Today I want to talk about NOT EATING protein so you can build more muscle or preserve muscle, while also losing body fat.
This very important topic obviously affects anyone who is trying to build muscle,… whether you’re a man or a woman.
But it also affects older people, 50+ who want to preserve muscle size as they age, which is ironically, a major cause of aging and death – muscle loss!
In fact, this is why they give AIDS patients lots of steroids and testosterone, to help bulk up in muscle, so when or IF they do get sick due to an infection or illness and quickly lose a ton of muscle, there is a “safety net” because without that extra “steroid” muscle growth and weight, they would lose too much muscle and then they’d die.
There also a lot of anti-aging benefits, which I’ll reveal in 2 minutes.
Anyway… with that said, let’s get down to business.
Eat More Protein To Gain More Muscle!?!?
Growing up in the 80’s and 90’s, I was wanting to build more muscle… And all I heard was “eat more protein.” Now, the first reason for this is because all of these muscle magazines were SELLING you protein powders.
However, that aside, the reason for the increase in protein consumption is because when you increase protein intake, there’s an increase in protein synthesis, leading to higher “nitrogen retention”, which will ultimately lead to MORE muscle and LESS body fat.
Of course, I’m simplifying the process… but you get the point.
So, that’s what I did. I just ate more and more protein.
At one point, at a body weight of 200 lbs, I was eating 600 GRAMS of protein! That’s 3x my body weight.
A lot of it was with protein supplements, powders and shakes, since I just couldn’t chew that much real food.
It was actually very disgusting. I felt bloated and slow. I could tell my body was under extreme stress, due to the constant fatigue.
I also had a lot more joint pain and my sleep was horrible.
End Result = NO Extra Muscle!
The end result was NO extra muscle after 3 months of torture.
However, blood tests showed my liver and kidneys were both under a lot of stress.
So my first point is that you do NOT need that much protein.
How Much Protein Do You REALLY Need?
Just keep in mind that the time you’re growing the most is when you’re a baby, right?… and mother’s milk is only 5% protein. It’s mainly carbs (sugars) and fat.
In fact, I’d say the most you’d ever really need is about 1 gram per pound of body weight. So, in my case, weighing about 200 lbs, I would need 200 grams.
Sometimes I eat much less and I have NOT lost any muscle size or gotten fatter. And I still weigh around 200 lbs and I actually have MORE muscle now, than I did when I was eating more protein and I’ll tell you how and why in a minute.
However, some people will argue that you need more protein, but trust me, you DO NOT!
IF you’re working out really hard 2-3 hours daily, taking LOTS of steroids and are in your 20’s when you CAN absorb more protein correctly, then you can do about 1.5 grams at the MAXIMUM and thus, if 200 lbs, you can eat about 300 grams of protein.
However, 99% of us are not in this small minority.
Why You Should Eat NO Protein!
Now, there are lots of problems with eating so much protein, but the one main topic I want to discuss today is that the more protein you eat, the faster is also oxidizes and thus, BREAKS DOWN faster.
So, the “experts” will say “more protein increases protein synthesis” and yes it does, but for about 48-72 hours, before your body ADAPTS and it increases protein oxidation, which means it BREAKS DOWN faster and thus, protein synthesis DECREASES!!!
Hence, the OPPOSITE happens! You start to LOSE muscle.
Your body is too smart, it will adapt every single time.
So then people increase protein even MORE and then your body breaks it DOWN even faster.
So what’s the solution?
“Protein Cycling/Fasting”
You need to protein cycle by actually having one day a week with NO protein. You can call it “protein fasting.”
And trust me, you are NOT going to “lose” muscle. In fact, you’ll GAIN muscle… IF you do it correctly.
So, how do you protein cycle, not eat any protein for 24 hours and actually INCREASE muscle and burn more fat and most importantly, improve your hormones?
Let me tell you how I and my professional athletes do it.
Here’s What You Should Do
Sundays, I eat no protein. You can pick any ONE day out of the week, I just pick Sundays.
Monday, my body is now super sensitive to protein since it’s gone without it for 24 hours. So Monday and Tuesday, I have 150 grams of protein. So, that’s 0.75 of 200 lbs body weight.
Thus, your weight (200 lbs for me) x 0.75 = 150 grams.
Then Wednesday and Thursday, I increase it by 25% to 200 grams. Basically, 200 (lbs) x 1 = 200 grams of protein, or “one gram per pound”
Finally, Friday and Saturday I again increase it by 25% since body has adapted again and this time I take in 250 grams. That’s 200 (lbs) x 1.25 = 250 grams.
Every time my body adapted in about 48 hours, I again increased it to continue the additional protein synthesis.
Then as my body adapts again, Sunday I trick it and do no protein…. A “protein fast.”
Again, you’re not going to lose muscle, so don’t freak out. Just trust me and do it.
The Benefits
Now, what are the benefits?
- Your body continually increases protein synthesis every 48 hours, which leads to more muscle.
- This prevents your body from adapting and increasing protein oxidation, which can lead to muscle loss.
- And MOST importantly, all of this works because it helps optimize your hormones by lowering cortisol and other stress hormones … and by increasing muscle building hormones such as testosterone, IGF, Gh, Insulin, thyroid and so forth.
Of course, this “protein fasting” also has many health benefits such as a reduction in inflammation, which means more muscle, less joint pain and faster fat loss.
This also improves digestion and improves cellular repair for your pancreas, liver, kidneys and so forth.
It increases mitochondrial function and increases energy levels.
Actually, I can go on and on – but I hope you get it.
So now that you have the formula, you need to implement it.
Results
It’ll take a few months for you to see results, since building muscle takes time. Of course, some of the health benefits of improved digestion, reduction inflammation, more energy and so forth are felt much sooner.