Do You Diet Like A Sumo Wrestler?

For centuries Japanese Sumo wrestlers have been taking normal and underweight boys and turning them into morbidly obese adults.  (They do not accept overweight boys as they don’t think that they have the discipline to become a Sumo.)  They don’t get that fat by accident.

They work at it.  They have getting fat down to a fool-proof system.

The funny thing is that a lot of what people do to try and lose weight is exactly what the Sumo use to gain a ton of it.

The Top 5 Strategies That Sumo Use To Get Fat Fast

#1-3:  Dieting Like A Sumo (Common diet advice that actually makes people fatter!)

#1.  Skip Breakfast

In one of my biochemistry textbooks it says this:

“Animals that have fasted and are then fed high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets show marked increases in their… fatty acid synthase [the name says it all – it synthesizes, or makes fat] within a few days.”* (1)

Skipping breakfast is a great way to extend the fast and the ramp up the fat creating machinery inside of your body.  (More on the low fat diet in #3.)

The new, junior level Sumo are not allowed to eat breakfast because they are the ones most in need of gaining weight fast.  (After you’ve become morbidly obese, it’s ok.)  The goal is to get very hungry so that it’s easy to overeat later in the day, to keep your metabolic rate suppressed, and to create the ideal environment for maximum fat storage.

Simple solution: Eat breakfast within an hour of waking up.  Duh!  And, make it one of the largest (if not THE largest) meals that you have in a day.

Make sure that it contains protein, as this seems to make people feel fuller longer and to reduce overeating late in the day without willpower.  (You want to use your discipline to create the conditions that will lead to success.  You do not want to try to use steely discipline to resist temptation all day long.  It won’t last very long.) (2)

And, if you workout first thing in the morning, read #2.

#2.  Workout On An Empty Stomach

You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but Sumo live a very structured and disciplined life.  They wake up very early and exercise for hours each day.  Doing their workout without any food in the system is actually a great way to boost weight gain.  Fasting workouts elevate cortisol levels (belly fat), increase appetite, and help you to build less muscle (suppress metabolism) and to gain more fat.

Simple solution: If you workout first thing in the morning (which I would love to be able to do), have something before or during your workout.  If fat-loss (or maintenance of fat-loss) is your goal, all you need is a little bit of whey protein and water and you are good to go.

This provides a little bit of fuel for a better workout, jump starts recovery (less soreness and faster progress), and elevates metabolism for a few extra hours post workout.

Try 1-2 scoops of some sort of low-carb whey powder.  I currently like the Vitamin Shoppe’s generic “mixed berry” flavor.  Mix it up and start sipping during your warm-up and finish it by the end of your workout.

If weight has never really been a problem for you and you are more interested in gaining weight, then a protein/carb mixture is probably for you.  Something like Surge by Biotest.  (Google it.)

#3.  Eat a High-Carb, Low-Fat Diet

Long before anybody knew what a carbohydrate, or insulin was, the Japanese figured exactly what kind of diet you need to eat to become a fat-ass.  (A professional fat-ass at that.)  The very funny thing is that their ancient  “fat-ass” diet looks an awful lot like our modern day food pyramid.

To create morbidly obese adults, the Sumo eat a high carb (57%), low fat (16%) diet.  And, the Sumo with even worse body composition (less muscle, more fat, similar weight) eat an even higher carb (80%) and lower fat (9%) diet. (3)

In one of my biochemistry textbooks it says the following:

“Fatty acid synthesis [making new fat inside of your body] is maximal when carbohydrates and energy are plentiful and when fatty acids are scarce…”*

“Insulin stimulates fatty acid synthesis.”  (Their emphasis.)

And

“The hormone insulin inhibits the mobilization of fatty acids and stimulates their accumulation.” (1)

Large amounts of carbohydrates (esp. refined carbs) stimulate the secretion of large amounts of insulin, and, as you can see above: high insulin levels make it hard to access your fat and easy to create more of it.

Simple solution: Eat fewer carbs (esp. refined carbs), and more fat.  And you should also avoid stuffing yourself with as much food as possible too, but that is very easy on a lower carb, higher fat diet as most people just don’t get very hungry.

Can you really binge on bacon and eggs for breakfast?  2 or 3 eggs and a little bit of bacon and most people are just done eating.

But, give me a basket of blueberry muffins and I will eat the whole dozen and still be hungry!  (And also need to take a nap.)

#4-5:  Not Dieting, Just Things To Avoid

#4.  Eat Lots Of Carbs Before Bed

The Sumo eat 2 large meals per day – one before their midday nap and one before bed at night.  Both have huge quantities of starch in them.

Your body can only do a few things with carbs – store them as glycogen (stored carbs); burn them for immediate fuel, or store them for fat.

Your body’s capacity to store carbs is very limited, and if you haven’t done anything intense to deplete them, then there is essentially no room in your muscles to store them.  Even if you are very active, you just can’t create that much space in your glycogen fuel tank.

The most efficient way to burn off carbs is with intense anaerobic exercise – wrestling, sprinting, lifting, etc.  You tend not to do this stuff when you are a sleep.

This really only leaves one final destination for the high carb meal – body fat.

Simple solution: If you have the kind of body that can handle starchy carbs, eat them earlier in the day, or in small portions after an intense workout.  Definitely don’t eat them before bed.

#5.  Drink Lots of Beer

Well, that’s it really.  Drink a lot of beer and then go to sleep.  Great way to get fat.

Simple Solution: Drink less beer less often, and try to avoid getting hammered before bed.

*(Stuff in [ ] is my paraphrasing to make it more understandable… I’m pretty sure that’s not how you are supposed to do it.  Believe it or not, I did not do very well in English or writing.)

Oh, and I almost forgot, don’t forget to vote for me as The Best Personal Trainer in DC right here.  There are only a few more days left to vote!

Thank you so much for your help!

References

1.  Berg, et al.  Biochemistry. W.H. Freeman. New York. 2007 (Chapter 22)

2. Leidy HJ, Racki EM. The addition of a protein-rich breakfast and its effects on acute appetite control and food intake in ‘breakfast-skipping’ adolescents. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 Feb 2

3.  Nishiwaza, T. I., et al. Some factors related to obesity in the Japanese sumo wrestler. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Oct: 29(10):1167-74

Josef Brandenburg is 2010, Washington, DC  Personal Trainer of the Year Nominee for both Personal Fitness Professional Magazine and The Washington, DC Fitness Association, The DC Fitness Advisor and the Fitness Expert for the PCOS Challenge TV Show. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more about the 7-Day Free Trial click here. You can also pick up a FREE copy of his brand new CD – “Why Eat Less and Exercise More is The Worst Advice Ever” here.