[graaja]

Originally Posted by cataclysm

Thanks! I'll look into this.

As far as IF goes, you are doing fine. And your run time also falls in your fasting period. That is good as well.

So, you need to look into what you eat. Axe77 has given a very good suggestion about cutting carbs. If you need to get rid of that last layer of fat, cutting the carbs is the only option.

Also, till you reach your goal, try cutting the frequency of alcohol intake. Instead of 1-2 times a week, limit it to once a week or if possible once in two weeks. Alcohol (the raw spirits), though do not contribute to fat gain, will slow down fat burn. This is because the liver will first try to metabolize all the alcohol in the blood before starting to break fat.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Finally, I am reading some stuff that is specially interesting for endurance athletes. Its called "What the Fat? Leaner Fitter Faster on LCHF".

Thanks a lot for the reference to this book Axe77. I have been looking for that perfect balance between IF, low carb and endurance training and still have not figured this out. Will read this book to get some inputs.

[earthian]

Thank you for helping!

Originally Posted by graaja

1. What is your fasting and feeding time?

Feeding: 10:30 am till 18:30 pm. The balance 16 hrs fasting. Just black coffee w/o sweetner in the morning.

2. What do you eat during the feeding hours? Give a complete list of what you eat, how much you eat and when you eat.

.

• One Jowar 'rotla' (sort of thick roti made of Sorghum) one or two sabjis, dal and chhas at 10:30 am.
• Some fruits or some fried snacks along with masala chai with sweetner at about 1600 hrs.
• Vegetable upma or quinoa + sambhar+ curd+sabji or pessarutu (a lentil dosa with chutney) or something in the likes of a singlen dish-ragda patties for example. Or two vegetable sandwiches with cheese.At 1830 hrs.
• dark chocolate (70%) when the cravings occur-nearly every day!

3.What do you take during fasting hours?

As i said, black coffee w/o sweetner, maybe some narial pani.

4. When do you workout? In fasted state or during the feeding hours?

I go for a morning walk every day for at least an hour at 5.5kmph at about 0530 hrs. It is followed by some weight training for about 25 minutes thrice a week. Thrice a week i play TT. Except TT, all these are in the fasting window.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by earthian

Feeding: 10:30 am till 18:30 pm. The balance 16 hrs fasting. Just black coffee w/o sweetner in the morning.
.

• One Jowar 'rotla' (sort of thick roti made of Sorghum) one or two sabjis, dal and chhas at 10:30 am.
• Some fruits or some fried snacks along with masala chai with sweetner at about 1600 hrs.
• Vegetable upma or quinoa + sambhar+ curd+sabji or pessarutu (a lentil dosa with chutney) or something in the likes of a singlen dish-ragda patties for example.
• dark chocolate (70%) when the cravings occur-nearly every day!

As i said, black coffee w/o sweetner, maybe some narial pani.

I go for a morning walk every day for at least an hour at 5.5kmph at about 0530 hrs. It is followed by some weight training for about 25 minutes thrice a week. Thrice a week i play TT. Except TT, all these are in the fasting window.

Fasting and the workouts are good.

You have to work on your diet. A few comments on the diet.

1. It is possible that you are under-eating. If there is too much of calorie cutting, the body can go into starvation mode where it slows down the metabolism and still keep storing fat from whatever carbs you eat. Try adding some healthy fat and proten to the diet. You could have 100 grams of paneer made as gravy or just saute'd with onions and capsicum. You could saute vegetables in butter or ghee. When you add more dietary fat to your diet, this will bring your body out of starvation mode and the body will start buring fat.
2. Avoid fruits for snacks. Fruits have high amount of sugar with large portion of fructose. This will in turn spike insulin which will prevent your body from burning fat. Instead of fruits, have nuts like almonds and walnuts.

Usually, if your metabolism has not slowed down a lot, or if you have not yet developed insulin resistance, you can get away with just IF and your current diet. However, if you have developed high insulin resistance, then strictly cutting the carbs is the only way to come out of the plateau.

[earthian]

Originally Posted by graaja

1. It is possible that you are under-eating.

Thank you for your prompt reply. How do i figure out if i am under eating? My energy levels are okay, except that since the past two days i seem to have a low degree headache.

Try adding some healthy fat and proten to the diet. You could have 100 grams of paneer made as gravy or just saute'd with onions and capsicum. You could saute vegetables in butter or ghee. When you add more dietary fat to your diet, this will bring your body out of starvation mode and the body will start buring fat.

I started with keto for 10 days. I aborted it when i found that i did not develop ketosis. ( Got the keto-glucose diastix)

... if you have developed high insulin resistance, then strictly cutting the carbs is the only way to come out of the plateau.

So should it be a Low carb diet or a strict no carb diet? What about veggies and jowar, dal etc. They contain complex carbs.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by earthian

Thank you for your prompt reply. How do i figure out if i am under eating? My energy levels are okay, except that since the past two days i seem to have a low degree headache.

One way to do this is to count your calories using an app like MyFitnessPal. If you are eating less than 1000 calories, then this is too low and you could be getting into starvation mode.

Originally Posted by earthian

So should it be a Low carb diet or a strict no carb diet? What about veggies and jowar, dal etc. They contain complex carbs.

Before trying Keto which is a strict "No Carb" diet, you could try the "Low Carb" LCHF diet. In this diet, you will have to stop all grains (including wheat, jowar etc). Instead you can have your carbs coming from veggies. You should include healthy fat like coconut oil, butter, ghee or olive oil. Have your protein from paneer, cheese etc. If you can have eggs, that will be a great advantage. Have 3 to 5 eggs can give you lots of protein and fat.

Do a Google search for "LCHF for vegetarians" and you should get lot of tips on what you can eat. Try this for a few weeks and see if you get out of the plateau. Also, to keep track of your macros, use an app like MyFitnessPal and log everything you eat. And with this you will be able to track the calories as well as macros. For an LCHF, I would start with 25% carbs, 50% fat and 25% protein.

[earthian]

Originally Posted by graaja

One way to do this is to count your calories using an app like MyFitnessPal.

Thank you, Graaja. Your suggestions are useful.

[cataclysm]

Originally Posted by Axe77

Try cutting out sugar, alcohol and ALL carbs from your meals for about 4 - 5 weeks. I mean rice, roti, bread, brown rice, poha, etc - everything. You might want to have moderate amounts of sweet potato or other fibrous complex carb substitutes (specially on Sat in anticipation of your sunday long).

Thanks Axe! I am gradually trying to shift to a low carb diet. It's difficult because carbs have been fueling me since I started running, about 6 years ago. Now I don't know if it's the heat or 6 months of IF, I feel like I've slowed down. Hopefully, I'll get back to my old pace.

Originally Posted by Axe77

My only exception is I do consume what I need DURING my very long runs (think 22 kms and more)

Same with me. Electrolytes and gels are used only for long runs. All my other runs are without any fueling.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Finally, I am reading some stuff that is specially interesting for endurance athletes. Its called "What the Fat? Leaner Fitter Faster on LCHF". Give it a read and take a call if the principles appeal to you. The other related book is "What the Fat? Fat's in, Sugar's Out". The books (particularly the leaner fitter faster one) designed with athletes including endurance athletes in mind. Author is Grant Schofield and two others.

Thanks! Just like Graaja mentioned, I have been trying to maintain this balance of IF and low carb diet for my running. My future plans include a couple of ultra marathons, so this might prove to be helpful.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Needless to say throw in some moderate strength training in too.

That is the plan. I've been doing some bodyweight exercises 2-3 times a week. Nothing too serious though.

Originally Posted by graaja

As far as IF goes, you are doing fine. And your run time also falls in your fasting period. That is good as well.

So, you need to look into what you eat. Axe77 has given a very good suggestion about cutting carbs. If you need to get rid of that last layer of fat, cutting the carbs is the only option.

Thanks! I am gradually cutting out carbs but I feel I am also losing my pace because of that. I am not sure if it's the heat or the IF. The weather is becoming better here, so I'll get to know soon.

Originally Posted by graaja

Also, till you reach your goal, try cutting the frequency of alcohol intake. Instead of 1-2 times a week, limit it to once a week or if possible once in two weeks. Alcohol (the raw spirits), though do not contribute to fat gain, will slow down fat burn. This is because the liver will first try to metabolize all the alcohol in the blood before starting to break fat.

I am trying to cut down alcohol intake to zero but sometimes social obligations take precedence (and my will power isn't stellar either when it comes to booze ).

[graaja]

Originally Posted by cataclysm

Thanks! I am gradually cutting out carbs but I feel I am also losing my pace because of that. I am not sure if it's the heat or the IF. The weather is becoming better here, so I'll get to know soon.

From an article that I read about LCHF for endurance athletes, a drop in pace is expected when you switch to fat as fuel. But this is temporary till your body adapts to fat as primary fuel and you should see an improvement back to previous levels soon. For the same reason, that article also suggested to start this switch during off-season and not before any important race.

I think you will soon be able to regain your pace with this new method, but will feel much more energetic.

@Axe77, @cataclysm
It is great to see a couple of endurance athletes following the LCHF way. This has been one of my long term goals. It would be great if we can exchange notes on our experiences regarding energy levels, pace etc. in this switch.

[AlphaKilo]

Hello All,

I was keen to post my personal experience in this thread after seeing so many interested and some already followers of LCHF.

I am currently following the LCHF diet plus workout scheme and I should say has worked wonders for me. The very basic change I noticed is the freshness I am able to maintain throughout the day and very less sleepy/lousy feeling. My diet is regulated by a qualified dietrician. Since, I do not want to advertise any organisation here, I am avoiding posting its details or my trainer info.

(measure everything before cooking)
My meal details:
Breakfast: Whey protein 40g, Milk 200ml, Fruits (apples, blueberries, seeded grapes) 350g, Tofu/paneer: 100g, cheese: 100g

Lunch: Rice: 50g, green veggies/leafy veggies: Quantity unrestricted, yoghurt(200g), soya (50g)

Snacks: Almonds, Walnuts (10g each), milk,onion, tomatoes, carrot, beetroot, radish (100g each)

Dinner: rice (50g), rajma/dal/channa/green leafy veggies (50g), spinach (100g), Whey protein (50g)

Water: 3 - 5 litres compulsory.

With the above diet, I run a diet deficit of about 20 calories below my daily need. I am not a weight loss plan, hence the negative calorie count. Also, I have a strict weight training plan for 4 days a week with one day off and the remaining 2 days of full cardio (cycling > 30kms and/or swimming 1 - 2 hrs non stop)

I try to follow this diet very strictly and even while travelling. I have managed to reduce 6 kgs in 10 weeks with measurements going down by about 5 inches and body fat reduction of over 50 % (from 30.8% to now lingering around 10 - 12%). I have a 12 week transformation challenge and I am addicted to it already and plan to continue even after the challenge/package is over. The diet chart and workout plan varies between individuals, even between me and my wife, there is a lot of change. Being a vegetarian, I really did not have any issues, even here in Germany.

I hope it helps some of you to get inspire or motivate to keep up the good work.

[PrasannaDhana]

I failed!

I tried a 72 hour fast starting 9pm yesterday. Everything went well and physically I felt no hunger. But my mind was craving food. Not anything specific but just any food.

I had a full 3 meal, 3100 calories cheat day yesterday. I guess my mind had withdrawal effect. I broke my fast after 19 hours with plain cake and coffee.

I will have the next/final meal at 9pm and go on with 19:5 IF for the next few days (till Friday) and then attempt a 72 hours fast then.

72 hours stuff has no definite weight loss purpose though, I just want to discipline myself better.

PS: Both the pics are 1 year apart , one taken yesterday and the other on our anniversary last year.





I am kinda tired of people asking me to stop losing weight anymore. That just intensifies my goal, to reach 79 kg, totally bloody shredded

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by cataclysm

Thanks Axe! I am gradually trying to shift to a low carb diet. It's difficult because carbs have been fueling me since I started running, about 6 years ago. Now I don't know if it's the heat or 6 months of IF, I feel like I've slowed down. Hopefully, I'll get back to my old pace.

Originally Posted by graaja

From an article that I read about LCHF for endurance athletes, a drop in pace is expected when you switch to fat as fuel. But this is temporary till your body adapts to fat as primary fuel and you should see an improvement back to previous levels soon. For the same reason, that article also suggested to start this switch during off-season and not before any important race.

Its been the same for me. I have had a heavy carb loading strategy to fueling both before and during a long race. But its never too late to start a different approach and I am convinced fat adapting is useful if you are looking at endurance events that are 4 hours plus (say even up to 10 - 15 hours if you think full Ironmans / Comrades etc.)

Graaja has it bang on here. While your body is "fat adapting" in the initial phases you could feel a slight drop in pace initially and that's why best to do in off season. Completely second this. I myself plan to try this out aggressively immediately after I am done with Goa 70.3 Ironman on 20th October.

Originally Posted by cataclysm

I am trying to cut down alcohol intake to zero but sometimes social obligations take precedence (and my will power isn't stellar either when it comes to booze ).

I find sipping on just plain soda water the easiest on social occasions - try it perhaps. Even fresh lime soda you can't have too much of in an evening - plain soda seems to be working perfectly for me. I had 2+ through a 3 hour social evening a week ago.

Originally Posted by graaja

@Axe77, @cataclysm
It is great to see a couple of endurance athletes following the LCHF way. This has been one of my long term goals. It would be great if we can exchange notes on our experiences regarding energy levels, pace etc. in this switch.

That sounds great. We should connect on whatsapp on this maybe. Do ping me if you're finally deciding to drop into Goa and good luck with the recovery.

Cheers.

[cataclysm]

Originally Posted by graaja

@Axe77, @cataclysm
It would be great if we can exchange notes on our experiences regarding energy levels, pace etc. in this switch.

I am in. It'll great to know how this will affect our endurance.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by graaja

@Axe77, @cataclysm
It is great to see a couple of endurance athletes following the LCHF way. This has been one of my long term goals. It would be great if we can exchange notes on our experiences regarding energy levels, pace etc. in this switch.

Originally Posted by cataclysm

Thanks Axe! I am gradually trying to shift to a low carb diet. It's difficult because carbs have been fueling me since I started running, about 6 years ago. Now I don't know if it's the heat or 6 months of IF, I feel like I've slowed down. Hopefully, I'll get back to my old pace.

The way I understand, both LCHF and IF push your body into ketosis. Once adapted, fat becomes a more stable fuel for endurance based sport. And hence I presume once trained, it should definitely help you guys truly in the "long run".

[cataclysm]

Originally Posted by ampere

The way I understand, both LCHF and IF push your body into ketosis. Once adapted, fat becomes a more stable fuel for endurance based sport. And hence I presume once trained, it should definitely help you guys truly in the "long run".

Exactly! From what I've read using fat as fuel is good only when you are thinking of running long-slow miles. Anything higher intensity would be a pain. So I don't think LCHF or Keto would help anyone run fast.

[bmw_lover]

Just wanted to add my transformation as well over a period of around 7 months

old pic is - 1.1.2019 - 111 kg
new pic is - 25.8.19 - 88 kg





Just being patient and regular with my workouts helped me achieve this along with maintaining a good healthy and sustainable diet .

i am targeting for a weight of less than 80 kg. will post when and if i get there.