Chris Powell: Carb Cycling

AFitCookie

I just started it. My biggest problem is fitting in his workouts, which I know he says are key. I am training for a half-marathon, so to try and get his workouts in this week has been a bit of a hassle. For next week, I am going to sit down and try to actually schedule out my workouts so I can squeeze his in. Good luck!! Keep me posted on how it works for you

ritchiedrama

Carb cycling is no different than a normal caloric deficit.

I carb cycle myself, but for FAT loss it is no different.

The only difference is you hold less water (reducing the WEIGHT (not fat) on the scale).

mrmagee3

Again, your opinion which I respect

I think you meant to say "dismiss", but I get you.

No, I am not dismissing you. We just have a difference of opinion. Both of us have our opinions and that is fair. I don't totally agree with you and you don't totally agree with me. If I dismissed your opinion, then that would mean I rejected and dis-repected it. I didn't reject it because I respected your opinion. that is called a difference of opinion.

Bottom line is you will keep believing what you you believe and I will keep believing what I believe. Neither one of our opinions is what this forum is about. This forum thread is about a question misssixty60 asked and I responded to it with my experience on the diet. She did not ask if we agreed or disagreed with each other.

This will be the last time I will respond to you about this topic in this thread because it has nothing to do with what the thread topic is about. If you wish to discuss this with me further, feel free to send me a private message. I am turning the thread back over to misssixty60 so she can get the answers she has requested which is "but I was wondering if anyone here has ever actually done this method of diet?"

This has to be one of the most grown up posts on this forum, ever. You must be new here.

ninerbuff

I'm of the opinion that carb cycling isn't going to offer any advantages over a more linear method for anyone who isn't already lean. You additionally stand the potential risk of overcomplicating your food intake when something much simpler could get you equal results.

I echo this. Any DIET works if one follows it, but as I mention again and again, they all have one thing in common..............calorie deficit.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

BYCHANCE67

Awesome before and almost afters, Amy!!! You look amazing already! I just read Choose More Lose More and will start in 3 days. Im going to try the Turbo Cycling first. I think that will work best. Congrats! Thanks for the info.

Michele

chad_phillips1123

I've only been doing it for a few days and lost 6 lbs. I find it relatively easy to stick to and have much more energy (and evenly through the day) than on other diets. In the end, though if you want to know if it works or not you gotta try it yourself for awhile.

As for those (who judging from their pics aren't actually trying to lose much weight, but instead build muscle and get ripped) saying that carb cycling is no different than any other diet (or all diets are the same for that matter) I disagree. When it comes to WEIGHTLOSS, yes, following almost any diet will cause a person to lose weight (and the first few lbs will probably be water weight). This is namely because they had poor eating habits/choices beforehand and their losing glycogen stores and water. With almost any diet plan, a caloric deficit is the reason for weightloss, BUT different diet plans achieve this through different means, e.g., counting calories, increased cardio, smaller portions, adding muscle, changing food habits (both foods you eat and/or when/how often you eat them), different macro nutrient ratios, etc.

Because of these different methods of achieving a caloric deficit, it is sometimes easier for someone to follow one type of diet opposed to another. And a person's ability to stick to a diet is what determines its effectiveness. So a diet that works well for one person, may not work as well for another. Also a person's circumstances or goals (budget, busy work schedule, wanting to add muscle, etc) may change and a different diet from the one they've been would be more suitable.

Personally, I'm liking the Chris Powell carb cycling, because calories aren't the focus (yes they fundamentally play a role, but they aren't what you measure and think about on the diet). It's focus is developing healthier eating habits (lots of veg; lean protein) and portion sizes. It also has my macronutrients in much better proportions which is probably while I feel more energized and less rundown. Yes this all leads to a calorie deficit, but it doesn't make it the same as other diets.

.........it's like saying to start a fire, there's no difference between a lighter, a match, a magnifying glass, and two stick of woods, because all you need to start a fire is heat. You're technically correct, but you're also being an obtuse *kitten* about it.

pcastagner

You should check out before and afters before making judgements about people.

I carb cycled for quite a while, and you are essentially correct. It comes down to finding a program that makes it easier for you to stick with the program. But as someone who has lost 50lbs and who carb cycled for a while, I don't believe I'm telling you to start a fire with just heat. Starting the fire is easy and at first seems like the real challenge, but after a while you'll realize keeping it going is more difficult even than that.

IIISpartacusIII

Oh... it works! What I would keep in mind is that when you drop the carbs, you should be increasing fat so that you can maintain calories. Otherwise you're cycling calories as well which is a different thing altogether. Here's an interesting resource which details the basic carb cycling process:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/par30.htm

newblue95

You didn't burn 13lbs of fat in one week, sorry to break it to you. That would be at least 45,500 calories worth of energy going SOMEWHERE since matter and energy can't be created or destroyed. Were you able to cook an egg on yourself that week?

This made me laugh way too much

misssixty60

THANKS GUYS FOR ALL YOUR INPUT!!! You guys are funny and spirited! I just did a grocery haul- all clean food and I will be starting ASAP!

chad_phillips1123

You should check out before and afters before making judgements about people.

I carb cycled for quite a while, and you are essentially correct. It comes down to finding a program that makes it easier for you to stick with the program. But as someone who has lost 50lbs and who carb cycled for a while, I don't believe I'm telling you to start a fire with just heat. Starting the fire is easy and at first seems like the real challenge, but after a while you'll realize keeping it going is more difficult even than that.

That's all true. Your ticker says you've lost 10 lbs though not 50 lbs, so I don't know how I was supposed to know your before and after (or what all you used to get there). And congrats if you lost 50 lbs of fat and added 40 lbs of muscle.

My rant was more the culmination of seeing the dozenth set of abs in a couple days seemingly discourage someone on MFP. What really fired me up was a post where they were saying motivation was useless, not to seek support, etc. and I'm really starting to dislike the MFP message boards because of those "holier than thou" attitudes (not saying you have or intended that, its just want I inferred and was primed for from the previous posts).

Sidenote: I don't know how to multi-quote on here, but you mentioned the unreliability of "medical professionals" because you can find one to endorse anything and instead should look to the "researchers" earlier. Maybe mentioning or informing someone about things they can discuss with the medical professional would be helpful, but I wouldn't discourage them from listening or relying on them (who have presumably spent quite a bit of time, gotten a degree, and know more about their patient) in favor of a forum poster. And as far as researchers go, the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some medical professionals are the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some researchers. Everyone likes a bandwagon, many will take money to purport this over that, and science is always progressing.

chad_phillips1123

Oh... it works! What I would keep in mind is that when you drop the carbs, you should be increasing fat so that you can maintain calories. Otherwise you're cycling calories as well which is a different thing altogether. Here's an interesting resource which details the basic carb cycling process:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/par30.htm

Thanks! Read it and that is a good article (saving it) on carb cycling (specifically what I'll call the "Twin Peak diet" because I don't actually see a specific name for it and to distinguish it from the "Chris Powell diet"). The intro on the article explains mostly what I was getting on about different methods of dieting being better for some than others (psychology of them, malleability, and I think primary goals). Both use carb cycling for weight (focused on fat) loss, but the methods are different.

The Twin Peak diet seems more "fine-tuned" than the Chris Powell diet; it has some guidelines as to the grams of pro/fat/carb, portion control is mostly unlimited (eat to fullness), there is a bit of cycling within each day, it talks about recomposition (glad I know how a word to describe that), etc. This diet seems more suited to those looking to recomposition (i.e. build muscle, lose fat) than those looking to lose 50, 100, >100 lbs (makes sense since it's on a bodybuilding site). This diet isn't so much about changing bad eating habits that led to weight gain, but about developing more efficient/effective eating habits for low BF%, leanness, and muscle growth.

The Chris Powell diet seems more "general" than the Twin Peak diet; it doesn't have gram amounts as guide lines; portion control and food choice are the focuses (e.g. using your palm for protein and carb, two fists for veggies, and thumb for fats), most meals in a day (high vs low) are similar (except for breakfast which is about always the same), there's no "no-carb" day like in the Twin Peak diet but there is a "reward" day each week, etc. This diet isn't about "fine-tuning" so you can be all you can be, but seems more suited to those looking to lose substantial amounts of weight (specifically fat), develop better/healthy eating habits, and portion control. (and to answer your point, yes on low carb days you drop the carb portion and add a fat).

Same overriding principal between them (carb cycling), but very different methods and probably more/less effective depending on what the person doing them is trying to achieve. Like I said before I like the Chris Powell diet (doing the turbo cycle), because I have loads to lose long term and need to get rid of bad habits/tastes and develop better ones and it seems simpler than the Twin Peak diet . After reading the Twin Peak diet article though I may start it some day when I want to recomposition.

Here are a couple links to the Chris Powell diet for those curious:

http://chrispowell.com/carb-cycling-101/

http://millennialcareerwoman.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/chrispowell_smartfoodslist-1.pdf

pcastagner

You should check out before and afters before making judgements about people.

I carb cycled for quite a while, and you are essentially correct. It comes down to finding a program that makes it easier for you to stick with the program. But as someone who has lost 50lbs and who carb cycled for a while, I don't believe I'm telling you to start a fire with just heat. Starting the fire is easy and at first seems like the real challenge, but after a while you'll realize keeping it going is more difficult even than that.

That's all true. Your ticker says you've lost 10 lbs though not 50 lbs, so I don't know how I was supposed to know your before and after (or what all you used to get there). And congrats if you lost 50 lbs of fat and added 40 lbs of muscle.

My rant was more the culmination of seeing the dozenth set of abs in a couple days seemingly discourage someone on MFP. What really fired me up was a post where they were saying motivation was useless, not to seek support, etc. and I'm really starting to dislike the MFP message boards because of those "holier than thou" attitudes (not saying you have or intended that, its just want I inferred and was primed for from the previous posts).

Sidenote: I don't know how to multi-quote on here, but you mentioned the unreliability of "medical professionals" because you can find one to endorse anything and instead should look to the "researchers" earlier. Maybe mentioning or informing someone about things they can discuss with the medical professional would be helpful, but I wouldn't discourage them from listening or relying on them (who have presumably spent quite a bit of time, gotten a degree, and know more about their patient) in favor of a forum poster. And as far as researchers go, the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some medical professionals are the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some researchers. Everyone likes a bandwagon, many will take money to purport this over that, and science is always progressing.

You click on the profile and my pics come up. Before, and after. Most people can figure this out. I started on another site and moved over here.

I started exercise November 2012, and started tracking weight and food January 2013. Starting weight 210 current weight 160. I was afraid to weigh myself until January so my actual starting weight is unknown.


I think maybe this is an indicator that you may not be the best at seeing the whole picture and should withhold on the pronouncements until you know a bit more.


Listening to a doctor because they are a doctor, on an issue where there is no consensus in the field of medicine, is simply fallacious. Doctors are just as apt as any other segment of the population to make an irrational "argument from authority", which is by definition probabilistic AT BEST. For an authority to matter, there must at least be a consensus in their field. Otherwise, they are in the same position as a forum poster when it comes to giving opinions. Caveat emptor.

chad_phillips1123

You should check out before and afters before making judgements about people.

I carb cycled for quite a while, and you are essentially correct. It comes down to finding a program that makes it easier for you to stick with the program. But as someone who has lost 50lbs and who carb cycled for a while, I don't believe I'm telling you to start a fire with just heat. Starting the fire is easy and at first seems like the real challenge, but after a while you'll realize keeping it going is more difficult even than that.

That's all true. Your ticker says you've lost 10 lbs though not 50 lbs, so I don't know how I was supposed to know your before and after (or what all you used to get there). And congrats if you lost 50 lbs of fat and added 40 lbs of muscle.

My rant was more the culmination of seeing the dozenth set of abs in a couple days seemingly discourage someone on MFP. What really fired me up was a post where they were saying motivation was useless, not to seek support, etc. and I'm really starting to dislike the MFP message boards because of those "holier than thou" attitudes (not saying you have or intended that, its just want I inferred and was primed for from the previous posts).

Sidenote: I don't know how to multi-quote on here, but you mentioned the unreliability of "medical professionals" because you can find one to endorse anything and instead should look to the "researchers" earlier. Maybe mentioning or informing someone about things they can discuss with the medical professional would be helpful, but I wouldn't discourage them from listening or relying on them (who have presumably spent quite a bit of time, gotten a degree, and know more about their patient) in favor of a forum poster. And as far as researchers go, the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some medical professionals are the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some researchers. Everyone likes a bandwagon, many will take money to purport this over that, and science is always progressing.

You click on the profile and my pics come up. Before, and after. Most people can figure this out. I started on another site and moved over here.

I started exercise November 2012, and started tracking weight and food January 2013. Starting weight 210 current weight 160. I was afraid to weigh myself until January so my actual starting weight is unknown.


I think maybe this is an indicator that you may not be the best at seeing the whole picture and should withhold on the pronouncements until you know a bit more.


Listening to a doctor because they are a doctor, on an issue where there is no consensus in the field of medicine, is simply fallacious. Doctors are just as apt as any other segment of the population to make an irrational "argument from authority", which is by definition probabilistic AT BEST. For an authority to matter, there must at least be a consensus in their field. Otherwise, they are in the same position as a forum poster when it comes to giving opinions. Caveat emptor.

First of all, in my original "pronouncement" I wasn't signalling you or anyone else out specifically. After your response, I did look at your profile and pics (though, not everyone has multiple pics because they are still in the process and haven't gotten to an after yet). (Going to throw a mea culpa in here now, I suck at judging weight from looks/pics/in person...I've never worked at a State Fair as a "Guess your weight" game; this isn't a diss) I didn't see 50lbs of weight loss. Absolutely lost a lot of weight, but also looked like you added a lot of muscle (congrats); that combined with your ticker makes it seem like you recompositioned.

Secondly, you could have added your info from the other site to more accurately portray your progress. At least add benchmarks to show how much you've lost. This may sound foreign to you, because I looked at your diary and it's "scatter shot" at best. Some days you log no food, others its all under one meal, and sometimes under 500 others over 2000.

The lack of understanding about how people judge weight and progress differently from pics, your previous post where someone had lost 13lbs and you assumed she meant it was all fat, and you apparent/possible unfamiliarity with MFP features (tracking/adding weight and food) could be an indicator that you only see the picture the way you want to see it and need to think a bit more out side yourself (less egotistically) before replying to posts.

I never said some one should listen to their medical professional because they are medical professional (strawman attack), or that they are infallible. Ostensibly, though, medical professionals (doctors, dieticians, nutritionists, etc.) are more knowledgeable in a field of medicine than others and the fact that there isn't a consensus in that field, would lead a little more credence to their opinions on research that has been done in that field (esp. since not all research is public, trustworthy, or relevant). Add to this that if someone visits a medical professional, gets checked out by them, discusses their problems/goals/risks, etc., that medical professional will be in a better position to inform/suggest/prescribe to that person an effective treatment plan, than someone that hasn't met the person and only knows a fraction of that info from a few paragraphs in a forum post.

That is why you shouldn't discourage someone from their medical professional's advice (or dismiss it because they're a medical professional), but if you have a different opinion or your research has brought you to a different conclusion/better method, suggest it to that person, give them the info to evaluate on their own, and advise them to discuss it with their medical professional. It lets them better evaluate their medical professional, be more secure/confident in what ever choice/regime they decide to follow, and possibly even end up deciding to find a different medical professional.

pcastagner

You should check out before and afters before making judgements about people.

I carb cycled for quite a while, and you are essentially correct. It comes down to finding a program that makes it easier for you to stick with the program. But as someone who has lost 50lbs and who carb cycled for a while, I don't believe I'm telling you to start a fire with just heat. Starting the fire is easy and at first seems like the real challenge, but after a while you'll realize keeping it going is more difficult even than that.

That's all true. Your ticker says you've lost 10 lbs though not 50 lbs, so I don't know how I was supposed to know your before and after (or what all you used to get there). And congrats if you lost 50 lbs of fat and added 40 lbs of muscle.

My rant was more the culmination of seeing the dozenth set of abs in a couple days seemingly discourage someone on MFP. What really fired me up was a post where they were saying motivation was useless, not to seek support, etc. and I'm really starting to dislike the MFP message boards because of those "holier than thou" attitudes (not saying you have or intended that, its just want I inferred and was primed for from the previous posts).

Sidenote: I don't know how to multi-quote on here, but you mentioned the unreliability of "medical professionals" because you can find one to endorse anything and instead should look to the "researchers" earlier. Maybe mentioning or informing someone about things they can discuss with the medical professional would be helpful, but I wouldn't discourage them from listening or relying on them (who have presumably spent quite a bit of time, gotten a degree, and know more about their patient) in favor of a forum poster. And as far as researchers go, the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some medical professionals are the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some researchers. Everyone likes a bandwagon, many will take money to purport this over that, and science is always progressing.

You click on the profile and my pics come up. Before, and after. Most people can figure this out. I started on another site and moved over here.

I started exercise November 2012, and started tracking weight and food January 2013. Starting weight 210 current weight 160. I was afraid to weigh myself until January so my actual starting weight is unknown.


I think maybe this is an indicator that you may not be the best at seeing the whole picture and should withhold on the pronouncements until you know a bit more.


Listening to a doctor because they are a doctor, on an issue where there is no consensus in the field of medicine, is simply fallacious. Doctors are just as apt as any other segment of the population to make an irrational "argument from authority", which is by definition probabilistic AT BEST. For an authority to matter, there must at least be a consensus in their field. Otherwise, they are in the same position as a forum poster when it comes to giving opinions. Caveat emptor.

First of all, in my original "pronouncement" I wasn't signalling you or anyone else out specifically. After your response, I did look at your profile and pics (though, not everyone has multiple pics because they are still in the process and haven't gotten to an after yet). (Going to throw a mea culpa in here now, I suck at judging weight from looks/pics/in person...I've never worked at a State Fair as a "Guess your weight" game; this isn't a diss) I didn't see 50lbs of weight loss. Absolutely lost a lot of weight, but also looked like you added a lot of muscle (congrats); that combined with your ticker makes it seem like you recompositioned.

Secondly, you could have added your info from the other site to more accurately portray your progress. At least add benchmarks to show how much you've lost. This may sound foreign to you, because I looked at your diary and it's "scatter shot" at best. Some days you log no food, others its all under one meal, and sometimes under 500 others over 2000.

The lack of understanding about how people judge weight and progress differently from pics, your previous post where someone had lost 13lbs and you assumed she meant it was all fat, and you apparent/possible unfamiliarity with MFP features (tracking/adding weight and food) could be an indicator that you only see the picture the way you want to see it and need to think a bit more out side yourself (less egotistically) before replying to posts.

I never said some one should listen to their medical professional because they are medical professional (strawman attack), or that they are infallible. Ostensibly, though, medical professionals (doctors, dieticians, nutritionists, etc.) are more knowledgeable in a field of medicine than others and the fact that there isn't a consensus in that field, would lead a little more credence to their opinions on research that has been done in that field (esp. since not all research is public, trustworthy, or relevant). Add to this that if someone visits a medical professional, gets checked out by them, discusses their problems/goals/risks, etc., that medical professional will be in a better position to inform/suggest/prescribe to that person an effective treatment plan, than someone that hasn't met the person and only knows a fraction of that info from a few paragraphs in a forum post.

That is why you shouldn't discourage someone from their medical professional's advice (or dismiss it because they're a medical professional), but if you have a different opinion or your research has brought you to a different conclusion/better method, suggest it to that person, give them the info to evaluate on their own, and advise them to discuss it with their medical professional. It lets them better evaluate their medical professional, be more secure/confident in what ever choice/regime they decide to follow, and possibly even end up deciding to find a different medical professional.

If you need more info, ask me what's up. It's called questioning. Instead, you seem to just invent your own story.

I am having a lot of trouble logging right now because I am living in a hotel room in a foreign country where I can't read any food labels (Japan), have no kitchen, and have to eat most of my food in restaurants. I'm definitely struggling here and losing weight too fast as a result. Go back a bit further and you can see what I eat when I'm home or in a place with a kitchen. I use those times to reset my sense if food by logging carefully.

I spend a lot of time on the road, which is how most of my colleagues and how I got fat. It's really tough out here to stay on goal. My "before" pic is actually from a year ago, and I got fatter after that. I started this journey at a time when the thought of having my picture taken was cause for intense emotional disturbance. Thus, no pics of me at my fattest. I started taking pics when I was down about 15 lbs, and I do tell people not to wait because I now wish I had a better record. I store a lot on my *kitten* and hips and legs, which gives me a sort of "feminine fat" look. But can you not see that my face looks completely different and 10 years younger?


Really, I don't go around giving advice because I had this handed to me. I had to earn my weight loss with tooth and claw under conditions far from ideal. I made lots of mistakes along the way and I try to pass on the lessons I learned.


And when I look at myself, I see someone far from goal.

I never said some one should listen to their medical professional because they are medical professional (strawman attack)

Maybe mentioning or informing someone about things they can discuss with the medical professional would be helpful, but I wouldn't discourage them from listening or relying on them (who have presumably spent quite a bit of time, gotten a degree, and know more about their patient) in favor of a forum poster. And as far as researchers go, the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some medical professionals are the same reasons you don't/shouldn't trust some researchers.

First off, it's not a straw man ATTACK, it's just "straw man". And as you can see from your quotes above, you most certainly did do exactly what I said you did. You trie to shut down debate by relying on the authority of a "medical professionals" while simultaneously undermining the credibility of anyone on a forum doing their own research, while at the same time juggling yet another fallacy called "false equivalence". You don't "trust" the researcher and their results are not the equivalent of a doctor giving his opinion. Researchers provide something called "evidence". For a rundown of what that is, maybe google "rationalism vs. empiricism".

I've only been doing it for a few days and lost 6 lbs.

That right there, is basically where you should have stopped arguing and is the only valid point you've made.

jaggerhawks

Carb cycling is more about manipulating your water stores than actual fat loss. Sure it works, but you could still lose weight without the pain of carb cravings.

chad_phillips1123

If you need more info, ask me what's up. It's called questioning. Instead, you seem to just invent your own story.

I am having a lot of trouble logging right now because I am living in a hotel room in a foreign country where I can't read any food labels (Japan), have no kitchen, and have to eat most of my food in restaurants. I'm definitely struggling here and losing weight too fast as a result. Go back a bit further and you can see what I eat when I'm home or in a place with a kitchen. I use those times to reset my sense if food by logging carefully.

I spend a lot of time on the road, which is how most of my colleagues and how I got fat. It's really tough out here to stay on goal. My "before" pic is actually from a year ago, and I got fatter after that. I started this journey at a time when the thought of having my picture taken was cause for intense emotional disturbance. Thus, no pics of me at my fattest. I started taking pics when I was down about 15 lbs, and I do tell people not to wait because I now wish I had a better record. I store a lot on my *kitten* and hips and legs, which gives me a sort of "feminine fat" look. But can you not see that my face looks completely different and 10 years younger?


Really, I don't go around giving advice because I had this handed to me. I had to earn my weight loss with tooth and claw under conditions far from ideal. I made lots of mistakes along the way and I try to pass on the lessons I learned.


And when I look at myself, I see someone far from goal.

You're right, if I needed more info I could have asked, but that info wasn't necessary for my original post and don't typically question someone about there journey unless its related the topic being discussed. Probably goes double for someone I don't know. You've done well no doubts about it even under conditions far from ideal. I'm trying to lose now and since my max in early 2012, under difficult/non-ideal conditions, as well.

Also had an idea for the not being able to read Japanese issue your having. If you have an android (probably something similar on iPhone) try downloading "Google Goggles" and "Google Translate". I don't know for certain it will work with the Japanese characters, but I've used it for German, Spanish, and French. Use Google Goggles to take a pic of the text and once it identifies it (again assuming it can identify Japanese characters) it will give you an option to translate and automatically send that text to Google Translate to be translated. Hopefully, it'll at least give you and idea what's in the food item.

And now that I think of it, you may try downloading "Fooducate" as well. You can scan a bar code and if it's in its database it'll show you nutritional info, etc. Not sure if it'll work overseas, though.

pcastagner

If you need more info, ask me what's up. It's called questioning. Instead, you seem to just invent your own story.

I am having a lot of trouble logging right now because I am living in a hotel room in a foreign country where I can't read any food labels (Japan), have no kitchen, and have to eat most of my food in restaurants. I'm definitely struggling here and losing weight too fast as a result. Go back a bit further and you can see what I eat when I'm home or in a place with a kitchen. I use those times to reset my sense if food by logging carefully.

I spend a lot of time on the road, which is how most of my colleagues and how I got fat. It's really tough out here to stay on goal. My "before" pic is actually from a year ago, and I got fatter after that. I started this journey at a time when the thought of having my picture taken was cause for intense emotional disturbance. Thus, no pics of me at my fattest. I started taking pics when I was down about 15 lbs, and I do tell people not to wait because I now wish I had a better record. I store a lot on my *kitten* and hips and legs, which gives me a sort of "feminine fat" look. But can you not see that my face looks completely different and 10 years younger?


Really, I don't go around giving advice because I had this handed to me. I had to earn my weight loss with tooth and claw under conditions far from ideal. I made lots of mistakes along the way and I try to pass on the lessons I learned.


And when I look at myself, I see someone far from goal.

You're right, if I needed more info I could have asked, but that info wasn't necessary for my original post and don't typically question someone about there journey unless its related the topic being discussed. Probably goes double for someone I don't know. You've done well no doubts about it even under conditions far from ideal. I'm trying to lose now and since my max in early 2012, under difficult/non-ideal conditions, as well.

Also had an idea for the not being able to read Japanese issue your having. If you have an android (probably something similar on iPhone) try downloading "Google Goggles" and "Google Translate". I don't know for certain it will work with the Japanese characters, but I've used it for German, Spanish, and French. Use Google Goggles to take a pic of the text and once it identifies it (again assuming it can identify Japanese characters) it will give you an option to translate and automatically send that text to Google Translate to be translated. Hopefully, it'll at least give you and idea what's in the food item.

And now that I think of it, you may try downloading "Fooducate" as well. You can scan a bar code and if it's in its database it'll show you nutritional info, etc. Not sure if it'll work overseas, though.

I have an iPhone, and no wireless Internet, but those are great ideas. I've tried scanning barcodes around here, but they all come up "unknown". I'll be in Germany next month and luckily I can read the labels there and I will have a kitchen. I did a big old refeed yesterday to slow my muscle loss.


Try to remember this, which is hard for me to stick to even now: when you get a new "thing to try" in this journey, the emotional nature of weight loss will make you feel like you've found "the answer". It's very important to stay flexible and stay skeptical, and not take it personally when someone is trying to help out. People don't question what you are doing to create social dominance, they are TRYING TO HELP YOU. They do this because someone helped them along the way, and it feels really, really good to then turn around and help someone else get through this.

Positively_Me

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Janninejoely

Hiya, I was just wondering, How low is the carb count supposed to be on the "low Carb" days. For Turbo Cycling. No more than 20 carbs, no more than 100 Carbs? I didn't see it any where in the book.