Jay Campbell and Jim Brown are both health and fitness experts who write at TRT Revolution. Both Jay and Jim have competed and have the physiques to show for it. They are both veterans of the gym, understanding nutrition, and putting it all together in a way that works. I recently review Jay’s TRT Manual and was excited to get my hands on The Metabolic Blowtorch Diet. Both Jay and Jim have experimented with a variety of different diets and it comes through in their knowledge with this book. Put simply they know what they are talking about, something that gets more and more rare with health and fitness books.
The Metabolic Blowtorch Diets is a diet that cycles fasting on non training days but one that takes into account training with weights (effectively) and sparing muscle loss. Both these men have competed and understand the importance of keeping muscle. I’ve been skepticle of intermittent fasting since most preaching it seem to be 120 crunchy granola types that couldn’t fight their way out of a paper sack. However after reading The Metabolic Blowtorch Diet I came away with a much different feeling regarding fasting. Now let’s get into what’s contained in the book.
What About Muscle Loss? & What’s So Great About Fasting?
I’m glad that Jay and Jim decided to start off the book by answering this question. They debunk the notion that if you don’t eat every 4-6 (or whatever the magazines are saying now) hours that your muscles will shrivel up and disappear. This simply isnt true they state “You would have to go out of your way and try not to eat anything, so much as a calorie for 48 hours straight (or more), before you even started experiencing the slightest amount of muscle loss”. And even then you’d have to be below 4% bodyfat for your body to start using lean muscle tissue. So as far as muscle loss goes we’re all clear when it comes to fasting.
In the next chapter Jay and Jim go into detail about some of the many benefits of fasting. There were some that were old hat and I’ve heard a ton of times like improving focus and improve learning. However there were many that I had no idea about such as fasting can increase your levels of growth hormone, lower your risk of stroke and cancer, as well as eliminate cravings for over-stimulating foods as well as negative addictions such as booze and smoking. And this is all in addition to making you burn body fat like a furnace. Making fasting something I’d recommend everyone try at least once.
Overview Of The Metabolic Blowtorch Diet
You’ve probably heard of the 16/8 fasting protocol with 8 hours of eating and 16 hours of fasting but this does it a little differently. Men are to fast for 16-20 hours and women 12-15 hours on non training days. Carbs are adjusted depending on weight training days which I like and is very smart. Something that makes the metabolic blowtorch diet stand out is that fasting is done on non training days. Something I could never figure out was how people who did intermittent fasting got good workouts. I’ve worked out fasted and didn’t realize what I was missing until structuring my carbohydrates better. Jay and Jim having spent some time in the gym actually understand this which is appreciated.
Like I said before Jay and Jim structure this to actually keep muscle while losing fat. They also talk about the thermic effect of food and why they shy away from simply pounding shakes or overpriced supplements. As a big fan of whole food I like this. Meal prep is also talked about. I’ve found meal prep to be the number one factor of sticking to my diet. If a good nice meal is there when I need it then I have no problem eating healthy but when I let it slip is when I run into some trouble. Jim and Jay spend a lot of time breaking down your macronutrients as well as how many calories overall you’ll need regardless if you want your number one focus to be keeping muscle or losing fat. There are calculators and charts that will tell you exactly what you need to maximize your results. The calories and macronutrients are also adjusted depending on what your body type is which is a nice touch.
The Best Proteins, Fats, & Carbohydrates
Protein is the king when it comes to body composition. Everybody knows (I hope) that protein is the building blocks of muscle. Getting in enough protein is critical regardless of what diet or plan you’re following. Most trainees are going to need anywhere from .75-1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass depending on their goals. Jay and Jim lay out the best proteins to consume as well as how often they should be consumed. Essentially stick to quality protein powders and especially properly raised animal meats and stay away from soy. All great advice.
Fats are very important for overall health and body composition. From producing hormones, to helping with nervous system, to things like skin health you need to make sure that you are consuming enough healthy fats every day for optimal health. Jay and Jim recommend fish oil, olive oil, coconut oil, along with some other oils that have proven health benefits and will help you reach your health and wellness goals.
Carbs have gotten a bad rap, even I’ve believed at times that low carb was the only way to go and for untrained individuals starting out on a low carb option is a great choice. But for those looking to optimize their bodies and make real gains carbs (the right kind) are a must. Jay and Jim recommend the majority of your carbohydrate consumption to fall around when you workout to replenish muscle glycogen stores. Essentially consume slow burning carbs such as sweet potatoes and Ezekiel bread in the morning, fast burning carbs pre, peri, and post workout, and then things like vegetables with every meal.
BDNF: Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor
If you’re interested in nootrophics or peak mental functioning then you’ll want to pay attention to this chapter. Jay and Jim state that BDNF “is a protein that triggers neurogenesis (the creation of brain cells, or ‘neurons’) in the hippocampus, while growing existing neurons and making the connections between them even stronger”. Also BDNF has other benefits such as increasing your learning capacity, improve intelligence, boosts your mood, and improve your memory. Essentially it makes your brain perform at peak function so it makes sense you want to be making as much of this stuff as possible.
There are two things that Jay and Jim lay out that are essential to keep your brain at peak health and producing BDNF, and those two things are intermittent fasting and high intensity aerobic exercise. The Metabolic Blowtorch Diet is an intermittent fasting program taking care of that portion. Combine this with high intensity cardio on your fasted days followed directly after by a mentally stimulating task such as writing a chapter in your book or figuring something out. This potent combination of extended fasting, high intensity cardio, and trying a mentally stimulating task right after will make sure your brain stays sharp and your BDNF levels stay high leading to peak cognitive performance.
The Metabolic Blowtorch Diet
In the final section one other point is made that is very important and something most people miss. Jay and Jim talk about the importance of lean body mass and how that is the metric that one should focus on for optimized health as well as looking great. Most focus on bodyfat percentage which while important is not as important as lean body mass. Seek lean body mass and the bodyfat percentage will take care of itself, if you just focus on bodyfat percentage or another range you won’t end up where you wanted to go.
The Metabolic Blowtorch Diet is the perfect diet for those who are looking to lose weight while keeping muscle at the same time. It’s a pain in the ass to diet down only to lose your hard earned muscle. And like I said before most intermittent fasting protocals were not designed by bodybuilders (thought this is more than just IF). This is my new go to when dieting down to lose weight. I like it’s simplicity as well as effectiveness and the fact that it takes into account having energy for training as well as keeping muscle. If you’ve have any appreciable muscle mass and are looking for a plan to diet and down while keeping it then The Metabolic Blowtorch Diet is for you.
