[rohansachar]

Originally Posted by ecenandu

, did you do any exercise apart from dieting? That stat sounds more like starving than dieting to me. Anyways, happy to hear that you are back to healthy food habits now.

Hi ecenandu,

Fortunately/unfortunately, I was into body building, which was the primary reason for the massive bulk. Hence to reduce the bulk as well, complete pause on working out.

And you're right, more than diet, it was starvation. No meals for 18 months, only 1 pack of biscuits with A LOT of tea through out the day.

The immediate results were great, I mean waist down from 42" to 30", but I've also mentioned the drastic side effects.

[Stiggy]

I've lost 11 kilos in 2 months by simply cutting out carbs.

I know that's difficult with our tendencies for rice/roti, but trust me, it worked great. No more coffee, tea, pepsi, etc. Just lots of roasts, steaks, and when the time came for Indian food, dhalia instead of rice!

[adimicra]

I am quite frankly astonished to see the responses in this thread where people are talking of chemicals, starvation, drastic changes to diet (no roti/rice ) etc.
Looks like everyone wants shortcuts and everyone is in a hurry !
Think about the long term sustainability and the side effects, guys.

Unless you have a medical condition, you don't need to do anything drastic to reduce weight. Healthy diet with slight modifications, moderate and regular exercise is what we need. It will take little more time but it will be natural, no side effects and you would be able to sustain it in the long term as you are not doing anything drastic.

This might seem like gyan but I myself have gone through all this .. so please do consider.

[bblost]

@adimicra: 100% with you on this.

When I wanted to get healthy, I stopped smoking. That was back in 2008 and have thankfully not relapsed into one of the the most disgusting habits known to mankind.

Then I started cycling to work.
The next big change was buying clothes that fit me just right. This meant any increase in waist size would cause a problem. A red flag that immediately makes me notice and not get lazy.

At my work we usually end up going for a buffet once every few weeks.

Now if I go to a buffet, I eat normally and don't gorge. Additionally because I took in hotel food. I skip dinner. If I feel hungry and don't want to skip dinner, I eat poha soaked in milk and yogurt.

I feel way healthier than I ever did.

I still eat junk food. My definition of junk food is anything that is cooked or prepared by someone not related to or friends with me.
It includes every packaged food product, every dish prepared in any restaurant.

If I eat junk food, I then make the next meal a very simple affair.

[Stiggy]

Originally Posted by adimicra

(no roti/rice )

Substitution instead of removing completely.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by rohansachar

I was into body building, which was the primary reason for the massive bulk. Hence to reduce the bulk as well, complete pause on working out.
...
I mean waist down from 42" to 30", but I've also mentioned the drastic side effects.

How did you ever get into bodybuilding and sport a waist of 42" ???
Even strongman and powerlifters don't abuse the bulk so much (where physique is of zero concern).

Originally Posted by me_sid

And how is that? Whey protein and isolates are placed below chemicals?

Answer I gave in the post before:

Originally Posted by alpha1

At least the chemicals generate tangible, measurable and reproducible results. Protein supplements only generate poverty as a measurable and reproducible result.

What measurable and repeatable results have you got out from consuming heaps of protein powder?
I said poverty because anyone who buys proteins powder becomes poorer.

With chemicals like DNP: you get measurable reduction in body fat everytime you use.
With steroids like dbol, you get measurable increase in muscular mass everytime you use.
With steroids like halo, you get measurable increase in strength everytime you use it.

With protein powders, you get measurable decrease in your wealth everytime you use it. It produces no other result which is measurable or repeatable.

[rohansachar]

Originally Posted by alpha1

How did you ever get into bodybuilding and sport a waist of 42" ???
Even strongman and powerlifters don't abuse the bulk so much (where physique is of zero concern).

This was at the peak when the diet was enormous & the weight management was going for a toss. Otherwise, in the incremental years, the waist was maintained at a max peak of 36"~38"

[faithless_1984]

Originally Posted by rohansachar

Hi ecenandu,

And you're right, more than diet, it was starvation. No meals for 18 months, only 1 pack of biscuits with A LOT of tea through out the day.

The immediate results were great, I mean waist down from 42" to 30", but I've also mentioned the drastic side effects.

Damn ! Thats insane, i did something similar (1 meal a day + black coffee) and yes although the initial results `look` great its not worth it in the long run. Eat a balanced diet and workout regularly and you`re all set.

[Piyadassi]

All of a sudden it has turned so frightening. I mean do people really go to such extremes. Yes, I have read stories but thought it only a handful who try this.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by Piyadassi

All of a sudden it has turned so frightening. I mean do people really go to such extremes. Yes, I have read stories but thought it only a handful who try this.

I think there may be two aspects to it: (Just to summarise)

- Those who report such extreme conditional reductions I think may be (would be) on the obese side of it (100+). Hence for them its absolutely essential. For such cases, a drastic reduction in carbs is I think may be a necessary approach. But surely it does not mean starving, but balancing with fats/proteins (The Ketosis mode). But surely reduction in diet is essential, because they have been on a much higher intake than what they need.

- The second group are the folks who are on the borderline of obese. These are the guys who would have bloated up thanks to sedate life styles and stress at work beyond their active student life. This is surely a lifestyle disorder which amounts to unhealthy eating practices. If such folks try the method described earlier then yes, its debatable. I say debatable because, to me it depends on what is the lifestyle and eating habits they are changing to and how they are balancing it on an over all basis. I do suscribe to the low-carb school of thinking. (But not the Zero-Carb mode). It ultimately boils down to how you manage your eating habits on a regular basis and more importantly the active lifestyle. Last but not least beyond a point in age, its always good to have a yearly master check-up to track how good or how bad the body system is.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by alpha1

How did you ever get into bodybuilding and sport a waist of 42" ???
Even strongman and powerlifters don't abuse the bulk so much (where physique is of zero concern).


Answer I gave in the post before:

What measurable and repeatable results have you got out from consuming heaps of protein powder?
I said poverty because anyone who buys proteins powder becomes poorer.

With chemicals like DNP: you get measurable reduction in body fat everytime you use.
With steroids like dbol, you get measurable increase in muscular mass everytime you use.
With steroids like halo, you get measurable increase in strength everytime you use it.

With protein powders, you get measurable decrease in your wealth everytime you use it. It produces no other result which is measurable or repeatable.

I used to take whey protein couple of years ago to build noticeable muscles and I dont think it was a waste. It worked very well.

For vegetarians, getting protein with normal food is difficult. Plus having to worry about what to eat and how much to eat is not easy. Have protein powder and cut down on all other intake is easier in a busy life.

[rohansachar]

Originally Posted by faithless_1984

Damn ! Thats insane, i did something similar (1 meal a day + black coffee) and yes although the initial results `look` great its not worth it in the long run. Eat a balanced diet and workout regularly and you`re all set.

Agreed! The current approach I'm taking is a balanced diet which has a max limit of 1,500 calories a day. All the meal are ordered from CalorieCare & it's amazing!

All health issues hopefully gone, vision is restoring & no brain shutdowns since 6 months now(knock on wood).

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by srishiva

I used to take whey protein couple of years ago to build noticeable muscles and I dont think it was a waste. It worked very well.

For vegetarians, getting protein with normal food is difficult. Plus having to worry about what to eat and how much to eat is not easy. Have protein powder and cut down on all other intake is easier in a busy life.

If you haven't done A -> B testing on proteins, then the noticeable muscles gains can be from any cause, not just increased intake of proteins.

What was the measurement of that noticeable gain in muscles?
Did your body weight go up, but body fat (waist size) go down?
Were you also on calorific surplus?
Were you taking hormonal supplements?

(don't answer, just question yourself)

But I know you still won't be convinced, because you believe in protein powders, and when it comes to beliefs people are loath to abandon them.

Also since you are convinced that getting proteins with normal food is difficult for a normal vegetarian - any idea how much proteins a typical vegetarian would be swallowing in his normal diet without supplements?

[amitoj]

It just amazes me to see how people assume that what works or doesn't work for one will work or not work for another.
It is nearly impossible to do controlled environment tests to determine whether whey protein works or not. Lack of data does not necessarily mean failure either.
Normal human beings do not have the time to do A vs B comparisons. Losing weight and becoming fit is never achieved by a single point item. It is usually a mixture of diet, exercise and determination.
Even if it is just a placebo effect of consuming whey proteins, if it gives people the confidence to go that extra bit, to get that extra rep in when they are about to give up, then i say it is money well invested!!

[Samurai]

Just Curious... aren't there independent controlled studies on the effect on protein on muscle gain? What do they say?