MATTSTIRLINGFITNESS - Amazon S3Myth… · MYTH #3 - YOU CAN’T GAIN MUSCLE ON A LOW-CARB DIET. YES YOU CAN! And no, it doesn’t just require shoving a bunch of acidic, ammonia-producing

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HI THERE!!

Before we dive into the 7 ridiculous carb myths that are killing your muscle building, fat loss and perfor-mance results, let me tell you why I’ve decided to write this…

As a 3-time world champion bodybuilder and personal trainer to hundreds of clients who hire me to get them back into shape or into the best shape of their lives, I quickly discovered that I had ONE HUGE PROBLEM TO OVERCOME:

I Had To Crack The “Carbohydrate Code” For Myself & Every Single One Of My Clients

For The Fastest Results Possible.

I had to answer these questions repeatedly

• How many carbs should I eat in the day? • Should I go on a no-carb diet? • Do I take carbs before my workout if I want to lose fat?• What kind of carbs should I have after my workout?• Can I combine carbs with fats? • What produces better results? Higher or lower carb diets? • Do I need to track my carbs or can I go based on feel? • When should I reduce my carb intake? • How many carbs can I have if I want max muscle gains?• Should I cycle my carbs?

I get more questions about carbohydrates than any other macronutrient. Everyone wants to know how to perfect their carb intake and honestly, I don’t blame them, it can be confusing!


Look around and you’ll find amazing bodies in both camps; low-carb and high-carb. What’s up with that? How do people using two totally different approaches STILL achieve an amazing body?

Let me explain… one of the most important things you’ll learn as you dive deeper into the world of fitness and diet is figuring out your own body. Wouldn’t you agree?

Today I’m going to run you through 7 ridiculous carb myths and follow up with some of my “Best of The Best” carb tips for anyone trying to control their insulin levels for maximum fat loss and muscle gains!

Here are the 7 ridiculous carb myths that are confusing to thousands of people in the fitness industry that are killing your results…

MYTH #1 - ONLY EAT CARBS IN THE MORNING AND AFTER YOUR WORKOUT.

Now I must say that this is at the top of my list for a reason! A one-size-fits all recommendation such as this doesn’t factor in your activity levels, your body composition or your physique and performance goals.

You need to consider the most opportune time to ingest carbohydrates for maximum glycogen uptake into the muscle, ensuring you don’t store fat!

To say yes, it’s best to eat your carbs in the am or post workout isn’t good enough!

Say you’re 15% and I’m 10% body fat, we both just worked out real hard, but you trained legs (large mus-cle group) for 60 minutes, and I trained biceps (small muscle group) for 35 minutes. Do we need the same amount of carbs?

MYTH #2 - EATING FATS WITH CARBS SLOWS DOWN THE DIGESTION RATE FOR LESS OF AN INSULIN SPIKE.

For one, the absolute worst time to be ingesting carbs with fat is post workout! Insulin is a nutrient trans-porter, so why transport fat through the bloodstream (which digests slower than high glycemic carbs) when the muscle needs glycogen to be replenished? Adding fats can slow down the process by which carbs are absorbed, potentially creating less of the much needed insulin spike for glycogen uptake into the muscles.


More often that not, I see individuals who easily store fat, eating carbs with fats and protein in the meals (like breakfast) preceding their most intense activities in the day? This is only making things more difficult for the body when comes to not just burning fat, but mobilizing fat all day as well, especially if you’re trying to keep the fat off.

MYTH #3 - YOU CAN’T GAIN MUSCLE ON A LOW-CARB DIET.

YES YOU CAN! And no, it doesn’t just require shoving a bunch of acidic, ammonia-producing proteins down your throat. You certainly need enough protein to spare and repair muscle, but you also need to ensure you get enough fats in the diet to make up for the lower carbs.

Also, with a low carb diet, it doesn’t mean NO CARBS; so when you do ingest your carbohydrates in the day, utilize them when the body needs them most – Post Workout. This will keep your insulin under control all day with a nice anabolic insulin spike after your workout to create a 1-2-punch of building muscle while keeping the fat off!

MYTH #4 - A LOW-CARB DIET IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET LEAN.

What’s considered low carb when you have a highly active individual or a sedentary office worker? Again, we must take into account your individual activity levels before putting you on a one-size-fits-all, low-carb diet.

Low carb diets can significantly lower body fat but they must be customized to the person so that you don’t run the risk of losing muscle, having poor performance or losing focus while at work. You need structure here that caters to you!

One of the common mistakes people make when on a low-carb diet is that they fail to EAT ENOUGH FAT. This is what makes individuals have that fuzzy head, irritability, tiredness and feeling of wanting to go back to carbs.

Getting plenty of fats on a low carb diet is essential, when done properly you should feel great, stay lean and still have great workouts.


MYTH #5 - TAPERING YOUR CARBS OFF TOWARDS THE EVENING PREVENTS FAT STORAGE. But does it? This is a very old school way of thinking! I honestly used to tell my clients this back in the day (15 years ago) and maybe there was some decent logic to it. But again, that was generalized as a one-size-fits-all recommendation that didn’t work for everyone.

Catering your meals—and macronutrients within those meals—to your workouts, body composition and goals is a more optimal way of helping your body maximize energy, nutrient uptake, fat loss, muscle build-ing and recovery.

MYTH #6 - 1-2 GRAMS OF CARBS PER POUND IS IDEAL FOR BUILDING MUSCLE

Hopefully by now you can see how general information isn’t enough! To say that 1-2 grams of carbs per pound body weight is best for a 220lb bodybuilder (a range of 220-440 grams) is a huge range and doesn’t consider how lean or fat the person may be to start.

If the person has a higher body fat percentage, they may need to cycle their carbs and calories to avoid excess fat gain, which can lead to poor levels of testosterone, increased estrogen and insulin resistance.

MYTH # 7 - CARB CYCLING SHOULD BE 3 LOW CARB DAYS, 2 MEDIUM CARB DAYS AND 2 HIGH CARB DAYS.

Without knowing why or when to switch to a low, medium, high carb day that coincides with your goals, workouts and your body composition is going to leave you very frustrated! You’ll be wondering why your body isn’t responding and losing fat, gaining muscle or seeing any noticeable changes!

“LISTEN, THERE’S A TON OF CRAP OUT THERE AND PROBABLY A WHOLE WHACK OF MORE CARB MYTHS TOO… BUT I’M GOING TO GIVE YOU ONE

THING YOU CAN CENTER YOUR FOCUS ON AND START ACTION TOWARDS – IMPROVING INSULIN SENSITIVITY.”


WHAT YOU MUST KNOW…

I’m going to let you in on a little secret – The absolute first thing you need to address when it comes to altering your body for more fat loss or muscle gain is to look at how you can improve your insulin sensitivity.

Insulin sensitivity is considered to be extremely important for fat loss because if your on the poor end of it; insulin resistant, your body is much more likely to store the food you ingest as fat. Insulin resistance can also lead to inflammation in the body, which leads into a whole whirlwind of other problems that nobody wants to deal with!

Besides making it nearly impossible, yes I mean nearly impossible to lose any significant amounts of body fat and pack on grainy muscle tissue, poor insulin sensitivity has all the following negative side effects you’ll want to avoid at all costs.

1. Muscle soreness and pains are more severe. 2. Poor recovery from intense training. 3. Poor sleeping patterns which leads to fatigue during waking hours. 4. Risk factors/chance for diabetes are increased. 5. Reduced/hindered or limited athletic performance. 6. Increased triglycerides leading to increased risk of heart disease.

Now listen, DO NOT WORRY! These are things that we can take care of with some simple everyday mea-sures that will optimize your insulin sensitivity.

Just Keep Reading…


CRACKING THE CARB CODE – CARB TIPS & TRICKS

The 10X Methods For Improving Insulin Sensitivity

1. TRY CARB CYCLING

I’d suggest that you look at your volume, intensity and workout density as it may (and probably does) change from day to day, so my 3 pointers for you to apply are:

• To have your highest carb days on the workouts that produce loads of lactic acid from high volume, extended sets, and longer duration workouts.

• Utilize high carbohydrate days on your weak body parts that you’re trying to add muscle to and train your butt off on those days.

• Use your low-carb days for non-training days, or after cheat meals/days with higher carbs to avoid spillover of excess carbs into fat storage.

The general concept of carb cycling that you’ve probably read about in the past has lots of legitimacy, but you can take it much further to maximize your results with carb cycling by customizing it to what you need it for most.

2. OPTIMIZE YOUR CARB INTAKE

The key here is to customize your carb intake to your situation; be it your current body composition, current activity levels and goals. Some clear examples would be to look at a sedentary, overweight individual who is clearly going to need different carb restrictions (They have insulin resistance) than a hard core athlete who is probably more mindful or even getting coached on how to adjust their carb intake.

Studies have shown how a low-carb, high fat, high protein diet produced changes in body composition and improved insulin sensitivity in individuals with higher body fat levels.


If you’re looking at stripping off fat we know that low-carb to no-carb diet for a brief period may be needed in order to “reset” your body and get you on the right track.

3. STRENGTH TRAINING – ANAEROBIC ACTIVITIES

It comes down to supply and demand! Exercise can dramatically increase the need for fuel in the body, intra and post workout. Even more so, the increase demand for fuel leaves the body in a heightened state of increased insulin sensitivity for up to 24 hours after the workout.

How To Use It: To get maximum benefits of anaerobic activity, try doing high-volume strength training work-outs, along with sprint work (this can be done with running, biking, assault bikes, rowing).

4. SUPPLEMENTATION

Magnesium, Cinnamon, Fenugreek, Chromium, Fish Oil, Turmeric and Green Tea are but just a few of the recommended supplements that can ensure you’re optimizing your body’s utilization of fat for fuel and storage of glucose as glycogen in the muscle when it matter most.

5. BALANCING YOUR FAT INTAKE

Balancing your omega 3’s with omega 6 fat intake is an essential method for optimizing your insulin health. Too often I have clients that refer to loads of fat from nuts and seeds, especially peanut butter. Try getting in more of your fish oils that contain omega 3’s to balance this out.

Ensure that you avoid trans fats and food items that have hydrogenated oils that are most commonly used in processed food and baked goods.

6. START YOUR DAY OFF RIGHT!

Think about this, when you wake up the morning your body is most insulin sensitive – YES! So, if you’re an individual with 8% to 10% body fat or less, you can probably handle having carbs in the am and possibly throughout the day without ever storing an inch of fat. Although I’d still reconsider if you were trying to get shredded, even at those lower than average levels.


BUT, for most people though, it’s important to know that your fat cells are just as insulin sensitive as your muscles are in the morning. So, by eating carbs in the am, you’re arbitrarily going to be distributing those carbs whether it is into fat cells or muscle cells. So, I’d say this is not the fail-safe approach!

Also, by eating carbs in the morning you actually change the way your body uses nutrients for the day, it’s called glycation. Your body will essentially be less effective at using nutrients for the day or less sensitive to carbs for the day. So, when you go into your workout when you want your insulin sensitivity to be it’s highest, it’s going to be poor!

“I can remember the days of eating 5 “balanced meals” that ALL contained carbs and having to do cardio to keep my body fat levels down… No wonder!”

This leads me to my next point…

Your body is always burning fat, but the key is to burn fat and mobilize fat all day. As soon as you turn on that insulin switch, you change your ability to do that well!

7. TRY AND WORKOUT LATER IN THE DAY!

Remember, by eating no carbs for the early part of your day, you’ll be burning fat and mobilizing fat ALL DAY. Save them for your post workout shake and meal when they’ll likely be stored better as glycogen – not fat! After intense bouts of resistance training it’s pretty hard to store fat.

8. INGEST HIGH GLYCEMIC CARBS POST WORKOUT!

Dextrose and many carb drinks on the market would be great examples of carbs to ingest post workout that will fill help you fill up your gas tank again for the next day. Other Examples of “High Glycemic” (quickly absorbed, high insulin response)

• Sugars (from high to low): Maltose, glucose, sucrose)• Honey • Puffed Cereals (white rice, wheat, corn, rice cakes)• Potatoes (regular russet, instant, mashed)• Candy • Breads (especially white bread)


9. AVOID HAVING FRUITS POST WORKOUT

They’ll better serve filling up your liver glycogen, rather than your muscle glycogen. But, if you’re in a pinch and don’t have dextrose or a carb drink on hand…

Have fruit that’s low in fructose:

• Kiwifruit • Blueberries• Grapefruit• Lemons• Limes• Honeydew lemon • Pears with skin…

These are just a few “better” options when it comes to fruit post workout.

10. INGEST UP TO 50% OF YOUR TOTAL CARB INTAKE IN YOUR POST WORKOUT SHAKE

Having carbs that are high glycemic and low in fructose provide a nice insulin spike so that you’ll drive nutrients and glycogen into the muscle cells. So, use the short window of opportunity after your workout to ingest a heavy serving of high glycemic carbs and feed the muscles when they need it most.

INSULIN SENSITIVITY MADE SIMPLE

The key here is that when insulin goes into action you want it working for you! When insulin is released and binds to your cells it has two options (that you should be concerned with) with the glucose it comes in contact with:

• Store the glucose in the muscle as Glycogen (the energy source for muscle), or• Store the glucose as Fat

So, the deal here is that if you’re a healthy individual, the body preferentially wants to replenish the glyco-gen first and then only store the excess as fat once the glycogen storage is topped up like a gas tank in the muscle.


When an individual develops insulin resistance, insulin is simply not binding with your cells. Therefore, the body has to work harder and shunt out more insulin in order to get the high amounts of glucose in the blood, to where it needs to be!

Increased/high insulin in the body leads to fat storage, which is one of the main reasons we associate high insulin with obesity. So, this is why we need to better understand it, control and turn it on/off when we need to, thus giving us better insulin sensitivity.

By maximizing insulin sensitivity you’ll control your appetite, increase muscle mass while losing fat, control and utilize blood sugar more efficiently just to name a few benefits - Wouldn’t we all want this?

Of course we all want this control. And you can have it! You just need to adjust your carb intake to your individual activity level, current body composition and goals with customizing your carb intake.

Lastly, I just want you to say, “goodbye to one-size-fits all diets for good…”

I hope you’ve enjoyed the read and I look forward to helping you along your fitness journey!

If you haven’t subscribed to my email list yet, do so at mattstirlingfitness.com . If you have, be sure to move me into your whitelist or primary mail so that you can continue to receive my newsletters and latest info, training videos and more.

Your Coach,

Matt Stirling

WBFF PRO 3-Time World ChampionAuthor of Customized Carb Cycling

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MATTSTIRLINGFITNESS - Amazon S3Myth… · MYTH #3 - YOU CAN’T GAIN MUSCLE ON A LOW-CARB DIET. YES YOU CAN! And no, it doesn’t just require shoving a bunch of acidic, ammonia-producing