ok, i screwed up. very poor planning on my part. in a few weeks, i will be studying abroad in europe. this upcoming saturday is my final day of my CKD. i read john berardi’s ‘appetite for construction’ article (in which he explains a 6 week strategy for coming off a CKD with minimal fat gain). problem is, i dont have six weeks. i only have two weeks. see, im not too sure how well ill be able to follow any sort of diet while in europe. i should be able to go running and do some ‘combat conditioning’ exercises. but nothing like what i would hope for. ill eat as well as i can in europe, but i cant count on any type of consistency with the food or even the meal timing.
so i have two weeks in which to come off my ckd. i will have nothing to do all day so working out (whether cardio or with weights) twice a day is an option. ill be able to follow any type of diet for these two weeks too. i also plan on stocking up with ALA and other supplements recommended in ‘appt for construction.’
ill admit that my dietary strategy was poorly planned (but effective: i lost the gut, which was what i wanted to do). i also understand that i will gain some weight back. but i dont want to turn into a pile of blubber again. what should i do for these two weeks?? i know two weeks isnt enough, but its all i have.
ive been following a modified 5x5 routine four days a week, followed by 30 mins of cardio. i also do 30 mins cardio before my saturday carb up. im comsuming around 2100 to 2200 calories per day. im using md6, t2, and methoxy. mr berardi, anybody…please help!! i know this is my fault, but i want to do all that i can to minimize the damages. and sorry for the length of this post. thanks all. peace.
I agree! Help the guy out! By the way, I have travelled to Europe often and (I wasn’t coming off CKD) my main problem was keeping the weight on (and I am usually there between 3-6 weeks). Whenever I get back I have lost both muscle and fat due to the lack of monitored nutrition and EXCESSIVE walking (compared to the states)without being able to do any decent weight training. So once I get home and lifting again I very quickly return to what I started with. So I hope you don’t stress too much and just enjoy it. After all you should workout to facilitate your life not live to workout. - well, that is my own opinon anyway.
Hey relax! It’ll be ok. I don’t know much about CKD but I do know this: ALA (if you are refferring to alpha lipoic acid) mimics insulin. ALA is usually given to diabetics for such reasons. As you know, insulin aids in fat storage and makes the process by which it is stored more efficient and requiring less calories to do so. Although I’m sure the anti-oxidant properties of ALA are unsurpassed (I don’t even think vitamin E can beat it since ALA acts as both a tissue repairing agent and a vitamin recycler plus it’s good for your brain. It’s a definate plus for bodybuilders who do strenuous anaerobics.), I don’t think you should take it if you are trying to stay in shape and have the odds against you. Just take a good multi-vitamin/mineral supplement and have lots of fiber, protein, and water in your diet. (low fat beef jerky, white popcorn, sugarless bubble gum ‘for suppressing food cravings’, and lentils definately do it if you want to lose weight. I know this works because I used to be one fat tub of lard: 250 at 5’7 and sedentry. In 8 months even without exercise I’ve dropped to 165 and I’m still going down, so I have a low bf % before I decide to bodybuild and keep everything optimal without much hassal. Another thing I should mention if you want to keep weight off more efficiently (unfortunately as of now I don’t do as I preach but I know this is true) I would suggest strenuous exercise like lifting weights, not running and aerobics. Although aerobics are more efficient in burning fat short term, the muscle-building properties of anaerobics outweigh that of aerobic in how they create an increase in metabolism. When you do aerobics, your bmr (basal metabolic rate or resting rate goes down, body temperature-wise usually in sleep) Anaerobics does the oppisite. It actually increases metabolism not only through sleep but throughout the whole day. If you are looking to knock off maybe 5 pounds quickly, then running’s your best bet. If you have a lot to knock off, then go with weight-training. That’s just based on some of the research I’ve done. And lastly, if you are really that desperate to keep that gut off with the risk of losing muscle mass (you can gain it back so no worries), you can take amphetamines. Just be sure if you do that you have enough potassium and calcium in your diet. The appetite-suppressing-effect some amphetamines will have on you might give you such calorie deficits that your muscles will cramp up and you can get paralyzed temporarilly (happened to me once). Just drink lots of water and you should be fine. Besides, water acts as an appetite suppressant and is “GOOD” for you! Good luck man. I hope this helps.
I’m almost forgot to mention that insulin hinders lipolysis or the metabolism of fat in the body. If you goto the “howstuffworks” website and do a search on fat cells, you will find a very comprehensive set of information on fat and how the body processes and utilizes it. This might help you out and prove to be interesting at the same time. Oh and lastly, I’m not trying to dis ALA. In fact it is a supplement everyone, including myself should take in my opinion. The anti-oxidant properties of it alone would possibly neutralize the weight-gain by the “negative” insulin stimulation it causes by aiding in detoxing the liver and if need be, kidneys. When there isn’t any free radicals really floating in your system, your liver works on metabolizing surrounding fat cells, thereby increasing your metabolism slightly. So if you take ALA, it certainly isn’t a bad thing. It’s just depends on how you work your lifestyle. You should be fine if you monitor what you eat. Once again, hope this helps.
Instead of freaking out, adapt man! The goal of slowly coming off keto diets is to slowly reintroduce carbs so that the body doesnt store them up like crazy. Well, if you cant slowly introduce carbs over 6 weeks do it over the 2 that you can. Then over the remaining weeks, rather than limiting carb intake, burn more carbs (i.e. exercise).
thanks for the responses. they are both VERY relieving. joe, im wondering, have you read berardi’s ‘appetite for construction’ article where he recommends ALA (alpha lipolic acid) when coming off a CKD?? you two apparently have different opinions on ALA and im wondering if somebody could clear up my confusion: should i use ALA when coming off a CKD?? mr berardi?? anybody?? thanks guys, you’ve given me some much-needed reassurance! peace.