Elliot Fuller
12-05-2007, 06:41 PM
Hey all, I've been trolling around for a little while on here, but have mostly been active over on the crossfit boards. I thought I'd both introduce myself, and see if I could get some pointers, after mostly just reading what other people have written in other threads.
Sorry if this gets a little long... I tend to type a lot. Feel free to skip ahead if you're not an avid reader. I'll bold the things that are important :)
I'm 23/m/5'9"/145#
I never cared much for nutrition up until this year. I went through 4 years of college eating at least 1 fast food meal a day. Sometimes 2. Sometimes 3, God help me. I turned the "Freshman 15" into the "Freshman 45" basically.
Late 2006 I went vegetarian (don't start yelling at me yet!) due to morals and all of that good stuff. I ended up losing 30# by just dropping meat (and thereby most fast foods) from my diet. Finally I was starting to at least LOOK somewhat healthy.
I took the next step in early 2007 by starting training with CrossFit. I'm still doing scaled workouts to this day, but I've noticed incredible changes. I've lost additional weight (I weighed 195# before I became vegetarian), have toned up significantly, and have increased my endurance and performance.
Most recently - within the last month - I've decided to reintroduce meat into my diet, purchased from "humane" suppliers, and grass-fed only. I have noticed higher energy levels and a general greater feeling of well-being since doing so.
Which brings me to today, and why I'm here.
My interest isn't in being able to lift a car over my head. My general interest is in a general, overall state of health. I want to lower my risk of disease, cancer, etc. I want to increase my lifespan. I want to feel good. I want to BE HEALTHY. I've come to the personal conclusion that being FIT is not always the same as being HEALTHY. e.g. I could put on 75# of LBM, lose all of my fat, and still not be the perfect image of overall health.
What I want is to perform well, and be healthy. I gather that these two things tend to come in the same package.
With that in mind, I went on a pretty strict Zone diet (16 blocks - about 80% paleo, with occasional dairy and green beans ... they're so cheap!) for about 3 weeks to see how things went. I did notice increased energy, set a few PR's in some CrossFit wods, and generally had fun measuring out and planning my meals, under the impression that I was doing something that was truly and legitimately good for me.
Unfortunately all of the measuring became a little tiresome, and after spending some weeks reading about IF, I decided maybe there was a better and even healthier alternative.
Now my impression, from what I've read in books (namely, Mastering the Zone, by Dr. Barry Sears), is that the Zone is healthy because it balances all of the macronutrients very well and controls insulin -- it doesn't get rid of insulin all together, but rather controls the quantity. Supposedly this has wide-ranging health benefits from lowered risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a load of other chronic ailments. But I realize there is more to healthy eating than insulin - vitamins, other nutrients, etc.
With that said, I'm trying to gain a better understanding of how IF fits into that equation. As I said, I'm not just trying to perfect my shape, but trying to perfect my being as a whole.
Here are my ultimate goals, in easy-to-read list form:
Drop 5-10 more pounds of fat - I'd like to be 8% BF - approx 135 pounds
Begin increasing my LBM - My goal weight is 185-190 of functional mass - not sure if that's realistic or healthy for my height and age
Maintain healthy eating that will control insulin, and incorporate all of the wide-ranging health benefits that the Zone boasts
Have increased energy throughout the day
Increase performance on both lifts and metcons
Nothing too complex, really. But I'm just not sure what route to take.
Having tried Zone for several weeks, I've decided that it likely won't be something that I'll want to keep up indefinitely. The constant eyballing, measuring, and second-guessing takes its toll on both me and my family/gf/friends.
Strict Paleo eating interests me, however I would prefer to have more structure to my diet, rather than just "Eat paleo when hungry." I'd like to know that I'm eating the right amounts of the right things at the right times, to benefit both my performance gain, weight loss/increase, and feeling of well-being.
After 3 weeks of Zone, I've decided to try IF. Today was my first day. I've decided to jump in, having pretty good self-discipline, to a Fast-5 Plan.
Due to my schedule, my feeding window is 6pm-11pm, and I hit the hay around 1am or 2am pretty consistently. My workout generally falls between the 9pm and 11pm area.
I guess I'm kind of wondering if I need to incorporate Zone amounts into my IF feedings. I'm already keeping them about 80% Paleo, as I was before. But should I be really concerned about ratios still, while doing IF? I've read that carbs should still be low - even though on Zone they're supposed to be 40%, compared to 30% P, 30% F, which I never understood, nor achieved (I always ended up with significantly more fat, and roughly even C/P)
I found this thread, and a post by Robb Wolf:
http://www.performancemenu.com/forum/showthread.php?t=731&highlight=fasting+zone+insulin
The zone fits into intermittent fasting if one wants to bring in some additional precision but is by no means necessary.
I understand that much. But is that assuming one is just trying to lose weight? Or just gain weight? Or be healthy as a whole? Or are all of these one in the same?
I've seen/read a lot about insulin resistance while doing IF. I'm not entirely sure what it means, to be honest. It has seemed counter-intuitive to me, to on the one hand argue (Dr. Sears) that insulin spikes are what cause badness in us, and on the other hand, have IF'ers gorging themselves after a long fast, no doubt causing at least some kind of significant insulin spike.
I also found this thread:
http://www.performancemenu.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1737&highlight=how+many+calories
Which taught me a bit.
I guess if you're still reading this, you may actually have something to say... so thank you if you're still here. If you skipped to the bottom, shame on you! :)
So, here's the takeaway; the final real question -- I guess you can consider everything above to be a very long, convoluted, and probably unnecessary introduction :)
Based off of my first day of IF:
I'm fasting from 11pm-6pm. Came home, and first meal was:
- 6oz lean beef, 2 cups turkey soup with assorted veggies, 12 almonds
I'll continue eating until my workout between 9pm and 11pm. Should this eating be mostly low carb, if I'm still trying to drop a few pounds?
Then I'll work out. Post-workout I'll have a protein shake and probably some eggs and egg whites, along with some fruit - an apple and an orange maybe.
Then I'll snack some more until my window's closed. Rinse and repeat tomorrow.
Can anyone make any recommendations based on my stats (waaaayyy up above), my goals, and my first day of IF?
I apologize for sounding so novice and needy. My original intent was to just Black Box it for a couple of weeks, as I did with the Zone, and see what happens. But I figure if there's something obvious that could be improved, it would save me time to just ask first.
I've enjoyed reading all of the posts and the various blogs of the associated posters, particularly Robb Wolf's. I've perused Art DeVany's site for about an hour or so, and was just dumbstruck with how much information there was, and how ultimately difficult it became to process and grasp even half of it.
Thanks for your advice, or at least for reading this far, and I'm happy to finally count myself as a poster here :)
- Elliot
Sorry if this gets a little long... I tend to type a lot. Feel free to skip ahead if you're not an avid reader. I'll bold the things that are important :)
I'm 23/m/5'9"/145#
I never cared much for nutrition up until this year. I went through 4 years of college eating at least 1 fast food meal a day. Sometimes 2. Sometimes 3, God help me. I turned the "Freshman 15" into the "Freshman 45" basically.
Late 2006 I went vegetarian (don't start yelling at me yet!) due to morals and all of that good stuff. I ended up losing 30# by just dropping meat (and thereby most fast foods) from my diet. Finally I was starting to at least LOOK somewhat healthy.
I took the next step in early 2007 by starting training with CrossFit. I'm still doing scaled workouts to this day, but I've noticed incredible changes. I've lost additional weight (I weighed 195# before I became vegetarian), have toned up significantly, and have increased my endurance and performance.
Most recently - within the last month - I've decided to reintroduce meat into my diet, purchased from "humane" suppliers, and grass-fed only. I have noticed higher energy levels and a general greater feeling of well-being since doing so.
Which brings me to today, and why I'm here.
My interest isn't in being able to lift a car over my head. My general interest is in a general, overall state of health. I want to lower my risk of disease, cancer, etc. I want to increase my lifespan. I want to feel good. I want to BE HEALTHY. I've come to the personal conclusion that being FIT is not always the same as being HEALTHY. e.g. I could put on 75# of LBM, lose all of my fat, and still not be the perfect image of overall health.
What I want is to perform well, and be healthy. I gather that these two things tend to come in the same package.
With that in mind, I went on a pretty strict Zone diet (16 blocks - about 80% paleo, with occasional dairy and green beans ... they're so cheap!) for about 3 weeks to see how things went. I did notice increased energy, set a few PR's in some CrossFit wods, and generally had fun measuring out and planning my meals, under the impression that I was doing something that was truly and legitimately good for me.
Unfortunately all of the measuring became a little tiresome, and after spending some weeks reading about IF, I decided maybe there was a better and even healthier alternative.
Now my impression, from what I've read in books (namely, Mastering the Zone, by Dr. Barry Sears), is that the Zone is healthy because it balances all of the macronutrients very well and controls insulin -- it doesn't get rid of insulin all together, but rather controls the quantity. Supposedly this has wide-ranging health benefits from lowered risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and a load of other chronic ailments. But I realize there is more to healthy eating than insulin - vitamins, other nutrients, etc.
With that said, I'm trying to gain a better understanding of how IF fits into that equation. As I said, I'm not just trying to perfect my shape, but trying to perfect my being as a whole.
Here are my ultimate goals, in easy-to-read list form:
Drop 5-10 more pounds of fat - I'd like to be 8% BF - approx 135 pounds
Begin increasing my LBM - My goal weight is 185-190 of functional mass - not sure if that's realistic or healthy for my height and age
Maintain healthy eating that will control insulin, and incorporate all of the wide-ranging health benefits that the Zone boasts
Have increased energy throughout the day
Increase performance on both lifts and metcons
Nothing too complex, really. But I'm just not sure what route to take.
Having tried Zone for several weeks, I've decided that it likely won't be something that I'll want to keep up indefinitely. The constant eyballing, measuring, and second-guessing takes its toll on both me and my family/gf/friends.
Strict Paleo eating interests me, however I would prefer to have more structure to my diet, rather than just "Eat paleo when hungry." I'd like to know that I'm eating the right amounts of the right things at the right times, to benefit both my performance gain, weight loss/increase, and feeling of well-being.
After 3 weeks of Zone, I've decided to try IF. Today was my first day. I've decided to jump in, having pretty good self-discipline, to a Fast-5 Plan.
Due to my schedule, my feeding window is 6pm-11pm, and I hit the hay around 1am or 2am pretty consistently. My workout generally falls between the 9pm and 11pm area.
I guess I'm kind of wondering if I need to incorporate Zone amounts into my IF feedings. I'm already keeping them about 80% Paleo, as I was before. But should I be really concerned about ratios still, while doing IF? I've read that carbs should still be low - even though on Zone they're supposed to be 40%, compared to 30% P, 30% F, which I never understood, nor achieved (I always ended up with significantly more fat, and roughly even C/P)
I found this thread, and a post by Robb Wolf:
http://www.performancemenu.com/forum/showthread.php?t=731&highlight=fasting+zone+insulin
The zone fits into intermittent fasting if one wants to bring in some additional precision but is by no means necessary.
I understand that much. But is that assuming one is just trying to lose weight? Or just gain weight? Or be healthy as a whole? Or are all of these one in the same?
I've seen/read a lot about insulin resistance while doing IF. I'm not entirely sure what it means, to be honest. It has seemed counter-intuitive to me, to on the one hand argue (Dr. Sears) that insulin spikes are what cause badness in us, and on the other hand, have IF'ers gorging themselves after a long fast, no doubt causing at least some kind of significant insulin spike.
I also found this thread:
http://www.performancemenu.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1737&highlight=how+many+calories
Which taught me a bit.
I guess if you're still reading this, you may actually have something to say... so thank you if you're still here. If you skipped to the bottom, shame on you! :)
So, here's the takeaway; the final real question -- I guess you can consider everything above to be a very long, convoluted, and probably unnecessary introduction :)
Based off of my first day of IF:
I'm fasting from 11pm-6pm. Came home, and first meal was:
- 6oz lean beef, 2 cups turkey soup with assorted veggies, 12 almonds
I'll continue eating until my workout between 9pm and 11pm. Should this eating be mostly low carb, if I'm still trying to drop a few pounds?
Then I'll work out. Post-workout I'll have a protein shake and probably some eggs and egg whites, along with some fruit - an apple and an orange maybe.
Then I'll snack some more until my window's closed. Rinse and repeat tomorrow.
Can anyone make any recommendations based on my stats (waaaayyy up above), my goals, and my first day of IF?
I apologize for sounding so novice and needy. My original intent was to just Black Box it for a couple of weeks, as I did with the Zone, and see what happens. But I figure if there's something obvious that could be improved, it would save me time to just ask first.
I've enjoyed reading all of the posts and the various blogs of the associated posters, particularly Robb Wolf's. I've perused Art DeVany's site for about an hour or so, and was just dumbstruck with how much information there was, and how ultimately difficult it became to process and grasp even half of it.
Thanks for your advice, or at least for reading this far, and I'm happy to finally count myself as a poster here :)
- Elliot