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[grumble]

Borghe, I don't agree with your 30-40 minute thing. One, because depleting glycogen stores takes about 90 minutes, and two because it's irrelevant except in terms of increasing total caloric burn.

When you exercise for any kind of cardio activity, you'll burn both glycogen and fat. The actual percentages differ based on intensity (HIIT is most effective per unit of time), but it's irrelevant again.

Say you theoretically use 100% glycogen for your run. No fat was burned during the run. During the rest of the day, caloric intake is pushed to glycogen and the energy requirements of your body come from fat stores.

Say you use 100% fat for your run. Caloric intake will not be used to refill glycogen, and instead will be pushed to fat stores.

Do you see what I'm saying? Burning fat during your run is not important. Total caloric expenditure is 95% of the puzzle for running.

Then again for a variety of reasons focusing on running and cardio in general is a poor way to lose fat anyway. Cut calories and do resistance training, it's more effective.

 

[Chinner]

So having even a little more than 50g of carbs a day means you won't get the ketogenic effect?

Probably. I've heard that ketosis is really delicate, like missing a meal or eating a slice of bread will knock you out of it. Still, even if you're not in it you'll be losing weight so I wouldn't worry mang.

 

[Yaweee]

Probably. I've heard that ketosis is really delicate, like missing a meal or eating a slice of bread will knock you out of it. Still, even if you're not in it you'll be losing weight so I wouldn't worry mang.

That's my interpretation of it as well. The general upside of all of this low-carb stuff is that low-carb foods tend to keep you feeling full for longer, so it is much easier to eat less than you would on a high-carb diet.

 

[Chinner]

That's my interpretation of it as well. The general upside of all of this low-carb stuff is that low-carb foods tend to keep you feeling full for longer, so it is much easier to eat less than you would on a high-carb diet.

I would still eat every 3 hours or so. I guess it depends, but if you're trying to put on muscle weight then I would.

 

[crisdecuba]

Hi everyone,

So whether this is the healthiest thing or not, i got into one of those "biggest loser" competitions at work. I did it mainly for the money, cuz the total pot is now over $1,000.

It's a three month contest, based on percentage of body weight lost. It started July 1st, and I weighed 242.5 lbs. in the morning. As of yesterday morning I was at 235.5 lbs. Some of this is surely due to water weight, but I've also reduced my caloric intake to about 1600 per day and have been running each day.

The whole point of this is to ask, what should I do specifically to help ensure I do well in the competition. Should I build in rest days? Should i build in "cheat" days for food or is that mainly for psychological reasons? Should I stay away from carbs altogether? Eat lots of proteins? Does doing weights help or hinder? I'd like to avoid losing muscle mass if possible.

Anyways, thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[borghe]

Borghe, I don't agree with your 30-40 minute thing. One, because depleting glycogen stores takes about 90 minutes, and two because it's irrelevant except in terms of increasing total caloric burn.

When you exercise for any kind of cardio activity, you'll burn both glycogen and fat. The actual percentages differ based on intensity (HIIT is most effective per unit of time), but it's irrelevant again.

Say you theoretically use 100% glycogen for your run. No fat was burned during the run. During the rest of the day, caloric intake is pushed to glycogen and the energy requirements of your body come from fat stores.

Say you use 100% fat for your run. Caloric intake will not be used to refill glycogen, and instead will be pushed to fat stores.

Do you see what I'm saying? Burning fat during your run is not important. Total caloric expenditure is 95% of the puzzle for running.

Then again for a variety of reasons focusing on running and cardio in general is a poor way to lose fat anyway. Cut calories and do resistance training, it's more effective.

the problem with your postulation is that there is no set time limit on your glycogen stores. It's based on calories in (or stored in this case) and calories out. the higher the intensity of the activity, the more calories you burn. For example, you are not going to deplete your glycogen stores in the same amount of time walking as you will running. Likewise you are not going to deplete them in the same amount of time weight training as you will biking. "90 minutes" is a bogus number because there is no correlation to the intensity of what you are doing for those 90 minutes. that's why I specifically stated running, which for the general rule of thumb is 30-40 minutes. I'll look for better info on it just because I don't want to be putting bad info in this thread, but it's pretty widely acknowledged.

also your 100% examples are kind of missing something. Your body will ALWAYS burn glycogen before fat. always always always always (well, mostly always). order will always be glycogen, muscle tissue in a non-anabolic state, fat. so your first 100% example is sort of correct. if you burn 100% glycogen your body will then burn fat, UNTIL it ends up with new glucose (from eating) which it will then convert to glycogen and burn as much as it needs, then stores the rest. so as long as you are maintaining a diet, yes even burning only glycogen it is possible to force your body to burn fat.

burning 100% fat is near impossible unless you already burned your glycogen stores through another activity or starvation. your glycogen stores will virtually always be unfilled by the time your body burns fat in a normal human.

now mind you I am not promoting any of this. All of my weight has been lost through calories in/calories out with a primary focus on weights and a lesser focus on cardio. It was a response to someone's question directly in (at least what I thought was) the cardio only area. I absolutely agree that cardio only is a horrible way to lose weight. possibly even the worst way. BUT, if you are going to do cardio only, then I just wanted to point out that 30 minutes of cardio will really accomplish very little outside of calorie deficit, and even then not very much.

 

[StoOgE]

The whole point of this is to ask, what should I do specifically to help ensure I do well in the competition. Should I build in rest days? Should i build in "cheat" days for food or is that mainly for psychological reasons? Should I stay away from carbs altogether? Eat lots of proteins? Does doing weights help or hinder? I'd like to avoid losing muscle mass if possible.

Take in a reasonable amount of calories (sounds like you are good there) and do a good bit of cardio. Make sure you eat at least 1g of protein for every 2-3 pounds you weight and put on muscle mass. Even though it will hurt your weight loss it will make you healthier and increase your metabolism.

I would honestly look into something like P90 or P90x and follow their diet/excercize routine. The time frame is about perfect for what you have left as well.

and don't cheat on your diet. It's a quick way to fall off the wagon completely. Find healthier ways to cook those foods that you crave so you get a similar experience without the bad stuff.

Also, cook your own food.

 

[Carlisle]

Man, I can't seem to lose these last 10-15 lbs to get to my goal. I've come from 240+ and have now been consistently hovering around 205 for the past 6 weeks or so. I really wanna get down to 190-195 and lose this last bit of fat sitting on my belly by the end of next month, but at this rate it's not going anywhere.

I run 3 miles/day, 5 days/week as I always have... that equates to about ~30min of cardio/day. I eat well, keeping an eye on oils and sugars mostly. Can't remember the last time I had processed sugar, actually. I've shifted my runs from mornings to evenings, before dinner. I increased the size of my lunches and decreased the size of my dinners to accommodate this. I've also recently started doing pushups and crunches a couple times a week.

Any recommendations to get this kickstarted again? I know the last few pounds are the hardest to lose, and my current weight is my highschool weight so I know this is some old, deep-seeded fat I'm trying to break down. I've hit plateaus in the past, but always overcame them eventually. It just feels like I'll never get there and I'm so close. I dunno, maybe it's just psychological and it seems so much worse because I am so close to my goal after all this time working so hard at it.

 

[StoOgE]

Any recommendations to get this kickstarted again? I know the last few pounds are the hardest to lose, and my current weight is my highschool weight so I know this is some old, deep-seeded fat I'm trying to break down. I've hit plateaus in the past, but always overcame them eventually. It just feels like I'll never get there and I'm so close. I dunno, maybe it's just psychological and it seems so much worse because I am so close to my goal after all this time working so hard at it.

Lift weights, count calories. Try changing up your diet. Go low carb or something for a month and see if that kicks your body back into fat burning.

Moreover stop having "goals". I'm just as bad as anyone else when it comes to having a target weight, but remember it's a long term lifestyle change, not about hitting a magic number.

 

[borghe]

goals are good.. especially ones that far out. if it were under 10 pounds though I would agree with you. but if he's looking for 15lb I still say it's good to have a goal for that.

but yeah, change up things a bit. our bodies are creatures of habit big time, and the more comfortable our bodies get with a lifestyle the more they adapt and react accordingly. like stooge said.. change your exercise habits, change your diet.. even consider a new exercise entirely. It's very likely if you slam yourself with a ton of good changes like that you'll actually see a relatively rapid loss right at the start again.

 

[Carlisle]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I read that change is key back when I was trying to break through a plateau a few months back. That's why I changed the time of day I ran, my meal portions, and started some mild strength training.

Running + no sugar + counting calories has been the main method of attack for me throughout this campaign.

I certainly see what you mean about dropping goals too. It is a lifestyle change, and I like looking at it that way. It's about being healthy, not looking good. I started this new lifestyle a year ago next month (minus a few months during the holidays when I completely fell off the wagon). The main reason for the goal now, though, is that the GF is out of town for 6 weeks so I was hoping to be a bit closer to my goal by the time she gets back

I'll probably try amping up the strength training for now and seeing how that goes for a couple weeks. Thanks again.

 

[Zoe]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I read that change is key back when I was trying to break through a plateau a few months back. That's why I changed the time of day I ran, my meal portions, and started some mild strength training.

Also try mixing up your mornings and evenings rather than just sticking to one.

 

[borghe]

I certainly see what you mean about dropping goals too. It is a lifestyle change, and I like looking at it that way. It's about being healthy, not looking good. I started this new lifestyle a year ago next month (minus a few months during the holidays when I completely fell off the wagon). The main reason for the goal now, though, is that the GF is out of town for 6 weeks so I was hoping to be a bit closer to my goal by the time she gets back

Goals are about long reaching strategies. You need something to target to keep you on track.

with that being said, when you get down to the last few pounds (some say 15 or so, my personal thought is under 10) weight SHOULD NOT be your goal unless weight is critical to what you are trying to achieve (i.e. a weigh in, a specific weight class, etc). at that point you should make health or fitness your goal (whichever you are striving for) and your weight will work itself out.. it's especially during that time when you will be building the activity and diet habits that will carry on with you and keep the weight off.

essentially build your good habits during that time, and eventually the fat will come off all on its own. your body will equalize itself with good activity and a good diet. It might not be as fast as it was during the loss period, but you already lost the weight. Don't worry about the fine tuning.

 

[Vague]

Probably. I've heard that ketosis is really delicate, like missing a meal or eating a slice of bread will knock you out of it. Still, even if you're not in it you'll be losing weight so I wouldn't worry mang.

Just wanted to pop in to say this isn't really the case.

I've been in ketosis for about three months now. During the first two weeks while your body is adapting to burning fat instead of carbs, eating something really carby like bread will kick you out but after the first two weeks it takes just as much effort to get out than it does to get in.

Every now and then I eat carbs and it doesn't ruin anything since I've been under 20g of carbs a day for so long and I go back into it right after a carby meal.

Most people use "well i fucked up" as an excuse to "might as well keep fucking up because I ruined it already!"

--

Also, there is no scientific evidence that eating more often provides any metabolic benefit. The only reason people eat 4,6,etc times a day is because it helps with self control and not binging on something because you're hungry.

I eat whenever I'm hungry, sometimes twice a day skipping lunch, sometimes 4+ times a day, weight loss has been consistent throughout.

 

[Domino Theory]

Can anyone answer this post I made earlier?:

For my low-carb diet, I decided that I want a cheat day where only two things change: my lunch and an added snack.

The lunch would be a Fettucine Pesto Pasta w/Chicken instead of my usual low-carb lunch and my snack would be frozen yogurt from Yogurtland or Tutti Frutti. Is this okay to do once a week?

I'm having my cheat day today and I'm currently eating 1.5lbs of Chicken Tenders made from Safeway's Deli section (decided that this would have less carbs than a bowl of pasta) and I'm going to have some frozen yogurt later tonight, but I'm starting to feel guilty right now that this cheat day alone will nullify a week's worth of low-carb dieting.

 

[LaneDS]

Ugh, been working out hard and eating well, and I've gained about 5 lbs in the past few weeks. I'm almost positive it's muscle, because I certainly look better, but it's frustrating. I'm also nowhere near where I want to be weight wise (195 on a 5'8" frame is too much, muscle or not, I feel) so it's a bit annoying.

 

[Chinner]

Can anyone answer this post I made earlier?:


I'm having my cheat day today and I'm currently eating 1.5lbs of Chicken Tenders made from Safeway's Deli section (decided that this would have less carbs than a bowl of pasta) and I'm going to have some frozen yogurt later tonight, but I'm starting to feel guilty right now that this cheat day alone will nullify a week's worth of low-carb dieting.

If cheating once a week allows you to maintain this diet and stops you from reverting back, then yeah go ahead. You could hit two birds with one stone if you find low carb pasta (Dreamfields Pasta), but if not try and find some whole grain pasta.

There is actually a way to justify some moderate carb intake; after an workout session.

 

[Zoe]

I'm having my cheat day today and I'm currently eating 1.5lbs of Chicken Tenders made from Safeway's Deli section (decided that this would have less carbs than a bowl of pasta) and I'm going to have some frozen yogurt later tonight, but I'm starting to feel guilty right now that this cheat day alone will nullify a week's worth of low-carb dieting.

I can't speak for the dietary content, but isn't 1.5 lbs of meat kind of overkill?

 

[Einbroch]

Ugh, been working out hard and eating well, and I've gained about 5 lbs in the past few weeks. I'm almost positive it's muscle, because I certainly look better, but it's frustrating. I'm also nowhere near where I want to be weight wise (195 on a 5'8" frame is too much, muscle or not, I feel) so it's a bit annoying.

Weight is only one measurement, and a fairly lousy one at that. Look at your clothes, look at yourself in the mirror.

Those are the two things that I go by, and not the scale. Of course it's nice to see that number go down, but it really doesn't matter when it gets right down to it.

 

[Yaweee]

Ugh, been working out hard and eating well, and I've gained about 5 lbs in the past few weeks. I'm almost positive it's muscle, because I certainly look better, but it's frustrating. I'm also nowhere near where I want to be weight wise (195 on a 5'8" frame is too much, muscle or not, I feel) so it's a bit annoying.

How often and under what conditions do you weigh yourself? My weight regularly swings 3~4 pounds over the course of a day due to just how much I drink, eat, and piss away. Taking a dump every few days also leads to some significant swings.

 

[grumble]

the problem with your postulation is that there is no set time limit on your glycogen stores. It's based on calories in (or stored in this case) and calories out. the higher the intensity of the activity, the more calories you burn. For example, you are not going to deplete your glycogen stores in the same amount of time walking as you will running. Likewise you are not going to deplete them in the same amount of time weight training as you will biking. "90 minutes" is a bogus number because there is no correlation to the intensity of what you are doing for those 90 minutes. that's why I specifically stated running, which for the general rule of thumb is 30-40 minutes. I'll look for better info on it just because I don't want to be putting bad info in this thread, but it's pretty widely acknowledged.

also your 100% examples are kind of missing something. Your body will ALWAYS burn glycogen before fat. always always always always (well, mostly always). order will always be glycogen, muscle tissue in a non-anabolic state, fat. so your first 100% example is sort of correct. if you burn 100% glycogen your body will then burn fat, UNTIL it ends up with new glucose (from eating) which it will then convert to glycogen and burn as much as it needs, then stores the rest. so as long as you are maintaining a diet, yes even burning only glycogen it is possible to force your body to burn fat.

burning 100% fat is near impossible unless you already burned your glycogen stores through another activity or starvation. your glycogen stores will virtually always be unfilled by the time your body burns fat in a normal human.

now mind you I am not promoting any of this. All of my weight has been lost through calories in/calories out with a primary focus on weights and a lesser focus on cardio. It was a response to someone's question directly in (at least what I thought was) the cardio only area. I absolutely agree that cardio only is a horrible way to lose weight. possibly even the worst way. BUT, if you are going to do cardio only, then I just wanted to point out that 30 minutes of cardio will really accomplish very little outside of calorie deficit, and even then not very much.

I used both 100% examples as being theoretical.

1. 90 minutes is about the time it takes for a high-level marathon runner to bonk without carb loading, provided they begin with full glycogen stores. This is a physical phenomenon. You have about 1500 to 2000 calories worth of glycogen in your body, and you are not going to burn through them in 30-40 minutes.

2. All aerobic activity uses both fat and glycogen as energy sources at the same time. The proportion used tends to lean more towards glycogen as intensity increases. Your assertions otherwise are wrong.

I was going to write out each point in detail, but I think I'll just link to a few pages you might want to read.

The Myth of the Fat Burning Zone (contains good info pertaining to this discussion):
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0895.htm

Wikipedia (Hitting the Wall)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitting_the_wall

How Long Should I work out to Burn Fat? (this article doesn't consider EPOC so ignores HIIT, but whatever. You'll see the info)
http://stason.org/TULARC/sports/fitness/4-How-long-should-I-work-out-to-burn-FAT.html

The Science Behind Bonking
http://www.marathon-training-program.com/bonking.html


There are a couple of other articles that people in this thread might find useful.

Exercise and Weight Loss (one important takeaway being expect about 3-400 calories burned per hour of exercise):
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/exercise-and-weightfat-loss-part-1.html

Wikipedia on HIIT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-intensity_interval_training

So just to be clear again: cardio exercise is a minor part of fat loss.

 

[StoOgE]

Ugh, been working out hard and eating well, and I've gained about 5 lbs in the past few weeks. I'm almost positive it's muscle, because I certainly look better, but it's frustrating. I'm also nowhere near where I want to be weight wise (195 on a 5'8" frame is too much, muscle or not, I feel) so it's a bit annoying.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FJQ48I/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Buy this. 40 bucks, measures your body fat. There are more expensive (60-70 dollars) versions that will get you your bone density and muscle mass and typically involve a hand sensor was well as the foot sensor.

Best money you can spend. Shows you what you are made of, your body fat % and even when your weight and BMI remain neutral it can show you the "hidden" gains you are making by dropping body fat and putting on muscle.

Not a perfect measure to be sure, but gives you an idea of the change.

Also, use it naked first thing in the morning.. after you pee, before you drink water.

 

[Y-Z]

While i am not really fat (84kg/180cm) i really want to become 75kg. After some weeks of dieting i came down to 84kg(used to be 92) but my weight just stopped dropping even after continuing to diet. I am now eating normal but i play a lot of tennis which keeps me at a steady weight. My question to you gaf is : How do i lose those extra pounds at the end?

 

[teh_pwn]

These three seem to very quite a bit by how much should be eaten each meal, and how many meals per day should be eaten.

If I stick primarily to the foods you mentioned, how many meals per day, and what size portions should be eaten? (Thanks again!)

I would eat moderately sized portions. You may want to allow yourself to eat until you feel full at first. The idea of these diets/foods is to fix your body's sense of satiety so that you don't have to count calories. But if you find yourself eating out of habit, you may want to limit portions or count calories. I like the idea of 3 meals of day, eat until 80% full, and maybe a snack or two.

Counting calories can be useful in conjunction with eliminating sugar & grains, but counting calories by itself is a battle of will. You'll probably fail long term.

Thanks man, love eggs btw, it was just that 8 everyday seemed a bit much. Regarding sugar, how many fruits should I eat, and are there some that are better (meaning less fructose)than others (at the moment I eat mainly apples and bananas and some oranges) ?

I'd take a look at the fruits you eat on a glycemic index & glycemic load, and favor the ones that are lower. For example, favor berries over oranges, bananas, and grapes.

 

[ch0mp]

I don't understand how a set of scales can measure body fat? EDIT: should have looked at the link first :lol

Re chronic cardio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_YcAWxGoaM. Intervals are your friend.

While i am not really fat (84kg/180cm) i really want to become 75kg. After some weeks of dieting i came down to 84kg(used to be 92) but my weight just stopped dropping even after continuing to diet. I am now eating normal but i play a lot of tennis which keeps me at a steady weight. My question to you gaf is : How do i lose those extra pounds at the end?

First off what did you change in your diet? If you just started eating less, your body will adjust your metabolism to suit how much you eat.

 

[teh_pwn]

Sweet, we need more studies like this. It's basically Gary Taubes's main point:

Researchers have challenged the assumption that a lack of exercise causes children to put on weight.
...
As part of the long-term study, they monitored body fat and exercise at regular intervals over three years.

They found no indication that doing more physical activity had any effect on weight, but they did find that children who put on weight did relatively less exercise.

...Professor Wilkin says the policy implications are far-reaching, indicating that nutrition, rather than ever-increasing doses of physical activity, is the key to tackling childhood obesity....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/10545542.stm

And as Robert Lustig would point out, we have an epidemic of obese 6 month olds. Do we need Richard Simmons to aid these lazy babies and whip them into shape?

 

[Salaadin]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FJQ48I/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Buy this. 40 bucks, measures your body fat. There are more expensive (60-70 dollars) versions that will get you your bone density and muscle mass and typically involve a hand sensor was well as the foot sensor.

Best money you can spend. Shows you what you are made of, your body fat % and even when your weight and BMI remain neutral it can show you the "hidden" gains you are making by dropping body fat and putting on muscle.

Not a perfect measure to be sure, but gives you an idea of the change.

Also, use it naked first thing in the morning.. after you pee, before you drink water.

Do you have any experience with the ones that can measure resting metabolic rate or anything? Im curious as to just how accurate that can be.

 

[teh_pwn]

I don't understand how a set of scales can measure body fat? EDIT: should have looked at the link first :lol

Re chronic cardio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_YcAWxGoaM. Intervals are your friend.

Thanks for the link. I love underground wellness's interviews (the link is just a snippet from full one at blogtalkradio).

 

[Zoe]

I finally added an HIIT set to my workout. How long do you guys go for warm-up/cool-down?

 

[LaneDS]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FJQ48I/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Buy this. 40 bucks, measures your body fat. There are more expensive (60-70 dollars) versions that will get you your bone density and muscle mass and typically involve a hand sensor was well as the foot sensor.

Best money you can spend. Shows you what you are made of, your body fat % and even when your weight and BMI remain neutral it can show you the "hidden" gains you are making by dropping body fat and putting on muscle.

Not a perfect measure to be sure, but gives you an idea of the change.

Also, use it naked first thing in the morning.. after you pee, before you drink water.

I will try that. I've got a pair of calipers but I get wildly different readings when I try it, even using it a few times in a row.

How often and under what conditions do you weigh yourself? My weight regularly swings 3~4 pounds over the course of a day due to just how much I drink, eat, and piss away. Taking a dump every few days also leads to some significant swings.

The only time I weigh myself where I really count it is every Friday morning, first thing as many have suggested. I will check two or three times throughout the week if I think about it, also in the mornings.

Thanks everyone for the feedback, per usual.

 

[Nolimit_SS]

I've been trying to do atkins diet for few weeks now, I doubt I got into ketosis at any point, but by dumping bread(even tho I lost xxx amount of meals I could eat, and we use it with pretty much everything here), sweets and some more high carb stuff I lost ~6kg fast. Now I know it's not just water because some shirts and pants that were a bit tight fit very good and a bit loose even! My weight varies 77-78 at the moment. I'm ~185cm tall so it's alright but I hate fat so there's more that gotta go. As soon as this horrible heat passes(september/october) I'm continuing gym and switching to different low carb diet.

But does anyone have any advice what to do when you feel hungry but can't think of anything low carb to eat? I often find myself in situation I have to eat some bread or something with carbs in. Beside not being able to get a lot of foods and stuff I see on atkins site or for low carb diet, I'm very very picky eater so it kinda sucks... Snacks/in between meals is the problem mostly. Hmm dunno, really trying to make it work but not going that well, almost every day something comes up that would kick me out of ketosis even tho I try really hard to eat very few carbs QQ

 

[Shaneus]

Pick up a hobby. Do something around the house. You'll be surprised how much shit you can get done when you replace habitual eating with activities :lol

 

[Masta_Killah]

But does anyone have any advice what to do when you feel hungry but can't think of anything low carb to eat? I often find myself in situation I have to eat some bread or something with carbs in. Beside not being able to get a lot of foods and stuff I see on atkins site or for low carb diet, I'm very very picky eater so it kinda sucks... Snacks/in between meals is the problem mostly. Hmm dunno, really trying to make it work but not going that well, almost every day something comes up that would kick me out of ketosis even tho I try really hard to eat very few carbs QQ

umm... protein? Eat a slice of turkey or some jerky. Not that hard to replace carbs when you know what needs to be prioritized in a low carb diet.

 

[Y-Z]

First off what did you change in your diet? If you just started eating less, your body will adjust your metabolism to suit how much you eat.

Well i changed my way of eating, normally i would eat whatever i could find. Mow i am eating my normal, breakfast, lunch,diner but i don't snack. Whenever i am hungry i'll eat an apple or a banana.

 

[Mario]

But does anyone have any advice what to do when you feel hungry but can't think of anything low carb to eat?

Easy low(er) carb snack foods I eat to stave off afternoon hunger pangs include low carb protein cookies/bars, cheese slices, and almonds.

 

[SnakeSlashRO]

umm... protein? Eat a slice of turkey or some jerky. Not that hard to replace carbs when you know what needs to be prioritized in a low carb diet.

Buy whey... I have two brands, one has less carbs than the other so I just mix them so it taste decently, it ends up to being about 100grams of protein and 28 carbs. I just drink it between meals

 

[StoOgE]

I will try that. I've got a pair of calipers but I get wildly different readings when I try it, even using it a few times in a row.

Calipers are unreliable unless the person doing it knows exactly what they are doing... and the same person is doing it the same way ever time. Moving just half an inch to the left or right or pinching differently will give you wildly different results.

The calipers are also not a measuring tool. They estimate body fat based on statistical averages of people with those skin fold measurements. The scales with the electromagnetic pulse actually measures your body fat, and are fairly acurate assuming you aren't having water retention issues.

Someone else asked about the reliability of the metabolic rate measurements.. they will probably be an estimate based on your bone density, muscle mass and/or body fat% in addtion to your height and weight. Probably a slightly more accurate estimate than what you get off of websites since it will have more data points to work with.. but everyones metabolism is different.

 

[StoOgE]

But does anyone have any advice what to do when you feel hungry but can't think of anything low carb to eat? I often find myself in situation I have to eat some bread or something with carbs in. Beside not being able to get a lot of foods and stuff I see on atkins site or for low carb diet, I'm very very picky eater so it kinda sucks... Snacks/in between meals is the problem mostly. Hmm dunno, really trying to make it work but not going that well, almost every day something comes up that would kick me out of ketosis even tho I try really hard to eat very few carbs QQ

A cup of yogurt (real yogurt, not Dannon candy bar in a cup yogurt) is about 10g of carbs and I find it pretty filling. It takes some getting used to real yogurt though if you are used to eating Boston Creme Pie flavored yogurt :lol

Someone else mentioned nuts and protein bars which can also work assuming the protein bar is low carb. Same thing with whey protein shakes.

 

[ShinNL]

First of all: this thread is amazing and so encouraging! I've been on a weight loss journey since I was 12 (you know the fat chinese kid at school? that was me). People won't really call me fat nowadays but I still want to get rid of the last bit of shame on my body. I've starting running again (which I like to do) so I'm well on track. Anyway, everyone here is amazing, keep up the good work!

But does anyone have any advice what to do when you feel hungry but can't think of anything low carb to eat? I often find myself in situation I have to eat some bread or something with carbs in. Beside not being able to get a lot of foods and stuff I see on atkins site or for low carb diet, I'm very very picky eater so it kinda sucks... Snacks/in between meals is the problem mostly. Hmm dunno, really trying to make it work but not going that well, almost every day something comes up that would kick me out of ketosis even tho I try really hard to eat very few carbs QQ

Recently I discovered these shirataki noodles: they're basically no calories and no carbs but filling because of the fibers. You can prepare it in many ways as it just absorbs the flavors of the other ingredients. Could be salads, soup, spaghetti sauce. Cold or hot are both great, just have to rinse it in hot water first before using it.

Ed:Uploaded a short video of these noodles.

 

[Salaadin]

Someone else asked about the reliability of the metabolic rate measurements.. they will probably be an estimate based on your bone density, muscle mass and/or body fat% in addtion to your height and weight. Probably a slightly more accurate estimate than what you get off of websites since it will have more data points to work with.. but everyones metabolism is different.

Thanks.

I just ordered the 75 dollar Omron from Amazon. Weight, muscle, fat, RMR, and BMI mesaurements. Im kind of excited lol

 

[Chinner]

But does anyone have any advice what to do when you feel hungry but can't think of anything low carb to eat? I often find myself in situation I have to eat some bread or something with carbs in. Beside not being able to get a lot of foods and stuff I see on atkins site or for low carb diet, I'm very very picky eater so it kinda sucks... Snacks/in between meals is the problem mostly. Hmm dunno, really trying to make it work but not going that well, almost every day something comes up that would kick me out of ketosis even tho I try really hard to eat very few carbs QQ

two words: prepared meals.

i usually have something readily eatable in the fridge just for something to snack on or for my midday meals; stuff like sausages (if you can find low carb), bacon, meatballs. hell, if you have some eggs just make yourself some scrambled eggs.

 

[trupclow]

So about two weeks ago I started to try to get back into shape and workout. When I started I was 6'2" and about 174. The weight was pretty good, but I had no muscle and a decent amount of fat around my stomach and chest. It was a strange look, I just kinda looked flabby and I wasn't happy at all with the way I looked. I had a few things that I wanted to work towards that have helped me get motivated to have a drastic change to my lifestyle and I figured I'd post my experiences for everyone else.

I was motivated by quite a few things. Firstly, I just wanted to live a healthier lifestyle, I ate horribly and drank a ton of soda. Combined with being a software engineer and being in grad school, I spent a ton of time on my ass and just gained weight. Second, one of my best friend's weddings was coming up soon and I wanted to look my best for it. Third, I'm proposing to my girlfriend in October and I just want to look good for her. And finally, I'm planning on hosting a huge Halloween costume party that is movie themed, and want to wear a 300 spartan costume, but need at least a decently toned body to pull it off. I'm close enough to where 4 months of working out will at least let me look good enough in it to not illicit laughs.

My girlfriend is a vegetarian and I decided to try this as a diet, because I looked at the bad food I was eating and literally all of it involved meat. If I could cut out meat from my diet, I would get rid of 90% of the awful things I ate. I was never big on sugary foods, it was always cheeseburgers, bacon, etc. I once even bought the 50 pc chicken mcnugget meal from mcdonalds for 9.99 when drunk and ate 30 mcnuggets at once...not my proudest moment. So I worked with my girlfriend along with a nutritionist who was a friend to make sure I didn't hurt myself. I basically settled on a vegetarian diet that included fish. Below is a normal day's diet that I have been following:

Breakfast:
Protein shake mixed with water
Handful of trail mix or a piece of fruit

Lunch:
Vegetarian black bean soup

Dinner:
Salmon filet
Can of green beans

Snack:
Handful of trail mix or pouch of tuna

My goal was to hit around 1800 cals a day and make sure I got enough protein along with essential fats while staying away from a high amount of carbs. I also did not eat past 8pm and went to bed around 11pm every night. I drink only water and unsweetened iced tea, with the occasional iced black coffee with skim milk.

As far as workout regimen, I don't have a whole lot of time in my schedule, working 40-50 hours a week, having a girlfriend, and going to grad school, but here is what I came up with:

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday:
Full body free weight workout + 15 minutes of cardio if possible on either bike/elliptical/treadmill

Sun/Mon/Wed/Fri:
At least 30 min of cardio with usually one of these 4 days that I am too busy to find time. Cardio is split between running/swimming/bike/elliptical/treadmill


So far I'm two weeks in and absolutely astounded with my results. Going vegetarian has probably been the best idea I've ever had. It's increased my willpower with food and I feel so much healthier and more energetic. I look forward to my workouts everyday. After the first week I lost 3 pounds, which is more than I've ever lost in a single week in my life, and followed up with the second week losing 2 pounds. I can already see a difference in tone in my chest, arms, and abs and my pants fit looser too. I only have a little bit more fat to burn off to look really good and then it's just about gaining some muscle and I'll be looking great. Also the vegetarian thing is something I'm going to stick with for a long time, I really enjoy the feeling I get after eating meals. Everyone I know has been commenting how much better I look after only these two weeks. I didn't take a beginning photo unfortunately but if I had to compare myself at the start, I looked kind of like insaniac's beginning photo back in post 1240. If I remember to, I'll post an after photo in October, I can only hope I look as good as he does in his after pic.

 

[Chinner]

Nothing wrong with meat, just sounds like you've been eating shit mang. Most of your weight loss is probably from cutting soda out. Anyway congrats with your progress, just make sure you're eating enough protein and fat or else you're just wither away.

 

[Price Dalton]

Though it's been discredited before, someone just did the most thorough debunking of "The China Study," which is kind of the vegan version of "Good Calories, Bad Calories."

I mean, god damn did she tear it apart. It's a long read but well worth it.

http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/

Perhaps more troubling than the distorted facts in “The China Study” are the details Campbell leaves out.

Why does Campbell indict animal foods in cardiovascular disease (correlation of +1 for animal protein and -11 for fish protein), yet fail to mention that wheat flour has a correlation of +67 with heart attacks and coronary heart disease, and plant protein correlates at +25 with these conditions?

Speaking of wheat, why doesn’t Campbell also note the astronomical correlations wheat flour has with various diseases: +46 with cervix cancer, +54 with hypertensive heart disease, +47 with stroke, +41 with diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs, and the aforementioned +67 with myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease? (None of these correlations appear to be tangled with any risk-heightening variables, either.)

Why does Campbell overlook the unique Tuoli peoples documented in the China Study, who eat twice as much animal protein as the average American (including two pounds of casein-filled dairy per day)—yet don’t exhibit higher rates of any diseases Campbell ascribes to animal foods?

Why does Campbell point out the relationship between cholesterol and colorectal cancer (+33) but not mention the much higher relationship between sea vegetables and colorectal cancer (+76)? (For any researcher, this alone should be a red flag to look for an underlying variable creating misleading correlations, which—in this case—happens to be schistosomiasis infection.)

Why does Campbell fail to mention that plant protein intake correlates positively with many of the “Western diseases” he blames cholesterol for—including +19 for colorectal cancers, +12 for cervix cancer, +15 for leukemia, +25 for myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease, +12 for diabetes, +1 for breast cancer, and +10 for stomach cancer?

In sum, “The China Study” is a compelling collection of carefully chosen data. Unfortunately for both health seekers and the scientific community, Campbell appears to exclude relevant information when it indicts plant foods as causative of disease, or when it shows potential benefits for animal products. This presents readers with a strongly misleading interpretation of the original China Study data, as well as a slanted perspective of nutritional research from other arenas (including some that Campbell himself conducted).

 

[trupclow]

Nothing wrong with meat, just sounds like you've been eating shit mang. Most of your weight loss is probably from cutting soda out. Anyway congrats with your progress, just make sure you're eating enough protein and fat or else you're just wither away.

Oh I agree completely. But the thing with me is that I have tried eating meat in a healthy way but the temptation is always too great. For some reason knowing that I can't eat meat, I don't make the stop at McDonalds on the way to class or grab Taco Bell for lunch. Cutting meat out for me is mostly a psychological thing. I had actually cut way down on soda about a month before starting this and saw a good drop in weight then, so I know that most of the weight I've dropped recently is from the diet and exercise. And yeah, I was instructed to make sure to get a ton of protein and different fats to make sure I stay healthy, and so far I get about 150%/day of the protein I need, and I eat a ton of fish/eggs/beans/nuts to make sure I get the essential fats. So far so good, but if I see a sharp drop in energy levels or am not putting on any muscle at all, I will go back to meat.

 

[Domino Theory]

Would this be alright to have a couple times a week for a low-carb diet? http://www.carlsjr.com/menu/charbroiled-burgers/the-low-carb-six-dollar-burger/

The thing I worry about with that is the Cholestoral (120mg) and Saturated Fat (18g).

 

[teh_pwn]

Though it's been discredited before, someone just did the most thorough debunking of "The China Study," which is kind of the vegan version of "Good Calories, Bad Calories."

I mean, god damn did she tear it apart. It's a long read but well worth it.

http://rawfoodsos.com/2010/07/07/the-china-study-fact-or-fallac/

Going to have to read the whole thing, but god fucking dammit if what you quoted is right. The bias we have in interpreting scientific data rivals football fans & cable news.

This would reinforce the idea that both sugar and wheat are terrible for human health, but I'll reserve any conclusions until I read it.

Would this be alright to have a couple times a week for a low-carb diet? http://www.carlsjr.com/menu/charbroiled-burgers/the-low-carb-six-dollar-burger/

The thing I worry about with that is the Cholestoral (120mg) and Saturated Fat (18g).

There isn't any scientific data that I'm aware of that uses controls to prove any negative outcome of too much dietary cholesterol, dietary saturated fat, or blood cholesterol.

Cholesterol makes your hormones, heals tissue, instrumental in nervous system.

There is, however, data showing that cholesterol levels < 180 is highly correlated with increased mortality. Stuff like stroke, dementia, complications of low hormone levels.

If I get bored this weekend, I'll post links again...but in simplified terms, cholesterol causes heart disease as much as firemen cause fires. Inflammation & small, dense LDL are the most likely causes of heart disease. If it were as simple as clogging arteries like pipes (when really they're like fine nets - red blood cells gotta get oxygen to cells somehow), then why does plaque only form in arteries as opposed to both veins/arteries?

 

[Chinner]

Would this be alright to have a couple times a week for a low-carb diet? http://www.carlsjr.com/menu/charbroiled-burgers/the-low-carb-six-dollar-burger/

The thing I worry about with that is the Cholestoral (120mg) and Saturated Fat (18g).

saturated fat is safe, dietary cholesterol is healthy. has 5g of sugar and 7g of carbs though, i wouldn't eat it a few times a week but its alright so eat away.

 

[Trident]

Would this be alright to have a couple times a week for a low-carb diet? http://www.carlsjr.com/menu/charbroiled-burgers/the-low-carb-six-dollar-burger/

The thing I worry about with that is the Cholestoral (120mg) and Saturated Fat (18g).

Be more worried about the sodium.

 

[Natural]

Right, I've been back in the gym for the past week after a 3 month hiatus and i'm feeling good. I'm 5'11 and weigh between 11.5-12 stone.

What I want is to get bigger and to cut down my body fat slightly but I'm under the impression that I can only do one or the other and not both at the same time? I've cut down my carb intake and other shitty foods like takeaways and alcohol (hard work when being a Student) and increased my protein intake.

Any help would be great!