My Experience on the Anabolic Diet Part IV

Nutrition
281

[quote]Vegetable Man wrote:

[quote]Artemisia wrote:

By the way, I found out a couple of days ago that heavy cream has carbs in it. I feel like a total idiot because I thought I was being awesome and meticulous with this gigantic spreadsheet I made to track carbs down to the half-gram and everything…fail! Thought I’d share.[/quote]

when shopping i’ve noticed some brands of heavy cream have a few grams of carbs, but not all.

there are several products that i’ve made this same mistake with, thinking that just because many brands don’t have carbs, then that’s just a quality of that food and no brands will contain them. cheese, mustard, lunch meats and so on. always gotta check those labels![/quote]

:slight_smile: I usually use the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference because it is SUPER precise and FDA labeling guidelines are sneaky (less than .4g carbs/serving can be labeled “0g carbs”), but for some reason, I just didn’t even think about it! Very disappointed in myself: I am a nutrition student and I know that heavy cream contains lactose, and thus must have some carbohydrate content.

Willful ignorance, maybe…it just is so delicious I wanted it to have 0g of carbs, ha ha.

It is not nearly as bad as the horror I felt learning that McD’s iced coffee with sugar-free vanilla syrup and no cream still has 7g carbs for a small serving…that’ll learn me to stick with Caribou Coffee (which is cold-brewed and infinitely superior, anyway).

I also have definitely noticed variation among brands, and I was surprised by how many mustard brands insist on adding sugar. I sometimes make my own…lots of good recipes on the internet using plain mustard powder, and no worries about sneaky carbs.

282

[quote]TMillions82 wrote:
Day 1 of my 12 day assessment phase done, still trying to knock down those carbs, I took in 32 grams today, I had too much trail mix I think, I’ll be under 30 grams tomorrow. What do you guys do to keep your calories up? Also, I’ve seen that a lot of you are keeping track on a spread sheet. Would it be possible to obtain a copy of one to see how you format it? Thanks![/quote]

Congrats on day one, what are your goals? It definitely took some trial and error during my first 12 days to dial in the carbs but keep on it. Evaluate what you are getting carbs from and see where you can cut corners. You getting carbs from cheese? Too many nuts? Are you subtracting fiber from total carb count?

Trail mix eh? Seems like you could be spending your carbs on better foods. Personally, 2/3 of my daily carbs come from spinach. I eat spinach with pretty much every meal and have a massive spinach salad with olive oil and loads of protein and fat loaded goodies. Olive oil is your best friend on this diet, most people on the AD feel much better when they incorporate several tablespoons of this into their day. Some people can take spoonfulls of it every day…I am not one of these people. Instead I throw it on salads and my morning eggs.

I do not use a food journal every day anymore. However, during my first 12 days I did so I got a good feel for what 30g of carbs and 3500 cals was like. I used the myplate feature on livestrong.com and it worked really well.

283

[quote]tams88 wrote:

Guys/girls, new plan of action. Re-ducing my one day carb up to half a day of intense loading. ?? I feel if i start early i eat for the sake of eating and continue to do so through the day, not that im eating bad foods but just dont feel hungry though i eat anyway then feel lethargic and bloated. Is this the best tweak for accelerated fat loss? Hate counting kcals though they are waved through the week. Thoughts appreciated
Thanks[/quote]

What cals are you taking in throughout the week? How many CHO grams are you taking in during your carb up? All of the above, your body composition and prior eating habits all play a big part in your weight loss efforts.

284

The trail mix I ate yesterday had a bunch of different nuts, some dehydrated bananas and some raisins, I don’t think I’ll eat that anymore. Thanks for the tip about the spinach I’ll start eating more and more of that. Also, I think I’m going to buy the Metabolic diet book to get some food ideas from it. I never thought of cream in my shakes, I’ll start to do that too.

Today I’ve substituted some high fat/protein low carb yogurt for the trail mix, taking out the 18g of carbs from the trail mix and adding the 7 g of carbs from the yogurt.
I did come from a relatively high carb diet eating whatever I want. So I’m excited for the discipline of this diet. I’ll keep everyone posted thanks!

285

Snyd has it completely right. Load up on spinache and EVOO. Spinache is almost pure fiber so I wouldn’t even worry about tracking it, unless you’re going through the 12 day induction.

A lot of people use this diet as an excuse to eat fatty hamburgers, processed cheese and bacon. If you stick with the cleaner foods, your health and body comp will show results for it. I am constantly going through eggs, deli meat, EVOO, and bags of spinach and broccoli.

Also, I make frequent stops at Chipotle!!! Get the fajita burrito bowl (w/ out rice and beans of course:) ) I get this with half steak, half barbacoa, with guacamole and lettuce. Throw in some cheese if you want. If you leave out salsa (I might ask for a little bit of their mild salsa which is diced tomatoes if I know my carb count for the day is low) then it comes out to about 14g CHO, 7g fiber. So only 7g of net carbs :slight_smile:

-Adam

286

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Snyd has it completely right. Load up on spinache and EVOO. Spinache is almost pure fiber so I wouldn’t even worry about tracking it, unless you’re going through the 12 day induction.

A lot of people use this diet as an excuse to eat fatty hamburgers, processed cheese and bacon. If you stick with the cleaner foods, your health and body comp will show results for it. I am constantly going through eggs, deli meat, EVOO, and bags of spinach and broccoli.

Also, I make frequent stops at Chipotle!!! Get the fajita burrito bowl (w/ out rice and beans of course:) ) I get this with half steak, half barbacoa, with guacamole and lettuce. Throw in some cheese if you want. If you leave out salsa (I might ask for a little bit of their mild salsa which is diced tomatoes if I know my carb count for the day is low) then it comes out to about 14g CHO, 7g fiber. So only 7g of net carbs :slight_smile:

-Adam[/quote]

Thanks for that tip on Chipotle… I love that place but what came to mind after starting the diet was the white rice and fajita wraps. I didn’t really think about the fact that you can pick the ingredients and also get them in the bowls w/o the fajita wrap… IMO they have really high-quality food for a fast food joint, and it’s delicious.

287

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Snyd has it completely right. Load up on spinache and EVOO. Spinache is almost pure fiber so I wouldn’t even worry about tracking it, unless you’re going through the 12 day induction.

A lot of people use this diet as an excuse to eat fatty hamburgers, processed cheese and bacon. If you stick with the cleaner foods, your health and body comp will show results for it. I am constantly going through eggs, deli meat, EVOO, and bags of spinach and broccoli.

-Adam[/quote]

Balance. It is all about having a good balance and staying sane. I definitely go for bacon in the AM and I do burgers a lot because they are cheap and easy. But, steak, EVOO and leafy greens comprise a large part of my diet. I believe it was someone in the “bodybuilding on the AD” thread said “do not do the AD because of what you can eat, do it because of the results” and that is 100% correct.

If you get on this diet because you can eat like a jerk, you will fail. If you get on it because it is an easily sustainable diet that yields strong results and fits easily into your lifestyle…then you are on the right track.

288

[quote]TMillions82 wrote:
The trail mix I ate yesterday had a bunch of different nuts, some dehydrated bananas and some raisins, I don’t think I’ll eat that anymore. Thanks for the tip about the spinach I’ll start eating more and more of that. Also, I think I’m going to buy the Metabolic diet book to get some food ideas from it. I never thought of cream in my shakes, I’ll start to do that too.

Today I’ve substituted some high fat/protein low carb yogurt for the trail mix, taking out the 18g of carbs from the trail mix and adding the 7 g of carbs from the yogurt.
I did come from a relatively high carb diet eating whatever I want. So I’m excited for the discipline of this diet. I’ll keep everyone posted thanks! [/quote]

Keep in mind that it may be a little more difficult for you at first because you are coming from a high carb diet. Also, a lot of us take ground flax seed (2-4tbsp) to keep things regular, I found a brand with equal grams of CHO and fiber. WATER is very important when eating like this, I go for at least a gallon a day.

289

Do you guys find that you could lose fat very fast if say your calories were kept very low (2000) on weekdays and then a bit higher 3000+ on weekend

290

I think fat loss can be a little tough to determine on this diet because your scale weight can fluctuate based on so many factors. In my situation I take in maintenance calories (give or take 3500 thoughout the week) and then go nuts on the weekend and am still visibly losing fat every week.

291

[quote]Artemisia wrote:
Hi to Talenaah and Tams88…

I’m also a girl…this is the end of my seventh week on the AD. Love it. I’m trying to lose a bit of bodyfat - yes, those last few are really stubborn - without sacrificing strength or muscle. So far, it’s been awesome. I’ve made strength gains and can tell I’ve leaned out a bit at the same time.

Oddly enough, some of it seems to be redistribution of some sort, if that makes sense. I’ve always had a bit of fat below my stomach, and my waist was at about 26" (36" hips)…my waist measurement hasn’t changed much, but that bit of fat seems to be melting away. Needless to say, I’m pleased.

Easiest eating pattern I’ve ever tried, for sure.

By the way, I found out a couple of days ago that heavy cream has carbs in it. I feel like a total idiot because I thought I was being awesome and meticulous with this gigantic spreadsheet I made to track carbs down to the half-gram and everything…fail! Thought I’d share.[/quote]

hi Artemisia (and everyone else!)

still fighting this cold so i’m not completely back on the AD. i had to have juice and such for this wicked cold, so i’m hoping to be back on the AD in full swing by next week. still watching the carbs though. i’ve got homemade chicken soup mexican-kinda style (tomoatillos, onion, roasted pasilla pepers, tomatoes LOTS of spices) so hopefully this will be my only source of carbs for the rest of the week aside from a little blueberry acai juice.

girls, can i ask what your current stats are and goals (height, BF%) and how many cals you are eating? i was pretty consistent around 1800 and results seem to be slow for being on this 6 weeks. although it looked like i was making a break through right before i got sick. i don’t live by the scale but damn, i sure would like to see that # drop.

i’m thinking that i will start doing some calorie cycling when i get back on (few low days of 1400-ish here and there)

fellas, please jump in here with advice. i’m sure you can appreciate it’s a bit harder to figure out the calories for females with less body mass. i do NOT want to lose muscle so i’m always fearful of too low cals.

i just read someone mentioned it taking 6 months to really get into the effects? that seems sooo long. :confused: when i was a bit fat 7+ years ago, i did atkins style and i dropped pretty quickly. but that’s always the case when you have more to lose. i’m looking to drop what i guess is about 10-12 lbs of fat.

thanks all!

292

[quote]Snydiesel609 wrote:

[quote]tams88 wrote:

Guys/girls, new plan of action. Re-ducing my one day carb up to half a day of intense loading. ?? I feel if i start early i eat for the sake of eating and continue to do so through the day, not that im eating bad foods but just dont feel hungry though i eat anyway then feel lethargic and bloated. Is this the best tweak for accelerated fat loss? Hate counting kcals though they are waved through the week. Thoughts appreciated
Thanks[/quote]

What cals are you taking in throughout the week? How many CHO grams are you taking in during your carb up? All of the above, your body composition and prior eating habits all play a big part in your weight loss efforts.[/quote]

Waving kcal between 1950 and 2500 during the week. 400-550g of cho during 1 day carb up. Lots of weight lifting 6 days a week. Im not fat! just want to be figure girl lean

293

[quote]talenaah wrote:

[quote]Artemisia wrote:
Hi to Talenaah and Tams88…

I’m also a girl…this is the end of my seventh week on the AD. Love it. I’m trying to lose a bit of bodyfat - yes, those last few are really stubborn - without sacrificing strength or muscle. So far, it’s been awesome. I’ve made strength gains and can tell I’ve leaned out a bit at the same time.

Oddly enough, some of it seems to be redistribution of some sort, if that makes sense. I’ve always had a bit of fat below my stomach, and my waist was at about 26" (36" hips)…my waist measurement hasn’t changed much, but that bit of fat seems to be melting away. Needless to say, I’m pleased.

Easiest eating pattern I’ve ever tried, for sure.

By the way, I found out a couple of days ago that heavy cream has carbs in it. I feel like a total idiot because I thought I was being awesome and meticulous with this gigantic spreadsheet I made to track carbs down to the half-gram and everything…fail! Thought I’d share.[/quote]

hi Artemisia (and everyone else!)

still fighting this cold so i’m not completely back on the AD. i had to have juice and such for this wicked cold, so i’m hoping to be back on the AD in full swing by next week. still watching the carbs though. i’ve got homemade chicken soup mexican-kinda style (tomoatillos, onion, roasted pasilla pepers, tomatoes LOTS of spices) so hopefully this will be my only source of carbs for the rest of the week aside from a little blueberry acai juice.

girls, can i ask what your current stats are and goals (height, BF%) and how many cals you are eating? i was pretty consistent around 1800 and results seem to be slow for being on this 6 weeks. although it looked like i was making a break through right before i got sick. i don’t live by the scale but damn, i sure would like to see that # drop.

i’m thinking that i will start doing some calorie cycling when i get back on (few low days of 1400-ish here and there)

fellas, please jump in here with advice. i’m sure you can appreciate it’s a bit harder to figure out the calories for females with less body mass. i do NOT want to lose muscle so i’m always fearful of too low cals.

i just read someone mentioned it taking 6 months to really get into the effects? that seems sooo long. :confused: when i was a bit fat 7+ years ago, i did atkins style and i dropped pretty quickly. but that’s always the case when you have more to lose. i’m looking to drop what i guess is about 10-12 lbs of fat.

thanks all!

[/quote]

Hey im 5’2 bout 17-18% bf. Want to be about 12-14 so its maintainable but still lean. Results are slow but consistent rather than a drastic drop then nothing, i think this is the better way to be. Cold sucks, have you been off enough to re-do induction phase or arnt you too worried bout that?
How tall are you? I think your bf was 20% is that right still. Tams

294

[quote]Snydiesel609 wrote:
I think fat loss can be a little tough to determine on this diet because your scale weight can fluctuate based on so many factors. In my situation I take in maintenance calories (give or take 3500 thoughout the week) and then go nuts on the weekend and am still visibly losing fat every week. [/quote]

I can vouch. I have been eating 2,500 cals during the week and keeping the load to one day and just pigging out on whatever pretty much. Lots of clean stuff as well (oatmeal, fruit) but I’m not shy when it comes to the junk :). I think as long as you keep the load to a day (or less if needed) then fat loss is a given.

Although I’m saying screw this cutting nonsense, I’m getting big with the AD! lol, I’m 6’ 170, and I’m sick of feeling like everyone on campus could kick my ass if they wanted to. There are plenty summers to have a six pack, missing one or two wouldn’t kill me.

-Adam

295

I apologize in advance because I know this has to have been covered. this thread is so large and I’m sure it’s been discussed.
During the start up phase, do you have to wait a certain amount of weeks before a carb up weekend? A quote from the original AD book says; “Generally youâ??ll continue with the â??start-upâ?? phase of the diet until youâ??ve got all your energy
back and have no other symptoms. This will usually take 3â??4 weeks, and youâ??ll know when itâ??s
time. Youâ??ll be feeling very, very good.”
It never mentions if you can carb up during those first 3-4 weeks. The book also says; "In the first week of the diet youâ??ll be going through the â??metabolic shiftâ?? from being a carb and
muscle-burning machine to being a fat burner, and it can be difficult. I take this as, after the first week you you can have the carb up phase. So can someone give me a little clarity on this? Thanks.

296

[quote]steve.rt wrote:
I apologize in advance because I know this has to have been covered. this thread is so large and I’m sure it’s been discussed.
During the start up phase, do you have to wait a certain amount of weeks before a carb up weekend? A quote from the original AD book says; “Generally youâ??ll continue with the â??start-upâ?? phase of the diet until youâ??ve got all your energy
back and have no other symptoms. This will usually take 3â??4 weeks, and youâ??ll know when itâ??s
time. Youâ??ll be feeling very, very good.”
It never mentions if you can carb up during those first 3-4 weeks. The book also says; "In the first week of the diet youâ??ll be going through the â??metabolic shiftâ?? from being a carb and
muscle-burning machine to being a fat burner, and it can be difficult. I take this as, after the first week you you can have the carb up phase. So can someone give me a little clarity on this? Thanks.[/quote]

You go 12 days before your first carbup. So basically skip the first weekend. You can still feel lousy towards the end of the week sometimes in the first month. Then that goes away. Some people feel fine the whole time.

You are not finding it in the original AD book because back then Doc D. said you could start right out with 5 days low carb and then carb up first week. He revised it in his later books saying that its better to skip the first carbup weekend to get adapted faster.

297

[quote]tams88 wrote:

[quote]talenaah wrote:

[quote]Artemisia wrote:
Hi to Talenaah and Tams88…

I’m also a girl…this is the end of my seventh week on the AD. Love it. I’m trying to lose a bit of bodyfat - yes, those last few are really stubborn - without sacrificing strength or muscle. So far, it’s been awesome. I’ve made strength gains and can tell I’ve leaned out a bit at the same time.

Oddly enough, some of it seems to be redistribution of some sort, if that makes sense. I’ve always had a bit of fat below my stomach, and my waist was at about 26" (36" hips)…my waist measurement hasn’t changed much, but that bit of fat seems to be melting away. Needless to say, I’m pleased.

Easiest eating pattern I’ve ever tried, for sure.

By the way, I found out a couple of days ago that heavy cream has carbs in it. I feel like a total idiot because I thought I was being awesome and meticulous with this gigantic spreadsheet I made to track carbs down to the half-gram and everything…fail! Thought I’d share.[/quote]

hi Artemisia (and everyone else!)

still fighting this cold so i’m not completely back on the AD. i had to have juice and such for this wicked cold, so i’m hoping to be back on the AD in full swing by next week. still watching the carbs though. i’ve got homemade chicken soup mexican-kinda style (tomoatillos, onion, roasted pasilla pepers, tomatoes LOTS of spices) so hopefully this will be my only source of carbs for the rest of the week aside from a little blueberry acai juice.

girls, can i ask what your current stats are and goals (height, BF%) and how many cals you are eating? i was pretty consistent around 1800 and results seem to be slow for being on this 6 weeks. although it looked like i was making a break through right before i got sick. i don’t live by the scale but damn, i sure would like to see that # drop.

i’m thinking that i will start doing some calorie cycling when i get back on (few low days of 1400-ish here and there)

fellas, please jump in here with advice. i’m sure you can appreciate it’s a bit harder to figure out the calories for females with less body mass. i do NOT want to lose muscle so i’m always fearful of too low cals.

i just read someone mentioned it taking 6 months to really get into the effects? that seems sooo long. :confused: when i was a bit fat 7+ years ago, i did atkins style and i dropped pretty quickly. but that’s always the case when you have more to lose. i’m looking to drop what i guess is about 10-12 lbs of fat.

thanks all!

[/quote]

Hey im 5’2 bout 17-18% bf. Want to be about 12-14 so its maintainable but still lean. Results are slow but consistent rather than a drastic drop then nothing, i think this is the better way to be. Cold sucks, have you been off enough to re-do induction phase or arnt you too worried bout that?
How tall are you? I think your bf was 20% is that right still. Tams[/quote]

I’ve been on the AD for a year, and my results have been slow but progressive. Gained massive strength and muscle, lost some fat, still working to get to that magic 15% bf that I want. :slight_smile: Right now I’m roughly 140lb, 16% BF, 5’4". I periodically drop my kcals as low as 1500 for a week or two, but then I feel like shit for weeks afterward and I remember why that’s a stupid idea. So I generally aim for 1800 - 2000 during the week. Saturday is for carbs, and I don’t measure anything, it lasts about 12 hours.
IMO, it is very, very difficult to get leaner once a woman is under 18% bf. Yeah I know Figure and BBers do it, but they work like hell to get there and do not sustain it year-round. I’m not saying we should give up, just be aware that it is a long difficult struggle. I take comfort in the knowledge that right now I am the strongest and leanest woman I personally know. That’s pretty cool, right? :smiley:

298

[quote]sunshne wrote:

[quote]tams88 wrote:

[quote]talenaah wrote:

[quote]Artemisia wrote:
Hi to Talenaah and Tams88…

I’m also a girl…this is the end of my seventh week on the AD. Love it. I’m trying to lose a bit of bodyfat - yes, those last few are really stubborn - without sacrificing strength or muscle. So far, it’s been awesome. I’ve made strength gains and can tell I’ve leaned out a bit at the same time.

Oddly enough, some of it seems to be redistribution of some sort, if that makes sense. I’ve always had a bit of fat below my stomach, and my waist was at about 26" (36" hips)…my waist measurement hasn’t changed much, but that bit of fat seems to be melting away. Needless to say, I’m pleased.

Easiest eating pattern I’ve ever tried, for sure.

By the way, I found out a couple of days ago that heavy cream has carbs in it. I feel like a total idiot because I thought I was being awesome and meticulous with this gigantic spreadsheet I made to track carbs down to the half-gram and everything…fail! Thought I’d share.[/quote]

hi Artemisia (and everyone else!)

still fighting this cold so i’m not completely back on the AD. i had to have juice and such for this wicked cold, so i’m hoping to be back on the AD in full swing by next week. still watching the carbs though. i’ve got homemade chicken soup mexican-kinda style (tomoatillos, onion, roasted pasilla pepers, tomatoes LOTS of spices) so hopefully this will be my only source of carbs for the rest of the week aside from a little blueberry acai juice.

girls, can i ask what your current stats are and goals (height, BF%) and how many cals you are eating? i was pretty consistent around 1800 and results seem to be slow for being on this 6 weeks. although it looked like i was making a break through right before i got sick. i don’t live by the scale but damn, i sure would like to see that # drop.

i’m thinking that i will start doing some calorie cycling when i get back on (few low days of 1400-ish here and there)

fellas, please jump in here with advice. i’m sure you can appreciate it’s a bit harder to figure out the calories for females with less body mass. i do NOT want to lose muscle so i’m always fearful of too low cals.

i just read someone mentioned it taking 6 months to really get into the effects? that seems sooo long. :confused: when i was a bit fat 7+ years ago, i did atkins style and i dropped pretty quickly. but that’s always the case when you have more to lose. i’m looking to drop what i guess is about 10-12 lbs of fat.

thanks all!

[/quote]

Hey im 5’2 bout 17-18% bf. Want to be about 12-14 so its maintainable but still lean. Results are slow but consistent rather than a drastic drop then nothing, i think this is the better way to be. Cold sucks, have you been off enough to re-do induction phase or arnt you too worried bout that?
How tall are you? I think your bf was 20% is that right still. Tams[/quote]

I’ve been on the AD for a year, and my results have been slow but progressive. Gained massive strength and muscle, lost some fat, still working to get to that magic 15% bf that I want. :slight_smile: Right now I’m roughly 140lb, 16% BF, 5’4". I periodically drop my kcals as low as 1500 for a week or two, but then I feel like shit for weeks afterward and I remember why that’s a stupid idea. So I generally aim for 1800 - 2000 during the week. Saturday is for carbs, and I don’t measure anything, it lasts about 12 hours.
IMO, it is very, very difficult to get leaner once a woman is under 18% bf. Yeah I know Figure and BBers do it, but they work like hell to get there and do not sustain it year-round. I’m not saying we should give up, just be aware that it is a long difficult struggle. I take comfort in the knowledge that right now I am the strongest and leanest woman I personally know. That’s pretty cool, right? :D[/quote]

Hey Sunshine! Congrats on your awesome progress! I remember reading your posts last year when you first started. I wish now I stayed on it the whole year. Good for you. I’m back on now and plan on staying on it.

299

[quote]talenaah wrote:

hi Artemisia (and everyone else!)

still fighting this cold so i’m not completely back on the AD. i had to have juice and such for this wicked cold, so i’m hoping to be back on the AD in full swing by next week. still watching the carbs though. i’ve got homemade chicken soup mexican-kinda style (tomoatillos, onion, roasted pasilla pepers, tomatoes LOTS of spices) so hopefully this will be my only source of carbs for the rest of the week aside from a little blueberry acai juice.

i’m thinking that i will start doing some calorie cycling when i get back on (few low days of 1400-ish here and there)

fellas, please jump in here with advice. i’m sure you can appreciate it’s a bit harder to figure out the calories for females with less body mass. i do NOT want to lose muscle so i’m always fearful of too low cals.

i just read someone mentioned it taking 6 months to really get into the effects? that seems sooo long. :confused: when i was a bit fat 7+ years ago, i did atkins style and i dropped pretty quickly. but that’s always the case when you have more to lose. i’m looking to drop what i guess is about 10-12 lbs of fat.

thanks all!

[/quote]

Be careful while you are sick, you can take many steps backwards quick. If you are feverish and sick your body is in a state of correction trying to get you better. Try not to go crazy with calorie cutting or dieting when sick because your body wants the food. When I had swine flue in september I ate 3 whole pizzas in 3 days among many other food indescretions over the course of a week and came back to the gym stronger with no fat gain.

I lifted on a “clean” diet of whole grains, vegetables, fruit and lean protein sources for almost a year and saw decent but not great gains primarily because I am a former fat boy and caloraphobic. I lost weight and got stronger but definitely cut myself short. The AD will allow most to make good gains with minimum fat or lose fat while maintaining muscle. Remember, 18x bodyweight is maintenance calories where you will see some gains and or some fat loss. 12-17x bodyweight is for weight loss and 25x bodyweight is for bulking.

Look back at the first AD thread for some specifics on carb cycling (DH goes into detail about this in the first couple of pages). Also, I said that true fat adaptation does not come until the 6 month mark give or take. You will fat adapt in the first couple of weeks but your body continues to get more and more efficient on this system as time passes. Keep up the good work!!!

300

[quote]tams88 wrote:

[quote]Snydiesel609 wrote:

[quote]tams88 wrote:

Guys/girls, new plan of action. Re-ducing my one day carb up to half a day of intense loading. ?? I feel if i start early i eat for the sake of eating and continue to do so through the day, not that im eating bad foods but just dont feel hungry though i eat anyway then feel lethargic and bloated. Is this the best tweak for accelerated fat loss? Hate counting kcals though they are waved through the week. Thoughts appreciated
Thanks[/quote]

What cals are you taking in throughout the week? How many CHO grams are you taking in during your carb up? All of the above, your body composition and prior eating habits all play a big part in your weight loss efforts.[/quote]

Waving kcal between 1950 and 2500 during the week. 400-550g of cho during 1 day carb up. Lots of weight lifting 6 days a week. Im not fat! just want to be figure girl lean[/quote]

This diet is all about personalization, so definitely give it a shot. It is recomended to stay with the 18x bodyweight for awhile to gauge your reaction to the diet and then make changes if needed.