Subject: too much "bitching"
Submitted by: John Weir, Overland Park, KS
QUESTION: I read your book a few months ago and though you bitch
too much, I thought the positive parts of the book made a lot of sense. Since applying the
principles outlined in your book over the last three months, I have lost about six pounds
of fat and gained about the same in muscle. My question is this: What do you think of the
various "supplements" being sold to increase testosterone levels and growth
hormone levels? |
ROB'S ANSWER:
I am pleased to hear that you are achieving positive
results with the NHE program.
I have a policy that I don't answer supplement
questions. Everyone wants to know which supplements work and which don't, and I can't
give some people answers and not others (and I certainly can't answer all such
questions). A more efficient and equitable way to deliver this information is to publish
a supplement review, which I intend to do.
I found one part of your letter rather intriguing. Do
you really feel that when someone speaks out against injustice, unfairness, or otherwise
wrongful/harmful conduct that he or she is "bitching"? I'm not an expert on
colloquialisms, but I think this word connotes pettiness. For example, someone might say,
"he bitched about the slow service at the restaurant"; but it seems incongruous
to say, "he bitched about the hideous carnage resulting from the drunken pilot's
fatal error." Likewise, a woman might be considered to be bitching when she
complains that her husband left the toilet seat up; but she is not bitching when she
objects to his kidnapping the kids.
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Subject: further
reading on fats
Submitted by: Linda Robertson, New York, NY
QUESTION: The information in
your book concerning fats was fascinating and very enlightening. Can you recommend further
reading on this subject.
|
ROB'S ANSWER:
I enthusiastically recommend Fats
that Heal, Fats that Kill, by Dr. Udo Erasmus. I spend a lot of time railing against
everything that is wrong in the health/fitness industry. Dr. Erasmus represents what's
right. He was raising awareness of important public health issues while I was still in
diapers; and his book, Fats that Heal, Fats that Kill, is one of the few that I
would deem a "magnus opus" (a great work). In addition to the excellent
substantive information it contains, his book inspires an appreciation of the wondrous
possibilities inherent in a natural approach to human wellness. His website is www.udoerasmus.com. |
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| I spend a lot of time railing against everything that
is wrong in the health/fitness industry. Dr. Erasmus represents what's right. |
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Subject: is broccoli, lettuce, etc.
"free" during the metabolic shift period?
Submitted By: Evan Brown, Chicago, IL
QUESTION: NHE says that
I can have broccoli, lettuce, etc. as much as I want during the "downcycle"
without counting carbs. Does that rule apply to the first seven days, as well. Are those
vegetables free during the metabolic shift?
|
ROB'S ANSWER:
If "free" means eating them
with wild abandon, then they are not free. If "free" means eating them in
moderation without having to count carb grams, then they are "free."
In any case, I recommend that you eat at
least one serving of the vegetables listed in the book per day during the metabolic shift
period to prevent constipation and to ensure adequate potassium. Severe carbohydrate
restriction is sometimes associated with transient electrolyte disturbances, including
potassium loss. But once you become accustomed to lower-carb eating, your mineral
retention will increase. Sugar is an "anti-nutrient," promoting excretion of
certain minerals, like chromium and zinc. Accordingly, by curbing your intake of
nutrient-deplete, mineral-leaching, refined carbohydrates, you enhance your mineral
status. Until your body adjusts, however, you are liable to lose some potassium. Eating a
serving or two of fresh vegetables per day will offset any potassium losses attendant with
the initial acclimatization period.
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Subject: fasting and training
Submitted By: Trevor Beairsto,
personal trainer, Toronto, Canada
QUESTION: A client of mine is celebrating Ramadan, whereby he
fasts between 5:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. from
Nov. 28 - Dec. 28. He works out at 1:00 in the afternoon. How should I work around this? |
ROB'S ANSWER:
With regard to your client, Ramadan is definitely
not conducive to bodybuilding. I would recommend that on days
when he is doing cardio, he can and should train in the morning. However, as explained in
NHE, fasting for many hours after intense weight training is hormonally disadvantageous
(more disadvantageous than training late in the day). Therefore, I recommend eating a
small, easily digestible meal at 5:31 p.m., then weight training, then eating again - and
again, as many times as possible before going to bed. Don't compromise sleep or circadian
rhythmicity by staying up late to eat, just try to pack in the calories during the
permissible period.
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Subject: strength dropped during first two
weeks in gym
Submitted By: Bill Marquette, Norfolk, VA
QUESTION: I just started lifting weights, inspired and informed
by Natural Hormonal Enhancement. However, I'm
puzzled and a bit discouraged by the fact that my strength dropped during my first two
weeks in the gym.
|
ROB'S ANSWER:
You will recall from Chapter 21 of Natural Hormonal Enhancement that although I
emphasize the importance of workout intensity, I also emphasize that intensity must be
increased gradually. If, when starting-out or coming back from a layoff, you train
too intensely too soon, bad things happen including:
acute muscle soreness, excessive catabolic hormonal response, and heightened risk of
injury. |
| If, when starting-out or coming back from a layoff,
you train too intensely too soon, bad things happen… |
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If, as you report, you became weaker in the first two
weeks of training, this indicates that you trained too hard too soon and/or too
frequently. It is not uncommon for one's enthusiasm to get the better of oneself,
especially when starting-out. Remember, as noted in Natural
Hormonal Enhancement "no brain, no gain - overtrain, no gain."
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Subject: varied
Submitted By: Luke
Buckley, Sydney, Australia
QUESTION: four, see below
1) What is the best way to schedule both boxing and
resistance training into my routine? |
ROB'S ANSWER:
It
is difficult for me to answer this question, because boxing training encompasses many
different forms of exercise. For example, "boxing training" could be referring
to skipping rope, hitting the heavy bag, hitting the speed bag, sparring, etc. As a
general matter, if you are using boxing training as a form of exercise, then you should do
it after your weight-training workout or the next day. Otherwise, your boxing workout will
exhaust you, thereby inhibiting your ability to exert maximum force when weight training.
If, however, you aspire to a boxing career, then you should assign priority to your boxing
training, which means performing technique-oriented (but not necessarily
cardiovascular-oriented) boxing exercises at the beginning of your workout when your
muscles are fresh and your mental focus optimal. Conducting boxing exercises on your
weight training off-days is also a viable option, and it will avoid the problem of an
excessive-duration workout caused by trying to do too many exercises in one workout.
2) What is a good minimal amount of calories to consume
per day on the bodybuilders' version of the Eating Plan? |
ROB'S ANSWER:
On the
bodybuilders' version of NHE Eating Plan, the goal is to consume as many calories as
possible, within reason. You can't go wrong with this formula (assuming, of course, that
your objective is maximum muscle growth while maintaining or possibly adding some fat but
less than with conventional mass-building diets). However, you can go wrong if you count
calories, because of metabolic individuality. This is why I don't specify a caloric intake
level in NHE and won't do so now.
3) I have my meals planned small, 2hrs apart, is this a good idea
and if I want, can I snack on nuts between meals without over-stimulating insulin? |
ROB'S ANSWER:
Yes, eating
every two hours is a good idea in general, and a great idea on the bodybuilders' NHE
Eating Plan. On the bodybuilders' version, the central challenge is to maintain high
caloric intake while restricting carbohydrate intake and keeping per-meal protein
consumption moderate. The only way this can be accomplished is by consuming a lot of fat
and eating frequently. Accordingly, eating every two hours is highly advantageous, and for
some people imperative, on the bodybuilders' NHE Eating Plan.
Small low-carb
inter-meal snacks are not a problem in relation to insulin. However, they can be a problem
on the general NHE Eating Plan if they result in higher-than-normal caloric intake (i.e.,
one fails to adequately compensate for high meal frequency with reduced per-meal caloric
intake). However, on the bodybuilders' version of the Eating Plan "calorie
inflation" is not to be feared but rather sought; hence eating nuts between meals is
not objectionable on this ground. From a health standpoint, however, chronic excessive
caloric intake is not advisable.
4) Should you change diet from time to time like you do
training? |
ROB'S ANSWER:
The
considerations that counsel variation relative to exercise do not apply equally to diet.
However, occasionally changing your diet may be beneficial to break monotony. But don't
use this as a rationale for wandering aimlessly off the Eating Plan whenever you feel like
it.
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