stt43

They shouldn't effect your weight as they are no/low calories. They shouldn't effect your health either, unless you are drinking an insane amount. If you want to drink them then drink them, life's too short. Considering the amount you seem to enjoy drinking them it doesn't seem like it would do you much good to give them…

In that case something like intermittent fasting may be useful for you. You allow yourself just an eight hour window in the day in which you are allowed to eat (10am-6pm for example). You shouldn't get hungry within this time as you will be eating, and you shouldn't be hungry afterwards as you will have already spent most…

Neither should make a difference when it comes to weight loss. When it comes to hunger it's personal preference. I eat something like a bowl of cereal for breakfast, an omelette for lunch, and a very large meal for dinner, with snacks in between, and I am never hungry.

You can achieve just as effective fat loss without a low-carb diet. If you haven't been able to drop your carb levels that low then you aren't going to be able to follow the diet, are you? I'd say try it and see if it works for you, but if you aren't even able to try it then it seems like it probably won't work for you, so…

Why would you like to drop your carb intake below 100g?

If I were you I would follow a solid, tried and tested routine. There are many out there, and some are designed to be more useful to female lifters. I don't have enough knowledge to be able to suggest any unfortunately, but I've seen others make suggestions on the message boards before, so you may just have to do a little…

Yeah, a lot of people are suggesting men are now having similar issues to women due to the fact that they are being targeted more by advertisers trying to sell a particular image. I've never really met or spoken to anyone that really seems to have any issues with it though, or if they do it's not been apparent.

I'm on medication, I use an SAD lamp, I try to exercise every day, and I make sure I get all the micronutrients I need each day.

Yeah, I'd say your calories are probably too low. By the time you get to the end of the day your body is desperate for calories and makes you eat a load of food. If you eat more calories throughout the day your body shouldn't feel the need to do this.

To start with your body won't be used to it, so you won't be able to run very often due to sore muscles and injuries, especially if you are in a caloric deficit as you won't be consuming enough calories to repair muscle. Don't cut off carbs and survive on protein. If you are going to exercise then you need carbs for…

Ab/core exercises will build up the muscles around that area, but if you still have too much fat covering that area then it won't really look too much different unfortunately.

Wow, I think I caused this whole thread :indifferent:

Wheat/gluten aggravates my IBS too, so I just cut it out completely. I get my carbs from fruit and vegetables, rice/rice cakes, and cornflakes instead.

If I were you I would eat at maintenance, follow a good strength training routine, and allow for body recomposition for about six months. It may take you a little while to work out what your maintenance should be, especially as it will depend on your exercise, and can change day to day.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience. It can't be an easy thing to deal with.

Don't worry about going over the MFP sugar limit as it is almost impossible not to, and sort of irrelevant to most people who don't have any medical issues. If you are worried about diabetes then you need to speak to a doctor about it, and follow any restrictions that they recommend.

I know I have already said this, but it seems to me that it is more about the amount of calories you are consuming rather than the type of foods. I eat 2000 calories just when I'm sitting around all day. Someone as active as you needs to fuel their body with calories.

I have only just realised that you said 'Try to stick to lean proteins like chicken, turkey and fish; add fruits and vegetables for the main bulk of your food'. Now this I can agree with this to a degree, as protein is important, as are the micronutrients from fruits and vegetables, but this diet would have too little fat.…

Although they may not be in starvation mode, their metabolism won't be working optimally at such low calories. Also, eat that much and then see how energetic you are. Having such low energy means that you use a lot less energy, and therefore burn less calories. Plus, such restriction leads to binging or eating extra and…

So simple sugars are used for energy, but complex carbs are converted into simple sugars, and then just stored as fat? Yes, athletes eat carbohydrates hours before they exercise to give their body time to digest their food to release the energy, and also so they aren't exercising with a stomach full of food. According to…

People who are obese tend to eat a diet heavy in everything. Glucose is already a carbohydrate, as is absorbed straight into the blood from the intestines. The other types of carbohydrates which aren't glucose are converted to glucose by the liver and then used as energy. If the body doesn't need these carbohydrates they…

I'd say the top two count. The number of 'blocks' you have is down to genetics. How much the blocks show is down to body fat percentage and building them up through exercise. If you have a low body fat, and you have used hypertrophy exercises to increase their size, and you still only have four, then that's your lot I'm…

I think you have read too many low-carb diet books, or have gone insane. What do you think carbohydrates are for? The whole point of carbs is for energy, which is absorbed into the blood during digestion. Protein is only used for energy when there is nothing else, and has to be converted to glucose in the liver. Fat is…

Oil is just a fat source which is pure fat, there is nothing special about it in terms of energy levels. I think it's probably that your calories are too low, especially if you are an active person.

This is completely incorrect. Carbs are the first source of energy your body uses. It only converts protein into carbs if it has to, and will store fat as fat as much as it can. If you are active then you need carbs for energy or else your body will not function optimally, especially during exercise.

If you're too tired you either aren't eating enough calories, aren't getting enough rest, aren't eating the right things, you're ill, or you're too stressed. Try to figure out which of these it could be and make a change to see if there is any improvement.

Just drink the coke zero. There seems to be absolutely no reason to stop, and you enjoy doing it, so why would you? When you're on your deathbed you aren't going to think 'Oh, I drank to much coke zero, I wish I didn't', you'll think 'why the hell did I make such a bloody fuss over a can of coke zero a day?!'. It sometimes…

Neither good or bad, but often a waste of money. It wouldn't be bad to have it for breakfast but I wouldn't have it alone. It won't really have an effect on your weight as such.

Why can't you take supplements because of your heart and kidney issues? Just eating junk won't be great for your heard and kidneys. Why are you trying to gain fat? Are you not trying to gain muscle too? The more fat you put on the harder it will be, and the longer it will take, to lose it later on. You gain weight from…

Yeah, you're right, it's probably best if you just ignore everything everyone has said and just increase what you are doing. A protein shake won't really do much considering what you are doing, so it'd be a waste of money. I just realised you aren't doing legs in your lifting routine either.