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Why are all the recommendations online all over the place? I can't find any consistency from post to post. I'm a 49 yr old mother of 3 (who feels 29 but certainly doesn't look it!). A friend recommended carb pairing??? I dunno. That's a new one for me. She sent me to carbpairforloss which, I’ve never heard of. I'll check it out and see since she referred them and had success, but was hoping to hear from some others. Anyone got suggestions?

Hey everyone! I'm new to the group and am looking for some advice regarding nutrition. Basically I'm 6"4 used to be chunky and now I guess I'm on the edge of skinny fat and struggle to gain muscle. I've been experimenting with diet trying to find some nutrition dense foods and have come across Quark (Kwarg) in our local supermarket and decided to try it out! I've been eating a 250g pot nearly every day as I'd read it's like yogurt, it's fat free and has around 25g of protein per 250g pot which is great! However I just noticed on the packet today it says contains 8 SERVINGS?! Slightly freaked out that I've been eating something WAY over the quantity than I'm supposed to. Felt like maybe I'd been eating a tub of Mayonaise a day now! The nutrional content is as follows: Per 100g Kcal - 249 Fat < 0.5g Mono/polyunsaturated <0.1g Carbs - 4.2g of which sugars - 4.2g Fibre - < 0.5g Protein - 10g Salt - 0.15g Has anyone else been eating this in these quantities? Would love to hear your advice! H

Hi, I just have a quick question regarding carbs and working out... I cut out as much carbs/sugars during the week as possible and have a cheat day(s) on weekends. I do crossfit 2 to 3 times a week, exercise on weekends and have dropped 11% BMI and am currently on 20%. I mainly just eat things like chicken/lamb/steak/fish and veg during the week. (I dont eat junk food or snack during the week) My goal is to get a solid six pack (which is slowly beginning to show now after months of effort) but I heard very recently I should eat carbs before my workout otherwise I could lose muscle mass, is that correct? I thought for weight loss its best to stay away from carbs because when you work out your body will burn your carbs/fat instead of stuff you have eaten recently? Or does one need the carbs so you can work harder at gym? For breakfast I only have a 300ml diet-fuel whey protein, another one before working out and then another just afterwards. I dont like eating fruit and I dont drink fruit juices. Can this diet and workout work if I stick at it or should I introduce carbs before workouts? (Ok that was more than one question sorry :p) Much appreciated

Like many, I laughed at the idea of being "addicted to food" for a long time. But the more I've considered it, the more I've realized: being addicted to certain combinations and kinds of processed foods is quite real. One need only review several Google searches on the topic, as well as statements from physicians and neuroscientists that various combinations of food spike dopamine and serotonin levels pretty high, which, just like cocaine or meth, can lead to tolerance and require more and more of the same to get the same "high". Anyway, I'm here to ask the question: how do you actually BEAT this addiction? I recently finished the book "Fat Chance" by Dr. Robert H. Lustig, MD. In addition to citing a lot of evidence and discussing quite a bit of science behind this newly-emerging (albeit slowly) notion of addiction to various combinations of food, he claims that the way to beat it is, basically, "eat right and exercise." Well, gee doc, that's a lot of help. While I loved the science in the book (and highly recommend it; you can even get it on Audible if that's your thing), I found the advice for recovery pointless. "Do the thing that you least want to do to make you want to do the thing you least want to do" is not advice: it's circular (anti) logic. Does anyone have any experience with actually recovering from this kind of addiction? I'm interested in actionable information, like techniques, personal experiences, things that helped (and that didn't), and most definitely any supplements or even prescription drugs (legally acquired only, please) that can help reduce one's cravings for high fat/salt/sugar food(s), making healthy food seem more palatable. Willpower alone doesn't beat addictions this strong, especially when some of us have had that crap shoved into our bellies since before we could walk (see "McDonald's" for example). There's got to be a neuropharmacological system of some kind that we can leverage to "invert" the reward system of the brain against junk food and toward healthy food. Finding some mechanism to do that is THE answer to fixing the obesity crisis. Thoughts, anyone?

I like the pattern of having one goal each for FOOD, EXERCISE, HEALTH, and LIFE, so I'm going to stick with that. Scoring is the same as before. Each day is scored as full or half credit. Some goals are scored differently than last time, but B is still a passing score. Epic Quest points are 20 each for at least a B average in a category, 10 for a C, 5 for a D. FOOD: Watch the carbs I've been trying out different ways to level up my diet, and mostly I've been more mindful this past week of all my free-range carb grazing. So I've been trying to stick to the Precision Nutrition carb portion size (~1c at a large meal) and stay away from carby snacks, and that has been going well. I had been trying to eat more "clean" but... I don't think I'm going to go there right now. Portion control is fairly easy for me, emotionally. Declaring some foods as "bad" foods is an emotional minefield for me. But I can easily acknowledge that really carb-dense stuff is super easy to over-eat, and needs stricter moderation, without forbidding them entirely. Details are in the following post. EXPECTATIONS: Confident. I've been testing this out over the past week, and I am pretty darn sure I can stick with it MOST of the time. It remains to be seen what "most" turns out to mean in actual numbers. SCORING: Full credit for no more than two extra "handful"-sized carb servings (1/4c, 20-30g) EACH DAY. Half credit for up two extra carb servings PER MEAL, or all good choices except one carb-tastic "treat". Standard weekly scoring: A=6/7, B=5/7, C=4/7, D=3/7. EXERCISE: Daily workout Last month, I kept things open ended for my exercise plan, and just dithered around. This month, I've got a much more concrete plan. In addition to Pavel's Simple & Sinister kettlebell workout, I've laid out four different workouts - one I can do in my room, one I can do in the woods, one I can do in our back field, and one I can do pretty much anywhere. Because I like structure, all four follow the same pattern of three rounds of three mobility drills then a circuit of four other exercises. To keep this activities focused on my goals, the four exercises are always one to improve my agility, one to improve my climbing, one to improve overall strength, and one to improve overall endurance. Many of these are MovNat drills, but I have also included kettlebell drills, yoga, and general fitness activities. Details are in a later post. EXPECTATIONS: I'm nervous about this one. I enjoy the workouts, but I've been really floppy lately. "Daily" sets the bar kind of high, but if it isn't daily (or near daily) it is hard for me to establish a habit. So I scaled it so I can get a passing score with consistent half-credit days and occasional full-credit days. I contemplated setting the bar even lower, but last challenge, I learned that getting a B for really lackluster performance isn't especially satisfying. SCORING: Full credit for doing a full set of mobility drills and at least three rounds of a circuit. Half credit for at least doing a full set of mobility drills and TRYING each of the exercises in a circuit. Half credit for 15 minutes of some kind of strenuous voluntary fitness activity. MODIFIED weekly scoring: A=5/7, B=4/7, C=3/7, D=2/7. HEALTH: Sleep What do I need most to level up my health? A good night's sleep, consistently. My sleep schedule is erratic, and I am continually fatigued during the day. I've tried all manner of things, but for this challenge it'll be really basic - don't stay up past midnight without a REALLY good reason, and be in bed 100% focused on falling asleep within half an hour of going to bed by 2am. (Not ruminating over plans, doing stuff on my phone, or whatever.) EXPECTATIONS: This is the type of goal is is super easy for me to blow off, in part because getting 8 solid hours of sleep is no guarantee I won't still be exhausted the next day. But it is the thing I think will make the biggest difference to my overall health, so I'm giving it a try. SCORING: Full credit for both of these things, half credit for one. Revised sleep goal: FULL CREDIT: By MIDNIGHT, be steadily moving towards the bed. After midnight, no egregious dicking around, no starting inessential task, no recreational computer time. Finish up what needs to be done and get to bed as soon as practical. Feel free to: review plans for tomorrow, take a shower, get a snack, put away dishes, efficiently do NECESSARY tasks. If I really want to, I can cumulatively spend half an hour doing any "wind down" activities: tidying the room, doing yoga, reading, games on phone, socializing, walking the dog, etc. HALF CREDIT: By 2AM, be in bed, lights out, phone off, and legitimately trying to fall asleep. Not laying in bed ruminating over the day, or planning projects, or whatever. Not prepping for bed, taking a shower or getting a drink or whatever. Actually sleeping or trying to sleep. I've been tracking my sleep time fairly consistently for more than a year now, so NO CREDIT for days I don't track. Today's sleep score is based on this evening, not last night. MODIFIED weekly scoring: A=5/7, B=4/7, C=3/7, D=2/7. LIFE: Weekly Task Review My partner and I both run small businesses, plus a variety of other projects, so we've got a lot to keep track of. We've been solid on doing daily check in where we review the tasks for the day, so to LEVEL UP, the next step is having a weekly check-in where we take a look at our list of longer-term projects and decide what is next. A while back we started making longer-term project lists (on trello.com) but mostly we just dump tasks there. We almost never look at it during the daily checkins. Part of what makes the daily checkins work is that they are quick - like two minutes, maybe five. We don't want to turn each one into a long unhappy discussion about what projects are falling behind. But we do occasionally need to look at the bigger picture. So we're going to try sitting down for maybe twenty minutes on Wednesday evenings to go over the big lists. EXPECTATIONS: I'm pretty optimistic about this. At the very least it'll be pretty clear by the end of the month whether we need to take an entirely different approach. I'm confident that within a few months we'll be able to work out some kind of system that works for us. SCORING: Since this is weekly, full credit for the week is one thorough weekly review some time between Saturday and Wednesday. Half credit for a less thorough review. Scoring for the month is: A=4, B=3, C=2, D=1. Assassin's Mini: ??? Details to be determined once we know what it is. EXPECTATIONS: ??? SCORING: Weekly scoring is flexible, based on the nature of the challenge, but track participation daily. Full credit for enthusiastic participation. Half credit for adequate participation. PREVIOUS CHALLENGES: 1. Weasel Gets Things Done Nov-Dec 2015 Eat more protein, veggies, and whole grains (B+). Sleep Routine (A). "Primal Fitness Blueprint" (A++). Laundry! (A++). Order of the Stick (Success!) 2. Return of the Weasel : Consistency! Jan 2016 Handstands (A), Kettlebells - Pavel's "Simple & Sinister" (A-), Daily Routine (A), Ukulele! (C ) Assassins Mini - Portal Experiments 3. Weasel Takes this Show on the Road! Feb 2016 Continue Simple & Sinister kettlebell routine. (D. Injury.) Track sleep schedule (A). Make a diet plan (A). Write on spirituality blog. (F) Assassins Mini - Jedi v Sith part 1 4. Sith-Weasel's Road Trip Continues Mach 2016 Daily fitness activity (D) Responsible Adult Meals (A++), Hydration (C ), Tasks & Check-in (D). (Travel is hard on routines!) Assassins Mini - Jedi v Sith part 2 5. Weasel Keeps it Simple & Something April 2015 Kettlebelling (F) Healthy Meals (B-) Help partner (C) Task List (B-) Assassins Mini - Final Fantasy 6. Eat When Hungry, etc. May 2016 Eat when hungry. (A) Sleep when tired. (C-) Move every morning. (C) Work when Work needs Doing. (A+) Assassins Mini - Heros & Villans (C+) 7. Back on the Road June 2016 FOOD: 2 meat+veg meals (B+) EXERCISE: 10m daily activity (C) HEALTH: 10m other stuff (B) LIFE: Work BEFORE internet (B) Assassins Firefly (B)

Meow. My last challenge was declared the unofficial NF cat appreciation club, so I figured I might as run with the theme. This will be my 10th challenge, which is pretty cool! Double digits! That means something, right? Here’s the basic structure I use for my challenges: Everything is worth points. Some things are worth bonus points. Bonus points can be applied to any category, to help remind me that health is hollistic. I’m slightly concerned that rangerbrain is creeping in this challenge, but I’m trying to be conscious about it. I removed some things from my goals that I was tired of doing, and I’ve tried to prioritize and value things in a way that keeps me from getting overwhelmed. I’ll also be travelling from May 4 - May 11th, so I’m initiating specific travel protocols for that period before moving into my main challenge goals. I realize some of this falls on Week 0 anyway, but I try to keep going on most stuff through Week 0. I plan to use Week 0 to calibrate my goals - I’ll be lenient with some of them, ignore some of them, and do others in full, but nothing will count towards my challenge score. Goal 1: Maintain Fitness This is where I stick all of my ongoing fitness stuff. These are mostly the same every challenge, but tracking it as a challenge goal still helps keep me motivated. I’ve been doing a daily squat hold for a few challenges, but I don’t think it’s helping me so I’m dropping it this time. Work out 3x/week - usually 1 bootcamp class and 2 bodyweight workouts Run 1x/week - 3 points available 1 for running at all 1 for doing something extra to prep for the Spartan in August (hill runs, extra distance, whatever) 1 for doing ankle alphabets before/after the run. I got sick of doing these every day after 3 challenges, so I’m going to see if I can get away with doing them just on run days. Walk 16 miles per week (64 in 4 weeks), 1 bonus point per extra 5 miles. 1 Pushup AMRAP / week Goal 2: Movement Focus - Spartan Training I usually do a movement focus where I do some dedicated practice for something I’m working on improving, like pushups or squat holds. This time around, I’m doing a variety of things to train for the Spartan I agreed to run with Sylvaa and fleaball in August. Not gonna lie, I love training for things so I'm going to milk this as much as possible. 30 burpees/day challenge. Done all in a row, with rest breaks only as necessary to maintain form. I’m not allowed break them up throughout the day. Ideally done first thing in the morning. No make ups. I don’t want these to pile up. The goal is to do it daily, so if I don’t do it I don’t do it. Half points available for doing 15 instead of 30, but through Week 2 only Take this one with a grain of salt. It’s a challenge, but I’m deliberately going to assign it fewer stat points/lower priority because it’s more difficult than most of my other goals and I don’t know how it’ll go. Running Points for this are covered under my running goal, but I’m aiming to increase my base distance from 3.1 miles to 5ish miles over the next several months. Bear crawls I’ve been wanting to work on bear crawls anyway, so this is a good excuse. If I tack these onto my bodyweight workouts as a warmup or cooldown, I get a point. 2-3 points available per week. Pullup work I’m going to finally order a pullup bar. The only place I can put it is on my bathroom door, so I’ve been avoiding buying one. But my pulling strength is my weakness and I’m getting to the point in several progressions where it would be good to have one of these. Add pullup progression to workouts. 2 points available per week from the time I get the bar set up. TBD - add in 1 extra day of pullup work or practice grip strength by hanging. 1 point. Climb stuff / Stop Being A Cat I LOVE climbing. I get the urge to climb things all the time, but when I get a few feet off the ground I freeze and have trouble getting back down. Because I am exactly like a cat that gets stuck in a tree. So, I want to work on that. Find stuff to climb. Jungle gym at the park. A nearby rock gym. Miscellaneous walls. Whatever. 1x/week - bonus points for every extra thing I work on climbing. Goal 3: Food Broken into 3 parts because rangerbrain. Part A: Maintain things that work Don’t eat after 8pm (or within 3 hours of bedtime) (-1 point for failure) Don’t eat more than 1 bad food/meal in a day. Desserts are counted separately from meals in most cases. (-1 point for failure) Eat primalish most of the time (19 meals / week allows for 2 variance meals) (-1 point per failure, +1 point for extra primal meal) Aim for primal snacks on 4 days/week and then non-primal snacks ok 3 days per week Aim for at least 1 primal meal and 1 50% meal per day when travelling or hosting (-1 point per failure, +1 per success) Plan/prep meals over the weekend and prep/freeze meals for weeks when this doesn’t happen (+1 point when done successfully) Write down bad reactions to food choices in an ongoing spreadsheet to dissuade myself from making that choice a second time. Not connected to any points. Doing this is slowly starting to help me make better choices. Slowly. 23 points per week Part B: Measure Carbs Last challenge, I learned to track protein and found that I hit my goals on most days thanks to meal prep - unless I went on a carb binge. So, I feel like I have protein pretty under control. This challenge, I’m going to repeat the exercise with carbs to get a feel for my intake there. My ultimate goal is just to understand what hitting my macros feels like and troubleshoot weight loss, not to make tracking a permanent thing. Weeks 0-2 – measure carb intake, but no need to try to hit a certain goal (1 point per day) Week 3-4 – start aiming for under 100g a day (2 points per day) Part C: Continue to practice conscious eating Think about what I’m about to do before eating something. Ideally, pause and take a few deep breaths. At the least, recognize and acknowledge when I’m about to sell out my future self. (4 points per day – 3 meals and snacks) Goal 4: Life Goal - Play Outside I have a list of life goals I want to experiment with this year, but this time around I want to keep it light since I’ll be travelling from May 4th - 11th and have a lot of other stuff on my plate. I’m cheating a bit here because this could also be considered a fitness goal depending on how it goes. But in general, my intention is just to play and have fun. I will go on some sort of outdoor adventure once per week - biking, swimming, hiking, climbing, an epic walk, playing on swings, etc. 4 points available. Bonus points available for extra outdoor play. This can totally overlap with my "stop being a cat" goal. Bonus Goals These goals all earn me bonus points, but cannot be done at the expense of one of my main goals. I removed a couple that got annoying and added a new one this challenge. Yoga 4x/week Meditate 7x/week Clean the sink before bed 4x/week NEW Practice crow pose 5x/week

This is a placeholder for my next challenge. Be seeing you!

The forum keeps timing out - this is my third try to post this.. http://www.pbs.org/video/2365635287/

Hello everyone! The Third challenge is here! My name is Lia, and I'm 20 years old. My weight peaked at 215 lbs, and I realized that wasn't how I want my life, or body, to be. While I didn't lose the kind of weight I was hoping for last challenge, I've seen a dramatic increase in my strength. My weights workouts have become a set routine for me now, so they won't be a main focus in this challenge. It's time to break down a handful of my problem areas and tackle them individually. And I understand it's a rather bad title, but I really couldn't think of anything else. Main Quest: WEIGHTLOSS Current Goal- Reach 170 lbs by December 16th, 2015 Ultimate Goal- Reach 150 lbs by July 31st, 2016 *Ultimate Reward: Las Vegas Vacation* Goal 1: CORE +2 STR +2 DEX TBD - I'm still trying to find a good program/guide. I plan to combine Darebee's Core and Abs 30-day workouts, although if that proves too difficult I may revert to just one. Since this will end 12 days before the end of the challenge, at that time I will determine a new/continuing core routine. Pre-Requisite: Continue following Year One Challenge for Women: Thinner, Leaner, Stronger. { A = Complete all 30 days, plus 6+ additional days | B = Complete all 30 days | C = Complete 21 days | F = Anything less than 21 days completed } Goal 2: CARBS +2 CON, +2 WIS Processed carbs are one of my largest problem areas. Breaded chicken, garlic cheese rolls, doughnuts, pre-packaged mashed potatoes, and many others haunt me. I struggle to get away from them, and while I know carbohydrates are critical to a healthy balanced diet, I know there are other, healthier ways. This goal will be to limit heavily processed carbs, and sticking with healthier alternatives. Some example would be substituting sweet potatoes for processed mashed potatoes, fruits instead of candy bars, and if I have to have bread, sticking to whole grains. Each day will be pass/fail determined on what I eat, but I also might penalize myself if I go too far overboard on a fail-day. (Ignoring my daily protein/breakfast bar for the time being.) Pre-requisite: Continue calorie/macro counting. Updated daily numbers are: Max Calories = 1400, Fat < 40g, Protein > 100g. Tracking with the Lose It! app. { A = 5+ days/week | B = 4 days/week | C = 3 days/week | F < 3 days/week } Goal 3: CARDIO +3 STA, +1 DEX Walk or other cardio 5 days per week, for at least 30 minutes each. While I didn't completely fail this last challenge, I know I can and should do better. Plus I lose weight faster when I keep up a steady cardio workout pattern. (Additionally stretching before and after.) { A = 5+ days/week | B = 4 days/week | C = 3 days/week | F < 3 days/week } Life Goal: CLEANING +2 WIS, +1 CON Deep-clean my room, including doing all the laundry, vacuuming, dusting, and donating things I don't need. I'd love to be able to see the floor. { Pass = Cleaned | Fail = Dirty }

Is it better to eat 100g of bread or 100g of rice? In terms of reducing grain intake.

Hey everyone, So as part of my over all lifestyle changes I've recently decided to stop eating cheap crap on a regular basis. I love to eat good food but couldn't cook and decided it was time to learn and stop settling for bad tasting instant gratification. In this process I'm forcing myself to use 3 ingredients I've never used before every week (pretty easy so far because I haven't cooked much). For some background information, I began my initiative 4 months ago. I do the advanced bodyweight workout from this website every monday + friday, and basketball on Wednesday. I've made a complete diet swap about a month and a week ago. I've currently lost around 7-8kg (now 1m81, 71.5kg), trying to retain muscle/build it if possible, but want to slim down till my love handles are gone at least. I'm now cooking up a storm, following a pretty paleo diet (not "extremely" strict, I still use butter and some farm produced cheese, and drink alcohol at times). I'm having quite a bit of success and fun cooking up new things, but in my excitement I'm starting to reach a problem I have often faced in the past of information overload, where I begin questioning everything to the point where it takes the fun out of it all because what I'm doing seems like it surely can't be the right thing. I'm hoping you guys can give me some answers and get me off this self damaging cycle that has screwed me up in the past. - Cooking with healthy/"paleo" oils and smoke points : I have been doing lots of oven roasting of vegetables, using my wok, etc but I've been hearing about smoke points of oils and how it degrades them and makes them worse for you past certain temperatures. It seems like the suggested 400F for over roasting on most vegetables takes butter, olive oil and coconut oil past that point, so how do you get around this aspect? Is there some other option I'm not thinking of, or is it not that big a deal? I roasted some butternut squash with coconut oil at under what the recipe said (so 210 or so), but I think it got to hot because it made a really strong / not great smell when cooking... - I'm getting swamped with conflicting opinions and viewpoints on carbs. I've totally cut processed carbs out of my diet, sugar, flour, grains, rice, pasta, that whole lot. For the first week and a bit after I quit all of this, I noticed some pretty severe lethargy in the afternoons along with brain fog / headaches. I've started eating some more fruit and carbs (butternut squash, parsnips, still off potatoes for now), but I have no idea how to make up my mind on how much I should be eating. I'm wondering if this carb shortage was what helped weight loss, or was it in fact messing with me... As I said I'm still trying to lose weight for now, and sites like Marks daily apple (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-primal-carbohydrate-continuum/#axzz3fEH5B4WF) say to stay under 100g carbs per day which seems really tight. Like a banana and some parsnips and you are past that no? The alternative of getting energy from lots of fats seemed great at first, I was tucking in to fatty meats, avacodos and eggs, but then I seemed to be quickly going over my daily calorie count instead, which clearly isn't what I want to lose weight. Even more confusing are conflicting ideas of alternating high and low carb, possibly more on workout days, ketosis, refeeding.. It's becoming a big jumble and I need to switch back to something basic that I can have confidence in isn't counter-productive. - A more cooking related question is on how to get the most use out of butter in my cooking. I'm lucky enough to live in Ireland at the moment, with cheap delicious grass fed kerrygold butter on constant supply. The only issue is being from the south of France, my cooking habits are all olive oil oriented, which is mediocre and expensive here. I figure when in Rome applies, and I should transition to more butter usage, but I have honestly no idea what I'm doing for even using it to caramelize onions or other basic applications, it seems to always burn or something. Any basic pointers on this or good sources for such beginner information? All I got in my google searches were people proposing ways to avoid using butter... Even as I write this I can see I'm freaking out over small details, but hopefully you guys understand this feeling. Thanks in advance for your help and bearing with my obsession over minor problems.

OK, so I've got more questions. Yes, I know I tend to post more threads asking questions than I do make posts responding to threads, but there are still things I want to know. So, as far as eating and working out goes, I've heard some people say that you need to eat before working out to activate your metabolism, and I've heard some people say that you need to wait until after you workout to eat so that your body is forced to use the energy it has stored up to do work. When I first came home for the summer and began strength training, I tried eating just one meal a day, but I found that not only would I end up finding myself eating a few things throughout the day, but I don't even have to limit myself to one meal a day. As a matter as fact, if you count pre-workout and post-workout supplements, I usually get about 5-6 meals a day, with a medium breakfast, a pre-workout energy drink, a post-workout protein shake, lunch, and dinner. So far, this *feels* like it's been working for me. I don't often feel hungry, I only get the urge to eat more when I had a small lunch (a protein shake and a PB&J sandwich), and it's pretty maintainable, as long as I can continue to leave myself time to make breakfast in the morning before heading out to the gym. Still, I'm concerned about the number of calories I'm consuming, and cutting out breakfast would save me some time. Also, I'm having a hard time leaving bread out of my meals. When I get breakfast, it just feels natural for toast to go along with my eggs and banana, and personally, I kind of like bread! By itself, it's kinda boring and pointless, but I always thought of bread as being like the Bassist of the food band. The backbone of it's music. So, would not eating until after my workouts (which would pretty much mean not eating anything until noon, for me) help me lose weight, or should I stick with what feels right right now?

Hi everyone, I've been following a paleo diet all the time except for one meal per week, since I was convinced by some of the carb cycling videos I saw. Is this a good diet plan? Is it better or not to take a very high carb meal once every week?

So I tracked the last few days in MFP and realized that, left to my own devices, I eat a low protein, low carb, HIGH fat diet. Which is actually kind of miserable because I don't feel very full at all but I also don't feel like I'm recovering well from my workouts. I love my fats but I'm an endurance athlete and I need carbs. And I also need protein to maintain muscle mass. So... what are some good ways to incorporate more carbs and more protein into my diet? I'm not looking for things like, "eat rice and chicken breasts", I'm looking more for snack type things that I can eat at work (portable). I already eat usually a protein shake and a banana before my workout and 2 eggs and a bowl of oatmeal after. I'd prefer not to eat more eggs as snacks. Thanks for any input!! Some ideas so far: Protein: Greek Yogurt ...? Carbs: Carrots? Sweet potatoes Apples?

Hi, I've read some very good things about both the Paleo diet and carb cycling, is there a way to combine them effectively? I don't really care about following the Paleo diet perfectly strictly, only about having the best nutrition possible, the idea I've had so far is to eat Paleo during the week and pasta/rice/bread etc. during weekends, is that a good call or does it do harm? Thanks in advance for any suggestions, Pierre

There we goooooooo again. Cheat days really don't work for me. I just can't say 'just one' and I ended up stuffing myself with alll these carby foods... If I could actually see myself doing that I'd probably be grossed out. Any way, it might just be a psychological thing. Family problems and stress are both increasing, as is the exam pressure and the application deadline for uni is coming closer... I worked so so hard to find balance in my life, worked so long to slowly build it all up and BAM, for some reason every time something goes remotely wrong I end up failing terribly. Better tomorrow? Hope so. My last exam is in 2 days so I hope I'll feel better after that, for starters! My working out schedule is still on point though just the damn food....

So I read the articles on Nerd Fitness about working out in a fasted state. It seems to make sense that without as much glucose in your blood from food, your body will turn more quickly to your fat storage for glucose. Then today I came across this thread in the bodybuilding.com forums: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=119186991. User Blenderate says about his daily routine, " I kept my carbohydrates low throughout most of the day to keep insulin low, but just before my weightlifting workouts four times per week, I would eat a large serving of fruit and have a glucose/protein/BCAA drink. I would continue sipping the drink throughout my workout, and then finish up with a whey protein isolate shake after I was done. This serves to spike insulin, driving nutrients into the muscles." So, I'm wondering how much truth there is to what this man is saying. Because I know that the only thing that insulin directly affects is the amount of glucose that is taken from your blood into your cells. Would this really have anything to do with the nutrient use by cells? tl/dr: Please compare and contrast the physiology of workouts while fasting and after carb loading.

Main challenge goal: Reduce Body fat by 1.5%, measured with a Dexa scan at the start and end. "You will see it is not the spoon that bends, only yourself" Challenge 11 is all about making choices. I've got 10 challenges at my back, that's a lot of learning. I've got my awesome NF friends to support and inspire me, the time is right, I choose to get the cut I want and not to let anything stand in the way. Goal 1 - Take the Red Pill. (DEX1, CON 2, CHA 2) Track calories more than half the days this challenge aim for a calorie deficit of 1000 a day. Goal 2 - Less than 30 grams carbs a day for a continuous 2 week period at some point during the challenge. (CON 2, CHA 2, DEX 1)I'm bombarded by sugar and carbs all the time, I want to steel my mind and take full control for a 2 week period. I'm in no doubt that this will be very hard but the results should be impressive too. Goal 3 - No alcohol more than 30 days this challenge (STR 1, STR 2)It's time to wake up, face reality and break out of the cocoon. Side goal: Swim 3 times this challenge (DEX 2)Swimming helps me become more fluid and supple. Calorie tracking:BMR calculator: http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ Week 1 - 81.5kg, BF%= 20.7, LBM=65.66kg (144 pounds), 144 *0.7 = 101 BMR = 1825, Daily maintenance calories (3-5 workouts a week) = 1825 * 1.55 = 2828 M: y 2299 (-529) T: y 1318 (-1510) W: y 1738 (-1090) T: y 1421 (1407) F: y 2389 (-439) S: y 2406 (-422) S: n6 day deficit = -5397 calsWeek 2 - 81.5kg, BF% = 20.1% LBM = 65.11kg (143.5 pounds), 143.5* 0.7 = 100.45 BMR = 1807, Daily calories = 1807 * 1.55 = 2801M: y 2644 (-157) T: y 1392 (-1409) W: y 2105 (-796) T: 2533 (-268) F: n ? S: n ? S: n ? Week 3 - 80.7kg, BF% = 19.7% LBM = 64.80kg (142.9 pounds), 143.5* 0.7 = 100.03 BMR = 1796, Daily calories = 1796 * 1.55 = 2784M: n ? T: y 1550 (-1237) W: y 1686 (-1001) T:y 2347 (-430) F: y 2361 (- 426) S: y 2951 (+164) S: y 2246 (-538)Week 4 - 79.2kg, BF% = 19.1% LBM= 64.07kg (141 pounds), 141* 0.7 = 98.7 BMR = 1776, Daily calories = 1776 * 1.55 = 2753M: y 2119 (-634) T: y - partial W: y 2266 (-487) T:n F: n S: y 2728 (-25) S: TBC Week 5 - 79.6 kg, BF% = 18.6, LBM= 64.79 Daily calories = 1781 * 1.55 = 2760M: 1813 (-947) T: 1885 (-875) W: 1721 (-1039) T: N/A F: 2258 (-502) S: N/A (big calories) S: 1969 (-791)Week 6 - 79.6 kg, BF% = 18.6, LBM= 64.79 Daily calories = 1781 * 1.55 = 2754M: 1919 (-841) T: 2460 (-300) W: 2020 (-740) T: 1892 (-868) F: 1720 (-1040) S: 2409(-351) S: TBC 6 days calorie deficit = -4140 cals Alcohol Tracking (n=none, y=some) Week 1 (4)M: n T: n W: n T: y F: y S: y S: n Week 2 (2) M: y T:n W: n T: y F: y S: y S: yWeek 3 (3) M: y T: n W: n T: y F:y S: y S: n Week 4 (7) M: n T: n W: n T: n F: n S: n S: nWeek 5 (6)M:n T: n W: n T:n F:n S: y S: nWeek 6 (7)M: n T: n W: n T: n F: n S: n S: n

Hey all I am a vegetarian and am needing some help with cutting my carbs. Which carbs can I totally cut out & which will I need to keep in my diet? I struggle with cutting them all out completely and my with my family I pretty much grew up on carbs.. haha. Please help!

When last we left Elastigirl, the Dark Knight had recruited her for a mission, and they were racing toward Gotham in his batmobile. As we return to our story Batman briefs Elastigirl on what awaits them. Dark Knight: Gotham is in trouble and we need your help Elastigirl: That’s what I've trained for. Tell me how I can help DK: Mr. Freeze has frozen the entire city of Gotham with his freeze gun. The people of the city all sit huddled in their homes, afraid to venture outside. We need to unfreeze the city, and free the people from their fear. EG: Let’s do it! Elastigirl will have to use all her resources to thaw Gotham from the perpetual freeze that now envelops the city. It will take bravery, cunning, strength, and of course her super bendy powers. Be in Fighting Shape: In order to defeat Mr. Freeze, I will need to have all my superpowers energized, and that means I need to eat good stuff Eat healthy foods-meat veggies fat some carbs/Continue with carb monitoring; 70 grams or less, no need to count salad or foundation veggies Reward 2 CON Defeating the Freeze Gun Mr Freeze wants to keep the city of Gotham under his frozen power. His goal is to keep all the occupants trapped in their homes, afraid to move outside, in fear of being frozen. I will defeat him by not yielding to his diabolical plans and showing the city it is safe to be outdoors. Walking-walk before breakfast 4 times a week- Reward 3 STA Bendiness- In order to defeat Mr Freeze, Elastigirl will need to use her super agility bendy powers. Handstand-video it one time a week, take notes on improving Play- do some sort of fun exercise after workout 2 times a week- whatever I want-gymnastics, kettlebell juggling, a new exercise-for 10 minutes Mr.Freeze’s powers will melt even more if I do these outside, so I will perform these feats outdoors when possible Reward: 3 DEX Life Goal:Power in Words; The right words can summon hope to those who feel there is no hope, bring courage to the fearful and strike terror in the heart of the enemy. Elastigirl needs to begin gathering words that matter. Work on a commonplace bookhttp://thoughtcatalog.com/ryan-holiday/2013/08/how-and-why-to-keep-a-commonplace-book/ start index cards,have 6 by challenge end, and add at least one quote to my signature Reward 3 CHA Side Quests: Finish the mobility squat PVP strong and keep doing some hip mobility work successfully learn to kick up into a wall handstand Workout plan: I am going to be using GMB's Floor 1 program, with a few modifications. I am subbing out their leg work for more pistol oriented stuff, so that I can keep moving forward on my pistol goal. Also going to start work on learning the L-sit I will continue with my 5 minutes a day handstand practice. I will do a mix of learning to bail (almost have that skill) my 60 second handstand(video and work on form ) and learning to kick into wall handstand side note: I am only giving myself potential of 11 points, as part of the time I will be on vacation, and I will do none of these things while on vacation, because, well, I'll be on vacation. Even superheroes need vacations.

Hello there! At the beginning of the month I started eating much healthier and have actually stuck with it compared to much of society. I haven't been doing necessarily any certain diet/eating style I have created what has worked for me so far which is pretty much clean eating (who would have thought!) and limiting sugars and carbs. I am averaging about 12g of sugar a day which is a drastic improvement for me. I started working out 3x a week (bench press, military press, dumbbell rows, dumbbell curls and tricep pulldowns one day , second day is deadlifts situps squats and lunges, third is solely cardio/abs) and I would love to get in the best shape of my life for graduation and May and a trip to Mexico after it for a celebration. The problem I am having is that I have made stir fry 5 times this week (each using a whole pack of chicken and whole package of veggies like broccoli) and each one lasts me usually less than a day. I feel like I can eat the whole thing at one sitting, every sitting, and that's becoming a headache to cook that much and it's costing me a pretty penny. I was wondering if I should slowly add some carbs into 1-2 meals a day and if so, should I add beans, sweet potatos, milk, or something else to use as a "filler" to keep myself full. According to some different websites I am eating at my BMR. I have gone from 165 - 155 this month which has been great to keep motivation so far. Thanks Rebels!

hello, I was eating very little to no carbs for a few months and was dead tired all the time. I am currently trying to reduce my body fat percentage. For 3 weeks now i have re-introduced complex carbs into my meals and i have been steadily (roughly 1 lb a week) gaining weight. i am not sure if this is correct reaction to it or not? Current situation ( I would love feedback): work out 5 days a week (roughly 27 min a day) daily meals consist of exactly: meal 1: 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal with 1TBS jam, 1TBS PB2 meal 2: 1 brown rice cake, 1 TBS almondbutter, 1 med banana, 1/2 serving protein shake, 3 small pieces of 85% dark chocolate meal 3: 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/4 cup brown rice or 3 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/4 cup brown rice meal 4: 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/4 cup brown rice or 3 oz chicken breast, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1/4 cup brown rice meal 5: 2 egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/4 cup broccoli or 1 serving protein shake, with unsweetened almond/ coconut milk

In an effort to keep track of everything I am doing on my journey to the ab holy grail, I'll use this single log for all of my quests. No need to split it into different threads to search through in the future. Official Start Date - December 1, 2013 Weight - 143.6 lbs Measurements: Waist - 29 1/5" Bust - 34" Right arm - 10 1/4" (relaxed), 11" (flexed) Left arm - 10 1/4" (relaxed), 11" (flexed) Hips - 40 3/4" Right thigh - 21" Left thigh - 21" Belly (right below belly button) - 31 7/8" 1690 calories Protein - 35% / 145 g / 583 cal Carbs - 35% / 150 g / 600 cal Fats - 30 % / 56 g / 507 cal Measurements, and any macro updates will be logged in this initial post after each quest. Update pictures will also be included.

Since this is my first quest, and I am a few weeks late, I figured I would set a goal I'm pretty sure I can achieve in the remaining amount of time. A little background. And if anyone has suggestions on modifying my numbers, I would be more than happy to hear opinions. This is my first time doing this, so any and all help is welcome. I'm a 28 year old Female standing 5' 8" tall and weighing in at 143 lbs. I Crossfit 4-5 times a week and am looking to tone up, lean out and eventually develope some visible abs. (But, that will be saved for another quest) I will also be indoor rock climbing a few times a week as my schedule allows. I have a desk job, so my only real physical activity happens during my workouts. Main Quest My main quest is to track my macros up to 5g +/- on a consistent basis. My macros break down as follows: 1690 calories Protein - 40% - 676 cal / 169 g Carbs - 30% - 507 cal / 126.75 g Fats - 30% - 507 cal / 56 g 12/3 - Updated my macros to the following 1690 calories Protein - 35% / 145 g / 583 cal Carbs - 35% / 150 g / 600 cal Fats - 30 % / 56 g / 507 cal I chose a split that will hopefully help me lean out and tone up more. As I said, if anyone has any suggestions on my numbers based on my info I posted above, please let me know! Missions 1. Log and track my food intake every day for each meal on myfitnesspal pal. 2. Begin weighing and measuring my food to insure I am getting the correct breakdown of everything I eat. 3. Work towards planning my meals for each week and in turn, meal prep an entire weeks worth of food in one day. This one will take some steps and planning, so I don't expect to be able to do this until I can figure out exactly what I am eating now. So this will technically begin after week 1. For week 1, I am not allowed to eat out. Life Quest My life quest is something that, for me, will be a tad difficult. I have very little patience. Not only for people that I work with, but with my family (especially my mom) as well. I get annoyed quickly and easily and then, of course, I say something I probably shouldn't, or say it in a way that I shouldn't. So, my life quest is to try and have more patience with people in general. If I start to get annoyed, I will take 5 deep breaths before I allow myself to answer. I will be keeping track of my progress in this thread, hopefully posting what I ate, my workout and my macro breakdown for each day. I will update this post with a breakdown of how I will track my progress once I figure out a good points system. Let the games begin!!

Hello everyone! I'm in the process of trying to make a meal plan based on the macros I calculated below (do they look right to you?) First my stats: Age - 28 Female Height - 5' 8" Weight - 143 I do crossfit 4-5 times a week and my goal is to be leaner and toned. 1690 calories Protein - 40% - 676 cal / 179.5 g Carbs - 30% - 538.5 cal / 134 g Fats - 30% - 60 g I have been tracking (but not weighing or measuring) my food intake for the last week. I am generally way over in carbs and fats and never get close to my protein (yikes). I have been on a paleo challenge the last 30 days, but it ends today, so I will be adding dairy and some grains back in to help boost my protein intake. (I found legumes and I don't play well together, so those will stay out). I would like to come up w/at least 3-4 good high protein meals I can rotate throughout the week. I'm just having trouble figuring out what the proper nutrition facts are for whole clean foods. So, I guess my main question is: what resource do you use to find the nutrition facts on foods without labels? I use myfitnesspal to track my food right now, but there are so many varying numbers on any one item, I don't know which to trust. Any advice for someone who is just starting this? I know it will take some time for me to nail my numbers (and of course, a little variation each day is expected). Any advise on food prep? With work and the gym, cooking every night is not something I want to worry about. So I'm ok with dedicating a day to food prep for the week. Thank you for all and any help!