Low Carb Diet

Chesty08

Hi guys,

Looking for some advice. Trying drop down in the weight & have been trying a low carb diet over the last 2 weeks - think I dropped a lb or 2.

I'm 6'4 height and current weight is 209 lbs, (14st 13 lbs). Ideally I want to get down to 14st 3lbs within the next 6 weeks.

My main diet/regime at minute is:

Midweek:
Gym in Morning (every morning Mon to Friday)
Breakfast: 1 & 1/2 scoop protein, 2 eggs (scrambled), 100g of baked beans, coffee (no sugar)
11am: Banana, Apple & Coffee
Lunch: 2 slices ham, 2 slices turkey, 4 small cherry tomatoes, 2 boiled eggs, cottage cheese (occasionally tin of tuna)
3pm: Tea & 2 rice cakes with spread of peanut butter.
Dinner (7pm): Pot of steamed Veg (300g) -Microwave ones - with meat ( chicken breast x2 or turkey burgers x 2)
9pm: Tea & nuts 80g. (odd night a small purple snack).

2 nights a week field sport (gaa or soccer training)

Weekend:
Breakfast 10am : 2 eggs (scrambled), 100g of baked beans, coffee (no sugar)
Lunch: apple, plum - slice of meat x 2
Dinner: Meat x chicken breast x 2 , rice 200g

Snacks: very small amount of cheat snacks


Gaa or soccer match on weekend.

Dtp1979

Chesty08 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Looking for some advice. Trying drop down in the weight & have been trying a low carb diet over the last 2 weeks - think I dropped a lb or 2.

I'm 6'4 height and current weight is 209 lbs, (14st 13 lbs). Ideally I want to get down to 14st 3lbs within the next 6 weeks.

My main diet/regime at minute is:

Midweek:
Gym in Morning (every morning Mon to Friday)
Breakfast: 1 & 1/2 scoop protein, 2 eggs (scrambled), 100g of baked beans, coffee (no sugar)
11am: Banana, Apple & Coffee
Lunch: 2 slices ham, 2 slices turkey, 4 small cherry tomatoes, 2 boiled eggs, cottage cheese (occasionally tin of tuna)
3pm: Tea & 2 rice cakes with spread of peanut butter.
Dinner (7pm): Pot of steamed Veg (300g) -Microwave ones - with meat ( chicken breast x2 or turkey burgers x 2)
9pm: Tea & nuts 80g. (odd night a small purple snack).

2 nights a week field sport (gaa or soccer training)

Weekend:
Breakfast 10am : 2 eggs (scrambled), 100g of baked beans, coffee (no sugar)
Lunch: apple, plum - slice of meat x 2
Dinner: Meat x chicken breast x 2 , rice 200g

Snacks: very small amount of cheat snacks


Gaa or soccer match on weekend.

So gym 5 days a week, gaa training twice and also a match and you expect to do this with very low carbs?
Carbs are your main fuel source and vital for recovery too. Why on earth would you want to starve yourself of them?

Slydice

If maybe you're thinking about losing fat instead of focusing on weight, have you thought about measuring calories in versus calories out?

Chesty08

Dtp1979 wrote: »

Chesty08 wrote: »

Hi guys,

Looking for some advice. Trying drop down in the weight & have been trying a low carb diet over the last 2 weeks - think I dropped a lb or 2.

I'm 6'4 height and current weight is 209 lbs, (14st 13 lbs). Ideally I want to get down to 14st 3lbs within the next 6 weeks.

My main diet/regime at minute is:

Midweek:
Gym in Morning (every morning Mon to Friday)
Breakfast: 1 & 1/2 scoop protein, 2 eggs (scrambled), 100g of baked beans, coffee (no sugar)
11am: Banana, Apple & Coffee
Lunch: 2 slices ham, 2 slices turkey, 4 small cherry tomatoes, 2 boiled eggs, cottage cheese (occasionally tin of tuna)
3pm: Tea & 2 rice cakes with spread of peanut butter.
Dinner (7pm): Pot of steamed Veg (300g) -Microwave ones - with meat ( chicken breast x2 or turkey burgers x 2)
9pm: Tea & nuts 80g. (odd night a small purple snack).

2 nights a week field sport (gaa or soccer training)

Weekend:
Breakfast 10am : 2 eggs (scrambled), 100g of baked beans, coffee (no sugar)
Lunch: apple, plum - slice of meat x 2
Dinner: Meat x chicken breast x 2 , rice 200g

Snacks: very small amount of cheat snacks


Gaa or soccer match on weekend.

So gym 5 days a week, gaa training twice and also a match and you expect to do this with very low carbs?
Carbs are your main fuel source and vital for recovery too. Why on earth would you want to starve yourself of them?

Main reason is because I have too much body fat. The plan is too eat as little carbs as possible of the next 4-6 weeks, drop in body fat and then focus again on a regular carb intake for the exercise.

Slydice wrote: »

If maybe you're thinking about losing fat instead of focusing on weight, have you thought about measuring calories in versus calories out?

I'm using mfp also during the day to keep track of calories. mfp said I should be eaten 1,750 cals + 180 cals (general day to day activity) + 500 (based on exercise day).

I have not been eating more cals than I should be over the last 2 weeks.

What would you guys recommend snacking on or increasing on during these days (little carbs as possible).

Blacktie.

Cutting calories not carbs is how you lose weight. With that activity level I would definitely keep a reasonable amount of carbs in my diet!

Anyway if you're still looking for low carb snack ideas there's always the old reliable eggs and nuts. High fat and easy enough to snack on. Also if you can get proper Greek yoghurt the carbs in that is usually very low. I don't mean Greek style 0% stuff.

kieran.

What does you week day gym sessions consist of ?

Metalrobe

Chesty08 wrote: »

Main reason is because I have too much body fat. The plan is too eat as little carbs as possible of the next 4-6 weeks, drop in body fat and then focus again on a regular carb intake for the exercise.





I'm using mfp also during the day to keep track of calories. mfp said I should be eaten 1,750 cals + 180 cals (general day to day activity) + 500 (based on exercise day).

I have not been eating more cals than I should be over the last 2 weeks.

What would you guys recommend snacking on or increasing on during these days (little carbs as possible).

OK so I'm gonna help you out here. I wouldn't worry about the low carb just yet. The total calorie intake for the day is more important. If you factor in your activity level you should still be coming in at 4-500 calories less per day than your maintenence level.

I would cut the fruit for now as it will cause insulin spikes throughout the day and reduce testosterone levels. A good lunchtime meal would be chicken breast, 150g of sweet potato and a good helping of broccoli.

A good breached chain amino acid supplement such as scivation xtend or on amino energy will help you through your gym and gaa sessions and will help you preserve muscle mass.

Keep your carbohydrate to times when you are most sensitive to absorbing carbs as glycogen rather than bodyfat so I would say keep your carb meals to the morning and post workout.

6 to 8 weeks should be loads to remain in a calorie deficit and lose the weight you want. Also make sure to return to your normal maintenence calories for 2-3 weeks to bring thyroid function back to normal and keep you metabolism from slowing down.

Alf Veedersane

Metalrobe wrote: »

A good breached chain amino acid supplement such as scivation xtend or on amino energy will help you through your gym and gaa sessions and will help you preserve muscle mass.

BCAAs are completely unnecessary.

Blacktie.

Metalrobe wrote: »

OK so I'm gonna help you out here. I wouldn't worry about the low carb just yet. The total calorie intake for the day is more important. If you factor in your activity level you should still be coming in at 4-500 calories less per day than your maintenence level.

Started so well and just went off the rails.

I would cut the fruit for now as it will cause insulin spikes throughout the day and reduce testosterone levels. A good lunchtime meal would be chicken breast, 150g of sweet potato and a good helping of broccoli.

Don't reduce carbs but don't eat fruit? The fibre in fruit reduces any insulin spike and since you mention meal timing later an insulin spike is exactly what you want after a workout. High GL foods would be fine post workout! I'm not even going to bother with the testosterone levels part.

A good breached chain amino acid supplement such as scivation xtend or on amino energy will help you through your gym and gaa sessions and will help you preserve muscle mass.

Unless he's training fasted this is a waste of money and even then there efficacy is questionable at best.

Keep your carbohydrate to times when you are most sensitive to absorbing carbs as glycogen rather than bodyfat so I would say keep your carb meals to the morning and post workout.

Not so bad advice here though overall it will make 0 difference to fat loss. May have slight benefits for body composition though.

6 to 8 weeks should be loads to remain in a calorie deficit and lose the weight you want. Also make sure to return to your normal maintenence calories for 2-3 weeks to bring thyroid function back to normal and keep you metabolism from slowing down.

You don't need to return to maintenance if you want to go straight into a bulk, do it. Keep in mind your TDEE may be slightly lower then normal but your hormones won't be all over the place from a very slight deficit as you plan on doing and your TDEE will return to normal fairly quick.

Chesty08

Metalrobe wrote: »

Chesty08 wrote: »

Main reason is because I have too much body fat. The plan is too eat as little carbs as possible of the next 4-6 weeks, drop in body fat and then focus again on a regular carb intake for the exercise.





I'm using mfp also during the day to keep track of calories. mfp said I should be eaten 1,750 cals + 180 cals (general day to day activity) + 500 (based on exercise day).

I have not been eating more cals than I should be over the last 2 weeks.

What would you guys recommend snacking on or increasing on during these days (little carbs as possible).

OK so I'm gonna help you out here. I wouldn't worry about the low carb just yet. The total calorie intake for the day is more important. If you factor in your activity level you should still be coming in at 4-500 calories less per day than your maintenence level.

I would cut the fruit for now as it will cause insulin spikes throughout the day and reduce testosterone levels. A good lunchtime meal would be chicken breast, 150g of sweet potato and a good helping of broccoli.

A good breached chain amino acid supplement such as scivation xtend or on amino energy will help you through your gym and gaa sessions and will help you preserve muscle mass.

Keep your carbohydrate to times when you are most sensitive to absorbing carbs as glycogen rather than bodyfat so I would say keep your carb meals to the morning and post workout.

6 to 8 weeks should be loads to remain in a calorie deficit and lose the weight you want. Also make sure to return to your normal maintenence calories for 2-3 weeks to bring thyroid function back to normal and keep you metabolism from slowing down.

Cheers for that. Much appreciated

I will cut down on fruit, get the Scivation xtend the weekend and in 4 weeks (on this 2 weeks now) will go back to normal carb intake.

Is sweet potato not carb rich?

Alf Veedersane

Chesty08 wrote: »

Is sweet potato not carb rich?

Your biggest concern is consuming fewer calories than you burn.

If your TDEE was 2,500 kcals, for example, and you had zero carbs but consumed 3,000 kcals you would put on weight.

Stop focussing on avoiding carbs and focus more on gettign a handle on how much you're eating. Once you do that, you'll lose weight. You can worry about macros afterwards.

Chesty08

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Chesty08 wrote: »

Is sweet potato not carb rich?

Your biggest concern is consuming fewer calories than you burn.

If your TDEE was 2,500 kcals, for example, and you had zero carbs but consumed 3,000 kcals you would put on weight.

Stop focussing on avoiding carbs and focus more on gettign a handle on how much you're eating. Once you do that, you'll lose weight. You can worry about macros afterwards.

My BMR is 2,012 Cals per day

My TDEE is 2,582 Cals per day

As I said I want to drop about 7lbs in 6 weeks. What does the above mean, keep my calorie intake below 10/15% of above?

Alf Veedersane

Chesty08 wrote: »

My BMR is 2,012 Cals per day

My TDEE is 2,582 Cals per day

As I said I want to drop about 7lbs in 6 weeks. What does the above mean, keep my calorie intake below 10/15% of above?

At your height and weight and level of activity, your TDEE would be higher but nonetheless, it's better (for losing weight) to underestimate it.

Your biggest concern is making sure that you're tracking what you eat accurately so that you're actually in enough of a deficit.

You're looking to lose approx a pound a week. That's a daily deficit of 500 kcals. That's your starting point. Time will tell if that deficit is correct so tweak as needed.

Getting into a calorie deficit is the most important element of losing weight.

If 90% of your food is good food and you hit your calorie deficit, you will lose weight. Macros play a role and it's not entirely unimportant but you don't need to exclude carbs. Just perhaps the carbs from batter burger and curry chips. For now anyway.

Metalrobe

Ok so this post is in response to Blackie.

Yes of course you need an insulin spike after training. Although the muscle has residual catabolic activity following exercise it is primed to shift into an anabolic state in the presence of the right nutrients. In summary a protein/carbohydrate supplement is ideal post training.

Higher insulin levels are correlated with lower testosterone levels. Unfortunately, elevated insulin over time leads to insulin resistance. Ofcourse as i've said above an insulin spike is fine around training as it drives nutrients into muscle cells.

Bcaas a waste of money? I really don't think so. Ask any nutritional expert During sustained exercise a net muscle protein loss occurs. This is mainly because there is an increased use of bcaas for energy. Because bcaas serve as precursors for the syntheses of glutamine, muscle glutamine declines as well. During prolonged exercise glutamine stores can be almost completely depleted, potentially compromising immune system function.

Im not sure about what you mean about fat loss being different from body composition? Obviously we are looking for the best body composition i.e. Lower fat and higher muscle mass.

Alf Veedersane

Metalrobe wrote: »

Bcaas a waste of money? I really don't think so. Ask any nutritional expert During sustained exercise a net muscle protein loss occurs. This is mainly because there is an increased use of bcaas for energy. Because bcaas serve as precursors for the syntheses of glutamine, muscle glutamine declines as well. During prolonged exercise glutamine stores can be almost completely depleted, potentially compromising immune system function.

The OP is already getting BCAAs.

He doesn't need to waste money buying tubs of it.

EDIT: "Despite the popularity of BCAA supplements we find shockingly little evidence for their efficacy in promoting MPS or lean mass gains and would advise the use of intact proteins as opposed to a purified combination of BCAA that appear to antagonize each other in terms of transport both into circulation and likely in to the muscle (Churchward-Venne et al., 2014)."

Link

Reference provided by Danny Lennon: nutrition expert.

Chesty08

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Chesty08 wrote: »

My BMR is 2,012 Cals per day

My TDEE is 2,582 Cals per day

As I said I want to drop about 7lbs in 6 weeks. What does the above mean, keep my calorie intake below 10/15% of above?

At your height and weight and level of activity, your TDEE would be higher but nonetheless, it's better (for losing weight) to underestimate it.

Your biggest concern is making sure that you're tracking what you eat accurately so that you're actually in enough of a deficit.

You're looking to lose approx a pound a week. That's a daily deficit of 500 kcals. That's your starting point. Time will tell if that deficit is correct so tweak as needed.

Getting into a calorie deficit is the most important element of losing weight.

If 90% of your food is good food and you hit your calorie deficit, you will lose weight. Macros play a role and it's not entirely unimportant but you don't need to exclude carbs. Just perhaps the carbs from batter burger and curry chips. For now anyway.

Based on my current intake today - I have 1,500 calories left. Bleeding starving here : Turkey burgers & Veg for dinner

Blacktie.

Metalrobe wrote: »

Ok so this post is in response to Blackie.

Yes of course you need an insulin spike after training. Although the muscle has residual catabolic activity following exercise it is primed to shift into an anabolic state in the presence of the right nutrients. In summary a protein/carbohydrate supplement is ideal post training.

Higher insulin levels are correlated with lower testosterone levels. Unfortunately, elevated insulin over time leads to insulin resistance. Ofcourse as i've said above an insulin spike is fine around training as it drives nutrients into muscle cells.

Yeah if he's pounding in cans of coke all day long. An apple and banana isn't going to make him insulin resistant.

Bcaas a waste of money? I really don't think so. Ask any nutritional expert During sustained exercise a net muscle protein loss occurs. This is mainly because there is an increased use of bcaas for energy. Because bcaas serve as precursors for the syntheses of glutamine, muscle glutamine declines as well. During prolonged exercise glutamine stores can be almost completely depleted, potentially compromising immune system function.

Agree with Alf below.

Im not sure about what you mean about fat loss being different from body composition? Obviously we are looking for the best body composition i.e. Lower fat and higher muscle mass.

The benefits aren't worth the stress. Calories and macros trump meal timing by a fair margin for body composition. Additional stressing over a minor benefit just isn't worth it.

Metalrobe

For once I agree with you. At this stage meal timing obviously isn't near as important as getting in decent macronutrients and being in a calorific deficit. I'm just trying to get him the best results in the shortest possible time. The study on the bcaas is interesting. Obviously a good quality whey protein is more advantageous according to the results in this study. I still don't think an apple and a banana is great option as a meal a break time.

Blacktie.

Metalrobe wrote: »

For once I agree with you. At this stage meal timing obviously isn't near as important as getting in decent macronutrients and being in a calorific deficit. I'm just trying to get him the best results in the shortest possible time. The study on the bcaas is interesting. Obviously a good quality whey protein is more advantageous according to the results in this study. I still don't think an apple and a banana is great option as a meal a break time.

Yeah I'd agree it's not great but I'd include fruit in his overall diet. Better to have a mix of proteins and carbs but it's also better than the usual tea and biscuits.

Zillah

Metalrobe wrote: »

I would cut the fruit for now as it will cause insulin spikes throughout the day and reduce testosterone levels.

A) Fructose has very little impact on insulin, and the fibre and other nutrition hugely out-weight any concerns about the sugar in fruit. This is terrible advice.

Zillah

Follow up on testosterone, because I hadn't heard this before and needed to do some reading: testosterone levels are negatively correlated with high insulin resistance, not short term insulin production. There's nothing to suggest that sugar intake will impact testosterone levels unless you're eating enough to have developed insulin resistance, and if that's the case Type 2 diabetes is a much bigger concern.

All of which is secondary to the fact that, as I said, fructose is a low GI sugar.

Eat fruit.

Chesty08

Checked my macronutrients via mfp on today's intake:

Carbs 92g (25%) Goal: 25%

Fat 63g (38%) Goal: 35%

Protein 139g (37%) Goal: 40%

Trying to cut down on carbs yet still a high amount!

Alf Veedersane

Less than 100g is not high.

Concern yourself with the calories first and foremost.

Chesty08

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Less than 100g is not high.

Concern yourself with the calories first and foremost.

1,560 cals today. 880 remaining. Maintain this for a few weeks should see me reach my goal?

Alf Veedersane

A daily deficit of 500 kcal should see you lose about a pound a week.

Stop focusing on trying to go very low carbs. It's not essential. If you want to focus on a macro, make it protein.

DontThankMe

Have you heard of the ketogenic diet OP?
It's a low carb diet, so it might suit you.
I can't post links to it because i'm a new user.

Sugar Free

DontThankMe wrote: »

Have you heard of the ketogenic diet OP?
It's a low carb diet, so it might suit you.
I can't post links to it because i'm a new user.

I don't see how it would suit someone who is playing a sport 3x a week.
Even then I think few people are disciplined enough to get their carbs low enough for long enough to get into ketosis and stay there for an amount of time that makes it worthwhile.

Chesty08

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

A daily deficit of 500 kcal should see you lose about a pound a week.

Stop focusing on trying to go very low carbs. It's not essential. If you want to focus on a macro, make it protein.

Why is low carb not essential? The focus of my diet is on low carbs as I was advised that it was a good way to diet. As mentioned the plan is not to maintain this low carb - im trying to drop lbs in 6 weeks.

What happens with carbs not burned?

DontThankMe wrote: »

Have you heard of the ketogenic diet OP?
It's a low carb diet, so it might suit you.
I can't post links to it because i'm a new user.

Sugar Free wrote: »

I don't see how it would suit someone who is playing a sport 3x a week.
Even then I think few people are disciplined enough to get their carbs low enough for long enough to get into ketosis and stay there for an amount of time that makes it worthwhile.

No I haven't heard of the ketogenic diet - what is it?

Sugar Free where you talking to me or post above? Is it not worth me exploring considering how active I am at present?

Blacktie.

Chesty08 wrote: »

Why is low carb not essential? The focus of my diet is on low carbs as I was advised that it was a good way to diet. As mentioned the plan is not to maintain this low carb - im trying to drop lbs in 6 weeks.

What happens with carbs not burned?

They get stored as fat. Just like fat that's not burned and to a lesser degree protein that's not burned. Carbs are essential for energy output during workouts and by limiting them so drastically you won't get the most out of your workouts. Especially with the amount of cardio you do. A good way to lose weight is to reduce calories not carbs. This has been said and explained several times in this thread.

No I haven't heard of the ketogenic diet - what is it?

Ketogenic diet is basically massively reducing carb intake. Usually to below 50g a day to bring your body into a state of ketosis. This will make your body favour bodyfat as a source of fuel. HOWEVER this does not mean it's superior for losing weight as it may burn fat for fuel but it will also create more fat if eating at maintenance or above.

Again you need to reduce calories to lose weight. Not just carbs.

Sugar Free

Chesty08 wrote: »

Sugar Free where you talking to me or post above? Is it not worth me exploring considering how active I am at present?

I edited my original post for clarity.

Honestly you're vastly over-thinking this. Just work out your TDEE and subtract about 500 cals a day from that number (I think you've done this already). Do your best to eat this given number of cals each day. This alone will see you lose weight.

As you are active, make sure a reasonable amount of your daily cals comes from carbs. That's all it takes. You don't need to explore specific diets, certainly not ones that make you feel like sh*t while your body changes its fuel source (like with keto).

Lady is a tramp

Interested in this thread as my doctor mentioned earlier there were ketones in my urine, I was surprised as I'm eating three regular meals every day.

Typical day would be porridge and berries with milk for breakfast, meat (maybe chicken or bacon) for lunch with lots of veg, and maybe a large salad with a glass of milk for dinner. I drink too much Diet Coke, and probably not enough water. I don't usually have any snacks. My activity level is pretty low, no sport etc. I'd like to lose some weight.

Would I be right in saying that the ketones in the urine isn't actually a bad thing in this case? She said she'd retest in a few days.

My energy levels are fine and I feel well overall.

Alf Veedersane

Chesty08 wrote: »

Why is low carb not essential? The focus of my diet is on low carbs as I was advised that it was a good way to diet. As mentioned the plan is not to maintain this low carb - im trying to drop lbs in 6 weeks.

What happens with carbs not burned?

Low carb is no more effective for weight loss. Carbs will fuel your activity.

You're in a deficit. The calories you consume are being burned.

Low carb can work for some people but ultimately it's because it pushes them to eating better food and consuming fewer calories. But it's the reduced calories that causes the weigh loss, not reduced carbs

Chesty08

Blacktie. wrote: »

Chesty08 wrote: »

Why is low carb not essential? The focus of my diet is on low carbs as I was advised that it was a good way to diet. As mentioned the plan is not to maintain this low carb - im trying to drop lbs in 6 weeks.

What happens with carbs not burned?

They get stored as fat. Just like fat that's not burned and to a lesser degree protein that's not burned. Carbs are essential for energy output during workouts and by limiting them so drastically you won't get the most out of your workouts. Especially with the amount of cardio you do. A good way to lose weight is to reduce calories not carbs. This has been said and explained several times in this thread.

No I haven't heard of the ketogenic diet - what is it?

Ketogenic diet is basically massively reducing carb intake. Usually to below 50g a day to bring your body into a state of ketosis. This will make your body favour bodyfat as a source of fuel. HOWEVER this does not mean it's superior for losing weight as it may burn fat for fuel but it will also create more fat if eating at maintenance or above.

Again you need to reduce calories to lose weight. Not just carbs.

Wasnt clear that calorie reduction as oppose to carb reduction was a better way to lose. *I am aware calorie reduction is a way of losing weight.

Thanks for your help on this

Sugar Free wrote: »

Chesty08 wrote: »

Sugar Free where you talking to me or post above? Is it not worth me exploring considering how active I am at present?

I edited my original post for clarity.

Honestly you're vastly over-thinking this. Just work out your TDEE and subtract about 500 cals a day from that number (I think you've done this already). Do your best to eat this given number of cals each day. This alone will see you lose weight.

As you are active, make sure a reasonable amount of your daily cals comes from carbs. That's all it takes. You don't need to explore specific diets, certainly not ones that make you feel like sh*t while your body changes its fuel source (like with keto).

What do you think is a reasonable amount of carb intake for my activity? For example I posted my macronutrients intake - what would you advise on reasonable goals

At the minute mine are:
25% Carb
35% Fat
40% Protein


Just for an update I weighed in this morning at 14st 9lbs - started at 15st 1lb over 2 weeks ago.

Sugar Free

30%+ anyway but it's really just so you have enough fuel for your activities. Like others have said, consistently hitting the right cals number is most important.

Alf Veedersane

40% of a 2,000 kcal day (500 kcal deficit) is 800 kcal. That's 200g carbs.

That's 2.15g/kg which is halfway between low (1.6g/kg) and moderate (2.6g/kg).

Chesty08

Thanks lads for all your help and guidance on this

Metalrobe

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The OP is already getting BCAAs.

He doesn't need to waste money buying tubs of it.



One beneficial effect of the amino acid supplement was a quicker recovery from the muscle fatigue that followed eccentric exercise training. A dose-response study of the amino acid mixture at 2.2, 4.4, and 6.6 g/d for 1 mo showed that at the highest dose, indices of blood oxygen-carrying capacity were increased and those of muscle damage were decreased at the end of the trial

This is from the 2006 American society for nutrition.

As always contradictory research also exists when it comes to bcaas. On the fruit topic obviously most fruit has a low glycemic load but some fruits such as watermelon are easier absorbed into the bloodstream. Personally I prefer to use fibre rich green vegetables in my diet.

Alf Veedersane

Metalrobe wrote: »

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The OP is already getting BCAAs.

He doesn't need to waste money buying tubs of it.



One beneficial effect of the amino acid supplement was a quicker recovery from the muscle fatigue that followed eccentric exercise training. A dose-response study of the amino acid mixture at 2.2, 4.4, and 6.6 g/d for 1 mo showed that at the highest dose, indices of blood oxygen-carrying capacity were increased and those of muscle damage were decreased at the end of the trial

This is from the 2006 American society for nutrition.

It's a ten-year old study and you're providing now context. It can promote MPS if your dietary intake of protein is low. The OP doesn't have a low level of dietary protein intake.

vard

Chesty08 wrote: »

Why is low carb not essential? The focus of my diet is on low carbs as I was advised that it was a good way to diet. As mentioned the plan is not to maintain this low carb - im trying to drop lbs in 6 weeks.

What happens with carbs not burned?






No I haven't heard of the ketogenic diet - what is it?

Sugar Free where you talking to me or post above? Is it not worth me exploring considering how active I am at present?

It's where you deprive your body and brain of its preferred source of energy to burn fat instead. All the while ****ing up your T levels and inducing a perpetual state if brain fog. You'll notice an extra couple of pounds of weight loss on the scale though, thanks to the depletion of glycogen. IE: water weight.

There is no proven benefit to a ketogenic diet. In the end the same rules apply; it's just another method that people use to restrict calories. Whether they realize they are doing so or not.

The greater satiety provided by protein tends to make people feel full quicker. There is some argument to be made for the thermogenic effect of food, that being that protein takes more energy to digest than carbohydrates, but it's minimal. Any normal person should be looking at a varied balanced diet with plenty of protein and carbohydrates. For anyone adhering to a regular training regime and looking to develop/maintain muscle and strength reducing carbohydrate intake would be detrimental overall.

Carbohydrates are the only micronutrient that we do not require. You can exist perfectly well with protein and fat, however you'll probably find yourself feeling better for having a balance of each.