Back to why you shouldn’t be eating as many carbs as you may think:
What you do now affects your body down the road. If you cram yourself full of carbohydrates K on a daily basis, regardless of type of carb (even low GI carbs), your body must process these carbs and your insulin sensitivity will be decreased. Over time, insulin resistance (the inability to use carbohydrates) is inevitable for 98% of the population. Your cells just won’t work as well as when you were younger and it has little to do with “age.”  It has to do with the level of abuse you have put on your pancreas and the cells of your body with high sugar foods and massive carbohydrate consumption.
Emulating your favorite IFBB pros’ carb intake is not always an advisable approach. Pro athletes alike are typically not only gifted physically, but also in their ability to utilize carbohydrates.
Yes, carbs are absolutely necessary for growth and optimal performance.
Yes, massive amounts of carbs in the short term will make you grow at faster rate than lower carb protocols, but this growth rate will be short lived.
Eventually, fat will start to accumulate as cells will start to become resistant to insulin and growth will slow down dramatically. The unfortunate part is that sometimes you may never be able to gain that same sensitivity back again.
Typically, once your cells stop functioning optimally or loses the ability to efficiently utilize insulin, your pancreas is forced into overdrive and pumps out more insulin in response to elevated blood glucose (if your cells are resistant to insulin, your blood glucose remains elevated because the cells wont “accept” the glucose). Your cells simply won’t take up anymore glucose, so you store it as fat.
Depending on the level of insulin resistance, it may take a very long time to regain sensitivity again.
I wont be so bold to say you may never gain it back, because all of you reading this are obviously intelligent, active, and hard-working people. Diabetics aside, with hard work and intelligent nutrition you can absolutely regain insulin sensitivity. It just may take a really long time, and typically only last as long as you maintain the strict regiment of exercise and low/moderate carb that you used to gain it back.
So, what do I do about it?:
Exercise is a great way to improve insulin sensitivity in the short term, but cramming a bunch of simple sugars into yourself post workout and out the window goes insulin sensitivity again. (This is why taking in Scitec whey protein or BCAA without carbs has become so popular).
Now, of course, the amount of carbohydrate that is necessary to cause insulin resistance is completely variable from person to person. For some people it may be 20g at a time while others may need 100-120grams. Some may take 1 year while others 10 years. Â A lot of that is genetically correlated, or dependent on your youth (blame your parents).
An extended period of low carbohydrate intake is also a great way to improve insulin sensitivity. Anywhere from 4hrs to 3 days on low carb has been utilized by intelligent people with great results. Any longer than that and you could be looking at some metabolic shutdown.
Carbohydrate cycling, or varying your intake from day to day, has become an effective method for fat loss because it allows people to optimize carb sensitivity and maximize carb uptake and utilization, all while seeing minimal metabolic shutdown(metabolic damage).
A common example of carb cycling is: two low carb days, followed by one high carb day.
Please comment below. Sound familiar? Â Maybe your story can help somebody else.
The boxes in the blue ribbon are empty with no instructions as to what goes in them. I presume that one of them is an email address … but you already have my email address (I’m on your list and you have it here).
I’ll look into it, and thanks Marilyn
Great article ben!
Great article Ben, continuing to show why you are the most knowledgable IFBB Pro but also the only Pro to provide so much knowledge to his supporters. I myself experienced such insulin resistance and dramatically increasing body fat from approximately 16% up to 20-22%. Have changed the diet since consuming a lot more fats and protein with a lot of fibrous vegetables to gain a more energy on a daily basis and a much leaner appearance. Keep up the good work and bring home the olympia !
I’m starting on an insulin sensitivity protocol. I’m taking the info from the Man 2.0 book. Two weeks of ZERO except for 30 grams on workout days. The third week I get a little more, then a little more on the 4th week.
I’m resetting my insulin sensitivity. I like your story. I believe we all eat way too many carbs.
Awesome Article, keep them coming!
Do you have a follow up to MI40 or is the next step Hypertrophy MAX?
HMax is the only current program. But i am working on a follow up as we speak 😉
Hi Ben,
I m following for quite a long time now, i m impressed about your capability to achieve.
Without any comparaison with you, i started lifting 2 years ago with the main goal to get schredded: Weight lifting 3 times a week with HIIT three times a week + eating like a bird==> 184 lbs to 156 lbs.
Quite good results unfortunately without the 6 pack.
2 years later, almost the lost weight was back some fat and some muscle.
But dieting is harder and harder and the weight (fat) doesnt want to move especially from waist!!
The problem is always the same want to eat more carbs without the fat and the message is may be the good one: try to live with the minimal carbs and dont keep the hope to eat carbs and stay lean.
thanks for your help.
Ben, when you say low carb what percentage of total calories is that? For me low carb is 15-20% of my total calories daily. Those carb sources are vegetables and the occasional berries (strawberry, blueberry, blackberry).
Thanks!
That is a very accurate assessment of low carb, Pamela.
I carb cycled three days of 75-100 grams complex carbs (a little oatmeal my first two meals), followed by a high carb day of 400-450 grams (either oatmeal, white potato, sweet potato or brown rice included in each meal). Protein stayed constant (6-8 oz chicken or turkey breast or 95% lean ground beef, and whey protein pre-cardio and post weight training), and also included 8 oz broccoli or green beans or two cups green salad at four of six meals. In 14 weeks I got down to under 4% body fat and won the Over 50 Division of Texas’ largest natural bodybuilding show. Also did very high resistance elliptical training every day for 45 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening, which seemed to build and shred my quads. Bottom line, carb cycling works!!
Hello,
I was wondering If this applies to gaining weight too. Right now I am very skinny at 135 pounds, and I’m trying to gain weight. However, I’ve have many stomach problems(pancreatitis, appendicitis) so I like to look at my diet, and this information here seems like It is part of the reason I had these problems.
I know nothing about your history so it is impossible for me to make suggestions. I suggest hiring a good nutritionist
and allowing them to assess your status.
Great article Ben and it couldn’t come at a better time. I have struggled with fat lose and minimal lean muscle gains since starting my journey to get in shape. In the first year I lost 140 lbs., then I started lifting (2 yrs now). I have gained back 35 lbs. I would say about 80% muscle and 20% fat. For a year now I have tried to loose the waist fat. Just haven’t been able to do it. If I even look at more than 2200 to 2300 carbs a day I gain more fat, but I think the low carbs have pretty much shut down my muscle gains. I eat very few carbs (400gms Prot, 70 gms Carb, 50 gms Fat) and I can not loose the last maybe 10 to 15 lbs. of fat. I have been sitting at 17% for over a year now. I am 62 yrs old, but what the hell? Should I try to cut all carbs out? Congrats Ben on your #2 at the Arnold. Can’t wait to see you in Vegas. Thanks Garry
No, I wouldnt cut ALL carbs out. At least not for any extended time. Try cycling them Garry.
Hi Ben!
Great article thanx! Considering all the above what would be a reasonable amount of carbs to be consumed a day?
I finished mi40 and got huge. now i only take carbs after my workout about 2 meal total of 70-120gr p/d that is very low but it seems to work and i keep getting gains while losing fat!
thx
Hey Ben, when are you releasing your exact protocol? I am waiting to read it, Thanks and take care.
Ben, I would love to see some workout, nutrition and supplimenting for women specifically. I have been following for a while and have completed your MI40 program (love), but I feel like some of the suppliments are too harsh for a women at 130 lbs. I am a dedicated body builder (6 days per week) but am constantly looking for a great women’s program (advanced). Any ideas or variations for women? Thanks for your time.
Hey Justena,
What supplements would you say are too harsh? Other than obvious dose
discrepancies, I try to keep most of my suggestions as simple and basic as possible.
Ben,
Will complex carbs like whole grains have a detrimental effect on insulin sensitivity as well? And if so, would it be ideal to constantly cycle the carbs every few days?
Thanks!
Cycling carb intake in general is ideal, regardless of complexity.