Starting the Rapid Fat Loss Diet this Week
I started the Rapid Fat Loss Diet this week and today is day 2 and so far so good. I decided after a lot of research online, that one of the best tools I could use to see my abs by the time I leave on my cruise in May 2010 is to utilise the methodology outlined in Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss Diet. It will also help me with the Turbulence Training contest I am enrolled in. According to the forums over at his site, many people have had good success with it.
What it is?
The Rapid Fat Loss Diet is essentially a protein only diet that seriously limits the calories coming in. As I wrote about awhile ago, calorie restriction has been working for me and using Eat Stop Eat was a great step. This diet is essentially the next step and is really hard-core.
Called PSMF (Protein Sparing Modified Fast), it is a scientifically based approach to quick weight and fat loss. The diet has you eating a specific number of calories for your height, weight, and body mass index (all of which is calculated in the calculator that comes with the course. In the diet, you add in some fibrous vegetables and some very key supplements (magnesium, potassium, calcium, omega-3′s) to keep things moving.
Based on my category of body (the tools help you figure this out), I also have one free meal per week as well as a 5 hour structured refeed. I have not done these yet but am looking forward to doing them. There are still rules around these meals, but essentially you are looking to incorporate some more carbs in to the meals and satisfy any cravings you may have. Lyle really goes into all the details about the process so there are no questions left unanswered.
The program also incorporates a full diet break for 2-weeks, which I will discuss later.
My First Couple of Days
Today is day two and the hardest part is really the planning. It takes work to hit the protein number and add in those vegetables. If you have a protein goal of 154 grams, then you need to hit 154 grams, not 165, not 140. The most helpful tool for this has been Daily Burn.
Essentially, the night before I plan exactly what I am going to eat for the day using Daily Burn, cook up the breakfast and lunch to pack to work. For example, last night I grilled some chicken with dill and mushrooms for lunch and some scallops and spinach for breakfast (I love seafood so I could eat that for breakfast any day). Tonight for dinner I am going to have some cod and chicken with asparagus.
As you can see, the components of the diet are simple natural foods. A very very very small amount of carbs and fat are allowed. I will be eating protein almost exclusively.
I also had to head out and buy up some supplements – calcium, magnesium, and omega 3′s. Lyle recommends 10 grams of omega-3′s per day and that can add up in cost. However, once set up with all the “tools” lined up it should be pretty easy to move forward.
No Cardio but Weights are Ok
Since this is a very low calorie diet, my daily bike commutes are no longer allowed. This is really because on such low calories one has to be very careful about what extra energy expenditure one does. According to Lyle, doing too much cardio while on the diet can actually hinder results.
However, he does recommend continuing weight training and I am not going to change my plans for that at all.
How Long
I have set up a structured program that has me doing the RFL program for 3- 4 weeks at a time with 2 week full diet break. These breaks coincide with vacations I have coming up including trips to London, April break, and ultimately my cruise in May. It also coincides with this contest! Once that is done, I will go back to eating at maintenance using the Eat Stop Eat methodology.
As usual, I will be posting my results over the coming weeks and it will be very interesting to see how this program helps (or not). I have high hopes for it.
Three Supplements I Am Using
I have been sucked into fancy marketing in the past. Reading those fitness magazines, it is hard to resist those big glossy ads with pictures of once fat people who magically became ripped over night. They play on your minds and trick you into believing that if you take this “magic pill” you will shed fat like ice melting in summer.
However, each and every time I tried any of these, I didn’t find I was any further ahead on my weight loss journey. Whether it was Hydroxycut or other fat burners, they never seemed to do anything. Sure I might have felt hotter or quicker on my feet, but I knew deep down that all that was was the caffeine coursing through my veins.
That being said, I still do take supplements, although I think they each fall into a specific category. One of them would be closer to a supplement than the other, and one is more of a vitamin.
Supplement #1: Creatine
I started taking creatine in October. I never did any loading phase or take it with anything special like grape juice or other high sugar drink, as is often recommended on various forums. Instead, I take it with water and at a dose of 5 grams every day.
Of course it is hard to assess if the creatine has actually had an effect or not, however just looking at my muscles in the mirror I know that I have gained slightly larger mass and definitely more definition. What I am going to do is stop taking creatine for a 2-week period starting in the 2nd or 3rd week of January and will take a picture before and after to see if there are any noticable difference.
Supplement #2: CLA
The second supplement I am taking is Conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA for short. Although like all supplements, the research is up and down on the effect of CLA on weight loss, some studies have shown that it can help. I am giving it a try at 3,200 mg of the active ingredient per day. I have to admit that I did notice some fat loss, although there is no way I could prove that it is directly from the CLA as I have been really watching calories lately. That being said, I am going to finish my bottle and then measure if there is any change in the opposite direction once I stop.
Supplement #3: Omega-3 & Multi-Vitamin
The third supplement I take very day is a combo pill – omega-3 fatty acids and a multi-vitamin. I have taken omega-3 for a long time as I believe it improves my “thinkin” ability and support my overall health. The multi-vitamin is also taken as an overall health tool, and not as a weight loss tool.
Overall, the benefits of any supplements, including daily multi-vitamins has been questioned a lot lately. The trouble I have is that it is very hard to prove whether the product is helping or if it is just the hard work you are putting into it. I am trying to keep it simple and at a minimum to save some money as well as not load up my body with a lot of chemicals.
