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Types of Insulin and How They are each Used In Building Muscle

Link Below to a seperate guide on bodybuilding with insulin:
https://www.musclechemistry.com/uplo...ke-arnold.html

John Doe Bodybuilding With Insulin Guide:

OK, I want to talk about insulin here. I'm going to talk about how to use it properly, the different types, and what to expect from it.

But first and foremost I'm going to talk about safety. Insulin is nothing to fuck around with, and if you're fairly new to the world of performance enhancement and/or nutrition and training, don't even consider doing something like insulin!! Insulin can kill you quick. I'm talking about a dirt nap within a couple hours if you're not careful. HOWEVER, there are really only a couple ways you can fuck it up.
The biggest way to fuck up insulin is incorrect measurement. If I tell you to take 5 units of insulin and you load up 5cc's as you would a steroid shot, or even load up 5 units as you would a GH shot, you are probably going to die. 5 units of insulin means 5 tiny little lines or “clicks” on an insulin syringe. It will look like hardly anything in the needle, this is powerful shit and it doesn't take much at all to do it's job.
The second biggest way to fuck up insulin is to not eat properly after administering it. As a general rule, for every 1 unit of insulin you inject, you need to take 10 grams of carbohydrates with it. This needs to be done within 15 minutes of injecting insulin.
Depending on what type of insulin you use, you will want another meal within 60-90 minutes after that, and that will be a solid meal including fats, proteins, and carbs. After getting familiar with insulin and how your body reacts to it, you may find you can change the ratio to 7 grams carbs/ unit of insulin, or may need to raise it slightly, but for a first time insulin user, 10 grams/unit minimum, and err on the side of overkill at first!!!
Fast Acting Insulins

OK, now let's get into the different types of insulin and what to expect. The first time I used insulin was 13 years ago, I'm kind of experienced here, so listen up damnit!!
The first type of insulin, and the one most commonly used is HUMULIN-R. Humulin R can be purchased from a pharmacy without a prescription for around $20-30 a vial. That's right, anyone off the street can walk into a Walmart pharmacy and buy Humulin-R.
This is an insulin with a 30 min. – 1 hour onset, a 2-5 hour peak, and a 5-8 hour duration. This makes it a little more unpredictable than a faster insulin, because there is a much larger gap as to when it can peak. You could eat a meal with adequate carbs and then 3 hours later you're feeling hypo and you better get more in you. But for purchasing/legality issues this is what most guys use.
This is an insulin I would not recommend using more than 1 time/day. I'd use it post workout and make damn good and sure you're not using it within 4-5 hours of bedtime. You want to be awake with this stuff so you can deal with any issues that are coming on from it.
The next type of insulin we will talk about is HUMALOG/NOLVALOG. Humalog and Nolvalog are the same type of insulin, just different brand names. It's just like Sony and Panasonic. This is a faster acting insulin with a 15 minute onset, 30-90 minute peak, and 3-5 hour duration. This is an insulin that you can shoot more than once a day. Two to three times a day injections are fine, but you need to be cautious of insulin stacking.
“Stacking” is when you take an injection, then take another injection say 3-4 hours later, and even though you measured out x amount of units, it was really like x+3 units because there was some residual left from your last shot. What can happen is you misjudge your carb intake and you think you had adequate carbs, but you really fell short and can start getting hypo (dangerously low blood sugar).
I would recommend using Humalog or Nolvalog over Humulin R, its a faster onset, peak, and a shorter duration. You can know what to expect from it a little easier than Humulin R. Also, being able to use it 2-3 times/day will keep you more anabolic and provide better gains.
Long acting insulins

Next we get into our long acting insulins, or 24 hour insulins. LANTUS/ LEVEMIR- These are the mack fucking Daddy's of insulins. You want some huge gains? Then run a slower acting basal insulin behind a faster one such as Nolvalog or Humalog. There is no peak with Lantus, its release is slow enough that your body adjusts to it before any side effects occur. It's the safest insulin you could use.
Levemir is similar, but has a slight peak at 6-8 hours, but nothing noticable in most cases. These insulins are usually shot before bedtime, with a 1.5 hour onset, no peak (slight with Levemir, but not Lantus) and a 20-24 hour duration. This means you're anabolic all the time!!
So this is like your basal anabolic machine gun, and adding a faster acting insulin such as Humalog or Nolvalog is your grenade launcher. I've recently packed on 16 quality lbs in only 4 weeks with this, and that is ONLY USING insulin and my 150-200mg/wk testosterone replacement dosage!!! Think if I was on cycle too? Jesus Christ, what kind of gains would that yield?
Eating on insulin!!!

First off, I would highly advise against using insulin while strictly dieting. You just put yourself in a very dangerous state with lower nutrients and calories on insulin. Not to mention, it is easier to put on body fat with insulin if you're not careful. I just don't see the benefit of using it while cutting bodyfat.
While using insulin, every few hours you should have a protein/carb source. We are not doing anything like intermittent fasting, or carb backloading here. You will feed your body on a regular basis throughout the day!!! Post injection of insulin should be 10 grams carbs per every unit of insulin!!! WITHIN 15 MINUTES OF SHOT!!! And remember, with HUMULIN-R, another meal with 40-60 grams carbs, 40-60 grams protein, and SOME healthy fats should be eaten 60-90 minutes from that!!!
Always be near sugar and food. Actually, make sure its on you!! If you start feeling sweaty, irritable, having cold sweats, dizzy, shaky, hungry, thirsty, just know you're probably going hypoglycemic and you better eat some simple sugars pretty fucking fast!!!
Buy a Glucometer!! These are fairly easy to use and it's good to know what your glucose levels are anyways, but even more so when using insulin. The electronic strips that you use with the meters are a 1 time deal, they usually come in bottles of 50 strips. I'm not exactly sure if you need a doctor script to get the strips or not, but I'd suggest going to your doctor and asking him to write you a script for the diabetic test strips. Just tell your doctor that you would like to start monitoring your glucose levels on a regular basis. Any doctor should write a script for that.
Buy a Glucometer on Amazon!!!

No more than- 4-6 weeks on insulin!!! You do not want to turn yourself into a diabetic, therefore 4-6 weeks max!! It's also difficult not to accumulate SOME BODY FAT on insulin. I'd follow it up with at least 12 weeks off. Humulin-R, Nolvalog, and Humalog can be used only on days you train if you prefer, this would probably be better so your body does not get too accustomed to it. Now with the 24 hour insulins like Lantus and Levemir, those you will need to take every day.
Anyways, I'm not condoning using this stuff, and how you acquire it is up to you. I'm just telling you how to use the shit safely and what to expect from it. But I'm not going to lie, when it comes to gains in the gym this is some powerful shit!!!
Insulin is the most anabolic thing you can use. I'm a diabetic myself, I was recently diagnosed about 6 weeks ago, however this did not come from using anything. At first I thought it had to have been from something I did or my moderate-high carb intake, but the endocrinologist told me that this was not self induced, it was just the hand I was dealt.
I'm actually what they call a type 1 1/2, that means that I do not have enough beta cells in my body to produce enough insulin, but I am still producing some on my own. So I've learned an awful damn lot about insulin use lately.
The frustrating part of it all is I have to sit with these nutritionists and “specialists” and they ask me how I eat, then try to come up with a diet plan, and it's one of these things where they could probably learn from me. Much of their advice is bullshit for someone who bodybuilds and is of my stature. At first I thought my life was falling apart when I found out about this, but now I'm using this as a positive thing.
If I have to be a diabetic, then damnit I'm going to be the most jacked insulin using motherfucker to walk planet earth!!!!
 
Mike Arnolds Follow Up To: The Ultimate Insulin Protocol

Mike Arnolds Follow Up To: The Ultimate Insulin Protocol

by Mike Arnold


Since writing The Ultimate Insulin Protocol roughly 5 years ago, I have received numerous requests asking for my opinion regarding some of the newer products on the market and whether or not they can be used as substitutions for the original components. After responding with a few abbreviated posts, but continuing to see similar questions posted all over the boards, I decided to take a few minutes to address this officially, but more importantly, to clear up some of the misconceptions surrounding the original protocol.


First and foremost, the reader should understand that when this protocol was designed, it was intended to be generic in nature; to serve as basic template one could follow when putting together their own program. But rather than being used for its intended purpose, many began to replicate it word for word, without any regard for the importance of personalization.


For those of you who are unfamiliar with the original, the objective was simple: to create an easy to follow, highly effective, sustainable program devoid of the metabolic health risks inherent in many of the more elaborate programs, while being suitable for both beginner and advanced bodybuilders alike. In short, I wanted people to be able to experience the benefits of insulin, but without the potential consequences so often associated with its use. Due to its success in balancing effectiveness with safety, it was in a sense the “ultimate” insulin protocol.


Although many factors were considered in its design, it was insulin timing and food type-timing that formed the foundation and on which everything else was built. While the original did include certain supplements in addition to the protein and carb-based variety, the majority were optional; there to give the reader some ideas as to what might be useful depending on finances and goals. Furthermore, supplementation has progressed considerably over the last 5 years, making several of the previous options outdated by current standards, at least in comparison to some of the newer products. Regardless, aside from a couple select supplements, which I consider to be basic fare, they are all just icing on the cake and hardly essential to the protocol’s overall effectiveness.


With that said, let’s look at one of the program’s most basic tenets—the administration of insulin pre-workout—and learn why it is the single best time to include this drug in your regimen. In short, weight training causes the body’s muscle building machinery to up-regulate, which is really just another way of saying enhanced, increased, sped up, etc. Most commonly, this hyper-anabolic state is referred to as the training window; a set period of time lasting from the start of training until a few hours afterward. One way in which the body responds to weight training is through an increase in insulin sensitivity. This happens when our insulin receptors, which reside on the surface of the cell, respond to insulin’s signal more efficiently, allowing us to get more bang for our buck from this powerful muscle-building hormone.


Training also promotes recovery and growth on an intracellular level by increasing protein synthesis, glycogen synthase, Glut-4 and amino acid transporter expression, as well as decreasing myostatin levels. Combined with an increase in insulin sensitivity, these things not only result in accelerated recovery and growth, but provide a natural nutrient re-partitioning effect, in which the food we eat is more likely to be used by our muscle cells, rather than stored as fat.


Insulin is the perfect complement to this training window, as it not only shuttles nutrients to muscles cells, thereby allowing the body to take advantage of this heightened anabolic state, but insulin itself also amplifies many of the body’s muscle building processes, providing a double muscle building effect at a time when the body is most likely to respond to insulin’s signal.
As an anti-catabolic, insulin is second to none, preventing the breakdown of muscle tissue that occurs during weight training. By actively opposing muscle protein breakdown, recovery time is reduced. This has a two-fold effect. One, since the body doesn’t have to direct as much of its resources towards recovery, more energy can be spent on supercompensation (growth).


Two, faster recovery translates into increased training frequency, allowing the muscles to be stimulated more times within a given time period and ultimately, to grow more quickly. Lastly, supraphysiological insulin concentrations significantly increase blood volume within in muscle tissue, adding to the overall muscle pump and stimulating growth in its own right.


However, in order for the body to capitalize on all this, the right nutrients must be present at the right time. This is where intra-workout nutrition comes in—the 2nd half of the program’s foundation. Anyone who read the original Ultimate Insulin Protocol saw that it called for the use of specific proteins and carbohydrates to be consumed at particular times. These macronutrients were not chosen at random, but for their ability to deliver large quantities of easily digested aminos acids and glucose into the bloodstream while exogenous insulin was active.


When looking for carbs and proteins ideally suited for this purpose, the best sources do not come from whole-foods, but from high molecular weight carbohydrates and hydrolyzed proteins/amino acids. These products exit the stomach more quickly than any other protein and carb source available, allowing for rapid intestinal absorption without reducing blood flow to working muscles or causing digestive upset.


There are many great products on the market which fall into this category of supplementation. In terms of protein, there is whey, beef, casein, and even egg hydrolysates. There are many brands to choose from, but one must read the nutrition label to ensure the product in question contains only hydrolysates, as some companies attempt to deceive the buyer by clearly printing the word “hydrolysate” on the front of the bottle, but only including a small amount within the product. Some individual choose to employ essential amino acids instead of protein powders, which is fine too.


When it comes to high molecular weight carbs, there are once again many brands to choose from, perhaps even more than hydrolysates. Keep in mind that not all high molecular weight carbs are the same, but can vary in both their degree of osmolality and complexity. In general, the lower the osmolality, the better, as this will determine the rate at which the carbohydrate exits the stomach. In general, you want to a high molecular weight carb with a rating of 500,000 or higher.


While a lower osmolality is always better no matter what type of intra-workout carb is being used, its complexity is a matter of personal preference. Just like with whole-food carbs, which can range in complexity from simple sugars to the much more complex polysaccharides, so to do high-molecular weight carbs vary in complexity. There have been many successful carb products on the market which contain carbs from both ends of the spectrum. For example, the high molecular weight carbs within Gaspari’s Glycofuse (which contains highly branched cyclic dextrins) are a simple sugar, whereas a product like Karbolyn or Vitargo are of the complex polysaccharide variety.


As far as additional supplementation goes, there are only 2 compounds I feel are critical to maximizing effectives. These are leucine and creatine, particularly the micronized versions. Acting as the anabolic trigger via mTOR signaling, leucine is vital for not only stimulating protein synthesis to a meaningful degree, but directly controls the rate at which protein synthesis takes place. Therefore, optimizing leucine blood levels is an important consideration for any bodybuilder, regardless of insulin use.


Although working through completely different mechanisms, creatine’s positive effects on muscle growth are so numerous, and its price so reasonable, that it should be a staple item for all bodybuilders. Being that there is no better time to take these products than during the training window and with insulin’s influence at its peak, it just makes sense to include them with your intra-workout drink. Additional supplementation, if any, should be determined by goals and finances.


One point of contention among those who have viewed/used the original protocol is the recommended amount of carbs. As previously mentioned, the entire program was generic, including carb recommendations. Therefore, the thought process behind this aspect of the program was fairly simple—to select a dose of insulin that would produce good results in anyone with decent insulin sensitivity and couple it with an appropriately timed quantity of carbs to ensure the user’s safety, no matter how good their insulin sensitivity might be. Being that I was speaking to a general audience, I needed to account for all individuals, not just the average person.


When determining what amount of carbs is right for you, do not base your carb intake on your insulin dose. Rather, your insulin dose should be determined by your carbohydrate needs. This can vary dramatically depending on the individual and their goals. An advanced, 300 lb bodybuilder with a rapid metabolism might require 400 grams of carbs during the training window in order to recovery and grow to the best of his ability, while a 180 lb intermediate level bodybuilder with a slower metabolism might require only a small fraction of that.


First and foremost you need to establish your optimal carb intake, which will vary depending on whether you are trying to grow or lose fat (Note: I personally don’t believe insulin has much of a place in pre-contest programs, aside from a limited number of potential applications). Once you have done that you can decide on your insulin dose. YOUR CARB INTAKE SHOULD NOT CHANGE JUST BECAUSE YOU ARE USING INSULIN! Many people tend to lower their carb intake as much as possible when using this drug, thinking that this is what they need to do in order to avoid fat gain, but all they are accomplishing by doing so is reducing their potential gains.


Insulin does not reduce your body’s carb requirements. You need whatever you need. Understand that now. Lowering your carbohydrate intake to the minimum number of grams necessary to avoid hypoglycemia defeats the entire purpose of using insulin in the first place, a big part of which is to maximize nutrient delivery to muscle tissue. How are you going to do that if your carb intake resembles that of a teenage girl? You aren’t. All you will do is drastically impair your body’s ability to get big.


Moving on. Since I wrote the original program I have changed my mind on a few things. One is the type of insulin I recommend. Although I think Humalog/Novolog has its perks, I feel that good old Humulin R/Novolin R is the ideal form of insulin for pre-workout use in those trying to build mass, as well as for all novice users. Not only is it safer due to its slower release rate, but it remains active throughout the entire training window. This allows the bodybuilder to benefit from enhanced nutrient delivery over multiple feedings (intra & post-workout meals), rather than just one, providing superior results.


Secondly, I now recommend a different format in terms of shake timing. Previously, I had advised consuming 3 different shakes—one immediately pre-training, one in the middle of training, and one post-training. While this served the purpose of making sure nutrients were present in optimal quantities throughout the entire training window, it was a major pain in the ass. Furthermore, I found that most people respond better to a combination of shakes and whole-food, with a single shake being consumed throughout the workout, followed by a large whole-food meal within 60 minutes of the workout’s completion. Because the shake is consumed throughout the workout, it has the same effect as having one shake at the start of training and half-way through, while the final shake is omitted in favor of a whole-food meal.


The logic behind skipping the post-workout shake is as follows—an intra-workout shake IS a post-workout shake. As is the case here, intra-workout shakes are normally consumed throughout training, with part of the shake being consumed right at the beginning of the workout and the rest being sipped on as the workout progresses. By doing so, nutrient delivery will begin part way into training and continue until about an hour after the workout is finished. At that point there is no need to consume another rapidly digesting source of protein and carbohydrate, as the muscles have already been supplied with everything they need to kick-start the recovery & growth process.


Therefore, rather than drinking another shake after the workout has concluded, I now recommend sitting down to a whole-food meal, which will supply a more sustained influx of amino acids and glucose to the muscles for many hours to come.


Anytime insulin is used, the single most important factor to consider, outside of the drug’s acute effect on blood sugar, is its effect on insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance is the springboard from which all other insulin related problems stem. Maintain your insulin sensitivity within a normal range and all of the side effects associated with the drug, including both health and cosmetic issues, will remain non-existent.


This is one of the biggest advantages of this program, as it allows the individual to enjoy the benefits of insulin without having to deal with all the unwanted side effects. Remember, insulin is a natural substance, secreted by the pancreas all day long in order to maintain blood glucose levels within the proper range. Just as our body is naturally programmed to manage this hormone without unwanted complications (as long as we let it), so too does our management of exogenous insulin determine our body’s response to it.


I have intentionally set this program up so that it can be utilized up to 5 days per week, indefinitely, without damaging one’s insulin sensitivity. While it is true that any amount of insulin exposure will have a corresponding negative effect on insulin sensitivity, this is easily prevented by the addition of insulin sensitizers to one’s program, such as berberine, bitter melon, etc. For most people, supplementing with berberine alone at 1,000-1,500 mg/day (divided into 3 daily doses) is all that it takes to cancel out the negative effects of this program on insulin sensitivity and in many cases, sensitivity may even improve. By not having to cycle this program, one avoids the yo-yo effect witnessed with on again, off again programs. As always, make sure you are well informed regarding the potential risks of improper use before engaging in any insulin program.
 
Low Carbs Insulin Guide - WARNING - DANGEROUS

Thanks to guys like Dr. Atkins and "Zone" author Barry Sears, everyone now knows that insulin makes you fat. Just eating in a way that causes excessively high insulin levels can pack on the pounds faster than a bodybuilder can suck down a pizza after the night show. The thing is, insulin is also the most anabolic hormone there is, period.

Sure, you say, GH packs on muscle. So do many steroids. Both true. But the really massive guys on the pro circuit will tell you the truth if you can ever get their confidence. None of them have ever gotten really, truly massive without adding insulin to their stacks. They’ll also tell you, however, that nothing else made them as FAT as using insulin. This is because insulin drives protein and carbohydrate into muscle but insulin also shunts tons of fat into adipose tissue storage if you give it the chance.

One night, Mike Zumpano and Dan Duchaine and I were sitting around having one of our philosophical discussions on the various idiosyncrasies of various anabolic pharmaceuticals. For some reason the talk turned to insulin. Horrified at the idea of having any fat on my body whatsoever (okay, maybe I’m small but I’m LEAN), I immediately said, no way! That stuff makes you FAT!

Mike was more philosophical. He suggested that the ideal way to use insulin would be to set up a bilateral IV drip of straight parenteral amino acids (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!!!!!) and after it had been running into your veins for a while, take a lethal injection of insulin…This, Mike said would get you huge. Dan suggested that if he were doing this, he’d give the guy the injection in a freckle so it wouldn’t show in case he died!

While I concurred that such might be the ideal strategy, I was hard pressed to agree that the risks were in alignment with the potential benefits. I tried to get the conversation to turn towards a less ludicrous topic. "Mike, I said, why does insulin make these guys so fat?"

His response was that it wasn’t insulin, it was fear. This made zero sense to me, so I pressed him on it. He explained that most of the fat gain is caused by excess carbohydrate consumption during insulin use. The common dictum is that to use insulin safely, one must concurrently consume a minimum of 10 grams of carbohydrate for each IU of insulin used. Thus, for a bodybuilder using 8 IU’s of insulin 2 times a day, in addition to his normal intake of fat and protein and carbs, he would need to consume a minimum of 160 grams of extra carbohydrate to keep him from going into a hypoglycemic coma. You’d hardly expect that 160 extra grams of carbs, or 640 extra calories per day would make a significant difference to someone already eating 5000 or more calories per day. In most cases it wouldn’t, but that’s not what Mike felt was happening in the real world.

The thing is, most bodybuilders have a high degree of fear about going into insulin shock. So they have a tendency to be somewhat reactive to any change in mental state following an injection. This leads to a much more substantial intake of carbs than simply the 10 grams per IU.

Though this amount of additional carbohydrate does not seem terribly excessive, I was certain that it was the primary reason why insulin users gained a lot of size but also a disproportionate amount of fat. In discussing this with Mike Zumpano, several things occurred to us. First, what was the rationale behind this dosage of carbohydrate? Second, did consuming this amount of carbohydrate have a basis in human biochemistry? And third, was there a more elegant solution that would enable bodybuilders to use insulin safely for anabolic effect but avoid the excessive fat gains that have so far plagued users?

We both felt that there had to be a better way. Human plasma only contains about 5 grams of carbohydrate at any one time. Diabetics that have taken too much insulin can usually get their blood sugar levels back into normal range by consuming as little a five grams (only 20 calories!) of dextrose. IF that was the case, then how did we arrive at the 10-gram per IU rule?

A New and Dangerous Method for "No Fat Gain" Insulin Use

Okay, so maybe it’s not terribly dangerous (provided you do it exactly like I say here), but it takes a hell of a lot of discipline to do it this way. The pay-off is a big muscle gain with a minimal fat gain. Is it worth it? You be the judge.

Here’s the trick; take your insulin, but only follow a LOW CARB DIET. That’s right, LOW. As in less then 50 grams of carbs per day low! Insanity? Let me explain the biochemical rationale and you can decide for yourself.

Here’s the theory. If you aren’t interested in anything except being huge, you can skip this and go right to the meat of the program. But before you do, MAKE SURE YOU READ THE WARNINGS! THIS PROGRAM CAN BE VERY DANGEROUS IF DONE INCORRECTLY! DON’T MONKEY AROUND WITH THIS. ALSO PLEASE NOTE THAT THE AUTHOR AND THE PUBLISHERS OF THIS E-ZINE WILL NOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DEATHS OR INJURIES ASSOCIATED WITH THIS THEORETICAL APPROACH TO USING INSULIIN FOR MUSCLE GAIN!!! SIMPLY STATED, IF YOU TRY THIS THEORETICAL APPROACH TO INSULIN USE, YOU UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY SERIOUSLY HARM YOURSELF OR DIE, THUS FORFEITING YOUR RIGHTS TO HOLD ANYONE RESPONSIBLE BUT YOURSELF!

When I became convinced that insulin was preferentially repartitioning carbs into adipose tissue storage, I asked myself if there was some other way to maintain moderate blood sugar with a high degree of stability. My answer was gluconeogenesis. If you look on a biochemical pathways chart (Boehinger’s is my personal favorite), you can clearly see that when hepatic and muscle glycogen stores are depleted, but before the body drops into ketosis, the body begins to convert amino acids into glucose to maintain blood glucose levels. This process is known as gluconeogenesis.

By eating a very low carbohydrate diet, you set the stage for a depletion of hepatic and muscular glycogen stores. This up-regulates the enzymes necessary for rapid and efficient conversion of amino acids (read protein) into glucose. The word gluconeogenesis literally means "the birth of new glucose."

The second half of the equation of course, is protein. If you aren’t eating many carbs, the only way your body can produce glucose is to convert the building blocks of proteins (amino acids) into glucose. This happens to some degree whenever you eat protein, however, when you eat a huge amount of protein, even more glucose is created.

It is the glucose created from excess protein that keeps you off the floor when using insulin on a low carb diet. The thing is, we’re not talking ordinary protein consumption here, we’re talking about taking massive, I mean ludicrously huge, amounts of protein. In fact, any company that sells whey protein should be loving me after I finish this article, because there is no way that you’ll be able to eat the amount of protein that you require to do this correctly from normal food. As an example, you’d need to eat roughly 24 chicken breast a day to get the amount of protein that I found necessary to support the level of gluconeogenesis that you are going to need to use insulin with low carbs safely.

Working with a number of top athletes to refine this program, we discovered that the best strategy was to consume 600 grams of protein from a combination of whey protein and casein, plus one solid meal that contained another 50 to 100 grams of protein, plus some fiber from green leafy vegetables. The remainder of the calories need to come from fats that have no, or at least very little, carbohydrate. This means no nuts…nuts have carbs.

Another thing that you need to remember is that you need to consume a ton of water on this program - somewhere between 1 and a half and 2 gallons every day in addition to the water you get from your protein drinks. Rather then break it up into a drink every 30 minutes to an hour, mix up a 2-quart container with 100 grams of protein and keep a checklist of how many times you empty it each day.

Another thing I’ve heard from the athletes that have used this regimen (aside from how much muscle they gained) was that they started to hate any protein drink they used, no matter how good it tasted when they started. My suggestion is to find the absolute blandest protein that you can possibly find…trust me, it will taste terrible at first, but after a few weeks of slugging it down day in and day out, it will taste less terrible than the tasty drink you used to think you liked.

Another thing that I heard fairly frequently was that not only did people get bigger; they also reported getting significantly stronger. My suspicion is that there was some sort of up-regulation of glycogen storage associated with using insulin and low carbs.

Downsides: probably the worst thing about this is the discipline it requires to consume this much protein day in and day out. Remember though, on this protocol, the only thing keeping you off the floor is your intake of protein. If you use the insulin and don’t maintain adequate protein intake, either you’re going to pass out and get a trip to the hospital, or break down and chow on some carbs to maintain blood sugar. If you do this, you need to stop using the insulin and spend at least a few days carb depleting before you begin the program again.

Remember, this program isn’t for everybody. It is difficult and potentially dangerous and you will need to apply every ounce of discipline you possess to make it through it. However, if you have the will power, the results may be everything you’ve hoped for and more.


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SIDEBAR: Theoretical Approach to Low Carb Insulin Use, Step by Step.

Days one through three: Carb depletion. You need to cut your carbs down to below 100 grams per day. I suggest taking them as low as 50 grams of carbs on day 3. You should also be increasing protein intake from your normal daily protein intake to 450 grams of protein per day.

Days four through 30: Protein needs to be at or above 600 grams per day. Carbs need to be held to less than 100 grams (50 is better) and you should use fats to make up the balance of your daily caloric requirements. As I said, I strongly recommend use of protein powders of mixed composition (Whey and Casein), though you can use some whole foods, too, if you wish. (Just keep in mind that 600 grams of protein from chicken breasts is about 24 chicken breasts a day!)

I recommend 2 insulin injections per day, depending upon when you train. One should be done during your workout, roughly 30 minutes before you’re finished training. The other should be taken either several hours before your workout (for those that train in the afternoon) or several hours after (if you train in the morning).

I suggest starting with a very small dose of insulin (4 IU’s) and gradually increasing it. (By the end of my program I was using 12 IU’s 3 times a day, but by this point I’m convinced that I was becoming somewhat insulin resistant).

It goes without saying that insulin should be injected subcutaneously (which shouldn’t be an issue unless you are also using GH or some other drug with an IV administration protocol. In this case, label stuff so you don’t screw up!)

I suggest that you discontinue the insulin and protein regimen within 26 days making it an even 30 for the entire cycle. If you have results even remotely approximating mine, you should have added 10 or more pounds of serious muscle!

Notes: Especially the first few times you use insulin (and any time you increase your dosage) have a friend monitor you for any signs of impending hypoglycemic event. Have those diabetic glucose or dextrose tabs available (you can find them at any pharmacy). If you find that you are feeling sleepy and dopey after taking the insulin, that’s okay, but be good about self-monitoring. If you start to lose your ability to stay awake, take a glucose tablet.

If you find yourself feeling hungry and alert after taking the insulin, one of two things are happening - either you did not take enough, or especially if it’s later in the cycle, you might be getting insulin resistant. In this case, I strongly suggest that you go off the insulin altogether and even consider a drug to improve insulin sensitivity, such as Rezulin

Lastly, BE CAREFUL. Insulin use is widely recognized as one of the riskiest frontiers of drug aided physique enhancement, and for good reason. If you don’t have the discipline to keep the carbs low and consume the required amount of protein EVERY SINGLE DAY, I suggest you stick to safer and saner methods for growing muscle.

by Oliver W. Starr
[email protected]

 
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