All bodybuilders know that consuming carbohydrates at night is detrimental to fat loss during competition preparation. For years, bodybuilders have been told that their carbohydrate intake should be gradually reduced from morning to night throughout the day. No one knows the exact origin of this statement; they only know that there is a theoretical hypothesis that claims that the human body's metabolic rate gradually slows down from morning to night. If insulin levels rise sharply at night, it may lead to the occurrence of disease - and now, It’s time to reflect on this statement.
Leptin
There is a kind of mouse that is very obese because of the lack of leptin in the body. Leptin is a substance secreted from fat tissue and its function is to convey a feeling of fullness to the brain to prevent overeating. "Satiety hormone" acts as a "message transmitter" and transmits the message "you are full, don't continue eating" from adipose tissue to the brain in the form of receptors. Therefore, people with leptin deficiency will consume more food and higher calories; their sense of fullness will be weakened and their hunger will increase sharply, and they will easily fall into a state of extreme hunger. Therefore, as long as they find ways to increase leptin levels, their Hunger will lessen.
During fat loss, due to the reduction in total nutrient intake, leptin levels in the body will also decrease. This is why bodybuilders always feel hungry during the diet preparation stage. At this time, it is difficult for them to reduce body fat, and insulin remains at low levels all day long. The reason is that bodybuilders eat too little and train too much during the preparation period.
Blanche Warren once said: "There are a lot of scary big guys at shows and competitions.Guys, but they're not really top bodybuilders. Because for bodybuilding, it is easy to increase the circumference, but it is difficult to fight hunger and reduce body fat to a minimum. Doing this difficult thing well is the biggest difference between top bodybuilders and amateurs, and it is also one of the most important basic skills in bodybuilding. ”
When the level of leptin in the body decreases, the body will activate the energy storage mechanism, including increasing appetite, reducing energy consumption, inhibiting the regeneration of body cells, and affecting endocrine function. Bodybuilding is one of the most strenuous sports in the world, because bodybuilders must fight against human nature through their own efforts, desperately trying to increase muscle size and reduce body fat levels, just like challenging the physiological bottom line - but bodybuilders never tire of it .
Reduced leptin levels due to caloric restriction are also a sign of decreased testosterone levels. Insulin is one of the important substances that stimulates leptin secretion. When insulin levels rise sharply, caloric consumption increases, appetite decreases, and all negative effects caused by decreased leptin levels disappear. Therefore, the occasional cheat diet can accelerate body fat burning by promoting leptin secretion and increasing metabolism.
Insulin promotes leptin release
Nutrition experts such as Honey Raymond Bode and George Farrar advocate that there must be an appropriate amount of carbohydrates in the diet to obtain the benefits of increased insulin levels. Some studies claim that insulin promotes leptin synthesis and the secretion of other male hormones. Insulin is thought to have a calibrating effect on leptin secretion because insulin levels in the blood decrease when hungry and increase when full, and leptin also decreases or increases. There is no direct relationship between leptin levels and glycemic index, but an increase in glycemic index will lead to an increase in insulin levels. The increase in insulin levels will double the signaling ribonucleic acid that affects leptin secretion, thereby increasing leptin secretion.
Multiple studies have proven that rising insulin levels can promote leptin secretion. When leptin levels in the body decrease, hunger increases, which is why leptin-deficient mice eat throughout the day. Some earlier studies have suggested that leptin levels are unevenly distributed throughout the day, with leptin levels beginning to decline at 8 a.m., reaching their lowest levels at 1 p.m., and reaching their lowest levels at 4 p.m.Levels began to rise, peaking at 1am.
Adiponectin is another hormone that plays an important role in fat and carbohydrate metabolism. It can reduce blood sugar and blood lipid index, increase insulin sensitivity, and play an anti-inflammatory effect. We can control leptin secretion at various times of the day by adjusting our diet. As mentioned above, human body leptin levels vary at various times of the day, so increasing leptin secretion in the body during the day when leptin levels are relatively low can effectively suppress hunger. The key to keeping leptin secretion at a high level is to eat smaller meals more frequently.
During competition preparation, supplementing carbohydrates at night can help burn fat
Israeli researchers hypothesized that if carbohydrate intake is increased before going to bed during a low-calorie diet, insulin levels can be maintained at a high level at night, and the corresponding leptin secretion can also be maintained at a high level, thus promoting sleep at night. time fat burning. These higher leptin levels also persist into the day, effectively suppressing appetite at all times of the day.
The researchers randomly selected 78 overweight police officers (body mass index greater than 30) and conducted a 6-month fat-reduction diet (strictly restricting caloric intake throughout the day and increasing carbohydrate intake at night) experiment. On days 1, 7, 90 and 180 of the experiment, blood samples and hunger index were collected every 4 hours. During the experiment, subjects were required to follow a standard low-calorie diet plan (20% protein, 30% to 35% fat, 45% to 50% carbohydrate, with a total caloric intake of 1,300 to 1,500 kcal throughout the day) . The subjects were further divided into two groups. The first group consumed carbohydrates evenly throughout the day, and the second group concentrated their carbohydrate consumption at dinner.
The experimental results found that the weight of both groups of police officers decreased significantly during this period, but compared with the first group of police officers, the second group of police officers lost weightThe drop is even greater. For the second group of subjects, their insulin and blood sugar levels were more stable and balanced throughout the day, the proportions of various fats (good cholesterol, bad cholesterol and total cholesterol) were more standardized, and various anti-inflammatory elements ( The levels of C-reactive protein, anti-tumor factor, and human interleukin 6) were higher, and the appetite index throughout the day also dropped significantly.
The researchers concluded that the "increased carbohydrate intake at night" group burned fat more efficiently due to the increase in leptin. Not only that, this group of subjects had higher levels of adiponectin, which means more effective anti-inflammation and more stable blood sugar and insulin levels.
In the first few weeks of the "increasing carbohydrates at night" diet plan, bodybuilders should always pay attention to the changes in their bodies and make corresponding adjustments at any time based on the body's reactions. Science and technology are constantly advancing, and perhaps in a few years, the concept of healthy eating will be subverted again.