You've probably heard it a thousand times: "You are what
you eat." Nowhere does that cliché hold more truth than in
bodybuilding. When trying to prevent muscle breakdown,
otherwise known as muscle catabolism, how precise your
training program is, how much you rest or how well you
control your stress levels doesn't matter if you don't eat the
right foods at the right times.
Muscle catabolism can prevent you from reaching the
muscularity goals you set for yourself. It's like a never-ending
game of catch-up, where the muscle tissue you work to build
is biologically disassembled so that the components may be
used to satisfy demands elsewhere in the body. Recent
research has given some impressive insights into what it takes
to prevent muscle breakdown, yet you may never realize your
goals if you fail to focus on nutrition as one of the most
important elements. So read on, apply the information, and
experience the muscle gains you never thought possible!
HOW MANY CALORIES?
A good starting point is to find your basal metabolic rate
(BMR), a measure of how many calories it takes to support
your bodily processes at rest. This rate varies from person to
person and is strongly influenced by age, gender, genetics and
body composition. Since you aren't always at rest, you must
take into account the number of calories you burn during daily
activities and exercise .
To find out how many calories you need, use the formula in
Table 1. Finding this target level is important because if you
aren't eating enough calories to support recovery from intense
workouts, you'll be in a constant catabolic state - and building
muscle will be practically impossible.
AMINO AMMO
It's a simple fact: Protein is the most important nutrient for
building muscle and enhancing the anabolic state. If you don't
consume enough quality protein on a regular basis, you can
kiss future muscle gains goodbye. When insufficient amounts
of protein are supplied to the body, protein is leached from
muscle cells for growth and repair, especially after strenuous
workouts. This throws you into a negative nitrogen balance,
otherwise known as - you guessed it - a catabolic state.
To maintain a positive nitrogen balance, you need to ingest
high-quality, complete protein. Egg whites, lean beef, fish,
poultry, lean pork and nonfat milk products are excellent
choices. Vegetable sources such as beans are much less
effective at maintaining a positive nitrogen balance because
they're considered incomplete; that is, they don't contain all
the essential amino acids necessary to form a complete
protein.
So how much protein do you need? Study after study has
shown that 50 grams of protein a day, the recommended
dietary allowance (RDA), is far below what bodybuilders
should consume. In fact, even with double the RDA, the body
goes into a negative nitrogen balance after a brief period of
intense exercise . As a rule of thumb, aim for 1-1.5 grams of
complete protein per pound of bodyweight per day. This
should keep even the most hardcore bodybuilder in a positive
nitrogen balance and out of a catabolic state.
CARB POWER
Complex carbohydrates are the absolute best source for both
immediate and long-term energy. Why is this important and
how does it relate to anticatabolism? First, when we work out
we use primarily glucose, which is converted from glycogen
stores in muscle tissue and the liver. Glycogen is usually
formed from dietary carb consumption, but if your carb intake
is too low and your body runs out of glycogen, protein is
broken down for use to fuel your muscles' work. The body
turns on a process called gluconeogenesis, the formation of
glucose from alternate sources, and a common alternate
source is amino acids from muscle tissue.
Your goal is to eat enough carbohydrates to keep your
glycogen reservoirs full, so your body never has to dip into
your muscle tissue's amino-acid pool. How much is enough to
prevent this? Refer back to your BMR level. Carbohydrates
should make up 45%-55% of your total daily caloric intake,
so multiply the value you came up with in the BMR table by
both 0.45 and 0.55. This will give you the range of calories
that should come from carbohydrates. To calculate the
amount of carbs in grams, simply divide that caloric level by
four (carbs have 4 calories per gram).
Now let's talk about the glycemic index, which is a way to
measure how fast a carbohydrate food is released into the
bloodstream. Eating foods that are high on the scale (greater
than 50) will cause dramatic insulin fluctuations. Too-high
insulin levels cause a severe decrease in blood sugar, resulting
in temporary hypoglycemia and the release of catabolic stress
hormones like cortisol. Focusing on foods that fall in the lower
glycemic index, preferably 50 and below, will result in steady
blood-sugar levels by preventing insulin spikes.
A MATTER OF FAT
We've become a nation of fat-phobics. The media has scared
many of us away from ingesting even the smallest amounts of
fat. No, you aren't going to get any high-fat diet
recommendations here, but you do need a certain amount of
fat in your diet. Why? Fats help build some hormones,
provide an alternate energy source for long-term activity, are
necessary for the storage of specific fat-soluble vitamins and
can help boost your calories high enough to keep you out of a
catabolic state.
The kind and amount of fat you consume is important, and the
majority should come from unsaturated fats (you'll get enough
saturated fat from meat). Two unsaturated fats, linoleic and
linolenic acid, must come from your diet because they aren't
produced in the body. The best sources are oily fish like
salmon, sardines, mackerel and trout, flaxseed oil and
extra-virgin olive oil. Keep your total fat intake below 15% of
your daily calories. This will give you enough fat but will
prevent an increase in bodyfat and blood lipid levels.
TIMING IS EVERYTHING
Now that you know how many calories you need per day and
how many should come from protein, carbohydrates and fat,
you need to know when you should eat what to minimize
muscle breakdown and maximize muscular gains. Let's start
with protein. You can't eat the recommended 1-1.5 grams
per pound of bodyweight all at once; 4-6 small feedings are
best. This not only optimizes protein utilization and uptake but
also contributes significantly to a positive nitrogen balance, a
key factor in maintaining an anticatabolic state.
As far as carbohydrates go, consume more earlier in the day
than in the later afternoon and evening hours; studies have
shown that calories eaten earlier in the day are less likely to
be stored as fat.
Eat a large amount of carbohydrates, preferably in
glucose-polymer form, immediately following exercise and
again two hours later. Aim for 100-200 grams of
carbohydrate and 30-50 grams of protein at each
post-exercise meal. This will cause the greatest insulin
response, which is beneficial after exercise , yielding a faster
and more complete glycogen replenishing.
Waiting an hour or more after exercise to eat a mostly
carbohydrate meal has proven to be less than half as effective
at replenishing glycogen stores. Remember, if your glycogen is
low, you run the risk of protein being stripped away from lean
muscle tissue to support intense workouts and recuperation.
Your postworkout meals may be just as, if not more,
important than any other meal of the day - and that includes
breakfast.
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
By now you should understand the important role nutrition
plays in preventing muscle catabolism. For a brief recap, just
remember the following points:
Eat enough food to keep a positive caloric balance.
Use the BMR formula as a starting point.
Eat 1-1.5 grams of high-quality protein per pound of
bodyweight daily to maintain a positive nitrogen
balance (indicating an anabolic state).
Eat enough carbohydrates to keep your glycogen
stores full, 45%-55% of your daily calories.
Keep fat intake low but not too low - 15% or less of
calories per day.
Consume 4-6 small meals daily.
Never neglect your postworkout meals. Consume
100-200 grams of glucose polymers with 30-50 grams
of high-quality, complete protein.
Chances are you're already practicing a couple of these tips,
but they're all roughly equal in importance. Try putting them
together along with a sound training and recuperation program
to boost your chances of increasing muscle mass. If you're
consistent in your efforts, you'll be pleasantly surprised at the
rewards you'll reap from following this anticatabolic diet.
Bobby Aldridge, MHS, is a certified personal trainer,
lifestyle and weight-management consultant and co-owner
of SuperFIT, a personal training and nutrition consulting
firm at Powerhouse Gym in Duluth, Georgia.
*Article taken from Muscle and Fitness magazine at www.Muscle-Fitness.com*