The worst days of your diet?

[Lost Dog]

#1. The first day of a new diet.

#2. The first day after a "refeed."

If these are your worst days, you should ask yourself if:

A. the refeed was healthy.

B. the refeed was reasonable.

C. the refeed was a binge.

D. the refeed contained the foods that are best for your body.

E. the refeed contained foods that you're body can handle on your current diet.

F. the refeed was even necessary.

For Saturday, I know the answers to all of the above. Even F.

While I don't for sure that a refeed was necessary, I know that THAT refeed wasn't.

I hope I can remember this for next time. I'm feeling better today.

[tkinsley]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

#1. The first day of a new diet.

#2. The first day after a "refeed."

If these are your worst days, you should ask yourself if:

A. the refeed was healthy.

B. the refeed was reasonable.

C. the refeed was a binge.

D. the refeed contained the foods that are best for your body.

E. the refeed contained foods that you're body can handle on your current diet.

F. the refeed was even necessary.

For Saturday, I know the answers to all of the above. Even F.

While I don't for sure that a refeed was necessary, I know that THAT refeed wasn't.

I hope I can remember this for next time. I'm feeling better today.

I hear you, Roland... BUT--no matter what I refeed with, if I eat a shitload of food I feel like crap the next day. I definitely feel worse if I eat, say, the normal American diet vs a whole lotta oatmeal, but no matter what, I get a food hangover.

That which doesn't kill you...

It does serve a purpose. I couldn't lose a damned ounce until I put in the weekly refeeds. Now, I have a completely a different relationship with the scale (except for that 3-4 lb jump post-refeed). I think there are definitely better ways to do it, and maybe just a couple of meals vs a full day would be better for the day after, but would it serve the purpose it was designed to serve? Hmmm....

[Phaedrus49er]

I'm with ya, man. When I'm on keto, I usually cut the two-day carb-up down to one day at the most. The refeed makes me feel icky (and often gives me a headache), and usually one or two good carby meals kick my mental cravings (I rarely have physical carb cravings on that diet). Stay strong.

[Lost Dog]

Thanks, guys. I've considered just going with more food next time, but is that enough? Are the carbs really necessary?

I am noticing steady progress, so I'm willing to keep investing in these. Just not sure if I need to invest so heavily.

Also, I think it's weird that I'm losing fat and not losing weight. But, that wasn't happening until I put the refeeds in.

Tina, yours are weekly? I'm doing bi-weekly. But, I don't eat ANY carbs a at all in between those refeeds. Maybe a weekly, more gently refeed would be better.

Phaedrus, when you're low carbing it, what is your refeed frequency?

[LisaS]

personally, I don't think one needs a weekly or biweekly carb refeed - though one might benefit from a caloric refeed - I understand Lyle's CKD - but if you aren't timing your workouts that way to lift really heavy after increasing carbs - what is the thinking on a carb refeed?

[Lost Dog]

Oh, I do. My refeed starts on Friday afternoon or evening, immediately after my most intense full body workout. I finish on Saturday morning after pancakes with the kids.

On Sunday, the dreaded "day after." I workout to burn a ton of calories at higher reps. Get the fat burning party started and get my brain going in the right direction. I don't know about the former, but the latter helps. Monday is always bad, but this one seems worse from a hunger standpoint.

For a few months, I was doing Kelly Baggett's program (No Bull), it has a lot of references to Lyle's stuff (UD2).

So things are carefully timed, I've just extended the underfeeding parts to two weeks and restricted the overfeeding to one day until I get leaner.

[tkinsley]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Thanks, guys. I've considered just going with more food next time, but is that enough? Are the carbs really necessary?

I am noticing steady progress, so I'm willing to keep investing in these. Just not sure if I need to invest so heavily.

Also, I think it's weird that I'm losing fat and not losing weight. But, that wasn't happening until I put the refeeds in.

Tina, yours are weekly? I'm doing bi-weekly. But, I don't eat ANY carbs a at all in between those refeeds. Maybe a weekly, more gently refeed would be better.

Phaedrus, when you're low carbing it, what is your refeed frequency?

Yup, every Sunday. It keeps me sane during the week; two weeks is too long for me in general. I'm telling you, Roland, I was STUCK for months. Now things are headed south--I only need to lose 2% bodyfat or about 3 lbs to hit my goal. What is freaky is that 4 years ago at 12% bodyfat I weighed maybe 121 lbs; now I will be around 135. I've put on 14 lbs of lean mass... crazy. Perhaps your scale weight is a reflection of adding slabs of beef... well, that and whole heads of cauliflower.

[Lost Dog]

Originally Posted by tkinsley

Yup, every Sunday. It keeps me sane during the week; two weeks is too long for me in general. I'm telling you, Roland, I was STUCK for months. Now things are headed south--I only need to lose 2% bodyfat or about 3 lbs to hit my goal. What is freaky is that 4 years ago at 12% bodyfat I weighed maybe 121 lbs; now I will be around 135. I've put on 14 lbs of lean mass... crazy. Perhaps your scale weight is a reflection of adding slabs of beef... well, that and whole heads of cauliflower.

I am liking this better than my previous system, which involved getting so ticked off when fat loss stalled that I'd take a month or two to go for strenght or size, then come back.

I needed the mass, but it's been a five year mess of frustration and never getting the last bit of fat to go. 235, 160, 175, 165, 185, 170, etc., etc. until I was fairly lean at 175, at last year's Summit. I know a lot of people do that when they are smaller, trying to get bigger, but I'd imagine that they could do things like be lean for the summer, but I was never able to get that lean. It's nice to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Don't get me wrong. I've been happy to be fit and slim since that first 175, but it was to slim and not lean enough. 6'1" seems like it should be 180-190, minimum. At least in my fantasy world.

I'm going to try a more gentle and controlled refeed, this Friday. It will end on Friday, too. Carbs but no binge.

[L'ilJ]

My weekly refeeds are the only thing that keep me going during the week (I'm doing the same thing as Tina)! If I have an intense craving for something, I can always think to myself...Sunday, only three more days until Sunday. It makes it so much more bearable. Waiting two weeks makes me more likely to just say oh what the hell I'm going to eat this.

The weekly refeeds are also working for me too after a long time of not getting the scale to budge. BUT (big but), I agree that it needs to be more refeed than binge. But no matter what I eat, I always feel crappy the day after.

[Phaedrus49er]

Originally Posted by Lost Dog

Phaedrus, when you're low carbing it, what is your refeed frequency?

The recommended frequency is five days on keto, two days carb-up, so it's a weekly thing. After several rounds of CKD, I've learned that I perform better and get better results if I keep my refeed to just one day per week, again weekly. Of course, this assumes I'm training properly for CKD; as it is right now with not being able to run or do the lower-body/energy system work I usually do on CKD, I'm really only doing one or two meals (in one day) every 1.5-2 weeks. It's a tough go, but it's also necessary since it takes 3-4 days for me to reach keto in the first place rather than the normal 1-2 days.

[Victoria]

So, what are the benefits of a refeed? I had been thinking it was more of a phsychological satiation than anything. Does it have physical benefits as well?

[James Newman]

I think the worst days of my diet are when I have failed to plan appropriately or things come up and I can't find something that sounds good and is healthy for me too. I know I need to eat something but skipping sometimes seems so much better than the alternative.

In following Roland's lead, I have started stocking the Xterra with emergency rations. They have served me well. I have even started keeping some in the locker at work in case I have to spend more time than I had planned there.

Its all a part of that nutrition support system..........

Newman