Can't lose my gut - wtf??

Originally Posted by warlok1965

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In my own experience, cutting carbs, caveman diets - whatever you want to call it - are effective if you have a lot of body fat to get rid of. The high protein/fat and low carbs reduce appetite which makes cutting calories easier, and also gets rid of a lot of water weight in the first week which encourages dieters to stick with it long term. The main advantage, I think, is the appetite suppressant effect; otherwise you are just cutting calories like any other diet.

The Pleistocene diet is great if you can hack it. I sure as hell couldn't. One of the reasons why we are a nation of gigantic fat asses is because of the sheer volume of processed foods we eat. Obesity was very rare in pre-agrarian times.

Once you get down to the last few vanity pounds though, low carbing isn't that effective. At that point if you really care to look good with a shirt off you need to hit the weights, hit the cardio, and eat a balanced diet while exercising portion control and counting calories if need be. There is no magic bullet.

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There is one thing that is pretty close to a magic bullet, it's called "zig-zagging." It's what bodybuilders use to get down to competition levels. Maintaining a low carb diet long term is actually detrimental. You need carbs.

Right, bulking and cutting. It takes a lot of work, commitment, and consistency to build a body like that. Bulking for building muscle = lots of carbs and protein, caloric excess, lots of weights. Cutting for reducing fat = caloric deficit, increased cardio + high reps. Right before a competition a bodybuilder will do basically a crash diet with almost no carbs, but the main reason is to shed water weight and make themselves look as lean and cut as possible.

By magic bullet I mean there is no easy way to look like a ripped fool unless you are young or genetically gifted - for everyone else it takes plenty of diet, exercise, and commitment.

Originally Posted by warlok1965

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Right, bulking and cutting. It takes a lot of work, commitment, and consistency to build a body like that. Bulking for building muscle = lots of carbs and protein, caloric excess, lots of weights. Cutting for reducing fat = caloric deficit, increased cardio + high reps. Right before a competition a bodybuilder will do basically a crash diet with almost no carbs, but the main reason is to shed water weight and make themselves look as lean and cut as possible.
What I meant by zig-zagging is where you alternate your carb intake. So you might do 2 or 3 low carb days, followed by 1 high carb day. On the low carb days you would basically cut out starchy carbs after 3:00pm (if you're eating 6 meals a day) and on your high carb days you eat starchy carbs all day long, or increase your portion size. It works very, very well and is a great technique to get past fat loss plateaus.

Originally Posted by lance konami

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What I meant by zig-zagging is where you alternate your carb intake. So you might do 2 or 3 low carb days, followed by 1 high carb day. On the low carb days you would basically cut out starchy carbs after 3:00pm (if you're eating 6 meals a day) and on your high carb days you eat starchy carbs all day long, or increase your portion size. It works very, very well and is a great technique to get past fat loss plateaus.

It's also commonly referred to as carb cycling.

Originally Posted by why

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And what do fast food and junk food have to do with calories? It's not like the chemical compounds that make up food magically change when your body detects a hamburger from McDonald's instead of a grass-fed piece of chuck you ground by hand.

This was once gospel but it turns out that the Hippies were right all along. You are what you eat, and the type of food, say grass fed v. McDonalds, actually does make a huge difference for your health.

Originally Posted by NorCal

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This was once gospel but it turns out that the Hippies were right all along. You are what you eat, and the type of food, say grass fed v. McDonalds, actually does make a huge difference for your health.

Just ask your skinny fat hippies friends.

Originally Posted by whacked

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Just ask your skinny fat hippies friends.
Dude, thats not even witty. Anyways I though it was the coked our hipster douche that brought us the skinny fat revolution. All my hippy friends are of the hipneck variety and would kick your teeth in as soon as sing kumbiaha (sp?) Sorry the hippies were right, not all food is equal, brown rice is better than white rice, and how a food is grow or an animal raised does indeed influence its quality and nutrient content.

Originally Posted by NorCal

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This was once gospel but it turns out that the Hippies were right all along. You are what you eat, and the type of food, say grass fed v. McDonalds, actually does make a huge difference for your health.

When measuring steak vs. steak, yes (assuming you mean 'body fat percentage' when you say 'health'). When measuring a total diet, it means nothing.

Don't bullshit yourself.

Originally Posted by why

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I told you guys, I'm just a 300lb. lardass. And I'm working on my GED.

Have you ever put any of your so-called knowledge to the test, since you seem to know everything?

Seriously, take your nose of your books, walk into a gym, find the biggest leanest (natural) motherfucker in there and ask him how he got that way. I guarantee what he says will be totally different from what the books tell you about what your body does and doesn't do. The scientists haven't figured all this **** out.

Originally Posted by odoreater

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Have you ever put any of your so-called knowledge to the test, since you seem to know everything?

Seriously, take your nose of your books, walk into a gym, find the biggest leanest (natural) motherfucker in there and ask him how he got that way. I guarantee what he says will be totally different from what the books tell you about what your body does and doesn't do. The scientists haven't figured all this **** out.


I'd also bet it's different for everyone you ask. The basics may be the same, but beyond that, you have to find what works for you.

Originally Posted by odoreater

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Seriously, take your nose of your books, walk into a gym, find the biggest leanest (natural) motherfucker in there and ask him how he got that way. I guarantee what he says will be totally different from what the books tell you about what your body does and doesn't do. The scientists haven't figured all this **** out.

I'll bet it isn't. Assuming he's not lying about his drug use, then I'll bet he's bloody meticulous with his diet, which is the whole point of this thread.

People seriously screw up when it comes to cal estimates -- both under and over.

lefty

Originally Posted by lefty

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I'll bet it isn't. Assuming he's not lying about his drug use, then I'll bet he's bloody meticulous with his diet, which is the whole point of this thread.

People seriously screw up when it comes to cal estimates -- both under and over.

lefty

Actually, a bodybuilding diet is pretty simple. Egg whites, chicken breast, tuna, lean steak, and dark carbs (wheat bread, brown rice, oats, etc.), 1 gram of protein per lb. of bodyweight, 40% calories from protein, 40% from carbs, 20 % from good fats. That's what he does. None of this "your body oxides fat the same way no matter what" bla bla bla.

I'm getting tired of all these bookworms that never set foot in a gym telling people to ignore their own experience because that's not what the book says.

Originally Posted by why

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When measuring steak vs. steak, yes (assuming you mean 'body fat percentage' when you say 'health'). When measuring a total diet, it means nothing.

Don't bullshit yourself.

Let me get this right. You are arguing that McDonalds is just as healthy as hand ground (by my butcher) grass fed chuck? Perhaps served rare on a nice Acme roll with some heirloom tomatoes some mayan onions and fresh crumbled Pt. Reyes Blue?
Ok dude you win. You go to McDonalds and I'll continue to live well.

And no I don't mean "body fat percentage" when I say "health" while there is often SOME connection between the two they are NOT the same thing.

a McDonald's patty with the same calories/fat/carbs/fiber would nutritionally be the same as a grass-fed beef patty with the same calories/fat/carbs/fiber.

Sure, the grass-fed beef patty will taste way better. and it might have fewer carcinogens, toxins, hormones, etc. that are bad for your body.

but nutritionally, and the way your body processes it and uses it for energy, would be the exact same.

Though 10/10 people would still def want the grass-fed beef patty!!

Originally Posted by unexpected

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a McDonald's patty with the same calories/fat/carbs/fiber would nutritionally be the same as a grass-fed beef patty with the same calories/fat/carbs/fiber.

Sure, the grass-fed beef patty will taste way better. and it might have fewer carcinogens, toxins, hormones, etc. that are bad for your body.

but nutritionally, and the way your body processes it and uses it for energy, would be the exact same.

Though 10/10 people would still def want the grass-fed beef patty!!

The problem is that a McDonald's patty does not have the same calories/fat/carbs/fiber.