There is a very simple way to jack up your growth hormone, IGF-1 levels and reduce catabolic cortisol levels first thing in the morning.
And importantly, this advice applies to you whether you’re currently cutting to get shredded, or eating to fuel maximum lean gains (200-300 calories above maintenance per day).
In fact, you are probably doing something similar to this already, but not quite in the right way.
What do you have to do? Eat protein! So what’s the big deal?
It should be ONLY protein. No carbs, no fat.
THE BEST BODYBUILDING BREAKFAST
According to this Dutch study [1], you can increase your growth hormone levels significantly if you have ONLY protein i.e. no carbs or fat taken with it.
Subjects either had:
- a placebo,
- a meal (carbs, fat, protein)
- or just protein
The researchers then measured the concentration of growth hormone in their blood.
The placebo and meal caused no change in growth hormone levels, but the protein-only group saw GH levels ROCKET after an hour and a half. In fact, they produced 3 times as much growth hormone in the 5 hour period after breakfast!
This is how I have started my days every morning for the past couple of years. It’s either whey, fat-free cottage cheese, quark, or just chicken. That’s how I eat in the mornings!
Researchers at the university of Erlangen-Nuremberg in Germany have discovered the same thing. The tested 3 groups of people with:
- 24g amino acids in water
- Milk protein and carbs (same calories as above)
- Control group (they ate nothing at all)
The protein-only group (amino acid group) had a more pronounced increase in growth hormone: levels rising on average by a factor of 21.
Additionally, they saw an increase in Insulin-like growth Factor-1 (IGF-1) and their cortisol (catabolic hormone) levels dropped by almost 50%, compared to a small 10% drop in the protein and carbs group.
Because of its superior amino acid profile, a whey shake first thing in the morning is a good idea.
My recent coaching clients will know this sounds familiar as it has been my recommendation to most of them when I’m designing their diets and meals plans (for cutting or gains).
You can also consider having fat-free cottage cheese, a tub of quark, or even egg whites for breakfast. (By the way, adding just 1 ingredient to quark or cottage cheese turns it into an amazing dessert in less than 1-minute – see my Buff Baking cookbook for more).
NOTE: If you like these kind of tips, I also have 9 ways to jack up the BIG 3 anabolic hormones naturally. Get gains faster by getting this info on manipulating testosterone levels, growth hormone and insulin.
Just enter your details below to get the info immediately (don’t worry, I operate a zero spam policy)
So what whey do I recommend? I use MyProtein as it’s basically the only brand I trust…and for very good reasons. I posted a video on my facebook here to show you why you can trust their supplements to contain exactly what they’re supposed to.
So, I’d encourage y’all to copy my strategy and start your day with protein only! Then go smash your Targeted Hypertrophy Training workout (THT).
Still not downloaded my totally free 3-day and 5-day/wk THT training routines? Just enter your details below for immediate download. It will tell you the best exercises to use, the best rep ranges, the right number of sets to do, the best training frequency – everything you need for the best gains ever! Don’t worry, there’s no spam, no BS.
[1] Somatotropic responses to protein alone and as part of a meal (full pdf text)
So just have a protein shake for breakfast, do your work out, have another post shake and skip breakfast or have it later?
Which should I do…….since I have heard eating a meal first thing in the morning stops muscle catabolism that occurs from sleeping all night. Right now…I am doing a one scoop whey shake first thing in the morning…followed by a meal 30 minutes later.
This article might suggest that I just take the whey shake and then wait until lunch for a full and larger meal (since I would not be taking a breakfast meal).
What are your thoughts on which is better?
Well this is fantastic news Mark!! As I’ve always been moderate with my shake intake, this is awesome if its been truly tested this way. At 36 I need all the natural GH I can without looking towards injections too soon. :).
Thanks allot for the update to this as I skip along and make my ON whey shake first thing in the AM.
-peace bro
Mark you have one the best muscle sites ever! Your info is always great ,and well researched. I also must I bought your hormonal diet ebook and it was fantastic!(now if Icould just get myself to stick with it LOL) I had always beleived in the rebound effect of dieting and using it to your advantage is a great way to add some extra pounds of muscle especailly if you are at a sticking point. Keep up all the great work!
Sorry for all the misspelling in my prior posts, I really need to start reading threw my post AND EDITING THEM befor pressing the reply button,(and I definately need more coffe!) TAKE CARE !
Cool research. Also, the study specifically tested *soy* protein and used *female* test subjects. I’m curious if there are similar tests using men and whey protein and if those two factors make a difference.
Wow and the study is refferencing Soy protein, no?
Hi John Davis, I don’t think the report is referring to soy protein(in fact large amounts of soy protein has been shown to increase estrogen(female hormone) in men,I think the report is referring to whey and casein proteins.
What the heck is a placebo in a study like this? For medicines it’d be a sugar pill or saline injection, but how do you placebo a meal? Did they eat something they can’t actually digest, fast, eat just carbs? I couldn’t get the full PDF text to load.
Can you drink some BCAA, for example XTEND? It is much quicker (in your blood) than whey. Will it work?
Is there a certain amount of protein required to harness this growth hormone through protein consumption? Above/under 50?
I also thought u needed some carbs, even a small amount to aid your workouts?
Hi Mark,
I’ve been reading your articles with interest for some time and they have been excellent, especially with regards to the training tips you dish out
However, I feel that it is too much of a leap to use this study as proof that protein alone will raise GH. As mentioned by John A Davis the study was based on soy protein and not whey protein as you recommended. Also, the study was conducted on a small sample group of 6 women, hence the results of the study may not be applicable to the general population. The results would be way more reliable if the study was replicated in a large group. Also, there are likely to be significant differences in the results if the study were conducted on a group which had both males and females instead,
The study design also leaves much to be desired as several design biases present cast the validity of the results into doubt. This is also the first such study which has been conducted, hence there are no other studies which can corroborate with the findings stated.
I have presented just a few of my thoughts on this study, I hope Mark that yourself and other readers will be able to cast a more critical eye on such studies and consider them in their entirety before trusting in their results
I appreciate the article, but it has caused some confusion. Mark you preach to eat those egg yolks, of which I eat a 5 full egg omlete every morning. Just to clarify, I should skip the big protein / fat breakfast and go with a protein shake or just egg whites? Do you generally eat your egg yolks later in the day? After drinking my protein shake and eating some egg whites, how long should I wait to consume some fat? Should I be skipping my breakfast? Thanks…
It also would have been nice if they added a “4th subject” that only consumed protein and fat and no carbs.. How would this have impacted the results?
How did they measure their GH levels? GH only can only be measured at night when you are sleeping. The only tests you can run in the day are for your IGF-1 levels.
The protein I’m using has a bit of carbs in it, that shouldn’t present a problem should it?
Thanks
Study mentions Soy Protein, is there a reason they used soy in particular, and have they tested whey and other proteins, maybe its something in the soy element about the soy protein that triggers the elevated GH, it would be awesome if they did a study with other types of protein, mainly because soy unless properly fermented contains a lot of Estrogen, and wed all rather have pecks and not man boobs!
I usually skip breakfast so i will be testing this out with whay protein regardles!
I enjoy the taste of Optimum Nutrition’s Gold Standard Whey. However, I find it tastes even better when mixed milk. I don’t drink cow’s milk because it doesn’t agree with. But I do mix it with almond milk. However, I’m debating whether to switch to coconut milk. In your opinion, will mixing whey with either almond milk or coconut milk, assuming they have no added sweeteners, impact the growth hormone boost?
Mark,
I thought it was the 7-8 hours of sleep helping me…….. Must be the protein also!! I have 1 scoop of O.N. Whey protein w/water every morning. And, it is at least 45min. to 1 hour before I eat breakfast, which is 2-3 hard boiled eggs and 4 pieces of turkey bacon. Like I mentioned last article, I have seen some Good Gains in muscle size over the last six months!! Excellent Article Mark!!!
…And yes it IS Muscle Growth to the nay sayers….My body fat % is staying the same and I still have veins sticking out all over!!
Dear Mark,
I have lot of confusion,i have gone through lot of website and blogs where different experts say different regarding “when to take whey protein before or after workout”
Some expert says take 15 gram before and 15 gram after workout,while some expert says take it only after the workout,we are confuse..
Some expert says whey protein + carb + creatine + leucine build muscles while other expert says whey protein + carb + creatine + glutamine build muscles while other expert say take the whey protein within the workout.
How much time the whey protein take to get into the blood stream?some expert says 45 minutes to 1 hour before workout..
It would be grate if you experts get together and come to the final conclusion….
Some expert says take 20 gram of whey protein every 3 hours while other expert says take it after 4-6 hours
https://markyoungtrainingsystems.com/2009/04/protein-after-exercise-an-interview-with-dan-moore/
https://www.exercisebiology.com/index.php/site/articles/should_you_eat_protein_every_2-3_hours_for_muscle_growth/
I can’t eat dairy, therefore whey tears my stomach up, so what other protein would be good to drink?
Gees!! you guys are going to have a heart attack worrying about all the fine details on when to take your protein (worrying/stress=cortisal) if this happens then it doesnt matter when you take your damn protein cause cortisal will eat away at your muscles. experts say this and that, use it as a guide line and test it for yourself, with bodybuilding you need patience, when I have whey stocked then i take it first thing in the morning, sometimes i cant afford it and go a month without it and just eat solid protein. I don’t loose anything in the procces and I am an ectomorph/hardgainer.
Ok, let me say this first. The only thing that you can take from this is this: test it! Trial it and see how you get on. Give it at least a month to see how your strength and size progresses as compared with the previous month.Try 50g protein first thing in the morning.
Does it matter that it was soy? No I don’t think so. It’s the same amino acids at the end of the day. I don’t recommend anyone take too much soy, so use whey protein instead.
If you’re training first thing in the morning I would have a shake before, 1 immediately after, then a complete meal 1-2hrs later.
@Sunil. No you don’t need protein every 3 hours in reality. See this article I wrote about just that including absorption times…
https://musclehack.com/how-much-protein-can-the-body-absorb-in-one-sitting/
Hoi Mark, how old is this article? The respons is march 2012? Groet Rein from Holland.
@Rein. It was revised and updated with new research today 13th Sep 2017.
I’d really like to hear everyone’s experience with this in a month or two. I’ve always believed breakfast to be so important…I mean your body has been without fuel for 10 hours. I’ve always pounded about 1000 calories in a well rounded meal…but will have to try this. I love the idea of higher GH. I know when I do interval training I get RIPPED from the GH release. IF we can get it from breakfast, bring it on.
Mark, please follow up on this if you can with your readers in a month or two for some further evidence.
Thanks so much!!
Mark, do you prefer my protein over gold standard now? Is it merely because of price or were you also turned off when GS started adding artificial sweeteners to their protein. I’ve used GS for years (chocolate coconut) but it tastes sweeter since adding artificial sweeteners to their line. Now you can get a natural line but it is more money and not sweet enough….thoughts?
@Matthew. I’ve always preferred MyProtein actually. The quality is tested. The price is just a bonus for me personally.