Okay, I admit. . . I haven't read the book, but I have read your sticky's and some recent posts. My question is about carbing up:
Is there a way to carb up without putting sugary junk in your body? I have been doing a low carb diet for the past year and have never eaten better. . . no junk food, loads of fresh vegetables, lots of fish. It seems a shame to carb up with foods that aren't healthy for you. Am I missing the point? Thanx for the info I hope I am about to receive ! -- Toni

I'm a newbie at this, but someone more experienced will correct me if I'm wrong. So here goes....

I would say the answer depends on how strict you are about 'sugary junk.' How about whole wheat/whole grain breads and pastas, oatmeal, brown rice, Fruit and/ or fruit juice (see the post about overdoing the fruit), sweet potatoes, etc. Take a stroll down the whole foods aisle of your supermarket and see what you find. If you don't want commercial sugar, how about honey, blackstrap molasses or pure, real maple syrup?

I think that's the route I'm going next time as I've severely lost my taste for the usual stuff.

Cheers,

Friday

The carb-up foods don't have to be "sugary junk", but early in the carb up you DO want to eat foods that are high on the glycemic index. Sugar/glucose is VERY high-GI so I choose to use it. You don't HAVE to ... Other healthy examples of High-GI foods are:

Mashed potatoes
Rice cakes
Cold breakfast cereals (most of them anyway)
Cream of Wheat
Pasta
Jam/Jellies
Honey

Also, bananas, grapes, apple juice, grape juice, and carrots but these should be used in moderation due to the liver glycogen issue.

Thank you Friday & Trainer for your answers. They sound much better than (sorry Zeus) sweet tarts! Trainer, you mentioned liver glycogen issues with grapes, bananas, and carrots . . . would you explain more or point me in the direction where I can get more info?
--- Toni

It's a misconception that wheat pasta is high GI, it's actually pretty reasonable. 45 against glucose, 65 against white bread.

-The problem is it refills liver glycogen (like you stated). Why is this a problem? Well, it will take you longer to 'empty' it out (which needs to be done to establish ketosis) -thus, a generous amount of cardio will need to be done to re-enter ketosis within a few days. Otherwise- you will not establish ketosis until later on in the week (usually late Wed. early Thurs.).


P.S.'Sweet Tarts' do get old, I must admit.

so having some glucose lollies to up your carb count is alright in the first 24 hours???

Okay, so it sounds like I can have oatmeal, real bread -- none of that funky low carb bread that tastes like cardboard, pasta with tomato sauce (lite on the olive oil), mashed potatoes -- no butter , all bran cereal with no fat milk, and a glass or two of carrot juice and maybe a shot of wheat grass juice? It's unfortunate but the addition of fat with carbs is truly divine -- chocolate mousse, cheesecake, etc. Oh well. I am going to plan a carb up in the next couple weeks and want to get all my ducks in a row. I am NOT going to Krispy Kreme, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell or elsewhere. I AM going to stay sane and focused on my eating just like the past 9 monthes that have stood me in good stead. Give me an inch and I will take the footlong sub at subway! Any suggestions or comments appreciated! -- Toni

According to my numbers, I can have 50-some g of fat per day during carb up. A little butter is probably ok

To be clearer, there are better choices to make in the pasta realm if you are splitting hairs and looking for the highest GI possible ...

Linguine 65
Instant noodles 67
Tortellini, cheese 71
Spaghetti, durum 78
Macaroni and Cheese 92
Gnocchi 95
Rice pasta, brown 131

These are taken vs. white bread, courtesy of Mr. Mendosa

Big Daddy ...



Yes.

Cool...thanks man.

One more, I'm at about 16-17% bf, 198lbs, 6'3". How long do you think it would take me to get down to 10% bf??

BTW...I'm using a CKD...thanks

Assuming that you aren't using thermogenics or any other supplements to accelerate the process, I would say 8 weeks or so.

I am looking at my bodyfat log that I have kept (yes, I have one), and in 6/99 I was 202 lbs. at 13.2% ... by 7/14/99 I was 198 lbs. at 10.6% ... I was using a thermogenic at the time (Adipokinetix)and just coming off of a bulk cycle, if that helps you any.

I am also 6'3"

do you have any pictures of what you look like now??? Be interested to see what I might look like with another 30-40 lbs of LBM...

Look in the "Are you a bodybuilder?" thread.

Page 2, near the bottom. It's a crappy pic, but it's there. LOL.

In my little picture under my name I am 225 and about 13%, just to give you an idea.