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View Full Version : Intro to low-carb and Paleo dieting. If you are thinking of starting, begin here.



Rasputin
09-08-2011, 22:08
Do’s and Don’ts for a low-carb/Paleo lifestyle:

1. Use www.fitday.com if possible to keep track of the relative carb/protein levels of the foods you are eating.

2. Try to limit yourself to 50 grams of carbohydrate from all sources per day. Once you lose all the weight you want to lose, you can up that to 80 or so per day without fear of regaining.

3. No sugar. No Honey. No Agave. No starch. No grains (wheat, corn, rice, or otherwise). Only light beer which fits in your carb count for the day, or distilled liquors. No trans fats (hydrogenated oils), no margarine, no vegetable oils except for olive and coconut. Avoid beans (too much carbs).

4. Splenda is reasonable, Truvia is even better.

5. No smoking.

6. Good foods:
a. Meat (grass-fed if possible)
b. Cheese
c. Eggs (cage-free and organic or allowed to roam in pastures is best)
d. Heavy Cream
e. Butter
f. Fish/seafood
g. Coffee/Tea
h. Low-carb fruits and vegetables: Spinach, Broccoli (all the brassicae), Peppers, Celery, Lettuce, Carrots, Green Beans, Green Peas, Squashes, esp. Summer, Zucchini and Pumpkin, Cucumbers, Radishes, Tomatoes, Sea Vegetables, Berries.

7. Consider the following supplements every day:
a. Magnesium (400mg)
b. Vitamin K2
c. Vitamin D3
d. Coenzyme Q10
e. Fish Oil capsules

8. Get enough salt and potassium in your diet. Once you remove carbohydrates, your body will begin to shed the water it has been holding on to for a long time, and it will take sodium and potassium with it. I like NoSalt for potassium as it is relatively cheap, and 1/4tsp is around a quarter of your daily potassium requirements. If you notice cramping in your large muscles, especially your legs, you are not getting enough electrolytes.

9. Lift heavy weights 2-3 times a week. Start off slow but work up to 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps each exercise. Each workout session should be 30-45 minutes, and you should be out of steam when all done. Cardio is not necessary, unless you are an endurance athlete or serious competition martial artist, in which case you should be partaking in HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) on days when you do not lift weights.

Vagabond
09-08-2011, 23:59
Great information! I was curious about the Cheese as I always thought it had a lot of carbohydrates.
As for the lifting of heavy weights. What do you think about BW training? I follow a gymnastics strength routine for plank, manna, and Lever progressions Mon-Tue-Thurs-Fri. I also engage in HIIT on Sat-Sun. Do you think this would be ok? I am also curious as to why you suggest heavy weights? Is strength training enough, or does it need to be heavy weights specifically?

Rasputin
09-09-2011, 00:00
Useful blog posts by doctors and scientists doing research in the field:

http://www.archevore.com/

http://www.dietdoctor.com/

http://high-fat-nutrition.blogspot.com/

http://paleohacks.com/#axzz1XQcUQ58G

http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/

Rasputin
09-09-2011, 00:35
Great information! I was curious about the Cheese as I always thought it had a lot of carbohydrates.
As for the lifting of heavy weights. What do you think about BW training? I follow a gymnastics strength routine for plank, manna, and Lever progressions Mon-Tue-Thurs-Fri. I also engage in HIIT on Sat-Sun. Do you think this would be ok? I am also curious as to why you suggest heavy weights? Is strength training enough, or does it need to be heavy weights specifically?

Bodyweight exercises are fine in the beginning, but your body is remarkable in its ability to habituate to exercise--before too long you will reach a point where you won't be gaining any measurable strength and/or muscle hypertrophy, as well as increasing bone density. These things only occur in decent amounts when you put a load on the body which is so great that you experience failure in the 8-12 rep range.

Short of this, you will reach a plateau in strength and hypertrophy and all you will be doing after that is simply maintaining what you already have. Considering that one of the benefits you are probably looking to get from your hard work and exercise is building muscle and bone in your body to guard against senescence, you want to pack in as much benefit from your workout as possible. That requires heavy weights, low reps.

Be aware of the very real possibility of overtraining. Google the symptoms. Better to take enough breaks to let your body rest than to train to the point of burnout.

Most cheeses are fine as far as carbohydrate content. The lactose is digested into lactic acid by the action of the culture, which gives the cheese its tangy flavor.

Jonathan Randall
09-09-2011, 00:54
Be aware of the very real possibility of overtraining. Google the symptoms. Better to take enough breaks to let your body rest than to train to the point of burnout.


This seems to cover the basics well:

http://www.rice.edu/~jenky/sports/overtraining.html

Rasputin
09-09-2011, 01:02
I want to make an addendum.

The conditions which I listed are those in which the greatest balance is met between strength and hypertrophy (muscle size). Greater strength can possibly be gained with reps in the 4-6 range, but hypertrophy will not see the same gains.

And, as usual, YMMV. If you find an exercise routine which suits you, it is infinitely preferable to one which you don't enjoy so you don't do. Tweaks can always be made.

If you want to see even better improvements, you can try occasionally working out while fasted, followed by a decent-sized protein and fat meal with low-GI carbs from vegetables.

And don't forget the benefits of creatine.

Vagabond
09-09-2011, 05:47
Yes.,.. One that suits me. I am looking to have a leaner less bulky frame. My BW routine is based off of a gymnastics, and I must say I am very happy with both the Hypertrophy and the strength gains. The trick is I have to video tape myself exercising or have a spotter to ensure that I put my bodies leverage point(s) at a mechanical disadvantage.
I do not think that I will recieve the same benefits as I did when I weight trained regarding bone density.