Weight gain with low carbohydrate – high-fat diet (LC-HFD)

Strategy to increase muscle mass

Low Carbohydrate – High-Fat Diet is a regime limiting carbohydrates in food to the minimum amount in order to maintain a constant level of the hormone insulin. In this mode, the body extracts energy primarily by the oxidation of fats and in a lesser degree of amino acids.

Allowed foods in the Low Carbohydrate – High Fat Diet for Weight Gain?

The main foods that are allowed in this diet are those rich in fat and protein and low in carbohydrates. In this group are:

• nuts
• meat and meat products
• eggs
• fish and seafood
• seeds
• milk (whole milk) and dairy products (cheese, cottage cheese, etc.)

In order to maintain the normal level of the insulin hormone, the sufficient consumption of carbohydrates is 0.8 grams to 1.1 grams per kilogram of body weight. You can get them from bread, rice and rice products, cereals, corn, potatoes, peas, oatmeal, chestnuts. Calculating your daily calorie balance, you will know how much fat you need in the food so that you can increase your weight. This diet is based entirely by your own results and experience. Sources of fat are most of the above-mentioned groups and one more with a superior amount of fat compared to the other substances in the food.

Such foods are oils from seeds and nuts, olive oil, lard, butter, cream, processed cheese with fat content of over 60%, seeds, palm and coconut oils. It is desirable to limit the intake of fruits to small portions. (200 -300 g.) sour fruits in the morning before breakfast. Vegetable salads are mandatory and accompany every meal. If the fat contained in the main dishes are under your individual optimum, the addition of vegetable oil in salad will cover the difference.

For an exotic flavor, but also because of the high content of vitamins, minerals and amino acids it is worth including sprouts. Their presence in the salads in the Low Carbohydrate – High-Fat Diet will allow avoiding complexes of vitamin and mineral supplements. Preferably, all legumes are to be avoided with the exception of soy.

How to distribute food intake in Low Carbohydrate – High-Fat Diet for Weight Gain?

Food intake in the Low Carbohydrate – High-Fat Diet (LC-HFD) is in equal intervals every 2 to 3 hours and can include 5 to 7 meals for the whole day, depending on the required protein per day. In hard training and lack of glucose body loses a significant amount of amino acids. That’s why athletes following this diet must accept raised amounts of protein compared to other modes. Daily norm in men is around 2.5 grams to 3 grams, while that for women is from 2.3 grams to 2.7 grams per kilogram of body weight. An hour before breakfast eat less sour fruits. Then do predominant protein meal to cover the protein deficit.

A few hours later you have another protein meal with increased presence of fat, but this time include sprouts. 15 minutes after the workout get your dose of simple carbohydrates 0.8 to 1.1 per kg of body weight. 20 minutes later you need a “fast” protein. Preferably, whey. Two hours after a protein shake you can eat more solid. Portion of meat, eggs, cheese, fish or other foods with high levels of protein. To that portion you must add salad, which is well poured with olive oil and garnished with olives. In the last meal of the day mix high protein foods with different origin(cottage cheese with meat, eggs, cheese, etc.).

How to prepare the meals to this diet?

All technologies for heat treatment of the food are allowed with the exception of fried in fat/oil. Vegetable oils, except for coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil,  should not be used for frying, baking, steaming (except in the case of sprinkling just before removing food). Nuts and seeds are to be eaten raw or roasted but not fried! Vegetables are to be eaten raw, steamed, fried or smothered in butter. The sprouts must be eaten only raw!

What type of training will be most effective during the Low Carbohydrate – High-Fat Diet for Weight Gain?

This type of diet is suitable for all types of exercises in power, power-speed and speed complexes of exercises. If you choose to follow this particular mode, the most important thing is to know approximately how much energy you use.

How this diet will affect my health?

The success of the scheme is based on the adaptation of the body to use fat for fuel. It requires several months adjustment period. Monitoring cholesterol is imperative! The same applies to routine tests of liver and kidney function at least once every three months. These safety measures are necessary due to the inability of some organisms to adapt to high levels of ketones in the blood. Reasonable athletes conduct discharge, high-carb days (HCD) days at least four times a month. With great care should be monitored the total amount of consumed vegetables.

It is desirable that it will be at least 2 times higher than the mass of the consumed high oil and high protein animal foods. It is best to add a daily use of weakly mineralized water. This will help maintain the natural acid-alkaline balance in the body. Besides mineral water, dairy products can be used like acidity lowering foods. Otherwise, for long periods of increased acidity in the tissues there is the possibility for occurrence of structural and chemical changes with possible virulent nature. Similar attempts for permanent changes in the pH of your body in the direction of increased acidity are made by the Russian scientist Bolotov, who was seeking for a way to increase the body’s resistance to the infections.

Afterwards he gave up because of the unacceptably high side effects, devaluing the achieved results. In a well-composed and individualized regimen of this diet a very clean increase of muscle mass is monitored. The percentage of body fat increases at a low level, with equal pace it the post-adaptation period. This allows many athletes to switch to a maintaining (forming) diet after reaching a desired weight.

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