Diet update.
Friday evening and weekend went well. Hunger and headaches haven’t been an issue, and I managed around family/social stuff well. One meal with carbs each on Saturday and Sunday, and otherwise shakes or mostly-lean protein.
I already talked through this with my wife, and though there’s some disappointment that I won’t be clearing out the fridge of leftovers over lunch this week, it seems like I should be able to manage pretty good compliance during the workweek.
Also, MD Chocolate is a much better flavor for me than MD Vanilla, which is the opposite of what I’d expected. That arrived this weekend.
I read Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss book. (He calls it a booklet, but it’s a book).
I recommend it strongly. Even if I don’t care for how he has conducted himself in online drama, the book and quality of the information is high.
I think that book is a great guide and accompaniment to the Velocity Diet. Covers the development of PSMF, fat vs weight loss, and some nutrition and biology at an appropriate level (not too shallow, not too deep). Then talks about the diet itself, how long to run it, how to take breaks and carb-load, and how to come off it.
The diet in a nutshell:
- continued heavy lifting
- sufficient lean protein as either lean meats or a whey/casein shake (like MD)
- all-you-can-eat non-starchy vegetables (except sugary ones, like peas, carrots, beets)
- this is for the bulk and fiber (like in MD)
- and the micro-nutrients, phytonutrients, etc (like in Superfood)
- high amount of omega-3s: 6g of fish oil or 1 tbsp flax (like using Flameout)
- electrolytes (also in MD)
- a glucose source to fuel resistance training (like Surge)
- an optional thermogenic, he suggests EC if it’s tolerated (or HotRox with the V-diet)
They’re not exactly the same, but the key components are all there. With RFL, the leaner you are, the shorter you should run the diet, and you don’t get any diet breaks or carb re-feeds. The further away from leanness, those change. There are specific guidelines in the book.
Then when it comes to transitioning off to a normal maintenance diet, it’s pretty close to how I already ate for my lunch and dinners. Protein-first, moderate fats, vegetables, occasional moderate amounts of starchy carbs. Preferably also some sort of dairy.
A more “normal” weight-loss diet would then be the same foods, but drop calories by 10-20%, keeping protein high and at least 1/2 tbsp fat per meal. Adjust food and energy output again when things stall. And take scheduled breaks and load carbs occasionally.
There’s more detail into figuring out, well, all the details, but that’s the gist.
In a way, understanding the theory allows me to be more flexible in implementation. Like it’s perfectly ok to substitute some lean meat and non-fat dairy instead of an MD shake. Or in the other direction, it’s ok to skip the carbs in an HSM and just get a shake. Also that I can shift if, when and where I have any carbs.
Those first 3-4 days transitioning into this sucked horribly, but it’s good now.
