Fitness myths

[neverlosethefeeling]

There are a number of problems with that study, especially if you intend low carb diet to mean ketogenic diet. The macro ratios to achieve and maintain ketosis are very specific and there's no indication that ketosis was the low carb twin's goal. So that'd be my first comment: the distinction between a low carb diet and a ketogenic one is important, especially as regards your body's metabolic processes. Yes, ketogenic diets are necessarily low carb, but the reverse is not always true.

 

I expect people to reject my lifestyle. There are a lot of tacitly accepted preconceptions and keto flies in the face of many of them. But all I know is my lipid panels are excellent, I'm no longer pre-hypertensive, my BMI has dropped, and I'm at my lowest weight since high school. Not to mention my increased energy, better sleeping habits, healthier skin, gums, nails, etc. Definitely isn't anything close to the "misery" that Fiz referred to.

 

[Darth Biscuit]

I always LOL at people who wear hoodies in an 80 degree gym, for various ridiculous reasons.

 

There's a guy in our gym that wears a sweatshirt, hoody up, all the time in our gym...

 

There's now a guy who has taken to wearing a camo battle helmet in the gym all the time...  I stay away from that guy...

[88 Bronco]

There are a number of problems with that study, especially if you intend low carb diet to mean ketogenic diet. The macro ratios to achieve and maintain ketosis are very specific and there's no indication that ketosis was the low carb twin's goal. So that'd be my first comment: the distinction between a low carb diet and a ketogenic one is important, especially as regards your body's metabolic processes. Yes, ketogenic diets are necessarily low carb, but the reverse is not always true.

 

I expect people to reject my lifestyle. There are a lot of tacitly accepted preconceptions and keto flies in the face of many of them. But all I know is my lipid panels are excellent, I'm no longer pre-hypertensive, my BMI has dropped, and I'm at my lowest weight since high school. Not to mention my increased energy, better sleeping habits, healthier skin, gums, nails, etc. Definitely isn't anything close to the "misery" that Fiz referred to.

 

For the sake of discussion, what was your dietary habits prior? Did you go from eating whatever you wanted to watching what you eat? Did you start working out?

[PandaPancake]

There's a guy in our gym that wears a sweatshirt, hoody up, all the time in our gym...

 

There's now a guy who has taken to wearing a camo battle helmet in the gym all the time...  I stay away from that guy...

 

Sounds like the guy in the hoodie is trying to burn fat. He could have a body building competition the next day.

[Darth Biscuit]

Sounds like the guy in the hoodie is trying to burn fat. He could have a body building competition the next day.

 

 

Yeah the dude in the sweatshirt is just trying to sweat I think... plus he doesn't seem to speak much english, so he may just not want to talk to people...

 

 

The other guy I'm pretty sure is a nutjob...

[Jase]

Sounds like the guy in the hoodie is trying to burn fat. He could have a body building competition the next day.

 

you mean shed water

[neverlosethefeeling]

For the sake of discussion, what was your dietary habits prior? Did you go from eating whatever you wanted to watching what you eat? Did you start working out?

 

Well, I was a two sport athlete in High School and competed on a Division 1 Track and Field team in college (I'm 23), so I've always worked out. When I was competing, us throwers used to say: "why run and puke when you can throw and eat?" Being big (not fat) was an advantage in the sport and our heavy training necessitated lots of calories. Because I didn't need to maintain a girlish figure I very much ate what I wanted when I wanted it. After I quit competing I wanted to lose the extra weight because I knew it no longer served a purpose and was unhealthy. It also made me less attractive to potential lady friends. At least the hot ones.

 

I didn't have the healthiest relationship with food growing up. My family doesn't really have an obesity problem, but certain stressors and questionable parenting decisions led to me viewing food as a fun activity, a pastime, or a coping mechanism instead of what it really is: nourishment and fuel for the body. That's why I say one of the big things I had to overcome (and eventually did via keto) was changing my relationship with food. I've become very in-tune with my body and can tell when I'm hungry versus when I'm bored. I no longer eat out of boredom.

 

I'd tried various portion control methods, counting calories, eliminating certain foods from my diet, etc. but never saw sustained results. I saw results, but not significant and never long-lasting. I was often hungry, lethargic, pissy, or otherwise just unsatisfied.

 

I'm a redditor and came across r/keto and began to read. At first I was skeptical because it went against a lot of the things I previously held as fact and it forbade me from eating certain foods I used to love like most fruits, for example. And bread. My god, no more bread. But I also saw people getting fantastic results, frequently commenting on how effortless the maintenance is once one gets through the initiation period, and generally giving them a much better outlook on life.

 

Things like this became the norm for me to see: http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/1s9xf7/doctors_said_i_wouldnt_live_to_see_30my_30th/

http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/1nq72h/pics_the_wife_and_i_after_6_months_of_keto_shes/

http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/1o7lwr/photo_friday_pics_combined_weight_loss_of_over/

http://www.reddit.com/r/keto/comments/1ik2e1/i_have_said_goodbye_to_the_700s_600s_500s_and_now/

 

After doing my due diligence I decided to give it a shot. The science began to make sense and was backed by a number of scientific studies. Ketogenic diets have been used as a theraputic treatment for many years. Dr. Eric Westman of Duke University published a sort of handbook that became my keto bible. At my highest recorded weight I was 264 pounds (though it's very possible I got above that at times) and I currently fluctuate between 203-205. 185ish is my goal and is closer to ideal for my height (6 feet).

 

It just worked for me. Keto flu (the initiation period where the body is entering/adjusting to ketosis) was a ****** but it was just smooth sailing after that. I'm never hungry and always satiated, my brain seems to be functioning clearer, and I've found that I don't really miss the foods I can no longer eat. And even during weeks where I didn't work out as often I was still losing weight. Now, I lost 60 pounds in a year so my weight loss was very much at a slow, steady and healthy pace.

 

I don't know, man. It just worked for me and now it's just second nature. One of the things that was important to me was sustainability. I have a general dislike for the word "diet" because I think it implies a short-term endeavor. That's also why I think a lot of diets fail. Someone loses the weight, returns to their old eating habits and before they know it has gained their original weight back and then some. I know that happened to me.

I know not everyone is the same and what works for one may not work for someone else. That's why I don't belittle anyone for their dietary choices if the general idea is to maintain a healthy weight. There are a number of ways that one can achieve that goal and there's not one answer that's right for everyone. Besides, of course, the general principle of maintaining a caloric deficit when losing weight. Keto is what worked for me and I'm very happy about that. Not in a proselytizing sort of way, mind you. At least I hope it doesn't come across that way. I don't try to convert anyone to keto, but if someone has questions I generally try to be helpful and answer them honestly.

 

Sorry for the wall of text.

[Chimera]

There's a guy in our gym that wears a sweatshirt, hoody up, all the time in our gym...

There's now a guy who has taken to wearing a camo battle helmet in the gym all the time... I stay away from that guy...

is he a heavier guy?

Many bigger soldiers work out with helmets on to make their necks larger for body fat tests.

[Zod]

Yeah the dude in the sweatshirt is just trying to sweat I think... plus he doesn't seem to speak much english, so he may just not want to talk to people...

 

 

The other guy I'm pretty sure is a nutjob...

 

competitors completely dehydrate themselves before a show.

 

 

Body Building is one of the unhealthiest sports around. I swear most of those guys would have a heart attack if they tried to run a mile.

[Darth Biscuit]

competitors completely dehydrate themselves before a show.

 

 

Body Building is one of the unhealthiest sports around. I swear most of those guys would have a heart attack if they tried to run a mile.

 

True, but this guy's not a body builder...  just a regular gym rat like me.

[Zod]

Then he just likes wearing a hoodie. I prefer that to the speedo and tank top dudes.

[Darth Biscuit]

Then he just likes wearing a hoodie. I prefer that to the speedo and tank top dudes.

 

I concur.

 

I just don't get how he can stand it... I get hot in a t-shirt and shorts...

[Zod]

I concur.

 

I just don't get how he can stand it... I get hot in a t-shirt and shorts...

 

I get it. I get cold when sweating.

[TANTRIC-NINJA]

competitors completely dehydrate themselves before a show.

Body Building is one of the unhealthiest sports around. I swear most of those guys would have a heart attack if they tried to run a mile.

I work with a girl who used to do fitness shows and she said she would only just eat a dried out/raw head of cabbage for a two weeks before the competetion to lose all that water weight.

Awesome..she had to be pleasant to be around during that time...a thirsty, grumpy cabbage breathed chica with dude guns.