Ok, there has been some mention of hitting plateaus on
the low-carb diet recently. So I'd like to suggest a few things
you can do to get over the hump.
Lets assume you are using a typical Atkins approach..
Then:
1) Your first step is to include a "cheat meal" once a
week on the weekend where you can pretty much eat
anything you want. This works, primarily, by enhancing
thyroid output which can slow under a strict Atkins
regime.
Lets suppose you've been doing the diet for a while and
have lost a significant amount of weight (say 20 - 30 lbs)
when you hit a plateau. There are 2 options at this
point.
2) Include exercise. Many people say one should exercise
to lose weight, but I've found that one can only exercise
effectively after a good portion of the weight is lost.
People who have lost 20-30 lbs. are ready to move
to this step.
2a) Cardio stuff - the first step. A good way to start the
process is via cardio activity. These include things like
jogging, cycling, swimming, etc. The BEST way to use
this to spur fat loss is to _avoid_ staying in the aerobic
zone. IE: You want to do INTERVALS and not slow cardio.
Slow cardio (heart rate < 120 BMP) is not as effective
as interval training where heart rates can achieve 150
or higher. (I typically run up to 180 during interval
cycling)
Why? Because slow cardio does not deplete
the body of blood glucose and stored glycogen (sugars). Doing
intervals does! After interval training, your glucose is
depleted and your body has no choice but running on
fats afterwards. This state can last several hours, and
this means you tap body fat stores harder (as ketone
production will increase)
To do intervals, you alternate between phases of high
intensity and low intensity. IE: for running, start off
by walking to warm up and then go immediately to
1.5 minutes of ALL OUT sprinting. At the end of 1.5
min. slow down and drop to a slow walking pace for
the next 1.5 minutes. Repeat this 5 times and stop.
This will give you 15 minutes of intervals and your
heart rate will have shot through the roof 5 times. In
fact, you will also have "felt the burn", which is an indication
that you were running on and depleting stored sugar.
If you don't feel like running, swimming or cycling, you
can use other "impulse" type sports for a similar
effect: basketball, raquetball, and tennis are good examples
of interval type sports.
2b) Weightlifting - the best scheme. Lifting is the BEST form
of anaerobic training and will increase your RMR (resting
metabolic rate) by keeping your non-fat body mass and
metabolism high while dieting. There is no better way to
drop adipose than lift weights while using a cyclical ketogenic
approach. In fact, I went from 217 (powerlifting weight) to
183 (motocross weight) in less than 1 year with this approach
and actually IMPROVED my power and stamina. I have spent
just as much time studying exercise kinesiology as I have
bimedicine and nutrition, so if there are any lifting questions
I can try to field them for you as well. It's beyond the
scope of this discussion right now.. Lifting is the best choice
for dropping fat while low-carb if you have a gym or gym
membership.
3) "Fat fast" diet. If you are seriously stuck for a long time
and all of the above has failed to get you restarted, then
you should consider a "fat fast" scheme. The original"Fat
Fast" was developed by Atkins for just this type of thing.
(to try to circumvent the thyroid problem his diet induces).
Basically for one week you restrict calories to 1000 kcal/day
which is VERY low. The only foods you consume are
extremely fatty and you need to maintain a ratio of
10% protein, 90% fat with 0 carbs at all times. It's tough
but due to incredible ketone secretion you can restart
fat loss and NOT lose muscle tissue while doing it. You
can ONLY due this for ONE week - no more, or you'll risk
retarding your RMR. Here's a link that describes the diet:
http://atkinscenter.com/Archive/2001/12/21-237659.html
4) Thermogenic drugs. If all of the above fails to work for you,
then you may consider the use of thermogenic drugs. I
am going to hold off on describing this now because I don't
want people to think it's an easy way out. I will explain
it later if someone tries all of the above and still ends up
stuck ;-)
Alright guys, good luck!!
:cool: TJ :cool: