Long-term results & feedback

[SwampNut]

I've been on this diet (or really, I call it a lifestyle now, I will never go back to a carb-rich life) since the beginning of the year. That's just over four months, but I've paid close attention to what I ate and the results, tracking them in a database. I figured I'd post a few random thoughts for you guys starting out...

First, the thing I noticed was the extra energy I had and the lack of "sleepy times" throughout the day. Also I'm almost never hungry any more; I literally have forgotten to eat for an entire day a couple times. I used to want to crash in the afternoon and evening, but no more. I also sleep fewer hours.

Of course, that came after the first week or so, when I was still trying to get over my sugar addiction. During that first week I was constantly hungry, all day, all night, no matter how much I ate. The first couple days are hard, then you get past the worst part. Then one day you're just not hungry any more.

For the first month I lost weight like crazy. Then I stalled. Thanks to TJ, I learned that not only CAN you eat some carbs, but you should. I started having an occasional carb-loaded meal, but kept the rest very low-carb. Note that this is TOTALLY different from just incrementing the carb count for all/most of your meals! After I "cheat," the next day my Ketone levels go up and I lose more weight.

On the other hand, huge cheats made me feel kinda crappy. For example, I had half a slice of real cheesecake, and 20 minutes later I was ready to fall asleep. I went through the usual blood sugar issues. However, when I have a couple real beers, or some complex carbs with a meal, it doesn't have a major effect on me.

As I noted, the first month I lost a lot of weight (36 pounds). However, my clothes fit didn't change much. Then after I stalled on weight, the clothes started to fit better, then too loose. That's the real success to me. So don't get disappointed if you're losing weight but not sizes at first.

I've learned that it SEEMS impossible to eat at many places, but keep an open mind. First off, remember the obvious--salads. Most places have some sort of chicken Caesar or similar offerings which are meal-sized. Most places will substitute dietary items...for example, when I order a steak I ask them if I can have a salad instead of the potato and veggies, and nobody has ever said no. Even fish & chips...I asked for fish & salad, they obliged. A lot of veggie appetizers are actually OK, also. Breaded and fried zuchinni sticks or cheese sticks actually aren't so bad (but watch the dipping sauces for sweet ones). Chicken wings are fine, as long as they aren't the sweet ones. Some oriental places feature lettuce wraps--they use lettuce leaves instead of a tortilla or other bread-type wrap.

One of the hardest types of restaurants to go to is Mexican. Look for chile verde or chile colorado, which is beef chunks in a red or green sauce. A taco salad is fine if you don't eat the shell of course. Rice has about 45g per cup, so go light on it. A half cup can eat your 20g allocation during induction. Refried beans are about 25g/cup, a little better. Of course, tortillas and tortilla chips are packed with carbs. Salsa is not though, so heap that on (with the exception of shitty name-brand sauces with added sugar).

Just remember--YOU are the customer, ask for special accomodations. I've noticed most places are used to dealing with special diet requirements.

Hope this helps. I've never really believed in special diets, but I'm now sold on this as a long-term comittment. The life improvements have been too huge to deny. Please don't hesitate to ask if I can help you with this.

[Hookman49]

Carlos, I have to agree with you about this diet. When I started this in February I thought I would be on this for a little while and back to my old eating habits. Taco Bell, pasta, mounds of carbs where ever or what ever I ate.

Well, I have went from 205 down to 188 (so far). I too stalled. Over this past weekend I blew it with carbs. Was at the fire house all weekend and you eat what is there or go hungry. I ate some pasta, noodles, potatoes, pizza, even had cookie's.

You know, it was ok but I thought it would have tasted better. Monday went right back to my low carb diet. And I think my eating habits have changed for good. This has become way of life for me now. Would like to shed a few more pounds, but I think that will come when our new weight room is open at the fire house.

I am not sure who started this diet post on the first fourm. But my hat is off to you. This is the first one that I have ever stuck with and I feel great.

Ken

[RodeRash]

Hookman,

Congratulations on the weight loss. Let us know if eating high carbs over the weekend eventually leads to you getting past your weight stall. It's been know to happen. TJ can tell you why.

Mike

[Northman]

I've been on this diet for about 2 months now, and am now down almost 40lbs. I lost 14lbs in the first 10 days, then nothing for over a week.

Then 5lbs in 2 days, then nothing again for days. It really seems to come in spurts, and eating a lot helps. It seems the more I eat, the more I lose. When I eat sparingly for a few days, my weight doesn't change.

Yesterday was the first time in over 2 months that I had a burger with fries. I admit it tasted like heaven, but one was plenty, and the urge is gone again (probably for a while, too). I eat more veggies now than I ever have in recent history, and I feel great.

I'm also down on sleeping hours, my alarm clock has become unnecessary (even though I'm up till 1am almost every night, I don't sleep in past 7, even if I'm extremely tired the night before), and the fibre supplement that was necessary for the first couple of weeks is now also not required.

A lot of people I know have seen the difference in me, and are asking about the diet, with a few actually starting it.

I can't remember ever cooking myself so many meals, or eating so many chicken wings. :wink:

[spEEdfrEEk]

>I've been on this diet (or really, I call it a lifestyle now, I will

>never go back to a carb-rich life)

That's the healthiest mentality you can have. It IS a

lifestyle and the fact that you've made it such means

that you will be healthier, happier, and better off

forever. (and outlive all of your high-carb friends..)

>First, the thing I noticed was the extra energy I had and the

>lack of "sleepy times" throughout the day.

Yep, you're not on the glucose roller-coaster. (when you

run on sugar, you're only peppy around meals, etc..)

>Also I'm almost never hungry any more; I literally have

>forgotten to eat for an entire day a couple times.

Be careful with this. You need to eat atleast a little something

everyday or you will get catabolic and lose muscle mass,

bone density. etc. etc.

>I used to want to crash in the afternoon and evening, but

>no more. I also sleep fewer hours.

This may be hard to believe, but once every

3 months you should have an all out carb day and

crash out. There's alot of reasons why, but the most

prominent effect is that you will sleep like a BRICK for

a whole day (and wake up with a hang over, more on

this later). Do it on family birthdays, or special holidays..

It's an excellent way to screw up the body's

homeostasis, and you see how crappy you feel when you

run on sugar the next day, etc. It's fun to cut loose

and it gives you negative reinforcement for sugar

subconsciously.

Sounds goofy, yes, but I've been at this for 7 years and

it's primarly been to improve my athletic performance

rather than to "look good". So, I look for any way I can

use the diet to "mental advantage" as well.

I could probably spew out 20 little tidbits on ways

to play with the diet for certain effects, but I'd prefer to

do it when the need arises rather than to just throw them

out all at once ;-)

>Of course, that came after the first week or so, when I

>was still trying to get over my sugar addiction.

the addiction totally dissipates over time. However,

when you do have an "all out" carb day, the cravings

will resurface for a day (afterwards).

>Then one day you're just not hungry any more.

Ketone bodies are appetite supressive. This is why

people on fasts eventually lose their appetite after

a while.

>Then I stalled. Thanks to TJ, I learned that not only

>CAN you eat some carbs, but you should. I started

>having an occasional carb-loaded meal, but kept the

>rest very low-carb.

That's the way to do it. Strict as much as possible,

with one good solid blow-off meal on the weekends.

It's good medicine for the thyroid. ;-)

>Note that this is TOTALLY different from just

>incrementing the carb count for all/most of your meals!

>After I "cheat," the next day my Ketone levels go up and

>I lose more weight.

Yep, unfortunately that's the one thing that Atkins

missed. True Atkins only works for a little while

before you hit brick walls that your own body puts up..

>On the other hand, huge cheats made me feel kinda

>crappy. For example, I had half a slice of real

>cheesecake, and 20 minutes later I was ready to fall asleep.

Oh yes, and it gets worse the longer you are low carb.

Here's what you can expect after a major carb blowout

when you've been doing this strictly for a few years:

1) Instant crash out, fatigue, and lethargy. (it's a

mental thing as the brain switches over from ketone

to glucose metabolism)

2) Hangover - the next day you will feel as if you've had

too much to drink. Believe it or not, the effects of

sugar are very similar to alcohol. It makes sense when

you think about it, because all of the alcoholic beverages

we drink are created from the breakdown of carbohydrates

(rum - sugar cane, whisky - corn, beer - barley, etc.).

Sugar also has the same issues: it's physically addictive,

too much can damage your pancreas (like too much

booze damages your liver), etc. etc. I plan to someday

write a paper on this effect, when I have had more time

to tie the two together more completely..

3) If you lift or exercise regularly you will experience severe

muscle sorness and arthritic effects. The arthritic effects

can be attributed to the gluten in any grains you may

consume -- I've seen research linking grains to several

types of arthritis. The muscle soreness is due to the

influx of stored muscle glycogen and subsequent build

up in lactic acid that happens when you become active

the next time.

>I went through the usual blood sugar issues. However,

>when I have a couple real beers, or some complex carbs

>with a meal, it doesn't have a major effect on me.

If you have a carb that you like that bothers you, try

eating it with some other fats. It will lower the actual

glycemic index and help you load the glucose without

so many negative effects.

>One of the hardest types of restaurants to go to is Mexican.

Fajita meat my friend --> all varieties ;-) YUMMY!

<rubs tummy>

>Hope this helps. I've never really believed in special diets,

>but I'm now sold on this as a long-term comittment.

>The life improvements have been too huge to deny.

It's just the fact that this diet parallels more closely

with the diet that human beings have spent a majority

of evolutionary time with. (more on that later too ;-) )

>Please don't hesitate to ask if I can help you with this.

Carlos, you and EVERYONE else doing this are doing an

excellent job and I commend you. I love hearing all

of your results and successes, because it reminds me

of me way back when I started this. You guys make

me proud! <rubs tear from eye>

Seriously though, good job all!

:cool: TJ :cool:

[SwampNut]

Be careful with this. You need to eat atleast a little something

everyday

Agreed, but I literally just forgot. So another change with this diet is the concept of "remembering to eat" not just eating when hungry. Which really is better, I know, as eating throughout the day is better than big meals. That's something that eating like this has helped also.

(and wake up with a hang over, more on

this later)

Oh, so THAT'S what happened to me this weekend! Since I was at the annual busa party (showing them how to ride, see other post), I said screw the diet. I had sandwiches and 9 beers on Friday. That's not normally much for me, and I was not trashed. Next day, all day, I was SO hung over. I mean, just fucked up, want to lay in bed hung over. Could hardly bring myself to ride over 100 up some great twisty roads. I never considered it could be the sugar rather than the alcohol.

It's fun to cut loose

and it gives you negative reinforcement for sugar

subconsciously.

Fuck no. That sucked. I felt like ass. Even today I'm still feeling tired, and I'm totally off ketosis. Won't do that again.

Here's what you can expect after a major carb blowout

when you've been doing this strictly for a few years:

All of those were exactly right this weekend. I was SO exhausted. Just unable to function type of exhausted after that party. And there was no reason for me to be. Well, normally there would be no reason. It wasn't even midnight and I normally stay up until 2-3 am. Never considered this effect, which should have been obvious after the cheesecake incident.

[spEEdfrEEk]

>> (and wake up with a hang over, more on

>> this later)

>

>Oh, so THAT'S what happened to me this weekend! Since I

>was at the annual busa party (showing them how to ride,

>see other post), I said screw the diet. I had sandwiches

>and 9 beers on Friday. That's not normally much for me,

>and I was not trashed. Next day, all day, I was SO hung

>over. I mean, just fucked up, want to lay in bed hung over.

>Could hardly bring myself to ride over 100 up some great

>twisty roads. I never considered it could be the sugar

>rather than the alcohol.

Yep, you got it.. It was the sugar. Pretty massive hangover

eh? ;-) Many people argue that hangovers are due to

the diuretic effect of alcohol. IE: you drink too little water

and urinate too much, etc. However, I have come to hypothesize

that you experience "hangover" symptoms whenever the

brain is forced into switching metabolism. When you

drink too much, you shift primarily from glucose to

ethanol/glucose metabolism. And when you carb from

long term ketosis, your brain is switching from ketone bodies

to glucose and back. Like I said, I am eventually going

to write a paper on the links/similarities between the

effects of alcohol and sugar.

>>It's fun to cut loose

>>and it gives you negative reinforcement for sugar

>>subconsciously.

>

>Fuck no. That sucked. I felt like ass.

>Even today I'm still feeling tired, and I'm totally off ketosis.

>Won't do that again.

See what I mean about good negative reinforcement? ;-)

(plus, at the time, you enjoyed the food and beer, eh?)

>>Here's what you can expect after a major carb blowout

>>when you've been doing this strictly for a few years:

>

>All of those were exactly right this weekend. I was SO

>exhausted. Just unable to function type of exhausted

>after that party. And there was no reason for me to be.

>Well, normally there would be no reason.

Ahh, but you see, this is how your body has always

felt on a high-carb/sugar/grain diet. You just have

had nothing else to compare it to. Basically since you

(like me and everyone else) spent the vast majority

of your life eating the higher-carb diet, you never really

knew how _good_ it feels and how healthy it is to

live a low-carb life. You only truly notice how bad the

high-sugar American-type diet is after you have weened

yourself off of it long enough to see the difference.

(kind of like how smokers don't realize how affected

their resperatory system and sense of taste and smell

is affected by the smoking until they quit for a long

enough period)..

>It wasn't even midnight and I normally stay up until

>2-3 am. Never considered this effect, which should

>have been obvious after the cheesecake incident.

Just be glad you didn't get some of the other

side-effects: the massive muscle soreness and the

joint pain and arthritic type effects.

Sugar is one bad mutha. Just be glad you have broken

the sugar addiction at such a young age. If you wait

too long, the damage done by diseases of degeneration

(due to the high-carb diets) can be unrepairable..

:cool: TJ :cool:

[SwampNut]

the massive muscle soreness and the

joint pain and arthritic type effects.

:shock:

Got a charlie horse during sex after that. Twice. Today my knees are killing me, I thought from riding so hard on the bike today (staying out of the seat, over the tank, and hanging off).

What else should I expect? Let me guess, after 72 hours my dick explodes...

[RhysXX]

Hey spEEdfrEEk, Thanks for all the info!, Its great to see so many guys having success on this diet

You were saying you know a few "tweakes" for the diet, do you have any modifications for weight training for muscle mass (as well as fatloss)?

Thanks Again

Rhys

[spEEdfrEEk]

>Got a charlie horse during sex after that. Twice.

Hopefully it was the sex you had twice and not

the charlie horse, ha ha.

>Today my knees are killing me, I thought from

>riding so hard on the bike today (staying out of

>the seat, over the tank, and hanging off).

Well, if you're usually that sore after such a ride

then it's probably natural. If not, and this

seems really out of place, then you are having

more of the negative side effects of crashing

out on sugar after being low-carb for a long

time.

>What else should I expect?

Temporary water weight gain up to about 5

lbs. It will dissappear in about a day or so.

>Let me guess, after 72 hours my dick explodes...

That only happens if you load viagra in addition

to the sugar, heh heh heh

:cool: TJ :cool:

[spEEdfrEEk]

>Hey spEEdfrEEk, Thanks for all the info!,

No sweat bud! ;-)

>Its great to see so many guys having success on this diet

Yep, mostly because it's how human beings are

supposed to eat (from an evolutionary point of view)

>You were saying you know a few "tweakes" for the diet,

>do you have any modifications for weight training for

>muscle mass (as well as fatloss)?

The diet is really excellent for weight training. It

puts your body in a really anabolic (muscle growth)

state. Testosterone is elevated, cortisol (and other

catabolic agents) is inhibited, and insulin is supressed,

slowing any potential fat gain.

In short, you can eat more food (low carb) to put

the extra nutrients needed for muscle growth

into your body without worrying too much about

fat gain.

A really good regime to add to the diet if you plan to

lift regularly is something I call the "post workout

recovery shake". Basically, after a hard session

in the gym, you can load some glucose and protein

to aid in recovery (which is essentially what steroids

do).

Immediately upon completing your lifting,

drink 1 cup of 100% pure grape juice (no fructose

syrups) and 25g of branched chained amino based

protein (egg or whey) and the plop down on an

exercycle and pedal slowly for about 15 mins.

Do this only 1-2 times a week.

The cycling is just to keep your heart rate up for

a few extra minutes while your body loads the

glucose and protein. Do not wait any more than 30

mins after lifting or the effect of the shake is lost.

This scheme works because the cells in the active

muscle tissue are capable of loading glucose

as muscle glycogen (anabolic) without the use of

insulin, which can bring on fat storage.

The cell walls become "permeable" and, thus, your

pancreas doesn't have to work to produce the

insulin. The "post-exercise" body is really interesting

and I have alot of hypothesis on the foundation

of why our bodies respond the way they do after

intense an-aerobic exercise.

>Thanks Again

You're welcome! ;-)

:cool: TJ :cool:

[SwampNut]

Hopefully it was the sex you had twice and not

the charlie horse, ha ha.

Both.

Well, if you're usually that sore after such a ride

No, never. I put it down to riding harder than usual (some busa and 12R riders needed a lessen in cornering speed vs. HP), and the excess alcohol.

[SwampNut]

Temporary water weight gain up to about 5

lbs.

I am happy to say you are totally wrong on that one... :grin: I'm 2# lighter today than when I left for the trip. Amazing. It's really back down to the lifestyle thing, since I'm not stuffing myself with bread, potatoes, and other shit on every meal, I can overeat/over-drink here and there with no effect. Or actually, it seems, a good effect.

[spEEdfrEEk]

>>Temporary water weight gain up to about 5 lbs.

>

>I am happy to say you are totally wrong on that one... :grin:

>I'm 2# lighter today than when I left for the trip. Amazing.

Super kewl!

>It's really back down to the lifestyle thing, since I'm not

>stuffing myself with bread, potatoes, and other shit on

>every meal, I can overeat/over-drink here and there with

>no effect. Or actually, it seems, a good effect.

True, but only usually if it's constrained to a short time

period (like one or two consecutive meals).

If you carb all day, for example, (and really

do it up right) you'll pick up a little short term water

weight -- it does go away quickly though.. This gets

more pronounced the more years you dedicate

to the low-carb lifestyle.

This water weight gain can also be used to your advantage

in the gym.. I remember once, about 4.5 years ago, I

put on 14 pounds in two weeks due to massive water

weight gain (on purpose) to see the effect it would have

on my training. Pretty nice little way to bust a strength

plateau but really hard on the system! (bloating, etc.)

You would not believe how many donuts I ate all at

once it too.. ha ha UGH!

Like I said, I like to play guinnea pig ;-)

:cool: TJ :cool: