Bodybuilding Forums

Hello,

I'm new and this is my first post and if this has been covered before I'm sorry for the duplication but here goes;

I've been going the gym now for around 2 and a half years and other than a bit of mild weight loss and some slight toning up I haven't had much luck. So I decided to really try to tackle my diet and see if that'd help. I decided to try going on Atkin's induction phase and have seen some really dramatic loss and I plan to switch to M.A.N.S when I should start to go onto phase 2 as it seems fairly similar and easy to follow and I like the fact that I'm going to be able to have carb days. I wondered if anyone here could give me any advice as to the best way to make the transition? I don't want to bloat up or put back on the weight that I've lost doing the induction phase.

I haven't been the gym this week as I've had a heavy cold and have felt quite lethargic, which I understand is normal for people on Atkin's induction as it's just the effect of the body switching over to burning fat as it's primary source of fuel. I plan to start back at the gym next week while I'm still in the induction phase which I plan to keep running for another 2 weeks. I'm also going to start to look at my routine at the gym and see if I can make a few amendments, I'm aiming for a moderate muscle growth and low body fat and I currently do about 4 different exercises each for my back, shoulders and chest and aim for 3 sets of 10 reps and I do 3 exercises for both my biceps and triceps, again 3 sets of 10 reps. I go 4 days a week and split my routine between those days and each day I spend about 30 mins on the treadmill.

What sort of foods can I start to introduce once I start to up my Carb allowance from 20grams a day?
What is an ideal amount of carbs to have on a daily basis?
Any pitfalls to watch out for as I move over to the M.A.N.S method?
What's sort of foods can I eat on the carb up period?
Do you really get enough energy for a good enough work out?
What quantities of foods should I be eating with things like steak and pork chops and chicken breasts?
Any other advice you can think of?

Thank you for any help you can give.

Your workout sounds perfect! You WILL lost body fat this way. Expect 1-2 percent in about 90 days, perhaps more. If you're over 15% BF, you might lose fast, but once you get under 12%, it's going to be slow because the body wants fat storage and high muscle low fat is not natural, but a result of dedication. I've been as low as 12.5% but I'm currently 17.5%. I can go from 12.5 to 17.5 in 3 weeks without working out and eating right.

What sort of foods can I start to introduce once I start to up my Carb allowance from 20grams a day?
Boy, it's tough. This diet is tough so be prepared for challenges. Cheese cubes (like sargento) are good snacks. Eggs are terrific. Look in the stores for a ranch dressing that has 1-2 carbs for 2 TBSP. You might find one or two the rest will be higher carb. Dip the cheese in the ranch. Eggs with some ranch dressing are surprisingly good. Eggs in butter, well, that's heaven. If you don't like eggs, I'm so sorry. They are great for low carb.
Eat 1-2 slices of bacon, but not too much processed meats (like sausages, bacon, baloney) because they can give you indigestion. Make a salad, lettuce, cheese, ranch (like above), bacon bits, chicken cubes (you can buy chicken/steak pre-cooked in the refrigerator section of your food store). Be light on heavy cream (no pun)... it has carbs. Honestly, even eating like this can ramp up your carbs really fast. You almost have to eat just iceburg lettuce, spinach, cheese, eggs, fat and fatty meats to keep under 30 carbs. I can't think of more. I haven't been on the diet in over a year. It can get boring. Make sure not to eat too much of one thing... mix it up. Steak salad, chicken salad, bacon/cheese salad. Etc... There are low carb torilla's... I found one with like 3 grams carbs... throw on some sirloin steak and ranch dressing and have at it.

What is an ideal amount of carbs to have on a daily basis?
30 or less to start. You might be able to take in more. I stayed at 30 or less.

Any pitfalls to watch out for as I move over to the M.A.N.S method?
Potassium deficiency has been reported. Energy, mood, etc. Eat your spinach, popeye. Lack of fiber. Consider some fiber husk (no sugar) mixed in water or a sugar free drink.

What's sort of foods can I eat on the carb up period?
Be very careful. This is not an excuse to eat a lot of anything you want. I got fatter because of this. Eat one meal of anything you want, pizza, a beer, junk food, cookies, ice cream... but the next two days, stick to what you'd consider healthy... like oatmeal, cereals, lowfat milk, fruits, veggies. Avoid huge amounts of fat these days. You may need to cut your carb-up to one day if you notice you can't get lean by the end of the next week.

Do you really get enough energy for a good enough work out?
It's arguable. Sure, you will likely have more energy eating carbs since they used by the body for that reason. So, if you can do 100 pound bench press with a carb diet, but you can only do 75 on low carb, what difference does it make if you're still working to failure? Right? Just work as hard as you can and you'll see progress. Take creatine if you'd like. Also, I used to take a sugar free caffeine drink before my workout. False energy, basically. If you do cardio after your weight lifting, expect to have almost no energy. Fat is a slow energy release. You're better off walking fast then running or do cardio right after your carb up.
What quantities of foods should I be eating with things like steak and pork chops and chicken breasts?
I'd stick with smaller portions, like 4 ounces (deck of cards). Your body will use protein for energy if you don't get enough fat (on a low carb diet), so make sure you're getting fat, eat dark meat chicken (like thighs) with the skin. Eat fatty pork chops, sirloin steak (not lean chuck or stuff). The cool thing is fatty meats are cheaper than lean ones. Don't over eat protein. Don't undereat fat. Protein shakes are good fast absorbers, but you'll find yourself hungry sooner than meat. Add some fat (like flax oil or safflower, peanut, etc) to the protein drink to help slow down the immediate influx.
Any other advice you can think of?
Expect a lot of advice that may seem contrary to each other. Everyone is different. If you're getting fatter, cut your carb up down to one whole day with one free meal. If you DO this plan for a few months and you just can't live without carbs, consider the GLAD diet. Just slowly add complex carbs as you transition. Eat only a handful of carbs and you can curb the potential to put on too much fat. Likely you will gain a bit of fat if you fall off the low-carb wagon, but you can get really fat if you eat crappy afterwards.
Expect to feel fat on your carb days. The muscles hold a lot of water but only with quantities of glycogen supplied by the carbs. Expect to look thinner and veiny during the week on the low carb phase, but less veiny on the carb ups. i got more compliments on the low carb phase than the carb-ups.

Brush your teeth! Low carb can make your breath stinky. Eat when you're hungry and watch your weight. It should go up during the weeks that follow. If you can, find a way to monitor your body fat. It's motivating!

Thanks for the help, this is great!

I've kind of fell off the wagon a bit and have had a bit of junk food splurg today, so I plan to just go back to the usual M.A.N.S diet later this evening and instead of starting my carb up period at 6pm on Saturday I'll just start Sunday morning instead.

Would this be ok?

ArronC07 wrote:I've kind of fell off the wagon a bit and have had a bit of junk food splurg today, so I plan to just go back to the usual M.A.N.S diet later this evening and instead of starting my carb up period at 6pm on Saturday I'll just start Sunday morning instead.

Would this be ok?

Yep, there are some people who do a mid-week spike, though more complex carrbs. You'll be fine, but if you keep doing it, you may tip the metabolic state. I understand, low carb can be tough, but there are sweat alternatives. My low carb chocolate moose is pretty damn good.

diet/low-carb-chocolate-mousse-t209.html?hilit=mousse#p998 There was some debate initially over actual carbs, but the recipe was updated.