Loose Tool,
Thanks for the direction…if you couldn’t tell, I am a little new to this!
Your blog was helpful to read through. I was wondering how you and cat nip are feeling after some time being done with the V-Diet…have you maintained your new weight (and body fat %) ? Was your transition to “regular” food a smooth one?
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Erika
End of day 6. It really feels like it’s been longer than 6 days!
I have been experiencing a lot of fatigue (which I know is normal) and am sleeping at least 10 hours every night…sometimes with a nap during the day.
I am not really having hunger issues, just sleeping issues! I just want to go to sleep all the time! I hope this passes.
I weighed myself today at the gym and I was 132.5 (I started at 134). I feel like that is kind of on the low end for 6 days in (considering most of that is water weight), so I was a little discouraged. A lot can happen in the next 22 days, though!
Erika
[quote]easmith wrote:
Loose Tool,
Thanks for the direction…if you couldn’t tell, I am a little new to this!
Your blog was helpful to read through. I was wondering how you and cat nip are feeling after some time being done with the V-Diet…have you maintained your new weight (and body fat %) ? Was your transition to “regular” food a smooth one?
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Erika
[/quote]
After finishing in late February I continued to lose a few pounds. In the weeks after going back to regular food, I got down as far as 186 which was 1 pound short of my goal of a 20 pound decrease. I stayed in the 186 to 190 range until a little over a month ago.
At the beginning of June I started Waterbury’s 30 Day Mass Plan (workout 10 days straight, then 5 days off, then 10 days straight, then 5 days off). My diet didn’t change. My weight immediately began to climb. My waist, however, stayed the same size. I’m currently at 196. Strength is way up. I’m thinking the 30 Day Mass Plan added lean mass, not fat.
As far as transitioning to real food, salad never tasted so good. I seem to have lost my taste for carbs (bread, rice potatoes).
Start of day 7, feeling fine. I honestly haven’t felt hungry, just a bit weary. Workouts are tough, but going OK. I find it hard recover between sets, I feel like I can’t catch my breath. I have had to drop down a little on the pounds I’m lifting, but I still feel like I’m getting a good workout.
Yesterday was my first day off, I didn’t like it. If I’m going to be so strict on my diet I want to be in the gym making it count.
I expected a bigger change in appearance in 7 days. I’ll give it another week before I post pictures, hopefully there will be something to show (less fat, same muscle). Weight is down 5 pounds in 6 days.
Solid meal this week: zuchinni with lean ground beef filling and swiss cheese, rice (white, no brown available), and watermellon.
I found I’ve really craved salty foods, so I got some chicken and beef bullion cubes. It is a great “drink” snack, very satisfying. I have also discovered flavored green tea.
As far as the protein shakes, my wife has found some good “recipes” on some other threads for making protein bars (chewing makes you feel like you are actually eating). I am enjoying using Crystal light powder to flavor the shakes to “mix it up.”
Day 8: Morning
I must say that yesterday I was pretty discouraged. I felt like there was absolutely no change when I looked in the mirror, and if I am going to lose 15-20somthing pounds in a month, I expected to see some change in the first week.
My weight this first week has fluctuated up and down quite a bit, but is not dropping steadily like I expected. I don’t care what the scale says too much, losing pounds is not my goal, but here is how the scale read this week (I found this interesting to track).
Day 1: 187
Day 2: 184.5
Day 3: 182
Day 4: 185
Day 5: 182
Day 6: ??
Day 7: 184
I am trying to not get bent out of shape about the numbers, I just hope I am not losing and gaining the same few pounds like I was before (with real food). I don’t think this is happening, though, because…
WELL – I awoke to a surprise this morning. When i looked in the mirror, still half asleep, I noticed right away that I was noticably thinner! I honestly don’t know what happened in 24 hours, but I think something finally kicked in. This was the encouragement I needed to keep going.
Honestly, the shakes and supplements are not too bad. I cannot say I ever feel very hungry, I would say I just do not feel very satiated. I can live with that for a month. After seeing my weight fluctuate up and down like I wrote above, I decided to drop my daily calories just slightly, about 200 fewer calories per day on both workout and non-workout days.
I will be posting pictures of my progress next weekend (14 days into it). The proof is in the pictures.
[quote]koots wrote:
Second, our plan cut out the handfuls of fish oil caps, which is to provide a source of Omega-3’s and increase calories without having to take so many shakes. We have plenty of Omega-3’s from the flaxseed, and have enough calories from the protein and flax. If we were much bigger and required more calories, the fish oil is an easy way to up the daily calories, but we didn’t need this.
[/quote]
Sure, flax has Omega 3’s, but it doesn’t have the most important type–DHA and EPA. If you’re just cutting fish oil for the month to save calories (a dubious reason) that’s one thing; but, if you’re cutting fish oil all the time for that reason, you’d do well to disabuse yourself of the notion that flax gives you all the Omega 3’s you need. You need, we all need, the fishy type.
Would have been nice to have my girlfriend on the diet with me when I did it. She always wanted to go out (which I accomodated by eating chicken and veggies when we would).
I did not have a bad experience on the diet like Rainjack. I might have felt run down and hungry for like 3 days, then I adapted and was perfectly fine. Weeks 3 and 4 were a piece of cake in all honestly. I could have kept going (I transitioned off slowly so in a sense I really did it for almost 6 weeks)
Also, do a search for the “Get UNshredded diet” to see how to intelligently STOP dieting like that. Interesting read.
Muchos gracias, fellas. I’ll add fish oil back in to the plan. Any recommendations on brands of fish oil to avoid the “fishy burbs”?
I had a great back workout today. Pull ups, deads, BB row, DB row, Cbl Row. Maybe I’m starting to come around.
I think the Anabolic Diet will be next on my list of experiments and will make for a nice transition off of the V-Diet.
[quote]koots wrote:
Muchos gracias, fellas. I’ll add fish oil back in to the plan. Any recommendations on brands of fish oil to avoid the “fishy burbs”?
I had a great back workout today. Pull ups, deads, BB row, DB row, Cbl Row. Maybe I’m starting to come around.
I think the Anabolic Diet will be next on my list of experiments and will make for a nice transition off of the V-Diet.[/quote]
Nice going Koots..
Glad you finally “noticed” something to keep you going…The AD’s treatin me right…Ya know, the thing I find “attractive” about what you’re doing, is the simplicity of it…Like you said, shakes and more shakes…first of all, they’re definitely yummy, and pretty damn easy…lol…pick up a scoop and turn over…ha,ha… I could def. do it…
Anyway, look forward to your pictorial progress, and hang in there man,...didn't look like you had much adipose tissue to deal with, so that may be why it took a bit longer to start noticing. As you probably know those last fat pounds are the hardest ones to ditch...
Keep up the good work and the log, both of you seem to be doing just fine..
cheers, Tonebone
[quote]koots wrote:
Muchos gracias, fellas. I’ll add fish oil back in to the plan. Any recommendations on brands of fish oil to avoid the “fishy burbs”?
I had a great back workout today. Pull ups, deads, BB row, DB row, Cbl Row. Maybe I’m starting to come around.
I think the Anabolic Diet will be next on my list of experiments and will make for a nice transition off of the V-Diet.[/quote]
I use Flameout and I’ve never had an issue with fish burps. Previously I picked up whatever I could find at Wally World and fish burps are just something I think you have to learn to love… You can clear a room just about anytime you want. That’s a plus.
The most common rec. I see to try to eliminate or reduce the burps is to take smaller doses spread throughout the day with food. Give it a shot.
Some claim the burps are a result of a low quality product, indicating the oil in the caps is rancid. I don’t know if that’s true or not… but I trust Flameout is high quality and, again, I haven’t had a problem with it, so you do the math.
I’l also mention that I started using Carlson’s lemon flavored fish oil too. That doesn’t repeat on me either, and boy does it make my brussel sprouts and brocolli tasty–just pour it right on. I highly recommend it.
This is the start of day 11 for me and overall things are going really well. I noticed about 3 days ago my energy levels picking up. I don’t feel constantly tired anymore, and I am just sleeping a (reasonable) 8 hours at night.
I did a 7 mile training run yesterday that felt great! I was encouraged by that. Also, my lifting has been going well and I was able to up the weight on a few of my lifts.
Just like happened to Koots, 2 days ago I woke up and felt (and looked to me) thinner around the middle. However, when I weighed myself today…I was 132.5 again! Like he said, it’s ultimately how you look, not the numbers on the scale, but how can I be loosing fat weight and still be the same weight?? I really don’t think I am putting on muscle (or at least not at a noticeable rate right now) Does anyone have an possible explanation?!
[quote]bino wrote:
I use Flameout and I’ve never had an issue with fish burps. .[/quote]
I’ll place my order, thanks for the recommendation. I guess you can’t go wrong with Biotest (shameless plug)!
Hmm, Flameout is “Currently Out of Stock”. I guess I’ll check at GNC and buy whatever appears to be the best quality (how do you really know, you know?)
Pick up the liquid carlsons, Its similar to Flameout in that it is higher in DHA. Also you want to check the percentage of EPA/DHA to total oil… for exacmple.
If the Capsule is 1,000mg (standard) and the DHA+EPA is 180+120, than its 30%. There are oils that are higher, but 30% is standard. The higher the percentage the more costly the oil… Sometimes its not worth it, like if you see one thats twice as concentrated but cost 3 times as much.
I take my Flameout at night along with my zinc. I don’t worry about fish burps at all 
Day 12:
Weight is down to 180.5 (down from 187). Workouts are more or less back to normal, which is great! It was leg day yesterday and I was able to go up on weight on squats and the hack. Still having trouble feeling out of breath between sets, but its better. It feels like I am working harder for the same workout, but thats OK.
I get a real meal tonight, and pictures are coming this weekend…
day 14
I am feeling pretty good and when I weighed myself this morning I was down to 131. That’s not much weight lost overall (3lbs so far in 2 weeks), but I am encouraged that it is going down and I am making some progress.
I had a steak dinner last night with baked sweet potato and fresh peaches and strawberries…yum! I really am craving good food and enjoy eating it so much more. I can’t wait until I can have oatmeal for breakfast again.
End of Day 14:
Weight: 182.5 (Starting weight 187)
Waist: 35 inches (no change)
As promised, here are some pictures at the halfway point. To be honest, I expected a much bigger difference at this point. I think I will have to cut out some more calories to see the desired effects. I could have lost 4.5 pounds in 2 weeks without depriving myself of normal food. I’ll stick with it another week, though. It’s nice to have my wife on the same program, she is a big encouragement to stick it out.
[quote]koots wrote:
End of Day 14:
Weight: 182.5 (Starting weight 187)
Waist: 35 inches (no change)
I think I will have to cut out some more calories to see the desired effects. [/quote]
A slight adjustment in the amount of powder you use per scoop can be used to tweak calories per day consumption. Did you use your total body weight, or your estimated lean mass?