Conflicted after carb up.

[Tiggy]

Just finished my first 2-day carb up after a month of TNT Plan A. It had its dirty and clean moments, and things were eaten that can't be taken back (I had no idea candy bars were so expensive!).

I watched my 'Angelina' forearms fill out with water (kinda cool) and I gained 4 pounds (as expected). Funny thing is: what I really miss now is oatmeal/fruit and sweet potatoes.

And I didn't realize how much I missed wine.

My calculated goal weight is 150lbs, and I'm 172.4 as of today. 22.6 lbs to go.

Of course, I want to lose as quickly as possible, but now I find that two days into my repeat of TNT Plan A, what I ate before isn't sitting well on my stomach.

What would some of you veterans recommend to keep my weight loss humming along?

Do I continue to low carb and ride the current glucagon-filled wave until it's gone to reach my goal weight?

OR possibly do low carb cycling (one day carb up)?

OR do I reincorporate oatmeal and even wine, and have to count every calorie ad infinitum?

OR cycle all these methods monthly to keep my metabolism confused?

What I like about low carb is not having to count calories.
What I like about more balanced plans is variety (and wine).
What I like to do is lose more weight NOW, but be able to keep it off.

Impatient, table of one...

Or does it really matter in the long run? A deficit's a deficit?

[jenofthemountain]

IMO, you should do whatever will be allow you to be successfull. Some people don't do well on low carbs, some do. What camp do you fall in? Basically you need to do what works for YOU.

[kfisherx]

yeah I HATE, HATE, HATE low carb diets... Unless you consider 150g a day low carb. (to a lot of people that is) I have to eat between 120 and 150 or I feel like crap. I lose weight just fine with that many carbs so I don't think that low carb is a requirement for weight loss. If you like TNT because you don't have to do all the work associated with counting and it doesn't hurt you to do this carb thing then go for it. Otherwise do what works for you best despite low carbs.

[Espi]

To me,carb cycling is da bomb.. can't do a single weekly carbup. When I did that, my enzymes were totally screwed and I'd retain over 3kg of water (like 7lbs) from as little as 200-300g carbs: yeah, there'd be a 2 kg drop the next day, but I still felt awful.

Once I switched to two carbups/week and re-introduced starchy carbs on other days, it was smooth sailing after 3-6 months of adaptation (upregulation of enzymes)

Ever thought about doing the carb cycling?
What works for me:
rest days: carbs @ 1g/kg BW
cardio or UB lifting: carbs @ 1-2g/kg BW
LB lifting: carbs @ 3g/kg BW one day and 6g/kg BW another day
For a 8-day schedule: 1-2-1-3-1-2-1-6 (up to 10) g/kg BW
Currently for a 7-day (FB)-schedule where I train twice on the 7th day: 1-1-2-1-4-6 (up to 10) g/kg BW

Eating 50g carbs one or at most 2 days OTOH is totally fine for me, as long as the average intake is no less than 125g/day , but preferably 150-175g/day.

If I were aiming to lose wt, I'd definitely *NOT* drink wine regularly, perhaps if I was really a wine-lover 1-2 glasses on the moderate carb day, as alcohol consumption most definitely interferes with a refeed, since alcohol is nothing less than a poison to the body and the glycogen replenishment will get stalled. I'd sooner take a glass of real (red wine) vinegar, since at least real vinegar aids with glycogen replenishment.

But hey.. if I'd not drink a drop of alcohol for the rest of my life, I'd not shed a single tear.. so that's your choice.

[tkinsley]

Originally Posted by Tiggy

Impatient, table of one...

Or does it really matter in the long run? A deficit's a deficit?

Re-read your last sentence and end with an exclamation point.... the answer is yes.

No need to overcomplicate things. Eat at a deficit and worry about the minutiae if and when you need to do so. If you're looking for transient fluid shifts, jack with your carbs. If you're looking for fat loss, the carbs are less relevant other than in terms of satiety, sleeping better, and not making you want to binge when you get a whiff of fresh-baked bread--all of which help in your overall goal, right?

[Tiggy]

Thanks for the suggestions! I can always count on you ladies to keep it simple fer me.

Keep it simple. One day that phrase will stick.

It seems I can make the low carb thing work for me, but only for awhile. I want more of a lifestyle change, so I like Espi's ideas of monkeying with my carbs...

but I'm a writer, woman! Drinking is a job requirement! (j/k)

Funny thing is, Tkinsley reminded me of something (besides simplicity): my sleeping has been crap these past few weeks (5-6 hours). I thought it was stress, but I was unaware it might be due to the lack of carbs.

I'm going to Papa John's and get a whole wheat pizza with everything. I have an experiment / sleep study in mind...

I'm so glad I found this board. Your patience rocks!

[Espi]

Taking cars very low is just a convenient way to drop calories w/o feeling hungry or missing out on essential nutrients. Not everyone can deal with the side-effects well, like diminished sleep quality and feeling of tiredness.

The water wt swings are nothing but amusement and not really something you'd want to actively aim for.