Running any cycles girls?

[redsquirrel]

I have never heard of that. How does not eating for longer and longer periods increase results? I dont get how that would work. Seems to me that your metabolism would reply by getting slower.

While you do have a point about running the risk of your metabolism getting slower, let me expand & clarify. Fasting time should never be more than 10 hours when trying to CUT. So, in essence you could start out w/ your last meal at 11pm, and your first meal at 7am. Then you could bump it an hour and so on. But, never more than 10 hours fasting time. Anymore than that, and what you said is possible.

However, if you pull a meal and decrease your total meals from 6 to 5, that will increase your fasting time BETWEEN meals from 3 to 4 hours. In addition with reducing the calories, now you're increasing time between meals.

[Bouncer]

I meant if you want to continuously see changes in your body, that even manipulating your fasting time can help. Like, you start out at fasting for 9 hours from the time you go to bed to your first meal. You change your diet for 5 or 6 weeks, and then you stop seeing changes. So, in order to keep your body guessing, increase the fasting time by 10 hours, and so on.

I have never heard of that. How does not eating for longer and longer periods increase results? I dont get how that would work. Seems to me that your metabolism would reply by getting slower.

[redsquirrel]

I'm not following you with the fasting time thing. maybe i miss read or simply am too dumb too understand what you are saying. :)

I meant if you want to continuously see changes in your body, that even manipulating your fasting time can help. Like, you start out at fasting for 9 hours from the time you go to bed to your first meal. You change your diet for 5 or 6 weeks, and then you stop seeing changes. So, in order to keep your body guessing, increase the fasting time by 10 hours, and so on.

[Bouncer]

I'm not saying get rid of carbs altogether, just replace the breads with a more viable option. If you're worried about eating too much rice, don't make it. Try sweet potatoes if that's what you need to do.

As for pre-workout & post-workout carbs, that's great to help you with energy & strength during your workouts, and recovery. But, those carbs are pretty much burned off really quickly, even PWO. So, while they may be helping w/ sustaining your muscle during your workouts, I'm still not convinced you're getting enough before then.

When I talk about fasting times, I don't mean to starve yourself. But, changing your eating times based on your fasting time can help keep your body guessing. Like, let's say your last meal is at 9pm. Start out w/ an 9 hr fasting time...so you're first meal is at 6am. Then, after a couple weeks, bump it to 10 hrs, making your first meal then at 7am. The last option to do would be to cut out your last meal, and have additional time between each meal. If you continue to do the same things, and eat the same amount of cals at the same times in the day, your body will look the same.

The enemy here isn't the carbs. The big mystery is to how to get your body to respond. When you continue to change the things I mentioned above, you will see greater results. You can also try carb & fat cycling- meaning for 2-3 days per week you get say, 80-100 carbs, with a low amount of fats for those days. Then for another 3-4 days, you cut your carbs in half, but have higher fats to give your muscles something to use for energy

I'm not following you with the fasting time thing. maybe i miss read or simply am too dumb too understand what you are saying. :)

[OhHannah]

Hmm, good ideas, thanks for the advice!

[redsquirrel]

I can lose the bread. I don't have carb craving problems, so meat and veggies are a perfectly good meal as far as I'm concerned. I usually hit some raw oats mixed with cottage cheese for a pre workout meal, and have whey with some dextrose post-workout.

How would you suggest manipulating fasting times? I don't want to turn on my "starvation metabolism" by not eating for too long.

I'm not saying get rid of carbs altogether, just replace the breads with a more viable option. If you're worried about eating too much rice, don't make it. Try sweet potatoes if that's what you need to do.

As for pre-workout & post-workout carbs, that's great to help you with energy & strength during your workouts, and recovery. But, those carbs are pretty much burned off really quickly, even PWO. So, while they may be helping w/ sustaining your muscle during your workouts, I'm still not convinced you're getting enough before then.

When I talk about fasting times, I don't mean to starve yourself. But, changing your eating times based on your fasting time can help keep your body guessing. Like, let's say your last meal is at 9pm. Start out w/ an 9 hr fasting time...so you're first meal is at 6am. Then, after a couple weeks, bump it to 10 hrs, making your first meal then at 7am. The last option to do would be to cut out your last meal, and have additional time between each meal. If you continue to do the same things, and eat the same amount of cals at the same times in the day, your body will look the same.

The enemy here isn't the carbs. The big mystery is to how to get your body to respond. When you continue to change the things I mentioned above, you will see greater results. You can also try carb & fat cycling- meaning for 2-3 days per week you get say, 80-100 carbs, with a low amount of fats for those days. Then for another 3-4 days, you cut your carbs in half, but have higher fats to give your muscles something to use for energy

[OhHannah]

When I was referring to fasting time, I was referring to the time period associated with when you go to bed, and the time you actually eat your first meal the next day. Manipulating fasting times can help lose weight and/or just push the body to continue to make changes.

I can lose the bread. I don't have carb craving problems, so meat and veggies are a perfectly good meal as far as I'm concerned. I usually hit some raw oats mixed with cottage cheese for a pre workout meal, and have whey with some dextrose post-workout.

How would you suggest manipulating fasting times? I don't want to turn on my "starvation metabolism" by not eating for too long.

[redsquirrel]

It's easy enough to get non gluten bread at the local health food store. Would that be a viable alternative?

Well, I guess it would be a somewhat viable alternative, but not optimum.

As I said before, whenever I think of fajita's or melts it does involve a type of bread.

When I was referring to fasting time, I was referring to the time period associated with when you go to bed, and the time you actually eat your first meal the next day. Manipulating fasting times can help lose weight and/or just push the body to continue to make changes.

[OhHannah]

It's easy enough to get non gluten bread at the local health food store. Would that be a viable alternative?

I'm used to going very low carb, so I don't tend to think of a tuna melt or fajitas as needing to involve any grain products. They can, but it's hardly a necessity, and I don't usually notice or care one way or another as long as there is enough food on my plate. Which of late there hasn't been. I don't let myself get really hungry, but I don't get satisfied with my meals either. It may be time to break out the bromocriptine, but I hate the side effects.

[redsquirrel]

i think she was talking about the tuna melt. she assumed the tuna melt had wheat bread. thats what she was saying had the carbs. at least thats how i understood it.

Yes, that's how I meant it. When I think of any kind of "melt" it usually involves meat between 2 slices of bread

As for the gluten, yes it's pretty much digested and processed the same way with everyone. Don't get me wrong- I like bread as mucha s the next gal, but once you cut it from your diet, and maybe replace it with a sweet potatoe or whatever, you'll notice a difference in the way you look.

[Bouncer]

Uh....flax oil has carbs?

i think she was talking about the tuna melt. she assumed the tuna melt had wheat bread. thats what she was saying had the carbs. at least thats how i understood it.

[OhHannah]

Sounds like you have it pretty well down pat. I did also read the post following this.

First off, it's imperative for you to get a little more protein & solid food at your morning meal. Protein shakes are digested pretty quickly, so if you have to have one, make sure you get a complex carb with it.

Egg whites is the default breakfast protein, but sometimes I'm short on time and breakfast has to be out of the blender. When that happens I try to throw some crap in there like cottage cheese, and I've been known to do tuna and tomato shakes.

I would, however, still suggest you add in some more complex carbs later in the day as well. Right now, you're really only getting the oats in the morning.

I'm used to stripping my carbs pretty darn low, so I'm not sure I'll get decent cutting results if I raise my carbs any higher. Remember that I'm 3F - fat, forty and female, not a good combination. I do get additional pre and post workout carbs.

Like, for one of the meals you mentioned you have a tuna melt w/ flax mayo or fajita's. Well, since you're eating both carbs and fats from the flax, your body may be more prone to storing fat at this meal instead of burning.

Uh....flax oil has carbs? My recipe for a tuna melt (two portions) involves a can of tuna, a few slices of pickle, capers or chopped cucumber, some nonfat cheese and a bit less than a tablespoon of flax mayo. I do eat some ground flax meal which has a few carbs, but not in great quantity. My fajitas contain meat, peppers, squash, garlic, onions and tomatoes. I don't generally bother with a tortilla even though I have low carb/high fiber ones on hand.

So, when you eat red meat, pair it w/ veggies instead of a potato. Or, when you have chicken, you can have rice or sweet potato & veggies. would stay away from the breads. The wheat gluten in these items doesn't really help when cutting. :)

Good advice. I know some people are gluten sensitive, but is this true for everyone? I'm not a huge bread fan, but it's convenient and easy to keep around, and there are some very good healthy bread products available locally with sprouted grains and flax and bran and such.

[OhHannah]

Also- how long is your fasting time?

My fasting time? Well, I sleep for 7-8 hours, get up and do 15-20 minutes of HIIT cardio, then eat breakfast. Thereafter I'm eating every 3-4 hours through the day until I go to sleep again. So not very long.

[redsquirrel]

Also- how long is your fasting time?

[redsquirrel]

I cut out brown rice because it's a bad trigger food for me. I have one of those rice hot pots that keeps it fresh and tempting and steaming, and since it's impossible to make just a few portions at a time in that thing, the rice hangs around for days and tempts me late in the evening when I don't want carbs with my meals. I like the stuff too damn much to have it around while I'm cutting.

I could probably add sweet potatoes back in without too much fuss, but my carb count is pretty okay where it is.

I'm getting my carbs mainly in a morning meal that usually involves cottage cheese mixed with raw oats and a sprinkling of raisins or prunes, since that's the quickest to prepare. Sometimes it will be an organic 4-grain hot cereal with flax, or two Kashi whole grain and flax frozen waffles with sugar free syrup. The protein component of breakfast is either egg whites or a protein shake. I might grab a grapefruit or an apple here also, especially if I'm working out soon. If I want to add healthy fats here it would be walnuts, almonds, flaxseed oil or coconut oil. I've pre-mixed some coconut and flax oil with Splenda and cinnamon for a delicious "cinnamon butter" that I can use on hot cereal or waffles. In a pinch breakfast will be a protein shake and a piece of fruit on the run.

Midmorning my carb source might be either fruit or yogurt, and I generally have a serving of an antioxidant fruit juice or powdered fruit/veg drink. Protein source may be a hardboiled egg or egg whites, chicken breast or tuna. If I have time for something more solid then I might do a low carb tortilla wrap or a melt on whole grain bread with tuna and nonfat cheese, or chicken and mustard, something like that. Salads are nice too if I have time. If I'm too busy the midmorning meal is out of a blender. Snacks early in the day can also involve dried fruit and nuts.

Lunch is when I start to ease down on the carb intake and up the fats some, so it's probably something like a salad with lots of veggies and either some olive oil in the dressing or some lean red meat on top that has a healthy fat profile (organic small farm raised and grass fed, or wild game), a tuna melt with a little flaxseed oil mayonnaise, or if I'm busy, some nonfat cottage cheese with a tablespoon of walnuts or peanut butter and sugar free chocolate syrup. If it's a heavy workout day I can have more carbs here, if not I don't.

Snacks between lunch and dinner generally involve meat, fish, eggs or vegetables. If I need some more fats they could also involve nuts. I may also indulge in a little more dried fruit here if I have a sweet tooth and want "dessert", but mostly I try to save the fruit for earlier in the day unless I'm just about to hit a second cardio session.

Dinner could be any meat and veg, and since I have a freezer full of very nice grass fed red meat, that's very often it. I like beef fajitas with plenty of peppers, squash and tomatoes. I also made a nice salmon casserole with peas, capers, a small amount of high fiber/low carb bread crumbs, pureed cauliflower and a sprinkle of reduced fat Parmesan cheese.

If I'm hungry a few hours after dinner, I will have another meal. Lately I've been having a small bowl of fat free refried beans with a slice of nonfat cheese melted over it, and some salsa.

Dessert is a small square of dark chocolate, generally the no sugar added kind (baking chocolate), half a glass of red wine, and perhaps some walnuts if I am still hungry.

Sounds like you have it pretty well down pat. I did also read the post following this.

First off, it's imperative for you to get a little more protein & solid food at your morning meal. Protein shakes are digested pretty quickly, so if you have to have one, make sure you get a complex carb with it. I would, however, still suggest you add in some more complex carbs later in the day as well. Right now, you're really only getting the oats in the morning. Cottage cheese & fruits are simple sugars...Also, one thing to remember as well is to choose one energy source. Like, for one of the meals you mentioned you have a tuna melt w/ flax mayo or fajita's. Well, since you're eating both carbs and fats from the flax, your body may be more prone to storing fat at this meal instead of burning. When you only eat one source of energy, that's what your body will burn. So, when you eat red meat, pair it w/ veggies instead of a potato. Or, when you have chicken, you can have rice or sweet potato & veggies. would stay away from the breads. The wheat gluten in these items doesn't really help when cutting. :)