Kevin,
Sadly, most of our medical advisors are not any good with this subject. Some even tell us to avoid weight training or not to lift 'heavy' weights. The only way to build strength, muscle and size is by lifting heavy weights.
In the book, the schedule calls for 3 workouts per week of 1 hour each. The idea behind only 3 workouts is that if you do it correctly and work to failure you will need the other days to recover. The 1 hour time limit helps keep your intensity up. It also helps you build muscle by maximizing the anabolic phase and avoiding catabolic muscle breakdown. Apparently working out for too long or on too many days promotes a catabolic state which causes you to lose muscle mass.
One of my difficulties is eating enough during the day. Part of my diabetes care is managing my eating and maintaining a lower carbohydrate intake. The book advises a minimum of 2000 calories per day, spread out through 6-7 meals per day. It also advises as having approximately 1/3 of those calories as carbs. The protein suggestion to have as many grams as your body weight. If you weigh 155, then you would shoot for 155 grams of protein per day, increasing as your weight increases. I still haven't achieved those levels, although I am more conscious of how many and what kind of calories I get per day.
I hope this offers some 'food for thought'.
Travis
