Big Fat Bastards and Insulin By L. Rea

Drveejay11

I am banned!
Written By L. Rea

Ask any of the elite who have become truly massive beasts which anabolic substance has had the most profound effect upon their physique and the answer from the largest mammals will unanimously be insulin. Though Growth Hormone (GH) has brought to the forefront of competitive stages the well retained lean muscle mass tissue displayed beneath an onion skin exterior of today, it is the symbiotic relationship insulin has with all other physical enhancement chemistry that has made beasts what they are in the new millenium.

Insulin is predominantly a storage hormone in that it initiates a cascade of cellular events that result in up-regulation of cellular nutrient content. It obviously goes without saying then that supraphysiological plasma levels of insulin result in supraphysiological cellular levels of nutrients. This in itself allows for a highly anabolic effect known as an osmotic response. A cellular osmotic response is nothing more than an increase in water and growth potentiating nutrients intracellularly that has a effect similar to increasing the amount of air in a balloon. More air in the balloon means a larger balloon. More water and proportionate growth nutrients means a larger cell. Interesting enough is the fact that this also triggers another survival mechanism that tells the stretched cell wall to increase in thickness to accommodate the osmotic response. This is due to an up-regulation in localized IGF-1 and MGF production and the synergistic response initialize. Oh ya. That is anabolism in the form of hypertrophy. Unfortunately, insulin is quite anabolic to fat cells too.
Since insulin is the body’s main “storage” hormone it should come as no surprise to the reader that many diabetics and would-be beasts alike have become horribly fat as a result of improper insulin use and misguided dietary habits. Many bodybuilders have employed the 10-15 grams of carbohydrates per IU of insulin administered protocol with a great deal of success in spite of the inherent dangers of non-medical insulin use. However many, who have either become insulin resistant/insensitive or are genetically predisposed to inordinate adipose (fat) tissue accumulation, have endured a greater anabolism of adipose tissue than muscle. Some have foolishly put on more covering clothing and simply accepted this as a necessary side effect endured for the greater eventual goal. Others have added the additional potential negative side effects of heart arrhythmia/tachycardia, diabetes, and other not so fun stuff as well.

As I have pointed out many times before, adipose tissue is a major site for aromatase enzyme activity which in itself compounds the Big Fat Bastard problem. Many Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) (anabolic/androgenic steroids) are susceptible to the effects of aromatase enzyme conversion to estrogens as is endogenously produced (made inside the body) androgens such as testosterone. Obviously the greater the volume and activity of this enzyme that exists in the body, the greater the chance and degree of aromatization that occurs. Estrogen is directly anabolic to a minor degree to muscle tissue. Both fortunately and unfortunately it is highly anabolic to adipose tissue. Since estrogen is the hormone that induces female pattern fat deposits it is fortunate because a nice rack is a thing of beauty. Unfortunately I have as of yet not noted a single male bodybuilder who looked good or happy with boobs or any other fatty female attributes. So a greater degree of adipose tissue accumulation from insulin administration results in a compounded adipose tissue storage effect from aromatase enzyme susceptible Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) employment.
In some instances the result of this vicious cycle is bodybuilders who fail to ingest adequate calories during Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) protocols as a means of decreasing adipose tissue accumulation. Unless you are from another planet you realize this also limits muscular growth potential as well.
Before we discuss all of the interesting facts concerning the means of becoming a big fat bastard, it is necessary to have a fundamental understanding of the macronutrient product glucose.

GLUCOSE
Glucose is the body’s preferred energy substrate. Though the brain’s nutrient make-up is nearly 1/3 omega-3 fatty acids it is glucose that is without fail mandatory for continued sentience. So carb up a little and read closely as we learn a few things about the body we have been entrusted to play nice with.
When we ingest food stuffs in the form of the three macronutrients protein, carbohydrates, and fats the GI track introduces a series of chemical Action/Reaction Factors that result in the break-down of these nutrients to metabolic substrates.
Proteins = amino acids
Carbohydrates = glucose
Fats = fatty acids
It appears simple on the surface but in fact glucose can be converted to triglycerides and adipose tissue or lean tissue glycogen stores and toilet tinkle. Like wise fatty acids can be stored as fat or utilized as an energy substrate by the body’s tissues but it cannot be converted to glucose. This is interesting when one considers the fact that carbohydrates can become glucose or fat, but fat cannot become glucose (though the cellular mitochondria can use fatty acids as an energy substrate as a keto response). Protein is ultimately destined to become amino acids employed for cellular repair and growth or intimate moments with the bathroom. But certain amino acids called gluconeogenic amino acids can be converted to glucose too. This can be disastrous for a bodybuilder who hopes to be a beast one day since lean muscle mass is predominantly made up of protein in the form of amino acids and a complete spectrum is necessary. We will get to this later. For now simply accept that glucose is necessary for life and bodybuilding progress alike.
The average circulatory value for glucose allows for about only 4 grams of glucose. It is actually uncommon for blood glucose levels to rise beyond an additional 1.5-2.0 grams or to drop below the 4 gram mark. A healthy individual who ingests a meal containing 50-150g of mixed carbohydrates will realize the normal increase in circulatory glucose for only about an hour. Interesting thing here is that endogenous (made by the body) insulin secretion will remain elevated for an additional 2 hours after glucose clearing. When the same individual ingests 300g of carbs (Fat Bastard) at one time the resulting insulin secretion levels will be 300% above normal for an additional 7 hours after blood glucose clearing. This is clearly a highly anabolic environment, but after tissue glycogen stores reach maximum levels a grotesque amount of the excess glucose finds its way to adipose tissue. And don’t worry. If all of the existing fat cells are full, the body is way to happy to make new ones to secrete lots of aromatase enzyme. And herein awaits the key to greater lean mass tissue and a decrease in adipose tissue.

GLUCONEOGENESIS
Gluconeogenesis is the biosynthesis of new glucose. This means that glucose is synthesized from other substrates than carbohydrates or glycogen stores. Obviously since the only source of fuel for the brain, testes, kidneys, and erythrocytes is glucose the body in its amazing adaptive manner can manufacture glucose from other materials. Those who are up on keto diets are aware of the fact that the body can derive energy from ketone bodies (which are converted into acetyl-CoA). But that is an entire different topic for now. In short the body utilizes the carbon structures within substrates to create energy in the eventual form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is cellular energy that, as readers are aware, is the body’s only energy currency. In the case of gluconeogenesis the carbon structures can come from other sources.
Triglycerides are structures consisting of three fatty acids adjoined by a glycerol molecule. By cleaving the fatty acids away from the glycerol molecule the body can utilize the freed glycerol molecule to make glucose through a series of conversions and subsequent carbon utilization.
With the exception of lysine and leucine all 20 (or 22 if you are of that school of thought) amino acids can be turned into TCA cycle intermediates which in turn allows for the carbon skeletons of the amino acids to be converted to pyruvate. The newly formed pyruvate can then be utilized by the gluconeogenic pathway to create glucose by way of another series of metabolic pathways. Let me explain that a little better. When glycogen stores in the liver and muscle are depleted the working/recovering muscles, brain and organs need another energy source. Catabolism of muscle tissue proteins to amino acids becomes the main source of carbon skeletons for the maintenance of mandatory blood glucose. As you will recall the body can clear 50 –150 grams of carbohydrates in only a few hours.
So how much muscle do you think the gluconeogenic adaptive process can munch in the same period of inadequate nutrient supply from diet? By the way, the amino acid Alanine is the favorite gluconeogenic snack with Arginine and Glutamine coming in as close seconds.

THINK ABOUT IT
In the presence of circulatory insulin elevation gluconeogenesis in the liver and muscle tissue decreases. During periods of circulating supraphysiological levels of amino acid muscle catabolism decreases. In the presence of both protein synthesis occurs.

So it would seem that the two choices a wanna-be beast faces is 300 grams of carbohydrates to induce a sufficient prolonged insulin spike and a Big Fat Bastard pose down or non-stop keto diets and declarations of “Hey, I may look like a weenie but I am really cut” for life.

*The obvious solution is an elevation in both circulatory insulin and a corrected amino acid pool rendered highly efficient by design and not by chance.
Insulin administration is nothing new to the larger beasts of the bodybuilding world. Unfortunately neither is Big Fat Bastard status in the brief off-season. So it should come as no surprise to those who have entered the realm of the chemically enhance athlete to learn that insulin can make even the best genetically predisposed individual fat. It has been my experience that this is simply not necessary.

Insulin forces excessive amounts of amino acids into muscle cells when an adequate supply exists at the time of insulin exposure. Insulin also triggers increased muscle cell glycogen synthesis by way of positively effecting the rate limiting enzyme glycogen synthase. We also know the positive effects correct application of supraphysiological insulin levels has had upon the most catabolic pathway there is that affects muscle mass from reading my two prior books. Add to this the fact that insulin is synergistic to and with all other chemicals of muscular enhancement and realize the potential.

In relationship to goals it would seem evident that a protocol employing the attributes of insulin would necessitate the symbiotic relationship the hormone has with macronutrients as it applies to lean muscle mass tissue.

(1) Muscle is more than 80% protein by dry weight.
(2) ATP is the energy currency of muscular contractions, repair, and growth.
(3) Glucose is the prime source substrate for ATP synthesis and mandatory for proper brain and organ function (yes, that one also).
(4) Excess blood glucose will result in excess adipose tissue accumulation.

The Protocol Diet
When this protocol was created its intent was rapid accumulation of lean mass tissue without an increase in adipose tissue deposits. Since the foundation of the diet was structured for efficient gluconeogenic dependant upon a correct ratio and amount of amino acids, a great deal of protein was consumed daily. The most effective protein intake minimum was the equivalent of 3 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight daily divided into at least 6 meals. Using a 200 pound individual as an example it was possible to reduce this slightly by simply eating 4 whole food meals daily providing 50 grams of whole protein each and sipping on whey protein drinks in water throughout the day providing the remaining 400 grams of protein. I preferred whey protein simply because it is one of the only two drinkable products I am aware of that allows for actual hyperaminoacid response in the circulatory system. Casein, egg, and (some people still use it) soy proteins fail to clear the GI track at a rate significant enough to induce the necessary supraphysiological amino acid concentrations for the protocol. The fact that whey protein is easily oxidized by the liver should be the first clue to the reason why results are superior. By the way, the other is Human Profile by Hazardous Materials (it is nearly 100% absorbed)
So here is the kicker. Though fat intake could be quite high, total daily carbohydrate intake could not exceed 0.5 grams per 25 pounds of bodyweight daily. The reason is simple: The goal was to force the body to employ the gluconeogenic pathway as a means of energy production. Any degree of actual glycogen regeneration resulted in the body returning to the glycosis pathway which allows for adipose tissue accumulation. The reason this worked so well was simplistic in nature. The making of ATP through amino acid gluconeogenesis is very inefficient thus allowing for a huge calorie expenditure similar to what occurs during DNP utilization. During calorie expenditure the body does not store fat but it does undergo protein anabolism. When enough protein was ingested the result was always a net increase in lean body mass of 5-8 pounds by the end of a 4 week protocol. Not bad for experienced beasts, huh?

Additional Supplements
Since exogenous insulin was utilized during this protocol and, as mentioned prior, the gluconeogenic energy pathway loves certain amino acids it is easy to realize that the normal ratio of amino acids derived from whey protein and whole foods was not likely adequate. A mixture of 4 parts Alanine, 2 parts Glutamine, 2 parts Arginine and 1 part Taurine was created and capsulated. The dosage ingested was 1 gram of the supplemental mix per I.U. of insulin administered daily divided into 2 post administration dosages.

The preparation for this protocol required a liver glycogen depletion period of 24 hours prior to initial insulin administration. This was done to initiate the gluconeogenic pathway prior to protocol onset thus preventing any loss of lean tissue growth potential.
Though only a total idiot would ever assume that non-medical exogenous insulin use was safe, the utilization of a fast acting insulin was the better choice for this protocol. The first reason of course being that short acting chemistry also means shorter periods of potential exposure to negative side effects like a coma. Second is the fact that it was necessary due to the relevance in liver capacity for glucose manufacture by way of gluconeogenesis. Running out of adequate glucose reserves would introduce a series of potential negative side effects that would have required the ingestion of dextrose to inhibit.

EXAMPLES OF INSULIN

Name of Insulin Start Activity Highest Activity Ends Activity Low BS
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Very short-acting (Humalog) 10 minutes 1.5 hours 3 hours 2-4 hours
Short-acting (Regular/-R) 20 minutes 3-4 hours 8 hours 3-7 hours
Intermediate acting (Nor L) 1.5-2 hours 4-15 hours 22-24 hours 6-13 hours
Long-acting (Ultra Lente) 4 hours 10-24 hours 36 hours 12-28 hours
Combination: 70% N/30% R 0-1 hour 3-13 hours 12-20 hours 3-12 hours
Combination: 50% N/50% R 0-1 hour 3-12 hours 12-20 hours 3-12 hours
___________________________________________________________________________

*Humalog was administered about 15 minutes before an appropriate meal
*Regular Type-R was administered 30 minutes before an appropriate meal
*Low BS = Low blood sugar (Glucose).

As the reader can see when viewing the examples of insulin above, the employment of Humalog allowed for a total of 4 daily administrations of 10-15iu each and Humulin-R (Short-acting) only allowed for 3 daily administrations. This is not to say some have not increased the dosage or chose different insulin analogs, but it is to say that under these circumstances it was not necessary or more effective.
The Protocol Example
Day Day
1. Test. Sus. 150mg 15. Test. Sus, 150mg
2. Humalog 10iu 4xd 16. Humalog 10iu 4xd
3. Test. Sus. 150mg 17. Test. Sus. 150mg
4. Humalog 10iu 4xd 18. Humalog 10iu 4xd
5. Test. Sus. 150mg 19. Test. Sus. 150mg
6. Humalog 10iu 4xd 20. Humalog 10iu 4xd
7. Test. Sus. 150mg 21. Test. Sus. 150mg
8. Humalog 10iu 4xd 22. Humalog 10iu 4xd
9. Test. Sus. 150mg 23. Test. Sus. 150mg
10. Humalog 10iu 4xd 24. Humalog 10iu 4xd
11. Test. Sus. 150mg 25. Test. Sus. 150mg
12. Humalog 10iu 4xd 26. Humalog 10iu 4xd
13. Test. Sus. 150mg 27. Test. Sus. 150mg
14. Humalog 10iu 4xd 28. Humalog 10iu 4xd

*Test. Sus. = testosterone suspension

The use of testosterone suspension afforded an extra benefit during this protocol in that the increase in aromatization resulted in an increase in up-regulation of liver glucose production and increased GLUT-4 and androgen receptor sensitivity. Since the glucose was derived from the gluconeogenic pathway the result was a focalization upon lean tissue mass accumulation at the expense of adipose tissue (no Big Fat Bastard). The every other day administration protocol prevented pancreatic beta cell and insulin receptor desensitizing while acting as a pro-androgen catalyst. This is due to the fact that insulin is a powerful SHBG inhibitor meaning that the degree of free/active testosterone was significantly increased while the system clearing rate for estrogen was excellerated. Unbound hormones simply metabolize and are excreted (toilet tinkle) at a much higher rate. No doubt some reader is assuming that this would mean that the circulatory testosterone would be destroyed at an increase rate as well. You would be quite right. But when one is talking in terms of active/free testosterone 150mg is serious. But first the reader must realize that testosterone suspension is a non-esterfied “free” Anabolic Androgenic Steroids (AAS) with an active-life of about 24 hours though plasma levels remain elevated for about 24 more hours. Part of the reason that this is so is that the free administered product is rapidly bound by SHBG. Each day following testosterone suspension administration the insulin administered frees the lions share of the remaining testosterone. See, synergistic and symbiotic!
 
wow, lot of reading, now if i had someone to break that down to dumbass terms i could understand it. Good read for what i understood though
 
hell my mom was a diabetic, she just had a pacreas trans. so she has like 40 pens of hum. r at home! i am just really scared of this shit. I just don't want to turn out like her! I know i am being a pussy but she lost her eyesight and has had a kidney transplant because of diabetes! so in all no eyes, kidney and pancreas transplant from diabeties
 
That protocal is scary, no simple carb intake with slin, you better be died on or you be died out.

I wouldn't recomend that to anyone 0.5g of carbs per 25lbs and slin, my only question is how many times has he run it? He used to post a anabolic-planet, but ha always answered ? with read my book or I can't give away what's in my book. When the ? get to the heart of his ideas he all of a sudden had no time to post :rolleyes:

JohnnyB
 
maybe I didn't read it right but is he saying that insulin taken by itself will give you good results. From what I have seen insulin without gh will make you fat and if you add test on top of that you would have one bloated mess. Just my opinion but I would never take insulin unless I was on gh.
 
a73formula said:
maybe I didn't read it right but is he saying that insulin taken by itself will give you good results. From what I have seen insulin without gh will make you fat and if you add test on top of that you would have one bloated mess. Just my opinion but I would never take insulin unless I was on gh.


That is like saying you can't cut on test, very broad and wrong statement said by a few who don't know what they are talking about.
 
How come all the guys who wirte these articles write like pretentious assholes?

How can so many words say so little?
 
a73formula said:
i may be wrong again, but isn't it harder to cut on a bulker? I'm here to learn everyone.


Read what you just said. I will rephrase it, "isn't it hard to get smaller as you get bigger"



I always looked at insulin like this, those of us who are naturally softer probaby have too much insulin to begin with, shooting it is only going to make things worse. Inuslin is more for the skinny guys who can afford a little fat gain. I could go refresh my memory on the specifics, but i have never doen it, never will, so i don't read all that much about it.
 
One more thing, i remember my old friend rugger from anasci using 10grams of dextrose per cc i beleive right after his shot of insulin. Well if you have ever used the dextrose from supp direct their measurements are way off, way off. He found off he was drinking much less than he though and he still was not going hypo. People probably use the 10grams per iu as a baseline, but many will drop it and see how the feel. Probably the extra carbs than one needs are what makes someoen fat, as what cannot be shuttled to the muscles or liver or adipose is left in the blood to accumulate as fat. I would assume if one could find the exact magical amount of carbs one needed per iu they would be able to use insulin more effectively, and i would assume taking r-ala would improve how much uptake their is of the glycogen. This is all just me thinking out loud. I would also think that soft people get fat on insulin because most are insulin resistant. Hopefully someone will correct me, because i like i said i am just thinking out loud here.
 
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DADAWG said:
slin scares the hell out of me .
yep i come from a family of diabetics..ive seen what happens when you get an attack..its not a fun thing..

not to mention i dont think your average gym rat should be messing with slin..there are plenty of anabolics to use in order to grow..youll just need to find what stack works best for you and your goals
 
I was a bit disappointed after reading all the replies on here.

To all those leary of slin use due to heredity diabetes, definately no arguement there. It seems like a lot of people are either misunderstanding or simply NOT understanding basis of the protocol... at least that's what was communicated to me after reading through the thread.

I'm going to try and simplify it, at least the basic idea.

Gluconeogenesis, as you read is the body's process of breaking chemical structures known as proteins into simpler parts (or what proteins are essentially made up of) which are amino acids, and without getting into how much of what amino acid goes where, just understand that amino acids are derived from protein.

Why does it do this? It does this because the body is responding to NOT having enough glycogen stores to pull from in order to maintain normal metabolic processes. If you are not taking in an adequate amount of carbs in order to store glycogen, your body resorts to a different process. Normally someone very much under a lean 300 lbs. probably doesn't take in 600 grams of protein, so for someone who carries a good deal less lean mass, this amount of amino acids is flooding the system, but since you are taking in virtually no carbohydrates, all of those extra amino acids serve the purpose of being converted into energy. Although a large amount of protein is broken down for energy, you still have a LOT to build with. How much, in numbers? i don't fucking know, but think about it- 2400 calories of purely protein is taken in, along with 500-800 calories from fats (that figure is based on MY diet at weighing 190 lbs. and 7.5% bf) your body is going to use ONLY the proteins it needs to maintain itself with gluconeogenesis, in other words you still have plenty of building blocks to build with. The fat also, obviously plays a role in energy, it's broken down and used too.

If the numbers i just spit out confuse you, forget them, the real point is eating that much protein is going to leave you still yet with plenty of protein to grow on.

In traditional bodybuilding steroid protocols and diets, protein is always seen as strictly building blocks while we use carbs for energy and fat for metabolic maintanence and surplus calories, generally. This protocol is TOTALLY different, we are always looking at our diets and getting bigger through glycolysis, which is the name for the bodies process of using carbs as a basic means for energy, not protein. So this is going to seem foreign.

With carbs so low, protein so high and fats still moderate, what do we have?

Well, we have really hard shit, assuming it doesn't get stuck in your colon, potentially over worked renal system, potential nitrogen toxicity in the liver and no energy... but delving into that would stray from the point- just drink minimum your bodyweight in oz. of water daily.

Add insulin-

Now we have caused an extreme increase in our utilization of proteins as they are being shuttled to the muscle for repair as well as the proteins that are broken down from gluconeogenesis to be converted to glycogen, (that's being crammed into your muscle for repair as well, only as glycogen, which is mimmicking carbohydrates at this point, more or less) instead of a bunch of pissed/shit out protein that your body would otherwise not have the capacity to utilize. When you introduce supraphysiological amounts of insulin, new things can happen.

*Key point- your body (while in gluconeogenesis) converts amino acids into glycogen for energy while the insulin allows for extreme storage of proteins into the muscle.

Essentially your body is growing around the clock in a very accelerated fashion because your giving it a massive pool of building blocks and then giving it the hormone that does all the storing. Once stored, they can build. Then you press fastforward instead of play.

where does the fat come in? according to the theory, it's a steady feed as always. as long as you're not taking in super high amounts which would slow digestion of the proteins that need to be readily available for the insulin to transport to the muscle and you're not taking in super low amounts to try and 'stay lean', you're ok.

Keep in mind that Gluconeogenesis is a process that only yields a production of approximately 3 ATP while glycolysis yields around 36 ATP. For simplicity, an ATP is a unit of usable energy. If you have 3 ATP, you need to repeat the process many more times to break even. That means gluconeo...let's call it GNG...many more actions of GNG have to happen in the body than do glycolysis to make the same amount of energy, but it takes energy to make energy- bottom line, you burn more calories- very bottom line, people stay lean while using this protocol because of this, it's quite hard to store any appreciable amount of calories indefinately.

So that sums up why you gain true muscle fast with very low carbs, high protein and moderate fat on SENSIBLE insulin doses throughout the day.

*I've spoken with someone who's used this protocol successfully and stated that with a small amount of carbs (I.e. 20-30grams of fast acting) post workout allowed them to not feel completely drained and also gave them a bit fuller look without compromising the gluconeogenic process.

Oliver Starr's article was the first article i read on this and it seems that his protocol was perhaps a bit more leanient and maybe made more sense. Why Author L. Rea stated no more than .5 grams of carbs per 25lbs. i can only assume this manner of complete carb depletion would be to ensure the body was forced into gluconeogenesis.

Oliver Starr dictated that 100grams of carbs per day were good but 50 grams would be better. This leads one to believe that he reasoned that the body didn't all of the sudden get forced into GNG. But rather reached a point where there were too many carbs, and once the body reached that point, it would try to begin to operate, at least partially off of glycolysis for energy.

Rea's notion seems to facilitate the idea that your body reaches a point and the switch from glycolysis to GNG is more sudden. 2 different theories, neither of which have been exclusively spoken of by mr. Starr or mr. Rea, but in my reading makes the most sense.

What to do, what to do....

A happy medium would be to drink 2 servings of powerade, gatorade or something comparable in sugar/electrolyte content post workout. Of course when it comes down to it, you have to make the decision yourself of how to introduce such an on the edge protocol to your body, you shouldn't always listen to people named 'hate' on a messege board.

Worse case scenario, you start this protocol and are too sensitive, you go hypo ... what do you do? you should have already stocked up on glucose tablets and a glucogon pen and no how to use them.

Hope this helps somebody understand it a bit better. When you get down to it, its simple biochemistry, but since everyone is different trial and error coupled with baby steps is the only smart way to approach it.
 
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Damn thats a lot of reading,,,

Very interesting

I have a lot of respect for L Rea,,, much more than any of the other guru's he makes logical sense
 
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