Even as an experienced fitness person, I still occasionally fall into beginner's traps surrounding food.
Every time I've cut I've tried low-carb cutting, convincing myself it was the key to success because of cortisol/insulin/other hormones. But it has never worked past a certain point, and I suspect I've always been eating too many calories once I got into the 170s.
I am armed with considerably more knowledge this time around, and now know that the body is prompted to burn fat based on liver stores of glycogen and the size of the body's cells. Plump cells are well-fed cells, which means your body thinks it's being well-fed. Ditto the liver's glycogen stores.
So I bumped my carbs from 70/day to 160/day at the expense of some protein (bye, cottage cheese) and some fat (out with eggs, in with peanut butter).
Atkins is not scientifically unsound, but it's important to keep in mind that it is a diet rather than a lifestyle. It induces a state called ketosis, in which the body begins converting fat to ketones, and burns ketones for energy rather than carbohydrates. It's an amazing fat-burning furnace, but it should really only be done for 3-4 months at a time.
I understand that the diet has since been expanded to include an increased carbohydrate phase, and a "lifetime nutrition" phase, but I admit to knowing little about it from that point.
That said, the basic principles of my diet scale up or down just as well. When I go back to bulking, the fat/carb/protein percentages would look almost identical. If I were targeting even less calories, the same would occur.
The goal is to keep the body tricked into thinking it's fed, and that can only be done with good carbs. A lesson I needed to learn the hard way.
I know this may only be partially relevant, but my brother was a body builder who struggled with something similar for a long time.
When we was doing competitions he was having problems cutting properly and getting a good, lean look. Finally, after a terrible showing in the morning routine, he ate a few bite-sized snickers only to notice right in the evening show that he looked and felt harder, leaner and just looked better.
In competitions after that, he never eliminated carbs in the same way. He also moved from eggs to peanut butter. To this day he claims peanut butter is one of the best foods on the planet nutritionally.
Peanut butter is a spectacular food. Everyone should watch their fat intake while lifting, because of caloric density (9 cals/g) and the way body metabolizes fat, but it's pure poly/monounsaturated healthy fat and can be perfectly rationed down to the gram. It's also filled with good carbs and lean protein.
Absolutely. Kraft just introduced a pretty tasty all-natural peanut butter, too. I bought some and it was a great price for a big jar. The peanut butters that aren't 100% all-natural often have partially-hydrogenated oils (better known as trans fat) or sugar to taste (JIF).
I really like Skippy Natural - I know it's a little bit of a marketing ploy because it still uses palm oil to hold it together, but aparently its a little better for you, and I think it tastes fantastic. It also spreads just right, not so dense like the basic stuff is.
It's really easy to make your own peanut butter. Andrew and I tried it for a while. Great with apples, too. Just throw peanuts, peanut oil, and honey (or really whatever you want for diet or taste) in the blender to your desired consistency. Also good if you throw in some almonds in the end and keep them chunkier than the peanut butter. Yum! I think I need to make some now. It sounds so good.
It's really easy to make your own peanut butter. Andrew and I tried it for a while. Great with apples, too. Just throw peanuts, peanut oil, and honey (or really whatever you want for diet or taste) in the blender to your desired consistency. Also good if you throw in some almonds in the end and keep them chunkier than the peanut butter. Yum! I think I need to make some now. It sounds so good.
Is it really that easy to make your own? I assume you use unsalted peanuts and salt to taste? If so...wow we could make copious amounts of peanut butter as peanuts are super cheap at the grocery store right now.
I've also found Trader Joe's natural peanut butter to have a good flavor and consistency for the price. Remember that truly natural peanut butter will go rancid and must be stored in the refrigerator after opening. When mixed thoroughly, I've found Trader Joe's to separate less than most other natural peanut butters.
Comments
Every time I've cut I've tried low-carb cutting, convincing myself it was the key to success because of cortisol/insulin/other hormones. But it has never worked past a certain point, and I suspect I've always been eating too many calories once I got into the 170s.
I am armed with considerably more knowledge this time around, and now know that the body is prompted to burn fat based on liver stores of glycogen and the size of the body's cells. Plump cells are well-fed cells, which means your body thinks it's being well-fed. Ditto the liver's glycogen stores.
So I bumped my carbs from 70/day to 160/day at the expense of some protein (bye, cottage cheese) and some fat (out with eggs, in with peanut butter).
We'll see what happens.
I understand that the diet has since been expanded to include an increased carbohydrate phase, and a "lifetime nutrition" phase, but I admit to knowing little about it from that point.
That said, the basic principles of my diet scale up or down just as well. When I go back to bulking, the fat/carb/protein percentages would look almost identical. If I were targeting even less calories, the same would occur.
The goal is to keep the body tricked into thinking it's fed, and that can only be done with good carbs. A lesson I needed to learn the hard way.
When we was doing competitions he was having problems cutting properly and getting a good, lean look. Finally, after a terrible showing in the morning routine, he ate a few bite-sized snickers only to notice right in the evening show that he looked and felt harder, leaner and just looked better.
In competitions after that, he never eliminated carbs in the same way. He also moved from eggs to peanut butter. To this day he claims peanut butter is one of the best foods on the planet nutritionally.
Watch yourself... Jif is AWESOME
Is it really that easy to make your own? I assume you use unsalted peanuts and salt to taste? If so...wow we could make copious amounts of peanut butter as peanuts are super cheap at the grocery store right now.