"Moving on...looking at this cover of Dennis Wolf, you have to ask: "What the fuck happened to him at the O?" Well, if you read the interview on page 196 you will find out, among other things, that he lost 15 pounds of muscle the last two weeks on a zero-carb diet! I'm not a fan of low-carb diets for building muscle. It's great for fat loss, but at the expense of losing lean muscle mass. "Assisted" bodybuilders have less of a concern, but it's still an issue for some guys. Low-carb diets lower testosterone, insulin and IGF-1, three important anabolic hormones. Low-carb diets also increase cortisol, a catabolic hormone plus increase blood acidity, which can also enhance muscle protein breakdown. I think low carbs were a mistake for Dennis. He also had an abdominal hernia, which accounted for his stomach protruding. He is having surgery in a couple of weeks to fix it and will be back training for the Olympia in January."
So much BS, so little time, will concentrate on these two BS sentences only. There is
not a shred of evidence suggesting that a low-carb diet decreases blood testosterone or intra-muscular IGF-1. Also, just wondering if Steve has any freaking clue how high the blood T is if one takes let say 4 x 250 mg sustanon weekly compared with the physiological (normal) levels? Finally, insulin is obviously a fat storage hormone too.
Steve thinks low carbs were mistake for Dennis? Who gives a shit? When was the last time
Steve was preparing a top BB for a show??
A couple of studies (abstracts) refuting those Blechman ramblings:
Metabolism. 2002 Jul;51(7):864-70. Links
Body composition and hormonal responses to a carbohydrate-restricted diet.Volek JS, Sharman MJ, Love DM, Avery NG, Gómez AL, Scheett TP, Kraemer WJ.
Human Performance Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269-1110, USA.
The few studies that have examined body composition after a carbohydrate-restricted diet have reported enhanced fat loss and preservation of lean body mass in obese individuals. The role of hormones in mediating this response is unclear. We examined the effects of a 6-week carbohydrate-restricted diet on total and regional body composition and the relationships with fasting hormone concentrations. Twelve healthy normal-weight men switched from their habitual diet (48% carbohydrate) to a carbohydrate-restricted diet (8% carbohydrate) for 6 weeks and 8 men served as controls, consuming their normal diet. Subjects were encouraged to consume adequate dietary energy to maintain body mass during the intervention. Total and regional body composition and fasting blood samples were assessed at weeks 0, 3, and 6 of the experimental period. Fat mass was significantly (P <or=.05) decreased (-3.4 kg) and lean body mass significantly increased (+1.1 kg) at week 6. There was a significant decrease in serum insulin (-34%), and an increase in total thyroxine (T(4)) (+11%) and the free T(4) index (+13%). Approximately 70% of the variability in fat loss on the carbohydrate-restricted diet was accounted for by the decrease in serum insulin concentrations.
There were no significant changes in glucagon, total or free testosterone, sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), cortisol, or triiodothyronine (T(3)) uptake, nor were there significant changes in body composition or hormones in the control group. Thus,
we conclude that a carbohydrate-restricted diet resulted in a significant reduction in fat mass and a concomitant increase in lean body mass in normal-weight men, which may be partially mediated by the reduction in circulating insulin concentrations. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Sep;90(9):5175-81. Epub 2005 Jun 21. Links
Effects of dietary carbohydrate restriction with high protein intake on protein metabolism and the somatotropic axis.Harber MP, Schenk S, Barkan AL, Horowitz JF.
University of Michigan, Division of Kinesiology, 401 Washtenaw Avenue, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2208, USA.
CONTEXT: Alterations in dietary macronutrient intake can influence protein turnover. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of a low-carbohydrate/high-protein diet (LC/HP) on skeletal muscle protein synthesis and whole-body proteolysis, without the confounding influence of a negative energy balance. DESIGN: Nine-day dietary intervention was applied. SETTING: Subjects remained in the General Clinical Research Center throughout the 9-d study. PARTICIPANTS: Eight young, healthy volunteers participated. INTERVENTION: Subjects ate a typical Western diet (60% carbohydrate, 30% fat, 10% protein) for 2 d, followed immediately by 7 d of an isocaloric LC/HP (5% carbohydrate, 60% fat, 35% protein). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Skeletal muscle fractional synthetic rate and whole-body proteolysis [leucine rate of appearance in plasma (Ra)] were measured after an overnight fast before and after 2 and 7 d of LC/HP. We also measured plasma concentrations of insulin, GH, and IGF-I. RESULTS: Leucine Ra was increased (P = 0.03) after 2 and 7 d of LC/HP, and muscle fractional synthetic rate was approximately 2-fold higher (P < 0.01) after 7 d of LC/HP. Fat free mass was not altered by LC/HP. Average 24-h plasma insulin concentration was 50% lower (P < 0.001) after 2 and 7 d of LC/HP, whereas GH secretion and total plasma IGF-I concentrations were unchanged with LC/HP. However, plasma free IGF-I decreased by approximately 30% after 7 d of LC/HP (P = 0.002), whereas
muscle IGF-I mRNA increased about 2-fold (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:
Increasing dietary protein content during a 7-d carbohydrate restricted diet stimulated muscle protein synthesis and whole-body proteolysis without a measurable change in fat free mass.
