I have been cleaning up my act since January 2010. Yes, it was one of those quiet New Year’s resolutions. I say quiet because I didn’t go through the whoopty-doo announcement of starting something new, I just quietly eliminated crap that has accumulated in my diet by means of negligence and laziness. Yes, I admit that in the past 2 years I have let myself slip when it comes to healthy eating. I’m like anybody else in this respect, tempt me with chocolates and red wine and I will succumb. I don’t know what caused it but for the past 2 years it has been extremely easy to succumb. Long story short, the liqueur filled chocolates and wine quickly started to show in my behind and sooner or later something had to be done, so I’ve cleaned it up. Now, what has to be done to loose weight and body fat is not some big secret that everybody tries to uncover (even though the dieting community behaves as if though it was a secret). All one needs to do is to eliminate the junk from the diet and by that I mean all processed foods have to go, baked goods, sugar, white flours, white rice and pasta are a no-no. Replace all that with veggies and fruits, plenty of lean protein and consume the good carbs (whole grains – brown rice & quinoa, beans, oats, sweet potatoes) and good fats and you will get yourself in a good enough shape to start adding exercise. Which is what I did sometime mid-march, I joined a gym and started my regular visits. It’s been 6 months of clean-eating and about 3 months of strength training and cardio at the gym and I’m still wanting more. I’ve lost about 8kg (17.6lbs) in weight for a total of 55kg and 27cm in measurements. I’m quite happy with this accomplishment (not happy that most of my clothes don’t fit me now and I can’t replace them with new ones at this point) especially since I’ve persisted long enough to see that 8 ugly kg go. Most people want to see results the first week of starting a new regimen and most people fail to loose any significant weight, simply because they want it NOW. You are not going to see results right away, because getting fit/lean/shredded (or whatever else you’re aiming at) takes time and hard work. All the crap you’ve put in yourself is not going to magically melt off. I laugh when I hear people who complain because after x number of weeks they haven’t lost weight. First of all, if you do any amount of strength training you might not even see the weight coming off because while you loose fat you are gaining muscle, so look in the damn mirror instead of weighing yourself!
Revenons à nos muttons**….. Right now I’m pretty content with the measurements, but I’m still working on my body fat, I want to get to a happy place with it, even though I don’t know what that number would be, mostly because I have no idea what my body fat percentage is right now. I guess I’ll just go by the look. So I did my research and came across a simple principle of carb cycling, it’s used in bodybuilding circles quite liberally in order to lower the overall body fat percentage. Like I said it’s quite simple provided the pantry is already clean of junk food! There are 3 days in this diet that need to be cycled: day 1 is high carb day, day 2 is low carb day and day 3 is no carb day. On your high carb days 4 out of 6 meals will have carbs (or 3 out of 5), on your low carb days 3 out of 6 meals have carbs ( or 2 out of 5) and on no carb days you eat no carbs except for vegetables which are eaten on all days.
Lean Protein sources include:
Chicken (white meat)
Turkey (white meat)
Tuna Fish (can)
Fish (flounder, tuna (fatty or not), salmon, shark, etc.)
Shellfish (all types)
Protein (preferably whey post workout, and casein before bed; MRPs must be low-carb)
Lean beef (including lean cuts of steak)
Cottage Cheese (0 or 1% fat)
Egg whites (egg beaters)
Higher fat Protein sources include:
Chicken (dark meat)
Turkey (dark meat)
Eggs (half whites, half whole eggs)
Steak and other meats (not exceptionally high fat cuts)
Cottage Cheese (Whole Milk)
Approved fat sources:
(Natural) Peanut Butter
Flax Oil
Heavy Whipping Cream
Mayonnaise
Hemp Seed Oil
Olive Oil
Approved carb sources:
Brown rice
Oats (Slow Cooked Preferred)
Sweet potatoes or Yams
Fiber One (All Bran) Cereal
Starchy Veggies (corn, peas, etc.)
Beans/Legumes
Approved Yet Limited Carbohydrates:
Whole-wheat pasta
Whole grain breads, pitas, etc.
You cycle those 3 days for as long as you wish. I just finished 1 cycle and decided to give it a try for a month, if I can make it. As you can probably gather the no carb day was the most difficult mentally and physically. It was easy to not include carbs in my meals, but the mood and the energy were droopy to say the least. I found it difficult to stay awake at work and there was no way I was going for a bike ride or to the gym in the evening. I just did not have the necessary fuel in me to do any mental or physical activity. So why would I be doing it to myself? Well, apparently the idea is that playing with the input of carbohydrates makes the body guessing as to where it’s supposed to get its energy from. When you cut carbs, muscles give up stored carbohydrates – called muscle glycogen – as energy. In general, when glycogen levels fall, the body increases its ability to burn body fat. The no carb day will deplete your carbohydrates reserves which allows the body to use up muscle glycogen and and if protein intake is sufficient the body starts burning body fat for energy. Next, on your carb days you will replenish the muscle glycogen by eating more starchy in order for the body to never use muscles for energy.
So my sample menu for 3 days looks more or less like this:
Day 1 high carb:
Breakfast: 1/3 cup of dry oats + 1 cup of berries + 3 TBSP of no fat plain Liberté yogurt + dark coffee (2 egg whites + 1 whole egg – optional)
Mid-morning snack : 3 TBSP of no fat plain Liberté yogurt + 1/2 cup berries + 1 Tsp of natural hazelnut butter
Lunch : 3oz chicken breast + 1cup green beans + 1 cup lettuce and shredded carrots + 3 oz brown rice
Mid-afternoon snack : 1/2 can tuna in water + 1 TBSP vegannaise (mayo without eggs) + 1 egg white + 2TBSP brown rice
Supper : 3 oz chicken breast (or turkey or fish) + 1 cup greens + 3 oz brown rice
Night snack : Tea
Day 2 low carb:
Breakfast: 1/3 cup of dry oats + 1 cup of berries + 3 TBSP of no fat plain Liberté yogurt + dark coffee (2 egg whites + 1 whole egg – optional)
Mid-morning snack : 3 TBSP of no fat plain Liberté yogurt + 1/2 cup berries + 1 Tsp of natural hazelnut butter
Lunch : 3oz chicken breast + 1cup green beans + 1 cup lettuce and shredded carrots + 3 oz brown rice
Mid-afternoon snack : 1/2 can tuna in water + 1 TBSP vegannaise (mayo without eggs) + 1 egg white + 2TBSP brown rice
Supper : 3 oz chicken breast (or turkey or fish) + 1 cup greens
Night snack : Tea
Day 2 no carb:
Breakfast: 2 egg whites + 1 whole egg + veggies for omelette + some left over chicken breast + 1/2 grapefruit
Mid-morning snack : Tuna salad without rice + egg
Lunch : 3oz chicken breast + 1cup green beans + 1 cup lettuce and shredded carrots
Mid-afternoon snack : apple + hazelnut butter OR Tuna salad without rice with carrots in oliveoil dressing
Supper : 3 oz chicken breast (or turkey or fish) + 1 cup greens
Night snack : Tea
I’m trying to cut out my night snack which usually is way too much peanuts or some sunflower seeds. Instead I’m only having some fruity tea.
* abbreviations:
ch – chest
w – waist
a – arm
t – thigh
h – hips
c – calf
** Revenons à nos moutons – Let’s get back to the point