Fats are very important in a cutting diet . Fats can be used as an energy source when we become carb depleted or at rest by undergoing beta oxidation. Dietary fats spare the burning of glycogen, and this aids in pulling more carbs/water into the muscle. This means you don’t need as many carbs to prevent the deflated muscle syndrome! *****-3 fatty acids increase insulin sensitivity in the muscle cells. The receptors for insulin are both fat cells and muscle cells. The benefits gained by ingesting EFA’S is that the insulin receptor sites of the muscle cells will become more sensitive than the insulin receptors on the fat cells. An increase in sensitivity of the muscle cells will push more amino acids from protein sources into the muscle cells and away from the fat cells! They are good for hormonal levels, and they taste great. I personally have had great success with combining moderate amounts of fats with high protein meals eaten later in the day. My typical sources are salmon, ***** 3 eggs, almonds, smart balance peanut butter, extra virgin olive oil and macadamia nut oil. I try and get around 100 grams of fat during my last 3 meals of the day. You’ll need to replace an equal amount of carbohydrate calories with essential fats up to 3 times daily for fat loss. Those with a slow metabolism that are taking in only 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight will need to eat fewer fats to lose weight. My suggestion is to not go below 50 grams of fat daily because doing so can cause permanent joint problem from a lack of lubrication when pumping iron and going too low will slow down the fat burning process! Adipose tissue is certainly affected by both insulin levels (produced from carbs) and ASP (produced from fats) because higher quantities of either force the body to become less efficient at eliminating either. Insulin is not the only regulator of fat storage. Adipose tissue is also composed of fats by a hormone called Acylation Stimulating Protein . This hormone doesn't need insulin to make you fatter because it's released from fat cells directly in response to blood chylomicrons (fats produced in the intestinal lumen following the absorption of digested fat) which are responsible for storing triglycerides in adipose cells. Guess what hormone can increases the number of ASP in the body? If you guessed insulin you are correct! So, by controlling carb intake you indirectly reduce ASP levels-hence less bodyfat will be stored when dietary fats are consumed. By watching the kinds of fats you eat, along with the amounts, you can help control how many calories get stored as bodyfat. Basically, ASP works for dietary fat storage like insulin works for carbohydrate storage. Understand here that how well the body deals with insulin and ASP cannot always be equated to an individual’s metabolism because thin ectomorphic who have a hard time gaining muscle can also be considered clinically obese (for i.e. some marathon runners). This is due to their having a poor lean muscle mass to bodyfat ratio.

There are a lot of people with a condition known as “insulin resistance”. Once you develop high levels of bodyfat your body will no longer respond to insulin as it should. What happens next is it only takes a small amount of carbohydrates to really shoot those insulin levels through the roof-hence bodyfat will be stored at a fast rate of speed. When too much insulin is produced, you will be left with too little sugar in the blood stream and some will get stored in the fat cells. This puts you in a viscous cycle where the fatter you get the easier it is to keep putting on the wrong kind of weight (bodyfat). This makes it very hard to lose bodyfat. But don’t panic! Once you lose the fat, gain the muscle mass, and establish outstanding insulin sensitivity, you will be able to control your bodyfat levels. This is great news because once you get lean you’ll probably be able to eat roughly 200-300 grams of carbs on the low carb days as opposed to 150 grams or so for maintenance and be able to consume a few more carbs later in the day. Also, you may be able to increase your carb up/calorie up days to 3 per week as opposed to only 2. Why? Because once you get lean, the metabolism speeds up! Losing weight is fairly easy, but stripping straight body fat off while maintaining or gaining lean body mass is tricky. Men in general have an easier time losing bodyfat because they carry more muscle mass. The more muscle mass you can acquire through the proper weight training regimen along with a high protein diet -the faster your resting metabolic rate will be just sitting around doing nothing (even while you sleep)! This is why a properly designed weight training program and diet is more important for improving body composition than cardio. Here I will outline a few things that have worked well for me and thousands of my clients. You can go to (fit day) on-line for a free journal. It calculates both calories and macronutrients for everything you consume!