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Skwigg Blog
Sunday, 29 August 2010
Weight Loss Is Hard

I was reading Shape magazine today. Do not taunt me! :-) I've had a subscription for like 30 years and it always entertains me. I marveled at the yoga workout with the tiny purple kettlebells and then I read something profound. One of the Success Stories women said, "It's hard to be overweight, it's hard to lose weight and it's hard to maintain your weight. You just have to pick your ‘hard!'"

Wow. That's sort of brilliant. Definitely thought provoking. Do you agree with her? I totally did at first read but then I started questioning.

How hard is it to sleep late, never exercise, and eat junk food all day? How hard is it to eat great food, do fun workouts and feel fantastic? Probably neither person would call their way "hard." It's just a matter of perception.

When I believed fat loss was difficult, time consuming and no fun at all, it became those things to me. It was all about discipline, deprivation and gutting it out. Only the strong survive. No pain, no gain. Food is fuel. Blah, blah, blah, brainwashing. 

True, if you want to lose fat or maintain a loss you have to approach it intentionally and consistently, but the idea that it has to be "hard" is a self-imposed obstacle. I didn't realize that until I broke my leg, quit the gym, and bumbled into "easy." Now it's easy to do workouts I genuinely enjoy and to eat food I really love. It's nice to make good decisions, get good results and want more. You don't have to set it up as a battle. It is what you think it is.


Posted by skwigg at 12:33 PM CDT
Updated: Sunday, 29 August 2010 12:35 PM CDT
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Diet vs Exercise

This video amuses me, and not just because the anti-cardio guy is running and the fasting guy is eating pizza. :-) It clearly illustrates how futile it is to try to exercise off dietary slip-ups. It's easy to put away hundreds or even thousands of calories in just a few minutes but it takes hours of intense exercise to burn off a fraction of that. The idea that you can "undo" a gluttonous meal with a trip to the gym keeps many people from reaching their goals. It certainly tripped me up for quite a few years!

  

 

To see more from these guys, Brad Pilon's intermittent fasting program is Eat, Stop Eat and Craig Ballantyne's strength + intervals program is Turbulence Training.


Posted by skwigg at 10:16 AM CDT
Updated: Thursday, 26 August 2010 10:33 AM CDT
Tuesday, 24 August 2010
Kettlebell Workouts

 

 

Here’s the kettlebell workout I did yesterday. I used two 18s for the whole thing, partly because I’d used my 35lb kettlebell for the previous workout, and partly because that’s all I’d brought up from the basement stairs where I keep my kettlebell collection, one bell on each step (to trip the burglars and basement monsters). 

 

Hindsight: the 18s were too light for get-ups and single-arm swings and very uncomfortable for renegade rows.

 

I make these things up as I go, so if you try it and mangle yourself I take no responsibility. :-P  Use your good judgement and all that.

 

1st Workout: 

 

Turkish Get-Ups - 5 each side

Single-Arm Swings - 10 each side

Clean/Squat/Press Combos - 10 each side

Renegade Rows - 10 each side, alternating

 

Repeated the circuit 3 times. 

 

On the second and third times, I switched the renegade rows to bent-over rows because the two 18lb kettlebells were quite flimsy, wobbly and uncomfortable. 20lb hex dumbbells work better. Bigger, more stable kettlebells would work better as well.

 

---

 

2-Kettlebell Stiff-Legged Deadlift (on a riser) - 15

2-Kettlebell Chest Press - 15

2-Kettlebell Side lunges - 15 each side

2-Kettlebell Seesaw Press - 15 each side, alternating

 

did this once but you could make it a second circuit

 

---

 

High Windmills - 10 each side

Russian Twists - 15 each side alternating

90 second plank

 

2nd Workout:

 

The workout before that I used a single 35 pound kettlebell and did:

 

20 Swings

10 Clean/Squat/Lunge Combos each side

 

15 Swings

8 Clean/Squat/Lunge Combos each side

 

10 Swings

5 Clean/Squat/Lunge Combos each side

 

Just thought I’d put those out there. When I talk about doing a kettlebell workout people often wonder what the heck you do with a kettlebell anyway.



Posted by skwigg at 5:07 PM CDT
Updated: Wednesday, 25 August 2010 9:39 AM CDT
Slap Appy

So, last night friends and I discovered the AgingBooth and FatBooth iPhone apps. Hilarity ensued. You take a picture of a face and the apps will either age it dramatically or add a hundred pounds. There's an iPhone version and I'm pretty sure an Android version.

First I ran myself through the AgingBooth. Holy speechless! I was stunned at how well it worked. When I showed it to people it made them gasp and stare for a long time.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then I tried the FatBooth. It made my fitness geek friends double over and cry with laughter. I think it's the goofy half-smiling expression, like I'm waiting for cookies to come out of the oven. 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm sort of amazed at how ok I am with the photos. I think I look awesome! LOL I mean, what an astounding old cat lady I make in that first photo, and I'm happy and absolutely glowing in the second one, even if I do have some extra chins.

There was a time in my life when I would have been mortified by these. There's no way I would have shown them to anyone. Now, I'm tempted to frame them! Maybe it's because I just finished reading Operation Beautiful. That kind of puts it all in perspective.

Do you find that you're easier on yourself as time passes? Less critical? More of a sense of humor? Or are you still at war? I've had some interesting conversations about whether you need to be negative and dissatisfied in order to change, and whether accepting yourself means giving up. I think it's the opposite.


Posted by skwigg at 9:48 AM CDT
Updated: Tuesday, 24 August 2010 12:29 PM CDT
Monday, 16 August 2010
Protein Powder

I have a love/hate relationship with protein powder. First I hated it, then I loved it, then I hated it, now I love it again but I'm a bit of a freak about quality and purity.

I started using protein powder in my bodybuilding geek phase. Most protein powder ten or twelve years ago tasted like rat poison sweetened with antifreeze and it mixed like concrete (old Optimum, GNC and Met-Rx). I didn't like it but I thought I was supposed to ingest it if I wanted to look all muscley so I dutifully drank 2-3 servings per day and lifted heavy things.

Eventually, protein powder evolved. It became easier to mix and was sweetened with sucralose and ACE-K, which tasted much better even if it was an unholy chemical cocktail (EAS, Designer, Syntrax). I loved it! I bought it in 5 pound tubs.

After years of daily consumption, I grossed myself out on the stuff. I was sick of bodybuilding food and bodybuilding rules. I wanted to hurl my egg whites, protein powder, steamed vegetables, oatmeal, and grilled chicken.

I started reading Michael Pollan and became suspicious of edible food like substances. I decided that protein powder wasn't food and quit buying it for myself. My husband thought I'd gone nuts (again LOL) and kept drinking it himself.

After being anti protein powder for a while, I'd taken my "mostly plants" approach to the point of being nearly vegan and going weeks at a time without any animal products at all. To bump my protein intake a little, I found a raw vegan protein powder with no chemicals (Sun Warrior) and started adding it to my green smoothies.

Ok, so, happiness! I have my Sun Warrior that I enjoy a couple of times per week. Husband is very happy with his daily EAS 100% Whey. Then the Consumer Reports investigation about heavy metals in protein powders came out. They found mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead in many of the biggest brands. EAS, Designer, GNC, Optimum, Muscle Milk, and MuscleTech all had contaminants. (Click on the "Our recent investigation" and "three of the products" links in that CR blog post to see more.)

I wasn't thrilled with the report. I wish they'd given more information, like how common are these substances in other foods? How does it get into the protein powder? Which brands tested safe? Maybe they went into more detail for subscribers but the little snippets posted on the web scared the hell out everyone with no real answers.

My first course of action was to toss the husband's EAS. He likes the taste of my Sun Warrior rice protein but won't use it because it doesn't mix easily with a spoon. (I'm a blender junkie.) I started looking for a high quality natural whey and found some good ones. That crazy Mercola guy makes an ultra-pure and natural Miracle Whey but it's insanely expensive. Mercola is paranoid enough that I'm sure his product is freaky safe, but it was something like $38 a pound compared to $9 a pound for EAS. (Yes, when I saw the price I clutched my chest and stumbled around in a circle.) Of course, it was all the most popular and affordable brands that were full of toxic waste. Who knows if they even tested the high-end natural brands or what they found. Does anybody subscribe to Consumer Reports or have the whole article?

After a trip to the health food store for samples, I found Jay Robb whey. I also bought some Jay Robb rice protein and a packet of Vega Sport rice, pea, hemp, alfalfa protein.

The Vega Sport was very...plant tasty. It was good, but all of the ingredients have strong plant flavors. It would be perfect in a green smoothie but might overwhelm something more delicate and fruity. I got the berry flavor and all I tasted was alfalfa and peas. It's also in that scary $30-$35 a pound price range. It's crazy nutritious but I prefer the taste of Sun Warrior.

The Jay Robb whey is delicious. The tub says it's "The best tasting protein on the planet" which made me roll my eyes but damned if that isn't an accurate statement. Chocolate, strawberry and the tropical dreamsicle flavor were all fantastic. It changed my opinion of whey protein. It has a thin consistency, mixes easily, comes from grass fed, hormone free cows, is sweetened with stevia, and costs a fortune compared to EAS. However, it's not quite as expensive as Vega Sport or the Mercola stuff. It's around $25 a pound, roughly the same as Sun Warrior.

Here are some of my favorite smoothies. I freeze all the fruit and veggie ingredients to make the drinks frostier. If I want to save some calories I use 50/50 almond milk and ice water instead of all almond milk.

spinach, mango, banana, almond milk, vanilla Sun Warrior

blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, banana, almond milk, strawberry Jay Robb

banana, peanut butter, almond milk, chocolate Jay Robb

pineapple, mango, banana, almond milk, tropical dreamsicle Jay Robb

So, there's my giant protein ramble. Disclosure: I don't make any money on protein powder. Quite the contrary! LOL

Do you use protein powder or avoid it? Has that changed over time? What's your favorite brand and flavor? Did the Consumer Reports article change your buying habits? Got a favorite blender recipe?


Posted by skwigg at 9:00 PM CDT
Updated: Monday, 16 August 2010 9:28 PM CDT
Sunday, 15 August 2010
Splenda Buns and Ciabatta Rocks

I recently noticed that my favorite 100 calorie thin sandwich bun things have sucralose (Splenda) in them! When did that happen? They're hiding artificial sweeteners all over the place now. Pepperidge Farms deli flats and Orrowheat sandwich thins both have it. Earth Grains 100% Natural thin buns are the only kind I've found without sucralose. They're sweetened with sugar, which is what things should be sweetened with if you ask me.

I used to put Splenda on everything until I got the Splenda rash. I thought it was the dumbest internet rumor ever but if your skin has become insanely sensitive to everything, look at how much Splenda you're consuming. Ditching it was like a miracle cure.

When I gave up artificial sweeteners I knew to look for them in diet soda and protein shakes but I wasn't expecting them to show up in baked goods. I've seen sucralose in pretzels, chips and crackers, not the "diet" kind either. They're just casually using it everywhere now. That realization prompted me to get all rebellious and bake my own bread. Ha! It did not go well. I used this kitchen hack recipe for one-minute ciabatta bread. It looked simple and I had fun making it but it came out so heavy and dense I could have clubbed someone to death with it. I'm not sure where I went wrong. I would love to find a simple bread recipe that works. I've also thought of trying a bread machine, or if that fails, finding a local bakery. Do you have any bread advice for me? I don't eat much of it but when I have some, I'd like it to be real. I bought frozen ezekiel bread for years but ideally I'd like something softer and fresher.


Posted by skwigg at 3:27 PM CDT
Updated: Sunday, 15 August 2010 3:33 PM CDT
Saturday, 7 August 2010
Weekend Food Meltdowns

I do pretty good for a while and then seem to have a day every once in a while where I meltdown and go nuts.  I guess it is my old  habits that creep up and I revert back to the old ways...thinking too much about food, depriving for a few days, strict diets, and then bam - meltdown on a weekend.

How long did it take for you to get to where you were comfortable with your new approach and consistent with it as well?  Is it just a constant work in progress?  Any advice?

It's an ongoing project. I'm certainly not done yet. I learn new things and get smarter about my food intake every day. Sometimes I get smarter by doing something spectacularly dumb that wrecks weeks of healthy and gradual deficit in just a few days. Then I say, "Oh, ok. I won't do that again. It really wasn't worth it." The next time that danger-danger opportunity arises, I remember how it felt to do the giant setback thing and I make a better decision. It may not be a perfect decision, but it won't be as jacked up as the last time. Repeat, repeat, repeat... 

I feel like a fairly evolved eater compared to a few years ago when I was still trying to diet and follow rules, but I arrived at this point by making every goofy decision imaginable. Don't be afraid to screw up. Just pay attention to how and when you go wrong and how you might handle it better next time. Eventually, you'll be on track and getting results YOUR way instead of struggling with somebody else's diet that you can't wait to quit.

Bethenny Frankel's Naturally Thin book is my non-dieting foundation (blog posts about it here and here) so I reread it recently. I love her whole message of enjoying life, enjoying food, and socializing without guilt or stress. I keep her principles saved as a note on my phone so I can review them occasionally. I swear, the biggest part of it is just knowing how you want to look and feel and making decisions that support it. You have to stay conscious and in control. Overeating involves checking out and letting go. So, I try to never let an "oh, screw it" thought go unchecked.

You CAN eat what you want, eat out, go on vacation, enjoy crazy fattening foods, and still see great results. It's a matter of balance, activity level, and portion control. Get over the idea that if you slip at all, you're ruined and may as well keep ruining yourself. That all or nothing dieter thing is what makes people crazy and undermines their progress.

I love to splurge on my weekends. I plan it that way and totally enjoy it. It doesn't have to be a meltdown. It doesn't even have to be blip in your progress. You can be your same weight or down a little after an enjoyable weekend. I remember in my Body for Life days I could put on as much as 5-6 pounds in one insane free day. It was nearly all carb and sodium bloat but it would take days to recover. I don't do that to myself anymore.

My weekends can involve pizza, ice cream, pancake breakfasts, movie popcorn, and decadent restaurant meals but not all of those every weekend and not in amounts that would cause weight gain, even if it's just water weight. If I eat a thousand plus calories worth of pizza and ice cream or pancakes and bacon, the rest of my day will be fairly restrained and involve lots of water, leafy green things, and potassium rich fruit and vegetables to counteract the sodium bomb. Maybe when it's all said and done, I only eat 1600-1700 calories total. (I don't deliberately count calories but I have a bit of a Rain Man brain in that regard.) So, the weekend is no different from a weekday in terms of "damage" but I have a great time and eat exactly what I want. When I'm back to my work week I'll happily emphasize healthier choices and keep treats smaller.

It takes time to find your balance but it's doable. You don't have to eat dieter food all weekend while your friends are living it up. You do have to learn to keep your goals in mind and your portions under control no matter what day it is.

How do you handle weekends, vacations, restaurants and special occasions? Are you getting better at it or is it a sticking point in your progress? Do you ever turn down invitations because it will mess with your food?


Posted by skwigg at 12:06 PM CDT
Updated: Sunday, 8 August 2010 12:16 PM CDT
Thursday, 5 August 2010
Discipline, Diets and Whining

So I have been thinking a lot about discipline. I have tried to kick up my workouts but just don't seem to stay with it long. I don't really enjoy eating protein all day. Yesterday I found myself eating the rest of the chicken salad I had made just to eat my protein but I didn't enjoy it. A facebook friend said to me "this is where your discipline comes in, you have to want it bad enough, it's about doing what you don't feel like doing".....I thought to myself that it sounds great and all, yes I want lower body fat but I just seem to go back to old behaviors and I start to obsess. I guess I wonder if there is something wrong with me, and do you think I can get my body fat down without having to eat high protein?

I totally agree with your friend. :-) Quit whining and doubting. You want "it" or you don't. The thing is, everybody's "it" is different. I want my "it" badly enough to do whatever it takes to be a lean, happy, healthy, disciplined, successful non-dieter. Being lean takes deliberate effort! I do what's necessary even if I don't love it all the time. I love the RESULT. So, sometimes I feel like sitting on the couch but I move my ass. Sometimes I feel like a fast food lunch but I make a green smoothie. Sometimes I'm dying for ice cream and I just ignore it!!! You can't woo-woo around doing what you want all the time and be lean. Geneen Roth taught us that if nothing else. ;-)

I enjoy having some discipline and self-control. It makes me happy. And when I scheme a way to have Pop-Tarts for breakfast without compromising my abs, I thrill at my cleverness. But I do compensate for the Pop-Tarts somewhere down the line. I stay in balance. I keep my focus on leanness, health, and whole foods but I don't completely deny myself. That approach is my "it" that I'm willing to work for. It's not just a percentage or a number that I try to luck into using somebody else's rules. My "it" is the whole package of who I want to be and how I want to eat, so I don't let it go or let circumstances sway me.

Somewhere I've talked about mature muscle. I've been lifting for over 25 years. There's a difference between my muscle and the muscle on someone who has never lifted a weight, or someone who has only been lifting a year or two. You have to build it. It has to be there before you can maintain it or lean out enough to expose it. Still, I was a vegetarian, no meat, fish or chicken whatsoever, for seven of those muscle building years. I didn't have much trouble building the muscle. At the time, you couldn't see it very well, not because my protein intake was low but because I was eating a boatload of bread, pasta, cheese and sugar, too many calories overall, and had too much water retention to look cut and defined.

There are vegan bodybuilders who created their entire physique with no animal protein at all. Check out the Profiles and Galleries on VeganBodybuilding.com. Or another person who comes to mind is Kardena Pauza who competes as a vegan. She has a lot of thoughts, photos, and info about her plant-based eating on her blog.

Still, I'm no vegan! My urge to eat animal protein comes and goes and I just roll with it. Lately, I've been eating it nearly every day, but certainly not every meal. There is plenty of protein in my diet. I don't worry about counting grams or following rules or timing it just right. I'd say be conscious about eating SOME protein every day, but it doesn't have to be animal protein and it doesn't have to be forced into every meal.

Strong showy muscles come from lifting the crap out of heavy things. Leanness comes from a consistent calorie deficit. Definition comes from lifting heavy things, plus a deficit, plus plenty of leafy, watery potassium rich whole foods that promote peeing and discourage water retention. Pudge comes from lack of workout intensity, too many calories, no consistency, and too much high-sodium processed garbage. Protein is certainly a part of proper nutrition but it's not the whole answer to being lean. If it were the whole answer you'd have gotten holy shit lean the last 27 times you tried a high-protein diet. :-)

I think if I had to pick one thing that's the most important, it's consistency. You need a consistent deficit, consistent workouts, consistent rejection of lazy self-sabotage thoughts. If you want to be lean you need to act like it ALL THE TIME not just try something for a week and then give up, and then try some conflicting thing and do it sorta so-so for a month, and then start to doubt that, and then go back to the first thing you did for a week that didn't really work. If you approach it that way, you're just drifting, probably backward.

Decide who you want to be and how you want to eat and GO FOR IT every day! You don't have to eat like a bodybuilder or anybody else's "it" but you do have to know what you want and pursue it with some kind of focused intention. You can't wishy-wash around and achieve anything.

When I open my Google Reader to check out my favorite fitness and food blogs, I see so many healthy, fit, lean, happy people. They come from all different backgrounds with all different food preferences and workout approaches. Powerlifters, raw vegans, high-carb endurance athletes, low-carb cavemen, renegade strength coaches, figure competitors, dance instructors, crossfitters. Certainly, they have some things in common. Dedication to whatever they're doing seems to be right up there but otherwise they are all over the place!

Who do you want to be and how do you want to eat? What's the "it" that you're willing to go for even if it isn't always easy?


Posted by skwigg at 1:36 PM CDT
Updated: Thursday, 5 August 2010 11:44 PM CDT
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Kettlebells for Dummies Review

I receive a lot of questions about kettlebells. The top three are: What's a kettlebell? What size should I get? How do I learn to use it without killing myself? Kettlebells for Dummies answers all of those questions plus a gazillion more. It covers everything a beginner needs to get started safely, yet it's thorough enough to teach kettlebell veterans new exercises and better form.

It's written by Sarah Lurie, RKC, CSCS, the owner of Iron Core kettlebell gym and one of my favorite instructors. Her teaching style is very straightforward and easy to follow. She's trained enough kettlebell clients over the years that she can anticipate all of the dumb and dangerous things newbies will do and correct them before they become problems. The book includes whole sections on testing your strength and flexibility, finding neutral spine, breathing properly, and perfecting your hip snap. It covers both basic and advanced kettlebell exercises then builds complete workout plans for various fitness levels and goals.

 

The chapters are: 

  1. Shaping Up with Kettlebells
  2. A Primer on Kettlebells: What They Are and How to Use Them
  3. Picking the Right Kettlebell and Setting Up Your Home Gym
  4. Moves for Success: Spine and Hip Essentials
  5. Breathing Right, Warming Up, Cooling Down and Taking Care
  6. Swinging Your Way to a Lean and Toned Physique
  7. Turkish Delight: Tackling The Turkish Get-Up
  8. More Essential Exercises: The Front Squat, the Clean and the Military Press
  9. Beginner Kettlebell Workouts to Lose the Jiggle and Build Strength
  10. Kettlebell Exercises to Help You Gain Strength, Flexibility, and Mobility
  11. Whittle Your Middle: Core Exercises
  12. Mastering the Five Ultimate Kettlebell Exercises
  13. Kicking It Up a Notch With Advanced Kettlebell Workouts and Combinations
  14. Addressing the Fitness Needs of Young Adults, Boomers and Seniors
  15. Staying Fit During (and after) Your Pregnancy
  16. Kettlebell Training for Athletes of All Levels
  17. Rehabbing or Supporting Substantial Weight Loss with Kettlebells
  18. Ten Ways to Set and Meet Your Kettlebell Fitness Goals
  19. Nearly Ten Guidelines for Finding and Working Out with a Certified Trainer

I especially enjoyed the detailed advice on choosing a kettlebell: how to determine the proper weight for your size and strength, how to tell if the handle size is right for your hands, measuring the correct grip width, proper construction, comparing surface texture, and why adjustable, plastic, vinyl coated, and sand-filled kettlebells suck.

I was impressed with how much emphasis is placed on testing your strength and flexibility and correcting any deficiencies before your add weight to the movements. Knees hurt? There's a correction for that. Feeling it in your back? More corrective exercises. Lifting with your arms instead of snapping with your hips? She offers a variation that produces the proper form.

Kettlebells for Dummies is a thorough introduction for beginners, a handy reference for more advanced users, and a good source of routines for anybody putting together a kettlebell workout. I do wish that it came with a DVD, or linked to online video demos, or perhaps projected a holographic Sarah Lurie into your living room. Seeing kettlebell exercises in motion is extremely helpful. Still, the photos are clear and the descriptions are very complete. I feel confident that a beginner could get started safely with this book. If you have any doubts or concerns, there's a chapter on finding a qualified local instructor.

 

Disclosurey Stuff - I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher. I link to it using my Amazon affiliate ID. If you buy through the link I'll make less than a dollar per sale. I'll try not to spend it all in one place. See my disclosure statement.


Posted by skwigg at 8:49 AM CDT
Updated: Thursday, 29 July 2010 9:04 AM CDT
Sunday, 18 July 2010
Hungry Head Games

I don't like the term intuitive eating. I think on some level I still associate it with failed dieters and weight gain. I don't know what to call it though. Non-dieting? Wise-upping? No-obsessing? Naturally-thinning? Ha! That last one sounds like hair loss.

Leigh Peele had a couple of interesting posts on the subject. The first one talks about the flaws and realities of intuitive eating for fat loss. She says that most people's intuition about food is what gets them in trouble in the first place, that a hungry, tired brain will demand candy bar carbs. I puzzled over that one for a couple of days because I don't totally agree but I couldn't articulate why. I guess I don't think eating more intuitively means you suddenly lose your mind and all of your nutrition knowledge. Maybe that's why the term "intuitive eating" hits me wrong. Like it's not so intuitive that you just give up and eat whatever you crave until your pants don't fit. You can intuitively create a deficit.

Then she posted a follow-up No Calories, No Scale? No Problem which is equally fascinating. In it, she includes a whole list of weight loss side effects - hunger, headaches, moodiness, anxiety, etc. - that you actually should feel when you're eating at a substantial deficit. And I do feel some of those regularly. Stomach growling hunger is a daily thing, but then I eat. Lightheadedness, that only happens if I eat squeaky clean and low sodium, which I try to avoid. Anxiety, I sometimes feel that when I can't medicate or distract myself with food. No biggie.

So, I definitely have a deficit going at times during the week, complete with a side-effect or two, which gives me the wiggle room to have some pizza or ice cream or a splurgy restaurant meal without weight consequences. Still, I don't think creating a cascade of horrible side-effects is the way to go. If fat loss is miserable, you're not going to be able to keep it up. That's why I've always avoided low-carb, low-calorie, super strict, crazy stuff. Sure those plans work, and quickly, but they kick your ass in ways that make your brain scream for pie. I find it better to create a smaller but totally consistent deficit that I can live with.

The most fascinating part of the whole discussion though, was the commenter who said that whenever she feels any of those side-effects she takes it as a cue to stop dieting and eat something. That's the most honest and insightful thing ever! How many people do that? Is that why eating intuitively fails you? Is that why most diets are short lived? You feel the side effects of hunger and immediately undo the deficit? See, I intuitively create a deficit. I know that if I want some freedom to eat what I like and splurge a little, at times I'm going to have to get a little hungry.

Talk to me about the side-effects of a calorie deficit. Do you feel them? Hate them? Use them to your advantage? Or does feeling any discomfort at all make you eat?


Posted by skwigg at 10:22 AM CDT
Updated: Sunday, 18 July 2010 10:24 AM CDT

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