Ever get frustrated by plateaus in your progress? These can be the result of poor programming, but periods of maintenance or stability may be necessary for long-term progress.
In The Renaissance Diet, Dr. Mike Israetel et al. identify “8 realities of physiology” to consider in attempting to alter body composition. These are:
“1.) People tend to want to gain muscle and lose fat over time.
2.) The conditions that best promote muscle gain and fat loss are so different; attempting them simultaneously is highly inefficient.
3.) Muscle is easier to maintain than it is to gain.
4.) Fat is easier to lose than muscle is to gain.
5.) Attempting to gain muscle continuously for too long results in an exponentially higher fat gain.
6.) Attempting to lose fat continuously for too long results in an exponentially higher muscle loss risk.
7.) Resuming unrestricted eating after a fat loss phase or weight gain phase results in a return to the previous bodyweight if unchecked.
8.) Attempting to lose fat right after new muscle gain, without holding onto the new muscle for some time results in higher risk of muscle loss during the fat loss.”
These suggest that one should not expect changes in body composition to be linear. More specifically, these suggest that our approach to weight management should not be linear. In other words, one cannot expect to keep losing fat without affecting muscle mass, and one cannot expect to keep gaining lean muscle without adding a little fat. One cannot simultaneously gain muscle and lose fat, per se. (This becomes more the case as one moves toward a more “athletic” body composition. When one is significantly overfat, it is possible to add some muscle while losing fat, but attempting so is less ideal.) Thus, in attempting to alter body composition, one must consider nutritional periodization.
Periodization, simply put, is the practice of cycling the exercise (or diet) over a period of time to optimize the physiological adaptations. For the physique athlete or an athlete (e.g., a wrestler) whose body composition is a critical factor in performance, nutritional periodization is every bit as important as the cycling of hypertrophy, strength, and/or power components of resistance training. For those of us looking to make long-term and lasting changes to our bodies, nutritional periodization is also of some importance. In a nutshell, we want to optimize the time spent in a hypocaloric, isocaloric, or hypercaloric state.
Bodybuilders are no strangers to the concept of “cutting”—i.e., the periodization phase during which lean tissue is maintained and fat is lost. They also understand that gaining muscle also comes at a cost of adding fat. For bodybuilders, there will be periods during which they are extremely hypercaloric in an effort to pack on muscle (Note: this requires intensive training, not just eating!), and there will be periods during which they are extremely hypocaloric to lose every bit of fat possible.
According to Mike Israetel et al., “At the end of the mass phase, we’re in the position of having acquired some new muscle gains, but with fat gains as well. Because our long-term goal is to gain more muscle but not fat, we’ll have to do something about the fat stores that have accumulated. However, the fat stores will have to wait, as dieting down right after new muscle gain seems to put that new muscle at disproportionate risk of loss. Because of this reality, we must hold our diet isocaloric for several (at least one) months and allow our set points for both bodyweight and muscle to rise up to meet our current state of muscularity. This phase is generally termed the ‘maintenance phase.’”
After this maintenance phase, our risk of losing muscle has minimized and one is now ready to lose or “cut” fat. Prolonged periods of fat loss, however, run a risk of losing lean mass. So, one should not attempt to lose weight over too long of a period.
Now, considering that most of us are not interested in adding a significant amount of muscle mass (i.e., are not bodybuilders), we might not need to undergo a “mass phase”. As such, one would need to focus on cycling between hypocaloric and isocaloric periods. These need not be over-complicated, nor overly strict. Indeed, it is probably wise to plan these around holidays and special events. For example, one might diet for the three months leading up to Thanksgiving through January 1, and remain (over all) isocaloric through the holidays.
As a general rule, I would recommend cycles of 2- to 3-month hypo- or hypercaloric phases with a 1-month isocaloric phase. The bodybuilder will generally go through 3:1:3 cycle of massing, maintaining, and cutting. The less ambitious of us might see favorable results with a 3:1 cycle of fat loss followed by maintenance. As we near our goals, the extent to which we increase or decrease our calories may lessen.
A well-centered, healthy approach to weight management is to maintain an optimal body composition over time. Once we lose the unwanted fat and add a comfortable amount of muscle, occasional variations in body weight can be expected and are not cause for concern. One’s long-term goals will most impact the nutritional periodization plan. Ideally, we just want it to be simple and effective.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow!
Carpe momento!
