Carbs

[Jay76]

I notice,,as well as forever, but more so now then ever that sugar, bread, etc, put size on my waist like crazy. So easy its not even funny. It just amazes me. If I stay away I am fine of course, but it still amazing..haha..

[humilispuer]

Jay - the effects of dense carb sources will be even more noticeable after low carbing for a while. As you know, when you start a low carb plan you drop a crap load of water that is normally retained due to carb ingestion. Well, all the water you dropped in the beginning will hop back on your body as quickly as it left. This is why we have people coming off atkins claim that they gained 9 pounds in one week. From one perspective, it's true. From another, however, one realizes that the weight gained was "false" weight and not actual fat but water. I follow NHE and as such Carb up a few times a week. It is always humbling when my abs are gone for half the day after a carb up :wink:

On a side note: I do not lose that much definition the day after a carb up so long as it is low fat and clean. I.E., brown rice, oatmeal, fruit, etc. However, after my little pizza eating competition, where I ended up mixing fat and carbs (refined at that) at the same time - I still have not regained all my definition. It really sucks! Oh well, that wont happen again for a while.

-Humilis

It's a little worse then that, actually. Once you are fat adapted, although it's true you will retain water after a carb fest - it is also true that virtually all those carbs will be stored as fat.

If your having one carb meal every 3 days, 100 grams of carbs say, or 400 calories, no big deal. If 300 go to fat, that's less then a tenth of a pound. Your body no longer processes the carbs as energy. That's the meaning of "fat adapted"

The danger is the person who consistently let's themselves have just one cookie etc....or is "bad" a few days then goes back on. That's the guy who says he's doing Atkins but keeps putting the weight back on.

Bill

[aaron]

What about a diet such as the anabolic diet where a two day carb up period is recommended and the diet still works. The problem is not the carbohydrate turning to fat, but the lack of exercise of the average atkins or any other low carb diet follower. Relying solely on fat adaption clearly does not work. Exercise is the key ingredient and with enough exercise as well as certain type of exercise (resistance training) makes the carb up period effective and useful.

So, one cheat cookie everyday I wouldn't recommend, but if the person is exercising enough the cheat cookie really won't end up being the difference in the diet.

P.S. Just started my carb up...Breakfast: 3 hard boiled egg whites, bowl of oatmeal, w/ a small amount of nonfat rice milk and about a teaspoon of ground cinnamon...bring on the burrito after my workout and lunch, hold the sour cream of course. :wink:

Yes and no,

Excercise is the great equalizer. It can give you the 300 calorie a day cushion to overcome the cookie - absolutely.

As I wrote in my lengthly review of NHE, I think those diets work because of ketosis and the stricter carb intake during the low carb phases - not because of hormonal magic during the carb ups. I think the carbs ups don't kill the diet and may allow a certain type of person to comply better then a straight low carb. It's all good if that works.

If it works for you -do it.

Bill