I had 2 hamburgers today 1/2lb each... Fitday says that is 93.57g of protein. Is that right??? That seems awfully high. If that's right I have eaten over 150g of protein today. My pwo shake was 35. I had 2 brats for supper which were 9g each. I'll have to remember that beef is so packed with protein. WOW.

Yuppers, that would be right.

Pay attention to the ratio of fat to protein. I like to get about 60-65% of my cals from fat, 25-30 from protein. In grams, that's roughly equal portions - so if you're eating about 120g of protein and about 120g of fat (give or take 20g on either side), you're doing okay. Lower fat than that, and you might have trouble with ketosis. Bottom line - you lose fat or you don't. We all know that sometimes the scale isn't an entirely accurate guage of how that's going. But I think we get to know our bodies pretty quick on this program - you'll know.

See, that's just it. The carbs-for-lifting strategy really freaked me out too when I started fiddling with it. That's why I think TKD might be the way to ease into it, rather than jumping in with both feet into CKD. I'm not slamming CKD - I did it for a while last summer, and I had some nice gains. But I can't honestly say they were better for me that TKD, and I found TKD easier to manage into my lifestyle. No bloating, either. (CKD bloat goes away in a couple of days. I just don't like it! I think it's a girlie-thing LOL!)

And to assuage your fears (10 points for slipping in the word "assuage". 5 more if I spelled it right...) about setting yourself up for carb cravings with the pre-lifting sugar TKD thing, in my experience, what happens is if I eat 40g of fast carbs and then lift, I have a GREAT workout - really strong, great pump. A half hour of moderate post-wo cardio, and I can actually get back into ketosis that night if I lift hard and heavy enough.

If I eat those 40g of fast carbs and DON'T work out right away, I feel crummy, lethargic, tired - you know the drill - same old same old. Then I deal with cravings.

Sugary treats and lifting go together really well.


Sure you can. Since you aren't really trying to build your stomach muscles up as much as just train them IN, you bet. Especially if you don't KILL them every day, and if you vary the routine so you hit different insertions on a rotation. I used to do this in front of the TV. Stretches are good in front of the TV too, because they are boring and it helps you take your time with them (you just can't rush a stretch).

Actually, a GREAT thing to do with abs is to just suck them in and harden them whenever you think of it. Looks better immediately, as an added perk - just remember to breathe LOL!

I do my abs 3-4 times a week: about 2-3 minutes of rotating muscle spasms (no rests), and that's it. But my abs get involved in a lot of the lifting I do as well, so they get hit all the time from all different angles.

If you are ever trying to get a six-pack, though, you actually do them less frequently, and with resistance, just like you would with any other muscle you are trying to build. This is what the fellas do when they are building up the washboard.

Do you ever have days where you can't eat enough?? I haven't stopped eating since I got outta bed this morning. I've been munching all morning. I usually eat breakfast then forget about food until lunch when I'm fixing something for the kids. BUT not today! I've been eating cauliflower, celery, eggs, sausage... whatever I can get my hands on. (ok, not that extreme, but feels like it). My weight hasn't changed since yesterday and I'm not really that worried about weight gain from eating good food. Well, on to more BB questions!
- Do you take a break from BB at any given point to give your body a refresh period?
- Do you vary intensity and/or duration of your workout, if so why?
- Other than carbs, do you eat different on lift days vs non lift days?
- Any good LC BB'ing sites on the net?
- When did you start lifting and what are your goals?
- What's your favorite lift?

K, I think that's it for now

Bees- Actually, when building muscle, its better for your body to have some body fat. Lifting heavy has a similar effect as interval training because your heart rate goes up during a set then you rest and it goes up again on the next set. That along with the body rebuilding itself, as Built explained, raises the metabolism for up to 48 hr. afterward.

So if you love wt. training, GO FOR IT!! It will sculpt your body and you will loose some fat in the process. Before you know it, your muscles will be uncovered and you can post a picture for us to go crazy over!!!
-Phat

Hey corianin -

Hmmmm - I guess some days I eat more than others - if I haven't slept enough, I feel hungrier. It can vary with your cycle as well, of course.

In the beginning, when I first started low-carbing, I think I didn't have the whole protein-fat thing worked out. Now, I eat something fibrous along with sufficient protein and fat throughout the day in 4-6 meals through the day, so my appetite is actually pretty stable. A salad with half an avocado, some meat, and a heavy dressing and TRUST me, I'm not hungry again for a WHILE. If I try to eat too light, I'll get hungry fast, and I don't like that feeling. I REALLY don't like feeling hungry. I think we can ALL relate to that feeling here on this board. Hungry SUCKS.

I don't feel the need to "take a break" from BB, but I do vary my routine from time to time. I might go heavier with shorter sets, or higher volume with somewhat less weight. I'll do my workouts backwards, or mix different muscle groups. I'll go two heavy days, two light days, or alternate heavy and light workouts. It's not random - I make up a plan and stick to it for a while, but I vary it as I find I'm making less progress.

Other than carbs, I don't really eat differently on non-lifting days. Usually try to keep the fats higher on the non-lifting days maybe, but I LOVE fat, so that's not exactly an effort.

I've been lurking on tripledoubleU c dash k dash d dotcom lately, but other than that, I just Google. A lot

I started lifting about 2 and a half years ago - fall of 2001, about a month or two after I started Atkins and had dropped the first 15 or so pounds. I was afraid to lift without carbs at first, but I was fine.

Favourite lift? Hmmmm - I really like squats, leg press, sissy squats...all the quad stuff actually. Quad day is my favourite day. It's the hardest workout of the week, but I really like to see how big and HARD the quads get when they're all pumped up and full of blood. I used to avoid working my legs because I didn't want them to get bigger , but they remained bloated blobs. I really only started to get anywhere when I decided to start working them to DEATH. The muscles DO get bigger, but with squats and deadlifts, they get DEEPER rather than WIDER. My legs are still where I carry what's left of my bodyfat, but it's going, slooooooowly....arrrrgh!

At least it's going!!!! I really don't care about the size of my legs as long as they don't jiggle when I poke em' ... Tight strong muscles (even big ones) are much more attractive than jiggly fat thighs! Fat bad...muscle good... Fat bad... muscle good. Oh, my new mantra!


~ Cori ~

What's interesting about big leg muscles is that as you build up your quads and your hams, your legs get DEEP rather than WIDE, which gives them the appearance of being slimmer. I work hard to make my quads and hams as big as I possibly can, even though I'm naturally bottom heavy. I want to take metabolic advantage of these big fat burning machines.

Indeed, big and cut is WAY better than big and squishy.

People are always amazed at how much I weigh. Most people don't realize just how much muscle weighs. You put two people side by side each weighing 140. One has a bf% of 15, another of 25% you are going ot see a huge difference. I try to keep that in mind when I'm lifting so I don't worry about the weight on the scale. It's muscle and not fat... In the end it's going to make me a leaner healthier person.


~ Cori ~

Actually, one of the nice things about keto dieting with weightlifting is that it's muscle sparing. When you lose weight by regular calorie-restriction/cardio (ie the usual low-fat plus cardio plan), you lose muscle and fat because of the calorie-restriction, and more muscle and fat because cardio is catabolic to both muscle AND fat.

This actually leaves you WORSE off than you were before - a flabby, skinny person with a lower metabolic rate who has to stay hungry all the time to keep it off. Sound like a familiar experience, anyone (hand goes up).

By keeping more of the muscle while burning off the fat, you IMPROVE your muscle to fat ratio and increase your metabolic rate. This leaves you a leaner body that requires MORE energy to keep going.

This has been my experience. I actually consume MORE calories now than I did when I was fat.

Hence, my signature...

I think I actually consume more calories now than before, but they're healthy calories. Veggie calories, big bloody meat calories... not those wimpy bagel with fat free cream cheese calories with a skinny turtle... Nooo noo noo, gimme those big juicy calories thanks

Built ~ I was just reading on bodybuilding.com that CKD is the best way to lose fat while maintaining/gaining muscle. That consistently low carb diets will inevitably reduce muscle mass if you are working out hard. Do you have a simplified version of CKD? All this 1.5g per body weight lbs... wtf? None of it makes sense to me. All I got outta the article was yep, ya need to carb up on the weekends and LC during the week and hit the gym hard. Can you explain the diet and how it helps build muscle? I'm trying to figure out if it's the way to go.


~ Cori ~

MY GOD... you wanna see some motivation to bodybuild? Check this link out!


http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo/index.php?cat=1


Definitely some very fine bodies. That shows a lot of hard work! WOW!!!



~ Cori ~

Okay - I wanna look like her:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo...&cat=501&page=1
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/photo...&cat=501&page=1
nikki warner - her legs look GREAT!

I can't really find any pictures of Atkins type bodybuilders - does anyone have any recommendations.