Well, there is no such thing as essential sugar. The importance of carbs in bb is overstated.
I had discussed with some bodybuilders at oversea bb forum that they gained muscle mass on very low carbs diet (long term).
They had proven the insulin spike theory wrong. I would suggest eat just enough for not getting fat if you want to have lean muscle mass.
Too bad the members here did not have the patience to do it for long term.
Fats and protein play more important role in building muscles than carbs.

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Added on July 26, 2009, 5:29 pm

Nope.

There are 2 schools of thought in BB. One advocates low carb while the mainstream school advocates hi carb.
We have been brainwashed into thinking carbs are food from heaven. Fats are bad, cholesterol is bad and fats make you fat these kind of craps.
Carbs are depicted as hero while fats as villain.

Fats are essential to life while carbs are not. Fats are needed in the synthesis of protein and they help in the absorption and utilization of protein, vitamins and minerals. If you are on a low carb, hi fat diet your body doesn't need carbs as energy. Dietary fats and your body fats will be used in the production of energy.

It is not uncommon for mainstreamers to believe low carb is a fad or crap until they dare to experiment with it. Not many dare to try. I spoke with a few local competitive bodybuilders, none dare to try simply because they had been led to believe fat makes you fat since they started pumping irons. They didn't dare to take the risk.

I was a mainstreamer once. I 'converted' to low carb hi fat because my body was like $hit while on vegan diet for 2 years (that was in the mid 90's). My diet was hi complex carbs and very low fat but my body fat was high and I lost so much strength. I was lethargic all the time.

Since I had nothing to lose, I decided to try low carb hi fat after an argument with a local doctor who advocates that diet.
While on starch free hi protein and hi fat, I made a remarkable transformation. My waistline was down from 34" down to 29".
I gained more than 10lbs of lean muscle mass (based on the bodyfat machine I had) and my strength levels increased tremendously.
I could lift weights in certain exercises heavier than in my bodybuilding days (hi carb + juice). I was juice free while on low carb.
If I had known this diet earlier, I could have added a few more titles during my competitive days.

I introduced this diet to my 'subjects' then. One of them who had better genetics made remarkable results in 2 years training (juice free).
He was placed 4th in Mr KL junior on his 1st attempt in BB contest.

Sometimes last year, while we were actively discussing about this topic, I was back on low carb hi fat and started training seriously.
I made some good gains within a few months, and my gym mates were asking for my recipes. It was short lived and I am now back to square one.

In my opinion, I don't believe carbs help to prevent catabolism. I have used my own body to prove low carb hi fat is right. So are those who have been on this diet long enough to see the positive results. I am not saying carb is bad. Too much is no good as it wouldl lead to cardiovascular disease. And I don't see bodybuilders would give a damn about it as long as they can achieve their goals. Otherwise they wouldn't be using juice and GH. I was one of them once.

PS. The Inuits eat hi protein hi fat zero carbs during 9 months winter in the Artic for their entire lives. If carbs are needed to prevent catabolism, they wouldn't have survived and grown into adult.

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Added on July 27, 2009, 10:39 amOn the other hand, carb is a primary source of energy if you are on hi carb diet because your body can't utilise your body fat as energy. You will get lethargy if your carb is running low. Hence carb is important to the hi carb dieters.

Yeah, yeah, what Audi from Ingolstadt wrote is all good and true. But breaking past the carb-dependance to go into keto is damn tough. I get all sorts of withdrawal symptoms. Before long, I'm stuffing my face energetically with a ton of spaghetti.

Also, food is deeply cultural. Most cultures are carb dependent, and unless you self-cater for almost every meal, a keto diet is impossible to maintain for long.

That's why keto is so damn difficult.