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I was one of those who believed in breakfast. I also believed in a traditional healthy diet i.e low-ish carbs, protein and minimal but healthy fats. Following a clean diet, I lost 10-15kg in 6 months. My carb intake was low – mostly from vegetables. I had one piece of fruit daily, sometimes two. I included nuts in my diet, along with salmon, sardines, tuna, mackerel, chicken breast, zucchini, sweet potato, oats, lean beef, prawns, salads, green tea, coffee, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed blend (pumpkin/sunflower/flax), apple cider vinegar. I increased my water intake, worked out 4 times per week (weights). I was 85kg to start with but combined the above eating plan with calorie counting… logging and weighing food. Most of the food I ate was also organic. After 5-6 months, I dropped to 69kg! At 6 foot tall, I looked far too skinny and felt small and weak. The only good part was that my body fat fell drastically and my waist went from 35 inches to 29 inches!!!! I was buying new jeans every month. I felt good, to begin with….
Drawbacks: I was peeing like a race horse; too much coffee, green tea and water. I ate plenty of broccoli and all thrown together, I kept peeing! Eventually, my sleep was interrupted by continually waking during the night. There were external factors going here too – which I know would have contributed; stress. My wife had a brain aneurysm rupture in Oct 2009 and in essence, I am a single parent now and lost my business in order to care for my now disabled wife. I was 38 when this happened; I am now 44. The expense of organic food, the amount of time spent shopping, prepping, cooking, planning etc eventually became too much. I was pleased with the results but (perhaps owing to my stress levels more than anything else), cracks were appearing. My hands were cracked with extremely dry skin. My fatigue was growing. My mood swings worsened. I started feeling cold (on the inside). I even started feeling ‘tingly’ after eating. Food was on my brain at almost every waking hour. I felt hungry. I should also mention that because of my circumstances (a carer to my wife and raising our son on my own… and without too much money because of this), I cannot work in a normal way anymore. I am doing 4 weather observations each day from home and send the reports to the Met Office in Oslo (meteorology has always been a life-long passion of mine). Anyway, one of my observations was at 4am! I hated this but had to do it for money reasons. I have recently quit that observation as it was clearly having a detrimental effect on my health.
Moving on, and like John Kiefer himself, I fell off the wagon. I guess that was inevitable – as is so often the case with many dieters. The reasons are well documented; calorie restriction will get the better of you over a prolonged period and I understand the reasons… leptin, ghrelin, slowed metabolism etc. Combined with my stress, cortisol would probably have been raised through the roof too. My extreme clean eating meant I ate very few process foods and given I never added salt to my recipes etc, I started reading on symptoms of having too little sodium in my body. I don’t know how, but I ended up reading more on other subjects – insulin, diabetes, blood sugar…. and ultimately, adrenal fatigue popped up.
I was craving so many carb foods and treats and I almost looked for justification in eating them. Hello Carb-Backloading.
I have listened to many of John’s podcasts and at first, carb-backloading made sense.
My confusion stems from the fact that the more I listened, it seemed as if John seemed to endorse the low carb lifestyle. I then listened to more…. fighting cancer then seemed to pop up and given my mid-life crisis stage (lol!), I was intrigued. A metabolic disease. Keto diet was given the thumbs up etc. On one hand, a ketogenic diet was being promoted and yet we have carb-backloading. ???
I understand that maybe there is a case of cycling between the two; ULC by day and carb-up post-workout. But why the ‘junky’ carbs? I have seen studies which suggest protein synthesis is not increased by carb inclusion post workout too. If I do understand correctly, is carb backloading to mostly aid performance but is not the ideal way to go for longer term health?
I also understand that if it isn’t totally optimal, it might be the way to go to help people sustain a healthier diet i.e ULC by day and then the carbs at night.
If following carb-backloading, is there still a place for my oats/banana/blueberries/cinnamon? I love this as my PWO meal as it is so satiating.
My own experience with carbing-up is that it has led to me gaining weight and regaining my ‘paunch’. This, however, is MY FAULT and not the concept of backloading. I have allowed myself to literally pig out. When I do things, they are done in style, not by halves!
Sadly, for me, a meltdown was just waiting to happen and I am now finding myself binging after workout. I have quit my breakfast and have just coffee with my coconut oil. I now have a brunch, around noon. A small lunch (protein, fats/veg) and train mid evening with weights – 4 days per week. My off days, I have now started HIIT in order to try and combat my increasing fat levels again. The trouble I have is that ONCE I GOT THE TASTE back of having some ice cream, biscuits and potato chips, I couldn’t stop after just a little. This is where it could be hard for many people…. perhaps? I am hoping that the ‘novelty’ and enjoyment of junky carbs will decline over the coming weeks and for now, it would seem, I am just going along on the ride. Time will tell.
The frustrating part is that I was fully aware of how important it was for me to increase my calories very slowly – like reverse-dieting. I had been deprived and in a deficit for half a year and I knew all the stories of how fat gain will be quick if you screw up. It isn’t the carbs as such which has led to my gut slowly coming back; my calories have simply gone way over my maintenance.
Any help/tips much appreciated.
I should also add that I know that my testosterone will also be extremely low… which worries me (brought about by the prolonged calorie deficit. basically, my hormones are shot and I am not sure on how to get things back in order.
I have added more fat into my diet (I have always eaten 3 whole eggs daily) but since increasing my extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil, I am noticing that my hair seems to be almost falling out! I can see this when in the shower and applying gel. Not much but I have noticed nonetheless.
I listened to the T3 podcast (very interesting!) but it isn’t applicable to me because I couldn’t afford it anyway but the issue of thyroid problems have now become stuck in my mind. I do have issues with the feeling of being ‘spaced’ out…. brain fog. Again, given my circumstances, I have been living like the Pope since my wife’s brain injury and to cap it all, my dad died of cancer at the age of 63, two years ago. We were extremely close and I definitely feel depressed. Mid-life crisis or whatever, I am just tired and seemingly at a loss and feel that I am going backwards.
I thought I had a plan with my clean eating but the irony is that my extreme clean eating may have screwed my metabolism and my hormones. I am now finding myself fitting the bill of a yo-yo dieter/binge eater, something I have never been before. Carbs are needed. Carbs are bad. Carbs cause cancer. Keto is the way to go. Keto is not sustainable. Eating clean eventually makes you too miserable. Intermittent fasting is healthy. Calorie restriction may lead to a longer life. Cutting carbs but increasing calories *may* protect against cancer more than calorie restriction.
Is it any wonder why I, like so many others, are confused….?
Agree it is all so confusing. I have NOT read all of what you posted in detail due to my time constraints this morning. I’m leaving for a trip soon but will follow up when I get back.
First thing that strikes me is stress is dragging you down.
You can change your diet to: whatever…but stress is going to nullify any effect they may have.
Stress is part of your environment. You need to address and change that first.
Secondly: get some sun. Go for a walk early and get some exposure to sunlight. I know it sounds like a bunch of non-sence but more and more studies are finding full spectrum light does activate many hormonal pathways. Also, try to limit your exposure to artificial light at night. If you have to be exposed to light at night, make it towards the IR spectrum. That is healing. Again sound like a bunch of bull but do the research. It is there.
Third: eat more seafood. As far as thyroid goes seafood has all of the ingredients in the most bioactive form to support thyroid function. DHA, the dha content in seafood is at the best ratio with epa and the most bioavailable. Fish oil pills just don’t cut it. Too many brands out there selling rancid stuff that will set you back. Just eat the real deal and know you are getting the good stuff.
Fourth: sleep. This is not over-rated. Dark room with no EMF exposure. Put your cell phone in another room and turn off the wifi.
Autophagy is the very important for heart rest and repair. During sleep is the only time this happens. No sleep = ticking time bomb.
Last: Limit the processed foods, sugars, and dairy. These three are the most likely to set inflammatory markers through the roof. If you feel like shit or retain water after eating something….you have set off an inflammatory response.The eyes can't see what the mind doesn't understand.
Thanks for the reply Rob.
Agree with what you have said. Stress is the biggest issue for me – by far. I think I am also now stressing a little more over the guilt of ‘binging’ on too many carbs in addition. I know carb-backloading is supposed to be sensible and the cleaner sources are what are prescribed, the emphasis being primarily to spike insulin for short period of time.I think whilst I lost weight and reduced my waist by inches, the upside of becoming leaner was met with the downside of feeling increasingly miserable. Cravings increased and mood swings became more frequent. Interestingly, many people around me said I looked sick. My skin was dry, my mood was sour and I was weak and small. And this was from eating like a saint. Mostly organic and wholefoods. I cut the bread out of my diet and ate vast amounts of vegetables with some fruit. I always viewed tomatoes as super healthy but listening to some recent podcasts from here, I may need to evaluate that notion! I included organic beans and lentils, along with flax/pumpkin/sunflower seeds.
The irony is that as I added more and more foods which I believed were ‘superfoods’, the worse I began to feel.
Part of the problem was probably too much protein too; constipation became an issue but in an effort to get leaner, I started reducing my healthy fats (EVOO, Coconut oil) in order to free up some calories for something more satiating. The caloric restriction obviously didn’t help and looking back, it was too restrictive and too long in duration.
Feeling guilty about gorging a little on the unhealthy junk (potato chips, biscuits, ice cream, chocolate spreads and some muffins) but considering I have pigged out some of the carb evenings to the tune of 6000+ calories (!!!!!), I actually haven’t ballooned up to what I feared would have been the case. Yes, I have added a little weight and my ‘gut’ has become a little bigger, but considering what I have eaten, I haven’t put on as much fat as I feared. Some of this will also be water weight too. Though there is some guilt, overall, I feel soooooo much better with some of the junk back into my diet. I know it will be no good in the longer term but for now, my energy is sky high, my weight training has improved with more strength and my mood has greatly improved. I am enjoying the workouts again…. in part, because I have the feast to look forward to afterwards. Of course, I am concerned about where this could lead to but all I know is that I look healthier, my skin is better and with more of a glow and my overall being is better.
I should add that in the last week, I have started intermittent fasting, up to 12-14 hours per day, the day after a backload.
Great to hear that you are doing better. Sometimes just letting go and enjoying yourself in moderation is good. It resets your motivation to get on track and take control of the stressful situations and manage them and your health better.
Keep hanging in there and let us know how you are progressing.
We ARE here to help, so if anytime we can…just ask.The eyes can't see what the mind doesn't understand.
I just read through all of your posts. You have been through a LOT, and it’s no surprise that that would cause all sorts of stress and issues.
I don’t have much else to add, and it seems like you figured most of the things out on your own, but definitely balance is important. It’s pretty frustrating to realize that the things we try to do to become healthy can sometimes be unhealthy, like obsessing over “clean eating” and “calorie restrictions” and whatnot. They certainly contribute to stress, and you had/have a billion other things that adds even more stress. Just taking it easy one step at a time in the long term is the best bet, and I think you are doing well so far in regards to that.
I hope things will keep heading in the right direction for you, and like Rob said, we’re here for support. The people on this forum are really great individuals, and it makes the journey much more doable.
Training Log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vuwHRdBaPVILxxLhXly_N1Ys66Hcwk4j-bM7nvKSLrI/edit?usp=sharing
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