Leangains Explained

If you've been around here long enough, you've probably heard of Leangains, but maybe you don't know what it is, or if it's right for you. In this primer, I'll attempt to give a rundown of what Leangains is about, and provide some resources for you to do some more research of your own.

What is Leangains
Leangains is a body recomposition diet. That means that it is designed for a user to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, rather than going through bulk and cut cycles that are popular among bodybuilders and others who train for aesthetics or a weight class. It is designed for people with 10-12% body fat to get into single digits, but can also be used by individuals with higher body fat. In the standard form of the diet, users gain muscle and lose fat at the same rate, and maintain the same weight. However, there are variations that will allow for a slow cut or a slow bulk.

How does Leangains work?
There are 3 terms that get thrown around a lot that are the basis of Leangains. They are: Intermittent fasting, carb cycling, and "If it fits in your macros." I'll explain these in more detail.

Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting is the practice of going for long periods without eating. Emerging research is showing that scheduling your eating this way promotes your body's natural production of growth hormones and stimulates muscle gain.

According to the Leangains protocol, this is done on a daily basis. You have a feeding window at the same time every day where you consume all of your calories. For men, this window should be 7-9 hours, and for women it should be 9-11 hours. During the remaining 13-17 hours (your fast), you basically should be consuming no calories. So, I will typically eat all of my calories between 1PM and 9PM, and then no calories from 9PM until 1PM the next day.

There are some things like coffee, sugar free gum, etc. that have a few calories in them. You may consume these during your fast without an adverse effect. Keep it under 50 calories and you should be fine.

For more details about IF and its benefits, see the Alloran's Intermittent Fasting Omnibus

So, you have your feeding window, but how often should you be eating? Conventional wisdom says you should be eating 6 small meals throughout the day, but emerging research is proving the logic behind this to be flawed. Doing so does not significantly boost your metabolism, nor does your body have a low threshold for the amount of protein it can absorb per meal. How often you eat is largely up to you. Most people prefer to eat 3 meals a day. There are two guidelines to follow, though. On training days, the first meal after your workout should be the largest, about 50% of your calories for the day. It's a lot of food, but you'll get used to it. On rest days, your first meal should be the largest, about 40% for the day.

Carb Cycling
Carb cycling is a fairly widely-used idea. On days that you work out, your intake of carbohydrates is increased. This is because muscle building is a very energy-intensive process, and carbs provide that energy quickly and efficiently. On days that you don't work out carbs are less necessary, and in excess stimulate fat gain, so you'll be eating less carbs on those days.

As I said, muscle building is an energy intensive process. For this reason, on days that you lift, you'll typically want to eat excess calories. On rest days, you are instead trying to burn fat, and will typically want to eat at a deficit, less calories than you are expending.

The standard version of the diet is -20%/+20%, meaning that you eat that percent of your maintenance calories or EDEE (Estimated Daily Energy Expenditure, or the amount of calories you'd have to eat daily to maintain your weight). So, if you needed to eat 2000 calories a day to maintain your weight, you'd eat 1600 calories on rest days, 2400 calories on training days.

While -20/+20 is standard recomposition, you may choose to use another caloric orientation. Some examples are weight loss (-40/+20 or -20/0), or slow bulk (-10/+20).

If it fits in your macros (IIFIYM)
Macros is short for macronutrients: Fat, carbs, and protein. You'll have a different set of macronutrients to fill on training days vs. rest days. So, here's what you have:
Protein - You'll be eating about the same amount of protein each day. Your protein intake should be between 2.5 and 3 grams per kg bodyweight (About 1.1-1.4g per lb).
You'll split the remaining calories between carbs and fat. 50/50 on rest days, 75/25 on training days. Keeping in mind that protein and carbs both have 4 calories per gram, whereas fat has 9.

You can do all the math yourself, but I just find it easier to use one of the calculators available online. I personally use this one. Keep in mind, this is an estimate. You may have to adjust your caloric intake.

To provide an example, here are the macros I'm currently working with. Note, I have modified these slightly to fit my needs by adding in an extra 400 calories on training days in the form of carbs and protein.
Male, 6'0", 25 - EDEE ~ 2800 calories
Rest day: ~2200 calories, 70g fat, 110g carbs, 265g protein
Training day: ~3800 calories, 70g fat, 500g carbs, 300g protein
(Note: the fact that I consume the same amount of fat daily is coincidence, you will likely have different amounts)

The other side of IIFIYM is that, unlike many other diets, no food is strictly speaking off limits. You should be getting most of your calories from healthy whole foods - lean proteins, eggs and dairy, fruits and vegetables. These are to provide your micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and fiber. However, occasionally having something unhealthy to fill in the gaps is not going to hinder your progress. I'd recommend watching this video, "Why clean eating is a scam and you should abandon it" by JC Deen

Training on LG
If you're considering LG, you've probably been in the fitness game for a while and know a bit about training. Andy Morgan, a proponent of leangains who writes rippedbody.jp recommends adhering to the following guidelines: Strength training focusing on the big 3 compound lifts (squat, bench press, deadlift). Train 3 days a week for no more than an hour, and no cardio. Specifically, he recommends the following programs: The Big 3 by Marty Gallagher, 3 Day Split Reverse Pyramid Training by Stuart McRobert, and one of the Fitocracy community's favorite programs, Starting Strength by Mark Rippetoe.

You may also be wondering whether to train during the fast or the feeding window. What it really comes down to is what your schedule permits, but current research shows that training fasted will lead to shorter recovery times down the road. If you are training fasted, it is recommended that you consume 10g of BCAAs (branch chain amino acids) within 30 minutes before your workout, which will negate the performance loss normally associated with training fasted.

Your training performance and weight are good indicators of whether you've calculated your numbers right. If the scale is doing what you want it to, and your performance in the gym is still good, you're doing it right. If your performance in the gym gets spotty or declines, odds are you aren't eating enough.

For more information:
http://www.leangains.com - Official Leangains Site
http://rippedbody.jp - Blog by Andy Morgan, leangains advocate, trainer and coach
Leangains Group on Fitocracy
Leangains on Reddit