the triad exercise programtheir diet) and get protein and certain trace minerals from these
insects, but the bulk of their protein comes from massive quan-
tities of leafy plant foods, stems, bark, and fruit when available.
Mountain gorillas tend to have a more limited diet and eat fewer
termites, ants and fruit, and more leafy foliage and other vegeta-
tion.^2 Gorillas may also eat certain plant foods to prevent infec-
tions from parasites and other conditions.^3
Interestingly, this conclusion was made by world-renowned
physician-researcher and developer of the Glycemic Index Dr.
David Jenkins and colleagues after studying the diets of western
lowland gorillas: “...The macronutrient profile of this diet would be
as follows: 2.5% energy as fat, 24.3% protein, 15.8% available car-
bohydrate, with potentially 57.3% of metabolizable energy from
short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) derived from colonic fermenta-
tion of fiber. Gorillas would therefore obtain considerable energy
through fiber fermentation. We suggest that humans also evolved
consuming similar high foliage, high fiber diets, which were low in
fat and dietary cholesterol.”^4
If a gorilla can build massive muscles from eating almost all
plant foods, so can you—especially if you add beans, nuts, seeds,
and whole grains to your large vegetable and fruit intake. If you
want to get “Gorilla Buff ” fast, it isn’t all in the strength training
you do. It is in the diet and, to a lesser extent, the aerobic exercise
you do. Building muscle under a layer of fat is still building mus-
cle, but it isn’t getting the shape or the look you want. If you are
overweight, you want to eat whole foods, although you might stay
away from or reduce consumption of even whole-grain breads for
a while since they are more calorie dense (see Chapter 13, Reduc-
ing Caloric Density) than eating the basic cooked grains until you
lean out. Get rid of any added oils and sugar. Excess calories from
any source will get turned to fat.
You want to lose the weight while you build muscle under-
neath. If overweight, do a daily aerobic program for thirty to sixty
minutes, along with your every-other-day, fifteen- to thirty-minute
circuit training program (six to ten upper-body exercises and six to
ten lower-body exercises); and a ten- to fifteen-minute (or more)
flexibility program daily for one or two months. If you want to