Second day of the 1400 calories and lift was yesterday. Today is a rest day and day 3. Still 1400 calories.
The workout didn't leave me gasping this time. 2 sets each of 8 exercises run through twice.
I think the hardest thing is going to be the carb load phase. 1300 gr of carbohydrate inside of a 24 hour window flies in the face of everything I believed to make the big cut. Add to that that it will be starchy carbs with minimal fruit and fats and it's turning my thought processes upside down.
You see, in the Zone diet (my old go to) fat was used specifically to slow the insulin response. Some say it's old science, and I believe that to some degree it is, but it's still ingrained. Also, fruit was not feared in the diet as fructose is processed by the liver into glucose where it moves on the be used either as glycogen (muscle tissue) or fat (you already know). This again slowed the insulin response since the food had to be processed before use, meaning energy expenditure and slower release into the blood stream. Glucose, dextrose, and maltodextrin can be used directly to become either fat stores or glycogen.
I believed for a long time that insulin is a fat storage hormone. While true, it's not the end of the story. Insulin is a bus. Some of the food ingested will walk. What do I mean by this? Some of the glucose ingested will be used immediately for physical exertion/demand of energy needs. It's walking. It's in use from the instant the food enters your mouth. Many starches are actually absorbed through the soft tissue of the mouth directly into the blood stream. The body is an amazing design.
The buses go in three directions. Remember? Insulin is the bus. There are many busses but only three destinations. Any of the buses (insulin) can go wherever they need to go to drop their passengers. While I used to believe insulin was a fat storage hormone, in fact it is simply a storage hormone. Bus type 1 takes glucose directly to fat storage (if you're glycogen levels are high and you're above calories), bus type 2 takes the scenic route... all aboard fruit, you're headed to the liver to be processed where most of you will get your transfer and get onto bus type 1 a little later where you'll be taken to fat storage if your glycogen levels are full. Those loligaggers who remain in the liver will be held for use by the brain. Yes, it can use ketones, but we're not discussing ketones today on my thread... right guys? (Did you know the brain uses roughly 20% of maintenance level calories?) Any glycogen not needed in the liver is preferentially stored as fat.
Bus type 3? Bus 3 has a different destination. Muscle tissue.
Anyway, here's how this carb load is going to work. Keeping fat levels down, and ensuring about 80% of my carbs come from starches. My diet and exercise routine has been to reduce glycogen stores in both the liver and muscle tissue. The lower the better. I don't really care about ketosis, I just care about glycogen depletion. Why? Transportation. Yep, glucose/glycogen transport. Now, insulin is smart. It wants to move and have its passenger disembark as quickly as possible. There's some type of feedback loop here. If insulin is dealing with fructose, there is no choice to be made. Off to the liver. Fructose is discriminated against. It has one destination.
Bus type 3 is a long distance bus. You could end up anywhere, but it's going to be into muscle tissue if you're glycogen depleted. Remember, this is glucose transport, not fructose transport. Glucose only. On the bus. You're heading wherever the conductor decides. You just need to be needed there. Now bus three is a bit interesting, because if it finds that there is no muscle tissue that will take it, it changes to bus 1 and you're headed to fat storage.
So, my whole goal in this diet is to deplete glycogen to the point where I can take 1300 grams, yep, 5200 calories of carbohydrate, and cram it as quickly as I can (24 hours) into any muscle tissue that will take it. This is carb loading. By the way. If you're not glycogen depleted and you do a carb load (otherwise known as a glut) you are not longer carb loading because you're body is not producing and storing long chain carbohydrate (glycogen) you're storing fat. Yep, you'll be eating carbs, but make no mistake, you're doing a fat load, not a carb load.
I spent some time yesterday in PG gathering some high (low) quality carbohydrates. Yep. I think I'm prepared. Sweetarts, rice cakes, flat bread, bagels, dextrose laced creatine supplements, frosted flakes, sugar crisp, I've got the pizza place of speed dial and the wife is making a lemon meringue pie for desert on Saturday night. Yowza!
Working on it.