Hello All,
I have been on the V-Diet for about 16 days now, and it has been a tremendous success for me thus far. I have lost a ton of fat and my muscle mass seems consistent. I am following it fairly strictly, with the only exception being 1 or two occasional clean meals during the week as well as Sunday dinner.
Here’s my problem. I have become completely exhausted, lethrgic and worn out most of the time the past couple of days. I recalculated my calroic intake, to make sure I was getting enough, and I am. I don’t want to “wimp out” on the diet, however if I cannot even motivate myself to get out of bed in the morning to workout, I think I would rather break the diet before my planned date, next Friday.
I started at 218 and I am down to 207-208. My caloric intake has been between 1500-1800. depending on whether or not I workout. I do fast walks/slow jogs about 5 days a week. I usually have 1-2 Grow! bars a day instead of shakes.
I did a pre-season cut on the V-Diet and had similar issues.
This is also very similr to the type of stuff that happens during fat-loading / pre-carb-loading.
This is actually when I first started using Power Drive. I would start off my morning with 1 scoop and then hail another scoop right when I was feeling lethargic. It worked really well.
If the lethargy is happening specifically post-workout you might consider splitting your Surge dosage. I utilized a 1/2 during 1/2 after but noticed that my crash was much smaller if I didn’t chug the Surge as fast as possible.
Hang in there, the 3rd week is known to be the hardest.
The following is not going to address you’re problem but I had to voice my opinion about the V-Diet.
Am I the only one who does not see the value of the Velocity Diet? I’d say the best part of it is the clean “cheat” meals. It will achieve extremely temporary results, while not really teaching proper dietary habits. Not to mention, tolerating shake after shake of the same protein formulation has the potential to devastate your stomach.
I understand it is a two-three week deal, but honestly, you’re not consuming enough kcals/day and are going to be constantly lethargic for benefits that may last a week or two. Unless you have a real need to achieve extreme leaness and quickly it seems ridiculous to put yourself through this other than for the experience. That may be enough for most people and that is fine. I don’t harvest any ill feelings towards anyone using the diet or Shugart for writing it, but I am utterly surprised how many people have whole heartedly adopted it.
Good luck to all those on it, but it just seems very odd that with all the nutritional information on this site that a diet which lacks many elements that create a well balanced diet (i.e fruits and veggies) would become so widespreadly used.
I’ve had trouble with the V-Diet myself, mainly in that I don’t see the dramatic results everybody else seems to. I have my own theory why.
Although we think Dr. Mercola is a little kooky sometimes, I think he really has something with the metabolic typing he promotes. I took the test and came away surprised in that I am actually a mixed type (protein/carb), and not the protein type I thought I was. I lose fat when I eat accordingly; not so much when I only eat protein and fat like the V Diet.
Maybe you’re a mixed type and need more complex carbs to reduce your lethargy. Try working some vegetables in about every three days and see what happens. You might need to customize the diet for your unique physiology.
I hear your pain. You could continue your powdered journey with a green food supplement. This way you get some badly needed phytonutrients that you are definitly lacking in your current diet.
Plus greens+ only has 33 calories so it will not mess up your diet. It also has the phtonutrient equivalent to six cups of organic salad.
I voiced similar concerns when this “fat diet” first hit The Nation. Like you guys, I really appreciate all the positive (and hilarious) contributions by Shug, but the V-diet is definitely one of the more unhealthy ways to lose weight from a nutritionist stand-point.
Really, it’s similar to a wrestler cutting weight to make a class before the season starts. The only thing saving trainees from massive LBM loss is the excellent Grow! formulation. Our bodies are made to take some abuse, so a 4 week V-Diet run does far less harm than all those binge drinking weekends we had back in college… [oops, did I let that slip?!]. I’m not saying the V-Diet is total crap, but it is an extreme means to an end.
Metabolic Typing this isn’t a Mercola first but that’s a great point about individual biochemistry. BTW, you don’t have to defend yourself if you read his concepts - you can learn/disgard without harm - form your own opinion on issues. There will always be nay-sayers on all sides of any debate.
Not to mention, if our fitness community on here wasn’t so educated on the correct way to maintain a healthy lifestyle post-V-Diet, then I would be screaming bloody murder. I just hope Newbies learn how to eat properly first, just like a Newbie should never consider heavy anabolics without many years of training experience.
I will admit that this diet is a good way to avoid cardio and get hypocaloric through diet alone. But, I have seen tremendous results with 30-40 minutes of fasted cardio and a tough weight lifting program (a la Lowery), while eating properly just below maint. cals. Even with that you can expect some lethargy. I also agree that the Surge or like cocktail should help get blood sugar and cortisol back to near normal.
So, finish what you started, but use this fad diet sparingly.
It will achieve extremely temporary results, while not really teaching proper dietary habits.
Maybe you should try the diet and or read the article itself. I did the diet for 4 weeks. I did it exactly the way Shugart laid it out. I lost twenty pounds. I was able to see when I snacked and why and since I was not allowed to eat real food I had to learn to walk away. Two months off of the diet I have lost five more pounds. I still eat extremely clean with veggies, fuit, and carbs. Lots of carbs.
This diet allowed me to shed the fat that was keeping my abs hidden. I now feel comfortable mowing the lawn with my shirt off, going to the pool and so on. This diet is extreme, that is why its only four weeks and those of you who are complaing about being tired, suck it up I did this diet, worked out five days a week and I am a Fedex courier. Not your average desk job. If you want it bad enough you will do it and stop complaining
Thanks for all the information, encouragement, and education guys.
I actually had a real meal last night. Nothing fancy. Just some chicken, veggies, and low fat chile. I feel 75% better today and will continue on this diet. However, I think I am going to take the 1 solid meal a day plan, with some chicken salad or fish and broccoli at night.
I have lost weight this fast before, and without all this lethargy. About 1.5 years ago I went on something called the yeast free diet. I did not do it for weight loss reasons, but for intestinal health reasons. Basically, for the first month of the diet you eat nothing but lean meats and veggies… maybe a little bit of brown rice. No breads, no dairy, no fruits, and definitely no simple carbs. After a month you start adding in sugar low fruits like apples, kiwis, and berries as well as things like more brown rice and oatmeal. I must have lost 40 lbs. in 4 months, and more importantly, I felt GREAT. I did not do that this time because I wanted to try out this diet to see how it would fit with my body type. Also, I was not weight lifting then, so keeping my protein up was not as important to me.
[quote]Jesus_Freak wrote:
Thanks for all the information, encouragement, and education guys.
I actually had a real meal last night. Nothing fancy. Just some chicken, veggies, and low fat chile. I feel 75% better today and will continue on this diet. However, I think I am going to take the 1 solid meal a day plan, with some chicken salad or fish and broccoli at night.
I have lost weight this fast before, and without all this lethargy. About 1.5 years ago I went on something called the yeast free diet. I did not do it for weight loss reasons, but for intestinal health reasons. Basically, for the first month of the diet you eat nothing but lean meats and veggies… maybe a little bit of brown rice. No breads, no dairy, no fruits, and definitely no simple carbs. After a month you start adding in sugar low fruits like apples, kiwis, and berries as well as things like more brown rice and oatmeal. I must have lost 40 lbs. in 4 months, and more importantly, I felt GREAT. I did not do that this time because I wanted to try out this diet to see how it would fit with my body type. Also, I was not weight lifting then, so keeping my protein up was not as important to me.
Anyway, thanks again all!
JF[/quote]
That Yeast Free Diet sounds GREAT! Like a lot of us, you probably like to learn new ways to train and eat. But, why not stick to what worked very well the first time???
That Yeast Free Diet sounds GREAT! Like a lot of us, you probably like to learn new ways to train and eat. But, why not stick to what worked very well the first time???
TS[/quote]
TS,
That's kinda where I am moving towards. The one weakness of the Yeast Free diet is that it was made with intestinal health mind, and not weight training. Therefore, it is not exactly interested in the amount of protein intake one makes. I would think that some sort of combination between the Vdiet and the Yeast Free diet I was on would make a killer combination.
One other thing that the yeast free diet suggests, if you are curious, is several supplements. One is a liver cleansing supplement. When losing lots of fat and eating very clean your body will start getting rid of toxins, which your liver needs to process. The second is a cholophyll cupplement. The third is a fiber supplement.
In any case, by going to one clean meal a day I am moving to sort of an inbetween diet; one between the V-Diet and the one I was on before.
[quote]milkmeasurer wrote:
Maybe you should try the diet and or read the article itself. I did the diet for 4 weeks. I did it exactly the way Shugart laid it out. I lost twenty pounds. I was able to see when I snacked and why and since I was not allowed to eat real food I had to learn to walk away. Two months off of the diet I have lost five more pounds. I still eat extremely clean with veggies, fuit, and carbs. Lots of carbs.
[/quote]
I’m happy you lost weight and have a new found confidence, but an extreme diet does not teach proper habits no matter how well you may personally be doing afterwards. Cutting weight for wrestling and now cutting weight for powerlifting competitions taught me how to cut weight, not how to create a balanced diet that I will be able to follow for years and years. And yes, I have read the article, although I’ll never try the diet.
That Yeast Free Diet sounds GREAT! Like a lot of us, you probably like to learn new ways to train and eat. But, why not stick to what worked very well the first time???
TS[/quote]
I just thought i would give an update. I am not quite sure what this means, but I had a salad last night and some barbecued chicken along with some fresh strawberries for dessert. It tasted GREAT!
But on another note, my steady weight loss continued when I weighed myself this morning. I know it is only one meal, but there was this irrational fear that breaking the diet even a little bit would result in metabolic disaster…
Anyway, I also have much more energy today. Thanks for all the advice again!
