So - healthy or no? Extreme fat loss in short time.

[Stravinsk]

well i'm only guessing from lack of more info but it sounds like a typical low carb diet, atkins or the like. typically with a diet like this you will have a stricter start up stage(with atkins you aim to eat about 10-20 carbs a day) this stage can last typically for 2 weeks up to 6. after that there is a secondary stage; again if it is atkins you will aim to add 5 carbs daily to your diet for each week, and continue doing this until you reach your highest level of carbs while still continuing to loose weight. you stay at this level until you reach your goal weight. then there is a lifelong maintenance stage where you simply eat reasonable amounts of carbs but you no longer aiming to loose.

the diet isn't bad for you, despite what some may say, and from the sounds of it he is doing it very healthily although if only eating those things a very bland way to do it for sure. there are many variations and similar types of diets, simply do a search for low glycemic index types of diets or perhaps visit some low carb forums ... two of my faves are

Active Low-Carber Forums - Atkins Diet & Low Carb Support Message Boards
LowCarbFriends.com - Weight Loss Support

K
___O
______F

also kudos to that dude, losing weight is mucho hard, he did a good thing and he is better off for it, no matter how weird his method may seem

Actually, it was not only ultra low carb, but since there is very little fat in boneless, skinless chicken breast - it was ultra low fat. All fat. Even the healthy kinds found in seeds and nuts and fish like tuna that our bodies need. And I'm assuming, ultra low (compared to modern eating) sodium - which stimulates appetite and causes lots of water retention. Anyway, it got me thinking about how the body uses fuel: Carbs 4 cals per gram, Fats 9 cals per gram first - then protein 4 cals per gram(unless it's in short supply for repair/maintanance and brain function in which case it will start to break down muscle tissue).

 

[Stravinsk]

the amount you'd have to take in of those foods to achieve acidosis would be astrinomical (like water intoxication). this, unfortunately, is just as looney.

Would you be suggesting that someone who eats boneless, skinless chicken 3-4 times a day is recieving more acids than someone who drinks 3-4 cokes a day? Keep in mind some people drink not cans - but litres of this stuff a day and the ph of coke is around 2.6.

as for eating of muscle, once you get to the point you have no fat reserves left, it would and I'd venture to say anyone who could stick to this diet might have the psychological mind set not to know when to turn it off (frankly this is nuts and makes me wonder if they have control issues to begin with)

But that was the point of the diet - to lose the excess body fat fast. Suggesting control or psychological issues as an aftermath is conjecture. Suggesting control issues to begin with is a bit of psuedo psychobabble, imo. C'mon. You want to lose weight fast so you have "control issues"? Take this further - and any person on diet plan which seeks to *control* weight loss could be suggested to have "control issues". I personally have much more admiration for the willpower it would have taken to do this than for someone who gets liposuction or lapband surgery - leaving the "control" all in the hands of others.

 

[Im_A]

I've never asked him but I'm 6'2 and he was about a head shorter than me - so I'm guessing 5'6 or 5'7 or so.

Anyway, the story started when I started talking to my friend about boneless, skinless chicken breast (it's often recommended as a source of protein on bodybuilding sites - since it's low calories/high protein). That's when he mentioned "Blake" - and how he used to be teased about his weight.

Obviously he got sick of it one day - the teasing, the way he looked. So that's what he did. Now I knew this guy for about 8 months or so only - but he was slender the whole time. Big into exercise. But I don't remember what he brought to work to eat. From what I can gather - the skinless chicken/salad diet was a temporary thing. My friend says that if he gains now - he immediately makes sure to run a few miles to burn it off.

Ok. I see. Well hopefully that much of a loss doesn't hurt him.

 

[Paulie079]

Yeah, it's not very healthy. Healthy weight loss is generally 1-2 lbs per week.

 

[MehTeh]

*Note - I am in no way advocating what this guy did - just curious on other's opinions on it.

I was talking to a friend of mine the other week and we were talking weight loss (more specifically - fat loss). Well, we both know this guy named Blake (not his real name) and he said "You remember Blake? You know he used to be really fat".

"Really? That guy??!! No way!"

"Yeah, he was about 110 kilos" (242 pounds). "He went down to 71 kilos (156 pounds) in 3 months - and kept it off".

"Wow...3 months..."

"All he ate was boneless, skinless chicken breast and salad...for 3 months. Nothing else except water to drink".

Now I thought this was interesting. No other details were given - like, if it was salted(sodium increases appetite and water weight), how often he ate it, what was in the salad and what kind of exercise he did (I assume he did - since Blake is big into exercise now). Boneless, skinless chicken breast has very very low saturated fat levels.

So - healthy or not? I'm not advocating this diet - but I did find it interesting. Protein, from what I understand, is the last thing the body will convert into fuel. Carbs and fats (including healthy fats) are burned first - and also stored first if you are not using them or if they come in the form of processed/high GI form (such as white flour/rice) that raise insulin to sky high levels.

Thoughts? Dangerous? Surely this couldn't be more dangerous than drinking coke, eating processed sugars and additives and chemical sweetners, drinking alcohol, eating fried food...Just questioning - thinking out loud here. I know the diet is unsustainable on the longer term because it misses a few key nutrients...such as plenty of Omega 3 and 6 fats - which are essential for good health. And I don't think carb limiting to such extremes is good in the long term either.

Actually, it was not only ultra low carb, but since there is very little fat in boneless, skinless chicken breast - it was ultra low fat. All fat. Even the healthy kinds found in seeds and nuts and fish like tuna that our bodies need. And I'm assuming, ultra low (compared to modern eating) sodium - which stimulates appetite and causes lots of water retention. Anyway, it got me thinking about how the body uses fuel: Carbs 4 cals per gram, Fats 9 cals per gram first - then protein 4 cals per gram(unless it's in short supply for repair/maintanance and brain function in which case it will start to break down muscle tissue).

The section in bold is pretty important. So too would be if he was taking any supplements.

As for conversion of fat/protein/carbs what gets burnt first depends on two factors, the stress on the body (long term and short term) and the location of the fuel.

If the body is turned into a 'survival' mode operating on much less calorie intake than previously it will panic and try to hold on to as much energy as possible, the best way to do that is to store fat and burn muscle instead. Alternatively if you put the muscles under continued stress it will seek to reinforce those muscles, with additional muscle (hypertrophy). All the literature I have come across points toward reducing calories by not more than 500 per day for your usual diet and/or performing resistance exercises. I'm yet to come across any research on Low or Very Low Calorie Diets combined specifically with resistance exercise. But I also haven't looked for it. It may be that high levels of weight loss can be achieved this way but it would take a lot of discipline.

As for what is converted into energy first under immediate stress (such as exercise), it is simple carbohydrates (sugars) in the blood stream. Well it isn't entirely carbs, it is carbs with a little fat but the longer exertion goes on the more the body will switch to protein and then fat. Now after the first 7 seconds of an activity the body actually uses a mix of all these sources, you can't just pick one and go with it.

Now going through ~40kg in ~13 weeks is a little unhealthy in that it places a lot of stress on the body, when you lose weight pretty much everything in your body changes, but the biggest issue would be with the cardiovascular system, which was set up to support a lot of volume. He may have had quite a few headaches and increased blood pressure while slowly losing that excess blood volume in addition to the extra bits of skin that haven't shrunk. I'd prefer for people to lose up to 1kg a week after the first 4 weeks which can support a more rapid loss (much of it excess water).

 

[IreneAdler]

Would you be suggesting that someone who eats boneless, skinless chicken 3-4 times a day is recieving more acids than someone who drinks 3-4 cokes a day? Keep in mind some people drink not cans - but litres of this stuff a day and the ph of coke is around 2.6.



But that was the point of the diet - to lose the excess body fat fast. Suggesting control or psychological issues as an aftermath is conjecture. Suggesting control issues to begin with is a bit of psuedo psychobabble, imo. C'mon. You want to lose weight fast so you have "control issues"? Take this further - and any person on diet plan which seeks to *control* weight loss could be suggested to have "control issues". I personally have much more admiration for the willpower it would have taken to do this than for someone who gets liposuction or lapband surgery - leaving the "control" all in the hands of others.

I wasn't suggesting they were taking in acids. NM. Obviously you're not getting what I'm saying.

 

[darktipper]

You can actually lose 1-2 pounds a day safely. 3 is pushing it. Once I lost 5 pounds in one day but I put back on like 3-4 due to eating. This was in the summer Eons ago.

 

[SpiritualAntiseptic]

You can actually lose 1-2 pounds a day safely. 3 is pushing it. Once I lost 5 pounds in one day but I put back on like 3-4 due to eating. This was in the summer Eons ago.

It is called using the bathroom.

 

[GQ Chris]

What about that dude that eats like 25000 Big Macs.

 

[kevlite2020]

What about that dude that eats like 25000 Big Macs.

Somebody asked him what his next goal is, and if he'd go for 50000... He was like, 50000? There's no way I'm living that long!

haha at least he understands what he's doing.

 

[IreneAdler]

that whole thing was so gross. ugh. I feel bad for people who live (sort of) that way not as an experiment.

 

[luvs2lift]

you need a balanced diet period. But there is one thing about protein you may not know is it takes the body an extreme ammount of energy to metabolize protein. Therefore you actually burn more calories ie fat if you increase protein slightly. 6 to 7 meals per day not huge but balanced. Here are some basic guidelines.
1. protein with all meals
2. eat every 2 to 2 1/2 hours
3 plenty of water .. keeps metabolism going
4. 1st meal, pre wo and post wo have complex carbs.
5. all other meals fibrous carbs.. asparagus,spinach..
6. one day a week is a cheat day this would depend how strict you are with your weekly meals.

 

[Stravinsk]

You know, I was actually a little mistaken - second hand info is sometimes exaggerated and I got more details recently:

First meal of the day was Weet-Bix(with milk? shrug) (yes that's the brand name) - so he got some complex carbs

2nd,3rd (4th,5th?) - was salad with boneless, skinless chicken breast- with the only dressing being fresh squeezed lemon. Nothing else.

He also ran every day (how long - don't know)

 

[stephanieamber]

ok. don't shoot me for being ignorant and havign such a stupid source for this...

but on grey's anatomy i remember once a lady lost a lot of weight and they realized that she was technically anorexic.

true or false? haha.