Hello,

Thanks. I am aware of all the three points that you mentioned, and they
do not really address my question. I comment briefly,

1) In general, I eat low GI food (exception: I eat high GI right after
exercise) to have a balanced insulin level in my blood. I believe though
that having a constant level of insulin could lead to insulin
resistance, thats why I eat one meal a day with few carbs.

2) As mentioned earlier, I do heaps of exercise.

3) I eat a balanced diet on a daily basis (~50% carbs, 30% protein, 20%
fat). The nutrition that I am eating are high quality, e.g. few
saturated/trans fats.

My question is if a certain combination of nutrition for certain meals
can help to reduce the loss of muscle mass while fasting.

You make too many assumptions about me: I am not bulky and I dont want
to become bulky, and I think the *right* amount of muscles can help a
great deal in certain sports.

Chris


adak wrote:
NO.

You will ALWAYS lose muscle mass when you diet. There is no way to
toally prevent it.

Some ways to help reduce it a

1) Don't let your diet become a fast. Eat smaller, frequent meals, with
a low glycemic index. Goal here is to keep an even amount of insulin in
the bloodstream, for a longer time. Insulin helps bring in amino acids
that are necessary for muscles to maintain. But you have to balance
that with your need to keep insulin relatively low, while dieting. You
can't have high insulin levels and have a good diet. They are as
opposite as day and night.

2) Exercise. You will lose more muscle mass if you don't exercise while
dieting. Even moderate exercise is a good start. Some strength training
exercise should be included, ideally.

3) When you eat, try to balance out your carbs, your protein, and your
fats, every day, at least. Your goal is to give your body all the amino
acids, essential fatty acids, bulk, fiber, etc., that it needs, every
day. Cutting anything short on one day can NOT always be made up by
adding more on another day. (sometimes yes, sometimes, no).

I wouldn't worry about the muscle mass you lose while dieting. That
mass will return (although probably not all of it), and you don't need
a lot of muscle mass for many athletic events.

Take Lance Armstrong for one great example. He was a very good cyclist
before his cancer, but after his cancer, after losing a lot of muscle
mass (particularly in the shoulders and torso, which he never
regained), he was actually able to become a far better bicycle racer
than he ever was before. Especially in the mountains, where his
decrease in weight, helped him a lot.

Leaner muscle mass does not always mean less strength, and can enhance
performance in some events.

adak