I began BFL yesterday, but was wondering about the diet part of the program. I believe it has way too many carbs, so I intend to use PP and increase carbs to about 60 for the diet part. Does that sound reasonable, too high, too low? Has anyone else had any experience with this?

Also, I believe that I read somewhere that higher carbs AND high fat are a problem. If I increase the carbs to 60, should I decrease the fat -- limit fatty meats, butter, mayo, cheese, etc? I intend to get MOST of the carbs from veggies and some fruit, with maybe an occasional whole wheat toast or small dish of whole wheat pasta or brown rice. If I do that, should I lower the fat by leaving the butter off the toast and rice, use tomatoes on the pasta (no Alfredo sauce), etc.? Or would I be better off just using veggies and fruit for the additional carbs and not using grains at all?

I would greatly appreciate any input.

Thanks!

My suggestion is for you to read Natruska's journal. She is on day 49 or 50 something of the BFL challenge. She list her daily carbs, fat, calories, etc. She is doing awesome and is totally sold on the program.

Good luck!

Sunshines got you headed in the right direction for sure! Nat's log will answer most all of your questions as she had alot of the same questions going in! The short answer is Yes....I started Monday also and found the myoplex LC Shakes (not bars as their actual is more like 20-28)) to work pretty well so far...the carbs are a little higher than stated but doable!

Best of luck on BFL!

Bsayne

There is another Body for Life thread under general LC started by Marlaine, its a good one too.

Peg, I have managed to do 9 weeks of BFL (and counting) using Protein Power Phase II nutrition (40 - 60g of carbs a day) just fine. I did try the lowered fat route but that just made me miserable and hungry - I try to keep fats to around 100g now and it's working wonderfully.

I am working on a "BFL w/ LC Nutrition Tips Post" that will be posted once there is an appropriate home for it - stay tuned.

Nat

Great idea, Nat! I'm really looking forward to your BFL/LC tips! I have been keeping my carbs close to the 60, and I'll see how it works -- if I'm not happy with how it's working after a week or 2, I'll try to lower them in 5 gram increments until I get the results I want. I have been using 1 Myoplex shake per day for part of the carbs, and getting the rest mostly from veggies and some fruits. I haven't checked the fat grams, but so far most of the meats I'm eating are naturally low fat, and I'm using Egg Beaters for the omelets because of high blood pressure and the sensitivity to egg yolks (and red meats).

One thing I've noticed with the increased carbs is a reversal of how my clothes fit in the morning versus later in the day. When the carbs were lower, my clothes fit looser first thing in the morning, and would sometimes feel a bit tighter as the day went on (even though I drink about 100 oz. of water per day. I must have been retaining water). With the increased carbs my clothes are tighter in the morning and get looser as the day goes on! Go figure! You'd think the increased carbs would cause me to retain more water and the clothes would fit tighter by the end of the day, not the opposite. Have you noticed any difference?

Thanks,