Has anyone been bodybuilding while eating Primal ?? page

[Stig]

Has anyone been bodybuilding while eating Primal ?? like eating 6 meal aday
and are you able to train on low carbs and loose the fat ??

[Apex Predator]

Define bodybuilding.

[simpstr]

I train very hard and as long as I eat enough calories mostly from protein and veggies I'm good. I carry protein powder with me so when I'm done I can drink it till I get home and cook. I'm usually starving by the tine I'm done.

[Savage_]

Ive come from following a bodybuilding program to switching to primal, been a pretty easy switch to be honest!

Im pretty much eating in a similar pattern as before, as ive found naturally get hungry about those times anyway. Tend to eat 6-7meals a day, or every 2-3 hours. I occasionally IF on the weekends, but find it difficult to in the week due to having a practical job that tends to make me hungry!

I tend to work a kind of carb cycle system, having more carbs from fruit and some root veg etc on days I workout. Then have a normal lower carb day for rest/cardio days. Ive not seen any loss in energy or lifting ability and have managed to keep up lean gains whilst reducing body fat % slightly!

Might be worth checking out menshealth.co.uk/community forums for more threads related to this, theres plenty of guys and a few gals over there who are eating paleo/primal.

[dado]

Strength training while being primal is garbage, man. If this is a question, then likely your concern is gaining strength and muscle without fat. But fat is easy to lose, muscle takes much longer.

[Apex Predator]

Strength training while being primal is garbage, man. If this is a question, then likely your concern is gaining strength and muscle without fat. But fat is easy to lose, muscle takes much longer.

Huh?

[RezH]

Agreed. Muscle is hard to gain, fat isn't too tough to lose, unless you are metabolically challenged. 50-70 carbs a day works for most to lose fat.

I'm sure there are exceptions, but low carb and high volume bodybuilding programs don't really mesh. Most of your true hypertrophy programs (not strength) are bodypart splits 3-5 days a week, each session at least an hour with short rest periods and high rep sets. Carbs help big time. Trying to gain significant muscle without carbs is such a slow process for most average people. Lose the fat when you are done building muscle. It's much easier that way.

Pick one or the other. For maintenance, primal eating is fine.

[Laconophile]

If you consider potatoes primal you can build lots of muscle on a primal diet. Depending on whether you're trying to bulk or cut, adjust your potato intake until you are seeing the gains/losses desired. White rice is an option for gaining weight too.

IMO the '6-7 meals a day' thing is unnecessary unless you are eating a ton and need to space your calories. For those of us who don't need 4000+ calories to gain weight 2-3 meals is fine.

[Laconophile]

Lose the fat when you are done building muscle. It's much easier that way.

I've heard that you are supposed to do the opposite. Fat is estrogenic, so trying to gain muscle while carrying around fat is a struggle. Estrogen promotes fat gain rather than muscle gain. It's better to get lean and get your hormones in a healthy state(leanness promotes testosterone) before trying to gain muscle.

[RezH]

What I forgot to include in my post was that many recommend you diet down to a decent BF level (under 12%), before trying to add significant muscle.

Adding muscle in a caloric deficit is tough. Eating primally, you are already eating enough protein and fat. Eat around 200-250g of clean carbs before/after workouts, and fat gain should be minimal unless your overall calories are outrageous.