No carb/ only veggies for carbs

[jennifer BFL chick]

Hi, I am doing the BFL program.

www.bodyforlifediaries.com

Thats my web address, I have Every workout, and every meal for almost 5 months. Plus, weekly progress with pictures/Bodyfat/weight/ect.

Ok, blah,blah,blah---just so you know what I have been doing

Well, I am interested in doing a low carb diet for my last 2 weeks before I take my after picture. BUT, really, I am not interested in doing anything like the "atkins" diet (don't even know if thats how you spell it) Eating sausage and bacon all the time makes me sick just thinking about it (mostly because I don't like the taste) But also, I can't afford to lose major energy and get kranky, its just not worth it to me. SO...........


Heres my Question:

What about only eating green veggies for 95% of my carbs? Has anyone tried this? I still want to have energy for my workouts, very important. Thanks in advance.

Jennifer

 

[HeavyDutyGuy]

Good luck with your effort to make positive changes. I think eating a lot of veggies is a great idea. Diets are not a good idea though. Lifestyle changes are the way to go, otherwise you will evnetually end up where you started. Diets are quick fixes and in the long run do more harm than good. I, too have been droppign excess fat by upping my weight training frequency , adding in running and other cardio and increasing the frequency and duration of my cardio as I go. As far as eating, I have cut out almost all junk food- an occasional item or two wont hurt, and lowered carbs and fats while increasing my protein to hold onto my lean muscle and allow for growth. Above all allow enough time to achieve your goals. Good luck.

 

[wynnyelle]

hey that's just like what i've been doing...i have occasional relapses but by and large i have cut out almost all junk food. that alone, even without changing calorie intake, has been enough to help me a lot, AND my skin looks clearer.

Veggies are the healthiest carbs in my opinion. they're your best friend in weight loss...

 

[MS]

I think it's a splendid idea. Let us know how it works for you.

 

[Big Johnson]

First of all, eating carbs before your workout will give you LESS energy. Why? Your body produces insulin in response to carbs, thus lowering blood sugar levels and making less available for energy.

Why not power your body with the cleanest burning energy available? Fat. Calorie for calorie, your body produces almost twice the amount of carbon dioxide burning carbohydrates as it does fat. What does this mean? More carbon dioxide for your body to respirate and increased muscle fatigue.

 

[wilson6]

fat and carbs

I don't know how I let myself get sucked into this one…………

If all you do is walk or jog, then fat is a great energy source. However, any aerobic or resistance exercise performed at higher intensity is going to require carbs, either from muscle glycogen or from the blood in the form of glucose. There ain't no way around it. When muscle glycogen runs low, one relies on blood glucose. If blood glucose is low, you're done. This has been studied ad nauseam.

As far as fat vs carb metabolism goes, this business of CO2 confuses me. If you take a single 6 carbon fatty acid (C6-H12-O2) and a single unit of glucose (C6-H12-O6) and oxidize them both aerobically the outcome is still 6 units of CO2. In fact, it requires 5 units more of oxygen to burn the fat versus the carbohydrate. Now, you do get 45 ATP for each 6 carbon fat burned vs 39 ATP for each unit of glucose burned, BUT you can't go anaerobic with fat (producing lactate) and that's why you're limited in terms of exercise intensity. Remember, fat burns in the fire of carbohydrate.

The trick to insulin production from carbs and avoiding low blood glucose is to time your carb intake shortly before exercise (less than 20 minutes). When you start exercising, the insulin response is shut off. It is only if you consume simple sugar an hour out, then start exercising intensely, will you run into trouble. Again, this has been studied extensively. Regardless, a good meal with complex carbs a few hours from your training session, or the night before, if you train early will do because your liver and muscle glycogen stores will be able to sustain the exercise bout.

If you don't believe me, then try going on 60 grams of carbs per day total for a couple of days, get up first thing in a fasted state, suck down some fat (flax seed oil or whatever) then hit legs heavy. It will be an easy workout since it will last just few minutes before you pass out or come close.

W6

 

[Rockaho]

If you don't believe me, then try going on 60 grams of carbs per day total for a couple of days, get up first thing in a fasted state, suck down some fat (flax seed oil or whatever) then hit legs heavy. It will be an easy workout since it will last just few minutes before you pass out or come close.


The 2nd and 3rd day of a low carb diet are the worst as far as low energy levels and feeling like crap. I am on a keto diet and have no problem with energy levels. But wilson6 is correct in telling you to try it for yourself. Everyone is diffrent I don't care how many studies are done. If your gonna do a keto or low carb diet give your body time to adapt to the change befor doing a high intense leg day.

As far as the veggies Idea, I don't think you could go wrong with that as long as you do like you said and don't overdo the fat. Carbs + Fat = Flab

 

[jennifer BFL chick]

Maybe I didn't make my question very clear.

I am not interested in lowering my carbs. But, I was wondering if eating only veggies for your carbs, for ONLY 2 weeks, would help fat loss.

If you clicked on my web address, you would know that I do more the just walking/running. I am doing BFL, which is weight training and short intense cardio.

 

[Rockaho]

No.
Yes.

It really depends on where you were/are getting your carbs from. Some carbs have a higher GI some a lower, same goes for the carbs in veggies. If the veggies you consume are composed of more complex carbs and higher fiber content than where you were getting your carbs from then, yes it would benifit you. If they are sweet simple carb veggies then maybe not.

 

[BigEasy]

So to answer in simple terms my poor little brain can comprehend is:

Yes, if the veggies are primarily green leafy, cruciferous, and heavy water content negative caloric value digested. (celery or iceberg lettuce anyone?)

BTW, I use the above combo when on a CKD without leaving ketosis.


BE

 

[jennifer BFL chick]

That's what I figured. When ever I DON'T eat veggies, my fat loss is slower. Mostly, all I eat for veggies are:

Broccoli----LOTS
Romaine Lettuce
Cucumbers

But of course, I eat all sorts of vegetables, but, mostly I try to stick to the green/dark kinds.

It will be really weird eating broccoli for breakfast! lol

But if it helps, then I'm all over it.


I'm not expected to drop major fat doing this. I just want a little push in the right direction. Like I mentioned above, going completely with out carbs would drive me batty! Hats off to people that can do it, but I'm not one of them.

Oh yeah, and for me, simple, plain answers are best, I seem to get confused with all the scientific stuff.

 

[fawnmarie]

Um...er...

Jennifer...

Eating 95% of your carbs as veggies *IS* the Atkins diet!

If you were to eat the average American diet of 300 grams of carbs as vegetables you would explode.

Atkins is NOT all eggs and sausage.

It's meat, eggs, fish, nuts (lean or not lean - depending on the dieter taste and/or lipid profile)
High fiber, low carb veggies (including the ones you listed)
No sugar
No starch

Atkins starts at 20 grams of carbs per day (which is 20 AFTER all the dietary fiber is removed).

You could also look at the Protein Power diet, which is probably closer to what you are describing. Starts at about 30-40 for heavy-duty folks, 50-60 for not so heavy folks, and includes tons of veggies and even some fruit and high-fiber grains. It will also tell you how to calculate the minimum amount of protein you require to maintain or gain muscle mass. I would recommend it for that reason also. Written by 2 docs named "Eades".

Fawn

 

[jennifer BFL chick]

Gosh, I never thought about that before. I guess only eating veggies is kind of like atkins. All the really greasy food, just sounds gross, but I guess I could eat lots of nuts. I wouldn't mind that at all. Plus, nuts you don't need to cook, which is VERY nice. All I know about atkins is that you eat alot of fat and protein, and very low carbs. I guess I just want to be able to eat a little rice here and there. I know its not going to kick me into that crazy fat buring state, but, at least it will help, or at least I would think so. I might just use a juicer for my veggies, that way I can just drink them (god, that sounds gross) but it would be really fast, instead of chewing them all day long! I could juice up tons of romain leaves, that would give me alot of carbs. 6 leaves have 8 carbs, so if I ate 24 leaves at a time, that would give me enough. Man, the more I think about this, the harder it sounds! lol But, I am up for something new. Talk about testing your will power!

 

[fawnmarie]

It sounds gross, but it's really not like that.

The ketogenic diet a lot of the BB folks are following here are a lot like the Atkins diet. There doesn't HAVE to be a lot of fat on the diet - lean protein and lots of veggies is fine. You need some fat - but vegetable oils are really better than animal fats. Salad dressing.

Don't forget your protein! You'll need it. You can eat eggs, cheese, tofu and fish, too. It doesn't have to be fatty stuff. Lean chicken and fish are fine too.

Fawn

 

[spatts]

Re: fat and carbs

READ AND LEARN

I don't know how I let myself get sucked into this one…………

If all you do is walk or jog, then fat is a great energy source. However, any aerobic or resistance exercise performed at higher intensity is going to require carbs, either from muscle glycogen or from the blood in the form of glucose. There ain't no way around it. When muscle glycogen runs low, one relies on blood glucose. If blood glucose is low, you're done. This has been studied ad nauseam.

As far as fat vs carb metabolism goes, this business of CO2 confuses me. If you take a single 6 carbon fatty acid (C6-H12-O2) and a single unit of glucose (C6-H12-O6) and oxidize them both aerobically the outcome is still 6 units of CO2. In fact, it requires 5 units more of oxygen to burn the fat versus the carbohydrate. Now, you do get 45 ATP for each 6 carbon fat burned vs 39 ATP for each unit of glucose burned, BUT you can't go anaerobic with fat (producing lactate) and that's why you're limited in terms of exercise intensity. Remember, fat burns in the fire of carbohydrate.

The trick to insulin production from carbs and avoiding low blood glucose is to time your carb intake shortly before exercise (less than 20 minutes). When you start exercising, the insulin response is shut off. It is only if you consume simple sugar an hour out, then start exercising intensely, will you run into trouble. Again, this has been studied extensively. Regardless, a good meal with complex carbs a few hours from your training session, or the night before, if you train early will do because your liver and muscle glycogen stores will be able to sustain the exercise bout.

If you don't believe me, then try going on 60 grams of carbs per day total for a couple of days, get up first thing in a fasted state, suck down some fat (flax seed oil or whatever) then hit legs heavy. It will be an easy workout since it will last just few minutes before you pass out or come close.

W6

 

[Ulter]

NO SHIT!!!! I wish I could have her sit on my shoulder all day and say that post to people when I am trying to get them to eat carbs and use Glucorell R. The resistance to eating carbs is maddening.

Sorry, venting.

 

[flexygrl]

Jennifer,

Just looked through your site. I can't give you any advice only because I don't know BFL and I am still a newbie here. Just wanted to let you know that you have come along way baby! Wow, what a transformation. Even your Mexico pics. You look great. And you look soooo happy!! You looked happy when you were heavy too, but there's a little sparkle in your eye now! Congrats! You should be so proud of yourself!!!

 

[RottenWillow]

As far as fat vs carb metabolism goes, this business of CO2 confuses me. If you take a single 6 carbon fatty acid (C6-H12-O2) and a single unit of glucose (C6-H12-O6) and oxidize them both aerobically the outcome is still 6 units of CO2. In fact, it requires 5 units more of oxygen to burn the fat versus the carbohydrate. Now, you do get 45 ATP for each 6 carbon fat burned vs 39 ATP for each unit of glucose burned, BUT you can't go anaerobic with fat (producing lactate) and that's why you're limited in terms of exercise intensity. Remember, fat burns in the fire of carbohydrate.

...WHOA, W6 has gone Plaid!! (obscure Spaceballs reference)