Future food: a revolutionary approach to bodybuilding nutrition - Advertisement

Flex, July, 2002

It is common knowledge that when it comes to building a bigger, stronger, more muscular physique, the type of food you eat greatly affects your success. In fact, without proper nutrition, not even the latest muscle building supplement combinations or exotic training regimens can help you build a better body. What constitutes the perfect bodybuilding eating plan? Over the years, the "ideal" way to eat year round has been a topic of great debate. If you want to stay lean and hard yet still be able to effectively build muscle year round the answer is almost always the same. This may surprise you, but the most successful nutrition plan for bodybuilders who are "always in shape" is one that consists of roughly 40% protein, 40% low glycemic carbohydrates, 20% fat, and high fiber. Whether you believe it or not, without macronutrients in the right ratios, your efforts in the gym are destined to failure. You will never achieve the kind of physique you're working so hard to create. As we all know, eating the ideal body building diet isn't easy. If it was, everyone would be walking around with muscles bulging and 5% bodyfat. Who has time to cook the ideal foods and carry the mountain of grub around every day, let alone finding a place to heat it up? So where are all the wonderful supplements to help you achieve this ideal bodybuilding diet?

The Search For New Age, Designer Foods

For years dedicated bodybuilders, fitness enthusiasts, and anyone who is working hard to create a better body has been sold on the concept of custom engineered, designer foods. Contrary to the advertising hype, most sports nutrition companies have only created convenient ways for bodybuilders to consume protein powders or "typical" meal replacement supplements (MRP's). They took protein powders in jugs and put them into packets adding vitamins and minerals and sometimes a little bit of cheap sugary carbohydrate to improve the taste. This concoction, called the typical MRP, has quickly become "standard issue" supplementation for nearly every dedicated athlete. Is it because it is the "best" possible product of its kind? No, it is because it is convenient Is it because it is the ideal way to eat? No, it has function, but it is not ideal. As you will soon see, none of the current "leading brand" MRP's provide the right ratio of macronutrients and quality ingredients eaten by the best-built people on earth. To ma ke our point just take a look at the past.

Meal Supplements of Yesteryear

Since the early 1990's, meal replacement powders have centered around very limited macronutrient profiles such as high protein and very low carbs. As the following charts indicate, a true muscle-building diet of high protein, low-glycemic carbohydrates and healthy fats simply cannot be achieved with the "Leading Brand" or Leading "Low Carb" MRP. Here's how the current products on the market attempt to deliver a "real bodybuilding meal".

Typical "Leading Brand" MRP

Fats      6%
Carb     34%
Protein  60%

Contains:
* High protein blend
* High glycemic maltodextrin
* No essential fats
* Low fiber

Best Use:
* Additional protein in the diet
* Moderate or low carb diets
* Better than to "junk food"

Note: Table made from pie chart.

Now don't take this the wrong way, we understand the need for extra protein in an athlete's diet and the fact that short-term use of low-carb diets can help you get leaner. However, it has been shown that athletes on reduced levels of carbohydrates may be unable to train effectively, jeopardizing muscle tissue and overall muscle size fullness in the process. In fact, hard training athletes require a much greater energy reserve than sedentary folks.

Typical "Low Carb" MRP

Fats      8%
Carb     20%
Protein  72%

Contains:
* High protein blend
* Fat promoting maltodextrin
* No essential fats
* Low fiber

Best Use:
* Additional Protein in the diet
* Very low carb diets
* Alternative to protein powders in a jug

Note: Table made from pie chart

Muscle cells only receive this energy through the consumption of carbohydrates. Weight training also makes great demands on the body's amino acid pool, which must be replenished by consuming a higher than average protein intake. These learnings have led us to believe that it is possible to create something different.

A New Frontier in Bodybuilding Nutrition

Lean Mass Matrix[TM] was developed to allow athletes the ease and convenience of simulating whole foods with out the prep, cooking and clean up. Our revolutionary formulation is based upon the fact many top athletes believe you have to eat meals with specific ratios of protein, carbs, fats and fiber to build lean muscle. The type of carbs you eat is just as important as the sources of protein you use. Bodybuilders generally avoid maltodextrin and other high-glycemic carbs unless they want the anabolic effect of elevated insulin levels immediately post-workout. The rest of the time they want high-quality, low-glycemic carbs that feed their muscles with glycogen and don't convert easily to fat. Lean Mass Matrix[TM] contains carbs from very unique sources like oatmeal, barley, brown rice, and flax seed these are the carbs that bodybuilders eat all the time By using grain carbs that are unrefined we drastically increased the fiber content while reducing the sugar content and glycemic response. Prolab's totally un ique blend provides carbohydrate sources that real bodybuilders eat on a regular basis! Lean Mass Matrix[TM] makes getting the right types and precise amounts of carbs easier than ever Imagine a tasty bowl of oatmeal, two scoops of protein and some flax seed oil mixed in a shaker bottle to bring along in your gym bag - that's Lean Mass Matrix[TM]. Most bodybuilders make the connection of higher protein intake with increases in the protein containing elements of individual muscles. However, this is only part of the muscle building equation. The main storage compound inside skeletal muscle is glycogen, which is partly responsible for holding water in the muscle, as well as providing the energy needed to train heavy and hard. Current science has uncovered some very revealing fact regarding glycogen stores that may explain why the best built bodies on earth eat roughly 40% protein, 40% low glycemic carbohydrates, 20% fat and high fiber year round. In fact, changing your macronutrient ratio from low carbohydrate M RP's (green, yellow, and blue bars) to Lean Mass Matrix[TM] (red bar) will help resynthesize glycogen stores in muscles to potentially double or triple your overall muscle cell volume making you look bigger, harder, and more muscular! How can we claim such dramatic improvements? Let's look at the data.