Re: paging Chris M. - The Fat Loss Bible

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

> Anything informal to report before your next article comes out? I'm

> wondering how laborious

> it is (and how effective).

Unfortunately, I kind of dumped the plan because I had a string of

social events and a few other things where I basically had to abandon

the calorie-counting. I didn't have access to a scale and I didn't

think to take cicumference measurements, so my data is poor, but I did

loose probably two percentage points of body fat in the first few

weeks. Regarding laboriousness, I think it is quite a pain to count

calories for every meal, but I think one could get around that by

calculating out " blocks " of certain units of pre-arranged meals that

one pieces together. In other words, your protein block could be x

amount of eggs, y amount of your favorite meat dish or z amount of

your second-favorite meat dish, and so on, so that rather than

counting each meal, you just cut and paste some pre-counted parts of

meals together. If I embark on it again, I'll do it that way.

Chris

[Guest guest]

> I was just thinking about asking the same question. And if TB

> still reads this list, an update from her would be fun as well.

I am not M, but I have been counting calories on Colpo's advice for seven

weeks and

have lost no body weight, aside from right at the beginning, which might be due

to water

loss.

I should be creating a deficit of 300 calories a day, according to my FitDay

records. I

aimed for 500 calories, but wasn't always successful. But, at 300 calories times

7 weeks

times 7 days in a week, I should have a total deficit of 14,700 calories. At

3500 calories a

pound of fat, I should have lost 4.2 pounds of fat.

I haven't checked my body fat in a while, but I haven't seen any major decrease.

I think fat loss is more complicated than Colpo makes it out to be.

[Guest guest]

> I should be creating a deficit of 300 calories a day, according to my FitDay

records. I

> aimed for 500 calories, but wasn't always successful.

As a followup, I just checked my fat percentage (around 11%). I messed up when I

first

calculated my body fat, and so, after using the Katch McArdle formula, was

trying to eat

around a 700 calorie deficit a day. I ended up eating a 500 calorie deficit,

with my

backsliding.

So I actually followed Colpo's suggestion of a 500 calorie deficit pretty

closely. If anyone

cares, FitDay says I ate on average over the last month

Fat: 103g / 49%

Carbs: 77g / 13%

Protein: 160g / 34%

Alcohol: 12g / 4%

These are almost identical to the levels Colpo suggests. Finally, I did consume

whey

protein after workouts, and sometimes but not most of the time carbs (recent

evidence is

not on Colpo's side here).

I think I will email Colpo and ask for advice.

[Guest guest]

Ah...I was going to see how it went with you pioneers before I bought the book

for

someone. Being happy with my weight, I couldn't see going to the trouble to

estimate the

calories in all of these traditional foods. " Blocking " or packaging seems to be

the way to

go, if you can keep to that with enough variety to keep from getting bored.

I have a friend who tried to convert Weight Watchers points to her more

nutritious foods,

making it her own game, just to watch how much she ate. I think it got tedious,

though,

and she stopped.

With some diet books, I wonder if the author's motivation for losing the weight

and

sticking to the plan is the book writing deadline

>

> Unfortunately, I kind of dumped the plan because I had a string of

> social events and a few other things where I basically had to abandon

> the calorie-counting. I didn't have access to a scale and I didn't

> think to take cicumference measurements, so my data is poor, but I did

> loose probably two percentage points of body fat in the first few

> weeks. Regarding laboriousness, I think it is quite a pain to count

> calories for every meal, but I think one could get around that by

> calculating out " blocks " of certain units of pre-arranged meals that

> one pieces together. In other words, your protein block could be x

> amount of eggs, y amount of your favorite meat dish or z amount of

> your second-favorite meat dish, and so on, so that rather than

> counting each meal, you just cut and paste some pre-counted parts of

> meals together. If I embark on it again, I'll do it that way.

>

> Chris

>

[Guest guest]

> calories in all of these traditional foods.

> " Blocking " or packaging seems to be the way to

> go, if you can keep to that with enough

> variety to keep from getting bored.

I like what one fitness guy said: calories count, but no one succeeds

while counting calories.

That has been 100% true in my experience. Even the people who believe

in the calories and the formulas end up memorizing the real food and

amounts that work for them and playing with those.

Connie

[Guest guest]

On Wed, Aug 6, 2008 at 2:52 PM, cbrown2008 <cbrown2008@...> wrote:

>> calories in all of these traditional foods.

>> " Blocking " or packaging seems to be the way to

>> go, if you can keep to that with enough

>> variety to keep from getting bored.

>

> I like what one fitness guy said: calories count, but no one succeeds

> while counting calories.

>

> That has been 100% true in my experience. Even the people who believe

> in the calories and the formulas end up memorizing the real food and

> amounts that work for them and playing with those.

>

> Connie

With the exception of several Atkins " fat flushes " I have never

counted calories, nor do I want to, but the mild caloric deficit I get

from intermittent fasting seems to do the trick.

--

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it.

[Guest guest]

--- Connie <cbrown2008@...> wrote:

> > I like what one fitness guy said: calories count, but no one

> > succeeds while counting calories.

> >

> > That has been 100% true in my experience. Even the people who

> > believe in the calories and the formulas end up memorizing the

> > real food andamounts that work for them and playing with those.

>

--- <slethnobotanist@...> wrote:

> With the exception of several Atkins " fat flushes " I have never

> counted calories, nor do I want to, but the mild caloric deficit I

> get from intermittent fasting seems to do the trick.

Connie and ,

The 16/8 seems to be working well for me. So far after 5 weeks I've

lost 8 pounds. I'm actually doing closer to a 17/7 or even an 18/6.

I'm eating two meals a day and have effectively cut out my lightest

meal of the day for a deficit of about 500 to 800 calories per day -

though I'm not counting

I'm beginning to think this might be a healthy long term approach to

eating. That daily 16 to 18 hour fast may be beneficial for health.

[Guest guest]

> Connie and ,

>

> The 16/8 seems to be working well for me. So far after 5 weeks I've

> lost 8 pounds. I'm actually doing closer to a 17/7 or even an 18/6.

>

Very cool report . I do a 14 hour myself. And I assume you feel

great?

Connie

>

[Guest guest]

,

> The 16/8 seems to be working well for me. So far after 5 weeks I've

> lost 8 pounds.

Bravo! Here! Here!

> I'm actually doing closer to a 17/7 or even an 18/6.

Well now you are in the Fast 5/Warrior Diet range.

> I'm eating two meals a day and have effectively cut out my lightest

> meal of the day for a deficit of about 500 to 800 calories per day -

> though I'm not counting

>

> I'm beginning to think this might be a healthy long term approach to

> eating. That daily 16 to 18 hour fast may be beneficial for health.

May be? :-)

Pick up a copy of Eat Stop Eat. He has a nice section on many

scientific studies related to the health benefits of IF.

--

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it.

[Guest guest]

> > The 16/8 seems to be working well for me. So far after 5 weeks I've

> > lost 8 pounds. I'm actually doing closer to a 17/7 or even an 18/6.

> >

>

--- Connie <cbrown2008@...> wrote:

> Very cool report . I do a 14 hour myself. And I assume you feel

> great?

Thanks Connie. I do feel fine so far. It did take a little getting

used to being hungry towards the end of the fast period. In fact, I

cheated on a couple of evenings the first week and had some kefir

before going to bed

Now that I've gotten used to a little hunger, it's not too bad. I

think it helps that I eat a fairly low carb diet, so my blood sugar

levels should be fairly stable. I suspect low blood sugar causes the

most intense hunger.

[Guest guest]

,

what is the gist of the Eat Stop Eat program? do you fast for 24 hours and then

eat during

the next 24 hours?

>

> ,

>

> > The 16/8 seems to be working well for me. So far after 5 weeks I've

> > lost 8 pounds.

>

> Bravo! Here! Here!

>

> > I'm actually doing closer to a 17/7 or even an 18/6.

>

> Well now you are in the Fast 5/Warrior Diet range.

>

> > I'm eating two meals a day and have effectively cut out my lightest

> > meal of the day for a deficit of about 500 to 800 calories per day -

> > though I'm not counting

> >

> > I'm beginning to think this might be a healthy long term approach to

> > eating. That daily 16 to 18 hour fast may be beneficial for health.

>

> May be? :-)

>

> Pick up a copy of Eat Stop Eat. He has a nice section on many

> scientific studies related to the health benefits of IF.

>

>

> --

>

> Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

> Love the people who treat you right.

> Forget about the ones who don't.

> Believe everything happens for a reason.

> If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

> If it changes your life, let it.

> Nobody said life would be easy.

> They just promised it would be worth it.

>

[Guest guest]

Carolyn,

> what is the gist of the Eat Stop Eat program? do you fast for 24 hours and

> then eat during

> the next 24 hours?

You fast once or twice a week for a 24 hour period, and then eat

normally the rest of the time.

--

" If you're not on somebody's watch list, you're not doing your job " -

Dave Von Kleist

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it.

[Guest guest]

,

thanks. it that all there is to it? if so, I don't need to buy the book.

>

> Carolyn,

>

> > what is the gist of the Eat Stop Eat program? do you fast for 24 hours and

> > then eat during

> > the next 24 hours?

>

> You fast once or twice a week for a 24 hour period, and then eat

> normally the rest of the time.

[Guest guest]

Carolyn,

> thanks. it that all there is to it? if so, I don't need to buy the book.

Yup, two days, 24 hours each, coupled with working out several times a

week, and eating your regular foods the other days, making sure you

maintain a mil caloric deficit.

Amazing what something so simple can do.

You can follow his blog:

http://nutritionhelp.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-to-make-eat-stop-eat-work-for-you.\

html

but the book is worth owning in my opinion. Here is a simple review of it:

____________________

" Discover why one simple change to the way you eat will make you

forget about every other super-complicated weight loss and diet

program "

" The Eat Stop Eat method of using flexible intermittent fasting for

weight loss is so completely uncomplicated that you can literally

start the program the minute you finish reading this book. You don't

need to buy any fancy foods or special diet supplements. You will

start seeing results today! "

- Brad Pilon

Who is this book for?

Anyone interested in intermittent fasting; the science behind it, as a

lifestyle or as a way to lose fat.

What will I learn from it?

Besides learning how to practise the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle, this book

covers topics pertaining to intermittent fasting and metabolism,

health, body composition, hormonal effects and much more.

Strong points

* Very newbie friendly, yet well referenced and scientificly accurate.

This is the only book on the market with a substantial collection of

research on intermittent fasting.

* Does a good job of dispelling the diet myths ('starvation mode' etc)

* An enjoyable reading experience.

Weak points

* There are no calorie/macronutrient specific guidelines given in this

book, which might be a problem for some people. Of course, if you have

a good grasp on calorie counting and such, this is a non-issue. On the

other hand, I think Brad left out meal plans/nutritional guidelines

intentionally, since he pushes this as a lifestyle diet rather than a

'diet' diet, so to speak.

* As for training, Brad refers to some of his affiliates, which feels

like a cheap way out of having to come up with something of his own.

It wouldn't have hurt to put some basic workout templates in the book.

Overall

This is the best book about intermittent fasting you can get at the

moment. Not a hard title to grab, seeing that there aren't that many

around, but it's actually a surprisingly good read; it's written in

layman's language, simple and easy to understand, but remains solid on

the scientific side of things. I particularly liked that Brad choose

not to skimp on the reference list. The main downside as I see it, is

that it is a bit vague when it comes to the practical side of things

(what to eat, how to train).

___________________

--

" If you're not on somebody's watchlist, you're not doing your job " -

Dave Von Kleist

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it.

[Guest guest]

> Yup, two days, 24 hours each, coupled with working out several times a

> week, and eating your regular foods the other days, making sure you

> maintain a mil caloric deficit.

That should read " mild caloric deficit. "

--

" If you're not on somebody's watchlist, you're not doing your job " -

Dave Von Kleist

Life is too short to wake up with regrets.

Love the people who treat you right.

Forget about the ones who don't.

Believe everything happens for a reason.

If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands.

If it changes your life, let it.

Nobody said life would be easy.

They just promised it would be worth it.