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Adding a little late, but it seems that this diet is a lot more successful for men than it is for women. I tried it and no joke gained 15 lbs, most of it fat. I stuck with it faithfully, everything in moderation, even got to the point where I started counting calories, doing a deficit/surplus, no nuts/fruit/etc, followed staunchly to the T, everything. I still gained weight AND fat like crazy. Afterwards I just decided to go paleo/primal, and the weight has come off since. Might have been all the beans? Idk.

Switching to Paleo/Primal in terms of my eating habits was not necessarily a "cure," but it did teach me about how my hunger/cravings functioned in different situations. The good and the bad of it is that everyone's body is different. What might work for your binge eating may not work for me and vice versa. However, giving different things a try is generally worth the trouble. For me personally, I've found cutting out ALL sugar and starches gives me a huge advantage over my cravings, but it doesn't completely quell them. I'm experimenting with BCAAs (branch chain amino acids), which are anecdotally said to keep you very satiated. In general, I find that getting a complete amino acid profile also helps quell cravings, which generally means either grass fed beef/variety of meats, or supplementation. In terms of pure hunger, going keto is perfect. I feel very little hunger on keto, but I still get cravings, so it's not so much a solution more than another advantage. Some people turn to artificial sweeteners like Stevia or Erythritol. To be completely honest, sometimes I find stevia to be a perfect sweet tooth fix. Other times, it leads to binge eating. A lot of anecdotal evidence suggests that some people can handle it, and some people's insulin sensitivity/resistance is thrown so out of whack that stevia just makes sweet cravings worse. Personally, I keep my stevia intake to a minimum whenever I can. I'm thinking about quitting it entirely just because at times it can be such a huge trigger. I've heard that supplementing with Zinc and Magnesium helps cure cravings completely. Going to try that myself this week and see if it helps, I'll let you know etc. Tl;dr: Everyone's different, so play around with some of these ideas and see what helps you. I promise you there's more to it than just EAT MORE, STUPID.

- Walk/Jog 2 miles a day - 100$ Deposits towards CD biweekly/every paycheck - Go up 10 lbs on deadlifts and squats - Go down 10 lbs on assisted pullups Tinkering with targeted nutrition and Paleo/Primal dietary changes, so not setting any dietary goals for this 6WC. Making steady progress with everything else. Raising bars YEEAAAAA Also pretty preoccupied with DOMINATING MONDAY, will post stats later when work/workouts/etc calms down.

Here's how things are looking at the end of this challenge: - I currently have 1,300$ towards my CD. It's been a struggle between budgets, but so far I'm ahead of my original goal. - I've been faithfully under 50 carbs every day except for cheat days. However, I'm considering giving up my cheat days and doing workout-targeted meal regimens instead. Still playing around with this. - I deadlifted the bar for 5x5 on my first try, and I'm ready to up my weight soon. I currently do 9x5 on most strength training days. - Staying off the internet during class became a subconscious habit after a few weeks, I'm glad I took the time to force myself to focus. - I did pushups in between breaks for a few days, but then I stopped and haven't started back up since. Truthfully, I haven't weighed myself, taped myself, or had a PT eval during these entire 5 weeks. I think I'll update my stats in the next 6 week challenge when I've gotten a chance to do all of these things. I have a lot of good ideas brewing, and I'm pretty inspired by the progress I made with these goals.

For me, I can't afford to have terrible form and injure myself. It would cost me my job! I can understand the tendency to be hasty with adding weight, or with wanting to challenge or push yourself farther in a workout, but I always err on the side of caution. Thanks for the encouragement PT test Thursday but I'm too fit to worry about failing it anymore

Started Deadlifts on Friday, and lifted the bar! That's one goal down and done. Going to start adding weight by next week. Getting a little more lenient on working out in the morning, in order to make sure I'm getting enough sleep. Going to try switching up my workout schedule this week to see if it makes things easier. I haven't done the mini-challenge pushup goal since the first week. Oh well. I'll try something else next time. Working with a new budget, much more successful this time around. Something I found that works - treating my debit card like an ATM card, and purchasing everything in cash. Definitely going to accomplish a $1,000 deposit by the end of this month. Lastly, PT test moved to next week.

Last week was an off week, we had Wed/Thurs and Sat/Sun off for the 4th of July. Since Tuesday night things have been slowing down significantly in my progress. I didn't work out from Tuesday morning until this morning. I think the only goal I've really adhered to faithfully is the whole keto thing, except maybe too much. I'm sure most of my decreased motivation is coming from the sugar/sweet cravings that were starting to become a little unbearable. Sometimes I just straight binged on Keto foods, and my mind was on food ALL THE TIME. Because of this my energy plummeted, I gained weight, and I felt pretty shitty. I started to realize my appetite hadn't increased, I think my carb count was just too damn low and it was driving me crazy. I need to wipe the slate clean and think more about what I'm eating and how it's affecting me. On counting my blessings: since keto, my skin has cleared up so much that people are beginning to tell me/compliment me, strangers and friends alike Also, I haven't lost any strength, surprisingly. In fact, I could pull 10 lbs more weight today in my arm exercises! I only deposited 500$ thus far towards the CD, but with 250 this week and 250 on the 31st, I should have a full 1000. I also stopped doing pushups every break, but I definitely did SOME pushups during breaks, which is better than nothing! PT test next week, gonna see if those stats have gone up. I know for sure my inches have, but no worries, so long as it's muscle gain.

Went rock climbing on carb up day Saturday! I had a ton of energy and strength to expend, and I'm not even sore today. I'm terrified of heights, but the rush it gave me got me addicted regardless. By the end I was almost mad that I didn't have any more strength to keep climbing. I could really get used to this Keto thing. I'm getting stronger every day, and my face is clearing up for the first time in years. The difference is so noticeable that I've been getting compliments left and right from friends. Feels good man. The downside of this weekend is that I spent a lot of money. As in, almost my entire paycheck. We have 4 days off this week, so it's going to be difficult not to dip into savings. Hopefully all the groceries I strongmanned into my freezer/fridge will last me longer than I think... Doing measurements tomorrow morning before the gym, gonna see if I gained or lost any inches where it counts.

This woman. Is badass.

Thanks man, I need all the motivation I can get!

I read this the other day, something similar popped up in "Why We Get Fat" and other literature. Tim Ferris in his 4 Hour Body book cited an identical study, where they gave 1,000 calories a day in the form of sugary snacks (carbs), nuts (fats), and meat (protein) to 3 female subjects with nearly the same body composition. The subjects eating protein and nuts lost 1-2 lbs per week, while the subject who ate the sugary snacks gained 1.5 lbs per week. Same exact calories per subject, completely different results. Regardless of the results of all these studies, the science seems perfectly logical to me.

I also do two breakfasts, one pre-workout and one post-workout. Personally I'm keto, so right now I'll do two eggs before a workout and afterwords I'll usually do some sort of soup (electrolytes!) or salad, but I focus on getting enough fiber in for breakfast so that I can last until a pre-lunch snack, as well as getting enough protein in to help foster muscle growth and repair. I recommend prepping your breakfast the night before so you don't have to spend time thinking about it in the morning.

I know you posted this a week ago, but I recently read quite a few studies off of Google that attributed high protein diets with increased symptoms of anxiety or exacerbation thereof. The tl;dr of it was that high protein diets often harbor a variety of negative side effects in keto diets, so it's very important if you're on low carb paleo or keto to keep your fat intake high, preferably a higher amount of calories from fat than from protein. Personally, I definitely felt a little more anxious/irritable when I was adjusting to my new Keto diet this week. I was prepared for this, though, so it helped curb the crescendo affect anxiety tends to have, and it eventually went away. In terms of your diet, I would up your fat intake and maybe tinker with your protein amounts when you start to feel better to see where your threshold lies. Also, remember to hydrate dude! A gallon of day or more, especially if you're active. In terms of your anxiety, if you can afford it, I honestly and seriously recommend panic therapy (specifically panic therapy, not general psychotherapy) if you haven't already tried it. I don't know if you know this, but there is essentially a cure for panic attacks and more severe anxieties. 95% of the time it works, and don't use that 5% margin of error to avoid trying it. Shit works. If you can't afford panic therapy, let me know and I'll put up some legitimate online literature that will help you out.

Super tough workout this morning. Still can't do inverted rows and haven't tried Deadlifts, but went to failure on all my upper body workouts and I could barely drag my ass out of the gym. Feels good man. Followed by 2g carb breakfast (turkey, peppers, olive oil) and a Zero Carb Rockstar. LET'S DO THIS. Also, I got a bigger paycheck than usual this week; as long as I don't overexceed my budget, I should be on track to complete the $1,000 CD deposit! About to knock out 20 pushups...I don't know how but I'll get them done, hooah @Mac Dude, you are going to SMOKE ME. I'm counting on you to keep me motivated! It won't be long before you're beasting me in everything ever. @BruteSquad I used to be a huge carb junky as well, 80-90% of my diet was carbs in the form of fruit and vegetables and other vegan miscellany. Running was much, much easier on that diet, but it wreaked havoc on my blood sugar. I'm starting to feel much better, and definitely have more strength. Nut butter is crack on crack, and since I don't have much fat to lose I still have to watch my calories. That's where the whole self control thing comes in; however, and I hope to be as disciplined as you in a week or two, hopefully sooner I'll have to check out that bread you listed, it looks good for a pre or post-workout protein meal dealio, as well as delicious.

Let me start off by saying, the carb cravings are MADDENING. Almond butter is like crack, but the self control is coming along.

Background info: First Challenge! Recently broke my 2 year vegan/6 year vegetarian streak to go full CKD/Keto a few days ago. I had CRAZY stamina on a vegan diet, but had poor circulation, strength, and energy, not to mention the misery of a 500+ calorie deficit each day to maintain a 130 lb frame. Time to give something else a shot. Starting Stats Height: 5'4" Weight: 135 Left Bicep: 10.25" Right Bicep: 10.3125" Waist: 27.5" Hips: 30.75" Bust: 34" Left Thigh: 20" Right Thigh: 20.5" Last 1.5 mile: 12:00 Last 1 minute pushups: 26 Last 1 minute situps: 50 Squat: 55 (5x5) Starting attribute points: STR: 2 DEX: 2 STA: 2 CON: 3 WIS: 4 CHA: 2 Goals: -Stay faithfully under 50 carbs a day, except one carb-up/refeed day a week (CON +5) -Put $1,000 away towards/into a CD (WIS +5) -Begin Deadlift training, lift the bar (45 lbs) after 5 weeks (STR +5) Mini Challenge #1: No surfing the internet during class (WIS +1) Mini Challenge #2: 20 1-minute pushups every break between classes, or 4x a day (STR +1) I have starting pictures, but for now I won't post them. Confident I can do these in 5 weeks. Godspeed.

Added the translation

It's my favorite Egyptian proverb, it means "In hard work, (you) find it."

Damn! If you don't mind me asking, what was your MOS, and where did you deploy to? Sounds like Iraq or Afghanistan...Either way, you're still a beast in my mind. I admire your tenacity and your courage, your post is definitely inspiring to me.

Right now, I can recognize most of the dialects and speak a little bit of Egyptian and Iraqi. My proficiency is in Modern Standard, unfortunately. Thanks!

سلام و عليكم! Hey guys! I'm a linguist currently residing in Monterey. I've been doing the fitnessy thing since September of '11, and once before in November '10, but mostly did it wrong until February of this year. I was a vegan for 2 years and a vegetarian for 6 until a few days ago; I switched completely to Keto/CKD. I consider myself somewhat fit, but of course there's a lot of room for improvement! I was pretty stoked to find this website earlier in the week. As soon as I happened upon the forum, I registered. Here are my current stats: Height: 5'4" Weight: 135 Left Bicep: 10.25" Right Bicep: 10.3125" Waist: 27.5" Hips: 30.75" Bust: 34" Left Thigh: 20" Right Thigh: 20.5" 1.5 mile: 11:30 1 minute pushups: 26 1 minute situps: 50 Pullups: 0 Squat: 55 (5x5) Deadlift: Never attempted Bench: Never attempted Here are some long term goals I've made: - Pass the Arabic Fluency Test (late September, possible 2nd chance if I fail once) - Rank up within one year And here are some short term goals I have: - Do at least one (ONE.) successful, perfect pullup by 31Dec2012 - Squat 75 lbs in a 5x5 - Learn deadlifts; squat the bar - Learn to bench: bench the bar - Stay on CKD/Keto diet for 3 months with measurements (may switch to Paleo) - Improve 30 seconds on 1.5 mile by 31Dec2012 - Improve pushup count to 29 or more by 31Dec2012 - Max out situp count (60 situps in one minute) - Read 6 books by 31Dec2012 I'll take some conglomeration of these and incorporate them into 6 week challenges, of course. ADDITIONAL STUFF I speak Arabic, Spanish, and Japanese. I've been no 'poo and soap free (except hands, guys, c'mon) for 2 years, and I promise I don't have lice or stink like a hobo. I've happily dropped all synthetic cosmetics since March '11. I was obese growing up, due to a sedentary lifestyle and terrible habits. I dropped 80 lbs when I was 16 and have kept it off since, hovering between 145 and 130. I started smoking when I was 18, but I've been smoke free since November '10. I love me some vidja games of all kinds, as well as poi and the occasional DnD. I would like to learn a martial art of some sort but haven't decided which yet, perhaps Tai Chi. I know a tad of Aikido but it's nothing to brag about. I'm a minimalist, and live my life out of 2, 3 suitcases max. 8 weeks ago I contracted an ulcer, and I'm currently almost recovered completely. I'm off all my meds, and can stomach caffeine and a normal diet (spicy stuff too! ). I've decided to give up coffee for at least one year to prevent future ulcerations. I am still unable to take any pills, with the exception of my medication if and when I need it. Luckily, my ulcer never affected any of my gains! Above all, there is always something I'm improving. And I like ducks. And that's it. Godspeed, gents!