For those that don’t know, George’s St. Pierre (GSP) is one of the most dominant MMA fighters of all time. I recently came across a great post by Tim Ferriss where he spoke with the guys responsible for Georges St Pierre’s (GSP) nutrition. This section definitely caught my attention:
What guidelines should someone use if trying to replicate the above?
“When determining a client’s macronutrient split, at Precision Nutrition we use body-type specific guidelines. In essence, we plan someone’s nutrition according to their somatotype, as follows:
Ectomorphs — around 25% p (protein), 55%c (carbs), 20%f (fat)
Mesomorphs — around 30%p, 40%c, 30%f
Endomorphs — around 35%p, 25%c, 40%f”
Definitions:
Ectomorph – Thin build, challenging to put on weight (muscle or fat); Example: long-distance runner.
Mesomorph – Muscular build, can lose or gain muscle easily (fat gain minimal); Example: sprinter or gymnast.
Endomorph – Large build, easy to put on weight (both good and bad); Example: shotputter or football lineman.
It’s interesting to see that the easier it is for a certain body type to put on weight, the less carbs they are told to eat. This really feeds into the whole idea of carbohydrate intolerance and how there are varying degrees of it throughout the population.
I definitely fit into the mold of the “endomorph.” It is very easy to put on weight… I just need to smell food and my body manages to convert that into body fat. This probably indicates that I am more carb intolerant than others, so the low carb diet I’m on currently (nutritional ketosis) is more optimal for me.
Taking a quick look back at my food log shows that I’m typically consuming around 5% of my total calories from carbs, with it occasionally going up to 10%.
I remember reading this kind of body type stuff from Precision Nutrition a decade ago on T-Nation.
I wonder if it has any science behind it or if it’s actually correlation with another factor. Maybe there are just differing levels of carb sensitivity which then drive body type. Jack Kruse writes a lot about this – leptin sensitivity, leptin reset, etc. Maybe after a few months of getting that “fat burning metabolism” going you’ll be able to tolerate carbs better.
I’m not entirely sure what the science is behind that stuff either… but these guys seem fairly convinced. If I have time, it might be worthwhile for me to look up.. but there are other things I’d rather learn about first.
Ugh, I am an endomorph too. Much less desirable as a woman, because what chick wants to look like a shotputter or lineman? No chick, that’s who. I totally relate – I can LOOK at a cookie and my love handles expand. Super carb intolerant. I’ve been doing low carb for a few months with a few intermittent carb feeds (once a week cheat meals, and then the weeks of holidays). I do better when I’m low carb, but as of yet I haven’t seem to budge my carb tolerance. I wonder how long it take to become “carb tolerant” or if you’re carb intolerant will you always be? Am I doomed to an endomorphic physique forever?