Okra
A few years ago I spent a year trying different diets and tracking
their effect on my body - weight gained and lost, body fat %, energy
levels, workout performances, etc. I tried low carb to vegetarian and
everything in between.
I had the best success with eating one meal a day, at night. I read
about the regimen in a couple of books and knew someone personally who
lost over a 100 lbs with this method. Rachel Keller wrote the
Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, and in the first chapter she writes that she
lost all of her weight eating one meal a day at night. She devised the
CAD because not everyone may have the fortitude to actually skip
breakfast AND lunch before eating. My friend who lost 100 lbs
this way skipped breakfast and walked for an hour during his lunch
break, and ate whatever he wanted at night. As for me personally,
using this method I dropped about 15 lbs and was doing handstand
pushups before I was done.
You can find out more about this
style of eating by going to
www.warriordiet.com, and checking out the
diet and nutrition forums of
www.dragondoor.com.
A diet that is easier to follow but takes a while longer is what I
wrote about in my first post.... eat three squares a day, avoiding junk
foods altogether and skipping the between meal snacks. Just eat three
meals a day, one plate of food per meal, and the weight comes off
slowly but surely. You don't have to count calories, and aren't limited
to eating certain foods.
I also lost weight on a low carb diet; I even tried an all-meat,
meat-only diet for a period of time. I did lose weight but felt that my
energy levels suffered during workouts. I'd hit the wall pretty quick,
I was doing a hard calisthenic routine at the time; following the low
carb diet I couldn't get through it the same. But low carb proponents
will say that you have to be on a low carb diet for an extended period
of time before the metabolic pathways adapt to burning fat as primary
fuel, instead of carbs / glycogen. This may be true, but I didn't want
my workouts to suffer for the months in between while I waited for such
adaptation to take place.
I recommend one meal a day at night as best, if you can er, stomach it,
and three meals a day no junk food or snacks as second best. Of course,
to see real results you have to work out! If you try one meal a day,
make sure to have a recovery meal after a hard workout session.
If you're further interested and have specific questions, fire away!