Tip Send Carbs To Muscle 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 Send Carbs To Muscle How to drive nutrients preferentially into muscle cells instead of storing them as body fat by Dani Shugart April 1, 2016April 5, 2021 Tags Building Muscle, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips Carbs have gotten a bad rap because of insulin. Insulin is the hormone responsible for transporting energy into our cells, whether they're fat cells or muscle cells. Insulin is a highly anabolic hormone, more so than testosterone, which means that if you're trying to tamp down your body's production of it through chronic low-carb dieting, you'll likely struggle with building muscle. In a perfect world, we'd all be able to eat plenty of carbs and produce insulin that would then shuttle those nutrients straight into muscle cells, increasing our stamina, strength, energy, performance, and sweet gains, bro. But instead, many of us eat carbs, then experience a spike in insulin, which then carries those nutrients to our fat cells and stores them. Without getting used, this accumulation becomes snuggly padding on our thighs, hips, waists, etc. So What s the Solution Lots of things can improve the way our bodies handle carbs, like lifting weights, getting enough sleep, and doing explosive jumps (according to Coach Christian Thibaudeau they don't just increase insulin sensitivity in muscle, jumps also jack up your metabolic rate). Obviously this isn't an exhaustive list. But another fix is Cyanodin-3 Glucoside (C3G), sold as Indigo-3G. It selectively partitions nutrients toward muscle and not fat, which means insulin sensitivity increases in muscle, driving nutrients preferentially into muscle cells. C3G has been the most remarkable thing that's worked for me when it comes to carb intake and insulin sensitivity. I was a low-carb dieter for years because eating that way worked for me at one point in time, but habitually depleting my body of carbs eventually stopped working. (I looked chubby and couldn't poop.) And it didn't matter how much gym time I racked up, my body didn't respond well to a mostly meat and veggie diet. Nor did my stamina, power output, strength, or day to day energy. So I reintroduced carbs when I started using C3G and put them to work in the right places. Yes, you can eat quite a lot of carbs and not get fat. You just have to fix the underlying issues. Indigo-3G did that for me. And now I feel sorry for people who are chronically trying to cut starches. 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 Alpha Life Ask Us Anything 02 We field your questions about female testosterone usage, losing fat while getting strong, and making gains on a budget. Ask Us Anything, Diet Strategy, Opinion, Pharma, Powerlifting & Strength, Protein T Nation February 14 Diet & Fat Loss Tip The Chocolate Chip Cookie for Lifters These high-protein cookies will make you as happy as a stubby guy on squat day. Get the simple recipe here. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Protein, Recipes, Tips Gareth Sapstead May 2 Eating Tip The Right Resveratrol Boost testosterone and control estrogen with this plant compound. Just use the kind with high bioavailability. Here's what to look for. Nutrition & Supplements, Resveratrol, Super Health, Tips TC Luoma December 17 Eating Tip Eat More White Potatoes Think potatoes are "bad" carbs because of some study you heard about? Turns out the studies were bad, not the spuds. Here's the truth. Feeding the Ideal Body, Nutrition & Supplements, Tips TC Luoma January 17