[OG Kush]

Keto, baby! Haven't cheated once; keep my carbs under 22grams a day, eat 3 meals a day and stopped drinking for the duration. Habit forming is the key imo. I'll post pics once I reach my goal, which should be soon. Pretty dramatic transformation if I don't say so myself! Noticed quite a few people flirting with me which just leaves me feeling nothing short of uncomfortable though :P I'll probably never stop Keto tbh, I'll start drinking alcohol again soon but beyond that I can't see myself going back.

Damn no cheat day is amazing. But aren't cheat days actually beneficial in terms of your thyroid? Tim ferris in 4 hour body says the cheat day spike in caloric intake once a week causes a host of hormonal changes that improve fat loss from creating cAMP and GMP to improving conversion of T4 thyroid hormone to the more active T3. And ofcrouse the psychological benefits outweigh the hormonal and metabolic ones.

Whatever works for you though! it seems like its going great so I say continue!

[dralla]

Wow, nice. Can you tell us more about the diet !?

probably looks something like this
http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

I am damn hungry right now. I have to fast for my MRI in a few hours. I've also noticed a tightness in my upper abdomen lately, I hope it is not due to inflammation :[ I guess I'l find out later today

[Tashi]

Keto, baby! Haven't cheated once; keep my carbs under 22grams a day, eat 3 meals a day and stopped drinking for the duration. Habit forming is the key imo. I'll post pics once I reach my goal, which should be soon. Pretty dramatic transformation if I don't say so myself! Noticed quite a few people flirting with me which just leaves me feeling nothing short of uncomfortable though :P I'll probably never stop Keto tbh, I'll start drinking alcohol again soon but beyond that I can't see myself going back.

Wow, that's impressive. Nice job.

What kind of exercise are you doing with it?

[Krappadizzle]

Sorry to dessert this thread then come back, but I've started my liquid fasting diet of 2 weeks. I'm currently ending day 10 of 14. I'm using Optifast as a meal replacement. The Optifast diet, in short, is a strict diet that has the dieter consume no solid foods whatsoever. Initial hunger pangs killed me in the first 4-5 days, but ketosis has pretty much eliminated all my hunger pangs. With the end of day 10, I've lost 15 pounds. Myself being on the Optifast diet is a pre-op process for gastric lapband, which I'll have this coming Tuesday, the 24th. The Optifast is to have my liver burn its stored fat and use that as energy (ketosis). I've had so much energy from the process to the point I feel almost giddy, lol. The 2 weeks fasting pre-op, and the 3 weeks post-op, I'm expted to lose between 40-50 pounds.

I've done a 30 day fast. All mean green juice though. Pain in the ass to make everyday but lost about 22 pounds in those 30 days. After that it was healthy diet. Down 45 pounds since mid-January. I now do a 1 a week fast. I find it helps keep me on track and motivated. I'm at 195 now an just need to lose another 5 or so(6' 3''). I would suggest some people at least consider trying a fast.

[Domino Theory]

103 pounds in 16 weeks

LIKE A BOSS! Nice job.

To whoever asked about fasting exercising the last page: there's no reason not to. Fat metabolism is highest 12 hours after your last meal, muscle protein synthesis receptors are running wild in your blood during this time, HGH is way up, and exercising alongside these hormonal 'parties' going on inside you is only going to benefit you.

[Tashi]

So over the past 2 days I've tripled my fiber intake. Yesterday I took a little poopy and I was happy to get rid of something. I just took little pebble shits about an hour ago. I felt like a rabbit. :(

Thinking about running to get some ExLax or some shit like that. Am I just over reacting and being an alarmist? I'm dying to take a nice shit. lol

[Darklord]

Uh, this week has been the worst. Too sick to exercise and I've gotten home from work so late and feel crap so I don't feel like cooking and ended up ordering Pizza twice this week(it's like the only thing open at that time). I feel guilty now. I've eaten little else bad food so hopefully I can at least even out.

103 pounds in 16 weeks

Well done! Be careful though. Losing weight that fast can be bad and give you things like gaul stones.

[dralla]

Your pizza place doesn't have entrees? or salads? My local place has shrimp, sausage, and chicken dinners or grilled chicken covered salads. I also have a foreman grill for quick meals, cooks thin cuts of meat, burgers, or sausages in 4-5 minutes. Seriously one of the best purchases I made, very cheap and helps a ton in terms of convenience. Food comes out great too once you figure out the proper time for whatever you're cooking.

[hxa155]

-50lb later

[Darklord]

Your pizza place doesn't have entrees? or salads? My local place has shrimp, sausage, and chicken dinners or grilled chicken covered salads. I also have a foreman grill for quick meals, cooks thin cuts of meat, burgers, or sausages in 4-5 minutes. Seriously one of the best purchases I made, very cheap and helps a ton in terms of convenience. Food comes out great too once you figure out the proper time for whatever you're cooking.

Nah, their sides things are just as bad. Pasta, pastries, chicken wings, that kind of stuff. I checked like 5 local ones and they are all pretty similar though I got thin crust and one of the "lower" KJ pizza's so it lessened the impact...a little. Isn't sausage super high in fat though?

Oh well, back to healthy meals next week.

[LaneDS]

Crossposting from the P90X thread where I've been pretty active for the past month, but was sidetracked by acute appendicitis earlier this week so I had to pause my progress to recover from surgery.

So while neither of these are flattering pictures, I wanted to share my phase one progress. I took the "after" picture over the weekend to show off all my (not so) cool bandages and then noticed that I had actually lost a fair amount of fat, and once I compared the photo to my "before" shot today, well, I was pretty pleased (and less pleased that I can't workout for another week or so). Not posting the pictures directly, but here are the links if anyone wants to see a month's worth of progress (or some bandages after an appendectomy): Before: http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...tartofp90x.jpg After: http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/a...ostsurgery.jpg

[dralla]

Nah, their sides things are just as bad. Pasta, pastries, chicken wings, that kind of stuff. I checked like 5 local ones and they are all pretty similar though I got thin crust and one of the "lower" KJ pizza's so it lessened the impact...a little. Isn't sausage super high in fat though? Oh well, back to healthy meals next week.

fat is good, especially saturated fat, which is what the majority of sausage is.

[BIGWORM]

Shit, I'm starting to come down with something. Though I'm at the tail-end of my fasting, which means I can't eat anything still. Will this have a detrimental effect of my health? I still have the lapband procedure on tuesday. =/

Also, post-op, I've been considering a green juicing fast. I'm sure most of us have seen Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. It's on Netflix if you want to check it out.

[neojubei]

-50lb later

Damn looking good. Looks like you de-aged into a sexy model.

[dralla]

just had my gallbladder surgery. feel pretty good, anesthetics and drugs are still in my system, i can only hope it doesnt get too much worse when they ware off. i was able to eat some whole food which i hope is a good sign, missing my fats :[

[Violater]

Ok question, are tostitos bad for me?

[dralla]

They are made with vegetable oils and heavily processed corn so I would say yes. That doesn't mean you'll drop dead eating them. It's better to look at your diet as a whole rather than singling out one item. One item can only have so much effect, assuming you consume it in reasonable amounts.

[Etrian Oddity]

Summer diet is planning on staying around 1800 calories (give or take; some days I want to change it to keep my body honest) and to cut carbohydrate intake to < 60g a day. With one semi-cheat day so I don't lose sanity.

Goal is to hit 200 lbs by August 1st; I weighed 235 last Thursday. Of course, I'm going to supplement this with swimming and jogging (more the former than the latter).

Let's do this GAF! :D

[Violater]

They are made with vegetable oils and heavily processed corn so I would say yes. That doesn't mean you'll drop dead eating them. It's better to look at your diet as a whole rather than singling out one item. One item can only have so much effect, assuming you consume it in reasonable amounts.

I feel like I have little to no self control when I start eating them.
I need to find a healthy snack alternative, especially to eat when I make ground turkey chili.

[Zefah]

I feel like I have little to no self control when I start eating them. I need to find a healthy snack alternative, especially to eat when I make ground turkey chili.

Totally different, but I'd suggest giving raw almonds a try.

[Etrian Oddity]

Totally different, but I'd suggest giving raw almonds a try.

Or, on the more unhealthy side, pita chips. Garlic & herb pita chips are sinfully delicious (basically giant, airy croutons).

[Violater]

Totally different, but I'd suggest giving raw almonds a try.

I have almonds from time to time, but I can only eat it so much before I become completely tired of nuts.

Or, on the more unhealthy side, pita chips. Garlic & herb pita chips are sinfully delicious (basically giant, airy croutons).

Thanks I will look around and see if I find some.

[Tashi]

Summer diet is planning on staying around 1800 calories (give or take; some days I want to change it to keep my body honest) and to cut carbohydrate intake to < 60g a day. With one semi-cheat day so I don't lose sanity. Goal is to hit 200 lbs by August 1st; I weighed 235 last Thursday. Of course, I'm going to supplement this with swimming and jogging (more the former than the latter). Let's do this GAF! :D

Ahhh I'm jealous. I need to find a place to go swimming around here.

[Krappadizzle]

Totally different, but I'd suggest giving raw almonds a try.

Unsalted dry almonds are damn addicting. They have a very sweet aftertaste. I eat them all the time for a quick snack.

[RoryDropkick]

Weighed myself after one week of Insanity and 3 weeks of atkins. Went from 249 to 246. Not bad I suppose. Gotta keep it up!

[RubxQub]

Going to make an honest attempt at becoming a light/moderate runner. Ended up buying the New Balance MT20 Minimus shoes because they look sweet and are well reviewed as a great transition shoe towards barefoot running (although I suspect that I'd like to stay with shoes that feature Vibram soles without the five-finger designs).

On the cruise I was just on they had a running track that covered the entire boat, so you could run a 5K by going around the track ~7.5 times (they had major distances marked off on the track itself so you could track 1-3-5 miles or km...awesome). Had never run more than a mile before, and honestly have been pretty bad at running my whole life. Have never been a good distance runner.

Much to my surprise, I was able to bang out the 5K without too much difficulty! That last lap was a bit more testing, but nothing I couldn't handle. It really helped that I was pacing with the other runners on the track so I wasn't going to slow or fast. I'm pretty sure I've always attempted to go too fast and ended up gassing myself.

Knowing that I can bang out a 5K now, I'm going to try and run that distance a few times a week as my cardio routine between resistance days.

Ending up with something like:

M-W-F: Bodyweight resistance routine (Pull-ups, Push-ups, Sit-ups, Squats)
T-Th-S: 5K runs

Hopefully should keep me nice and lean since I'll be mixing in tennis and golf and hiking/walking while doing all of this. Still have a bit of subcutaneous fat in my stomach that I need to get rid off that's driving me batty.

Just started reading about the differences between visceral vs. subcutaneous fat and now I understand why some people weigh a lot but look tight vs. me who is great weight-wise but has a stomach pouch. From what I've read it seems like resistance training isn't that effective on subcutaneous fat loss and cardio is really more recommended...but admittedly I'm still very fresh in my research in this regard.

[Pazuzu9]

A question:

Let's say I want to do 1 hour of cardio per day, is it better to do 1 hour in the morning or 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon... or does it make no difference?

[TheFightingFish]

Going to make an honest attempt at becoming a light/moderate runner. Ended up buying the New Balance MT20 Minimus shoes because they look sweet and are well reviewed as a great transition shoe towards barefoot running (although I suspect that I'd like to stay with shoes that feature Vibram soles without the five-finger designs).

Do be careful if you are moving to minimal running shoes. I love mine but they can be really hard if you don't work up the proper stride and build up those unused muscles as you start. I use a mix myself of Bikila Five Fingers, New Balance MT101s for minimal / barefoot training and Brooks Pure Grit (more cushion but still low heel) for longer / more serious runs. Just keep on your midsole landings, don't overstride and keep the cadence up.

[OG Kush]

Weighed myself after one week of Insanity and 3 weeks of atkins. Went from 249 to 246. Not bad I suppose. Gotta keep it up!

I'm excited to see your results after the first month of insanity is over, get back to us.

[RubxQub]

A question: Let's say I want to do 1 hour of cardio per day, is it better to do 1 hour in the morning or 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the afternoon... or does it make no difference?

Hmmm...don't know if I've ever seen this tackled but let me maybe try it:

From a fat burning point of view, it's all about "time in your heart-rate zone". Whether it's an hour or 2 chunks of 30 minutes, the total time in your zone would really be what matters at the end of the day. It doesn't take very long to get in your zone usually unless these 30 minute chunks include some kind of warm-up time.

I'd say on the surface they are about equal.

Factors like diet before/after these cardio sessions could have an impact. Like if you ran an hour while fasted and then ate vs. ran 30 minutes while fasted, then ate, then ran 30 more minutes...I'd imagine there could be impacts on fat loss. Doing the entire cardio session while fasted should have the most impact on fat loss...if you haven't eaten a lot of carbs between runs then there probably isn't too much of a difference between the full hour and the smaller chunks.

Not exactly straightforward, but I don't think it's a strong difference.

[Pazuzu9]

Ahh ok. Thanks for the detailed answer! I wasn't aware that cardio during fasting had more of an impact, I thought it was purely about being in that 'heart-rate zone' as you call it. So the best time of day to do any cardio is as soon as you wake up, before breakfast?

[RubxQub]

Ahh ok. Thanks for the detailed answer! I wasn't aware that cardio during fasting had more of an impact, I thought it was purely about being in that 'heart-rate zone' as you call it. So the best time of day to do any cardio is as soon as you wake up, before breakfast?

Admittedly I'm not an expert on the subject, but you may find this article about fasting and exercise useful:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/fasti...#axzz1t52kuEcX

[Deadly Cyclone]

Weighed in this week at 202. That 200 mark is approaching finally!

Last year at this time (my bday week (27th)) I weighed 235, now 202 after Couch to 5K last year and P90X2 this year. :P

Feels good man.

[dralla]

Since switching to my [temporary] low-fat diet I've been eating Fage Greek Yogurt for breakfast and I think I'm gonna keep it once I go back. I will opt for the full fat variety of course. I'm thinking of adding stevia and cinnamon to make it taste like a cinnamon bun. Than toss in a few Blue Diamond cinnamon roasted almonds for some crunch. Sounds really good in theory, I'm really excited to try it.

Since I have no appetite from all the air in my stomach I've been eating like 500 calories a day. I wanna eat more but it kills me if I over eat :[ Greek Yogurt w. fruit for breakfast, 5oz. can of tuna and a very small salad for lunch, Quest Bar for dinner, snack on either baby carrots or sugar free Jell-o, that's my daily diet. feels bad man, I wanna eat. The Quest Bars give me no problems with their fat, I'm hoping that's a good sign of things to come.

[Bukana]

Is LCHF really effective!?
How long will it take it to lose about 20 pounds with exercising everyday for about 25 minutes !?

[dralla]

Yes, it's very effective. It's impossible to say how long it will take to lose a certain amount of weight, every one loses weight at a different pace. It also depends on how strict you are with the diet. And don't over-do it with the exercise, try and find a nice balance so you can be active without becoming ravenously hungry afterwards.

[Etrian Oddity]

Is LCHF really effective!? How long will it take it to lose about 20 pounds with exercising everyday for about 25 minutes !?

It's different for different people, but it worked wonders for me last year. LCHF combined with P90x drastically changed my physique (although I'm still chubby, I'm no longer fat).

What's weird is that I notice I do stay fuller longer on LCHF, as in my appetite has decreased as my body got used to the nutrition plan. Eating like a 2 egg omelet (with a slice of swiss cheese) and three strips of Jennie-O extra lean turkey bacon (good jesus christ it's delicious) fills me up for a while; then I get full at lunch when I eat 4oz of chicken breast or steak sirloin tip or salmon with broccoli. You have to retrain your body, but it works.

However, LCHF will not work unless you meticulously count what you eat. I'd advise anyone to make an account with MyFitnessPal and download the phone app. It's a godsend for those who want to count their calories and macros.

[dralla]

OK so this is an interesting piece of information that seems to come up a lot in here, the effect of exercise and postprandial blood sugar levels. Jimmy More runs a low carb blog and sometimes he "tests" foods to see how much they effect his blood sugar. In this one he tests sweet potatoes. The interesting part is the difference between a post-workout reading and regular reading. As you can see it has a pretty huge effect - The April 7th test is post-workout - http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/j...t-potato/13976 - So yea, if you're watching carb intake you may want to add some starchy foods while not sabotaging your efforts.

[Cosmic Bus]

Since switching to my [temporary] low-fat diet I've been eating Fage Greek Yogurt for breakfast and I think I'm gonna keep it once I go back. I will opt for the full fat variety of course.

For what it's worth, many brands of 4% (whole milk) cottage cheese have the same calories, fat, and carbs as Fage, but provide around 40% more protein. And cottage cheese costs half what Fage does!

[dralla]

I like the probiotics in the GY.

[BIGWORM]

Ok, I had the gastric lapband surgery yesterday morning. I could hardly move after the surgery. Thankfully, the surgery was completely laparoscopical, so no busting me open like the babies in the Alien movies. I'm currently loving my prescription of oxycodone for pain management. I'm in the first week post-op, so nothing but liquids, which is definitely not limited to Optifast, now, thankfully.

[half a moon]

Ok, I had the gastric lapband surgery yesterday morning. I could hardly move after the surgery. Thankfully, the surgery was completely laparoscopical, so no busting me open like the babies in the Alien movies. I'm currently loving my prescription of oxycodone for pain management. I'm in the first week post-op, so nothing but liquids, which is definitely not limited to Optifast, now, thankfully.

I had laparoscopic gallbladder surgery and had to sleep sitting up. I think I got some weak ass pain drugs ><

Oh, I was gonna say I know a girl that got lapband a year + ago and she is doing well.

[zethren]

I posted in the fitness thread earlier today, but I'll recap what I said there:

So at the beginning of the year in January I decided that I wanted to make a gradual change to my diet and lifestyle choices. I've tried to do more immediate/radical dietary changes in the past and I just ended up quitting on them soon after. So I wanted to gradually ease into a healthier lifestyle, so that it could become permanent.

This included a lot of work on my willpower and my ability to say no to certain things and what not. The first thing I worked on was making water my go to choice for a drink. At this point, I've cut soda out just about entirely from my diet outside of the occasional Coke Zero. I used to drink a ton of skim milk, as well. I'd probably go through 2 1/2 gallons a week just by myself. I've restricted that as well, having maybe 2 glasses of skim milk a day now with lunch and breakfast.

After that came portion sizes and the quality of the food that I eat. I really don't eat fast food any more, and I don't want to anymore. I'm not getting fast food urges or anything, which is great. But this is still an area that I'm working on, admittedly. While I am making healthier choices in terms of what I am eating, I want to now sculpt a dietary plan for myself that will take me the next step further and will help me maintain a permanently healthy lifestyle.


I also started walking as a method of exercise over the last month or so. Before that, and not since my freshmen-sophomore year of college (2.5 years ago) I pretty much never exercised for fitness purposes. I used to play a lot of paintball, but that got expensive pretty quickly :P
Now I walk pretty consistently, and I try to do so at least once per day for at least 1 hour. I walk around 3-3.5 m/h on rather inconsistent terrain (uphills, downhills, even) and it works up a pretty good sweat for me. I do feel pretty good once I'm done with the walk and I've cooled off back at my house.

But after lurking this thread for a bit today I'm learning that just cardio like walking will eat away at muscle reserves rather than fat reserves? If so, I'll want to begin incorporating resistance training and a simple form of lifting into my life. My priority is losing my fat, creating a sustainable healthy lifestyle, and leaning up. I don't want to muscle up really. But if building up muscle is a great way to burn fat, then that's what I'll want to put some focus into as well.

So I'm trying to create a basic set of meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner for myself to choose from that will keep me satisfied and sticking to my diet. The idea is that eventually it will be second nature for myself, and my goal of a sustainable healthy lifestyle will have been met.

For now, this is what I have. I'm going to try and go low/no carb on this one (which will be hard, cus I love pasta...haha. If anyone knows of a non-wheat/grain pasta that isn't loaded with carbs I would love to know):

Breakfasts:
-eggs
-greek yogurt with fruit.
-Rice cereals with Almond milk and bananas.

Lunches:
-Spinach salads with fruit.
-Soups.
-Sandwich with non-grain/wheat based bread.

Dinners:
-Sweet Potatoes with Unsweetened Apple Sauce.
-Chicken breast with vegetables and olive oil.
-Steak and broccoli with mushrooms.
-Salmon with veggies.

Desserts:
Fruit Smoothies (using greek yogurt, fruit, ice cubes)
-Mango
-Strawberry Banana

So I want to continue adding to this list to keep things varied and interesting. I'm also going to start keeping a journal of my progress, recipes, tips, etc. I've been slowly preparing for making this next jump over the past 3ish months, and a lot of it seemed to be getting into the mindset and preparing new basic healthy habits.

So at the beginning of the year I was around 217lbs, at 6'1" at 23 years old (male). Right now I'm sitting at around 210 lbs. 7lbs in 3 months isn't a lot at all, but honestly I wasn't really on a diet for that duration. I was simply building new habits and breaking away from unhealthy ones. I didn't even really start walking for exercise until about a month ago, so that's definitely going to help going forward.

Any tips, low/no carb recipes, basic household resistance exercises, etc would be super appreciated. Time to get to work, I guess.

[Piecake]

Any tips, low/no carb recipes, basic household resistance exercises, etc would be super appreciated. Time to get to work, I guess.

Fat is good for you, you shouldnt try to avoid it. If you are going to drink milk, dont drink skim, drink whole (though i wouldnt drink milk to begin with). It also seems like you are trying to avoid fat in your diet as well. Fat is very important on a low carb diet because fat is now your energy source.

That greek yougart needs to be full fat greek yougart. Id also recommend putting sliced almonds on top of it (and berries if needed to make it taste good). You also need bacon on that menu. Bacon cooked in butter with eggs is divine.

Your lunch seems to be lacking in the meat department. Make that spinach salad a chicken spinach salad. (I eat a chicken spinach egg salad every day for lunch). Or if you dont want meat, eat eggs, or some sort of fat/protein ingredient.

as for household exercises, air squats, pushups and planks are always good. air squats are surprisingly difficult if you havent worked out your legs at all.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz1t6e15e79

Definitely a good site to check out. Also has a lot of primal recipes.

Oh, and just to let you know, fruit does have a decent amount of carbs in them. Now, that doesnt mean they are bad for you or you shouldnt eat them (though some say that), but if you want to lose weight by getting into ketosis, then you should really be avoiding fruit and dairy as much as possible.

Also, berries are definitely the best fruit around. So if you want to eat the healthiest fruit, eat berries.

[zethren]

Fat is good for you, you shouldnt try to avoid it. If you are going to drink milk, dont drink skim, drink whole (though i wouldnt drink milk to begin with). It also seems like you are trying to avoid fat in your diet as well. Fat is very important on a low carb diet because fat is now your energy source. That greek yougart needs to be full fat greek yougart. Id also recommend putting sliced almonds on top of it (and berries if needed to make it taste good). You also need bacon on that menu. Bacon cooked in butter with eggs is divine. Your lunch seems to be lacking in the meat department. Make that spinach salad a chicken spinach salad. (I eat a chicken spinach egg salad every day for lunch). Or if you dont want meat, eat eggs, or some sort of fat/protein ingredient. as for household exercises, air squats, pushups and planks are always good. air squats are surprisingly difficult if you havent worked out your legs at all. http://www.marksdailyapple.com/#axzz1t6e15e79 Definitely a good site to check out. Also has a lot of primal recipes.

Thanks!

So fat is good for you when it's the right kind of fat? And that makes sense, that it would replace carbs as my source of energy. Also, so is the fat found in these natural foods better for you than carbs? What if someone was on a diet that included carbs, but cut down on fats? (just a general question out of curiosity, but from what I understand it's all based around how your body breaks it down, right?).

I do love bacon (when I cook it that is. I don't actually like bacon when it's crispy), so yeah I would add it to the eggs breakfast. I would think that eating bacon too often isn't good though, but I guess it's fine? Bacon is the good fat? Consider me a noob haha.

What are some great snack ideas? Basic fruits, veggies, and nuts?

How about cereals? I would think that on a low carb diet, rice based cereals would be the choice?

[Piecake]

Thanks! So fat is good for you when it's the right kind of fat? And that makes sense, that it would replace carbs as my source of energy. Also, so is the fat found in these natural foods better for you than carbs? What if someone was on a diet that included carbs, but cut down on fats? (just a general question out of curiosity, but from what I understand it's all based around how your body breaks it down, right?). I do love bacon (when I cook it that is. I don't actually like bacon when it's crispy), so yeah I would add it to the eggs breakfast. I would think that eating bacon too often isn't good though, but I guess it's fine? Bacon is the good fat? Consider me a noob haha. What are some great snack ideas? Basic fruits, veggies, and nuts? How about cereals? I would think that on a low carb diet, rice based cereals would be the choice?

Well, the low fat high carb diet is what most americans eat, and most americans are fat, so that is not a good diet to have. Well, I guess if your carbs came from wholes grains like whole wheat, oats, brown rice, and veggies and fruits, you'd be fine. Problem is, is that does not taste very good, and carbs do a very poor job of filling you up since carbs turn into glucose, and glucose that is not burned immediately is taken away by your insulin and stored as fat. Because it doesnt stick around all that long, you get hungry sooner than you should, so you eat more.

Not exactly sure how fat digests, but it digests more slowly

This is a bit different than the primal diet (and one i dont follow since i love me some fruit and dairy)

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

But gives a good overview about low carb eating and the consequences of eating a high carb diet (if you watch the videos) (basically, your insulin levels increase, and constantly high insulin levels make you fat - to put it simply)

As for fats, normal fat and saturated fat are all good. So bacon, red meat, eggs, etc are amazingly awesome and healthy, you can eat them as much as you want and no need to avoid the fatty portions.

The only fats you need to watch out for are trans fats and other unnatural fats. Basically, if its 'real' meat, its good for you. If its from some fast food joint, well, that burger might have trans fat in it, and thats definitely not idea.

As for cereals, im not really sure. Id definitely avoid box cereals. As for rice cereals (never tried or even heard of them), im sure they are better than the box stuff (since rice is a better grain), but youd be better off eating greek yougart, eggs, bacon, sausage, etc (and those things taste better as well)

As for snacking, i remember reading somewhere if you dont eat protein/fat, but eat like a piece of fruit or veggie, it starts some metabolic process where your body takes away muscle. Now, maybe im remembering that wrong, but if thats true, the best snack would be some fatty cheese or almonds/walnuts (just eat the veggie or fruit with the fat/protein)

If you do this diet, youll be snacking a lot less as well since you feel a whole lot more full, so snack foods really arent a huge issue.

[Chittagong]

My first ever progress picture for gaf. Pic on left is 11 April 2012, pic on right is 26 April. I think my fat loss has finally started to pick up. I started my routine in mid February, but I suppose initial visual progress was slower due to muscle build.



My routine

- 2000kcal a day (no compensation for sport)
- Monday - PT session / circuit training with weights
- Wednesday - Body Pump
- Friday - PT session / boxing, sparring
- Saturday - Body Pump
+ occasionally spinning once too

Have been drinking a fair bit of alcohol, but have tried to fit it into the overall window. Have also taken added protein after sports, and a few weeks back started CLA from GNC.

[Tashi]

Weighed in this week at 202. That 200 mark is approaching finally! Last year at this time (my bday week (27th)) I weighed 235, now 202 after Couch to 5K last year and P90X2 this year. :P Feels good man.

High five!

[dralla]

Ok, I had the gastric lapband surgery yesterday morning. I could hardly move after the surgery. Thankfully, the surgery was completely laparoscopical, so no busting me open like the babies in the Alien movies. I'm currently loving my prescription of oxycodone for pain management. I'm in the first week post-op, so nothing but liquids, which is definitely not limited to Optifast, now, thankfully.

I know that feel bro, I had laparoscopic surgery [gallbladder removal] on monday and also have oxycodone, only 5mg pills. I'm able to eat whole foods, just as long as its low in fat. I also have a very small appetite. Enjoy the boredom for the next week!

This morning I had Greek Yogurt with cinnamon and splenda [only sweetener I had] with a handful of some Kashi cereal. Tasted great, definitely gonna make this part of my regular diet, using stevia and cinnamon almonds instead :]

[omgkitty]

I really need to find a concrete way to get back on the diet horse. I got shot down by a girl I was into last week and have been eating like shit ever since. It's funny because I was starting to eat more crap before I met her and then cut it out immediately when we started talking. I do feel better now, but I've gotten into the groove of being tempted and giving in. It doesn't help that I usually cheat on the weekends regardless, and they're coming up so I could see a few more days of this crap. I'm within 15 pounds of being under 300 for the first time since high school and I can't quit now!