Zone and gymnastics

[Derek Weaver]

Yeah, just moving around.

Fasting though as a Type 1 diabetic... is that a good thing? What has Robb said on this subject?

[Troy Kerr]

Never have spoken with him on the subject. As long as my bolus rates are fine it should prevent any dropping of my blood glucose rates. At least thats my theory on the matter.

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Donald Lee

I just noticed that the Zone Diet category on this forum is gone.

I hadn't noticed it had gone either. Does anyone know when it disappeared or why?

Originally Posted by Donald Lee

I'm also going to guess that you're underestimating your current bodyfat % and that you don't really know what 5% body fat looks like. 8% bodyfat is RIPPED, if you have some muscle. 5% body fat, as Derek said, is bodybuilder status. Even bodybuilders rarely maintain 5% body fat. Martin Berkhan is the only person I've actually heard of who maintains 5.5% body fat year around and is not an endurance athlete.

If you're going to try to maintain anywhere close to 5% body fat year around, you're going to have to implement frequent refeeds and some other nutritional strategies far more advanced than the Zone Diet.

How is it possible that you haven't heard of Clarence Bass?

The guys a legend in bodybuilding circles because he's been at ~5% BF since dinosaurs ruled the earth. More importantly he's done it without any of that low-carb, ketogenic semi-starvation, sorry "intermittent fasting", nonsense. The best thing about Clarence though is he's documented everything he's ever done and it's all available on his website or in his books.

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Troy Kerr

I am doing a guesstimation that I am somewhere around 8 percent body fat. Last time I had it measured it was 11.4 and since then I have gained a significant amount of muscle and lost a good amount of fat. I would really love to just knock the rest out as my goal has always been 5% bodyfat. I am just concerned if following a base zone would be
detrimental to my gymnastic training ( I am following a steady state cycle).
I typically follow an 80/20 paleo diet. I currently stand at 5"9, 185lbs, at less than 10% bodyfat. Is it possible to lose the fat without sacrificing my routine?

First you need to follow your doctor or dietitians advice on healthy eating not some stupid fad diet you get off the interweb.

Okay with that out of the way here we go.......

There's no mystery to losing body fat, a small daily calorie deficit sustained over time will always get the job done. Here's the basics of how you do that without sacrificing your health or performance -

* Eat a wide variety of foods daily - no natural food or food group is off limits if you want to maintain long term health.

* Get adequate protein - 1.2 - 1.8g/kg/d.

* Get adequate carbs - 5 - 8g/kg/d. Adjust depending on training load and energy levels.

* Create a negative energy balance by reducing your fat intake to ~20% of total calories taking care to ensure that you get adequate EFA's.

The rationale for this is simple; eating an adequate amount of protein is a must if you want to avoid losing lean body mass, the relatively high carb intake fuels you workouts as well as having a protein sparing effect and creating an calorie deficit by cutting fat to 20% of total calories has no effect on health or performance providing adequate EFA's are consumed.

[Troy Kerr]

Thanx for that info Darryl. However most dietitians as well as my own recommend high glycemic carbs as 65% of my foods and as little fat as possible. I have had much better results on paleo approach. If you read my previous post you would see that the paleo diet was recommended to me by Robb Wolf, I think we can all agree he's not some guy passing around stupid fad diets.

[Donald Lee]

Originally Posted by Darryl Shaw

How is it possible that you haven't heard of Clarence Bass?

The guys a legend in bodybuilding circles because he's been at ~5% BF since dinosaurs ruled the earth. More importantly he's done it without any of that low-carb, ketogenic semi-starvation, sorry "intermittent fasting", nonsense. The best thing about Clarence though is he's documented everything he's ever done and it's all available on his website or in his books.

I have heard of Clarence Bass, but I didn't know he was at that low of a bodyfat percentage.

Darryl, I don't know why you're associating intermittent fasting with dieting nonsense. Withstanding any potential physiological benefits, intermittent fasting is useful for making it easier to eat less.

I have not read any of Clarence Bass' books and have only read a few of his internet articles in the past, but I don't think healthy eating, not dieting, and not counting calories will get most people to his physique. It can get most to 10-12% bodyfat with much patience, but merely tricking your body to eat less usually won't cut it to get a physique like his.

I can appreciate Clarence Bass' philosophy and passion for getting people healthy and strong, but much of his stuff is inaccurate in my opinion. For example, he's a big advocate of Carpinelli. But in the health and fitness world, even if you're not correct, you can still get results for people and for yourself by merely doing something.

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Troy Kerr

Thanx for that info Darryl. However most dietitians as well as my own recommend high glycemic carbs as 65% of my foods and as little fat as possible. I have had much better results on paleo approach. If you read my previous post you would see that the paleo diet was recommended to me by Robb Wolf, I think we can all agree he's not some guy passing around stupid fad diets.

I think that ignoring your doctor and dietitians advice probably isn't the smartest decision you could make but it's your body so I'm not inclined to debate the issue if you've made your mind up already. I will suggest however that it might be worth you getting hold of a copy of Clinincal Sports Nutrition (4th ed.) by Louise Burke and reading the sections relating to diabetic athletes and weight loss for athletes.

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Donald Lee

I have heard of Clarence Bass, but I didn't know he was at that low of a bodyfat percentage.

Darryl, I don't know why you're associating intermittent fasting with dieting nonsense. Withstanding any potential physiological benefits, intermittent fasting is useful for making it easier to eat less.

If you eat les you lose weight so the only difference between eating a little less at each meal and IF is you're less reliant on gluconeogenesis for energy if you aren't starving half the time. Basically IF is unnecessary for weight loss although I do concede that it may be a useful strategy for some people.

I have not read any of Clarence Bass' books and have only read a few of his internet articles in the past, but I don't think healthy eating, not dieting, and not counting calories will get most people to his physique. It can get most to 10-12% bodyfat with much patience, but merely tricking your body to eat less usually won't cut it to get a physique like his.

Yet Clarence has shown that it can be done. He got ripped (the title of his old M&F column as I recall) and maintained that leanness for decades on a regime of regular exercise and healthy eating.

I can appreciate Clarence Bass' philosophy and passion for getting people healthy and strong, but much of his stuff is inaccurate in my opinion. For example, he's a big advocate of Carpinelli. But in the health and fitness world, even if you're not correct, you can still get results for people and for yourself by merely doing something.

I agree, Clarence isn't right on everything he says however it's always worth giving his opinion some serious consideration.

[Wayne Riddle]

Originally Posted by Darryl Shaw

Yet Clarence has shown that it can be done. He got ripped (the title of his old M&F column as I recall) and maintained that leanness for decades on a regime of regular exercise and healthy eating.

I've only read a little about Bass, he could also be an outlier due to freaky genetics. I jnew a guy that never worked out, drank a 6 pack every day, was not in a physically demanding job but was built like a bodybuilder.

[Darryl Shaw]

Originally Posted by Wayne Riddle

I've only read a little about Bass, he could also be an outlier due to freaky genetics. I jnew a guy that never worked out, drank a 6 pack every day, was not in a physically demanding job but was built like a bodybuilder.

True, but you could say the same about Martin Berkhan.