When I got down to about 187 which was about mid-May I was reading a few articles on bodybuilding.com and one caught my eye, it was called the ab-etching diet. I did some more research and found this diet is actually a variation of a Keto (short for ketosis) diet that a few friends of mine have had great success with in the past. The basic premise is keeping your carbohydrates down to below 40 grams a day and increasing healthy fats to about 100 grams a day and keeping protein around 1-2 grams of protein per lb of bodyfat all while keeping caloric intake at normal levels, which for me is around 2400 a day while I'm dieting down. The result being that your body switches from burning carbohydrates and glycogen for fuel to burning fat for fuel, which causes your body to burn from fat stores when it's out of food vs muscle stores. The only time I take in carbs is directly before a workout to provide the necessary energy for the level of intensity DC training requires. 20-50g of simple carbs. It's great for bodybuilders and I will tell you that I've gone from 187 to 173 in that time period all why maintaining and even building more muscle, which is very hard to do. This diet is working great for me so far and I've never cut down and seen this type of progress, and I'm not even doing any cardio anymore. In fact I'm afraid to because the weight is coming off pretty fast as it is. I'm ready to post after pics soon, maybe as soon as my next post. The other great thing about the diet is that it keeps your insilun levels very low so I never really have cravings or hunger pangs. I also have a more sustained energy throughout the day.
An example of a given day on this diet looks like this;
Breakfast: 3 eggs, egg whites, turkey bacon, onions bell peppers.
Mid-morning: 2 scoops whey protein with 2 ts of natural peanut butter.
Lunch: Lean protein source such as buffalo chicken breast, lean (96/4) burgers, chicken sausage...etc.
Pre-workout: Chocolate milk mixed with 2 scoops of whey.
Post-workout: 2 scoops of whey protein in water.
Dinner: 2 chicken breast fried in olive oil, smothered in guacamole.
Before Bed: 1 1/2 cups of cottage cheese and a handful of almonds.
The big concern with a diet like this is colesterol levels, I try to take in fat from good healthy sources and limit trans fats, and colesterol. I will be making an appointment soon with my doc to get my levels checked along with some bloodwork.
Progress: I'm at 173 right now, I can see all of my abs if I flex and can slightly see them at rest. I did a bodyfat test a week ago and I'm at 14% which seems a little high but I'll take it. My new goal is to hit 10-12% before the end of the summer. This would involve me losing another 6 lbs of fat roughly. I will keep this blog updated every 1-2 weeks with my progress and more fitness information.
Lifting stats: Bench Press: 355x6. Squat: 325x6. Deadlift: 375x6.
The Ab-Etching diet: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hd-abs-the-ab-etching-diet.html
Keto diet information : http://www.bodybuilding.com/
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