Normal, the real addage is : Big, shredded, natty 
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I think coffee speeds up autophagy. During my fasting window I’m very active and my brain is clear, making easier to concentrate on my tasks.
Any break in the fast should presumably interrupt the process, no?
Good for you. What does active mean for you? Getting work done at a desk job or being physically active?
It’s been a long time since I last fasted. I do okay til 12AM, then I feel a gear shift down. By 16 I’ll be cold and not very energetic at all.
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I can feel a second wind kick in after 20 hours in fasting mode. Clarity of mind and so forth.
Even the LISS gets cranked up a notch.
Fasting is the shit
I have not seen any research on that, although it is speculated coffee may enhance the process. That seems counter intuitive to me.
At best, I’d imagine it helps with fat mobilisation as caffeine elevates cortisol. I’m not sure by what mechanism yerba mate enhances glucagon release but if that’s from caffeine, then there’s that too. However, I would imagine any calories (however minute) would delay autophagy (if not already started) and conceivable pull a person out of it.
Joachim Bartoll is still an advocate of dry fasts if I’m not wrong.
Depends. I try to train almost as normal with the exception of HIIT sessions, like sprints, etc. I don’t exceed 72 hours these days. About to embark on a 48 from tonight after a lay off where I purposely packed on.a ton of flab to see how fast I can shed it (or not).
Coffee and drinks without added sugar doesn’t break the fast. By being “active” I was meaning mentally and physically, I work 18 hours shifts as a nurse and I only drink water and 1-2 coffees.
Ok, so I monitored my eating as close as I ever have today. It was a non-training day. Let me know your thoughts:
8:30 am:
Smoothie:
2 scoops whey protein (whole foods brand) = 32 G protein, 14 g carbs, 4 g fat
Frozon blueberries = 10 g carbs
Kefir = 6 g fat, 7 G protein, 6 g carbs
Handful of spinach (not counted)
Total = 40 G protein, 31 g carbs, 10 g fat = ~400 calories
Noon Lunch:
Can of Wild Planet tuna = 32 G protein, 4 g fat. 150 cal
Advocado mayo = 100 cal, 12 g fat
Bragg’s Olive Oil/Apple cider vinegar dressing = 80 cal, 7 g fat, 4 g carbs
Pumpkin seeds = 160 calories, 7 G protein, 14 g fat, 5 g carbs
Blackberries = 62 calories, 6 g carbs
Bed of greens (not counted)
Total = 550 calories, 39 G protein, 30 g fat, 15 g carbs
Snacks:
2:30 In shaker/blender: 2 scoops Collagen / 1 scoop whey / Macademia nut milk =
36 G protein, 8 g carbs, 6 g fat. 215 calories
4:30 Quest bar (costco brand): 180 cal, 22 G protein, 8 gram carbs. 5g fats
Dinner 7 pm
1 cup cooked rice (40g carbs, 200 cal)
1 cup shredded chicken (43 G protein, 230 cal)
0.25 cups beans (80 cal, 6 g carbs, 4 g fat, 4 G protein)
Olive oil 10 g fat 90 cal
Broccoli (not counted)
Did not count: raw spinach, broccoli (oil was counted), leafy greens
Approximately 1950 calories, ~190g protein, 125g carbs, 70g fat (rounded up a bit).
On paper, for someone your size, this looks like a textbook slow cutting plan. However, one of the underlying issues with this template is the frequent insulin spikes throughout the day. Without rehashing this again, the upshot is when insulin is up you are in storage mode and cannot get to those fat stores. This is why such a template could take you in excess of 12 weeks to shift those 10lbs of fat
Suggestions:
- dump the snacks and move the macros to the remaining meals (keep the collagen supplement, e.g. at breakfast, etc);
- cut carbs back further (why do you need so many?);
- ensure you’re doing some activity on an off day, e.g. walking, or don’t have “off days” basically.
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All of the above is sound advice, and also has this been cleaned up:
Easy to undo a week of deficit during a weekend.
It’s hard to critique without asking how many of your meals are convenient by necessity. A can of tuna is easier to bring along than say slow-cooked meat if lunch is had away from an office or away from home.
With fewer meals (by removing snacks) I’d suggest making some satiety substitutions. E.g., rather than avocado mayo and pumpkin seeds you might opt for genuine avocado as it’d be more voluminous. Replacing whey with meat/eggs.
For breakfast, you could’ve had
- 4 eggs
- 3 liquid egg whites (1dl/100g)
- some oil to fry it in
< 400 calories.
If you don’t have that time available in the morning, you could hardboil eggs for a few days. Add some low-fat feta cheese for added protein.
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Yeah, I think I will try this.
I feel like this is a pretty low carb day. I tend to do better with carbs. If you believe CT’s neurotyping, a Type 3 should keep carbs up even when cutting weight. That said, I perhaps on non-training days I should give that a try.
I am still active on non-training days. I walked 5 miles, did 20 minutes of yoga, and rode 4.5 miles on my bike.
I usually train 6 days a week, but I’m trying this template from Thibarmy:
Day 1: Heavy lifting chest/back + alactic work
Day 2: Lactate-inducing workout 1 + 20-30 minutes of steady-state aerobic work
Day 3: OFF
Day 4: Heavy lifting quads/hams
Day 5: OFF
Day 6: Lactate-inducing workout 2 + 20-30 minutes of steady-state aerobic work
Day 7: OFF
I am planning to run this for 4 weeks then reassess.
I can usually eat either leftovers or prepare something new for lunch. I do think Wild Planet tuna is the highest quality canned tuna (and the price certainly reflects that). IMO, it is not less healthy than slow-cooked meat but perhaps I’m wrong?
Do you not have any carbs at all for breakfast? Like a piece of toast or fruit? I have struggled in the past going too low carb, and I had maintained a pretty lean physique for 15+ years without doing low carbs. That said, I was surprised with how many carbs my breakfast smoothie had, and perhaps I should use that on training days as a post-workout.
To update, I weighed myself this morning and I’m down 1.5 lbs in two weeks. Much slower progress than I hoped, but at least I’m trending in the right direction.
This looks pretty healthy to me. Is this how you normally eat?
I think dieting should involve small changes that you can stick to. I don’t see a lot of BS in this diet. If it was me, I would snack a bit less, and have larger meals when I am typically hungry (lunch and dinner). That is just me though.
Yes. I have eaten approximately this way for a long time. During quarantine and a recent injury, I have been less active and also gradually began to splurge more and more (too much time at home, and hanging out with neighborhood friends also stuck at home). No surprisingly, my weight has crept up. I’m trying to dial it back in, while not going too extreme but also making enough changes that I see some results in a reasonable timeframe.
I don’t have that brand here, it wasn’t a snipe at canned tuna specifically. If anything, it was just to encourage less shakes.
Depends. I’ll have some vegetables. If I trained late the day previously I might have a carbier breakfast. If I’m setting out to do something active I’ll have something carbier. But if I’ll at most be doing LISS I don’t see the need to run on carbs and will hum along on fats as my energy-providing macro instead. So, genuine off-days are usually <100g carbs.
I’m someone that has a very pronounced reaction to carbs though. If I follow the literature, and carb-up before a training session — keeping with the “appropriate” timings — I’ll be sluggish when I hit the weight room. Presumably, I’m a low dopamine individual, and carbs raise serotonin. When serotonin is significantly higher than dopamine one is supposed to get mellow and not all too motivated which matches my experiences to a tee.
I just don’t find smoothies that filling, even when I’m in a surplus. I’ve eaten according to the Mountain Dog meal plan in the past where the first meal of the day was a shake with wheat germs and it just isn’t enough to even blunt any morning hunger. I’d rather have several glasses of water and some solid food.
YMMV
Well keep it up. Some progress is better than staying the same or regressing. I tell my wife that a lot. She gets mad when the progress isn’t what she wants. I tell her it is progress none the less, and she could like many gain weight on their diet or just not lose anything.
Personally, I don’t think I could go that low on calories. I would add in hikes or something to burn a bit more if you want to speed up the loss.
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This wasn’t to me, but I haven’t had carbs with breakfast since high school. I always save carbs for around training.
I’m going to give this a try. I was reading CT’s Best Damn Eating plan, and he suggests this:
CT’s eating plan: WO day
- Breakfast: Protein and fats (40g of protein and 22g of fats)
- Workout: Protein and carbs (15 g protein, 38 g carbs)
- Lunch: Protein and fats (40g of protein and 22g of fats)
- Snack: Protein and fats (40g of protein and 22g of fats)
- Dinner: Protein and carbs (40g of protein and 60g of carbs)
- Snack: Protein and carbs (40g of protein and 30g of carbs)
Total = 215g protein, 130g carbs, 66g fat (~200 calories).
That seems tough to plan, though. Breakfast would be, what, eggs/egg whites + spinach + cheese + avocado/nuts? Lunch would be meat/salad/olive oil? Snack would be whey shakes + HB eggs? Other thoughts/options? Do you think that would be too low of calories for a training day?
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I read that recently and dug it. I eat a lot of meat mixed with veggies for meals. Nuts help for portable snacks. Protein bars sometime too.
I haven’t counted a calorie in my life, so I can’t say what is a good number for training days.
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