Interesting plan.. I will also check in on how you are doing.. good luck and you seem to have it all together so you should be successful
I've moved away from the atkins in a way as I'm doing the GI Diet more or less since I'm very close to my goal and this is plan that I can do a lifestyle.. I still watch my carbs as well but I also keep an eye on my calories and exercise..
sweet, looks you like only have about 5 measly pounds left! *jealous here! lol
aww thanks it has been sweat, tears and hard work but I made it there.. It was slow and steady which is how I wanted it.. you'll be at your goal as well just keep your eye on the prize
[•] Cheat day is Fri or Sat
Cheat day under 1200 cal (so if I want taco bell icecream chips or whatever, I just have small amounts of everything rather than eating the whole serving)
I think I must be missing something. Your cheat day is 1200 calories?
Last edited by jenericstewart; 11-05-2012 at 06:49 PM.
This information is all really interesting and helpful. I just started the ketogenic diet last week. I'm epileptic and my doctor thinks it might help control my seizures, but I'm also hoping it helps me drop some of the weight that other medications have helped me gain. The biggest downside to it that I've noticed is the dehydration. I am thirsty CONSTANTLY. I also miss drinking orange juice... but if it controls my seizures it will be totally worth it!
I do IF and ketogenic. I fast between 9pm to 5pm each day, so my eating "window" is 5pm to 9pm in which I eat 2 smallish meals and sometimes a bedtime snack. I have lost 37 pounds since mid February and am happy with the results.
Kayin, do you ever fell shaky/dizzy while fasting? sometimes I feel a little woozy when I haven't eaten in a few hours. I know that it's probably due to low blood sugar, since ketogenic is basically carb-free. Does that go away at some point? or do you just power through the dizziness?
I am very lucky. I have not felt any symptoms at all other than occasional mild hunger (due to calorie restriction)
But, I haven't ever been a morning eater. I only get hungry at night so I figured out a plan that works with that.
Sorry you are feeling dizzy, I hope that works itself out. I have heard that eating extra sodium can help. On the biggest low carb forum out there, there is a HUGE thread about eating more sodium especially before workouts and in the morning (easy, just eat a cup of warm water with powdered broth). This has helped dizziness in many of the members on the thread, as ketogenic people excrete sodium faster than carb eaters.
Thanks for the tip! I tried it yesterday before my workout and it really helped. I've been drinking crazy amounts of water (4-6 liters a day), and it seems to go right through me. Adding more sodium really makes sense, to help retain that water some.
I was excited to see this thread, since I just started IF last week. So far my plan is to fast on M-W-F, and follow a low carb diet the other days.
About 10 years I lost about 90 pounds following Protein Power, and unfortunately gained back about 60 after hurting my back in a car wreck and a little depression, I think.
I truly believe in low carb, and KNOW it works, but lately I cheat all the time...or at least enough to keep me from losing weight. The secret seems to be planning ahead, but if I'm tired or grumpy, I'll binge on carbs.
So years ago I went from 235+ to 145 eating low carb, but am presently about 210. It seems like lately I keep losing and gaining the same 10 pounds, but actually am 30 pounds heavier than I was 2 summers ago. My boyfriend is very understanding, but I know he would like me to lose weight - especially after he's lost 30 pounds in the past 6 months.
I'm not dreading the fasting days, and if I feel hungry, I just channel that energy towards what I'll eat the next day. I had a lot of good low carb food planned for yesterday, but actually ate much less than what I figured I was going to eat, just not as ravenous as usual.
Breakfast: 3 eggs, scrambled with hot sauce and a sprinkling of cheese
1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms
Lunch: Egg salad (3 eggs, 3 T mayo)
Forgot the veggies I plannned at home,
and didn't eat my sunflower seed snack (not hungry)
Dinner: Mini meatballs (1/3 pound of hamburger mixed with an egg and spices)
Also made a hamburger patty and a pork stirfry with broccoli, green beans and a little onion,
but wasn't hungry, so just packed them away for Thursday.
Snack: Before bed I had an Atkins Cafe Mocha shake so I would have something in my belly with my vitamins and supplements - Ester C, Mega Red, Curcumin, Vit D, Liquid Calcium, and Liquid Multivitamins. (I need to look for a magnesium supplement, I was told.)
I've been trying to incorporate veggies with every meal, but I just wasn't that hungry yesterday. After reading the previous posts, I really need to rethink my veggie situation due to fruits mascarading as veggies! I had heard that tomatoes were a fruit, but didn't realize that zucchini and peppers were also fruits. I also need to watch my onion and carrot intake....not to mention cheese - which I can get carried away with.
But my big thing is cheating...a little cheat turns into a big cheat, which turns into - well, I blew it today, so I might as well binge. So far, so good on this IF. My former personal trainer has been on this for 12 weeks and lost 25 pounds which is great for him...given the fact that he's in great shape and works out constantly...just couldn't shed the pounds.
My goal is to lose 30 pounds by August 1st (my 51st birthday), and so far I'm down 5. After that I may switch to IF 2x week, so I don't lose too quickly and start getting saggy skin. I was lucky and didn't get any 11 years ago when I lost weight, and I'm dreading it now.
There are several books on IF. There is a free 80 page PDF format at a site called Precision Nutrition by Dr. John M. Berardi called "Experiments with Intermittent Fasting" which goes over the science, styles, and his own self experimentation with it.
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My world really got upended last year, and all my dieting plans went to nought, and I gained back most of the weight. My roomie of 5 years died a terrible death of cancer that became brain cancer. I was left homeless and went to live with a brother who eats huge meals, and drinks large quantities of beer, and it really took me until this June to talk myself into giving up the food and booze. Unfortunately I was back to square one in my diet after all that, so I knew I had to do something more drastic--
I have been doing IF for about a month now. IF does take a long time to get used to. When I mess up, I just go back to the drawing board. Getting used to that long period of time without food is hard, but only as far as cultural training goes. (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner are all only arbitrary man-made things, and not "real" in a sense).
The IF style I generally use is the easiest -- meal skipping. This is called the 8/16. Eight hour feeding window, and 16 hour fast. One I get used to this, I may go to 4/20 or something else.
I usually have 2 meals a day, within an 8 hour window, one "protein" meal, to day I felt like it in the morning, other days I might eat my protein meal in the evening (1/4 pound burger patty with 2 eggs in the AM for instance, some coconut oil, sour cream, salsa), and coffee, then in the late afternoon, at my next meal, I have a giant raw vegan salad. This is to get a large supply of micro nutrients. (so I am a carnivore in the morning, and a vegan in the evening. The vegan salad has a dressing of Omega 3 oil, (walnut or flax but not fish) and some vinegar. Some times I will snack, and then it is fruit or vegetables only. I try to eat "super foods" and good oils. I think I get plenty to eat.
After my last meal, I move on to my "fast" -- just do not eat anything else until breakfast the next day. The timing of my last meal really depends on when I ate my first. If I ate at 7:00 am then I must eat at 4:00 pm.
During the fast you are allowed to drink clear, non-caloric drinks. Black coffee, tea, water. (No soda).
Like I say, I am still getting used to it, and probably will need to tweak it. I like the idea of serving the meat meal separately from the all vegetable meal. Anyone can tweak this style of eating. For instance if you like to eat evening meal at 8:00 pm then you need to have your first at noon, skipping breakfast to stay within the 8 hour feeding window. I have done this as well. I have to shift around to find a schedule that I am happiest with.
However, there are a few hunger pangs and so on. This is the least restrictive IF style, so anyone can do it. There are also things like 4/20, every other day, and so on. At this point I am just not that into it, and need to do something I am comfortable with, physically and emotionally. One thing though is that you need to still eat "sensibly" with realistic portions, and good food. If you want to occasionally "binge" on a realistic portion of take out Chinese, you can do that too, but I like to keep the majority of my meals healthy.
Hope this is clear.
Last edited by giselley; 09-09-2013 at 11:17 AM.
Reason: not totally clear
I've been trying to incorporate veggies with every meal, but I just wasn't that hungry yesterday. After reading the previous posts, I really need to rethink my veggie situation due to fruits mascarading as veggies! I had heard that tomatoes were a fruit, but didn't realize that zucchini and peppers were also fruits.
What a "fruit" means is the external ovary of a plant rather than leaves, stems, or roots. Nuts are also Fruit, and so are chicken eggs, so are blueberries and coconuts, and corn.
What nutritionists consider "fruit" are certain external ovaries of plants that are also contain high sugar.
This is a semantics error, with "fruit" having a technical meaning as well as a popular linguistic meaning. I think cutting out the vegetables tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, and so on would be a dietary mistake.
