I'm sitting her so miserable as I'm purposefully getting fat and bloated up until Friday. Starting Friday I'll be going on a physique change competition that will last 8 weeks.

-sigh- No beer for 8 weeks.

Good luck. I feel compelled to employ my dad's annoying knowledge here - it will actually be easier for you to stick to the 8 weeks if you DON'T party like it's 1999 until then (runs and hides)

I am personally thinking of buying one of those black market tape worms that you swallow.

Yum!

Good luck with those 8 weeks. At this point, I really don't think I could go that long without a drink.

ha! Oh all the rage in Victorian times.

I really don't have steep competition. However, I'm also looking at this as a cutting opportunity. I should be extremely lean...almost step on stage bodybuilding lean. The last time I got close to this lean was....wellllll....it's not appropritate to talk about on this forum. And it doesn't ahve to do anything with drugs.

Thanks! I'll try. I know that sounds bad. But I just really enjoy my after soccer games beer on the weekend nights. However, if I go ketosis, then that will allow me 1 day a week to cheat. I can time my cheating to this time and since I'll have been in an anaerobic environment, my body will be primed to burn carbs. Since alcohol is mainly carbs, this wouldn't be so bad.

Okay, 1st and 2nd place get:
$100 worth of Blackberry accessories
Pair of Nike Free 5.0 tennis shoes

1st place also gets their Blackberry of choice

I love Blackberry phones. I love Nike Free shoes.

I love shoes. I have right about 17 pairs of tennis shoes,sandals, and dress shoes.

I need more.

What did you just say?!

Would you please explain for the slow learners? Thanks!

I am always fascinated by men with shoe obsessions since I only own about 6 pairs of shoes that I can wear.

The state of ketosis is where you are using ketones and fatty acids as your primary fuel source rather than glucose (which is what you get from carbs). When you go low carb, your body starts to release ketones into the blood stream. So then your body will then start to use fat as its primary source of energy. You�d prob. be familiar with this ala the Akins Diet that was the huge rage years ago. Now there�s a lot more to it but this is the very basic info in a nutshell.

Once every 5-7 days (depending on bodyfat percentage) you are allowed a reefed time which is usually 12-24 hours. Some will call this a cheat meal or an off day. What this means is the dieter then takes a day every 5-7 days and has a meal or a few that is higher in carbs and basically just eat what you want. This has a number of benefits�none of which are important for this thread.

And when you get done exercising that�s not just getting out there and running around the block or a couple miles, you�re doing anaerobic activity (it means without oxygen) and this is stuff like lifting weights, sprinting, throwing a baseball (basically short spurts of explosive activity). This is when carbs come into play. Anaerobic activity is fueled by glucose and so if you time your carbohydrate intake around exercise, then it is used rather than stored.

Obviously there�s so much more to this. But this is the basic breakdown of what I said.

I love clothes. I love shoes.

KT:

I wasn't going to make you give up your Man-Card becasue of the Lifetime Channel.

But this:


Please turn it in.

Your going to fat camp.
You love shoes
You love clothing.
You love the Lifetime channel.

Is this really your wife posting?


LG

hahahaha! Thanks, Lou. I just literally burst out laughing.

KT, here is the problem I had with cheat days. First off, it knocked me out of ketosis and takes me 2-3 days to get back into it. While I am out of fat burning, I feel sick and dragged down with low energy again. Sugar cheats are even worse: I feel HORRIBLE and weak along with other problems [gastric] I won't mention here. Bread cheats have me waking up at 3am with severe heartburn.

In every instance, I become bloated because when you switch to glucose metabolism [from fat metabolism] the liver retains water again. [the water weight is the first to go on a low carb diet and it is also the first to come back] That water retention can account for up to 5 pounds of water weight gain over night.

I have no doubt that some people can do good with cheats, but they have always been a disaster for me. I have never ever had a cheat in 12 years I felt was worth it.

I'm completely with you, Melody. It can take up to 72 hours to get back into ketosis...so 2-3 days is about right on target.

I'm starting to realize that 8 weeks really isn't that long. Starting Sat I'll keep my carb intake at 20 grams and under. That will allow me to keep my normal consumption of nonstarchy vegetables and up to 1 cup of berries.

I think that I'll allow 1 refeed meal every 2 weeks but keep my carb intake for the entire day at under 80 grams.

I will try and target some fast acting carbs of about 20 grams during workouts as that shouldn't have an impact on my ketosis. But we'll see how that works after the first week after hitting ketosis.

I'm reading this while eating a handful of dark chocolate covered almonds.

This all is just too much for me. How does anyone ever find the energy (or the time) to pay such close attention to what they eat? I consider it a good day when I actually remember TO eat.

I've been adjusting my diet for various reasons for years now so that I don't count calories so much as keep a mental note that I'm getting enough protein, unsaturated fat, not too many carbs, and a moderate amount of saturated fat. Once you do it long enough, you get really good at portion control and calorie estimates.

The other thing is we find time for what we find important. I know that for muscle growth to happen I need X amount of calories and X amount of those calories to come from protein. I also know that when I�m trying to cut, calorie manipulation can get a little tricky depending on how lean I am and also making sure hormones stay a-ok. My wife laughs when I start pulling out the scale to weigh my food out and have baggies and I�m throwing stuff in the freezer for the week. Some guys shoot pool, some guys fish, some play video games�I pay attention to diet and exercise. Now you wanna see someone that�s crazy �bout this? I have a friend that�s a competitive bodybuilder. He weighs everything down to the milligram.

Summers are easier to plan things. During the school year, it gets a bit trickier. But if you have a habit of eating about the same thing most of the time, then it becomes easy to plan your meals through the week and keep track of calories.

I love exercise and nutrition stuff. I just finished reading a 372 page book on protein that was packed full of research. Booooring stuff for some people...a breath of fresh air for me to read.

I am the mean Mommy woman....

Ketosis - also related to ketoacidosis, which is what happens to diabetics just before they die. The process the body goes through is the same, one just is more severe. Your body should not stay in constant ketosis. I have a colleague who stayed on the first stage of Atkins for so long she basically has to be carb free for the rest of her life. I mean, she checks cough syrup for carbs.

Okay, mean worrying Mommy out now.

I need to do something....at this point I wonder if it might be easier to just keep going until I am fat enough for lap band surgery - ha!

One of the EP's right after D-Day for me was that my DH wanted me to stop running/walking (it was a trigger), and eat normally. Adding that to the meds, and the weight just crept up. Another good reason to never cheat -- it can lead to obesity

I really am very particular about the food I put into my body. I try my best to have a healthy, well-balanced diet. I do not allow trans fats into my home. I love fruits and vegetables and nuts. I eat lots of fish and I stay away from processed foods as much as possible. I exercise 20 - 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.

It seems to work well for me. I'm not overweight and I don't have any health problems. I don't know if I could handle something too regimented, and I definitely wouldn't be happy eating the same things all the time. I love variety. I love food in general. For me, it's all about moderation when it comes to the things I know aren't very good for me (like chocolate) that I love.

Yup. But there's varying degrees of the state of ketosis. I monitor mine with keto strips. Don't worry; I won't be going near to the point of a diabetic state. I shoot for a moderate amount of ketones.

Can he walk with you? Would he be okay with you joining a gym?