Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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John Keifer has written some articles about this. It's basically timing resistance exercise and carbs to synchronize with natural insulin sensitivity fluctuations throughout the day.

If I understand correctly, here's how it works: You are less insulin sensitive as the day goes on -this goes for both muscle and fat cells. Because of this, Keifer recommends eating protein fat very little to no carb all day. Resistance excercise workout should be from 3 - 5 pm which will make your muscles more insulin sensitive by activating GLUT 4 while at the same time fat cells are experience the natural insulin resistance that happens as the day goes on. Finally, he says one should end the say with high carbs which because of the timing and exercise will be shuttled to muscles instead of fat. At the same time the carbs are supposed to activate fat burning enzymes and leptin sensitivity.

I am most attracted to protein /fat foods, but I'm interested in incorporating some starchy stuff. Does this protocol make sense? Has anyone done this?

flag	asked Jun 14 2011 at 15:52 none 16.3k●1●11●77

	Meredith - Any experience to share? – sean Apr 11 2012 at 16:25
	Not too much sean. BUT Kiefer has been more in the spotlight these days. He was on Bulletproof Exec bulletproofexec.com/… and now has his own podcast dangerouslyhardcore.com. – none Apr 11 2012 at 17:15
	And is selling the ebook. I've been trying it out, but I can't do it right since I train in the AM, but he has some tweaks for that. – sean Apr 11 2012 at 17:45
	One of the big differences from LeanGains and many IF programs is he emphasizes NOT taking in BCAAs or Leucine before training or throughout the no-carb period (which is all day). – sean Apr 11 2012 at 17:46
	That is exactly my issue - family stuff dictates I workout in the am too. – none Apr 11 2012 at 18:30

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raydawg · Answer 1 · 2012-11-07 21:50:08Z UTC

I wonder if this is the mechanism that causes people who lose sleep to be equivalent to diabetics in terms of insulin resistance. Something in sleep resets receptor sensitivity? Might just be the overnight intermittent fasting, but then again, the research mentions sleep, so not sure if IF wold have an effect.

That said, yes, his stuff sounds very interesting, and he's been on several podcasts where he explains the Carb Backloading concept, and he's got his own podcast called Biojacked. There's a really good deep discussion on how it works on the Upgraded Self podcast.

TokyoJay · Answer 2 · 2012-11-05 22:59:19Z UTC

I just read the e-book and found the science fascinating. Only thing I worry about is the carb-up in the evening. Keifer says the carbs HAVE TO BE super high GI or it won't work. The issue I have with this is most high GI carb/starch sources are also very pro-inflammatory. I wonder if sweet potatoes (anti-inflammatory) would get the job done? Thoughts?

No more. · Answer 3 · 2011-07-22 20:19:45Z UTC

Carb Back-loading has been highly effective for me. I follow a low carb morning, have a meal around 1pm with little carbohydrates. Then I weight train around 3, drinking a large gatorade during training to really bumps my insulin and gives my muscles energy to work. Post workout, I finish my gatorade and have a scoop of whey. Into the night I eat modestly,including plenty of carbs, and indulging after dinner if I see the opportunity. I believe this method is very effective and with the intra-workout gatorade I've been very strong and powerful. Definitely worth trying. You basically get all of your glycogen at night without the price of all the insulin in the morning :)

miked · Answer 4 · 2011-06-14 21:42:31Z UTC

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It doesn't sounds half bad. I never plan this, but it's what I do. I hate working out in the morning, my performance sucks and I just feel bad. I always do better after work around 5:30. Then I have my PWO carbs right way and then get home for a big dinner. It seems to workout pretty good for me, been putting on muscle and no fat for a while now.

answered Jun 14 2011 at 21:42

miked
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	Cool, thanks. A lot of advice these days is just the opposite - early morning fasted exercise, no carbs at night. Kreifer's more in the power-lifting world, but looks like he gets good result. I want more muscle! – none Jun 14 2011 at 22:13
	I do the same as @miked but my workouts are all early morning as that is when I perform best. PWO food within, if all goes well, 30 minutes after. I do a mini-hit of food before CF - no more fasted training, the famous banana/almond butter/sea salt/coconut, then PWO meal. Typically I eat when I'm hungry but first meal and last meal are my biggest and they do include carbs - berries and tubers. It's working for me, building muscle at a nice rate and no fat. – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com Jul 22 2011 at 17:01

animalcule · Answer 5 · 2011-06-14 21:36:17Z UTC

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Huh. I've never heard of this concept, but I've kind of been doing it naturally for many months. It's just what feels best! I don't have weight to lose, would like to gain overall weight.

I eat mostly fat and protein in first part of the day - eggs, butter, blueberries (with lots of cream), salad with meat/fish and EVOO dressing, almond butter, meat/fish and veg with fat leftover from the night before. Then I usually have one meal with plenty of starch (and fat, and meat/fish) sometime between 3pm and 8pm.

I don't have any kind of workout 'schedule' and am often very active during the day, but most often if I do yoga or weights it will be in later afternoon to evening.

answered Jun 14 2011 at 21:36

animalcule
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	Thanks for your response. So you just naturally tended to this sort of carb ramp up? It sounds reasonable to me, I'll just need to alter my workout schedule maybe. I think the nighttime carbs may help with sleep as well. – none Jun 14 2011 at 22:10
	Actually I tried to do VLC/stay in ketosis and had some issues with it. When I started adding starches, I found I don't have an appetite for starch in the morning/early afternoon. I also don't like working out in the morning. So it just kind of fell into place. And yes, carbs at night lead to much sounder sleep for me! – animalcule Jun 16 2011 at 12:24
	Yeh I've naturally been doing this too (indeed a rather similar ideas was recently discussed here (paleohacks.com/questions/51998/…), with the exception of times when I've simply preferred to stick to low carb all the time (very often- this just seems more comfortable in a host of ways). I originally added carbs in the evening in order to aid sleep. – David Moss Jul 23 2011 at 7:21

Any ever do/hear of Carbohydrate Backloading?

5 Answers