The idea of separating macronutrients is not a new one. Most popular iterations of this in the bodybuilding world were some variation of what is now called a Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD). You would eat a low carb diet for some period of time, and then refeed with carbs. It was always known that an absence of carbs would slow the metabolism, inhibit the thyroid, and reduce performance, but fat loss was seen to be so effective until that point on a low carb diet.
Vince Gironda did this as far back as the 50s, though there was far less understanding scientifically of what was being done. His Steak & Eggs diet was his preferred fat loss protocol, but he noticed that the muscles looked most filled out after feasting on carbs so he prescribed a day or few of eating fruit and potatoes to look best for a show.
But it wasn’t until the 90s that the Cyclical Ketogenic Diet was formalized and popularized by Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale which he called the Anabolic Diet. A champion powerlifter with tons of degrees, he found that you could get the best of hormone optimization and insulin sensitivity by eating a low carb diet filled with meat and dairy all week long, and then refeeding carbs every weekend.
Lyle McDonald took this a step further by specifically tailoring training and diet together to utilize glycogen depleting workouts to optimize carb reuptake. He also popularized dosing carbs preworkout in otherwise low carb approaches to improve performance in a deficient state.
John Kiefer brought it to a daily approach with Carb Backloading where you would eat a ketogenic diet throughout the day and then have a large carb dinner after a workout.
All these strategies were developed to improve metabolic flexibility while a low carb high fat diet is thought best for fat loss. The underlying mindset in all of them is that it’s best to burn fat for fuel, but that there are definitive metabolic and performance downsides to long term carb deprivation.
The interesting question for me these days is, what if it would be best to flip this and do it almost completely backwards. Cyclical Carbogenic Diet?
The interesting question for me these days is, what if it would be best to flip this and do it almost completely backwards. Cyclical Carbogenic Diet?
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