High Protein, No Sugar Challenge (5 pounds down)

LoggingForLife

I love how op makes a post about having sucess and everyone pipes in and tells her she's doing it wrong. If its working for you and it's not torture, keep up the good work!

katya_be

You are right, for now I will continue what I am doing until my body gets leaner and I lose more fat. Then I will work on building more muscle and maintaining it.

Um, do you understand how hard it is to build muscle?

Why would you want to lose it and then go through all of the painstaking work and caloric surplus you'd need in order to build it? Why not eat more, lift some weights, and maintain what you have. It would be much easier on your body.

No, I don't intend to be bulky, I just want to have a leaner body.

Do you know how hard it is to be bulky?

At your deficit you are losing fat, water, and MUSCLE. You may lose the weight, but in many cases like this the individual's BF% doesn't change drastically due to the loss of LBM vs. loss of fat.

So you're saying I need to up my calories, what do you recommend in order to continue weight loss and fat burn? And since I don't have access to "heavy weights", what do you recommend in order to build up my muscle?

Hornsby

I love how op makes a post about having sucess and everyone pipes in and tells her she's doing it wrong. If its working for you and it's not torture, keep up the good work!

Who is telling her she is doing it wrong?

Netting under your BMR is unsafe. Of course people will say something. She could eat 200 calories per day and have success as well. Doesn't mean it's right and safe.

1princesswarrior

So what happens when your little challenge is over? Your way is only effective if you plan to do it for the rest of your life. After your challenge, you will still have no self control and will more than likely binge on added sugar. However, if you eat cookies in moderation, you have a much better chance at long term weight loss.

Good luck on never eating added sugars again.

Haha get real, I will never be able to do that.. I am keeping away from added sugars for 6 weeks, just to learn willpower. After that I plan on limiting myself to one treat a week.

I think it's cool that you are doing a challenge, I did one with coworkers for bragging rights.

But I've learned how to control myself along the way when it comes to added sugar. For example, I've learned how to fit two cookies into my day or a milkshake into my day when I want one. I may not always meet my macros exactly for that day but I will work my butt off in exercise to make room for my treat. I no longer crave sugar on a constant basis because I eat a more balanced diet all around. I keep little snacks in my house and don't indulge just because they are there anymore because I've learned how to feed my body. I don't lift heavy necessarily but I do lift and I've lost a lot of lean mass along with fat and it's a struggle to keep the lean mass that I have.

I wish you luck after your challenge in reincorporating processed sugar.

katya_be

Thanks! I have heard that weights are better than cardio. I have a treadmill but whenever I run for long periods of time I get shin pain and hip pain, even after stretching. I have been doing cardio in the past with little results but I see more results with a stricter diet and more body weight workouts. I do not have a gym membership, and don't have access to heavy weights. Is it possible to build muscle/strength by doing body weight workouts? I have a 10 month old that weight 22 pounds, and I use her for squatting and bridges My clothes are feeling looser and I feel like I am heading in the right direction. I just want to make sure that I can maintain the weight loss.

I know it sucks to hear, but you can't maintain any rate of weight loss. The more you lose the less you have to lose and therefore the harder it becomes. Don't use your progress right now as a bench mark, it will only disappoint.
There are a lot of people out there that will say heavy lifting is more important than cardio, I think they are both crucial for different purposes. You can absolutely do almost everything you can in a gym with body weight especially starting out, just look up some routines on YouTube.
You should buy new shoes if your getting sin splints and your hips are hurting. I burn through shoes like every two months, they don't last long just buy ones that you can wear for other stuff once their worn out.

Thanks for the advice, my hip pain is from my pregnancy, I think its a ligament that was stretched out.

RGv2

You are right, for now I will continue what I am doing until my body gets leaner and I lose more fat. Then I will work on building more muscle and maintaining it.

Um, do you understand how hard it is to build muscle?

Why would you want to lose it and then go through all of the painstaking work and caloric surplus you'd need in order to build it? Why not eat more, lift some weights, and maintain what you have. It would be much easier on your body.

No, I don't intend to be bulky, I just want to have a leaner body.

Do you know how hard it is to be bulky?

At your deficit you are losing fat, water, and MUSCLE. You may lose the weight, but in many cases like this the individual's BF% doesn't change drastically due to the loss of LBM vs. loss of fat.

So you're saying I need to up my calories, what do you recommend in order to continue weight loss and fat burn? And since I don't have access to "heavy weights", what do you recommend in order to build up my muscle?

Your TDEE = 1950 (this would maintain your weight)

Your BMR = 1424 (what would sustain you if you slept all day)

TDEE -20% = 1567 (What is normally recommended as a moderate deficit) If you're eating exercise cals back, you may be close to it. You haven't answered that question.

You're not going to build that much muscle. That's why I'm saying you should work on keeping what you have. It is extremely hard to build muscle......for guys. It's exponentially harder for women. A professional body building female would be hard pressed to put on 1-1.5 lbs in 2 months.

Look into body weight programs... Convict Conditioning is one, I think another popular one is "Your Body is a Gym".... or something close to that.

I would mess around with that TDEE -20% number. Like I said, if you're eating back some exercise cals you could be close to it, but from what I can tell, you're not.

katya_be

So what happens when your little challenge is over? Your way is only effective if you plan to do it for the rest of your life. After your challenge, you will still have no self control and will more than likely binge on added sugar. However, if you eat cookies in moderation, you have a much better chance at long term weight loss.

Good luck on never eating added sugars again.

Haha get real, I will never be able to do that.. I am keeping away from added sugars for 6 weeks, just to learn willpower. After that I plan on limiting myself to one treat a week.

I think it's cool that you are doing a challenge, I did one with coworkers for bragging rights.

But I've learned how to control myself along the way when it comes to added sugar. For example, I've learned how to fit two cookies into my day or a milkshake into my day when I want one. I may not always meet my macros exactly for that day but I will work my butt off in exercise to make room for my treat. I no longer crave sugar on a constant basis because I eat a more balanced diet all around. I keep little snacks in my house and don't indulge just because they are there anymore because I've learned how to feed my body. I don't lift heavy necessarily but I do lift and I've lost a lot of lean mass along with fat and it's a struggle to keep the lean mass that I have.

I wish you luck after your challenge in reincorporating processed sugar.

That's awesome, it was hard at first but it's all a learning process. It's great to hear from others who have gone through the same challenge. I am confident that I will learn to control my cravings, it's getting easier everyday.

Maridar

what a great challenge to your mind! you go, girl:) I tried it once, no sugar for two weeks and lost a little over 2 pounds. I am doing it again now, lots of protein and put myself on 1200 cal on MFP but it gives me room as per my BMR I am supposed to eat 1500 something. So if I go a bit overboard, I am fine. Also, it helps (a good excuse) to eat back exercise calories:)
I've heard in some European or Scandinavian countries kids only get sweets once a week either on Sat or Sun, sounds reasonable to me. My sis in law did that and lost a ton of weight, running + weights, healthy eating, then treats once a week, she is still in great shape.

tennisdude2004

It's cool you're experimenting with cutting back on sugar, I would suggest going the whole hog and ditching grain for about 4 weeks. I did and felt a lot better for it.

A lot of people will say that they operate just fine on medium to high levels of sugar and on grains and they may do, or may believe they do. If they haven't tried cutting them from their diets they have no point of reference for comparison.

Don't over do it with the protein though (1g of protein per lb of lean mass). Also to make your calories you could up your fat intake, if you don't want to up the carbs (through veggies and fruit).

Good luck with it - Just make sure you're eating enough calories to make the experiment beneficial.

bcattoes

Does that include natural sugar, like maple syrup and organic honey?

Yes, even natural sugars, I am only eating fruits. I am also trying to minimize white flour and starches.

So fruit doesn't make you binge, but added sugar does? Is it just a mental thing, I'm guessing?

Have you ever heard of anyone binging on apples??! No... Because apples make you feel full because they are full of fiber.

Oreos on the other hand, you can eat a package and not feel full, you would just feel sick.

Not mental at all.

I disagree. Any binge is mental. Whether you are bingeing on cookies, ribs, lasagna, or whatever. It's a mental thing. For many people the psychological side of restiricting calories is the hardest part. It's denying the want rather than the need that takes effort.

Some people can eat two cookies and walk away. Some can't. Once hunger is satisfied, it's all mental.

katya_be

You are right, for now I will continue what I am doing until my body gets leaner and I lose more fat. Then I will work on building more muscle and maintaining it.

Um, do you understand how hard it is to build muscle?

Why would you want to lose it and then go through all of the painstaking work and caloric surplus you'd need in order to build it? Why not eat more, lift some weights, and maintain what you have. It would be much easier on your body.

No, I don't intend to be bulky, I just want to have a leaner body.

Do you know how hard it is to be bulky?

At your deficit you are losing fat, water, and MUSCLE. You may lose the weight, but in many cases like this the individual's BF% doesn't change drastically due to the loss of LBM vs. loss of fat.

So you're saying I need to up my calories, what do you recommend in order to continue weight loss and fat burn? And since I don't have access to "heavy weights", what do you recommend in order to build up my muscle?

Your TDEE = 1950 (this would maintain your weight)

Your BMR = 1424 (what would sustain you if you slept all day)

TDEE -20% = 1567 (What is normally recommended as a moderate deficit) If you're eating exercise cals back, you may be close to it. You haven't answered that question.

You're not going to build that much muscle. That's why I'm saying you should work on keeping what you have. It is extremely hard to build muscle......for guys. It's exponentially harder for women. A professional body building female would be hard pressed to put on 1-1.5 lbs in 2 months.

Look into body weight programs... Convict Conditioning is one, I think another popular one is "Your Body is a Gym".... or something close to that.

I would mess around with that TDEE -20% number. Like I said, if you're eating back some exercise cals you could be close to it, but from what I can tell, you're not.

Thanks, so I would need to increase my calories by about 300 a day? How much extra should I eat on workout days, lets say if I burn ~300 calories?

katya_be

It's cool you're experimenting with cutting back on sugar, I would suggest going the whole hog and ditching grain for about 4 weeks. I did and felt a lot better for it.

A lot of people will say that they operate just fine on medium to high levels of sugar and on grains and they may do, or may believe they do. If they haven't tried cutting them from their diets they have no point of reference for comparison.

Don't over do it with the protein though (1g of protein per lb of lean mass). Also to make your calories you could up your fat intake, if you don't want to up the carbs (through veggies and fruit).

Good luck with it - Just make sure you're eating enough calories to make the experiment beneficial.

Thanks for the advice! I am unsure, though, if I could go without grains. Right now I am limiting them, but I think it would be harder to cut out grains than it would be sugar. I might try it for a few weeks towards the end of this challenge.

RGv2

You are right, for now I will continue what I am doing until my body gets leaner and I lose more fat. Then I will work on building more muscle and maintaining it.

Um, do you understand how hard it is to build muscle?

Why would you want to lose it and then go through all of the painstaking work and caloric surplus you'd need in order to build it? Why not eat more, lift some weights, and maintain what you have. It would be much easier on your body.

No, I don't intend to be bulky, I just want to have a leaner body.

Do you know how hard it is to be bulky?

At your deficit you are losing fat, water, and MUSCLE. You may lose the weight, but in many cases like this the individual's BF% doesn't change drastically due to the loss of LBM vs. loss of fat.

So you're saying I need to up my calories, what do you recommend in order to continue weight loss and fat burn? And since I don't have access to "heavy weights", what do you recommend in order to build up my muscle?

Your TDEE = 1950 (this would maintain your weight)

Your BMR = 1424 (what would sustain you if you slept all day)

TDEE -20% = 1567 (What is normally recommended as a moderate deficit) If you're eating exercise cals back, you may be close to it. You haven't answered that question.

You're not going to build that much muscle. That's why I'm saying you should work on keeping what you have. It is extremely hard to build muscle......for guys. It's exponentially harder for women. A professional body building female would be hard pressed to put on 1-1.5 lbs in 2 months.

Look into body weight programs... Convict Conditioning is one, I think another popular one is "Your Body is a Gym".... or something close to that.

I would mess around with that TDEE -20% number. Like I said, if you're eating back some exercise cals you could be close to it, but from what I can tell, you're not.

Thanks, so I would need to increase my calories by about 300 a day? How much extra should I eat on workout days, lets say if I burn ~300 calories?

If you're doing the TDEE method, you wouldn't eat extra on workout days. MFP method, I'd recommend eating back 1/2 your exercise calories and adjust from there.

1princesswarrior

You are right, for now I will continue what I am doing until my body gets leaner and I lose more fat. Then I will work on building more muscle and maintaining it.

Um, do you understand how hard it is to build muscle?

Why would you want to lose it and then go through all of the painstaking work and caloric surplus you'd need in order to build it? Why not eat more, lift some weights, and maintain what you have. It would be much easier on your body.

No, I don't intend to be bulky, I just want to have a leaner body.

Do you know how hard it is to be bulky?

At your deficit you are losing fat, water, and MUSCLE. You may lose the weight, but in many cases like this the individual's BF% doesn't change drastically due to the loss of LBM vs. loss of fat.

So you're saying I need to up my calories, what do you recommend in order to continue weight loss and fat burn? And since I don't have access to "heavy weights", what do you recommend in order to build up my muscle?

There are a couple things you can do about calories. Go back into MFP, change your settings to lose 1 lb a week and start eating back 1/2 to 3/4 of your exercise calories because MFP and most online calculators overestimate your burn. But there is a caveat to that. You need to make sure you are accurately weighing all of your solid food with a food scale and measuring all of your liquids. A common mistake people make is underestimating food eaten and overestimating calories burned so they are actually eating more than they think.

Or you could switch over to eating at your TDEE and not eating back your exercise calories, here is a link to a calculator: http://scoobysworkshop.com/accurate-calorie-calculator/

You still have to accurately track all of your food.

I think not having access to a gym you could buy some dumbbells and exercise bands, or even those dumbbells that you can select the weight (I forget what they're called). I have a home gym that I purchased for under $300 using layaway and I plan on buy a set of bars but I digress. I buy things slowly. 30 Day Shred is a good start and it's free online, there are a lot of good online things that are free, I've heard of a book "Your body is your gym" or something like that you could look into, physioball workouts are good. Look on YouTube.

Right now your goal is to maintain lean body mass, it is almost impossible to gain muscle while eating in a deficit. But lean body mass will help you burn calories throughout the day, even after you workout.

I don't lift heavy but I do follow a program. What I am seeing is a rapid loss in inches and rapid gain in strength and I am actually seeing muscle definition, I am not bulking in any way.

I hope this information helps.

katya_be

I think it's cool you're doing this no-sugar challenge... Best of luck with it! I peeked at your diary and your meals look very tasty and balanced. Sounds like you're enjoying success too. Keep up the good work!

Thanks! It's a lot easier to follow through when I have good food to eat. I love cooking and baking, and love the challenge of finding healthy alternatives.

kgeyser

You are right, for now I will continue what I am doing until my body gets leaner and I lose more fat. Then I will work on building more muscle and maintaining it.

Um, do you understand how hard it is to build muscle?

Why would you want to lose it and then go through all of the painstaking work and caloric surplus you'd need in order to build it? Why not eat more, lift some weights, and maintain what you have. It would be much easier on your body.

No, I don't intend to be bulky, I just want to have a leaner body.

Do you know how hard it is to be bulky?

At your deficit you are losing fat, water, and MUSCLE. You may lose the weight, but in many cases like this the individual's BF% doesn't change drastically due to the loss of LBM vs. loss of fat.

So you're saying I need to up my calories, what do you recommend in order to continue weight loss and fat burn? And since I don't have access to "heavy weights", what do you recommend in order to build up my muscle?

Your TDEE = 1950 (this would maintain your weight)

Your BMR = 1424 (what would sustain you if you slept all day)

TDEE -20% = 1567 (What is normally recommended as a moderate deficit) If you're eating exercise cals back, you may be close to it. You haven't answered that question.

You're not going to build that much muscle. That's why I'm saying you should work on keeping what you have. It is extremely hard to build muscle......for guys. It's exponentially harder for women. A professional body building female would be hard pressed to put on 1-1.5 lbs in 2 months.

Look into body weight programs... Convict Conditioning is one, I think another popular one is "Your Body is a Gym".... or something close to that.

I would mess around with that TDEE -20% number. Like I said, if you're eating back some exercise cals you could be close to it, but from what I can tell, you're not.

Thanks, so I would need to increase my calories by about 300 a day? How much extra should I eat on workout days, lets say if I burn ~300 calories?

Yes, listen to him, he is correct. I eat about half of my exercise calories back. I'm also 5'7", female, CW 159 lbs, and my daily calorie baseline is 1650. With exercise calories I end up between 1650-1800 (always net at least my BMR). I'm doing P90X3 right now, so my strength workouts are all body weight, resistance bands, and dumbbells. I lose 1-2 lbs per week.

katya_be

You are right, for now I will continue what I am doing until my body gets leaner and I lose more fat. Then I will work on building more muscle and maintaining it.

Um, do you understand how hard it is to build muscle?

Why would you want to lose it and then go through all of the painstaking work and caloric surplus you'd need in order to build it? Why not eat more, lift some weights, and maintain what you have. It would be much easier on your body.

No, I don't intend to be bulky, I just want to have a leaner body.

Do you know how hard it is to be bulky?

At your deficit you are losing fat, water, and MUSCLE. You may lose the weight, but in many cases like this the individual's BF% doesn't change drastically due to the loss of LBM vs. loss of fat.

So you're saying I need to up my calories, what do you recommend in order to continue weight loss and fat burn? And since I don't have access to "heavy weights", what do you recommend in order to build up my muscle?

Your TDEE = 1950 (this would maintain your weight)

Your BMR = 1424 (what would sustain you if you slept all day)

TDEE -20% = 1567 (What is normally recommended as a moderate deficit) If you're eating exercise cals back, you may be close to it. You haven't answered that question.

You're not going to build that much muscle. That's why I'm saying you should work on keeping what you have. It is extremely hard to build muscle......for guys. It's exponentially harder for women. A professional body building female would be hard pressed to put on 1-1.5 lbs in 2 months.

Look into body weight programs... Convict Conditioning is one, I think another popular one is "Your Body is a Gym".... or something close to that.

I would mess around with that TDEE -20% number. Like I said, if you're eating back some exercise cals you could be close to it, but from what I can tell, you're not.

Thanks, so I would need to increase my calories by about 300 a day? How much extra should I eat on workout days, lets say if I burn ~300 calories?

Yes, listen to him, he is correct. I eat about half of my exercise calories back. I'm also 5'7", female, CW 159 lbs, and my daily calorie baseline is 1650. With exercise calories I end up between 1650-1800 (always net at least my BMR). I'm doing P90X3 right now, so my strength workouts are all body weight, resistance bands, and dumbbells. I lose 1-2 lbs per week.

You guys have been really helpful! That's great that you're losing on that many calories while gaining strength. I guess I was just afraid of gaining weight if I ate more calories. I'll try to incorporate more healthy fats, it's not too much more to eat per day.

michellewelch2010

Does that include natural sugar, like maple syrup and organic honey?

Yes, even natural sugars, I am only eating fruits. I am also trying to minimize white flour and starches.

So fruit doesn't make you binge, but added sugar does? Is it just a mental thing, I'm guessing?

Have you ever heard of anyone binging on apples??! No... Because apples make you feel full because they are full of fiber.

Oreos on the other hand, you can eat a package and not feel full, you would just feel sick.

Not mental at all.

I disagree. Any binge is mental. Whether you are bingeing on cookies, ribs, lasagna, or whatever. It's a mental thing. For many people the psychological side of restiricting calories is the hardest part. It's denying the want rather than the need that takes effort.

Some people can eat two cookies and walk away. Some can't. Once hunger is satisfied, it's all mental.

I guess my point wasn't conveyed properly... an apple will make me feel satiated and is around 100 calories, one oreo cookie does not fill me up because there is nothing to it yet is 70 calories. So I can't overeat apples because I'm full after one apple, yet I would probably have to eat 6 oreos to equal the same satiation, so about 540 calories. For someone my height and weight that's 1/3 of my calories for a day. I'd rather fill up on the bulky and low cal stuff so I am not starving all day.

michellewelch2010

OP - I have had great success with Insanity at toning up. It's a toughy though.

katya_be

OP - I have had great success with Insanity at toning up. It's a toughy though.

I am doing different workouts that I find on youtube, fitness blender and jillian michaels. I just need to do it more often, currently I am working out 2-3 times a weeks for 30 min at a time. They are all tough, but I feel great afterwards!