low carbs/high protein diet.. need help

[crazypole25]

alright i am 16yo, 155lbs, and 5'8"...
And i am thinking of doing a low carbs, high protein diet, is this a good idea, has anyone tried this?? yeh i know i am taking a risk of dramatic weight loss but i really want to burn/get rid of all the stored fat. If i do go on this diet, whats the best way of approaching this diet? Which products would be the best to use?

I really need to reduce the size of my calves by literally half the size they are now... they look disgusting to my standards, they look really beefy, and i want to reduce some of it in the next 2 weeks or so, i know its possible, just will take a lot of time and work.

 

[Vageta]

"i want to reduce some of it in the next 2 weeks or so, i know its possible, just will take a lot of time and work"

You just said you want to reduce it in the next 2 weeks but you know it will take a lot of time and work. I'll tell you right now, even with a perfect diet and exercise you won't make much of a change in 2 weeks. You can drop a lot of water and lose "weight" and possibly look a little less puffy due to water retention. However you won't lose much fat in 2 weeks which is obviously the root of the problem.

Now you mentioned your calves look too beefy? Beefy is generally referred to as muscular not fat. So are your calves big because of muscle or because there is a lot of fat on them? If it's muscle then trying to lose it is a bad choice. If it's fat then again you won't see much difference in 2 weeks. With a low carb diet you can probably lose about 12 lbs in 2 weeks but it will be 90% water and that is always a temporary loss.

In general lowcarb/high protein diets are great but it depends on the extremity of them. A ketogenic diet is not a diet for a beginner. You need to learn how to eat normally first because if you don't then most likely you will gain it all back when you come off the CKD. I suggest eating a balanced diet with high protein, limited carbs and moderate fat. Also you must ensure you are eating less calories than you burn on top of weight training to preserve muscle loss. Most people that are new to dieting and exercise see great results on diets such as these. When you become more experienced you can start to change things up and try extreme diets. In the beginning however stick to the basics and you can't go wrong.

I can go further into detail if you wish, but if you're only interested in a quick solution then I don't think you're going to find an answer you want.

 

[sixtythirtyten]

bad diet

from what i understand, the low carb, no carb diet is really a bad diet. you need carbs to give you energy to boost your metabolism. if you don't eat carbs your body will start eating away at your muscle. you will definitly loose weight but it will mostly be muscle and water. the basic rule is to eat about the same amount of carbs and protein with each meal. this will help release the same amount of insulin and glucagon and therefore your body will use the carbs for energy and use use the protein to make more muscle and therefore no calories are stored as fat. for more info check out www.designerwhey.com. i have tried the low carb diet and i felt like crap and i looked like crap and my breath always stunk. that has got to be the worst diet out there.

 

[Vageta]

Low carb diets don't burn up muscle, in fact they have a reputation for conserving it even though that reputation is mostly word of mouth and not scientifically proven. At any rate don't get lowcarb diets mixed up with ketogenic diets. On ketogenic diets it is well known that for the first week or two you WILL feel like shit as your body become accustomed to burning fat for fuel. The bad taste in the mouth is another well known effect of the diet and is to be expected. You will also feel very flat as your muscle glycogen depletes, which is why some people may think they are losing muscle.

Lowcarb diets in general are usually fine, in fact the average american should limit carb intake in some form. Carbs also don't do anything special to raise the metabolism, in fact they can make some people drowsy and give the opposite effect. If any one macronutrient raises metabolism it's protein. Eating a meal high in protein will cause a temporary temperature rise, aka metabolic rise, while it breaks down the protein.

Carbs have gotten a bad rap lately with the lowcarb craze hitting the diet scene while in reality carbs are great in moderation. This bad rap is not without merit though as most of the obesity in America is likely due to excessive carb intake.

 

[fawnmarie]

?

Okay,

You're 16 years old, you weigh 155 and you are 5'8" - right? And you want to lose fat.

I don't mean to be rude, but, are you a girl?

Cause, If you're a guy - especially a young one, wouldn't just building some muscle pretty much take care of your excess fat stores?

5'8 - 155 are not numbers that conjure up visions of "fattiness" when applied to a male.


Fawn

 

[crazypole25]

fawn - yeh im nuts, lol, no my legs and biceps are too big for my body and look weird.

vag - Yeh i know im new to working out and stuff, what exactly is a ketogenic diet?? and whats the fastest way for reducing muscle size and burning fat (mainly calves), i don't care how weak i become and i don't care what it takes.

 

[crazypole25]

oh yeh, and how do we find out what our body fat % is?
along with protein, fat, and carbs %?? yeh i'm a newbie

 

[jennifer BFL chick]

Hi crazy, I have big calves as well, and I'm female. I have always had guys want MY calves, and I say take them! But I have learned to love my strong body/calves. But I don't want them to get bigger so I don't work my calves with weight very often. That seems to help. I don't think you can "spot reduce" muscle with a diet. Just like losing fat, it comes off every where. So, unless you want to lose muscle all over your body, don't make that a goal.

 

[Vageta]

Well to keep things simple, a ketogenic diet is the most extreme form of a lowcarb diet. Many times when people refer to lowcarb dieting they are really talking about a ketogenic diet. Basically when you consume less than about 30g of carbs a day your body will deplete its glycogen stores and eventually begin producing ketones. When this happens your body makes a metabolic change and actually begins to burn fat as it's primary source of fuel. There is a lot of side effects that tend to occur during this metabolic phase which makes it hard to follow the diet for some. However once you get past this period, usually 1-2 weeks, you will begin to feel a lot better, sometimes better than before.

I would suggest not going this extreme as a beginner as you don't need to. Reducing carbs is fine though you need to find a good number to shoot for. If you go very low but not low enough to hit ketosis then you may feel like shit all the time and have no energy. Personally I weigh 200lbs and I shoot for 120 carbs a day, and they come in 2 meals usually. The other meals I don't eat any carbs, except what little may be in the protein or fat sources. This amount keeps me energized and I focus the carb intake around my workouts and cardio. I also have a carb up day on Sunday where I refill glycogen stores to last me the next week.

As far as your willingness to lose muscle in the calf area, it isn't going to happen. Chances are you will lose muscle in your other areas first and then your calves being that they're one of your strong points. Instead of reducing muscle in your oversized areas how about focusing on increasing muscle in your weak area? If you really don't want your legs and arms to grow then don't focus on them. Don't do calf or arm exercises at all and concentrate on the other muscles. If you do it right your other parts will eventually catch up and you will achieve the look you want safely.