No, I am not reinventing Skiploading.
Yes, I am still wanting to learn and when I am done learning you will know because I will probably not work out or diet anymore. This endeavor of mine over the last 34-or-so years is about having muscle but it is equally as much a learning experience. As long as I am learning, I am not bored. When I get bored with something, I no longer do it.
My Skiploading has evolved a bit over the last 17 years. Though most of my clients will traditionally Skipload, I do have clients (and myself included) who do a different version where carbs are more moderate and fats are increased instead of being very low. This apparently has touched a nerve with at least a few people who learned Skiploading from me early on (back when the boards were popular) and now feel Skiploading is a free-for-all-stuff-your-face event with no parameters or guidelines.
The above being stated, what I have always tried to do with Skiploading is to be able to ingest the largest amount of calories possible and still continue to get leaner each week. The reason for this approach is because any time you can get leaner on more calories, that means you have plenty of room if you do need to drop calories down the road. My approach to Skiploading is going to be something I haven't done before until now.
For this current 12-week phase of getting back in shape and leaning down again, I am going to do exactly the opposite with my Skiploads and try to take in as little Skipload foods as possible to see how low I can get the Skiploads before it starts to be counterproductive. You might wonder why I would do this. Good question.
A couple of reasons, really:
1. I want to learn. I want to see if I can get, say, the same response with 6 hours of loading as I can from 12 or 4 hours vs. 16. Obviously, longer load times have worked very well for me for a long time. However, when "grading" how effective a Skipload is, we have to consider 2 main things:
A. progress for getting leaner
B. the effect of loading on workouts (glycogen)
2. To see if the smaller volume of food - if it has the same effect for getting leaner - will have a more positive impact on my midsection as I really want to decrease it as much as possible. To phrase it another way: I want to see if the large volume of food that I use to get leaner is in some way working against my distention as I age.
We can all hypothesize but that doesn't get us very far. I want to know for sure how I respond and see if I can continue to make this process or method of Skiploading even more effective than it already is.
The other thing I am going to do is I am going to reduce snacking and crap foods to a minimum, focusing almost entirely on "meal" foods for my Skiploads. That means things like sorbet, ice cream, low-fat cookies or low-fat pretzels, etc,. won't be used.
Some of my go-to Skipload meals that are in the plan right now are:
1. Chili (mine does have jalapenos and honey in it)
2. Gnocchi or Spaghetti
3. Sushi (LAME but a given lol)
4. Steak, potato/rice/couscous/vegetables
5. I will still have a quality burger and fries in there at some point
6. Breakfast of toast, eggs or omelet, bacon/sausage, muffin
7. Jambalaya or similar rice dishes
If I have "snacks" or things that aren't on the meal menu, I am going to eat a lot of fruit and 1 or 2 probiotic-rich yogurt drinks during the Skipload, as well.
I am wanting to focus on gut health and I also have neglected fruits in my diet for a very long time. I don't want them in my regular diet other than some berries in my greek yogurt before I train so getting more on a Skipload day just makes sense.
The MAIN focus of this change is not for my clients but for ME so that I can see if there is any positive impact on my distention/midsection. Obviously, as I get leaner my distention decreases substantially. However, I still have it pretty bad when I Skipload and for the couple of days following the Skipload. I want to try to reduce that even more to see if the weekly "stretching" of my abdominal cavity is playing a part in this distention issue.