Back-End Carbohydrate Loading…Can Eating Junk Food Get You Lean and Strong?

There are many nutritional strategies to maximize performance. Depending on exactly what you are training for, your strategy may be different. As long as you take a clinical approach, tracking what and how much you are eating against your results, you should be able to find the best diet for you. If you are training to gain strength and muscle mass while staying lean, back-end carb loading might be worth a try.

Eating for performance can be fun and enjoyable with back-end carb loading. This is a diet that allows you to eat those classic non-favorable carbohydrates you may have eliminated from your diet, while still getting good results in the gym.

Yes, you can get lean and strong with junk food!

This diet is based on utilizing the very anabolic (muscle building) hormonal response in the body, by strategically spiking insulin. Insulin drives nutrients and fuel into cells. If you were to do this all day over a period of time yes, you would be getting fat and probably sick. In fact this is exactly how people develop insulin resistance or even Type 2 diabetes. Back-end carb loading puts in specific parameters on when and how to do this, to maintain insulin sensitivity while still getting the anabolic effects.

Here’s how the diet works

Over the first 8 hours of the day you will eat little to no carbohydrates. The only thing you will be snacking on will be protein and a little fat. This is the time of day that you will have to get the majority of your daily protein intake.

An easy guideline to start with is trying to get your bodyweight in grams of protein. Beef Jerky, sliced turkey, and protein shakes will become your traveling friend. Try to avoid eating a big meal, as this is almost a semi-fasted state. Caffeine throughout the day can reduce hunger and sugar cravings. After your workout, until bedtime is your opportunity to unleash hell. Depending on your bodyweight you will try to get anywhere from 200-500 grams of carbohydrates in before bedtime. Try to do this between 2 meals.

Here is a sample day for a 200 lb male:

  • Breakfast: 4 eggs, spinach, coffee
  • Snack: Protein Shake
  • Lunch: Turkey slices, bell peppers
  • Snack: Beef Jerky, coffee
  • Pre workout: Protein shake
  • Workout: Lifting
  • Post workout: Protein shake
  • 1st dinner: 4 slices of pizza,
  • 2nd dinner: 4 slices of pizza

Total Protein: 200 grams

Total Carbs: 400 grams

* On non-training days only consume 50 grams of carbs