lindsey1979 Member

That's so interesting SLLRunner to see where different people fall on the high/low carb idea. Because in that study, 40% carbs would have put you in the low carb group and 60% carbs would put you in the high carb group. Of course, others consider low carb to be much lower like keto. Such a spectrum.

What? What is wrong with asking Psulemon what part isn't quite jiving for him? I'm trying to understand what exactly he had an issue with relative to what I said in the study because to me, there doesn't seem to be any disconnect or contradiction and yet there seems to be some to him.

Fair enough, but maybe more carbs would produce greater results for you. Just sayin'. In the end, we're all going to have to figure out what works best for us -- results are only part of the equation. Compliance and ease of continued compliance are huge as well.

I think that is what I said -- those with good insulin sensitivity lost more with more carbs. And those with insulin resistance lost more with less carbs. My exact words were: and Generally, the group with diabetes and prediabetes would fall into the insulin resistant group, but I'd have to go back and see what exactly was…

I think the point is that yes, tracking of cals/macros is a useful part of this site. But it's not the ONLY useful purpose -- some come for many other reasons too, and that's okay. So some may not choose to use the cal/macro tracking feature and still reap considerable value from this site.

There is some research out there showing that the amount of carbs you consume may drastically change your results -- that they are not absolutely *needed* but that you could yield better results from different carb amounts. For example, there was a study done a couple years ago with obese women who were insulin resistant…

This hasn't been my experience. From what I've seen, many suggest several moderate approaches to carb restriction. Yes, keto is one of the options people suggest, but it's far from the only one I see people mention. And most still say it will vary on the individual -- this is just one of many strategies that may work or…

I'm not sure that's what most of mean when we say lifting heavy. For example my squat is 188 and my deadlift is 242. I've been working on it for a while but my deadlift started out about 120 or so and my squat probably 80, both progressed pretty quickly to 175 and 145 (first few months) and then slowly went up from there.…

You probably need to increase the weight and decrease the reps. 3x10 on a deadlift is crazy high reps. I'd say the same for squats. Check out something like Starting Strength, StrongLifts, 5/3/1, etc. Generally your accessory lifts (if you're doing them) can be high rep numbers like that (I do a lot of 5x10 for my…

Keep in mind that you don't need to cut out all carbs or go crazy low carb. Just dropping things down from 60% (if you're near that level) to 40% may be enough -- those were the shifts in the study. Of course, feel free to experiment with lower amounts too, but it's not the only way to adjust carbs. Sometimes just avoiding…

My guess is that you're someone that is just affected greatly by water retention. That's all --- it happens. You may also want to chart your weight with your cycle (measure same time in cycle against that same time the month prior). Some women also see really big water weight swings due to such hormones, so that could be…

If you're really only upset over the last two weeks, I'd just give it more time as your average loss is pretty good. If you get to a point where it's 6-8+ weeks of stall, then consider changing it up. But two weeks is a drop in the bucket.

Make sure the weight you're lifting is heavy -- none of those small 3, 5, 10 lbs weights. It's got to be a progressive loading program. As others have mentioned, Starting Strength, StrongLifts (which is really just a rip off of Starting Strength), 5/3/1, etc. are great programs. If you're looking to cut fat, consider…

It really varies based on the person. It's not uncommon to have to switch up strategies as you get leaner because you have less margin for error and the body adapts. Usually those with a lot of weight to lose, just start with your basic straightforward deficit and it works well. Then later, it is not be uncommon to have to…

What do you mean by this?

It's totally possible, my worst plateau was 7-8 weeks, but they usually start to get worse as you get leaner. You might also want to consider switching up your macros to see if that shifts anything. There is evidence out there that HOW you create you deficit can yield dramatically different results. For example, there was…

Yes, but the idea is the she's also cutting -- not at maintenance. So after a while, the scale would go down because although the water retention is still there, she'll be losing more fat over time. But, it is a slow process. And the water retention is usually worst at the beginning of a new program because you're going…

Many people's insulin resistance improves as they lose weight, so they're able to work more carbs into their diets as they get leaner. But, also keep in mind that there are many ways to restrict carbs. Some do it by overall carb count. Some do it by restricting the type of carbs -- avoiding/minimizing the fast acting carbs…

It's not uncommon to increase some weight when you start a new heavy lifting regime. Water gets pulled into the cells for recovery, so the increased initial weight is to be expected (I'm also heavier the day after lifting by 2-3 lbs). Most do start to even out at 5-6 weeks, but I have heard of cases where it went on for…

I was about 22-23% or so. As I said earlier, I don't like to get below 22-23% -- that's my sweet spot in liking how I look. When I get lower than that, I lose more of my boobs and curves. If I were a competitive athlete, it would be different, but I'm not and I'm not going for that look. At 22-23%, I start to see a little…

Have you been tested for insulin resistance? Since you said you have PCOS, it's highly likely that you have some amount of insulin resistance as they commonly go together. As someone mentioned earlier, certain drugs like metformin can help. Also, adjusting your carbs may help. For example, there was a study done a couple…

I think that's a really common fear, for a lot of reasons. Fear of failure is one, but for me what resonated more was a fear of greater vulnerability and extra attention. When I was larger, I felt safer and stronger -- less of a target and less vulnerable to people. I also got a lot less attention from men and I found the…

Or they confuse strength gains with muscle gains. Quite a bit of strength gains in the beginning are due to CNS activation (i.e. your central nervous system activating more of your existing muscle) not actual muscle synthesis/gain.

I've read those articles and I did know that IF may not produce as good as results as it did for men, but I didn't interpret that nearly as much as a "risk". More of a "hey, this may not work all that well for you." And, at least for me, that's wasn't the case at all -- I found it shockingly easy and had great results --…

I prefer lower carb, but not so low to be in the keto area. Keto for me is too much and hits my thyroid numbers too much (which it's known to do for some of us that have hypothyroid issues). But, I feel much better and can hit my cals/macros when getting most of my carbs from non-starchy veggies and limited numbers of…

Also, you might want to find other ways to measure your success than how things look or clothes fit (or even numbers on the scale). I find that making improvements in my fitness really helps with that for me. So when my fat loss stalled, if I was hiking/walking more miles that week or increasing my lifts, I had something…

A book I'd recommend reading would be "Diets Don't Work". I haven't read it for a while, but I remember it being really good -- delved into a lot psychological, behavior and environmental reasons we sabotage ourselves. Some based on childhood/family patterns we may be repeating that we're not fully aware of, some other…

I hit a major plateau when I got to that point too -- lasted for 7-8 weeks. But what broke it for me was switching up my way of eating. I gave 5:2 a try and it broke it through for me. And I didn't have any other plateau getting to my goal weight using 5:2 -- so it worked really well for me. 5:2 has been shown to help…

Really? We always have tons of fat when we cook bacon, but we usually cook several slices (6-10) at the same time (not just 1-2). Perhaps you just tend to eat bacon from the back, which is the leanest.

I don't know there is any great way to do it. Most do it by measuring their body fat and the rest is LBM. The best way I've seen is the body immersion test, but most can't afford to do that often. Calipers are probably the second best, but you've got to know how to use them correctly. So long as you're using them…