Ok, I'm back. For good. With focus. And, I'm seeing progress. That helps.
I started the v-diet last Sat (20th) and as of this morning I've lost 6.5# (including .75" off navel; .5" off waist; 1" off hips) All this is without a single Biotest product in my pantry (according to the article, you can't do it successfully without buying their stuff! )
Hubby & I have come to the conclusion that something in my solid food diet was causing me to bloat. It was fairly low carb so grains shouldn't be the culprit. Maybe eggs? Dairy consisted of cheese only so I'm not sure where that fits in. Anyway, when I start to transition off the v-diet, we're going to be very careful about what I start eating -- maybe even eat the same solid meal every day -- to see if we can figure out what bloats me and makes me not look so great!
Workouts are still good. Squats are in the 130# range. Deadlifts are around 150#. Bench stays around 80# (we've been doing decline lately). I felt a little wonky the first two workouts this week, but yesterday was definately stronger and more endurable. The weather has been beautiful this week so the daily walks are very pleasurable. Of course, I'm still due to get one in today and the dark storm clouds are quickly approaching. I may be on the recumbent bike instead.
We're going out of town this weekend so I need to make up my little shake packets (or load half the mini-van with 4# protein jugs!) I'm due a solid meal this weekend, but I'm not sure when/where it'll be. Since we're staying with other people I'll have to wing it around the schedule I run into. We're also picking up 400# of beef on Sunday so if I can hold out until Sun night and have a good steak dinner, that would rock!
Actually, it always sucks at the beginning, and t-nation says you'll fail without Met Drive, so the dieter thinks that's why it sucks, right? I'm not saying that Met Drive isn't good tasting, thick and creamy, etc. A good tasting powder would certainly make it easier to comply with. I suppose a good protein blend might make it slightly easier, too. Personally, I feel the starve just the same with casein or whey.
Just wanted to let you know that it CAN be grains (even if it is only small amounts) ... I am currently experimenting with going gluten-free ... it's been 2 weeks and I am feeling lots better (I don't have digestive issues, but rather other symptoms, like achy joints). Check out this quiz and this quiz ...
__________________
Life's a Journey ... Enjoy the Ride!
Thanks Roland! Have you done it before? Sounds like it. I'm using 100% Whey and 100% Casein powders and blending them. I do have 1 chocolate blend and 1 cookies & cream blend as well. So far, it's really not that bad. The thought of no solid food is a lot worse than the reality. It sure takes the thought of "what to eat" off the table.
Julie -- Thank you as well. I checked those quizzes and I'm at a low to moderate risk. I've been looking at different intolerance sites and seeing a lot of things that have plagued me over the years. Many of them seemed to clear up on Atkins so I have my thoughts that there is some intolerance of gluten in my gut. Yeah me. Of course I'm also lucky that there's a gluten free bakery down the street so I have options if that's the case! I think wheat is one thing I'll keep out long term as a check. Are you following a specific gluten free plan or just eliminating known products?
Ok, I will be gone for a few days but, come Monday, I'll be here as bright and early as possible! (how's that?)
I'm proud of myself -- I went outside and walked in the threatening weather and it was actually a nice time. I wish it weren't illegal to burn leaves these days. The temp and feeling of my walk would have been very similar to walking home from school in the fall (decades ago!) if only the smell of burning leaves were in the air. I became a GREAT-aunt again this week so I guess I'm allowed flights of fancy from time to time!
My supps & powders are all partitioned and packed. Fingers crossed that I don't forget anything. I'm subbing psyllium husks for flax meal this weekend so I don't worry about rancidity. Hopefully the different fiber source won't cause problems. It's also a blender free weekend for me. I may be regretting that and hightailing it to Walmart. I only have about $150 into this diet--- what's another $15?
You all have a great weekend! Enjoy your friends and families!!!
Yeah, good luck with it! Travelling and all liquid ... yeesh!!
I am not following any specific gluten-free plan, still following Dr. Schwarzbein's program, and now avoiding all sources of gluten along with casein for the next few weeks. Then I'll add back in the casein (butter, cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese) and see how I react. But the gluten thing is going to be permanent for me. I've been experimenting a little over the last month or so and notice a definite reaction (increased aches and pains, water retention, fatigue). The reason to eliminate casein initially too is that gluten and casein are very similarly structured molecularly, and sometimes when you eliminate gluten, the body confuses casein and you will get the same reactions. Hopefully that will not be permanent as I love my dairy products and really miss them!!
__________________
Life's a Journey ... Enjoy the Ride!
The V diet is scary stuff to me, so I'm impressed with your desire to stick with it! Good Luck. Sending out good diet vibes for the weekend. Enjoy that steak!
Ok, I'm back. For good. With focus. And, I'm seeing progress. That helps.
I started the v-diet last Sat (20th) and as of this morning I've lost 6.5# (including .75" off navel; .5" off waist; 1" off hips) All this is without a single Biotest product in my pantry (according to the article, you can't do it successfully without buying their stuff! )
Hubby & I have come to the conclusion that something in my solid food diet was causing me to bloat. It was fairly low carb so grains shouldn't be the culprit. Maybe eggs? Dairy consisted of cheese only so I'm not sure where that fits in. Anyway, when I start to transition off the v-diet, we're going to be very careful about what I start eating -- maybe even eat the same solid meal every day -- to see if we can figure out what bloats me and makes me not look so great!
Workouts are still good. Squats are in the 130# range. Deadlifts are around 150#. Bench stays around 80# (we've been doing decline lately). I felt a little wonky the first two workouts this week, but yesterday was definately stronger and more endurable. The weather has been beautiful this week so the daily walks are very pleasurable. Of course, I'm still due to get one in today and the dark storm clouds are quickly approaching. I may be on the recumbent bike instead.
We're going out of town this weekend so I need to make up my little shake packets (or load half the mini-van with 4# protein jugs!) I'm due a solid meal this weekend, but I'm not sure when/where it'll be. Since we're staying with other people I'll have to wing it around the schedule I run into. We're also picking up 400# of beef on Sunday so if I can hold out until Sun night and have a good steak dinner, that would rock!
So look for me. I'll be here.
Well, well, well.
Welcome back, Brenda. V diet, huh? I did a bastardized version with one solid meal/day. It ws surprisingly not that tough, for some reason.
400 LBS of beef? When should I show up for the BBQ?
Thanks for all the support! This weekend really went easier than I expected. I was super-aware of the social/situational aspects of food and eating though. We went to a Big 10 football game and I really wanted a brat at the tailgating party we stopped by and when ds and dh wanted pizza at our favorite spot in the world. I guess I'm learning to savor the smells! I definately prefer my shakes in the blender, but survived ok otherwise. I ended up with several A&W/vanilla shakes just for the ease of travel.
MIL had a nice turkey dinner but I just claimed an upset stomach and held out for steak. Ummmm.... tenderloin on the grill, spinach salad w/tomatoes, feta, red onion and my first stab at olive oil/balsamic on my own. I had a few fresh cheese curds too. The rest of the beef is safe & secure and resting in the freezer as we speak. (dh grew up on a dairy farm and we buy 1/2 steer about every 18months from a neighbor; it works out to about $2/lb for everything and we know the source, butcher, etc so we don't worry about recalls)
Julie: Really interesting about the casein mimicking gluten. Obviously, casein plays a big part in my diet this month (or I'd be chewing my arm off after 45 min or so) so either I tolerate it well or I could be down even more.
Greg & Mel: Thanks for the support!
Tina: Hustle on over in about 7 days and I'll fire up that grill! It is nice to have it all readily available until we get to the end and have 25# of ground beef remaining. I feel like the Forrest Gump of the hamburger world.
Victoria: Definately cut up! I'm glad there are few vegetarians around here or they'd be totally disgusted.
It's supposed to be a nice day here. I guess that means I should start raking or else wait for a big windstorm to blow them to the neighbors (I wish!) My walking partner (Alex the dog) is back from Grandma's, where she spoiled him rotten. At least I have someone to talk to as I walk though; people smile when I talk to myself!
How do you get the root beer and protein powder mixed on the go? It sounds good!
Either use a shaker bottle -- carefully! I can only put a little root beer into the bottle to mix the powder and, even then, there is a carbonation factor that may/may not pop the topper a little (just the little cover, not the entire topper). Then I add more rootbeer and stir with the straw. Or, carry a spoon along. It was a little chunkier that way, but I kept adding rootbeer as needed and it worked out. I guess the chunks make it a little more like a root beer float.
I've been meaning to ask you about your past coffee/protein powder disaster. Were you shaking it in a bottle or using the blender when it popped big time? I've been holding off on trying that because your experience keeps playing over in the back of my mind.
Either use a shaker bottle -- carefully! I can only put a little root beer into the bottle to mix the powder and, even then, there is a carbonation factor that may/may not pop the topper a little (just the little cover, not the entire topper). Then I add more rootbeer and stir with the straw. Or, carry a spoon along. It was a little chunkier that way, but I kept adding rootbeer as needed and it worked out. I guess the chunks make it a little more like a root beer float.
I've been meaning to ask you about your past coffee/protein powder disaster. Were you shaking it in a bottle or using the blender when it popped big time? I've been holding off on trying that because your experience keeps playing over in the back of my mind.
It was a shaker bottle. The type with the snap-on lid. Never know, a screw on lid might have been even worse!
Just hot coffee and powder is enough to pop the lid open, but shaking it makes it explode.
If you have access to a microwave, best bet is to mix with a bit of water or cooled coffee, then add the hot to that liquid. Nuke it, if necessary.
A blender works pretty well, if you like it foamy. But start slow. It can pop, too.
You got me curious on the whole root beer + protein thing. I put about 4oz of milk in a bottle with 1 scoop of van protein. Shook that up till blended, then added one can of diet root beer. Tastes pretty good actually. Oh yeah, added a tad of ice to keep it cool.
__________________
We don't know all the answers. If we knew all the answers we'd be bored, wouldn't we? We keep looking, searching, trying to get more knowledge. Jack LaLanne
It was a shaker bottle. The type with the snap-on lid. Never know, a screw on lid might have been even worse!
Just hot coffee and powder is enough to pop the lid open, but shaking it makes it explode.
If you have access to a microwave, best bet is to mix with a bit of water or cooled coffee, then add the hot to that liquid. Nuke it, if necessary.
A blender works pretty well, if you like it foamy. But start slow. It can pop, too.
Thanks for the tips! I think I'll be having one of these sooner or later. Right now I have my big shake and then coffee later on. I'd need a lot of coffee to incorporate 2 scoops of PP plus 2T flax might not be good in coffee either. I think I may do a smaller shake plus a coffee/PP mix. So much variety in my diet!
You got me curious on the whole root beer + protein thing. I put about 4oz of milk in a bottle with 1 scoop of van protein. Shook that up till blended, then added one can of diet root beer. Tastes pretty good actually. Oh yeah, added a tad of ice to keep it cool.
I'd bet the milk is nice too -- if only I could have some! I've read some people mix PP with orange soda too. I'd be Dr Pepper and some of its blends would be a nice taste as well.
And the beat goes on Just like my love everlasting And the beat goes on Still moving strong on and on (the beat goes on) on, ...
Ugh.....I can't get that song out of my head!!!
Glad to be of service! Obviously, it was stuck in my head when I came up with a name. We spent a week in South Dakota recently and the radio stations were not what you'd call current in their playlists! (when you actually had reception) But I did eat buffalo at Kevin Costner's casino/restaurant in Deadwood so I'd call it a draw!
Great workout yesterday and a great walk with the dog in the afternoon. You've got to LOVE indian summer. I know I'll be walking in cold & blech soon. I don't know if Alex will be walking for long though. He was wheezing some and got tired sooner than normal. Not to mention, we're finding more and more tumors popping out on his head.
I finally tried protein powder pudding. It's nice to eat something rather than drink it. I'm still trying to figure out if there's a way to make hot cocoa with protein powder without milk. Variety is nice and since I live "up nord" it would be good to have that option.
Watching the football game last night (my team won --GO PACK!!!) and seeing all of the food commercials made me kind of pine for those days of eating 'whatever.' I think that's the bummer part of knowing right & wrong and seeing the results from eating cleaner/better. But still, some of those over greased, over carbed, over god knows what chemical enhancer product pictures looked good! Food porn and I don't need a special channel LOL
Glad that the V-diet is working well for you ... how long are you planning to follow it? And do you have a plan in place for transitioning back to the realm of chewable food? I have heard that people can really rebound (weight-wise) if they don't have a good plan in place (like "Get Unshredded").
__________________
Life's a Journey ... Enjoy the Ride!
Water would probably be fine. The point being to get enough non carbonated liquid in there to pre blend the protein. Then add the rootbeer last. Without the milk I would add maybe a scoop and a half of protein though to maintain consistency.
__________________
We don't know all the answers. If we knew all the answers we'd be bored, wouldn't we? We keep looking, searching, trying to get more knowledge. Jack LaLanne
Glad that the V-diet is working well for you ... how long are you planning to follow it? And do you have a plan in place for transitioning back to the realm of chewable food? I have heard that people can really rebound (weight-wise) if they don't have a good plan in place (like "Get Unshredded").
Julie: Point well taken and planned for! The diet portion is only 28 days so that puts me at Nov 16th for official measurements, etc. I don't think that I could do this if I didn't have a finish line in sight. Now that Shugart's book is at the editor, he's posting little extras that weren't included in previous articles. The transition plan is to do 1 solid meal/day for about 3 days, then 2 solid meals, etc. My real planning will come in on hitting macros long term. (not totally sure on what those will be) and per meal requirements. Right now, my shakes are about 250 (meals) and 120 (pm snack) plus a hefty 350cal "snack" about9pm (that's the one with 1 scoop PP, 2T peanut butter and 2T flax). In theory, this eating 5-6 small meals/day works but in practice, I think the caloric needs of a 200# man are going to better adapt to that than a 125# woman. yk?
I tried the rootbeer/PT thing with Chris the other day and really liked it. Good point about the orange crush too. MIght have to try that next.
Your thoughts on food and its social/emotional aspects really hit home with me. Since I started HELL, I've really come to know the difference between how much my body needs, and how much I think it needs. I seem to have this desire to eat that has nothing to do with actual hunger. I fight that much more than being hungry.
I can't even imagine trying to do it without eating solid food. Kudos to you for staying strong on the vaycay.
Your thoughts on food and its social/emotional aspects really hit home with me. Since I started HELL, I've really come to know the difference between how much my body needs, and how much I think it needs. I seem to have this desire to eat that has nothing to do with actual hunger. I fight that much more than being hungry.
I can't even imagine trying to do it without eating solid food. Kudos to you for staying strong on the vaycay.
mel
I think the v-diet just points it out in a very direct, in your face manner. Good and bad. Being on such a strict protocol leaves me without options. It's hard to "just grab a protein shake" in the same way I can just grab a few bites of meat, cheese, nuts, grapes, Cookie Crisp, etc. There's more thought involved in making it.
Between work, the kids' school parties, a cauldron of sugar at my house (I wanted to give out micro popcorn or playdough, but dh nixed that!), and the loot the kids will be bringing around, I'd say it's a good thing I don't have options. In year's past I could justify a snack sized this or that.
Another great walk with Alex the dog yesterday. He was very, very tired and even slept in the house when it wasn't nighttime. (he's never done that before) Beautiful late autumn weather around here. My workouts are pretty spaced this week because there's no time today (seriously, it's not an excuse, I've tried to figure out how to fit it in). Being "forced" to take a daily walk is really a good thing and I think I'll be keeping it up after the v-diet is over. It's becoming habit and I make sure to fit it in (tonight it may consist of trolling the neighborhood with the kids) or I actually miss it. Plus, cutting back to a max of 3 resistance training workouts, but going hard on those days, feels better. Yeah me!
Another great day to walk outside. I prolly shoulda raked the leaves, but I'm still waiting for them to blow away on their own. Alex and I had a great time walking in the warm sunshine. It's only 54F, but it's warm for Nov.
Workout was pretty good today. I do 3 wo's/week. #1 and #3 are mainly in the squat rack. 1 is based on killing my squat and the other goes for big on the DL. #2 is my db unilateral day where I do about 4 sets of 8-12 reps. Each day has the following components and/or variation-- dl, squat, bench, overhead press & row. Covers all the major bases.
Just finishing up my protein pudding. For my afternoon snack I've started mixing in just enough water to make it thick like cake batter. About 5 min in the freezer to firm it up and I'm good to go. I figure it's still in the spirit of the v-diet and it's a psychological trick. Plus, it's one meal where I don't have to wash the blender or use a straw. Yeah!!
And the beat goes on...
)
Linear Mode
