Lowcarb regimen, exercise and sarcopenia

Screenack · 2019-02-02 15:05:19 UTC

Coach @AllanMisner I wish I had thought to ask you first. I have added your podcast to my listening queue.

Thanks to Drs Naiman and Berry, (see my post, below) I am rethinking my exercise regimen. Dr Naiman’s youtube video on exercise dramatizes that I’ve been exercising in a very light, if prolonged, state of minimal muscle stimulation and that I should push my weight workouts to exhaustion. That seems to make sense, enough, but I also rather enjoy my cardio days, if only because how they make me feel, and the “alone time” it provides.

It begs the question. Is cardio an efficient means of exercise in the pursuit of burning fat? Would a pure weight training regimen be the most optimal schedule? Do you see a role for cardio in relation to health, fat burning or other psychosomatic benefits?

Also, I felt the Drs’ response to my question about a body’s declining ability to perform muscular regeneration in an older person, such as my self, was met with mere social network cheerleading, and not a more qualified response. While I may be misinformed, my bias isn’t ex nihilo. For example, consider this pubmed article states; “It is well known that the physiological activities of both immune cells and muscle stem cells decline with advancing age, thereby blunting the capacity of skeletal muscle to regenerate. The age-related reduction in muscle repair efficiency contributes to the development of sarcopenia, one of the most important factors of disability in elderly people.”

This physiological condition has a word, sarcopenia. I find emoji-laced responses unsatisfying.

What has been your experience with those you train, who are over the age of 50, and sarcopenia?

In writing this up, I found this on PubMed, but I’ve come to see PubMed will run anything?

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Very-low-calorie ketogenic diet with aminoacid supplement versus very low restricted-calorie diet for preserving muscle mass during weight loss: a pilot double-blind study.

G Merra, R Miranda, S Barrucco, P Gualtieri, M Mazza, E Moriconi, M Marchetti, TF Chang, A De Lorenzo and L Di Renzo, European review for medical and pharmacological sciences, 2016 07

Obesity plays a relevant pathophysiological role in the development of health problems, arising as result of complex interaction of genetic, nutritional and metabolic factors. We conducted a dietary intervention case-control randomized trial, to compare the effectiveness on body composition of two nutritional protocols: a very-low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (VLCKD), integrated by an aminoacid supplement with whey protein, and very low restricted-calorie diet (VLCD).The clinical study was conducted with a randomized case-control in which twenty-five healthy subjects gave informed consent to participate in the interventional study and were evaluated for their health and nutritional status, by anthropometric, and body composition evaluation.The results of this pilot study show that a diet low in carbohydrates, associated with a decreased caloric intake, is effective in weight loss. After VLCKD, versus VLCD, no significant differences in body lean of the trunk, body lean distribution (android and gynoid), total body lean were observed (p > 0.05). After VLCKD, no increasing of sarcopenia frequency, according ASSMI, was observed.Many studies have shown the effectiveness of the ketogenic diet on weight loss; even if not know how to work effectively, as some researchers believe that the weight loss is due to reduced calorie intake, satiety could also be induced by the effect of the proteins, rather than the low-carbohydrates.Our pilot study showed that a VLCKD was highly effective in terms of body weight reduction without to induce lean body mass loss, preventing the risk of sarcopenia. Further clinical trials are needed on a larger population and long-term body weight maintenance and risk factors management effects of VLCKD. There is no doubt, however, that a proper dietary approach would impact significantly on the reduction of public expenditure costs, in view of prospective data on increasing the percentage of obese people in our nation.

Continuing the discussion from What did you take a photo of on your walk today?:

A little backstory to today’s photo. Last week, Dr. Berry had posted:

While I am very much biased towards low-carb and keto, magical thinking makes me nervous. I’ve been long told that as I grow older, I shouldn’t expect to bodybuild.¹ Not that I want to, but a more time-efficient gym workout is, of course, a very attractive option.

So, I asked the good doctor:

He responded;

Le sigh.

Social network cheerleading puts me into full skeptic mode. As an aside, Dr. Berry’s cheerleading seems to be increasing, btw. I figured I’d get a “second opinion,” Dr. Naiman, naturally.

He responded:

More terse, but aligns with Dr. Berry, in a very rhetorically minimal way.

SO… This morning, I’ve pushed my weight routine to exhaustion. I am a gelatinous mass now. The sting shall come, I expect. We’ll see. I’m still in an “n=1” frame of mind on this.

¹ I’ve also been long told to avoid fats, yadda yadda yadda. I’ve been fed a pack of nonsense. I get that. I was skeptical when I started low-carb eating. Better to be doubtful in most things.

AllanMisner · 2019-02-02 16:59:04 UTC

Thank you for subscribing to the Podcast.

Studies have shown that we can add muscle mass and strength at any age. However, it does come slower as we age. Most of that has to do with testosterone, which declines. And yes, the ability to recover and rebuild also slows. That is the basis of sarcopenia. Resistance training slows and can even reverse muscle loss.

To build muscle, you will have to have a good solid stimulus (aka lift heavy things). If you do a proper resistance training program with adequate intensity, you’ll likely only be able to do each muscle group twice per week. Rather you do a full body routine or splits, that should leave you some time for other activities such as running. The running will help with muscular endurance and cardiovascular efficiency. Plus if you enjoy it, it adds happiness to your life, which is a core component of wellness.

I generally ignore exercise as a part of the fat loss plan. Exercise should be done to improve fitness and for enjoyment. To put on muscle, you’ll have to make sure you’re getting adequate protein. While some folks like to use exercise, especially cardio to create a calorie deficit, I’ve found that most people end up eating back the calories. That’s not an issue when you’re keto because the extra calories will likely be fat and protein.

I have a theory that cardio has a benefit for keto adapted people, giving them a higher carbohydrate threshold (all other things being equal). Lifting may do a similar thing, but to a lesser extent. The workout burns muscle and liver glycogen. When carbs are eaten after a tough session, the insulin spike will shuttle the blood sugar to the muscles and liver to replenish them. So a keto adapted athlete should be able to tolerate more carbs and stay in ketosis.

So, the short of the long of it, do both. Lift heavy to gain/retain muscle mass, bone density, and strength. Do cardio for muscular endurance, stamina, and because you enjoy it. Get enough protein and keto on!

Screenack · 2019-02-02 20:07:13 UTC

My pleasure. Your latest podcast with Audrey Johns was delightful, even if she spilled the sacrilege of claiming that rendering delicious fat away from her cooking was a good thing. We all agree that weight management starts with what we put in our mouth, not fealty to calories-in, calories out.

I understand it’s difficult to tweet that, but it’s more intellectually satisfying. It sounds like the skinny of it is, yes, you can build, but nothing like you could have in your 20’s. I don’t want to build, by the way, just improved health.

This was the gist of Dr. Naiman’s exercise video. He poetically argues that you should be reduced to jelly by the end of your workout, as I was yesterday. I imagine this is not true for all weight resistance exercises, such as for the lower back or my knee dips.

I do alternate cardio and weight days, both are at least 60 minutes. I enjoy, as in being entertained, by the routine, each workout. It is vital to me that I enjoy it.

I have a clearly antagonistic relationship with carbs and do my best to stay below 20 total carbs. I’m not looking to “cheat” but live a more healthy lifestyle.

Thank you again!