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Uncensored Q&A with Lyle McDonald

Lyle McDonald

Lyle McDonald is a physiologist and author who has spent over a decade obsessively finding ways to apply cutting-edge scientific research to sports nutrition, fat loss and muscle growth. In this uncensored Q&A, Lyle answers your most pressing questions about diet and exercise.

Q. In the last year or so, I have put a lot of weight on round my middle. I am 56, and believe it is due to my menopause and wonder if I can ever do anything about this problem. I follow a no-sugar, no-fat diet and just put on weight in the same old place.

A. Women who go through menopause without going on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) generally see a shift in their body fat patterns. Rather than storing it on their hips and thighs, they tend to see a more "male" type of body fat pattern with more central (visceral/gut fat) storage.

This is a problem because high levels of visceral fat predispose folks to insulin resistance and heart disease; this is part of the reason that men are more prone to heart attacks compared to pre-menopausal women. But post-menopausal women who don't go on HRT are in basically the same situation.

The nice thing is that visceral fat tends to respond very quickly to both diet and exercise. Aerobic exercise and even weight training can help to reduce visceral fat, along with some slight caloric restriction.

Q. I have a question about core muscles. I don't feel like I have control over the mid section of my body. At times, it seems like it doesn't engage. There is differing opinion of what the core muscles are (some say pelvic floor, and others will include shoulder muscles). What are the core muscles to you, and how is it best to exercise them?

A. Core muscles refer to a whole passle of muscles that surround the center part of the body. Unfortunately, recent fads about core training have tended to focus on single muscles instead of everything. In no list of importance, we have:

• Rectus abdominis, obliques (interior/exterior) and transversus abdominis (TVA) in the front.
• Quadratus lumborum to the side of the spine (obliques also stabilize in this plane).
• Multifidus and other spinal extensors in the back.

In addition, we might include the latissimus dorsi and gluteal muscles (which stabilize the lower back by tensioning the lumbodorsal fascia), and the pelvic floor at the bottom.

Based on your description, there's really no way for me to give you much in the way of advice. Weird stuff happens with injuries. Jull and Hodges in Australia have made a big deal out of transversus abdominis misfiring with injury, while other groups have focused on multifidus firing with injury.

Perhaps the best book in this regard is Stuart McGill's Ultimate Back Fitness, which addresses various exercises to best train the various core muscles while sparing the lower back (especially the lumbar spine) from harm.

His big three are

• Modified crunches: rectus abdominis/obliques/transversus abdominis
• Side planks: obliques/quadratus lumborum
• Birddog/quadruped exercises: low back stabilizers

Hitting at least those three would go a long way towards ensuring proper core activity and stabilization. McGill addresses other issues (such as sports performance) in the book I mentioned.

Q. How can I get my stomach fat to disappear after my third pregnancy? My first two were normal deliveries but the third was a C-section and my mid-section is completely shot! Even my friends have asked me what happened to my six-pack?!? PLEASE HELP!

A. Due to the C-section, your abdominal muscles were physically cut and the pooch you're seeing has nothing to do with body fat and everything to do with damage to the muscles. That I know of, there's not much that can be done. Maybe some type of elective plastic surgery. I'd make sure and blame your kids for this when they get old enough.

Q. I am 27 years of age and weigh 10 stone. Although I am skinny, I do have a bit of a belly. I want to bulk up and put some muscle on but just to look good not to be a body builder. Please give me some advice.

A. This is another pet peeve of mine. It never ceases to amuse me that, when so many guys are desperately trying to get huge, some people are concerned that a little training will turn them into a behemoth overnight.

Nobody magically wakes up HUGE looking like a bodybuilder. When you gain as much muscle as you want, you simply quit trying to gain anymore. So find a good basic training program, something like Hypertrophy Specific Training or something.

Q. I have always been active. Kayaking, running, hiking, walking. But I find that my age (56) does make a difference and I don't know how to adjust for it without becoming too sedentary. Any suggestions?

A. A number of physical capacities tend to be lost, some at different rates (strength and power, for example, is lost faster than endurance). Recovery certainly goes down, so taking more rest days and training fewer total days per week is probably most appropriate.

For example, a good friend of mine who has cycled for nearly 20 years is finding that he is riding stronger than ever (at 40 years of age) by only training 4 days per week, as opposed to the 6-7 days per week he trained when he was younger.

Focusing on the quality of the training, as opposed to the sheer quantity, has allowed him to exceed his performance level. He also listens to his body much more now. When he's tired, he takes extra rest (or does an easy workout). That becomes much more important with age.

Q. Can most women achieve single digit body fat just as well with a diet that includes higher carbohydrates on a daily basis, as opposed to a diet that includes lower carbohydrate days, assuming that activity levels are high enough to burn the calories?

A. Single digit body fat for women is generally only achieved by elite athletes and dieting bodybuilders, and they do it through a combination of caloric restriction and extreme amounts of exercise.

The thing is this; it's not particularly healthy under most conditions for a female to maintain that level of body fat. Estrogen production is lost and problems with bone density and overall health occur.

Many women also find that high-carbohydrate diets make it very difficult to lose body fat from the lower parts of the body. This is part of why so many female bodybuilders end up with ripped upper bodies and fat hips and thighs.

Q. I'm an ex-powerlifter just asking some for some advice on how to cut body fat. I'm taking Lipo-6, which I plan to stack with CLA and 100% Whey Protein. I'm really trying to cut back on the waistline. Three days a week, I try one hour of strength training and one hour of cardio. Should I be trying more or less of one or the other?

A. That's fine for training. CLA is basically worthless and watching your diet (total calorie intake) is going to be more important than any supplement. All the training in the world won't reduce your body fat if your diet isn't in order.

Q. I am a 48-year-old woman and have been working out off and on for most of my life. My question is, I have been working out for the last 3 months as I have developed a lower stomach pooch over the years and am trying to rid myself of the ghastly beast. I have always been a very healthy eater (mostly seafood and chicken, lots of veggies and no sweets) and I drink a lot of water. In my 3-month span of working out, I have been walking 3 miles, 4- 5 times a week, lifting barbells every other day along with crunches, sit-ups, reverse bicycle crunches and crunches on the exercise ball and some standing pushups. I am starting to see some definition in my arms and legs and even seeing less of the love handles on my sides, but that pooch is there and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. What am I doing wrong?

A. Nothing except being impatient. Body fat tends to be lost from the body in fairly predictable patterns. And lower abdominal fat is one of the last areas to go (in women, hips and thighs take even longer).

Just keep doing what you're doing. As you continue to lose body fat, eventually the stuff on your lower abdomen will go. Note also that a lower abdominal pooch can be caused by poor posture. Many women have their pelvis tilted forwards (as a consequence of wearing high heels/having breasts) and correcting the posture can help flatten the area.

Paul Chek has an excellent (and inexpensive) little book called Awesome Abs that has some good exercises for correcting this postural issue.

Q. I have just started to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and have put on 2 kilograms (4 pounds) in a month. Is this normal and if so should I being eating or exercising differently to combat this. I struggled to lose 4 kilograms (9 pounds) so it was very frustrating to regain weight that quickly. Help!!!

A. Despite what many doctors will tell you, both HRT and birth control quite often cause weight gain. There are some real horror stories associated with Depo-Provera (the injectable slow-release birth control): women gaining a great deal of weight that simply won't budge. And it can take months for their systems to normalize after the drug clears their system. This is because of the effects of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

However, knowing that many women would never go on such if they knew it would make them gain weight, many doctors will say that they don't cause weight gain.

There's not a whole lot you can do except to adjust your diet or activity to lose the extra body fat. So cut calories slightly and/or increase your cardiovascular activity and the fat should come off.

Q. I'm a few months into my program and although I'm seeing a change in shape and some good definition, my weight is unchanged. I do some cardio with weights twice a week and a high-impact aerobics class twice per week. I also suffer from polycystic ovary syndrome. Can you advise if I need to do more to get my weight down?

A. Be patient. What often happens with female beginners is that they are gaining muscle at the same time and rate that they lose fat. Their appearance improves and their clothes fit differently but the scale doesn't budge. After about 6-8 weeks, the scale will generally start to drop as muscle gains slow but the fat loss continues. Also, consider adding a third cardio session. This tends to generate more fat loss than two sessions per week.

Q. I would like to know how to lose belly fat. I do a lot of cardio and resistance training. My BMI is 25. How do I gain 5 to 10 pounds of muscle?

A. Eat less, do moderate amounts of cardio, weight train and be patient. You didn't gain a lot of body fat quickly and you won't lose it quickly (my Rapid Fat Loss Handbook can be a way to quickstart the fat loss with some rapid losses).

You should be able to gain some of the 5-10 pounds of muscle while losing body fat. Once you've leaned out, then you can worry about gaining muscle. For now, just focus on getting into a consistent exercise routine (weight training 2-3 times per week and cardiovascular exercise at least 3 times per week) and get your diet sorted out. Above all, be patient.

Books by Lyle McDonald

The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook
Maybe you need to drop weight fast for a special event, like a class reunion or a wedding. Perhaps you want to look good in a bathing suit and didn't start your diet and exercise program early enough... or you might just want to get your diet over as quickly as possible. If so, the Rapid Fat Loss Handbook will reveal the fastest, most effective way to shed both weight and fat in the shortest time possible.

The Protein Book covers everything you need to know about protein and muscle growth, fat loss and athletic performance. Referencing over 500 scientific studies, the book is the ultimate reference on all aspects of optimal protein nutrition for anyone who's serious about building a better body.

The Ultimate Diet 2.0 (UD2)
The UD2 is possibly the most comprehensive and complete guide to losing stubborn body fat ever written. Inside, you'll discover the secrets of calorie partitioning, how to control where the calories go when you overeat, and where they come from when you diet... the hidden metabolic advantages that elite athletes have, and how to duplicate them to improve your results... why stubborn fat is so stubborn and how to get rid of it... how muscle grows and why so many different training systems can all be right... and much, much more!

A Guide to Flexible Dieting
A Guide to Flexible Dieting reveals how being less strict with your diet can actually make it work better. You'll discover how deliberately breaking your diet (in a controlled fashion) can make it work better in the long run. Free meals, structured re-feeds and even a full diet break are all discussed and explained in detail.

The Ketogenic Diet
The Ketogenic Diet is the first and only book to examine in-depth the scientific evidence regarding low-carbohydrate and ketogenic diets. At 325 pages and containing over 600 scientific references, this will be your complete reference for ketogenic diets. It's unlike any other book on low-carbohydrate diets that you have ever read or seen.

Bromocriptine: An Old Drug with New Uses
The problem of getting very lean or simply losing fat and keeping it off is not a new one. New research is finally explaining the reasons and physiology behind dieting failure and it turns out that many of the problems are in your brain. Bromocriptine: An Old Drug with New Uses explains the physiological reasons behind dieting failures, along with discussing a potential fix: a very old drug called Bromocriptine.