Apex Predator Diet, Part 3- You’re Getting Less Fat. Congratulations.

Jamie Chaos

March 12, 2012

The Not Too Fucking Fat, But Not Too Fucking Lean Approach.

This is what I used when I was between 12% and 8% bodyfat. I could see two abs clearly and two a bit hazily at the beginning of this diet, and I followed this fairly strictly for about two months. Once I started getting into single digits, I noticed myself getting hungrier and hungrier, and had to start eating more to maintain my bodyweight. Additionally, once you get into the single digits (or middle double digits for chicks) you’ll find that your metabolism resembles the Israeli Killdozer- it crushes damn near anything in its path provided you have someone competent behind the wheel. As such, this approach is going to alter slightly as you get leaner (should you wish to alter it). I realize that some of you react like Luddites at a robotics convention when faced with changing a workout or diet if it’s still yielding results, and if you fall into that category stick with the more draconian approach until you hit the next stage of the diet. For those of you who have less resolve for sticking with something than a meth addicted four year old white trash kid in the toy department at Wal-Mart, I recommend setting a hard start and stop point on the evolution of this phase of the diet to ensure that you make the progress you should.

This stage is not too much different than the previous one, except that I recommend only one day of Protein Sparing Modified Fasts and your Rampage day kicks in harder than a teenage erection at a Hustler party. After you’ve made it to single digits, you may choose to drop the day of protein sparing modified fasts to ensure you don’t leave weight on the platform on training days and that you continue to make forward progress with your physique. At some point, you’ll get lean enough that you’ll notice a very pronounced loss of aggression in the gym due to those days. Additionally, once you hit single digits, I recommend adding a smaller second food meal midday. This will help you stabilize your weight as you bring the diet home.

The Basics of the NTFBNTS Phase
Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday:

5-6 protein shakes throughout the day (and one overnight, which I’d leave on the toilet and chug while peeing) comprised of 40-60 grams of protein.
On two of these four days I typically substitute one shake at lunch with wings or other no-carb meat. Once you hit single digit bodyfat, you can make this a four day affair.
On one of these days, try to fit in a protein sparing modified fast (i.e. consume nothing but protein shakes) until you hit single digits. I recommend placing this day on Saturday, in between your Rampage and high-calorie keto days, so as to keep your metabolism stimulated and reap the benefits of alternate-day fasting.
1500-3000 calories of fatty meat, preferably on the bone, in the evening.

Wednesday:

5-6 protein shakes throughout the day (and one overnight).
Less calorically dense meat for dinner (t-bone, ribeye, or NY Strip steak, leaving the fattiest bits behind. This is to ensure that you’re still cycling your calories, even if you’re skipping the protein sparing modified fast day.

Friday (Rampage Day):

Today is going to be characterized by medium- to low- (but not no-) carb meals throughout the day. Restrict your meals to 50 grams of carbohydrates or less per meal, and keep your fat low to ensure carbohydrate reuptake. This is the polar opposite of your typical day, so just bear in mind that your carbohydrates and fat should be inversely proportional at all but the Rampage meal.
Rampage! This is going to be a three hour cheat window that I’ll detail in the next installment.

Sunday:

Higher calorie keto day. Ensure that you eat two solid food meals on this day, preferably of fattier meat on the bone- think wings, ribs, chops, etc.
5-6 protein shakes throughout the day (and one overnight).

Jesus tittyfucking christ. Who doesn’t understand the proper use of the word “too”? …Fratboys.

During this phase, you should be making progress like a fratboy with a sorostitute in his dorm room- you’re nearly there. Unlike said fratboy, however, you’ll likely find rohipnol unnecessary, though you might benefit from the following:

Avoid doing cardio. Though utilizing a CKD (Cyclical Ketogenic Diet) as opposed to a TKD should forestall muscle catabolism brought on by high volumes of work in the gym, aerobic exercise taxes your anaerobic substrates too heavily.(Duchaine 132) Since this could lead to muscle loss, I’d avoid it. For the forty three thousand rugby athletes who’ve emailed me about this diet (sweet fucking Christ a lot of you like wearing striped shirts), you’ll want to follow the Whiny Bitch permutation of this diet, which is forthcoming.
Supplement with Chromium Polynicotinate or Vanadyl Sulfate. Both minerals work to regulate your blood sugar and insulin levels, and might aid in training and recomposition as a result.(Duchaine 131)
Don’t skip or skimp on your Rampage day. I cannot imagine a person actually doing so, but based on the emails I get, a lot of you do some tremendously stupid shit. Don’t be one of those guys- Rampage like your name is King Kong once a week. If you’re curious as to why, there’s a good reason- you cannot sustain high intensity training indefinitely in the total absence of dietary carbohydrates and expect to make continued progress. You do have some glycogen resynthesis that naturally occurs as a result of weight training, though it’s relatively small.(McDonald KD 122) As such, you need to hit the Rampage once a week to ensure you replenish glycogen stores. Skipping or postponing your Rampage in this stage will, at best, make you fucking miserable, and at worst, reduce or eliminate your gains. Since this diet is all about being fucking awesome, reducing your potential for awesome is counter-intuitive.
Consume stimulants. They’ll fuel your workouts and they help establish and deepen your levels of ketosis.(McDonald KD 116)
Additionally, amphetamines have been shown in recent studies to increase the effect of dopamine on your brain, which increases motivation for both physical and mental activities.(Ito) Happily for us, ephedrine is an amphetamine, so feel free to make use of the wonderful bounty that is ephedrine and all of its amphetaminy goodness. You’ll be focused like a pedophile on a preschool playground when you hit the gym, find dieting easier, and generally be more awesome. For those of you with heart problems, moral issues, religious issues, or simply think you’re better than the rest of us, feel free to abstain. Stimulants, while not necessary on this diet, definitely help.

Drink if you want. Though by no means necessary, and done to excess will fuck up your gains, drinking can actually help you deepen your levels of ketosis.(McDonald 115) Alcohol itself gets converted to ketones in the absence of dietary carbohydrates, which means that it won’t fuck up your diet beyond replacing the ketones your body would produce from the conversion of stored bodyfat. Thus, it can slow fat loss if done to excess, but will not fuck up your ketogenesis. This is, of course, assuming you stick to non-carbohydrate laden alcohol like vodka, gin, tequila, Everclear, etc. Additionally, Robb Wolff recommends you drink as early as possible to allow the alcohol to clear your system before bedtime to avoid completely shutting down GH release overnight. One of the best things you can consume, alcohol wise, on this diet is the disgusting old-timey gin and tonic, garnished with lime. The lime juice blunts insulin release while the tonic water acts as a “non-polar solvent” that delivers the alchol into your system faster.(Wolff 138) Wolff actually recommends the Crossfitters’ drink of choice, the NorCal Margarita, but it occurred to me as I wrote this that the drink of choice in the period of British Colonialism will do the job just as well, while additionally conferring resistance to malaria. Thus, feel free to show up to your local gin bar rocking a monocle and a comically undersized safari outfit to cover all of your bases. At the very least, you’ll annoy the holy fuck out of the hipsters drinking that vile bullshit, which makes it a victory no matter what.

Up next- a detailed description of your Rampage.

Sources:
Duchaine, Dan. Underground Bodyopus.

Ito R, Hayen A. Opposing Roles of Nucleus Accumbens Core and Shell Dopamine in the Modulation of Limbic Information Processing.J Neuroscience. 2011 31(16):6001-6007
McDonald, Lyle. Rapid Fat Loss.
McDonald, Lyle. Ketogenic Diet.

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Jamie Chaos

I am a former all-time, all federation world record holder in raw powerlifting at 181lbs, a record I broke just to say fuck you to the internet’s “lifting” community and the powerlifting community at large. Over the last ten years I’ve written over 500 articles on strength training, nutrition, and supplementation, and continue to do so simply to fight the tide of weakness and sadness that currently pervades the scene I’ve called home for the better part of three decades. I’ve got personal trainin certs, BodyPump and BodyCombat certs, a BA in History and East Asian Studies from the University of Arizona, and MBAs from the Vienna University and University of South Carolina on my side, in addition to some sick lifts and a hell of a lot of rage. What the fuck have you got?

54 responses to “Apex Predator Diet, Part 3- You’re Getting Less Fat. Congratulations.”

Imperator

March 13, 2012

Nice. This is about what I'm going to be doing, being around 10% bf. Couple of things, though:

No shakes on Sunday (high-cal keto day)?

And on Rampage day, could one stick with shakes up until the 3 hour cheat window? Though I suppose if the cheat window has a fair amount of fat (like meat-lover's pizza), you would not have had a period of low-fat/high-carb.
Jamie Lewis

March 13, 2012

There's still shakes on Sunday. I figured that was understood. I'll add it in, though.

As for the latter bit, no. I'll explain in the Rampage blog- it's mostly complete and should be up tomorrow.
Raw Finn

March 13, 2012

HAHA, your allegories are awesome!
1. Imperator
  
  March 14, 2012
  
  Analogies?
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 14, 2012
  
  Give the guy some credit- he's not used to using vowels or universally identifiable letters.
Walter J White

March 13, 2012

chromium AND vanadyl sulfate. Chromium is a cofactor to insulin whereas vanadyl complexes…sulfate acetoacetate etc do something to the insulin receptors… SO they both have their benefits when supplemented together.
Darin

March 13, 2012

Great stuff with this series. Regarding your recommendation of gin and tonics if you're drinking; wouldn't the carbs in the tonic be an issue?
Walter J White

March 13, 2012

Tonic water is carbonated water (polar protic solvent) with quinine.
1. Darin
  
  March 13, 2012
  
  Every tonic water I've seen also contains sugar:
  
  Tonic Water
  
  Serving Size: 8 oz.
  Amount Per Serving Daily Value*
  Calories 90
  Total fat 0 g 0%
  Sodium 35 mg 1%
  Total Carb. 24 g 8%
  Sugars 23
  Protein 0 g
  
  Not a significant source of calories from fat, saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol, dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and iron.
  *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
  
  Ingredients: CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CITRIC ACID, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), QUININE, NATURAL FLAVORS.
  
  source: http://www.canadadry.com/html/Products.html
2. Walter J White
  
  March 13, 2012
  
  Fructose=polar protic
  Citric ACID (H+) =polar protic
  Na+Benzoate-= so polar its fucking ionic
  Quinine (xanthine)=nonpolar
  
  I rest my case that only I care about haha
3. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 13, 2012
  
  Most brands also make diet tonic water that does not contain the carb content the original has.
  
  Here's a link to Walmart's generic variety:
  
  http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sam-s-Choice-Diet-Tonic-Water-33.8-fl-oz/10448546
vulvadaddy

March 13, 2012

Any recommendations on what the daily maximum amount of protein coming from shakes should be?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 14, 2012
  
  There is no maximum. Protein is good.
2. vulvadaddy
  
  March 14, 2012
  
  So if I want to get 400g of protein a day, and one day I don't have that big of an appetite, I can get all 400g from shakes?
  
  Wouldn't it affect the digestion/thermic effect of food and hence calorie expenditure since the protein is in powder form rather than solid foods?
Otter Ezekiel

March 13, 2012

600 grams
Walter J White

March 13, 2012

Moar grams
Unknown

March 13, 2012

Considering that ephedrine is basically more or less banned here in the US, and that you can really only get it in ethnic stores as Tea, do you have ideas on ephedra alternatives? Most of the ECA stacks available are all bunk now. A stimulant that comes to mind as a somewhat acceptable alternative is DMAA in it's pure form, but tolerance is acquired quite quickly and it seems to accomplish jack after using for a few weeks.

-Ramon
1. Iggy
  
  March 14, 2012
  
  Bronkaid. It's at your local drug store waiting right now for you to consume it's amazing goodness. Should be about $12 for 60 tabs which should get you through a month. It's totally legal in the US because it's not being sold as a fat loss suplement. A big drug company is profiting off of it for "asthma" use so it's ok to sell. Enjoy.
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 14, 2012
  
  Ramon, your Google machine must be broken. Ephedrine's not banned in the US.
3. Nathan
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  I bought an EC product on Amazon. I don't know how it's legal, but apparently it is. http://www.amazon.com/Hi-tech-Pharmaceuticals-Black-Capsules-90-Count/dp/B001AOGPZE I had this delivered to Mississippi, where you can't even buy Bronkaid, so I'm assuming you can get it anywhere. This wasn't the only ephedra supplement on amazon, either.
Rant

March 14, 2012

Where could eating your own semen fit into all this? I mean, it's full of nutrients and various hormones (testosterone etc). I keep wasting mine on women, why should they get to keep it. Have any of you guys found any benfit from swallowing Jamies? Personally I think he should be charging you for it, maybe give samples out with tshirt orders.
Unknown

March 14, 2012

Any good brands/options available in the uk?
1. Rant
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  What of semen?
Walter J White

March 14, 2012

I dont understand why you never recommend clen?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 14, 2012
  
  Mostly because I don't want to become some sort of a referral source. Additionally, because it's possible to get super lean on OTC shit.
Orion

March 14, 2012

Asked the same question on the last installment, but here we go again.

Eating similar macros, albeit with less protein shakes and more whole food (nuts, eggs, meat and vegetable soup, grass fed butter, coconut oil)

Eating like this for about two weeks now, and been taking stimerex for the last 2 days.

Question: half way through my workout I start smelling acetone/ ammonia. Why do I have shit like that pumping through my veins, and should I be worried?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  That's the smell of ketosis.
2. Orion
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  So it's awesome? It's not cause I'm burning through my lean body mass protein like NATO soldiers burn through Qurans? I suspected insuficient protein intake (currently at about 200-250 g a day)
3. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  "This is a fairly common report on very low-carbohydrate/ketogenic diet (defined, once again, as any diet containing less than 100 grams of carbohydrate per day), a report of a fairly strong ammonia smell in the sweat during exercise. As I discuss in detail in my first book The Ketogenic Diet this ammonia is produced due to the ultimate breakdown of ATP to ADP to AMP and ammonia.
  This appears to occur more readily when muscle glycogen is depleted (as occurs with the combination of of a very low-carbohydrate intake along with training) and may be part of the increased protein requirements that have been known to occur with endurance training (this is discussed in detail in The Protein Book). I would mention that it appears that this ‘protein breakdown’ is not actually coming from the breakdown of skeletal muscle itself; rather it’s from the breakdown of BCAA (branched-chain amino acids) within the free amino acid pool.
  So is this ok? So long as dietary protein intake is sufficient, I don’t see this as being any real problem. The effect is slight in terms of the absolute amount of protein being broken down (in terms of grams) and so long as protein intake is sufficient, there shouldn’t be any detrimental effect other than the smell." -Lyle McDonald.
4. Orion
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  You're starting to disappoint on the whole "I'm an asshole" thing when you keep giving detailed and extensive advice to undereducated fucks like us.
  Pretentious fucker, are we now?
5. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  Ah, there's a great many studies showing that nearly everyone under the age of 25 is mentally retarded, and wholly incapable of conducting research with any degree of proficiency. As such, I treat you people as I would any retard.
6. Orion
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  Precisely. TakIng care of the evolutionary unworthy. Not very feral. Actually surprisingly humane. Thought you're where a stern supporter of harsh eugenics
7. Blobb
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  Jamie is shorter than Hitler and still has girly bones, so if he is to survive as the ultimate Godzuki he'd be better off steering clear of early twentieth century philosophy.
8. Orion
  
  March 16, 2012
  
  HA! Succes in spite, not because. I like that
Otter Ezekiel

March 14, 2012

Jamie,

Obviously someone would be in the gym during this diet, does it matter how many days a week or which days as far as matching up with the caloric cycling?
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  I don't really match my training to the diet. I've found that sort of thing never quite works out. I recommend training at a bare minimum 4x a week, heavy as shit. I typically train no fewer than 5 times a week, and am usually in the gym 7-10 times a week. 20 mins in the morning, and 45-75 minutes in the evening three days a week, then one 1-2 hr workout and two 30 minute workouts per week.
2. Otter Ezekiel
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  "Doesn't fucking matter, just bust ass proper" is what that sounds like, and that makes sense to me. Thanks.
vulvadaddy

March 15, 2012

In addition to my question on maximum daily amount of protein from shakes:
So if I want to get 400g of protein a day, and one day I don't have that big of an appetite, I can get all 400g from shakes?

Wouldn't it affect the digestion/thermic effect of food and hence calorie expenditure since the protein is in powder form rather than solid foods?
1. Anonymous
  
  March 15, 2012
  
  You are overthinking this whole thing.
2. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 16, 2012
  
  Actually, he's underthinking. Apparently someone skipped my lengthy discourse on PSMFs. And every mention of it thereafter, including this fucking post itself.
vulvadaddy

March 16, 2012

Underthinking or not – you didn't answer my question. I'm not talking about protein sparing fasts because I'd still reach a fairly high fat 3000-3500 calories.
Maybe you don't know and that's fine too.
1. Jamie Lewis
  
  March 16, 2012
  
  So you're suggesting that because you don't feel like eating you're going to drink 10-12 protein shakes a day? Have at it. It's really no different, in terms of thermic effect, from drinking 6 shakes a day. Protein has a much higher thermic effect than fat, so you'd increase your metabolism further. As for whether or not, clinically speaking, it'd produce better results, I have no idea. I do know I'd never be able to stomach 10 shakes in a day. The thermic effect, by the way, is due to the macronutrient composition of the food, rather than its state. The fact that the protein came from a powder would make no difference outside of digestion time.
Ratking

March 18, 2012

Any recommendations on "Predator for Broke College Students"? I work two shitty jobs that don't pay nearly enough for all the meat, protein powder, and stimulants to pull this off as it should be done. I'm also tied to a meal plan on which I can only get food which gives me the shits and makes me want to curl up in bed and never move again, so I'm loath to make use of campus food for evening meals.
1. Imperator
  
  March 19, 2012
  
  This may not be the case for you, but a lot of college students make up bullshit excuses for stuff like this. "I can't afford good food, but I can afford to get shit-faced every weekend." Dispense with the unnecessary stuff, then complain.
Ratking

March 19, 2012

I don't get shitfaced because I can't afford to. I already cut back on what little I do spend because I'd like to be able to pay rent/utilities/etc after I graduate, and money for grad school is also needed. If I had unnecessary spending, I'd cut it. I buy good food and I'll have a good drink when I can, but that is infrequent and a luxury. If you, or anyone else for that matter, has useful advice on this, great, I'd be thrilled. If not, whatever, I'm no worse off for it.
1. Imperator
  
  March 20, 2012
  
  The stimulants are not as important as the meat and protein powder, so you can always eschew them.
  
  Try to get the most out of the school food, then buy extra of the cheapest meat you can. Maybe just do 1 meal/day + shakes to save money, until the rampage day when you can eat all that shitty school food.
Alistair Duff

September 17, 2012

Thanks for opening my eyes regarding training and nutrition Jamie. I've just started your apex predator diet alongside your training principles and one week in I'm leaning out and my bacne has started disappearing.I'm still a pussy regarding lifts (they are going up though)….but at least I don't have bacne.
Mike

February 27, 2013

Hey Jamie, what's your opinion on a shit ton of eggs in addition to the meat? Meat is expensive as fuck where I'm at and I'm just trying to save some cash. Thanks man
Trev Thorpe

June 4, 2013

In !

Starting .. now .. litterally .. plate o meat in front of me ..
David Lu

July 8, 2013

What would you recommend for chicken wings? Most have sauces that contain lots of carbs.
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