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At this point I’m fairly pleased with the results of my fat loss program. I’ve shed 14 lbs since I started 8 weeks ago and at least some of it had to be fat. My waist is much firmer and there’s a slight glimmer of ab definition. I’ve really gotten used to my meal program and don’t miss the high-glycemic carbs. Well, maybe some rice to go along with my stir fry chicken and broccoli would be nice now and then, but overall, I really couldn’t be happier with how things have progressed. I’m also feeling pretty good health and energy-wise.

The part that I wish would go somewhat smoother is losing the last deposits of fat in those stubborn areas: obliques, lower abdominals, lower back, etc. These of course are the last areas that will give up fat on a man’s body. Women have their own unique stubborn areas such as the hips and thighs. At this point, we begin to fight our own bodies over conflicting goals — we are fighting for cosmetic appearance and our bodies are fighting for nothing less than our own survival. It would seem that our bodies have an edge on the nobility of the fight.

Though I would never resort to it, liposuction and other spot-reducing methods begin to make some sense when you get your weight down as low as you can without becoming unhealthy. My goal has ben to get down to %14 body fat and I think I’m close (need to take another measurement soon). Actually, in order to get a truly visible 6 pack, a man needs to get down to 10% BF and sometimes even down to %8. The risk to losing this much body weight is that muscle will also be sacrificed and the end result may not be what we’re after. A ripped skeleton look isn’t real appealing!

In an effort to kick my exercise routine into a higher gear, I’m taking a look at modifying both my cardio and weight training routines. Towards this end I picked up a copy of Mike Geary’s “The Truth About Abs” eBook. I really like his views on making weight training the key to fat burning. He advocates getting back to basic, power lifting type movements that recruit multiple muscles and that really get you breathing hard. It’s basically the tried and true Hard Gainer’s routine. I’ve been sort of coasting through my workouts over the past year or so and Mike’s book has been like a well-needed slap across the back of my head. I just started implementing some of his recommendations into my training this week and I’m eager to see what results I achieve.

One of the big advantages of being on a low carb diet is that I pay more attention to the nutritional content of the foods I eat. My main meals of the day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner consist of protein and green leafy veggies such as salad greens, broccoli, asparagus, and green beans. Things become a bit more challenging when choosing snack and dessert items. In the past, and I hate to admit it, these choices usually consisted of cookies, cake, candy, and ice cream. I blame my wife for putting these temptations in front of me.

That’s all changed now, and I’ve added more fruit to my meal plans. More hardcore low carb diet plans such as Atkins severely limit fruit because of it’s supposedly high sugar content. True, there are high-glycemic fruits, but these are really limited to water melon and bananas. Berries and surprisingly, grapefruit are low-glycemic fruits. I’ve been enjoying straw berries, which are now in season as well as apples and grapefruit. I will also enjoy the occasional banana and sometimes I will split it.

I eat fruit by itself as a snack because I sometimes experience stomach upset if I have it with a larger protein meal. I not a big proponent of food-combining, but this aspect makes sense to me.

Now that I’ve weened myself off refined sugar, these natural sources are a pure delight. So far, I’ve limited myself to just one fruit serving per day, but will add another since I’m still on track with my weight loss goal.

I was watching the NBC Nightly news yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to learn about the results of a study that seems to confirm that certain people do better on low carb diets than more conventional diets. The study analyzed blood samples from the subjects and separated people into 2 distinct groups — slow insulin producers and fast insulin producers. As has been known for some time now, insulin is a contributing factor in the laying down of fat stores. Seems the fast insulin producers do better with low carb diets and manage to keep the weight off longer than when put on more traditional, low fat diets. What a surprise, huh?

If I recall correctly from the news report, I believe they said that more people are fast insulin producers. Speaking from my own experience, I’m pretty sure I fall into this group because I’ve ony been able to successfully lose body fat when on a low carb diet. Of course I’m not getting my hopes up too high because like most medical studies, this will probably be challenged quite vigor

Since my less than strict low carb regimen of last week, I’ve begun to regroup to begin my assault on my goal weight. With my base camp firmly established (please forgive the mountain climbing references), I’ve set my sights on reaching my goal weight of 165 lbs. and hopefully a BF percentage of 14%. I’m currently hovering around 171 lbs. and I know these last 6 pounds or so will be some of the toughest I’ve ever had to lose.

Overall, I’m quite pleased with my progress so far. I’ve managed to lose 13 lbs in 4 weeks, which is a much slower rate than I’ve achieved in previous years on a similar program, but still, 3 lbs per week is pretty rapid weight loss by most any standard. The really great news is that I’m enjoying the program and I rarely feel hungry. My approach this time around is to really listen to my body and eat something if I feel hungry — even if it’s 10pm. I know this goes against conventional wisdom, but I’m looking for what works for me, not what “They” say we should do.

I’m still devising my strategy for losing these last 6 lbs and I feel it will have more to do with exercise than diet at this point. The nutritional component of my program has and is serving me very well. I have some tweaks that I want to throw into it, but it’s working about as well as I could ask at this point. I have the feeling that I will need to increase the frequency of my cardio workouts and also increase the intensity as well as the focus of my ab workouts.

So stay tuned…

I do have a bit of a sweet tooth and even when I’m well into a low carb nutrition plan, I sill need to experience the taste of sweetness now and then. My preference is to get my sugar fix from fresh fruit, especially the low glycemic ones like berries such as strawberries, blue berries, black berries, etc. However, when it comes to drinking tea and coffee I need some kind of sweetener.

Sugar is out of the question for this purpose. My solution is to sprinkle in a packet of Equal (aspartame). This satisfies my need for sweetness when consuming tea and coffee and also doesn’t introduce any more carbs into my daily total. I also enjoy a glass of Diet Coke on a daily basis, particularly if it’s got some Bacardi light rum mixed in with it.

So what’s not to like about this artificial sweetener? Aparently quite a bit.

One of the key ingredients of aspartame is methanol, which is also known as wood alcohol. What’s even worse, is that when not in the presence of ethanol, methanol will convert into formaldehyde in your body. So it looks like if you consume this product, you are in effect, embalming yourself. Not a pleasant thought is it?

The other key ingredient in aspartame is phenylalinine. If you have sensitivity to this amino acid then you can experience nervous system problems. On this point, I don’t seem to be affected.

So what about the other types of artificial sweeteners? Sacarin has been accused of causing cancer and I don’t like the taste of it, so I never use it. Splenda is not problem-free either and it tastes too sweet to my palate. I haven’t tried any of the others since Equal does the job for me. So will I swear off aspartame now that it appears to be really bad for me? The short answer is “no”.

I feel that my daily intake of aspartame is relatively small. I’ve been using it for as long as I can remember with no outward signs of harm. I can’t vouche for what it may be doing to me internally. Sure, I would love to stop using it completely, but then I probably would just go back to white sugar, which in my opinion is even worse. So like many things in life, I’ve chosen to draw up a compromise. It’s a coping mechanism that allows me to stay on a low carb diet, lose unsightly body fat, and keep me satisfied all at the same time. I will however, begin investigating natural sources of sweeteners that don’t contain sugar, but for the time being, I’m not sweating my light use of aspartame.

Last week my brother was in town for a visit. It had been oer 10 years since we last saw one another and this was an occasion to do a lot of catching up. Of course, this involved quite a bit of catching up over good food and drink. Fortunately, I had enough advance warning of his visit that I could plan out some eating strategies. I knew that there would be a few days where he’d be off on his own and I could still adhere to my strict low carb diet regimen. On the days when we were together for meals and socializing I didn’t fight it, but rather allowed myself to consume things like beer, rice (Chinese food), and pasta. I even had a small serving of ice cream or two.

The net result was that I didn’t lose any more weight during the week my brother was here, but I didn’t gain any either. My coping strategy for these occasions is to not resist consuming high glycemic carbs when offered and just enjoy the moment. I can do this with the confidence that I’ll get right back to my regular nutrition plan when things return to normal.

You may be wondering where to cap off the total number of daily carbs when going low carb. The Atkins Diet sets a maximum of 20 grams when in the initial “Induction Phase”. This is extremely low, but will put you into ketosis pretty quick. Personally, I feel that this is much too low and also precludes consuming much if any of the low glycemic index carbs such as berries and nuts.

My preference is to cap my total daily carb consumption at around 60 grams. This isn’t a hard and fast rule either. I may go a bit over on some days or stay below it on others. I just know from experience that I lose fat pretty rapidly around this number.

I think it’s just too much of a shock to the system to drastically cut carbs below 20 grams a day for most people and the risk of people giving up on the diet plan is greatly increased. After all, it should be “sane” weight loss!

One of the fundamental equations of life, similar to the law of gravity, is that if you consume more calories than what is required to maintain your basic metabolism you will gain weight. Conversely, if you take in fewer calories than you need for basic metabolism then you will lose weight. Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complex than this simple formula would imply.

Our bodies have an amazing sub-system called the endocrine system, which is a network of glands that secrete various hormones to regulate various processes in our bodies. A very important hormone that typically gets overlooked when it comes to weight control and body composition is insulin. We typically associate insulin with diabetes. Of course diabetes is a very serious disease and with more and more adults becoming afflicted with Type II diabetes it certainly is a grave concern. However, many people are not aware of the connection between high glycemic index carbs and the insulin spike that trigger. Insulin’s purpose is to regulate the amount of blood sugar (glucose) that’s coursing through our veins. If we can not immediately burn the available glucose for energy needs then insulin makes sure that it is laid down as fat for later energy needs.

A diet that is high in high glycemic carbs such as bread, rice, cereal, pasta, and sugar produces a fair share of insulin spikes. In many cases the result is an unsightly bulge around the mid-section. This is a very convenient site to lay down nice slabs of yellow gooey fat. It’s also putting us at increased risk of heart disease.

So instead of counting grams of fat and total calories, I simply count grams of carbohydrate. This becomes very easy since on my weight loss plan I’ve completely eliminated refined sugar in the form of pastries and candy and starches such as rice, pasta, and potatoes. I do allow myself a slice of low carb bread with breakfast. Beyond that, it’s very easy to know that I’m keeping my total carb intake low and that the carbs I am consuming are coming from low-glycemic index sources such as green leafy veggies, low GI fruits, and nuts. Who said that a low-carb diet was all red meat and sausage?

So when it comes to eating, I eat as much as my body tells me it wants without caring about total calories. I’m still aware of portion control, but if I find myself hungry later in the evening, I’ll have some nuts or slice up some cheese and not worry that I’ve gone over my calorie allotment for the day. It’s definitely a much saner way of “dieting!”

It rarely fails, you begin a diet and lose that first 5 - 10 lbs and then hit a plateau where it seems impossible to lose any further weight. Some people will then begin to drop their daily calorie intake even further and also maybe step up their cardio work. They might lose a few more pounds in the process, but instead of unsightly far, they’re horrified to find that they’ve cannibalized hard-earned muscle instead. This is because it’s easier for your body to burn lean muscle for energy in the presence of reduced calories than turn to deep stores of fat. This is the main reason I rely on a low-carb diet instead of a calorie-reduced low fat diet.

However, to take full advantage of the effects of a low-carb diet and to retain and even build new muscle, I adhere to a strict weight training routine. Besides the well-known advantage of lean muscle burning more calories while at rest, you want to keep your body in a anabolic (muscle-building) state rather than a catabolic (muscle destroying) state while dieting. It’s controversial whether it’s possible to build muscle while dieting - many say it’s impossible and others have routines they claim make it possible. I can say from my own personal experience that it is possible, but certainly not easy. In a future post I’ll explain what my weight training routine consists of while going low-carb and why you need to treat this period as an “extreme hard-gainer’s mode.”

One of the inevitable side effects of any low carb diet and probably most diets with severe calorie restrictions, is fatigue during the first few days of starting. This is particularly pronounced with low-carb diets. I’ve experienced tiredness each and every time I’ve gone on a low-carb diet. The good news is that, for me, it passes after the first 3-4 days in. I believe the fatigue is a result of your metabolism transitioning from being a “sugar-burner” to that of a “fat-burner”. Severely restricting carbs in your diet, which can be readily converted to glucose in the blood stream causes a momentary energy deficiency in your body. Eventually, your metabolism gets the message that it can’t rely on sugar as an easy energy source and it then resorts to burning stored fat for energy. Once this metabolic shift occurs, then I can feel my energy levels get back up to normal.

This is also a sure indication that I’ve gone into ketosis and that my body is now primarily burning off stored fat. No need to fool with Ketostix and other such nonsense to check for ketosis — just let things take their course. Sure it’s a bit unpleasant going through your day at less than full energy. Especially when you’re also still hitting the weights and cardio hard in the gym. In the past, during the first few days of starting the low-carb diet, I’ve been pretty spaced out while in the gym. So it’s vitally important to be aware of this condition and take extra precautions where safety is concerned. But like I said. the drowsiness will pass after a few days and then you can rejoice in knowing that the fat-burning phase has kicked into high gear!