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[Domino Theory]

God I love this low-carb diet. I have so many calories every day, I eat when I want, whatever I want and the weight just sheds itself off. This is too good.

I've lost 11 pounds in 4 weeks on this diet (started July 5th, 2010).

On my calorie-restricted diet, it took me one year (July 5th, 2009 - July 4th, 2010) to lose 30 pounds. I've lost a third of that in just 4 weeks eating low-carb.

Anyways, I have a concern that I was hoping could be cleared up here. I have a cheat day once a week on my low-carb diet where I slightly lean off the carb restriction JUST for lunch and have frozen yogurt at night, however, I recently found out that Yogurtland uses HFCS as an ingredient in their frozen yogurt.

Is it okay to have HFCS once a week? I've read up on HFCS so much that I think having food that contains HFCS, even if it's just once a week, is bad enough to harm my health because I care for my health in addition to my weight.

 

[BertramCooper]

Is it okay to have HFCS once a week? I've read up on HFCS so much that I think having food that contains HFCS, even if it's just once a week, is bad enough to harm my health because I care for my health in addition to my weight.

Don't sweat it.

I think the debate over HFCS misses the point. People eat too much sugar period, and should cut it out whenever possible. That includes ALL varieties of it. I feel like the anti-HFCS crusade leads people to believe that regular sugar is somehow good for them, which is totally false.

 

[teh_pwn]

Don't sweat it.

I think the debate over HFCS misses the point. People eat too much sugar period, and should cut it out whenever possible. That includes ALL varieties of it. I feel like the anti-HFCS crusade leads people to believe that regular sugar is somehow good for them, which is totally false.

Exactly. I used to think that sugar was better than HFCS. While that may be slightly true, both are very bad for you due to the fructose content.

Fructose is like alcohol. If you take small amounts with food, your liver can keep up with virtually no adverse effects, and some of the fruits that contain small amounts of fructose have some health benefits. But just like how an empty stomach alcohol in high amounts causes big problems, so does downing a tall glass of juice. The biggest difference in this analogy is that fructose's ill effects takes chronic consumption to manifest, whereas alcohol can do it immediately due to it's metabolism in the brain.

And to low carbers getting fast results, don't feel disappointed if your results slow down. People most successful on low carb tend to be insulin resistant, and insulin resistant kidneys retain salt in response to insulin. So by cutting out carbs, you remove the insulin, and your kidneys start letting go of salt and effectively water weight like it should. So sometimes low carbers get nearly instantaneous 5 lb reduction.

 

[Schlep]

Fwiw, I've been going for five weeks now and I'm down 3" on the waist and two notches on the belt. I don't track using a scale, because in the past I've found it very demotivating. I've been told I look noticeably slimmer by people who didn't even know I'm making a concerted effort.

This is on a 'normal' diet that my food diary tells me is (on average) 49% carbs, 27% protein, and 24% fat. Average calories per day looks to be 1,608, although it feels like I'm eating a lot more than that. For sugar, my average is 50-100g per day; it doesn't tell me the exact amount like it does for the other totals. Everything is whole wheat, brown, or multiple whole grains. Almost everything is prepared from scratch except for sauces/marinades and staples like bread, tortillas, pasta, etc.

Exercise has been 45 minutes a day on a stationary bike and 30 minute walks with my dog five days a week, abs three days a week, and hour long walks with my dog twice a week. I'll be reintroducing strength training here in a month or two once I can afford the gym membership. :lol

 

[~Kinggi~]

God damn mother fuckity fuck. Ive hit some weight-loss brick wall these last two weeks. Ive lost 26 pounds over 3 months, and now i have just stopped. Its not even that im super thin, i still got a little bit of a stomach and man tits i want to fucking get rid of. I havent changed my diet, im working out even more now up to 45 minutes and day from 35 (once i stopped losing weight after a week i increased it). I mean the fucking science of it all should say i am burning more calories than i am taking in and im keeping things low-carb. I want to shoot someone im so pissed. I swear another week goes by without any loss im gonna go crazy.

 

[NomarTyme]

God damn mother fuckity fuck. Ive hit some weight-loss brick wall these last two weeks. Ive lost 26 pounds over 3 months, and now i have just stopped. Its not even that im super thin, i still got a little bit of a stomach and man tits i want to fucking get rid of. I havent changed my diet, im working out even more now up to 45 minutes and day from 35 (once i stopped losing weight after a week i increased it). I mean the fucking science of it all should say i am burning more calories than i am taking in and im keeping things low-carb. I want to shoot someone im so pissed. I swear another week goes by without any loss im gonna go crazy.

You're making it worse by stressing out! cortisol release is bad. Stop freaking out because everybody go through this shit.

 

[Chinner]

God damn mother fuckity fuck. Ive hit some weight-loss brick wall these last two weeks. Ive lost 26 pounds over 3 months, and now i have just stopped. Its not even that im super thin, i still got a little bit of a stomach and man tits i want to fucking get rid of. I havent changed my diet, im working out even more now up to 45 minutes and day from 35 (once i stopped losing weight after a week i increased it). I mean the fucking science of it all should say i am burning more calories than i am taking in and im keeping things low-carb. I want to shoot someone im so pissed. I swear another week goes by without any loss im gonna go crazy.

i read about people encountering this on SA. some recommend just cheating for a weekend and then returning to low carb - kind of resets the process and allows you to continue losing weight.

 

[teh_pwn]

God damn mother fuckity fuck. Ive hit some weight-loss brick wall these last two weeks. Ive lost 26 pounds over 3 months, and now i have just stopped. Its not even that im super thin, i still got a little bit of a stomach and man tits i want to fucking get rid of. I havent changed my diet, im working out even more now up to 45 minutes and day from 35 (once i stopped losing weight after a week i increased it). I mean the fucking science of it all should say i am burning more calories than i am taking in and im keeping things low-carb. I want to shoot someone im so pissed. I swear another week goes by without any loss im gonna go crazy.

Low carb addresses:
-fructose induced leptin resistance
-Chronic elevated insulin due to Insulin resistance

But not:
-Autoimmune/inflamed hypothalamus from bad gut bacteria
-inflamed hypothalamus from linoleic acid
-Other causes of obesity not yet known

My tips:
1. Create a food log to double check that your appetite has been corrected. If you're overeating, check to see if there's any food that you tend to overeat more than seems natural.
2. Buy some probiotics, yogurt, or other fermented food.
3. Reduce omega 6 oils where feasible, and boost omega 3. You don't have to eliminate omega 6, just crowd it out with 10 grams of omega 3s instead and it should do the trick. See the graph here to see why - aiming to match greenland is all you probably need to do.
4. Make sure you get enough rest & sleep. As others said, stress hormones really do fuck with growth hormone and keep fat retained. If you're not sleeping well, try to figure out why. Don't stress out about stressing out, ha.

 

[moniker]

^ Great post!

I would also add another bullet point:

5. Make sure you get enough vitamin D. If not from the sun, at least from supplements. This study shows that vitamin D supplementation reduces insulin resistance in vitamin D deficient people which, in theory, should help with weight loss. I don't think this has been studied (yet) though.

 

[teh_pwn]

^ Great post!

I would also add another bullet point:

5. Make sure you get enough vitamin D. If not from the sun, at least from supplements. This study shows that vitamin D supplementation reduces insulin resistance in vitamin D deficient people which, in theory, should help with weight loss. I don't think this has been studied (yet) though.

That's interesting, because there are also studies showing that magnesium & calcium supplementation independently improve insulin sensitivity. What I wonder is if people are deficient in vitamin D, magnesium, and calcium due to bad gut bacteria in the first place. Just a thought, but Stephan Guyenet referred to a paper where "normal" gluten sensitive people burned through their vitamin D reserves faster on bran than the other group.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/12/gluten-sensitivity-celiac-disease-is.html

 

[~Kinggi~]

Low carb addresses:
-fructose induced leptin resistance
-Chronic elevated insulin due to Insulin resistance

But not:
-Autoimmune/inflamed hypothalamus from bad gut bacteria
-inflamed hypothalamus from linoleic acid
-Other causes of obesity not yet known

My tips:
1. Create a food log to double check that your appetite has been corrected. If you're overeating, check to see if there's any food that you tend to overeat more than seems natural.
2. Buy some probiotics, yogurt, or other fermented food.
3. Reduce omega 6 oils where feasible, and boost omega 3. You don't have to eliminate omega 6, just crowd it out with 10 grams of omega 3s instead and it should do the trick. See the graph here to see why - aiming to match greenland is all you probably need to do.
4. Make sure you get enough rest & sleep. As others said, stress hormones really do fuck with growth hormone and keep fat retained. If you're not sleeping well, try to figure out why. Don't stress out about stressing out, ha.

Thanks for the tips, but im pretty sure im already doing a lot of things on that list properly.

Here are some details, keep in mind this method has had me lose 26 pounds accompanied by exercise.

-Breakfast: Low-fat Dannon plain yogurt, 1-1/2 servings. 1 glass of this antioxidant juice that isnt too high in sugar and carbs.
-Some days (3-4 a week) at around 10:30 am i have a cup of DD hot coffee with a little cream and sugar.
-Lunch: 6 inch whole grain wheat turkey sub from subway. Little bit of honey mustard, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce. I usually have water to drink. Occasionally ill have a diet coke.
-Dinner: Steak with some spices sprinkled on top. I use organic olive oil pam spray for the cooking. Every now and then ill have some lemon pepper chicken from Publix.

Before dinner i do about 35-45 minutes of exercise on one of those standing elliptical machines with some resistance. Im always sweating after a workout.

Occasionally, ill have 1 glass of red wine after dinner ( i have recently stopped this practice once i stopped losing weight, thinking this might have been the cause)

I get about 7-8 hours of sleep a night. There is some job stress that i cant do anything about.

THATS IT! I dont have any sort of fucking candy or desserts or any side snacks. Im very rigid and strict in the diet. I have had 2 nights in the 3 months where i went out for dinner and cheated.

Any suggestions as to why i would suddenly stop losing weight?

 

[moniker]

That's interesting, because there are also studies showing that magnesium & calcium supplementation independently improve insulin sensitivity. What I wonder is if people are deficient in vitamin D, magnesium, and calcium due to bad gut bacteria in the first place. Just a thought, but Stephan Guyenet referred to a paper where "normal" gluten sensitive people burned through their vitamin D reserves faster on bran than the other group.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/12/gluten-sensitivity-celiac-disease-is.html

Maybe, but I think that anti-nutrients like phytic acid from grains and seeds would play a bigger part in magnesium and calcium (and iron and zink) deficiency than gut bacteria, but I may be wrong. Btw, do you have some links to the gut bacteria stuff? I'd love to read up some more on it.

 

[teh_pwn]

Maybe, but I think that anti-nutrients like phytic acid from grains and seeds would play a bigger part in magnesium and calcium (and iron and zink) deficiency than gut bacteria, but I may be wrong.

You're right, I completely forgot about phytates. I've read so much stuff I'm forgetting some important aspects.

 

[teh_pwn]

Your diet isn't bad or anything, but here are some nitpicking ideas for improvements:

-Breakfast: Low-fat Dannon plain yogurt, 1-1/2 servings. 1 glass of this antioxidant juice that isnt too high in sugar and carbs.

Change to:
-Whole dairy yogurt
-With 10 grams of lemon fish oil
-Supplement probiotic

-Some days (3-4 a week) at around 10:30 am i have a cup of DD hot coffee with a little cream and sugar.

Check the cream, it's very possible that it's trans fats or soy/omega6 vegetable oils. And the sugar could go, maybe an artificial sweetener instead?

-Lunch: 6 inch whole grain wheat turkey sub from subway. Little bit of honey mustard, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce. I usually have water to drink.

Any way to double the meat and remove the bread?

-Dinner: Steak with some spices sprinkled on top. I use organic olive oil pam spray for the cooking. Every now and then ill have some lemon pepper chicken from Publix.

I would add some spinach or other non-starchy vegetables somewhere. This looks like a good place.

Occasionally, ill have 1 glass of red wine after dinner ( i have recently stopped this practice once i stopped losing weight, thinking this might have been the cause)

If you must have red wine, go for cabernet.

THATS IT! I dont have any sort of fucking candy or desserts or any side snacks. Im very rigid and strict in the diet. I have had 2 nights in the 3 months where i went out for dinner and cheated.

Any suggestions as to why i would suddenly stop losing weight?

Has your waist stop changing too? I mean simultaneous weights & low insulin makes it possible for muscle gain and fat loss. I wouldn't count on it, but it's a possibility.

 

[Domino Theory]

-Lunch: 6 inch whole grain wheat turkey sub from subway. Little bit of honey mustard, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and lettuce. I usually have water to drink. Occasionally ill have a diet coke.

Ta da.

Whole grain wheat from Subway contains HFCS and is, obviously, loaded with carbs (~50g for a 6 inch).

 

[Shaneus]

In Australia we can get any Subway in a salad bowl without the bread. I've never ordered it before but that should be a much healthier alternative. In fact, I don't know why I'd never thought of having it before... know what I'm having for lunch today!

 

[teh_pwn]

In Australia we can get any Subway in a salad bowl without the bread. I've never ordered it before but that should be a much healthier alternative. In fact, I don't know why I'd never thought of having it before... know what I'm having for lunch today!

Just be careful with the dressing. I think the best you're going to be offered is a soybean based dressing, or at worst a low fat one that's basically liquid sugar.

 

[elrechazado]

Just be careful with the dressing. I think the best you're going to be offered is a soybean based dressing, or at worst a low fat one that's basically liquid sugar.

so many dressings are fucking evil. I was working late recently and we all ordered from applebees ... best thing I could find ( i should have got a steak but nobody else was) was spinach shrimp salad with bacon dressing. Web at work blocked nutritional info so I couldn't check first. Looked later on the next day. That damn salad had 70 carbs in the dressing alone (the rest was fine). I was pissed, so much effing sugar.

 

[NomarTyme]

That's interesting, because there are also studies showing that magnesium & calcium supplementation independently improve insulin sensitivity. What I wonder is if people are deficient in vitamin D, magnesium, and calcium due to bad gut bacteria in the first place. Just a thought, but Stephan Guyenet referred to a paper where "normal" gluten sensitive people burned through their vitamin D reserves faster on bran than the other group.

http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/12/gluten-sensitivity-celiac-disease-is.html

Bought some of these today. I see if it effective in a month or so...

so many dressings are fucking evil. I was working late recently and we all ordered from applebees ... best thing I could find ( i should have got a steak but nobody else was) was spinach shrimp salad with bacon dressing. Web at work blocked nutritional info so I couldn't check first. Looked later on the next day. That damn salad had 70 carbs in the dressing alone (the rest was fine). I was pissed, so much effing sugar.

I always ask for this on the side.

 

[Shaneus]

It mentions (for the Australian Subway site) the sauces (for a 6-inch sub, but I assume it's the same amount as a salad) and while most are rather high, there are a few which aren't complete crap: 21ml Chipotle - 1.1g, Marinara - 1.6g, Mayo - 0.6g and Ranch - 0.4g. As an extra, bacon could also be added too @ 0.8g carbs for two strips. I'm only mentioning the measurements because it mentions them specifically on the nutrition information sheet.

 

[BattleMonkey]

God I love this low-carb diet. I have so many calories every day, I eat when I want, whatever I want and the weight just sheds itself off. This is too good.

I've lost 11 pounds in 4 weeks on this diet (started July 5th, 2010).

On my calorie-restricted diet, it took me one year (July 5th, 2009 - July 4th, 2010) to lose 30 pounds. I've lost a third of that in just 4 weeks eating low-carb.

Low carb is good for quick weight loss, but also tends to have very fast rebound if you don't stay with a low carb life style. Low cal/fat diets while take longer, are generally much longer lasting and not prone to quick rebound with better metabolism building. Low carb gets results and quick but you still have to have a fairly strict long term commitment to it.

I also don't consider low card as "eat whatever you want" when your still limiting yourself to what you can eat.

 

[teh_pwn]

Bought some of these today. I see if it effective in a month or so...


I always ask for this on the side.

Careful with supplementing extra calcium, magnesium. Especially magnesium. If you take 200%+ in one shot, it's likely to make you shit.

Low carb is good for quick weight loss, but also tends to have very fast rebound if you don't stay with a low carb life style. Low cal/fat diets while take longer, are generally much longer lasting and not prone to quick rebound with better metabolism building. Low carb gets results and quick but you still have to have a fairly strict long term commitment to it.

I also don't consider low card as "eat whatever you want" when your still limiting yourself to what you can eat.

Yeah, "eat whatever you want" isn't the best phrasing. "Eat until your hunger is satisified with specific foods" is probably better. But honestly, I'm not missing bread. The beef, bacon, tomatoes, vegetables, butter, etc are all way tastier than bread will ever be. And I think this is part of the reason why in most studies low carb has better adherence. So long as you're okay with the food selection, there's no reason to overeat or break the diet.

 

[NomarTyme]

Careful with supplementing extra calcium, magnesium. Especially magnesium. If you take 200%+ in one shot, it's likely to make you shit.

I'm only taking two capsule so far. I'm planning to only take two capsule daily. Totally Vitamin D 200IU 51%/ Calcuim 333mg 33%/ Magnusium 189mg 47% for two capsules.

 

[ch0mp]

Low carb is good for quick weight loss, but also tends to have very fast rebound if you don't stay with a low carb life style. Low cal/fat diets while take longer, are generally much longer lasting and not prone to quick rebound with better metabolism building. Low carb gets results and quick but you still have to have a fairly strict long term commitment to it.

I also don't consider low card as "eat whatever you want" when your still limiting yourself to what you can eat.

Put another way. Low-carb is more of a lifestyle commitment than it is purely for losing weight.

For me I love bread, pasta etc but I realised it's the sauces, meats and vegies that go with them that have all the flavour so I can deal with rarely/never having them.

 

[elrechazado]

Low carb is good for quick weight loss, but also tends to have very fast rebound if you don't stay with a low carb life style. Low cal/fat diets while take longer, are generally much longer lasting and not prone to quick rebound with better metabolism building. Low carb gets results and quick but you still have to have a fairly strict long term commitment to it.

I also don't consider low card as "eat whatever you want" when your still limiting yourself to what you can eat.

Low cal low fat is shown in study after study to be non sustainable, because it relies on a cut in calories that is never sustainable for most people. And because the fat is replaced with carbohydrate, the insulin response causes the person to eat and store fat and rebound quickly to their previous weight when they stop the calorie cutting.

 

[LaneDS]

Yeah, "eat whatever you want" isn't the best phrasing. "Eat until your hunger is satisified with specific foods" is probably better. But honestly, I'm not missing bread. The beef, bacon, tomatoes, vegetables, butter, etc are all way tastier than bread will ever be. And I think this is part of the reason why in most studies low carb has better adherence. So long as you're okay with the food selection, there's no reason to overeat or break the diet.

Hm, tomatoes are ok? I figured they'd be on the list of vegetables to avoid while on this diet. The ones I've mainly used for snacking on have been raw broccoli florets and snow peas. Not sure how great they are but I know I can eat a ton and find it was about, oh, 5-10g of carbs. Good way for me to fill up.

 

[MarkMclovin]

Lost 55 pounds and counting since Feb 2010. Will post pic once I'm where I want to be at (currently 186 lbs). For anyone on the fence, it is totally worth it. Life changing.

Whoa! Thats great man, what are you doing to lose it?

 

[MarkMclovin]

Man, this thread seems a right nightmare for new starters! I've read quite a bit, but I'm just going to throw some q's out there and see what happens!

I'm looking to try a low carb diet. I'm not able to go to the gym anymore due to having a kid. My work is a desk job built around a set routine (mon to fri, 9 to 5). I don't drink alcohol during the week, but I usually have a session about every 2 weekends. I fucking hate vegetables! I pretty much love everything else. I'm looking to get into a low carb routine that includes eating in work and then a meal at home with maybe snacks now and then? Last time I weighed myself, I was just under 17st. I'm 6'2". I have one of those weird shaped body's where my torso is big and my arms and legs are normal!

So, can anyone suggest anything for me?

EDIT - Forgot to mention that I do shopping every 2 weeks, apart from the usual milk/bread. So I like to plan out meals and such. And I'm a UK gaffer.

 

[chicko1983]

when people say they are on a low carb diet, is that like the atkins diet which, I to my knowledge, has close to 0 carbs, or does a "low carb" have like 40-50g of carb a day?

I looked up that 70g is considered the recommended daily intake for carbs but how much is "low carbs"?

I have decided to give the "low carb" diet a try but there are couple of things which I couldnt go without - like a latte in the morning and a piece of toast!

 

[Chinner]

nah, if you had to compare us to atkins then the amout we're eating is less than 50kg a day, so something similar to the maintenance stage in atkins.

 

[borghe]

Low cal low fat is shown in study after study to be non sustainable, because it relies on a cut in calories that is never sustainable for most people. And because the fat is replaced with carbohydrate, the insulin response causes the person to eat and store fat and rebound quickly to their previous weight when they stop the calorie cutting.

but what does sustainable mean? low cal/low fat isn't supposed to be "sustained". Also most people are stupid when it comes to low cal.. First, they set ridiculous calorie deficits... like 1500+ calories.. second, they work to maintain those ridiculous deficits with little to no exercise. So these people are eating like 600 calories or less a day for weeks/months, and then complain about being hungry.. stupidity in motion.

the sensible approach to low fat/cal, which is the approach I took, is to make sure you are getting adequate exercise and subscribing to a modest calorie deficit. most days in the beginning I was hitting at least 300-600 calories of exercise, and only striving for a 1000 calorie deficit. Taking a 2000 calorie maintenance level, I was still eating 1300-1600 calories a day on those days.. Those portions of food had me FAR from starving. By the end of my weight loss I was hitting some days of 1200 calories burned (combination running and weights) and was consuming over 2000 calories and still (slowly) losing weight.

I'll agree with you that low cal/fat diets are miserable without exercise. Your only choice is either to literally starve yourself (as in you actually feel starved) or enter a caloric deficit so minimal (200-500 calories) that the loss you see will be frustrating (.5-1 pound per week). In that respect low carb diets will come through as much more satisfying. But if you are willing to put in time on the track/machine/gym/whatever, low cal/fat diets are perfectly fine and in many cases even can leave you feeling better than a low carb diet with or without exercise.

 

[grumble]

but what does sustainable mean? low cal/low fat isn't supposed to be "sustained". Also most people are stupid when it comes to low cal.. First, they set ridiculous calorie deficits... like 1500+ calories.. second, they work to maintain those ridiculous deficits with little to no exercise. So these people are eating like 600 calories or less a day for weeks/months, and then complain about being hungry.. stupidity in motion.

the sensible approach to low fat/cal, which is the approach I took, is to make sure you are getting adequate exercise and subscribing to a modest calorie deficit. most days in the beginning I was hitting at least 300-600 calories of exercise, and only striving for a 1000 calorie deficit. Taking a 2000 calorie maintenance level, I was still eating 1300-1600 calories a day on those days.. Those portions of food had me FAR from starving. By the end of my weight loss I was hitting some days of 1200 calories burned (combination running and weights) and was consuming over 2000 calories and still (slowly) losing weight.

I'll agree with you that low cal/fat diets are miserable without exercise. Your only choice is either to literally starve yourself (as in you actually feel starved) or enter a caloric deficit so minimal (200-500 calories) that the loss you see will be frustrating (.5-1 pound per week). In that respect low carb diets will come through as much more satisfying. But if you are willing to put in time on the track/machine/gym/whatever, low cal/fat diets are perfectly fine and in many cases even can leave you feeling better than a low carb diet with or without exercise.

I absolutely agree with all of this.

 

[borghe]

and for sake of illustration, doing low cal/fat, eating 1600 calories in a day is the equivalent of eating about 4-5 pb&j sandwiches over the course of a day with some decent hearty whole grain bread and three glasses of skim milk. of course the peanut butter isn't low fat, but obviously anyone actually putting research into their diet knows that doesn't matter. or another way to look at it, which is what I did and in no way left me hungry, is a bowl of decent cereal in the morning (raisin bran, grape nuts, oatmeal, etc), a sandwich and maybe some pretzels or baked chips and a fruit for lunch, and for dinner if you are putting in 300-600 calories of exercise that day you get around 600-900 calories for supper.. and shit.. eating low/good fat, that is a very generously portioned supper IMHO.

 

[LaserBuddha]

5'11", 260lbs.

I'm just starting to work on getting in shape now. The plan is to jog 2-3 times a week and lift 2-3 times a week (work hours permitting). I'll be hard pressed to get to the gym more than twice a week but will be doing some like work with dumbbells at home before leaving for work and when i get home.

The diet is supposed to be all-around healthy, staying low on calories, fats, and carbs, and high on protein (this is mostly based on the suggestions of the firend who is working with me and motivating me through this). I'm going to try to do the whole "eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day" plan, drink a ton of water, and take a multi-vitamin every morning.

Below is a plan for what my typical meals on a work day will look like. There will usually be about 3 hours in between each one. I was wondering what you guys think of this. Sometimes I feel quite hungry eating this way, but other times I feel like I'm consuming too much and should just cut out the protein scoops or something.


MEAL 1:
Oats w/ skim milk. A banana or honey mixed in.

MEAL 2:
One scoop of protein powder w/ water

MEAL 3:
Fruit smoothie made with Splenda (the one i typically get from the smoothie place is the "Lean Machine", which is strawberry and banana and comes with "fat metabolizer" and "energizer" supplements)
-OR-
A package of veggie sushi from Harris Teeter (brown rice if available).
-OR-
Turkey on wheat with mustard, and some cottage cheese

MEAL 4:
One scoop of protein powder w/ water

MEAL 5:
Salad (just veggies) with grilled chicken breast, oil and vinegar
-Or-
Turkey on wheat bread w/ mustard and some cottage cheese
-Or-
Grilled chicken breast on low-carb wrap with veggies, salsa or hot sauce, etc.

 

[TheRagnCajun]

5'11", 260lbs.

I'm just starting to work on getting in shape now. The plan is to jog 2-3 times a week and lift 2-3 times a week (work hours permitting). I'll be hard pressed to get to the gym more than twice a week but will be doing some like work with dumbbells at home before leaving for work and when i get home.

The diet is supposed to be all-around healthy, staying low on calories, fats, and carbs, and high on protein (this is mostly based on the suggestions of the firend who is working with me and motivating me through this). I'm going to try to do the whole "eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day" plan, drink a ton of water, and take a multi-vitamin every morning.

Below is a plan for what my typical meals on a work day will look like. There will usually be about 3 hours in between each one. I was wondering what you guys think of this. Sometimes I feel quite hungry eating this way, but other times I feel like I'm consuming too much and should just cut out the protein scoops or something.


MEAL 1:
Oats w/ skim milk. A banana or honey mixed in.

MEAL 2:
One scoop of protein powder w/ water

MEAL 3:
Fruit smoothie made with Splenda (the one i typically get from the smoothie place is the "Lean Machine", which is strawberry and banana and comes with "fat metabolizer" and "energizer" supplements)
-OR-
A package of veggie sushi from Harris Teeter (brown rice if available).
-OR-
Turkey on wheat with mustard, and some cottage cheese

MEAL 4:
One scoop of protein powder w/ water

MEAL 5:
Salad (just veggies) with grilled chicken breast, oil and vinegar
-Or-
Turkey on wheat bread w/ mustard and some cottage cheese
-Or-
Grilled chicken breast on low-carb wrap with veggies, salsa or hot sauce, etc.

Don't waste your money on protien powder or fancy store bought smoothies. Just eat raw fruit and vegetables, seeds and nuts, tuna.

A lot of people seem to like skim milk but personally I would vouch for 2% or whole and see how it works for you. It will keep you full longer and the fat will help you absorb the vitamin D. I guess it depends how well you can balance your calorie deficit with it.

 

[LaserBuddha]

Don't waste your money on protien powder or fancy store bought smoothies. Just eat raw fruit and vegetables, seeds and nuts, tuna.

A lot of people seem to like skim milk but personally I would vouch for 2% or whole and see how it works for you. It will keep you full longer and the fat will help you absorb the vitamin D. I guess it depends how well you can balance your calorie deficit with it.

The smoothies and protein powder are more about convenience than anything (for example I am allowed to drink whatever i want at work, but cant really eat at my desk).

I'm tempted to go low/no-carb at the beginning to shed more pounds more quickly before switching to a more balanced and healthy diet like this, provided I could go low-carb without hurting my health too much or crippling my ability to exercise effectively. i'm hesitant to go down that road though. It feels like I would be "cheating" or something, and that i'll pay for it later, either in ill health or in regaining weight.

 

[borghe]

protein powder is most certainly not a waste of money. a good whey protein source (I use ON's 100% Gold Standard Whey) is an excellent source of high quality protein at usually a very reasonable price per gram. Take this into consideration. I can get a 5lb bucket of 100% for $36 with 75 servings at 24g each, or 48¢ per 24g serving. An egg is 6g for a large egg, meaning you get three 24g servings per carton at around $1 per carton, or 33¢ per 24g serving. Conversely a gallon of milk has five 24g servings of protein (one 8oz serving is 8g protein). At $2.50 per gallon you are looking at 46¢ per 24g serving. The eggs are a little cheaper, but unquestionably a lesser quality protein AND unless you plan on eating them raw require preparation. and milk ends up about the same, and to get the same protein requires you to drink 24oz of fluid in a single serving. And don't even get started on beans, nuts and most meat which ends up coming in significantly more expensive than the milk and the whey protein.

about the only real complaint about whey protein IMHO is that if you are looking for enjoyment out of your diet, you really won't find it there. whereas you can get away with preparing a meal from the eggs, meats or beans, or can snack on the nuts, or drink milk straight from the container as a beverage, whey protein is more something you have to "also take". you definitely aren't going to be incorporating it into something (unless you REALLY force yourself to). But if you are concerned more with the science and numbers than you are with incorporating it into a normal every day life, a good whey protein is excellent nutrition and a great value even up against the greatest poor man's protein out there (eggs).

will agree on the smoothies though.. quality protein is hard to come by inexpensively in normal food... quality fiber/fat is a lot easier to come by thanks to being present in plenty of great fruits and veggies.

 

[Xun]

Not enough pics in the thread.

The title lies.

 

[StoOgE]

this has been an adjustment. as mentioned above, the Kermit shirt is a medium. It feels REALLY uncomfortable. REALLLLLYYY uncomfortable. But, I like the picture above. I feel I look good in it and obviously the shirt looks totally normal in it. So I am at this point now where for the first time in my life I am wearing properly fitting shirts, and really just having a hard time with it. I am going to keep doing so though.. hell knows I look better as a result. I am just wondering more than anything how long it's going to take for them to feel normal.

I have the same issue. I wore Large shirts forever. Since High school and never changed. I always hated the way the shoulders looked on the shirts, and that was because they were too big. My chest and shoulder size says I'm medium. My gut said I was a large.

I've moved on to Medium shirts and I feel really weird in them.. but when I wear a large shirt (especially a military shirt or dress shirt) it looks like a tent on my upper body.

I look best in medium shirts at this point, but damn if they don't feel like I need to be wearing something looser.

As far as pants, I made the move to skinny jeans and look pretty good in them. I'm wearing 34" waste now, but I'm about to need to move to 32" as I lose my last few pounds.

 

[StoOgE]

about the only real complaint about whey protein IMHO is that if you are looking for enjoyment out of your diet, you really won't find it there. whereas you can get away with preparing a meal from the eggs, meats or beans, or can snack on the nuts, or drink milk straight from the container as a beverage, whey protein is more something you have to "also take". you definitely aren't going to be incorporating it into something (unless you REALLY force yourself to). But if you are concerned more with the science and numbers than you are with incorporating it into a normal every day life, a good whey protein is excellent nutrition and a great value even up against the greatest poor man's protein out there (eggs).

Mix that in whole milk and it tastes like a shake though.

I stay away from Whey protein because I overdid it when I was trying to bulk last year and wound up getting way too fat and never got around to cutting. Once I'm done losing the weight, I plan to bulk again and then cut back down to 12% BF (where I plan to be in 2-3 weeks).

 

[borghe]

lol.. yeah, just gotta deal with it with the shirts... guess that's what a lifetime of wearing the wrong sized shirts did to us.. :lol agree about large shirts.. unfortunately I don't have the money for a new wardrobe and all of my dress casual shirts for work from the last 15 years are all larges.. one at a time I guess.

as for getting fat on protein... pretty sure this is impossible at least on the ON 100% whey. it's like 24g of protein, 4g carbs and 1g fat. Not much in there to get fat on. but yeah, if you are using a weight gainer like muscle milk or similar with extra carbs or fat, that definitely needs to be watched.

 

[StoOgE]

as for getting fat on protein... pretty sure this is impossible at least on the ON 100% whey. it's like 24g of protein, 4g carbs and 1g fat. Not much in there to get fat on. but yeah, if you are using a weight gainer like muscle milk or similar with extra carbs or fat, that definitely needs to be watched.

I was mixing it with whole milk. And drinking a ton of whole milk.

It helped me put on a ton of muscle, but fat too.

 

[funkmastergeneral]

Dude. Skim milk.

 

[thewhiterabbit]

but what does sustainable mean? low cal/low fat isn't supposed to be "sustained". Also most people are stupid when it comes to low cal.. First, they set ridiculous calorie deficits... like 1500+ calories.. second, they work to maintain those ridiculous deficits with little to no exercise. So these people are eating like 600 calories or less a day for weeks/months, and then complain about being hungry.. stupidity in motion.

the sensible approach to low fat/cal, which is the approach I took, is to make sure you are getting adequate exercise and subscribing to a modest calorie deficit. most days in the beginning I was hitting at least 300-600 calories of exercise, and only striving for a 1000 calorie deficit. Taking a 2000 calorie maintenance level, I was still eating 1300-1600 calories a day on those days.. Those portions of food had me FAR from starving. By the end of my weight loss I was hitting some days of 1200 calories burned (combination running and weights) and was consuming over 2000 calories and still (slowly) losing weight.

I'll agree with you that low cal/fat diets are miserable without exercise. Your only choice is either to literally starve yourself (as in you actually feel starved) or enter a caloric deficit so minimal (200-500 calories) that the loss you see will be frustrating (.5-1 pound per week). In that respect low carb diets will come through as much more satisfying. But if you are willing to put in time on the track/machine/gym/whatever, low cal/fat diets are perfectly fine and in many cases even can leave you feeling better than a low carb diet with or without exercise.

Exactly. I have been doing Low cal for awhile and I have lost tons of weight. I run 4-5 days a week for an hr and weight train.

I eat 1890 calories plus most of what I burn during exercise. When I reach my goal weight I will continue to track what I eat.

I do not starve myself. I eat what I want pretty much. I try to make healthy food choices. This is not a diet. This is a lifestyle I intend to practice for life.

Eat less, Move more, Live longer.

 

[Einbroch]

Beans have carbs right? But...aren't they good for you?

This crap is so confusing. I'm tempted just to toss it all out the window and try to eat "healthier". No/very little pasta, no soda, no candy. Lots of veggies, beans, fruit, and meat.

 

[Chinner]

if theres one thing that is worth learning from your low carb/metabolic diet it is this - sugar is bad. avoid sugars and hfcs and you'll be fine. what you basically described is low carb though.

 

[Xelinis]

Here's a good link for those interested in the Cycling Ketogenic Diet.

http://www.musclenet.com/getbulky/Info/WeightLoss/KetogenicDieting.htm

 

[BertramCooper]

After a month of being unemployed, I'm going to have a job again. So today, I'm saying "Fuck you!" to the diet and eating Chinese takeout. :lol

I'll be back at the gym (and back on the diet) tomorrow.

 

[borghe]

if theres one thing that is worth learning from your low carb/metabolic diet it is this - sugar is bad. avoid sugars and hfcs and you'll be fine. what you basically described is low carb though.

Meh, sugar is fine in modest quantities and an active lifestyle. I really dislike the generalization that it's straight out bad. It's a great source of quick energy and as long as you actually use that energy you don't get the crash. Yes it's horrible for low carb diets, yes it's bad in a low activity lifestyle, and yes it's really easy to overindulge in the quantities it's usually presented to us in society, but... The first point there is a "no duh", and the second two points could also be made about a lot of other stuff that isn't bad for us either in reasonable quantities. All of our problems with sugar come down to what our bodies do with it when they don't need to burn it as energy.

 

[Shaneus]

Beans have carbs right? But...aren't they good for you?

This crap is so confusing. I'm tempted just to toss it all out the window and try to eat "healthier". No/very little pasta, no soda, no candy. Lots of veggies, beans, fruit, and meat.

Honestly, that should be enough. Avoid shit with lots of sauces that are likely to be sweetened and if there's an option of having bread or leaving it out, choose the latter option. It won't be strictly low/no carb but you will see benefits. Just not as much as the rest of us