High fat, lower carb diet (grain free)

[blah12345678]

I did his Slo-Carb diet for a long time, and what I learned with that diet, as with all diets, is that the body eventually adapts itself to what you're doing, and you just hit a brick wall in terms of continued results. The fact of the matter is that your body doesn't want to be lean. It wants to survive above everything else, and maintaining a good source of usable energy in the form of stored fat is how that happens.

So once you get to a relatively low bodyfat level, you have to trick your body and temporarily force it to conjure up metabolic hormones that it wouldn't normally make available.

The word of the day - attenuation. Though not completely correct, but similar in concept. Repeated exposure to the same stress generates an increasingly smaller response from the body until there is none. The body is then fully adapted to that particular stress.

You can't continue with the same program forever, whether its diet, exercise, or sport-specific training. The body needs new stress to adapt. You have to continually shock your system.

Marathoners, once they establish their endurance base, will not see any improvement in their performance if they keep doing LSD of 60-120 miles a week. At some point, they'll need to dial back the mileage, and start doing intervals of varying distance, rest periods, and reps. Same with lifters - can't continue lifting using the same exercises, weights, and reps, and expect continual improvement.

Death, taxes, and change are the constants of life...

 

[wjk]

The only problem I'm having right now is being able to fall asleep, which I'm trying to figure out how to deal with.

I also experience such clarity as you've mentioned when I drop the carbs significantly. I experienced the same inability to sleep you mentioned. I actually didn't feel tired the next days, though I thought I would initially.

Some years back I started taking ZMA at night as a supplement because of mineral depletion during training, and it actually helps me sleep better. It can give some people vivid dreams, though, myself included, depending on how much one takes. I should add that some people in the BB forums claim it keeps them awake. It's a common supplement, though, so lots of info on the web if you're curious.

 

[blah12345678]

I remember getting some seriously sound sleep when I took the PAG portion of the PAGG stack mentioned in the 4-Hour Body:

PAG - Policosanol, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, and Garlic (actually allicin)
PAGG - Policosanol, Alpha-Lipoic Acid, Garlic (actually allicin), and Green Tea Extract

Another thought may be that you're currently deficient in calcium and/or magnesium (and zinc and manganese). Magnesium helps promote deep(er) sleep. Try eating spinach for a few days, and see if your sleep improves.

FYI - a boatload of spinach (3-5 cups cooked) meets the RDA for calcium, magnesium, and manganese, and roughly 50% of RDA for zinc.

 

[murray t turtle]

Hey everyone,

Over the last week I've experimented with eliminating grains from my diet and replacing them with healthy fats; such as grass fed beef/butter, eggs, and olive oil.. The science seems to have shifted recently, away from the low fat/high carb diet of the 80's and 90's towards this low carb/higher fat way of eating as a way to best fuel your body and brain. I must say, it's been quite amazing so far in terms of my constant energy level and mental clarity. No longer do I get any significant hunger pains around meal time. Blood sugar is totally stable and I've even lost a couple lbs so far.

Anyone else subscribe to this type of eating lifestyle (I will refrain from using the word "diet")? So far, I'm a big fan.

===============
Mr R.R;
You have some great, healthy ideas.Not that grass fed[or organic] beef is as healthy for you as OLIVE OIL, salmon, sardines, and apples, blueberrys....... I eat all of those, plus whole wheat/ 7 grain bread,12 grain bread, 15 grain bread lately+ vitamins.

I always read labels also, 100% whole wheat, listed first.....

murray tt

When my hens agree, i eat/love somewhat free range eggs/chickens, venison...........................................................................................................................................................
You probably need vitamins, if you eat no whole grains; look in to that???

Good, healthy question

 

[rickf]

I read 'Wheat Belly' in October 2011 and decided to give that concept a go. I changed my eating habits in Feb 2012 by eliminating practically all the wheat products in my diet but otherwise not changing much about my lifestyle -- still worked out 3-4x weekly, drinking water, etc.

I lost 25 pounds and countless inches the rest of that year -- and they've stayed off! (Translation: Trade more futs to pay for the smaller wardrobe. lol)

Mental fog? Gone.
Ravenous hunger? Gone.
Energy Levels? Through the roof.
Inflammation/arthritis/aches/pains? Gone.
Length of time I can comfortably go between meals? Amazingly long.

And oh yeah - blood pressure? Way down. Good and bad chloresteral numbers were awesome at my physical in December.

I came off the 'plan' due to travel, work, and then some emergency family issues late last year ... but I'm back on the 'plan' now and back to (comfortably) losing weight and inches as I target those last remaining stubborn pounds. I make wheat-free pizzas, waffles, etc, and don't miss any of the 'bad' stuff. Love my tuna, salmon, chicken, burgers, egg, veggies, and more.

Of course, as with trading strategies/styles, your mileage may vary. What works for me may not work for you.

PS: I should add that what attracted me to buy 'Wheat Belly' was the fact that even before it came out, the grain/wheat farmers associations were in heavy PR spin mode espousing their product and industry ... which suggested they were nervous about what the author (a cardiologist) was saying.

 

[R. Raskolnikov]

Awesome to hear! Yeah, I'm experiencing all the same things as you did and I'm never going back. When I hit my tgt weight (in 20 lbs), I'll start adding fresh fruits and more veggies back in to increase carbs but wheat is out for good. Wheat and me just don't agree.

I read 'Wheat Belly' in October 2011 and decided to give that concept a go. I changed my eating habits in Feb 2012 by eliminating practically all the wheat products in my diet but otherwise not changing much about my lifestyle -- still worked out 3-4x weekly, drinking water, etc.

I lost 25 pounds and countless inches the rest of that year -- and they've stayed off! (Translation: Trade more futs to pay for the smaller wardrobe. lol)

Mental fog? Gone.
Ravenous hunger? Gone.
Energy Levels? Through the roof.
Inflammation/arthritis/aches/pains? Gone.
Length of time I can comfortably go between meals? Amazingly long.

And oh yeah - blood pressure? Way down. Good and bad chloresteral numbers were awesome at my physical in December.

I came off the 'plan' due to travel, work, and then some emergency family issues late last year ... but I'm back on the 'plan' now and back to (comfortably) losing weight and inches as I target those last remaining stubborn pounds. I make wheat-free pizzas, waffles, etc, and don't miss any of the 'bad' stuff. Love my tuna, salmon, chicken, burgers, egg, veggies, and more.

Of course, as with trading strategies/styles, your mileage may vary. What works for me may not work for you.

PS: I should add that what attracted me to buy 'Wheat Belly' was the fact that even before it came out, the grain/wheat farmers associations were in heavy PR spin mode espousing their product and industry ... which suggested they were nervous about what the author (a cardiologist) was saying.

 

[R. Raskolnikov]

Still going strong on the ketogenic diet. As an added bonus, I've discovered that I only need 5 hours of sleep to be perfectly fine from morning till night. I used to need 7-8 hours to get the same feeling. I guess Ketosis helps to make sleep more efficient?

 

[TGregg]

For those who wish to feel fuller, I have had a lot of success with the chia seeds, which don't need to be milled like the flax. They hold roughly nine times their weight in water. Never felt full after a salad until I added the chias.

Consider psyllium husk as well. Despite eating a pile of fruit and veggies, I still need a tablespoon or two of this stuff a day.

 

[TGregg]

Yeah, I work out 4 days per week. I'm currently doing the Ultimate Diet 2.0 from Lyle McDonald, who as you probably know literally wrote the Ketogenic Diet book.. . .

Supposedly, this method tricks the body into dropping fat like crazy. I've only been doing it for a week so we'll see.

How's it going?

 

[Baron]

It's going great so far. Every year I always shoot for being the leanest on my wedding anniversary weekend, which is at the end of April, so we'll see how I come in for a landing. I will post pics around that time. I screwed up pretty bad last week from an aesthetic standpoint though. I hung out with a bunch of friends by the pool and basically ended up getting some pretty crazy sunburn. Keep in mind I live in Florida. So for the past week, I feel like my whole body has been holding crazy amounts of water just trying to fight the sunburn. Check out my leg: