crank up your metabolic rate and decrease your overall food intake,” explains Zim.

• Comment: The number of calories you burn from this technique is correlated to the amount of low-calorie spices you consume. The more spices you add to your food, the greater their effect on your metabolic rate.

7 Record all the food you eat – The Caloric Effect: 300-500
The Technique: Keeping a food journal can have a surprising effect on your discipline, because it makes you think about everything you put into your mouth. Just by committing to write down all the food you eat, you’re less likely to include unhealthy foods in your diet.

• Comment: Whether this has a minimal or profound psychological effect on you, it provides you with valuable information about your nutritional habits.

8 Cut out all caloric beverages – The Caloric Effect: 50-500
The Technique: Eat your calories instead of drinking them. Ingesting more liquid calories is a good weight-gaining strategy because they’re easier to consume when you don’t have an appetite. On the flip side, liquid calories don’t satisfy you as much as solid foods. Sodas, milk, juice, sugar added to drinks such as coffee or tea and other caloric beverages are a significant source of calories for many people. Try drinking only water, plain tea, black coffee or diet (no-calorie) beverages for a couple of weeks and see if you notice a difference in your bodyfat stores.

• Comment: The caloric effect depends on how many calories you consume in liquid form. Be careful if you typically get a lot of your protein from milk and protein shakes–you’ll need to consume this nutrient in different ways.

9 Drink green tea or black coffee – The Caloric Effect: 50-200
The Technique: When you drink green tea and coffee, you may notice the energizing effect they have on your body. “Green tea and black coffee also boost your metabolism without adding significant calories to your diet,” says Zim. In addition, these caffeinated beverages tend to reduce appetite, helping you further cut calorie consumption.

• Comment: While the metabolic boost from caffeine is small, the decrease in calories consumed can be significant.

10 Reduce carbs later in the day – The Caloric Effect: 200-300
The Technique: Cutting back on carbs during the later part of the day is smart for two reasons: One, you decrease the number of calories you consume each day, and two, you reduce the amount of insulin your body must produce, which decreases the amount of fat your body stores. You don’t need to eliminate pasta or potatoes, but cut back on them late in the day, eating one-third to one-half of your normal servings.

• Comment: Pro body-builders know this is one of the most significant ways to reduce stored bodyfat. But if you train late in the day, get some carbs after your workout to replenish muscle glycogen stores

Author Steve Stiefel
COPYRIGHT 2005 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group

Sorry to burst the bubble: the idea that burning 3,500 calories will burn a pound of fat may be true on paper, but it’s not always true in reality. In the best of all possible worlds, when you cut 3,500 calories from your diet, you should lose a pound of bodyfat, but that’s not always the case.

There’s a lot more to dropping bodyfat than just the numbers. In fact, if we were to stubbornly remain steadfast to the mathematical model for bodyfat management, then dieting for a bodybuilding contest would be little more than an exercise in pushing the buttons on a calculator. Bodybuilders would resort to running the numbers, always trying to cut 3,500 calories from their diets with little regard for other elements that play a bigger role in dropping fat.

Here are the Factors that explain why it’s overly simplistic to try to diet according to the maxim that “3,500 calories equals a pound of fat” and the ways to go about really burning bodyfat.

Factor #1 – The body adapts to reduced-calorie intake.
Let’s say a bodybuilder reduces his daily caloric intake from 3,500 to 3,000 to cut up. That’s 3,500 fewer calories per week. During weeks one and two–and possibly weeks three and four–he may drop a pound of bodyfat a week for a total of four pounds in bodyfat reduction.

However, by the fifth or sixth week, he may no longer lose additional bodyfat. This is called plateauing. The problem is that the body adapts to reductions in calories by burning fewer of them. When you eat less, your body eventually starts to burn fewer calories. That puts a dent in the belief that cutting 3,500 calories from a diet will continue to result in the loss of a pound of bodyfat each week.

Factor #2 – Some calories are more readily stored as bodyfat. Among carbohydrates, protein and dietary fat, the last is the most fattening. The body actually burns calories when it digests all three of these macronutrients, but it requires fewer calories to digest dietary fat–about two to three times less than carbs and about 10 times less than protein. So, dietary fat yields a greater net caloric intake available for bodyfat storage than carbohydrates or protein.

Using our example, the bodybuilder who eats 3,000 calories a day should lose more fat by following a very low-fat plan rather than one higher in fat–even if the calories are the same. This is just one example of how there is more to bodyfat management than just total caloric intake.

Factor #3 – Protein protects muscle mass. When you consume fewer calories, you always risk burning muscle tissue for fuel. It would be great to be able to cut calories and burn bodyfat exclusively, but that’s not how the body works. Therefore, you need to eat enough protein to protect your muscles from being burned as fuel.

Protein is protein sparing. When calories are reduced, protein helps protect your muscles and when you preserve your muscles, you prevent a decline in your metabolism. In general, a dieter who takes in 3,000 calories a day–or 3,500 less weekly than when he consumed 3,500 each day–will save more muscle, and therefore maintain a higher metabolism, by eating more protein.

For best results, a trainer should eat at least one gram (g) of protein per pound of bodyweight daily, up to 1 1/2g of protein per pound. In other words, a 200-pound bodybuilder on a 3,000-calorie-a-day diet can consume 300 g of protein, or 1,200 calories from protein, each day. This 40% ratio of protein is excellent for helping to protect a dieting bodybuilder’s muscle mass.

Factor #4 – Hormones shift during a diet.
One of the most critical–and overlooked–elements of dieting is how a reduction in calories affects the body’s hormone levels. One study showed that men who follow a higher protein diet had higher insulinlike growth Factor (IGF) levels than those on a lower protein diet–even though total calorie consumption was the same for the two groups. IGF hugely affects metabolism, increasing muscle growth.

When you stimulate muscle growth–even when calories are lower than normal–the metabolic rate and fat-burning ability in the body increases. So, you could follow a lower protein plan–say 3,000 calories a day (again 3,500 fewer each week than eating 3,500 a day)–and miss out on beneficial IGF, which means less muscle and a smaller impact on metabolism. Keep your protein consumption high (1-1 1/2g per pound of bodyweight each day), and you’ll improve your hormone levels for assisting bodyfat burning.

Factor #5 – The glycemic index of foods impacts bodyfat burning.
The May 2005 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition affirmed the longtime dietary habits of many bodybuilders: following a low-glycemic diet supports the loss of bodyfat even when calories aren’t reduced. The research showed that people on a low-fat diet lost less bodyfat than those who followed a plan that emphasized low-glycemic carbs–even though the low-fat group consumed fewer calories.

Low-glycemic carbs include oatmeal, buckwheat noodles, buckwheat pancakes, red (new) potatoes, yams, cherries and oranges. They digest slowly, converting more slowly to glucose, the basic energy source of the body. Slower-digesting carbs help make the body less efficient at storing bodyfat than other sources of carbohydrates.

The primary reason for this is likely due to effects on insulin secretion. Insulin is a potentially fat-storing hormone that increases with carbohydrate consumption. As it turns out, the more refined the carb source–or the higher the glycemic rating–the greater the insulin secretion. Higher insulin levels, in turn, make the body extremely efficient at storing bodyfat, while lower insulin levels allow bodyfat to be burned as fuel.

If you reduce calories by 3,500 a week while still consuming high-glycemic carbs, you might fail to lose weight, you might lose less than a pound of bodyfat each week or you might reach plateaus quickly.

However, if you reduce your consumption by just 3,000 calories a week (a more moderate cut in calories), but rely mostly on low-glycemic carbs (in addition to a high protein intake), you are much more likely to extend the time that your body continues burning bodyfat.

Factor #6 – Meal frequency is an important element in bodyfat burning. A bodybuilder who eats 3,500 fewer calories a week will lose more fat by eating seven times a day rather than five. Every time you eat, your metabolism increases mildly; also, having multiple meals suppresses cortisol, which, in turn, raises testosterone levels. When testosterone remains elevated–even in tiny amounts over a dieting period–the body becomes better at holding onto its muscle mass. The more mass you can retain, the higher your metabolic rate.

On the flip side, the same bodybuilder might eat four or five times a day and fail to consistently lose the expected pound of fat a week, which, of course, means the math does not add up.

Factor #7 – Time of day is important in losing fat.
FullyFlexed typically recommends eating less food as the day progresses, particularly carbs, because insulin sensitivity decreases later in the day. Insulin sensitivity refers to the hormone’s ability to move nutrients into muscle. When insulin sensitivity decreases, more insulin must be released to get the job done. The problem is that insulin also increases fat storage. If you eat high-carb meals late in the day, when insulin sensitivity is low, you will get a much bigger insulin spike and greater fat storage. Later in the day, switch to fibrous carbs from veggies and focus on protein.

Factoring it all inBodyfat management at its most basic level is about calories in versus calories burned, but more Factors than that must be considered when it comes to the specific needs of dieting bodybuilders. Calorie reduction is only step one. Next, you must increase protein and low-glycemic-carb consumption while reducing dietary fat intake. In addition, eat more frequent meals (especially earlier in the day) to create the hormonal environment that’s most effective at burning bodyfat while allowing you to maintain muscle mass.

Eat animal protein
Studies show that vegetarian diets lead to lower blood testosterone levels and higher amounts of “inactive” testosterone even when protein intake is the same. Be sure to consume poultry, beef, fish and pork. Red meat is particularly good due to its higher levels of saturated fat and zinc, a mineral associated with higher T levels.

Eat some fat
Research suggests that when total fat, saturated fat and monounsaturated fat intakes increase, so does testosterone. Choose foods high in monounsaturated fats, like avocados, nuts, seeds, olives and olive oil. Red meat and dairy products (not the fat-free varieties) are also a good source of protein and saturated fat. Worried about your heart health? Research states that most saturated fat found in beef, chicken and pork does not raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels.

Eat some dietary cholesterol
Studies show that those who train while on a higher-cholesterol diet gain more muscle mass and strength than those who eat less cholesterol. Foods like egg yolks and red meat are good sources. What’s more, research shows the cholesterol in egg yolks doesn’t raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels.

Drink a protein and carb shake after workout
Consuming protein and carbs after training has been shown to increase the amount of testosterone that enters muscle cells, where it can increase muscle growth. Take 20-40 grams of whey protein and 40-100 grams of simple carbs postworkout.

Eat cruciferous Veggies
Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage yield compounds called indoles that help lower certain estrogens, which in turn can help reduce estrogen’s inhibitory effect on testosterone production. Eat cruciferous vegetables with meals and/or as snacks.

Eat plenty of carbs
A higher ratio of carbs-to-protein–some-where around 2:1 is best–results in higher testosterone levels. Shoot for at least 2 grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight.

Don’tEat too much
Taking in too many calories can lead to gains in bodyfat, which can ultimately lead to lower testosterone levels via increased levels of estrogens.

Eat too much protein
Consuming more protein than carbs can increase the loss of testosterone through urination. While protein is necessary for higher testosterone levels, too much can have a negative effect. Stick to about 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

Eat too much fat
Spread out your fat consumption throughout the day and avoid high-fat meals, which can actually decrease testosterone levels momentarily. Keep fat consumption at 30% of your total caloric intake. Don’t get in too many polyunsaturated fats, such as those found in fish and vegetable oil. Sure, they’re healthy, but they can also cause T levels to drop.

Hit the bottle to hardDrinking alcohol can lead to lower testosterone levels by increasing the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Keep alcohol consumption at a few glasses per week or less.

Eat too much fiber
Eating a healthy bodybuilding diet should give you enough fiber to stay healthy. Get roughly 35 grams of fiber per day when trying to keep testosterone levels maxed. Excessively high-fiber diets can lead to lower T levels.

And there’s more good news: Keeping your testosterone levels maxed out doesn’t mean you have to resort to using illegal steroids or pro-hormones. Simply knowing how to eat properly can make a world of difference in keeping your testosterone at muscle-building levels.

Test primerTo understand how diet affects testosterone levels, you first must understand testosterone production and its actions. It all begins in the brain. A hormone called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is released from the hypothalamus (a small section deep within the brain) and travels to the pituitary gland. From here, GnRH stimulates the release of luteinizing hormone, which travels via the blood all the way to the testes, where it activates enzymes that convert cholesterol into testosterone. What you eat can positively or negatively affect any one of these steps.

Your nutritional regimen can also influence testosterone after it’s produced. Testosterone travels in the blood to muscle cells and other tissues either as free (or active) testosterone or bound to a carrier protein. Only the free kind can work to increase muscle size by entering the muscle cells. At some tissues, such as fat cells and the brain, fat can be converted into estrogens–yes, the female hormone you don’t want in excess in your body, since it can lead to fat gain and inhibit further testosterone production by decreasing brain hormones. Diet can influence the amounts of both active testosterone and estrogens in the blood.

Food & testosteroneTo boost your testosterone levels, your first step is to consume an adequate number of calories. Following a low-calorie diet can result in less GnRH being released from the brain, as well as decreased activity of testosterone-catalyzing enzymes in the testes, and the consequence of both incidents is decreased testosterone production. The catch is that you also don’t want to overeat and gain bodyfat, which contains more of the enzyme that converts testosterone into estrogens. The Testosterone Diet gives you enough calories to support muscle growth and testosterone levels without adding bodyfat. Our sample diet uses a 180-pound bodybuilder; to figure out your own calorie needs, multiply your bodyweight by 18-20 calories. For example, a 180-pounder will need to ingest about 3,250-3,600 calories per day. For the 200-pounder, it jumps up to 3,600-4,000 calories.

The next step is to consume adequate carbohydrates. Shoot for at least 2 grams per pound of bodyweight per day, keeping your carbs-to-protein ratio at 2:1–research shows that this is ideal for elevating T levels. And although we’d rarely tell you to choose more refined carbs (except around workout time), we suggest you do so here because higher-fiber diets tend to lower testosterone. Don’t gorge on Twinkies, of course, but you can choose white rice over brown and cream of wheat over oatmeal, because the former have lower fiber content. Of course, you still need some fiber for health reasons, so we’ve included whole-wheat bread, fruits and vegetables in the nutrition plan.

Priority No. 3 is protein. Surprised it’s not No. 1? While we constantly preach the importance of eating protein–and make no mistake, it’s vital in The Testosterone Diet–what’s even more crucial is getting just enough of it and not too much. That’s because research shows that consuming more protein than carbs may lower testosterone levels. So you’ll want to get in your bodybuilding standard of 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day–no more, no less. Also, make sure most of your protein comes from animal sources; vegetarian diets are associated with lower testosterone levels in males.

The last, but certainly not the least, macronutrient to be concerned about is fat. You’ll want to get about 30% of your total calories from fat, but don’t overload on polyunsaturated fats like those found in salmon, other fatty fish and vegetable oils. Instead, concentrate on choosing monounsaturated fats found in nuts, olives, olive oil and avocados, and saturated fats from red meat and egg yolks. Unorthodox as this advice may be, research suggests that polyunsaturated fats lower testosterone levels, while monounsaturated and even saturated fats raise T levels.

You’ll definitely want to include pre-and postworkout shakes. Consuming fast-digesting protein such as whey and fast-digesting carbs after you train has been found to increase the amount of testosterone taken up by muscle cells as well as the number of testosterone receptors in them. In other words, all that testosterone can be put to work to stimulate muscle growth. Shoot for about 20 grams of protein and 20-40 grams of carbs before workouts, and 20-40 grams of protein and 40-100 grams of carbs postworkout.

18

• Minimum number of calories per pound of bodyweight you should eat to maximize your T levels

30

• Percentage of daily calories you should get from fat to keep testosterone levels up

When it comes to keeping your muscles full, nothing beats lean beef, because of the many ways it works to build and keep muscle. First, the cholesterol in red meat drives testosterone, keeping your body in an anabolic state. If you cut out red meat for too long, you’ll become weak and lethargic. It also has zinc, which further supports testosterone production.

Beef is a slower-digesting source of protein, which gives you a positive nitrogen balance and a steady trickle of amino acids into your blood. I often recommend that guys eat beef at night–instead of getting up to eat, so that their muscles are getting fed while they snooze.

It’s also a natural, efficient, slow-acting source of creatine, which helps keep you stronger through heavy training, meaning you’ll be more likely to hold on to that muscle. Your focus should be on 4%-6% fat ground beef or lean cuts, such as top round, bottom round and sirloin. In the offseason, spend a little more and have filet mignon.

Phil Heath is a great example of the benefits of lean red meat. In his offseason, we have him taking in three or four red-meat meals per day. That’s the only way he’s able to keep the weight on. If he stops eating those red-meat meals, he’ll drop 10 pounds in a couple of weeks, easy.

Author JIM STOPPANI, PHD
COPYRIGHT 2009 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2009 Gale, Cengage Learnin

• Makes 10 servings of:

• 3g Fat
• 9g Carbs
• 9g Protein

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup of whey protein
• 1/2 cup stevia blend
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-tablespoon liquid lecithin
• 1/2 cup fat free cream cheese (room temperature)
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup fat free Miracle Whip
• 1 teaspoon super-strength chocolate flavoring (LorAnn)

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 9×9 baking pan with wax paper. In a bowl combine all dry ingredients. Set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric beater, combine lecithin, cream cheese, eggs, Miracle Whip, and flavoring until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Mix well. Pour batter into lined 9×9 square pan and smooth evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool slightly. Remove wax paper and cool completely. Cut into 9 bars.

For more protein bar recipes check out the Make Your Own Protein Bars section. Here.

Another helpful element in hot herbs such as mustard is that they stimulate thirst, causing you to drink more liquids. When you fill up on water instead of food, you ingest fewer calories, which can also contribute to weight loss. A substantial hit of mustard even clears the sinuses and increases blood circulation!

Mustard can be a helpful part of a bodybuilding diet because it provides tremendous flavor with few calories and little fat (prepared mustard contains three calories per teaspoon and less than a gram of fat, carbs and protein). Many bland bodybuilding foods stand to be greatly improved with the tang of mustard. FullyFlexed has always advocated kicking up the excitement of a sandwich with plenty of mustard (turkey and roast beef are especially complemented by it).

There are many other ways to incorporate this useful condiment into your diet. One usually thinks of bright yellow “ballpark” mustard, composed of ground mustard seeds, vinegar, white wine, sugar and turmeric, but there are many other varieties. Try spicing up chicken breasts with a tasty Southwestern mesquite mustard. Add flavor to gourmet sausages by dipping them in a coarse-grained mustard. You can even find dill mustard, which is suitable for fish. Don’t forget the classic Grey Poupon mustard, great for almost anything, including marinating and cooking. (When cooking with any mustard, be sure to add it toward the end of the cooking process because heat destroys the unique flavor.) Mustard is also great in tuna with a bit of low-fat mayo.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Weider Publications
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning