Scott sent me some interesting info on the effects of insulin. The main idea is that when there are low levels of insulin, even high amounts of excess calories will not go to fat stores. But what I'm thinking is that in the presence of low insulin, a person may not be able to gain significant weight of any kind, be it fat or muscle.
Take the example of type 1 diabetics, whose bodies produce no insulin. From what I can tell, these people can't gain much weight of any kind, no matter what they eat. But if you inject them with insulin, they will start to gain weight. For example, in this study type 1 diabetics were injected with insulin and they gained weight. Roughly two-thirds of this weight gain was lean tissue, even though the participants weren't doing any weight-training. I think this shows very clearly that insulin is anabolic, which is not a ground-breaking conclusion, but it is something I haven't factored into my nutrition yet.
Chronically high levels of insulin lead to insulin resistance and its associated problems. And while chronically low levels of insulin are good for longevity and health, they may not be optimal for building muscle. I'm thinking it's better to have an insulin surge or spike in the post-workout window to help build new muscle mass.
This could be accomplished through several ways:
Carbohydrate consumption
Excess protein consumption
Multiple meals
Whether one or a combination of these three methods is the best I'm not sure yet.
Scott sent me some interesting info on the effects of insulin. The main idea is that when there are low levels of insulin, even high amounts of excess calories will not go to fat stores. But what I'm thinking is that in the presence of low insulin, a person may not be able to gain significant weight of any kind, be it fat or muscle.
Take the example of type 1 diabetics, whose bodies produce no insulin. From what I can tell, these people can't gain much weight of any kind, no matter what they eat. But if you inject them with insulin, they will start to gain weight. For example, in this study type 1 diabetics were injected with insulin and they gained weight. Roughly two-thirds of this weight gain was lean tissue, even though the participants weren't doing any weight-training. I think this shows very clearly that insulin is anabolic, which is not a ground-breaking conclusion, but it is something I haven't factored into my nutrition yet.
Chronically high levels of insulin lead to insulin resistance and its associated problems. And while chronically low levels of insulin are good for longevity and health, they may not be optimal for building muscle. I'm thinking it's better to have an insulin surge or spike in the post-workout window to help build new muscle mass.
This could be accomplished through several ways:
Whether one or a combination of these three methods is the best I'm not sure yet.