Tip Carb Intake for Natural Lifters Search Skip to content Menu Menu follow us Store Articles Community Loyal-T Club Loyal-T Points Rewards Subscribe to Save Search Search The World s Trusted Source & Community for Elite Fitness Diet & Fat LossEating Tip Carb Intake for Natural Lifters Very low-carb diets reduce muscle gains in natural lifters Here' s why plus a better plan by Christian Thibaudeau March 4, 2019September 22, 2022 Tags Carb Control, Carbohydrate Control, Cortisol Control, Diet Strategy, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Carbs for Protein Synthesis For natural lifters, it's hard to build muscle at an optimal rate when you don't consume any carbs. I'm not saying you CAN'T do it if your protein and calorie intake are high enough, but it'll be much harder. So how can carbs consumed around the workout period increase muscle growth? After all, isn't muscle made from protein? Yes, but carbs, and the insulin production they lead to, will increase mTOR expression from the training. If you consume carbs pre or intra-workout, the mTOR will be activated more than if you don't. And the more you activate mTOR, the greater your increase of protein synthesis will be from the workout. This is important for natural lifters who need to trigger protein synthesis with their lifting sessions. While drug users will also benefit from workout carbs, they don't need them as much because they already get tons of protein synthesis from the steroids. Having carbs around workouts also has other benefits that'll positively increase muscle growth. Carbs before and/or during the workout will decrease cortisol release. During the session, cortisol's main function is to mobilize nutrients to fuel the workout. And while lifting, glucose is the most efficient fuel source. (Yes, even more than ketones.) The more fuel you need to mobilize, the greater the cortisol production will be. If you provide easily absorbed carbs like highly branched cyclic dextrin before and during your workout, you'll have less need to mobilize stored glycogen, which means you don't need to pump out as much cortisol. Less cortisol means more growth. Having carbs around workouts can also increase your capacity to have a higher training volume (more easily available fuel, decreased cortisol) and grow from it. Low-carb diets lead to lower levels of systemic IGF-1. This is well documented in many studies. It's likely because in order to produce a large amount of IGF-1 you need both growth hormone and insulin. They don't necessarily need to be present at the same time. One theory is that insulin makes the liver more sensitive to producing IGF-1 when growth hormone is released. Why is that important? Because IGF-1 is the most anabolic hormone in the body. You don't need a huge amount of carbs throughout the day, but enough to stimulate insulin release once or twice a day will certainly help with the muscle-building process. How many carbs? See the first related link below for details. Get The T Nation Newsletters Don' t Miss Out Expert Insights To Get Stronger, Gain Muscle Faster, And Take Your Lifting To The Next Level related posts Diet & Fat Loss Food Magic X 5 If you drop about a roll and a half of Mentos mints into a 2-liter bottle of Diet Coke, you'd better run like hell because the Mentos causes the Coke to erupt into a beautiful, 15-foot high, sugary-sweet Coca Cola geyser. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements TC Luoma June 27 Eating Tip The Coffee for Lifters Only It tastes amazing, it fuels muscle growth, and it makes your overworked joints feel better. Here's how to whip up a steaming cup. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements Chris Shugart August 4 Diet & Fat Loss Nutsack-Rated Nutrition 3 The salmon and beef industry have fooled us, and the miracle food of the week is a joke. Here's why. Dietary Myth Busting, Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements TC Luoma February 18 Eating Tip Save the Cardio for Later Ready to lose fat? When are you planning to add cardio? Here's the mistake that most people make. Losing Fat, Nutrition & Supplements Christian Thibaudeau July 3