Twin Peak's Carb Cycling Approach Questions

Hi,

I've got a couple questions. First off, let me just do a quick intro, I just finished off a bulk and 2 weeks ago I just started dropping my cals off slowly (about 200 per week). I'm a Mesomorph, 17 years old, 5'10, 175 lbs and cutting.

My first question is, since I am a teen (ultra fast metabolism), what should my protein intake to start off (I'm going to assume that they are same for the 3 different dates). I went off a 4000 calorie diet I was consuming about 400 cals a day spreaded over 6-7 meals. That was about 2.35 grams of protein/lb.

If I drop that certain protein intake, should I expect to lose strength? Also, what would be considered moderate for fan intake at my weight and goals, 60 grams? 50 grams?

Thanks in advance!

I don't understand why you took in so much protein to begin with. Your body can only process 50-60 grams per meal as it is. The rest goes to waste.

As far as your question goes..............anytime you cut calories you can expect to lose some strength. Depends on the person. Typically for me, it takes a bit for me to lose strength (unless doing TP's workout plan too ) where others notice it within a few weeks.

Thanks for the clarification jodi, I guess for some odd reason that most of the diet rules did not apply to teens. Oh well guess I was wrong, was consuming about 66g of protein per meal before. I'm down to about 43g of protein, once I lower it 30 g/meal, then i'll start carb cycling.

Your body can only process 50-60 grams per meal as it is. The rest goes to waste.

Click to expand...

This is an unfortunate myth. If there is an upper limit to how much protein can be effectively used in one sitting, we don't know it.

I have to agree with TP on that one. In short, ~1% of the protein in your meal will not be absorbed and pass through your system into your feces. If you have a 100g meal, about 1 gram will resist absorption, if you eat 10 grams, .1 gram will escape the absorption process, it is a relative amount depending on the amount of protein in your meal rather than an absolute number. Assuming that you are otherwise healthy and have no digestion problems. The way protein absorption works is partially based on the efficiency of your body's ability to properly digest (break down) protein into it's amino acid subunits. This happens to a small degree in the stomach but more so in the duodenum (the first of the three compartments in the small intestine) the major absorption site of protein is the jejunum (the second part of the small intestines). The intestine normally will not absorb anything larger than a tri-peptide (three amino acids linked together). There are 20 amino acids, and their absorption happens through one of four types of transporters responsible for absorbing specific types of amino acids or tri-peptides. There is a specific transporter for neutral, acidic, and basic amino acids, as well as a transporter for proline and hydroxyproline. Sometimes the amino acids and tripeptides will compete for absorption at these transport sites, hence the 1% that does not get absorbed. The process by which food moves through the intestine is so slow that by the time the food has moved though the jejunum all but about one percent is absorbed. As I said, the final absorption depends on the initial ability to digest long protein chains into small absorbable amino acids, di- and tri-peptides. Enzymes the body makes for protein digestion depend on the kinds of proteins you eat. Since your body adapts your enzymes to the foods you eat, this explains why long time vegetarians and vegans become ill when they eat meat proteins. They cannot digest it anymore because they lack the enzymes, and in that case they would have an altered MEAT digestion rate and very low absorption. It is a reversible process if they slowly make meat proteins a part of their diet again. So again, you absorb ~99% of the protein you eat unless you have some kind of illness altering your digestion or absorption or have not eaten meat in a few years.

Thanks for the clarification TP and I had a discussion about this yesterday where he told me it was a myth. I've just read so much otherwise and sometimes its difficult to decipher the truth from myths when you read so much otherwise.

If you are looking to add calories to a meal (on a typical day, not refeed), you would be better off eating more protein than carbs; despite the fact that protein synthesis may no longer be in operation, you benefit from the thermogenic effects of gluconeogenesis--at least this is what I recall the general consensus to be on this topic the last time it was discussed here?