Low Carb Dieting....what are rules?

[dubq 0]

It's hard to eat cottage cheese at first but mix in some fruit and it's pretty decent. There is a product called Breakstone Cottage Doubles that is pretty good.

 

I sometimes just straight up crave plain low fat cottage cheese, though, which I'll admit is weird.

 

Here's the thing NoCalMike - diets don't work. If you want to eat that stuff, that's fine...then never cut them out. Just limit your calories to about 2000-2200, work out 3-4 times a week and in a month or two you'll see a big improvement. Unless you're eating lard or drinking crisco, the actual food that comprises those calories doesn't matter (unless you're trying to do something more serious then just lose a few pounds). The problem with a diet mentality is that people want results now and then when they haven't lost 15 pounds in two weeks they quit being healthy at all and then it's fucking over.

 

I don't think it is so much that diets themselves don't work, I think either one, people don't supplement them with excersizing, two, people lose the desired amount of weight and then stop the diet altogether and go back to their bad eating habits, or lastly, don't even stick to the diet and/or "cheat" Plenty of people I know have dieted and had a lot of success, the problem is once they get to the desired weight they figured they were "done" and just went back to the old way of eating, so it isn't the diet itself that didn't work, rather the mindset that a diet is something that expires one day.

 

I am going to be supplementing this with excersize. Going to the gym 3-4 times a week is 3-4 more times then I do now, and like I said, that is going to continue beyond any diet I am doing. It's not like I am just saying "I won't eat bread, but other then that I am throwing caution to the wind"

 

You obviously don't get it. If they lose weight then slack because they lost weight and go back to eating bad then gain the weight, then IT DIDN'T WORK. Diets don't work for that VERY reason. You're going for a short fix. If you want to lose weight then dieting is not the answer.

 

Low carb diet is something that nearly no one can do for an entire lifetime... so you're going for a short fix also and I guarantee that shit's going to go bad for you. And I'm not just some dude on a message board talking about shit he doesn't know about.... I have a degree in Nutritional Science.

 

Mik speaks the truth. People should think less about the word "diet" and more about the words "permanent eating habits." Diets are short term fixes that never really work in the end. You want to change your body for life? You need to change your eating habits for life - not three to six months.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

No, but they work if you just want to kick off 15 pounds before summer.

[dubq 0]

Yeah and then gain it back, and most likey more, when you return to your previous eating habits.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I've been interested in doing the pesco-vegetarian thing, but the issue is finding meals that don't taste bad (the only time I eat vegetables are when I make a salad) and in my opinion, more than any other food, fish not cooked properly is horrible.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Yeah that was definitely a pretty difficult step, but if you eat rice and pasta, making veggies and/or fish go with them is fairly simple and tasty.

 

A couple days ago, I made a pretty good dish using a Spinach Fettuccine I found at Trader Joe's: I cooked the shrimp (peeled, tailed, deveined) in olive oil along with tomatoes, mushrooms, basil and some black pepper, while cooking the pasta in another pot. Then, I drained the pasta, tossed it in with everything else, added feta cheese and black pepper, and it was delicious. It's all about being creative, really. I really just pushed the fish part because I really, really love sushi, baked salmon, halibut, and shrimp.

 

I know some people that eat only chicken and veggies, and call themselves I think, ovo or pollo-vegetarian. I think that's a far reach, but it is healthier than an all-meat diet, and it's certainly a lot easier to stick to and do than that ridiculous low-carb diet which this thread was started about in the first place.

[NoCalMike 0]

I understand that diets don't work because they are a short-term fix, but I already stated about three times that I am also joining a gym starting March 1st, and I am not using the gym for short term results.

 

When I work carbs back into my diet, I am still going to be going to the gym, which is a complete life-style change to my current "get home from work and sit around and do nothing but watch movies/tv, play video games, surf the net, eat, shit, sleep" routine.

 

So regardless of my diet, the gym is something that will be a constant forever, or at least as long as I can afford it which currently there is no reason to worry about.

 

And my sister also has a degree in nutrition science and is a registered nutritionist, so I know about the cons of a diet like a low-carb diet, but like I said already, it is not going to be a life-changing thing. It is a way to drop a 10-15 pounds before I start going to the gym.

[randomguy 0]

If you are going to start going to the gym regularly why start a mini-diet right before? Don't want to take your shirt off in the locker room?

 

Instead of doing a low-carb diet you'd be better off just getting on a healthy diet you can sustain as you start going to the gym.

[NoCalMike 0]

If you are going to start going to the gym regularly why start a mini-diet right before? Don't want to take your shirt off in the locker room?

 

Instead of doing a low-carb diet you'd be better off just getting on a healthy diet you can sustain as you start going to the gym.

 

It's not really a mini-diet, I will still be doing the diet once I start the gym, however I wanted to start the diet before I started the gym to see how my body reacts to the diet. Also, the diet might be adjusted once I start the gym.

[Bruiser Chong 0]

but like I said already, it is not going to be a life-changing thing. It is a way to drop a 10-15 pounds before I start going to the gym.

No one can make you change the way you eat. That said, enjoy putting that weight back on once you veer off of your diet. The idea of abandoning a life of Pepsi, Doritos and takeout food isn't the most comforting, but without it, you aren't going to see lasting results. It's why we've spent the last two decades watching Oprah fluctuate between thick and "God damn!"

[Mik 0]

I feel as though this is a thread in which NoCalMike asks for advice and then figures out ways to ignore every single piece of advice he has received.

[Nighthawk 0]

To be fair, I dieted, and then went back to eating fairly terribly (with the exception of soda and between meal snack), and I didn't really gain weight. Once my activity decreased, I did.

[AboveAverage484 0]

I usually try to eat right for the whole week, while reserving Fridays for junk. Not to say that I pig out, because that would be counterproductive to my entire week's worth of eating good, but I'll usually eat some fast food and a coke and it really won't have any adverse effect on me. However, for those with less control over their eating habits, it would probably be best to just avoid the junk altogether.

 

Don't forget the oft-forgotten third member of the "big three (first two being diet and exercise)," sleep. If you get a good night's sleep every night, you'll have better workouts and generally feel better during the day. I know it sounds obvious, and I know it's tough for a lot of people to get 7-8 hrs of sleep a night, but if you're serious about this, it's something that needs to be addressed. Not really anything to do with low-carb dieting, but just thought I'd throw a little bit of advice in here.

[Canadian Brandon 0]

So it's been about two months now. How is the diet/working out go for you NoCalMike?

[Guest Vitamin X]

"TL,DR"

[AnnieEclectic 0]

Agent went pesco-veg like me to lose weight. Ha!

 

If you absolutely must, cottage cheese is a pretty awesome food to get used to, as well. SHITLOAD of protein, almost no fat, and tastes great. If you need a quick snack, bust that out on a piece of toast and a light bit of fruit jam. Good for post-workout meals.

 

You know, I've had fruity/cottage cheese mixes, which are good and all but I just can't not have a bit by itself with some pepper. Cottage cheese and cracked pepper = <3

 

 

... now I'm hungry.

 

-Annie

 

[NoCalMike 0]

So it's been about two months now. How is the diet/working out go for you NoCalMike?

 

Pretty good. My waist size is down a few sizes and most people are saying my face is less round and pudgy.....

 

I don't really weigh myself only because with diets weight loss flucuates from week to week and I don't want to get discouraged because one week I might only lose a pound or less.....

 

The good news is that the Gym I was talking about in earlier posts opens in 10 days, so that is when this thing is really getting kicked into high gear, along with the weather turning into spring time around here which will equal more outside activities.

 

I will keep ya'll posted.

[EricMM 0]

Remember if you ever start weighing yourself to weigh yourself at the same time every day, usually in the morning.

 

At night you're all full of food...

[NoCalMike 0]

So I am going approx 4 times a week, 2 nights of about an hour of cardio and 2 nights of weight machines working my chest, arms, legs, back, abs.

 

 

[Matt Young 0]

Don't forget shoulders! Also, I'd recommend doing the running all 4 days (even if it means doing less on lifting days) and definitely work in some free weights. Like for, example, one night, do a barbell bench press. The next time you lift, use the machine. Etc. etc.

[ForumPro 0]

Have you tried other exercises yet? I heard that you could get a lot of results from

[cd213 0]

I joined Weight Watchers on January 8, and up until now I've lost 40 pounds. I know what you are going through with the weight loss. I haven't been able to get to the gym, but it certainly helps A LOT. Matt Young is correct about doing cardio all 4 days. I would usually go 3-4 times a week and do cardio all those days for an hour then do weights. Abs everyday, pushing muscles one day, pulling muscles another day and throw in some leg work. It's a long process. Good luck with everything Mike.

[NoCalMike 0]

I do cardio everytime, on the weight-lifting days I use cardio to warmup and then go to weights. On straight cardio days I do an hour to an hour and twenty minutes of cardio.

 

The weight machines usually consist of: biceps, triceps, shoulders, lower back, upper back, chest, leg press, thigh/quad muscle thingy, and I finish with the one where you lay down and use your calf muscles to press the weight. Oh and the machine where there is a long bar on a pulley, and you pull the bar down until you are sitting and then you pull the bar down to shoulder level behind your head. I do three sets of each.

 

I do have a question though. When doing the weight machines, in general is it better to try and do the max amount of reps on the first set even if it means you will end up doing less reps on the next two sets, or is it better to do less reps per set, and do more sets. Example; on the current settings for biceps, if I start with 15 reps, then I usually can only do 12 the next set, and then maybe 8 the last set. However, if I only do 10 reps then I can usually do 10 reps for all three sets...so which is better? Either scenario has me feeling the burn by the end of the three sets, but I am not sure if one technique is better then the other.

 

On a positive note, I went to the store to buy a couple of pairs of shorts and they didn't have the size I usually would buy before the diet & gym, so I just bought the next size down, and when I went home and tried them on, they were loose enough to where I could most likely comfortably fit into the next size down. So that was a good boost of confidence!!!

[Canadian Brandon 0]

I do have a question though. When doing the weight machines, in general is it better to try and do the max amount of reps on the first set even if it means you will end up doing less reps on the next two sets, or is it better to do less reps per set, and do more sets. Example; on the current settings for biceps, if I start with 15 reps, then I usually can only do 12 the next set, and then maybe 8 the last set. However, if I only do 10 reps then I can usually do 10 reps for all three sets...so which is better? Either scenario has me feeling the burn by the end of the three sets, but I am not sure if one technique is better then the other.

 

 

In my experience, either way works. I typically do heavy and light days. On heavy days I use alot more weight and do sets of 10, 8, and 6. On light days I use slightly less weight and do sets of 15, 12, and 10. The trick is to try to do a little more weight each week.