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[nilbog21]

There was nothing special to what I did. I just cut out all the late night eating (eating 3 sandwiches and chips at 2-3am will kill you) Used to drink 5 Liters of coke daily about a year 2 years ago, I have not touched a drop of coke since I stopped.

One day I woke up and decided I was sick of being heavy and being called hurley (sure it was cool for a while but soon after it began to hurt) So I cut down to 3 meals a day, no fast food, fizzy drinks, crisps. I have not had any of that in 3 months. I don't miss it. I eat my 3 meals. 9am breakfast, 1pm lunch 6pm dinner. Dont feel like I am on a diet. I am just eating better. I work 3-11 most days and I was eating greasy hot deli food. Now I cook a big batch of food each month and put them in small cartons and freeze them. So now I can have a proper dinner in work.

I go to the gym as often as I can which ends up being about 7 days a week now, I love running. Never thought I would write that :lol but I take it a bit easier every 3 days, still doing a light jog in the gym and light weights. The proper days I run faster and longer every few days ect.

good shit

 

[pubba]

One day I woke up and decided I was sick of being heavy and being called hurley (sure it was cool for a while but soon after it began to hurt)

Sorry for my stupid Hurley comment earlier. You are a big inspiration to me - thanks for sharing your pics and advice.

 

[xelios]

I've seen saying I'd post pictures for a while now, so instead of writing a paper this morning I went through and found the worst pictures of myself when I was at my heaviest (230-240lbs at 5'8") between January 2009 and June 2009:

You look like a different person. Way more attractive than before so I'm sure you feel good about yourself. Nice job.

 

[Messi]

Sorry for my stupid Hurley comment earlier. You are a big inspiration to me - thanks for sharing your pics and advice.

Man, don't worry about it. I learned a while back to let it fly over my head. I know you meant nothing by it. Others did mean something by it. But now I just see it as a symptom of where I was and what I looked like.

 

[hsukardi]

Just hanging around here and finding out about insulin literature is extremely useful!

I'm not that worried about my weight although I'm 33% heavier than I was at my physical peak, the carbs/sugar/insulin theory has really helped me to understand why I sometimes feel so groggy and fatigued, and also why my eyes start to feel tired and blur when I eat certain kinds of sugary foods. Keeping my mind operating at optimal efficiency is definitely important for me as I work in IT.

I've cut out almost all carbs and grains from my diet in the past 3-4 days and the downside is that I'm experiencing a real crash in the daytime where my brain is very foggy. The funnier thing is that it gets foggiest after my lunch of protein and vegetables.. :lol I think it'll be tough in the next few weeks but it helps knowing that it seems like this is the right path to go. Exercise will be mixed into the schedule and I'll be upping my pace while walking and taking the stairs instead of the escalator.

Hopefully my mind will get out of its carbless lethargy soon and I can readjust to the new life

 

[Kozak]

I've seen saying I'd post pictures for a while now, so instead of writing a paper this morning I went through and found the worst pictures of myself when I was at my heaviest (230-240lbs at 5'8") between January 2009 and June 2009:



And here are a couple shots taken within the last month:



Now hovering right below 190 lbs. Goal is around 160 but that might take years or be unattainable with the muscle gain, I'm not really sure. Point is, long way to go still in my eyes.

This is the first time I have seen those before shots since I took them last year and it was a bit eye opening for me just how overweight I was. Always blows my mind when people would say "you weren't fat!". Even though I picked the worst shots I could find, I don't know how anyone could say that and mean it.

Holy shit dude! That is amazing stuff!

 

[RiskyChris]

I wouldn't consider your before pictures "fat". You're just heavier. Definately more athletic now, but I don't think anybody walking down the street would be like "wow that dude's fat" in your before pictures.

Oh come on, I don't want to hurt people's feelings but you shouldn't perpetuate the idea that being 40+ pounds over your height's ideal range isn't fat. It is the kinda sentiment that helps people justify living unhealthy lives.

@ LaneDS I'm your height, and if you're working as hard as you did to get where you are the last 30 pounds or so should be easy *and* rewarding. Every couple pounds now are gonna be so apparent and you're gonna love it. Super proud! <3

 

[LaneDS]

I wouldn't consider your before pictures "fat". You're just heavier. Definately more athletic now, but I don't think anybody walking down the street would be like "wow that dude's fat" in your before pictures.

Yeah, I guess I carried it well (mostly in the legs) but there was no denying I was in a very unhealthy state, regardless of what one might call it.

You look like a different person. Way more attractive than before so I'm sure you feel good about yourself. Nice job.

Thanks! I do feel much, much better about myself and it's really helped with things like depression and social anxiety. Part of why I try to encourage everyone in this thread... it's a great feeling and I hope everyone here can get themselves a little healthier everyday and feel the same.

Holy shit dude! That is amazing stuff!

Thank you as well! Not quite as amazing as what some people in this thread have done (and will do) but I am proud of it all the same.

@ LaneDS I'm your height, and if you're working as hard as you did to get where you are the last 30 pounds or so should be easy *and* rewarding. Every couple pounds now are gonna be so apparent and you're gonna love it. Super proud! <3

Already feeling more inspired due to reactions like this! Thanks man.

 

[The Elite]

Yeah, I guess I carried it well (mostly in the legs) but there was no denying I was in a very unhealthy state, regardless of what one might call it.

Thanks! I do feel much, much better about myself and it's really helped with things like depression and social anxiety. Part of why I try to encourage everyone in this thread... it's a great feeling and I hope everyone here can get themselves a little healthier everyday and feel the same.

Thank you as well! Not quite as amazing as what some people in this thread have done (and will do) but I am proud of it all the same.

Already feeling more inspired due to reactions like this! Thanks man.

Have you detailed anywhere in this thread your diet and exercise routine?

Thanks.

 

[LaneDS]

Have you detailed anywhere in this thread your diet and exercise routine?

Thanks.

I have not, but I shall later in the day now that I've procrastinated myself into a corner with this paper I have to finish!

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Man, don't worry about it. I learned a while back to let it fly over my head. I know you meant nothing by it. Others did mean something by it. But now I just see it as a symptom of where I was and what I looked like.

Damn dude, you are a true inspiration.

I'm not in bad shape by any means, but I am getting married in October and my goal is to drop at least 20lbs by then.

6'3"
220lbs currently
200lbs goal by october
185lbs ideal

I weighed 175-185 all through college. The two years since I graduated I put on a lot of weight, mostly due to the fact that I'm completely sedentary. I got a desk job out of college, whereas before that I was working on my feet all of the time. The weight goes on pretty quick when you have a big lifestyle change like that. I never used to have to consciously exercise to maintain my weight, but now I'm going to have to. I'm planning on signing up for the gym this month and starting a good routine.

I feel like the weight I put on has really hurt my health. I have chronic heartburn now, and a lot of knee pain. Some of this is from the desk job, but I think a lot of it has to do with the weight as well. I want to get back into the shape I was in when I met my fiancé in time for the wedding.

 

[Halcyon]

Oh come on, I don't want to hurt people's feelings but you shouldn't perpetuate the idea that being 40+ pounds over your height's ideal range isn't fat. It is the kinda sentiment that helps people justify living unhealthy lives.

I'm just saying i personally wouldn't have qualified him as fat. I mean the weight is obviously fat. He does look like he carried it well, which is why he probably got alot of people saying he wasn't fat. There's a definate 900% improvement and he looks very athletic now, i'm just sayin he looks like most of the guys I see who have desk jobs and aren't really the most active anymore, but with a little exercise can get into shape(which he obviously did).

 

[Guileless]

150-180g's of carbs is carb-restricted and ideal according to those links teh_pwn posted.

If my math is correct, based on a 2,000 calorie diet, the official USDA pyramid recommends getting around 300 grams of carbs a day. Obviously 150-180 is much lower than that.

 

[Messi]

It is always so shocking to me when people say I am an inspiration. I really can't see the amount of weight ive lost. Sure I can see some, but nowhere near what people tell me.

I honestly love working out now, just to lose the weight so I can report back here

 

[teh_pwn]

Just hanging around here and finding out about insulin literature is extremely useful!

I'm not that worried about my weight although I'm 33% heavier than I was at my physical peak, the carbs/sugar/insulin theory has really helped me to understand why I sometimes feel so groggy and fatigued, and also why my eyes start to feel tired and blur when I eat certain kinds of sugary foods. Keeping my mind operating at optimal efficiency is definitely important for me as I work in IT.

I've cut out almost all carbs and grains from my diet in the past 3-4 days and the downside is that I'm experiencing a real crash in the daytime where my brain is very foggy. The funnier thing is that it gets foggiest after my lunch of protein and vegetables.. :lol I think it'll be tough in the next few weeks but it helps knowing that it seems like this is the right path to go. Exercise will be mixed into the schedule and I'll be upping my pace while walking and taking the stairs instead of the escalator.

Hopefully my mind will get out of its carbless lethargy soon and I can readjust to the new life

It takes about a week to get used to it, up to 3 to get completely adjusted. If you want to confirm you're in ketosis (low carb such that the body creates ketones for brain/heart), you can buy ketosis strips from a local pharmacy. Usually in the diabetics section.

 

[Shaneus]

I've just been reading about ketosis as a form of fat trimming and people are recommending that when carbing up, they take Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) to ensure that the energy from the carbs is more directed to the muscles than being stored as fat. I think. Does anyone here know anything about it? I've found a bit of info on the net but for a fitness/weight loss noob such as myself, it's hard to glean any real useful information without it going over the top of my head.

 

[infiniteloop]

Bought the Primal Blueprint last week, started mostly implementing it and lost about 4 lbs this week :lol . I expect it to stabilize soon. Loving the 'diet' though, cooked some delicious coconut shrimp last night.

 

[vitaminwateryum]

Finally found some old terrible pictures of myself!

About when I was 15.

16, had to crop out some family from this one.

Aaand 18, taken yesterday. Sitting at about 180lbs.

Unfortunately I couldn't really find any of myself at my worst when I was about 14. The highest I ever let myself get up to was about 280 and looking back I'm not really sure how I was lazy enough to let myself get that heavy. Great fuckin' job to some of the people posting in here, it takes a hell of a lot of hard work and dedication.

 

[mooooose]

Vitamin water, you look great but that facial hair... I'm not diggin it. Otherwise you're good, doggie.

 

[EzLink]

Okay, someone explain to me why if 150g of carbs a day is "approaching low carb" I am redoing the introduction on Atkins at 20g a day? :lol

Seriously, this is killer. Are you all saying I will still lose weight from my diet being "low carb" even if I were having like 100gs a day?

 

[vitaminwateryum]

Vitamin water, you look great but that facial hair... I'm not diggin it. Otherwise you're good, doggie.

haha, just shaved it off today. I've been been stuck inside working on projects for the past few days so I hadn't been worryin' too much about shaving.

 

[Vague]

I've just been reading about ketosis as a form of fat trimming and people are recommending that when carbing up, they take Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) to ensure that the energy from the carbs is more directed to the muscles than being stored as fat. I think. Does anyone here know anything about it? I've found a bit of info on the net but for a fitness/weight loss noob such as myself, it's hard to glean any real useful information without it going over the top of my head.

Okay, someone explain to me why if 150g of carbs a day is "approaching low carb" I am redoing the introduction on Atkins at 20g a day?

Seriously, this is killer. Are you all saying I will still lose weight from my diet being "low carb" even if I were having like 100gs a day?

Read this: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3299911

It'll explain everything down to the last detail if you want to read all the scientific papers, but you can skim it for the bullet points without having to get too in depth just as easily.

 

[teh_pwn]

Okay, someone explain to me why if 150g of carbs a day is "approaching low carb" I am redoing the introduction on Atkins at 20g a day? :lol

Seriously, this is killer. Are you all saying I will still lose weight from my diet being "low carb" even if I were having like 100gs a day?

It's a matter of speed and hunger. More carbohydrate, more insulin on average. To over simplify it, you can think of the average level of insulin as an upward force supporting x lbs of body fat; and you can think of this x lbs of fat as your body fat setpoint that is approached by the body sort of like newton's law of cooling. As you approach it, your progress slows down. So if you set your body fat setpoint really low, you'll get results faster, then increase your carbohydrate intake to what you were really aiming for.

If you eat less than 50 grams, especially less than 20 grams, you'll enter ketosis - a state where the body burns fat to create ketones for the heart/brain. Those organs prefer either glucose or ketones as their primary source of fuel. You can buy ketosis strips to confirm it from urine, but usually you can tell because of the acetone-like smell.

After you hit ketosis, your hunger will typically reduce because insulin is so low the body is free to supply lean tissue with body fat for fuel. You can still eat protein/fat and maintain this fasting state. In fact it's recommended to keep eating protein to keep glucagon high.

 

[nomster]

Read this: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3299911

great link

 

[Insaniac]

Read this: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3299911

It'll explain everything down to the last detail if you want to read all the scientific papers, but you can skim it for the bullet points without having to get too in depth just as easily.

amazing link, worth the time it took to read, and very informative.

 

[CrushDance]

You guys can laugh at me. I made a post here about 6 months ago regarding my weight loss plan and I failed miserably. I started off because one day I weighed myself for fun and was at a staggering 299! I always said I was "a big guy", "I'm tall" etc when people asked me about my weight. Sure I'm 6'3 but that was still heavy. I started cutting back on food and running everyday, longer and faster. Eventually though I got so tired from the running everyday that I decided to start having "on/off" days with running. Well, it became a permanent "off" once I stopped.

I dunno...I mean I did lose weight though. I'm at 263 now and everyone has noticed my small weight loss. But I never knew about this whole carbs things that well and thought if I only cut back that it'd be fine. So I'd eat pastas(Just had some :S), cakes, cookies, etc in moderation.

At this point I don't want to give up just yet, I mean I've only got one life and I'm sick and tired of holding myself back because I'm so insecure about my body. But It seems impossible when I see you guys shaping up so nicely in 6 months when I failed to even hit 250 in 7.

So I'm asking: If I cut out ALL carbs and eat the basics(meat, veggies, fruit*) will I be fine? I've eaten carbs all my life and the culture I'm from has always valued rice as a staple food item even. It just seems impossible.

 

[hsukardi]

So I'm asking: If I cut out ALL carbs and eat the basics(meat, veggies, fruit*) will I be fine? I've eaten carbs all my life and the culture I'm from has always valued rice as a staple food item even. It just seems impossible.

I'm Asian, I LOVE rice, noodles and bread.

Yes, you will be fine. It takes willpower.

I will know whether this works in the months to come :lol

 

[RiskyChris]

You'll be fine eating carbs, just don't overeat ever period. Do *not* eat cake or cookies.

If you want to seriously succeed, write down everything you eat. Find someone you can report that information to, hell post it here if you need to.

If I can give you one piece of advice, it's learn how to not eat everything you've put on your plate. If you can resist food sitting in front of you, you will have demonstrated enough willpower to succeed in your diet. Course don't do this if your meals are perfectly tailored to what you need to eat!

 

[CrushDance]

Well I'm cooking a basa fillet with broccoli right now for tomorrows lunch. Thing is thought that I'm so used to the food guide that when I cook, I find it near impossible to not have a little of something on the plate. I'll hit up the supermarket tomorrow and buy some chicken breasts and feed off that for about a month and see how it goes.

Thanks.

 

[Insaniac]

Well I'm cooking a basa fillet with broccoli right now for tomorrows lunch. Thing is thought that I'm so used to the food guide that when I cook, I find it near impossible to not have a little of something on the plate. I'll hit up the supermarket tomorrow and buy some chicken breasts and feed off that for about a month and see how it goes.

Thanks.

you need to view this thread as an inspiration, don't feel discouraged because people here have made transformations. Adjusting to a new diet and exercise plan is not easy for the majority of people, but if we can do it, you certainly can! Don't give up!

 

[Hazaro]

Don't try to force a diet on yourself. Feel free to slowly transition, maybe cutting out a certain food, or cutting what you'd normally eat (carb wise) in half. You'll probably feel just as full. Try drinking some more water, tea, or milk too.
If you go full out, the first 2-3 weeks can really drag you down before you get used to it.
Especially when you are out it sucks to see everything you can't have.
Luckily for you it seems you can cook so you only need to buy your food once a week. When I don't keep any carbs in the house it just forces me to eat some chicken breast and veggies, or some eggs, or some nuts and jerky.

Remember it is a lifestyle change and not a short diet.

I went from 265 to 210 with low-carb, but then started feeling so good I just ate whatever for a few months and went back to 250 :lol

Now I'm not feeling good about my weight again so I'll be in the thread on low-carb during summer.

 

[NomarTyme]

Well I'm cooking a basa fillet with broccoli right now for tomorrows lunch. Thing is thought that I'm so used to the food guide that when I cook, I find it near impossible to not have a little of something on the plate. I'll hit up the supermarket tomorrow and buy some chicken breasts and feed off that for about a month and see how it goes.

Thanks.

Please don't just eat chicken. I'm pretty sure you'll hate the diet/Lifestyle change within a week. Eat Beef, chicken, pork, etc... Also I recommend Olive oil or Coconut oil(I prefer coconut oil now because its rich in fat and keeps your hunger down). You can also slowy cut the down the carb instead of going straight cold turkey. And you mostly like suffer "Low Carb Flu" the first week or longer.

 

[CrushDance]

*Beam of light* Thanks guys. It's inspiring for sure seeing the massive changes some of you have gone through! I really hope I can do it as well. I just finished reading up that SA link and it was very informative, didn't know that I was basically staying the same by ingesting anything with carbs.

Please don't just eat chicken. I'm pretty sure you'll hate the diet/Lifestyle change within a week. Eat Beef, chicken, pork, etc... Also I recommend Olive oil or Coconut oil(I prefer coconut oil now because its rich in fat and keeps your hunger down). You can also slowy cut the down the carb instead of going straight cold turkey. And you mostly like suffer "Low Carb Flu" the first week or longer.

Isn't pork high in fat? and oil?...i usually cook with olive oil(extra virgin) because it adds such a robust taste to food. I just don't want anymore fat build up! but i guess that's just sugars which do that right?

 

[hsukardi]

It takes about a week to get used to it, up to 3 to get completely adjusted. If you want to confirm you're in ketosis (low carb such that the body creates ketones for brain/heart), you can buy ketosis strips from a local pharmacy. Usually in the diabetics section.

Thanks! I think it really helps, especially in this thread, if you get a reply to your post :lol

I think I'm still okay on the carbs because I'm taking in plenty of nuts, am on the cashew variety now and I heard they have a higher carb composition.

 

[msdstc]

You guys can laugh at me. I made a post here about 6 months ago regarding my weight loss plan and I failed miserably. I started off because one day I weighed myself for fun and was at a staggering 299! I always said I was "a big guy", "I'm tall" etc when people asked me about my weight. Sure I'm 6'3 but that was still heavy. I started cutting back on food and running everyday, longer and faster. Eventually though I got so tired from the running everyday that I decided to start having "on/off" days with running. Well, it became a permanent "off" once I stopped.

I dunno...I mean I did lose weight though. I'm at 263 now and everyone has noticed my small weight loss. But I never knew about this whole carbs things that well and thought if I only cut back that it'd be fine. So I'd eat pastas(Just had some :S), cakes, cookies, etc in moderation.

At this point I don't want to give up just yet, I mean I've only got one life and I'm sick and tired of holding myself back because I'm so insecure about my body. But It seems impossible when I see you guys shaping up so nicely in 6 months when I failed to even hit 250 in 7.

So I'm asking: If I cut out ALL carbs and eat the basics(meat, veggies, fruit*) will I be fine? I've eaten carbs all my life and the culture I'm from has always valued rice as a staple food item even. It just seems impossible.

Am I missing the question here, or are you asking if you can cut food and not exercise? Exercising is an absolute must. It'll make you feel better, and the combination of diet and exercise will make you lose weight rapidly.

 

[CrushDance]

Am I missing the question here, or are you asking if you can cut food and not exercise? Exercising is an absolute must. It'll make you feel better, and the combination of diet and exercise will make you lose weight rapidly.

No. I'm positive exercise played a major role in my weight loss. I was just trying to find out where I can get that extra 10% to steadily lose weight. I don't want to do it really fast either so I workout a little to avoid loose skin.

 

[NomarTyme]

*Beam of light* Thanks guys. It's inspiring for sure seeing the massive changes some of you have gone through! I really hope I can do it as well. I just finished reading up that SA link and it was very informative, didn't know that I was basically staying the same by ingesting anything with carbs.

Isn't pork high in fat? and oil?...i usually cook with olive oil(extra virgin) because it adds such a robust taste to food. I just don't want anymore fat build up! but i guess that's just sugars which do that right?

Fat is good.

 

[CrushDance]

Fat is good.

Well I take Centrum multivitamins once a day in the morning, I'll grab some fish oils tomorrow when I do my shopping run. I'll finish the article tomorrow though, bit sleepy.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[elrechazado]

Question re: ketosis
If I'm under 20g of carbs 6 days a week and on the seventh spike to something like 300 g of carbs, then back to 6 under 20, etc, is this going to prevent ketosis, or really screw with the whole point of low carbing in the first place, or is this not really a big deal?

 

[LaneDS]

Have you detailed anywhere in this thread your diet and exercise routine?

Thanks.

I'll start by saying everything I'm likely to type has been said better elsewhere in the thread by more informed folks in better shape. But I'll share anyway in the hopes it helps others.

Step 1: Get fed up with yourself. That helps a lot! Being able to take all those negative emotions you've got about your weight, life, or whatever and focus them into "I'm going to fix this" is oddly useful. This is, of course, mostly a joke, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't factor in some days for me.

Step 2: Recognize that these things are not diets, these things are not temporary fixes. Your goal should be to get in the best shape of your life and stay there. Which is obviously a life-changing outlook. Remind yourself it'll be a long road and there will be peaks and valleys. You'll make mistakes. But keep your eye on the prize and fix those mistakes as you encounter them. You can disregard this step if you're, y'know, Superman or something. In which case, call me, we should hang out and fight crime and stuff.

Step 3: Why am I using steps? I'm not sure. Fix your diet. At the peak of my fatness I was eating fast food sometimes twice a day and that obviously is a terrible idea for a bunch of reasons (surprise: I save a lot of money making food and eating healthier! ...although all this protein I'm buying lately is a bit costly, but that can be ignored). Even if you hate exercise, like many, many folks in here have said... fixing your diet is the bulk of the battle. My one year of heavy (ha!) weight loss stemmed from making small changes to my diet and working out 4-6 times a week. Trying to go from all fast food to a diet where you only eat very healthy overnight sucks and I don't recommend it unless you are, again, Superman. Make manageable changes to your diet and after you get those down, improve your diet a bit more. I went from fast food to buying my own food (largely frozen meals that were slightly less terrible) to making my own food to the point where I cook for myself at least twice a day (over a year's worth of time).

Step 4: Exercise. Anything that you find tolerable and lets you exert yourself physically. Some kind of physical activity along with step 3 (which is more important) will go a long way. It'll suck horribly at first, but it eventually gets easier. And eventually when you start seeing the results, it becomes a little addictive and a lot rewarding. If you can exercise lots and diet well... you'll be where you want to be in no time. Do both if you can, toning up is nice.

Step 5: Talk about what you're doing with someone. Friends, family, GAF... doesn't matter. That's partly why I like this thread so much, it's good to encourage folks. My roommate and I have been pretty good about yelling at one another to go to the gym for a while now and it has certainly helped us both. Chart your progress. I use WiiFit as a scale (and nothing else) because it will log your progress. Graphs are great, especially if you can make the bad ones decrease and the awesome ones increase.

So there, not sure if I missed anything, and it's nothing revolutionary, but maybe it'll help someone. Hopefully it will.

 

[teh_pwn]

Isn't pork high in fat? and oil?...i usually cook with olive oil(extra virgin) because it adds such a robust taste to food. I just don't want anymore fat build up! but i guess that's just sugars which do that right?

The body doesn't just take dietary fat and shove it into fat cells. At least most of the time. If you eat lots of refined carbohydrates + lots of fat, then it's possible.

The summary from this is probably better than what I've been posting.

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3299911


Key take away:

As it turns out, every hormone in our body works to release fat from our fat tissue, with the singular exception of insulin, which works to put it there. And insulin levels in our blood are determined primarily by the carbohydrate content of our diet. The more carbohydrates we consume, and the easier they are to digest, the higher our insulin. Insulin tells our fat tissue to accumulate fat. So long as insulin levels remain elevated, fat is locked in the fat tissue and can’t escape.

What’s even more remarkable — and completely ignored in all discussions of obesity and weight since the 1970s — is that we must eat carbohydrates to accumulate excess fat in our fat tissue. It’s only by eating carbohydrates that we can obtain alpha glycerol phosphate, an enzyme that is an absolute requirement for storing fat. This enzyme fixes the fat in the fat tissue in a way that it can’t slip back out through the fat cell membranes and escape into the blood stream. This is why the more carbohydrates we consume, the more fat we will store. The less carbohydrates, the less fat.

After a meal is digested, insulin levels should decline. When this happens, fat is released from the fat tissue in the form of fatty acids and these are then burned in cells for fuel. For this reason, another necessary requirement for remaining lean is to have lengthy periods during which insulin levels are low and we burn our fat for fuel. When insulin levels remain elevated, fat can’t escape from the fat tissue. It goes in, but it doesn’t come out, and we can’t use it for energy. A meal without carbohydrates is a meal that doesn’t stimulate any significant insulin secretion. You store very few, if any, calories as fat, and you get plenty of opportunity to burn the fat you had stored.

--Gary Taubes, "Good Calories, Bad Calories"

Here's gary explaining the basics of body fat storage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiEtsVPUXmo&feature=related#t=4m40s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMzgo932JIw&feature=related


I also don't agree that exercise is a must. It makes you lose weight faster with the right diet, and moderate ammounts will improve your health. But I think it's better to correct insulin/leptin first, rather than running on a hamster wheel to increase other hormones to counter the effects of too much insulin and too little leptin reaching the hypothalamus.

Can you lose fat on caloric restriction and lots of exercise? Yes. You can also carry objects instead of using the wheel.

 

[teh_pwn]

Thanks! I think it really helps, especially in this thread, if you get a reply to your post :lol

I think I'm still okay on the carbs because I'm taking in plenty of nuts, am on the cashew variety now and I heard they have a higher carb composition.

Glad I could help.

But don't just believe what I'm saying. Take a skeptical view of it, read the stuff I'm posting. Taubes's book is fantastic in that respect because it's 500 pages long with about 100 pages of references of studies, trials, between 1850-2007 making the case.

The likely reason why America and any country adopting the modern American diet is so sick, fat, diabetic, prone to heart disease and to some extent cancer is because of a bunch of politicians in the 1970s making dietary guidelines because they felt like it. They knew some people in the field that agreed with them, and only listened to them. In the 1980s, pasta was sold as a weight loss food.

Question re: ketosis
If I'm under 20g of carbs 6 days a week and on the seventh spike to something like 300 g of carbs, then back to 6 under 20, etc, is this going to prevent ketosis, or really screw with the whole point of low carbing in the first place, or is this not really a big deal?

You'd still lose fat, just at a slower pace. But I'm speculating that it will just make adherence to the diet harder, depending on how long it takes to get back to ketosis. I'm guessing you'd have about 4-6 hours of hunger and fatigue after you go back to a ketogenic diet.

I have about a cheat day a week myself. Usually get a thin crust pizza, only carb rich food I miss.

 

[teh_pwn]

I've just been reading about ketosis as a form of fat trimming and people are recommending that when carbing up, they take Alpha Lipoic Acid (ALA) to ensure that the energy from the carbs is more directed to the muscles than being stored as fat. I think. Does anyone here know anything about it? I've found a bit of info on the net but for a fitness/weight loss noob such as myself, it's hard to glean any real useful information without it going over the top of my head.

Well I found one study that sounds promising.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15913551
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17178700

Remember increasing your sensitivity to insulin is good. It means that lean tissue takes blood glucose as energy. Insulin resistance is when it doesn't, and so the body increases insulin more, which gradually stores it all as fat, and makes you hungry and tired.

Interesting though, I'm going to look around more. I've read other things suggesting that a simple mineral deficiency causes some people to become insulin resistant. Grains have a tendency to block mineral absorption, especially wheat and soy.

Edit: here's what I read about minerals:

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2010/04/magnesium-and-vitamin-d-metabolism.html

Good reason to justify the few carbs in vegetables.

 

[Tony Danza]

So I gained 8 lbs this past week. 8 lbs.

Today I began my low carb diet. Is it bad to only eat two meals a day? I woke up and had eggs with cheese and then a hearty salad about an hour ago.

 

[teh_pwn]

So I gained 8 lbs this past week. 8 lbs.

Today I began my low carb diet. Is it bad to only eat two meals a day? I woke up and had eggs with cheese and then a hearty salad about an hour ago.

You may benefit from a couple of snacks with protein in order to keep glucagon high, but I haven't seen any controlled studies to say whether more meals or less is better.

 

[VGChampion]

I did the Atkins diet about 8 years ago when it was getting popular. Worst mistake of my life. I definitely saw results and kept those results for a couple of years but the second I started eating the foods you weren't supposed to eat I ballooned up. Even with exercise. Wasn't until later I learned those diets actually make it easier for you to gain weight.

Luckily I'm almost back down to where I want to be. Been a long year. Probably post some pics when I'm happy.

 

[teh_pwn]

I did the Atkins diet about 8 years ago when it was getting popular. Worst mistake of my life. I definitely saw results and kept those results for a couple of years but the second I started eating the foods you weren't supposed to eat I ballooned up. Even with exercise. Wasn't until later I learned those diets actually make it easier for you to gain weight.

Luckily I'm almost back down to where I want to be. Been a long year. Probably post some pics when I'm happy.

Atkins is done in a set of phases, the last phase is to keep adding healthier carbohydrates until your weight stops changing, and to eat that for life.

Did you just do ketogenic/induction for 2 years and then go back to your old diet?

 

[Sgt.Pepper]

So I gained 8 lbs this past week. 8 lbs.

Today I began my low carb diet. Is it bad to only eat two meals a day? I woke up and had eggs with cheese and then a hearty salad about an hour ago.

Not really. You should eat your needed calories though. Leaving a lot of time between meals is called fasting, google it. It has many benefits, plus eating too often doesn't really make a difference; unless you get hungry a lot.

 

[teh_pwn]

Here's a study I missed earlier. It's a PDF.

A Ketogenic Diet Favorably Affects Serum Biomarkers for Cardiovascular
Disease in Normal-Weight Men

 

[NomarTyme]

Atkins is done in a set of phases, the last phase is to keep adding healthier carbohydrates until your weight stops changing, and to eat that for life.

Did you just do ketogenic/induction for 2 years and then go back to your old diet?

Basically.

Here's a study I missed earlier. It's a PDF.

A Ketogenic Diet Favorably Affects Serum Biomarkers for Cardiovascular
Disease in Normal-Weight Men

Nice! read later.