Carb Intake

[Júlíus G. Magnússon]

I need to lose about 10-12lbs of fat left from not doing anything for a while (injury) followed by a strength cycle.

For the next four weeks I'm going to do be doing three metcons in the 5-20 minute range each week, followed by a rest day, followed by an Olympic lift day (starting low, gradually upping intensity to see how my back reacts), followed by a strength day, followed by another rest day.

I was thinking most of my carbs would come from vegetables, plus some from my PWO whole milk. But because of all the metcons, should I add some fruit to be closer to the "magical" Zone percentages?

[Derek Weaver]

It doesn't really matter. No magic in 40-30-30. Zone achieves insulin control through caloric restriction as much as anything else.

If you run fine on carbs and can still control energy intake, then go for it.

[Jay Cohen]

10-12lbs in 4 weeks is 2 lbs per week. You really need to loose that weight that fast? I'd drop the PWO drink, lower your carb intake a tad, veggies and fruit both being good, though fruit is little higher in carbs, but over all, 10lbs is not that much, I'd take it slow and easy, forget the zone, just eat the same forumla most always talk about, meat/fish, veggies, good fat, some nut seeds, toss in some fruit.

I keep reading that 80% of body compostition is made in the kitchen, balance from training.

So, since you got fat from the injury and did not back off your eating, now is the time to make minor adjustments, but again, 12lbs in a month is a lot, but it's your call.

[Derek Weaver]

Wow. I missed the 12 pounds in a month thing.

If that's what you gotta do... then maybe something like the V-Diet or Rapid Fat LOss is the thing for you.

It'll get the diet over quick.

[Júlíus G. Magnússon]

I'm not really pressed for time... The four weeks was just regarding my workout plan. After those four weeks I'm going to evaluate how my back is coping with the oly work, if my metabolic is still lacking for combatives, et cetera before deciding where to go in terms of workouts.

The fatloss doesn't really have a deadline.

[Derek Weaver]

Oh, then like Jay said, I'd drop the milk and go with something else.

PWO time is the time to jack up the carbs and protein and keep the fat low to non existent. Tubers and a little fruit make for good choices at this time.

In the end, it's still about calories. Insulin control matters, but insulin alone didn't get your body comp out of whack.

[Patrick Yeung]

Its not hard if it was gained quickly. Ive gained and lost that kind of weight within a month before (two cristmas dinners + taking home all leftovers). But if youve gained it slowly, thats another story.

V-Diet sounds insane.... It cant be healthy.

But seriously, adding light walking and/or biking has helped me a lot. Just bike/walk for your errands if time/injury allows. Especially after a meal.

[Neill Smith]

I'd consider the Ultimate Diet 2.0 for your situation. The three conditioning workouts would correspond with the glycogen depletion phase, and the Olympic and strength workouts would correspond with carbohydrate loading.

I did something similar over the summer and had good fat loss while maintaining strength pretty well.

[Júlíus G. Magnússon]

Thing about milk is it's easy and cheap as piss.

Derek, what are tubers?

Neill, I really don't trust something with with ultimate in its name. Much less when it has a version number, too...

[Arien Malec]

Originally Posted by Júlíus G. Magnússon

Neill, I really don't trust something with with ultimate in its name. Much less when it has a version number, too...

Despite the name, it's a really effective approach to cyclic low-carb dieting -- probably the most effective approach for rapid fat loss while preserving lean tissue.