Can you use Muscle Milk as a meal replacement shake?

You could but you are going to get hungry quick.....

If you want to lose weight....go strict.....meats and green vegtables, no sugar, no grains.....basically if it comes in a bag, or is processed dont do it....

watch the lbs fly right off....

 

fiber is good, you want something with high fiber in it...

 

Eat a banana with the drink and you should be good to go, always works for me.

 

I'd only use heavier protein as a meal replacement.

 

Oh sure, problem is this will grow very boring.

I'd think adding a fruit salad would be helpful as you could use more vitamins and antioxidants. I know current dogma is all protein, no carbs, I've had my greatest success mixing high quality protein with carbs along with fiber.

 

Wrong. Losing weight is all about calories. You can eat McDonalds everyday (I do) and lose weight. Eat at a calorie deficit and you'll be fine. Eating Meats and veggies (cutting out carbs) only works because A). You drop 10-15 lbs of water weight/muscle glycogen within two weeks, which is useless if fat loss is the real goal and B). Cutting out a macro nutrient (carbs) usually creates a deficit where there was none before. This is exactly why people regain weight once they've lost it. They don't know proper ways to diet.

Eating 1.2g of protein per lean body mass, eating .45g fat per lbs (.45g per lean body mass if obese), and filling the rest of the deficit with carbs (no they're not bad for you nor will they make fat loss occur more quickly). Get gym membership and start a strength based resistance training program 3x per week (full body, no 4-5 day splits). Easy.

UCF Fin- Yeah, that's fine. Not a big deal at all.

How many calories do you cutting at per day? What's your maintenance number?

 

Cook some Salmon and eat it for dinner with some vegetables. Similar calorie content but much more filling and BETTER as far as nutritional value.

You COULD do what you said....there are no food rules, but the thing is do you want to do it the rest of your life? Once you get rid of the weight what do you plan to do? It is going to take a healthier diet to maintain the loss anyway. Might as well accomplish it that way so maintaining will be easier right?

 

Yeah losing weight is all about calories, but if you eat McDonalds every day you will never be as healthy as someone with a proper diet. So if you just want to look good it will work if you do it right, but you'll never actually feel or perform optimal.

 

Exactly, the "absolutely no carbs" stuff is unwise.

Now current thinking is a carb is a carb is a carb..this I disagree with as I prefer the fruit based sugars over the single molecule processed sugars, fructose v sucrose iirc(?).

I also believe everyone who is interested in losing weight, or better yet, grow healthier, should fast for at least a sun up to sun down day, if not a full 24 hr day. It teaches folks what it feels like to be actually hungry and not merely eat in the pavlovian manner of "oh it's 5:30, time for supper" whether they are actually hungry or not.

I also believe no food after a given time in the evening as a general rule as there just is not time to process it into energy and it converts to fat/storage as it is not being used.

 

I somewhat agree with what you're saying. But you can still replace your current carb intake with carbs from vegetables.

Can you expand on losing water weight/muscle glycogen?

 

Thats mostly true. There are some things I will eat if I'm hungry after dinner though. Cottage cheese, peanut butter, casein protein. Its not always ideal, but still preferable to common snacks.

I do agree with fasting for a day though. Good to see how your body reacts. As a general rule, I try to eat to fuel my body, rather than eating for pleasure. Lately my diet has been:

Morning: coffee/36g protein bar/cottage cheese

Lunch: Chicken breast/brown rice/bananas

Dinner: Chicken breast/broccoli/yogurt

I will include whey protein as snacks if I get hungry, or after the gym.

 

carb intake depends on how much you are burning/using. As does sugar intake, etc. If you guys really want to be precise then there are a ton of calcuations you'd have to do to do so. Not all sugars are bad, same for carbs, fats, etc.
In general try to keep your food fresh, sodium intake low unless needed for hydration, sugar low, fat low.

 

I used to buy bags of chips or doritos, now it is a small handful of stuff like almonds.

Chips are designed to be finished in one sitting and devoid of nutrition for the most part.

Bain of Americans imo, shovel food down at all times.

-english muffin w/smoked turkey and jalapeno mustard and huge mug o coffee
-small sandwich for lunch, or nothing but tea
-light supper of pasta or just a sandwich or bacon and eggs

My weakness is my town is "Beer City"..yummy..sort of...

 

Actually I had to up my salt intake as bike commuting just drains it out of me and I was having cramping in my calves.

 

hence the unless needed for hydration.......

 

Calories deficit is important, but calorie restriction will also lower your metabolism. Focus on losing bodyfat, not weight.

And for all the carb/no-carb stuff....well, the only "no carb" eating plan I can think of is a Protein Sparing Modified Fast, which I doubt is very popular.....but I maintain a relatively low bodyfat with stellar blood lipid profiles using the Anabolic Diet, originally written by Mauro DiPasquale back in the 90s. It is a cyclic ketogenic eating plan popular with bodybuilders and powerlifters. During the week (if I am trying to maintain my weight), I eat 30 grams of carbohydrate, mainly from vegetables, and 55-60% of my calories from fat (about 1/3 saturated and 2/3 unsaturated).

What many don't realize is there are essential amino acids (protein) and essential fat acids (EAA and EFA), but no essential carbohydrates. Your body will adapt to whatever style of eating you prefer as long as you give it these essential micronutrients (EAA and EFA) and eat at a caloric deficit, which will be higher with higher exercise levels and protein intake. Some eating styles make this easier than others, but all will "work". Heck, there was a guy that ate junk food (google Twinkie Diet) and supplemented with vegetables and (I believe a multivitamin)...the guy reduced his body fat and improved blood lipid profile. He probably wasn't in as good shape as he otherwise could have been, but his body adapted and improved.

 

I have always read potassium helped relieve that. Did increasing sodium intake make that go away?

 

They regain weight once they lose it because they go back to their old diet expecting different results.

The secret to maintaining weight loss is easy. Find a healthy eating lifestyle that you can live with the rest of your life and do it. Diets don't work period because the idea of them are temporary. People go on diets with the idea that they are done when they reach their goal weight.

 

I heard that about you, you like a protein shot everymorning

 

Actually sweet potato chips are becoming widely available, and generally speaking are a pretty healthy alternative if you're looking for a snack.

Almond are great though.

Yeah, (un)fortunately I developed a gluten intolerance a couple of years ago, which forced me to cut out beer.

 

Actually right.

I dont eat strictly protein, it is a misconception of the paleo diet which is what I am doing, and I haven't lost any muscle, I cut out anything processed, sugar, and grains....I eat so many calories it isn't funny, it is WHAT you are eating.....you dont need to eat grains to get carbs...eat sweet potatoes instead....

If you can hunt and gather it, you can eat it....

And lastly if you are dieting to lose weight and then stop dieting and put it back on, then you have most likely have stopped exercising as well....and in that case you are putting the weight back on anyways...

 

Have to balance cost v nutrition, tried veggie chips and they were not very tastee.

Pear Cider..hot summer day...uhm..yeah.

 

This......

It is about where you are getting the carbs from....

 

Which is why I said, dieting (cutting more specifically, if we're talking about fat loss) is all about calories. Not sure what you're disagreeing with? People who cut out or severely limit a macro nutrient (Carbs, Fats, Protein) set themselves up for long term failure. Carbs is usually the first to go. In this particular thread, someone mentioned cutting them out. I said, that was dumb (it is) because when the diet ends, you'll go back to eating normally, re-introducing hundreds of calories to your diet as a result of re-introducing the macro (carbs) that was eliminated to lose fat in the first place. Not only that, but you're ****ing with your hormones in a negative way. That's a different can of worms though. Eat adequate Protein, fats, and Carbs in a calorie deficit and you'll lose fat. Simple. Eat adequate Protein, fats, and Carbs at maintenance and you'll neither lose nor gain. Simple.

Calories, Calories, Calories. Count them. All of them. Get an ap like myfitnesspal and download it to your phone. It's amazingly simple to count calories these days. Buy a cheap food scale that counts grams and oz too. You're going to see results very quickly.

Not it's not. Carbs are carbs. Eat whatever carbs, from whatever sources, and you're going to be just fine. Protein must be eaten at an adequate level to avoid muscle loss (3500 calories burns 1 lb of fat, only 600 cals burns 1lb of muscle. Eat your protein and lift heavy), and fats must be eaten at an adequate level (sat fats in bulk) to help stabilize hormones. Fill the rest of the calorie deficit with carbs of your choosing. When I'm cutting, I eat cheesecake for days... why? It's ****ing Delicious. And it won't help me to lose fat any quicker if I don't eat it.

If you want to eat fruits and veggies, go ahead. Count the cals and macro nutrients. If not? Take a GOOD multi (which you should anyway) and eat whatever you want. Enjoy the hassle free weight loss eating pizza, burgers, nachos, etc...

For instance, I am cutting at 2000 cals at the moment (will bulk this fall/winter) for a 1000 cal deficit (2lbs per week). Last night I ate...

8oz of steak - 14g fat, 0 carbs, 46g protein, 320 cals
8oz Chicken breast - 1g fat, 0 carbs, 240 cals
2 Slices of Cheesecake from wal-mart - 40g fat, 82g carbs, 10g protein, 620 calories
1 Chobani greek yogurt - 3g fat, 19 carbs, 14g protein, 160 cals
1 Mcdouble *with bun* - 19 grams fat, 33 carbs, 22g protein, 360 cals
1 Mcdouble *no bun* - 17g fat, 5g carbs, 18g protein, 220 cals (I just sandwiched the meat in with my other mcdouble and made a mcdrouple).
1 serving of omega 3 fish oil - 40 cals, 5g fat.
Orange triad multivitamin - 0cals

In total, I had 2000 calories, 99g fat, 139 carbs, and 154g protein. Usually I eat around around 70g of fat and about 200carbs, but I didn't last night. And who cares? Not me. I hit my protein (greek word, meaning the first, as it's the most important macro) and I ate enough fat (at least 70). I will lose 2lbs this week... It will be all fat. I will not have starved myself or deprived myself food I enjoy.

I don't enjoy carrots, peas, broccoli, etc... I enjoy things that taste good. Like most normal people. I don't have to say to myself "Only 2 more weeks until I can eat food I actually like!!!" and drool over the thought of it. Because I know the rules of the game... I will be making a "how to guide" for this forum over the weekend. I will back up my info with citations from well known nutrition experts like Martin Berkhan, Lyle McDonald (king of them all), Alan Aargon, etc...

Muscle Glycogen is... "Carbohydrate (stored in your muscles and liver as glycogen) is accompanied by a good bit of water. For every gram of glycogen stored, you store anywhere from 3-4 grams of water with it." - Lyle McDonald

When you cut carbs or severely limit them, your body doesn't have quick access to stored energy (fat is the only other form of stored energy and the process is much slower) because you depleted your stored energy (glycogen) and thus the water trapped in your muscles. Which is why people who go on atkins or any other low carb diet lose so much weight in the first two weeks. Your body holds anywhere from 10-15lbs of both water and glycogen in the muscles. So when someone says "I lost 15 pounds in 2 weeks!" it's a false positive. 15lbs of weight loss isn't 15lbs of fat loss. Of the 10-15lbs lost in total, only 2-5 lbs were fat. This could of been accomplished eating carbs. Which is wayyy more fun. And studies have proven time and time again, over a period of 4-6 weeks of low carb dieting vs. high carb dieting, weightloss for both camps was the same. Low carbers just get a quick boost that is really irrelevant. *I should note, everyone loses glycogen/water on a cut, but the amounts vary based on carb consumption.*

 

Things I disagree with

You are only setting yourself up for long term failure if you do not stick with the diet. If it is a lifestyle choice and one the person can stick with, then they can live a long healtheir life than before.

Again, the diet doesn't have to end. Re-introducing unhealthy amount of calories fails no matter what diet a person is doing. Even if they are, "counting calories."

I find this faulty because who wants to do this for the rest of their life? It is simple to count calories these days, however it is still time consuming and annoying. This is not sustainable and cutting/counting calorie diets are terrible in the long term since most people do not stick to them.

That is not true at all. Eat 400 calories of spinich versus 400 calories of cookies and your body will treat each one differently. Well I guess they would have different amount of "net carbs" due to the fact that the spinach has fiber. So lets say eat 100 carb grams of spinach vs 100 carb grams of cookies and see the difference. Which of course is 400 cups of spinach (.4 grams of net carbs per cup of spinach) vs 9 oreo cookies (34 grams per 3 cookies).

The problem with a calorie, is a calorie, is a calorie is that it takes away the human element of weight loss.

Technically, you are on a low carb diet since the dietary guidlines state that you should have 300g of carbs a day.

 

Eating cheesecake (especially from Walmart), and Big Macs.....to me isnt A) delicious and B) something everybody wants to eat.....nor healthy....you might get the same results, but you wont be as health as someone who eats cleaner than that...now dont take away my TACO BELL THO!!!!

Me personally if I never eat another one again, I could care less....basically like you said find something you like and do it....

but as Dupee indicated as well it is a lifestyle change and hopefully for most permanent...and not short term....or else whatever you do doesnt work initially...

 

bull****. Eating "clean" does not make you healthier. Not even close buddy. I'm at work and on my phone. But when I get home ill give you proper citations that prove it. Macros are macros. Protein from a McDonald's Burger, taco hello taco, and a chicken breast are all the same.

Ucf - I think you're eating wayyy to little. Ill write up my fitness post and pm you.

 

I prefer the sea food diet.....err see

 

Counting cals is easy as hell. I couldn't believe just how easy. I have no idea why I never made a slight effort until the last year. If you can commit to something g that easy, you have no o e to blame but yourself. Cals in vs cals out. Its scientific fact.


Oh and look up twinkle diet fin Yank... carbs are carbs, protein is protein, and fats are fats (except trans fat, which are bad).

 

There are plenty of proper citations that prove differently. Protien from a McDonalds burger and a burger made from grass fed beef are different.

 

Easy for you.

Cals in vs Cals out doesn't work. Plenty of studies have proven that.

 

I guess "guy" will come next.....

oh and your wrong.....I dont care what publications/citiations you adhere too, save it I am not interested, I didnt start this thread....

go tell your doctor that you are healthier from eating fast food, and rank Walmart goodies as opposed to eating fruits, nuts, vegetables and meats and he will look at you sideways....

 

bull****. There is no reputable study that exists. Of your body requires 2500 calories to meet daily need, and you eat 2000, the difference must be made up. The energy is drawn from fat. That's what fat is... stored energy. Lean body mass is used when fat supply is low. Stop posting false information.

 

Paleo diet....nuff said...

http://thepaleodiet.com/

 

He can look any direction he wants. He laws of thermodynamics are fact. Period. If you dont like it, tough ****. Macros don't make you fat, calories do.

 

That is bull****. Of course there are reputable study that exists. If your body requires 2500 calories to meet daily need, and you eat 2500 calories, and your body passes through 500 calories, you will still have a calorie deficit.

Also if you eat 2500 calories and then eat 2000 calories, then your body will naturally try to make up the calorie deficit. Which will also causes the body to slow metabolism, so the body then needs 2400 calories instead of 2500, or sends signals to the body to be more lathargic or creates hunger pains. You can use will power, however that is also not very effective as it fails more than it succeeds.

Calories in/Calories out doesn't work because most people can't substain it long term. Plenty of studies show that most calorie deficit diets fail long term.

I don't know what research you have done, but it doesn't seem to be very thorough.