What's working for me...

[BIGasTexas]

Sup Bros. I'm new here at the Den and thought I would share what's been working for me and the wife. I posted this over at Coast2Coast and thought there might be others who could benefit. (BTW...if the Den doesn't mind me plugging another site, C2C has some great peeps over there...not as active but still a good crew)

Anyway, a little on my background...The wife and I were serious into lifting and working out with a number of pretty accomplished BB'rs and fitness/figure chicks some years back. Fast forward and now I'm 40 and fat...NO excuses but after the second kid, a few work lay-offs and some severe laziness I found myself looking so out of shape I was almost unrecognizable. Basically I wasn't liking where I was headed. Loss of flexibility, extra fat, a loss of coordination -- youthful balance and speed were fading. It's a faster trip downhill the older you get so I started doing some research and found a plan that has been really working for us.

I am coming to the conclusion that insulin is completely toxic to the human body. I believe it is the root cause of many diseases and the catalyst of more adverse physical symptoms than can be traced. Man was never meant to have it running through his bloodstream on a daily basis. And there are only 2 things that release insulin...SUGAR ..... and ANYTHING that your body turns into sugar.

Thus the Whole30 (30 day) plan. --- http://whole9life.com/2011/06/whole-30-v4/ --- Not sure if you are familiar with it but it's basically a very strict form of Paleo that keeps you in ketosis (what some believe to be a human's natural and preferred state). And let me tell you something brother...The first 30 days I dropped 17 lbs and that's just with walking 3 miles every other day. My brain is clearer, I’m sleeping great, havin crazy vivid dreams, I have more energy and the General is back to saluting me in the morning....so far it’s been pretty positive. I have even turned my entire backyard into a veggie garden....

In a nutshell, here is what you can eat:

-- Just about any animal or animal part you want except those fed anything other than what it's supposed to eat. That means beef that ate grass, pork that rooted grubs, roots and acorns, chickens that eat bugs and rocks. The fat is MANDATORY because unlike grain/corn fed beef it's actually good for you
-- All the eggs I want
-- lots of veggies
-- lots of leafy greens
-- some good fat
-- water tea or coffee only
-- any type of raw coconut product
-- ghee instead of butter or oil. It has a really high smoke point, taste like butter (just a little toasty) and will last for decades if stored correctly. -- http://www.foodlikeammausedtomakeit.com/2011/09/how-to-make-ghee.html

The following are NOT allowed, ZERO tolerance:

-- NO Grains, rice, bread, pasta
-- NO Potatoes (but sweet potatoes are fine)
-- NO Sugar including artificial sweetener
-- NO Dairy of any kind (except for ghee)
-- No beans or legumes
-- NO Alcohol
-- NO occassional ganja :0(
-- NO Tobacco
-- NO food item of any kind that includes sulfites/sulfates
-- NO food item of any kind that contains gluten
-- NO processed foods of any kind. This includes all protein powder and any supplement EXCEPT one-ingredient, specific mineral, vitamin or amino acid

Like I said...it's what's working for us.

Thanks,
BaT

 

[YAMAHA147]

Welcome to the Den brotha

 

[chestrockwell420]

hard to give up that beer and bbq aint it?! i just eat clean during the week and reward myself with those juicy ribs on the wknd. i also switched to crystal lite and vodka when i need a drink! keep hitting it bro, ive seen ya lean and know you can get there soon!

 

[BIGasTexas]

It's hard to give up beer and BBQ when you brew your own beer and (brag) can smoke the hell outa some meat. I have made myself a promise-> Single digit BF by 8/1/13 at 41 years old. I have seen it done by much "stockier" Bro's....just gotta stay focused.

EDITED: Single digit BF by 8/1/13 at 41 years old ... with muscle.

 

[schultz1]

Curious,why no beans? they are the musical fruit!

 

[BIGasTexas]

schultz...the basic answer is they contain lectins. It's probably overkill and I think a majority of lectines can be removed by soaking your beans for a long period of time but keep in mind the Whole30 program is a STRICT 30 day jump start. The idea is to live the program at 90% after the initial 30 days.

Here's a short article on beans/legumes and lectines: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/lectins/#axzz2DSMUrnLV

BaT

 

[schultz1]

Gotcha. I will read those articles for sure as, I myself am in a reinvention type of phase. No protocol other than just cleaning up the diet. I have never done this and am really focused on it now at 38. Good luck in you crusade.

 

[macgyver]

Guys....hate to rain on anyone's parade....but barring food allergies....with regard to weight loss...there are no "good" or "bad" foods. No "clean" or "dirty" ones, unless you drop them on the floor.

GI means absolutely nothing unless you are a diabetic.

It is all about total energy balance. You will gain the same amount of weight if you eat a surplus of 500 calories out of straight table sugar as you will if you eat the surplus out of brown rice. In converse, you will lose the same amount of fat if you are on a 500 calorie deficit and you consume all you carbs from table sugar, or you consume them all from complex sources. (they actually did a study on that specific scenario and no differences in LBM loss or fat loss were seen.


Now from a general health perspective, it is good to eat you diet of mainly whole unprocessed foods. But from a weight loss standpoint, your body does not care if you eat wonder bread or whole wheat, white rice or brown. No difference.


As a side bar...currently cutting, eating most of my foods from whole sources, but I eat icecream 3 times a week, pizza on fridays, and chocolate 3-4 times a week. I just make it work with my macro and caloric goals. No black magic...no bad foods....just total energy in vs energy out.

 

[blu666]

I'll build on what macgyver said. I also tell people that there are no "bad foods," but there are certainly bad times to eat certain foods. From a fat loss perspective, it's not good to eat simple carbs before bed because it causes an insulin spike. An insulin spike amounts to energy production, in simple terms, and if the energy is going unused (because you're sleeping), then it gets stored as fat.

As for me, I wouldn't want to give up all those things the BigAs mentioned, even if just for 30 days. But I can see how someone could have the results he mentioned for that 30-day period. After that, though, I'd introduce tasty things back into my routine, in moderation perhaps, and at times of day that make them work with my goals.

 

[IronCore]

well... there are bad foods... twinkies for instance... what kind of GOOD is in a twinkie?

Tex.. this is BY FAR the best intro post I have ever read... you will fit in great here bro... welcome to the den

 

[macgyver]

well... there are bad foods... twinkies for instance... what kind of GOOD is in a twinkie?

Tex.. this is BY FAR the best intro post I have ever read... you will fit in great here bro... welcome to the den

Well....a twinkie to your body is just carbs, and fats. While it lacks nutrients from a health perspective, it make little difference from a weight loss one.

If you were desiring to lose weight, and you set you daily carb macros at 180g and your daily fats at 70g, it would not make any difference in the end of the week from a fat loss perspective if you met those goals with twinkies or oatmeal and olive oil.

Now, long term, from a full body health perspective, it will make a difference over time.

 

[Rod crowley]

Ive found sticking to low carb,high protien does it for me.