Smithers -
Definitely leaner, can tell from the waist and right bicep looks bigger. You say you’re finishing week 7 but the 1st 4 weeks were a waste of time, so that means you’ve only had a good 3 weeks of on track dieting? If so, I say keep doing what you’re doing. If you can show results in 3 weeks you’re probably on to something 
-Adam
[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Smithers -
Definitely leaner, can tell from the waist and right bicep looks bigger. You say you’re finishing week 7 but the 1st 4 weeks were a waste of time, so that means you’ve only had a good 3 weeks of on track dieting? If so, I say keep doing what you’re doing. If you can show results in 3 weeks you’re probably on to something
-Adam[/quote]
Good post - I think you’re right on about the first 4 weeks being somewhat of a waste of time from a bodybuilding perspective unless maybe you are < 10% BF already.
This stuff isn’t going to happen overnight because IMHO it takes a while for your body to start to normalize on the new diet. It’s really a pretty radical change to go from CHO for energy to fat for energy. I think one of the things that happen during any kind of radical change is that your body initially reacts by over-reacting to try and preserve the status-quo. It will initially do other things to try and preserve fat that may also reduce anabolism. For example it may start to secrete a bunch of glucagon to keep your blood glucose close to what it’s been for that last couple of decades, and when it does that often insulin and cortisol will also increase. Your body does this to try and preserve fat in case a real famine comes along but eventually this will change as your body acclimates to the new way of eating. Then insulin will become more of a protein sparing compound and less of a fat sparing compound basically but not until you are fully “fat adapted”.
Frankly from what I’ve been reading lately, the AD is much closer to the diet we were made to eat than the typical modern western diet of refined foods that are very high in fast absorbing CHO.
IIRC, Dr. D in his original book hints that it may take several months to really start seeing the results of the diet although some changes can be expected pretty early on.
Fade -
I completely agree. The first several weeks I honestly think I got fatter and don’t know why I didn’t just give up. I think I was so drawn towards the fact that people were eating boxes of Fruity Pebbles on the weekends and getting leaner lol. Not until recently when I took some pictures around 1 month into the diet, compared to 2 months in the diet, I have gotten noticeable leaner. I feel like I’m also finally getting the CHO load dialed in, which IMO makes or breaks the results you will get on the diet . . . . .
scratch that . . . . . . the LIFESTYLE 
-Adam
[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
FadeIntoBig -
I’ve added 1 tbs of EVOO to my pre and PWO shakes, which also have 1 scoop of whey. So my shakes are around 45% whey and 55% fat. Does anyone think this is fine? Are you guys making similar changes since finding out about this?
-Adam[/quote]
I think the EVOO does slow down the absorption of the whey so that is a good deal, and of course the high-quality fat it adds is great. My personal take on it is that whey protein is another ultra-refined food (almost completely pre-digested) so if I can I’ll spend the $ on steak, heheh. I’ve mixed it 50/50 with casein protein and that didn’t spike my blood glucose measurement, but I don’t know what it does to insulin or to my stomach for that matter. I’m thinking that the 50/50 mixture + some EVOO might be pretty darn good.
My goals are different than most on here tho as I’m looking at this as much from a health perspective (because I’m diabetic) as for a desire to get hyoooge and/or ripped.
If someone like DH or Paulie steps in here and calls bullshit on my opinions on whey, listen to them, lol. But even with beef or eggs there is an insulin response (1), so with something like whey I’m betting it’s much higher. So if used PWO during the week could be counter-productive to making our muscles more responsive to insulin for the carb re-feeds.
All just my humble opinion.
By the way, before the high-blood sugar diagnosis, I gained a lot (both muscle and fat) during a time when I was using huge PWO whey shakes and I attribute much of that to the whey. I think whey can be effective at helping to build muscle but for me I don’t know if it’s worth the price over the long-haul.
[quote]FadeIntoBig wrote:
[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
FadeIntoBig -
I’ve added 1 tbs of EVOO to my pre and PWO shakes, which also have 1 scoop of whey. So my shakes are around 45% whey and 55% fat. Does anyone think this is fine? Are you guys making similar changes since finding out about this?
-Adam[/quote]
I think the EVOO does slow down the absorption of the whey so that is a good deal, and of course the high-quality fat it adds is great. My personal take on it is that whey protein is another ultra-refined food (almost completely pre-digested) so if I can I’ll spend the $ on steak, heheh. I’ve mixed it 50/50 with casein protein and that didn’t spike my blood glucose measurement, but I don’t know what it does to insulin or to my stomach for that matter. I’m thinking that the 50/50 mixture + some EVOO might be pretty darn good.
My goals are different than most on here tho as I’m looking at this as much from a health perspective (because I’m diabetic) as for a desire to get hyoooge and/or ripped.
If someone like DH or Paulie steps in here and calls bullshit on my opinions on whey, listen to them, lol. But even with beef or eggs there is an insulin response (1), so with something like whey I’m betting it’s much higher. So if used PWO during the week could be counter-productive to making our muscles more responsive to insulin for the carb re-feeds.
All just my humble opinion.
By the way, before the high-blood sugar diagnosis, I gained a lot (both muscle and fat) during a time when I was using huge PWO whey shakes and I attribute much of that to the whey. I think whey can be effective at helping to build muscle but for me I don’t know if it’s worth the price over the long-haul.
[/quote]
Hi FadeIntoBig,
Have sent a PM to Trib? No one knows the AD and diabetes like he does. He’s been doing it for years.
even if some of you are getting carbs where you don’t realize, i wouldn’t think it would blow the diet. dr. d mentions things in his sample diets like 4-5 saltine crackers and 1/2 cup cottage cheese (which as 4-5 grams of sugar). and some people save a carb deficit so they can eat handfulls of berries and things like that.
so if you are varying your diet and not eating too much of one thing at a time, it seems like it would be hard to throw yourself out of fat burning mode. but then again, some people naturally seem to have more trouble staying fat adapted it seems. if you really think this is the case i would probably eat less nuts, more meat, cheese (the kind with 0 carbs), eggs and oil. and maybe replace some cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli) with veggies with even lower carb counts, like leafy greens (namely spinach). i’d also shorten carb up to 1 day max, maybe even 1/2 a day.
but i think the problem lies more in hidden calories. if calories are low enough, no matter what you’re body is using for fuel, you should be dropping some weight. maybe it won’t be as efficiently as if you were getting the recommended less than 30 grams carbs a day, but it will still happen. i’ve still been getting leaner on 2300-2500 cals during the week and about 2800-3500 cals on friday and saturday.
i would shorten them, but even though i weigh 194 lbs, i’m 6’2" and am lanky so i need as much of that anabolic response on the weekends as possible. i start carb up right after friday afternoon workout, which is usually a circuit style heavy squat based full body workout then burn out with drop sets, lasts about 30 minutes and i’m toast. during the week i usually do crossfit workouts (i know, i know).
i think that the glycotic work with a strength base help with the glycogen depletion a lot, and makes the diet more even more effective. i lost 15 pounds in the first month and a half (was cutting rediculous amounts of calories trying to jump start the weight loss after eating everything i could during the winter bulk), but the past 3 weeks i’ve hovered around 192-194lbs. but have noticed myself becoming considerably leaner (probably dropped about another 2-3% bf, down to 11-12% abs showing more and more) and stronger. i love the diet.
Thanks for the encouragement everyone! I am going to stick to the diet for at least another 5 weeks and see what happens. I feel that I can make progress with this diet, I am just not sure that I am making any more progress than if I added good carbs back into my diet and lowered the fat level. Either way, I will give this a total of 3 full months to judge progress from. If at that point I dont feel partial to this diet, I am dropping it.
When I said the first 4 weeks was a waste, I was still tracking my diet extensively. The “waste” term comes in because I was carbing up like the book says on the weekends, and I am sure it was just putting me in a weekly excess of cals instead of a weekly deficit. Now I am counting cals on my carb up day, still sticking to 2500 cals, just trying to fit in the most carbs I can and still stay under that limit.
That should put me at a 3500 cal weekly deficit, which should create a 1 lb loss of mass. I am also adding in some more cardio, that should burn about 250 cals per session, at 7 sessions per week, gives a 1750 cal deficit. I am hoping by using this approach, I will lose 1.5 lbs per week.
BTW, the cardio is really just inclined walking, or some steady state running (have to train for a PT test I have to take, which requires a timed 1.5 mile run).
Well tomoro I am going to start waving my kcals. I have it all planned out. Not looking forward to the low days but looking forward to the results. Sat evening i looked like i was 6 months pregnant with a food baby, i felt sooo ill! Never eating that much cho in a 8 hour gap again. Time to get serious.! Whats everyones plan for the week? Anyone trying anything new?
Tams
[quote]tams88 wrote:
Well tomoro I am going to start waving my kcals. I have it all planned out. Not looking forward to the low days but looking forward to the results. Sat evening i looked like i was 6 months pregnant with a food baby, i felt sooo ill! Never eating that much cho in a 8 hour gap again. Time to get serious.! Whats everyones plan for the week? Anyone trying anything new?
Tams[/quote]
I’m adding in HIIT on Sundays now, which are may days back to low CHO. I load on Saturday and drop cals the most on Sunday. I remember reading somewhere that it’s best to drop cals the day after the load because you shouldn’t be too hungry anyways lol. So Sunday is my lowest day in terms of calories, and them I wave them through the week depending on if it’s an off day or a lifting day.
Yesterday was really good for me. Load went very well, lots of oatmeal and some fruit. I went out with some buddies and had a plate of Chinese food for dinner and a Twix bar after, yum :). Other than that, very clean and controlled.
-Adam
i’m throwing some walking, 2-3 miles a day. if i could i would be adding something more intense like sprints, but my knee has been acting up a bit and i want to keep squatting.
carb load went awesome. friday was mostly clean; grape juice w/whey post workout, 2 bowls granola cereal, peanut butter and jelly on whole grain, and a few glasses of wine. saturday i went all out; 3 or 4 bowls of cereal, 2 bananas and peanut butter, 3 apples, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a pint of ben n jerry’s americone dream, crawfish lasagna, and a fried oreo. i felt like my metabolism needed a shock. crazy the way the muscles swell up after a big carb load. i like to see that, as i always think i’ve lost too much muscle cutting when i’m looking flat at the end of the week. i usually throw in a dirty carb up like this every few weeks just to shock the system and keep my cravings in check. if you like to eat ice cream on carb day, try americone dream! soooooo good.
[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
[quote]tams88 wrote:
Well tomoro I am going to start waving my kcals. I have it all planned out. Not looking forward to the low days but looking forward to the results. Sat evening i looked like i was 6 months pregnant with a food baby, i felt sooo ill! Never eating that much cho in a 8 hour gap again. Time to get serious.! Whats everyones plan for the week? Anyone trying anything new?
Tams[/quote]
I’m adding in HIIT on Sundays now, which are may days back to low CHO. I load on Saturday and drop cals the most on Sunday. I remember reading somewhere that it’s best to drop cals the day after the load because you shouldn’t be too hungry anyways lol. So Sunday is my lowest day in terms of calories, and them I wave them through the week depending on if it’s an off day or a lifting day.
Yesterday was really good for me. Load went very well, lots of oatmeal and some fruit. I went out with some buddies and had a plate of Chinese food for dinner and a Twix bar after, yum :). Other than that, very clean and controlled.
-Adam[/quote]
Yeah when i woke up this morning i wasnt hungry for at least half an hour, usualy my stomach is churning when i open my eyes. I only have one day off a week usualy my load day, so i guess sometimes if i have lower body on a low day thats just tough and ill burn some fat. You were good better than me, we had a family get together and i ate so much home made trifle, was awesome.! did you do Hitt today? how often usualy? im mixing in more skipping.
[quote]Vegetable Man wrote:
i’m throwing some walking, 2-3 miles a day. if i could i would be adding something more intense like sprints, but my knee has been acting up a bit and i want to keep squatting.
carb load went awesome. friday was mostly clean; grape juice w/whey post workout, 2 bowls granola cereal, peanut butter and jelly on whole grain, and a few glasses of wine. saturday i went all out; 3 or 4 bowls of cereal, 2 bananas and peanut butter, 3 apples, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a pint of ben n jerry’s americone dream, crawfish lasagna, and a fried oreo. i felt like my metabolism needed a shock. crazy the way the muscles swell up after a big carb load. i like to see that, as i always think i’ve lost too much muscle cutting when i’m looking flat at the end of the week. i usually throw in a dirty carb up like this every few weeks just to shock the system and keep my cravings in check. if you like to eat ice cream on carb day, try americone dream! soooooo good. [/quote]
Wow, thats lots of food! do you have a dog? i walk loads with my puppy better across the terrain outside. I was a bit like that this week on carb load eating mostly what i wanted. Makes you feel shit after too much. How long have you been on now? Getting the ressults you wish for?
[quote]Vegetable Man wrote:
i’m throwing some walking, 2-3 miles a day. if i could i would be adding something more intense like sprints, but my knee has been acting up a bit and i want to keep squatting.
carb load went awesome. friday was mostly clean; grape juice w/whey post workout, 2 bowls granola cereal, peanut butter and jelly on whole grain, and a few glasses of wine. saturday i went all out; 3 or 4 bowls of cereal, 2 bananas and peanut butter, 3 apples, 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a pint of ben n jerry’s americone dream, crawfish lasagna, and a fried oreo. i felt like my metabolism needed a shock. crazy the way the muscles swell up after a big carb load. i like to see that, as i always think i’ve lost too much muscle cutting when i’m looking flat at the end of the week. i usually throw in a dirty carb up like this every few weeks just to shock the system and keep my cravings in check. if you like to eat ice cream on carb day, try americone dream! soooooo good. [/quote]
Wow thats lots of food. Yeah i walk lots with my puppy. Ate like that this weekend satisfy some cravings. How long have you been on now and are you getting results?
[quote]DJS wrote:
[quote]FadeIntoBig wrote:
[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
FadeIntoBig -
I’ve added 1 tbs of EVOO to my pre and PWO shakes, which also have 1 scoop of whey. So my shakes are around 45% whey and 55% fat. Does anyone think this is fine? Are you guys making similar changes since finding out about this?
-Adam[/quote]
I think the EVOO does slow down the absorption of the whey so that is a good deal, and of course the high-quality fat it adds is great. My personal take on it is that whey protein is another ultra-refined food (almost completely pre-digested) so if I can I’ll spend the $ on steak, heheh. I’ve mixed it 50/50 with casein protein and that didn’t spike my blood glucose measurement, but I don’t know what it does to insulin or to my stomach for that matter. I’m thinking that the 50/50 mixture + some EVOO might be pretty darn good.
My goals are different than most on here tho as I’m looking at this as much from a health perspective (because I’m diabetic) as for a desire to get hyoooge and/or ripped.
If someone like DH or Paulie steps in here and calls bullshit on my opinions on whey, listen to them, lol. But even with beef or eggs there is an insulin response (1), so with something like whey I’m betting it’s much higher. So if used PWO during the week could be counter-productive to making our muscles more responsive to insulin for the carb re-feeds.
All just my humble opinion.
By the way, before the high-blood sugar diagnosis, I gained a lot (both muscle and fat) during a time when I was using huge PWO whey shakes and I attribute much of that to the whey. I think whey can be effective at helping to build muscle but for me I don’t know if it’s worth the price over the long-haul.
[/quote]
Hi FadeIntoBig,
Have sent a PM to Trib? No one knows the AD and diabetes like he does. He’s been doing it for years.[/quote]
Thanks for the tip!
[quote]tams88 wrote:
Wow, thats lots of food! do you have a dog? i walk loads with my puppy better across the terrain outside. I was a bit like that this week on carb load eating mostly what i wanted. Makes you feel shit after too much. How long have you been on now? Getting the ressults you wish for?
[/quote]
i don’t get that shit feeling after. i felt great. its hard for me too eat til i actually dont feel good. it would probably take a good 8,000-10,000 calories. i’ve been on for about 3 months now, and am very pleased with the results. bf is dropping, food choices are easy, getting stronger, and energy in general is up on a regular basis. as a sidenote, if every carb up was like this, i’m fairly certain i would not be getting as drastic of results. i have about 1 dirty carb up every 3 weeks.
cheese! Who’s got some good low carb cheese recomendations? I like Asiago on chicken. Romano in meetballs. But I need to expand my horizons. Who likes what cheeses? Looking for a good low carb cheese on steak.
Costco has a great Irish white cheddar. 80 cals/ 9 g fat/ 7 g p/ 0 carbs. texture similar to a good Parm Reggiano, nutty but sharp taste like Asiago. would go great on steak.
bean meaning to start posting here. this is my 6th week…results a bit slow, but i indulge in wine on my 24 hour carb up. will need to get that in check to really evaluate. i’ve been a low- carber for years, so i wonder if that’s why i’m not getting as dramatic results as some people do. as well as the fact that i’m only hoping to lose at most 10-12 lbs…those last stubborn ones are a bitch.
[quote]talenaah wrote:
Costco has a great Irish white cheddar. 80 cals/ 9 g fat/ 7 g p/ 0 carbs. texture similar to a good Parm Reggiano, nutty but sharp taste like Asiago. would go great on steak.
bean meaning to start posting here. this is my 6th week…results a bit slow, but i indulge in wine on my 24 hour carb up. will need to get that in check to really evaluate. i’ve been a low- carber for years, so i wonder if that’s why i’m not getting as dramatic results as some people do. as well as the fact that i’m only hoping to lose at most 10-12 lbs…those last stubborn ones are a bitch.[/quote]
Hey, are you a girl lol? My results havent been amazingly fast, my 6th week too. I was on low carb before with no carb up but cravings got hard to control so sometimes ate huge bowls of cereal. Feel better on this diet wiith no crap at all in the week and hardly any on 12 hour carb up. Maybe cut it down a bit see how you go. I think it would be the food choices rather than one glass of wine???
haaa, yes, i’m a chick and i do know how to spell (bean=been) oops.
um, i didn’t specify ONE glass of wine…ha!! it’s been a bit more on some weekends due to special circumstances but i intend to get it in check. my food has been great and i think i was just over in cals by 200 or so a day, so i’m trying to cut that down with a couple low days here and there.
i was averaging about 1800 a day, now i’m going to knock that down a tad. i lift heavy for the most part and do a decent bit of metabolic work so for me, eating 1400 or less every day will NOT work.
i will start posting here so maybe i can get some insight from you all. thanks!
Talenaah -
Funny, I actually emailed the Doc himself about alcohol during the CHO loads and this is what he had to say:
"Hi Adam,
Forgot to answer your question.
Drinks are OK when carbing up but donâ??t overdo it as alcohol acts as a very high glycemic carb and stops the use of fats as your primary fuel almost instantly. As such, you should shorten your carb up phase by a few hours if youâ??re going to drink â?? for example, start your carb up a few hours later than you normally would.
Best,
Mauro"
Hope that helps
-Adam