Can Someone Explain THIS?

[Karlito]

I've spent the last four months working my ass off. Strict diet, great exercise. Lost 40 lbs. and my abs are almost totally visible and I've gained some muscle. Mixed in cardio and can run 4 miles without too much trauma (unless it's hot)....

Went to a friend's bachelor party last weekend from Friday to Sunday. Ate total crap. Cheeseburgers....chips....drank a shitload of Gin. We went whitewater rafting down the Hudson in NY, so I guess I got SOME cardio....but it was mainly greasy, crap food and a lot of booze and cigs....

Oddly, after rehydrating, I weighed in Monday night and found I was actually FOUR pounds LIGHTER than when I weighed in last Thursday.

Had plenty of time to rehydrate, so it's not water weight....

Can anyone maybe explain why I wouldn't have put on fat after such a weekend?

 

[Jodi]

Who says you DIDN'T put on fat?

You probably lost a bit of muscle if you weren't feeding your body properly.

 

[Robboe]

You lost a lot of fat so your body and your metabolism alter - usually downward - to prevent you starving to death too soon. Extended periods of calorie deficit are no different to starvation as far as your body is concerned, so it makes adaptations to keep you alive long enough to find food again. Think back to primitive man for this, going hunting for food etc...

So your metabolism slows a bit, all regulated by leptin and your thyroid (leptin does control thyroid also to some degree, but the thyroid can downreg independant of leptin, so you can essentially eat in calorie surplus of mostly fat and some protein and after about 2-3 weeks your thyroid output can still drop [the 2-3 weeks is cause the thyroid gland stores enough hormone for about this period of time - another reason why diets work rather spiffing for the first 2-3 weeks for most people and diets]).

You take a few days off, eating more calories than you usually would - even "bad" calories, and your body thinks to itself, "Got food, no need to restrict so much", so takes it's pedal of the metabolic break some. Not hugely - 4 days isn't going to reset your metabolism to how it was 40lbs of fat ago, but it's clearly helped, providing it's not 4lbs of muscle dropped.

Anyway, sometimes what can happen is that the amount of metabolic upregulation exceeds the amount of calories you take in during this time, so you can still drop fat.

This is why calorie cycling can be beneficial during diets and why periodical refeeds should really be a must after the 2-3 week point of any diet.

Once Avant labs gets back online, i'll link you to the leptin series on there. It'll explain a lot to you. Especially parts one and two.

 

[Karlito]

Originally posted by Jodi
Who says you DIDN'T put on fat?

You probably lost a bit of muscle if you weren't feeding your body properly.

I fed my body TOO much. I still ate fruit and oatmeal....I just heaped burgers, and sausage, and pasta salad, and chips, and veggies w/ dip on top of it....so I don't see how I could have lost any muscle. Body was getting more than enough of all kinds.

So based on what the Chicken Daddy said, it is not a bad idea to go semi-'off diet' (though not necessarily to the extreme I did this weekend) to keep things running smoothly?

I've been @#@%% DYING for a deep dish pizza.....

 

[Robboe]

Originally posted by Karlito
So based on what the Chicken Daddy said, it is not a bad idea to go semi-'off diet' (though not necessarily to the extreme I did this weekend) to keep things running smoothly?

Periodical refeeds.

In three words or less, "Binge on carbs".

 

[DaMayor]

Avant appears to be up and running. Check these out:


http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php?issueID=3&pageID=51
http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php?issueID=4&pageID=58
http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php?issueID=5&pageID=64
http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php?issueID=12&pageID=125
http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php?issueID=13&pageID=133

 

[Robboe]

Unfortunately not for me. And i don't know why.

 

[Karlito]

Great reading....thanks guys (and gals)....

 

[sawheet]

I always loose weight when i travel and eat like shit, but if you do it for a sustained period of time you WIll get FAT. I usually loose a few pounds of muscle when I "get off my program". And I actually let the diet somewhat go every weekend, strict diet for 7 days is only for ppl who need to loose weight and or competitive bb, and fitness ppl.

 

[Karlito]

Well, I've been on a quest to get my abs to show. In the fall I'll be more liberal on the weekends when I really start to bulk up.

Was kind of funny, the weekend was a bachelor party, and most of the attendees I hadn't seen in years had put on quite a barrel around the waist.

I received a ton of compliments, since in college I was such a skinny waif....a good feeling.