3 more newbie questions!!!
 

Hi all, I only have a few more days till I go grocery shopping for meat, cheese, leafy green things, mushrooms, etc... But I want to get a few things cleared up if possible.

1. What are the main issues that sprout up for guys on long-term VLC plans (say, < 20 g carbs/day)

2. Relating to 1, when first starting a VLC diet, I read about a strong diuretic effect, which throws off electrolyte levels (hence the recommendation for Magnesium, Calcium, and Potassium supplements). Does water balance return to normal after a long while, or does it remain at a lower % over the long term? Also, if water balance does rise back up somewhat, will this help electrolyte levels?

3. For the guys; I only have about 20 lb of excess fat to lose (6 ft, 180 lb currently) How hard is it to maintain a 6-pack with a VLC/ LC WOE? I plan on continuing my current weight training and running regimen (compound weights 3x/wk, running 2-3x/wk, no more than 1 fast mile at a shot)

Any answers or links to threads w/ answers are greatly appreciated!

Only 2 more days of trashohydrate food left! :help:

I'm not a guy, but in answer to your first question, boredom with food can be a major problem when staying at less than 20g carbs/day over a long period of time. In the early days of following a lc plan, the excitement and enthusiasm of "something new and different" can carry you along just fine. After several months, you may find that the frequent need to cook foods at home interferes with your time schedule. There are only so many dishes in restaurants that fit into "less than 20g/day," so you may find yourself falling into the "a bite just this once won't hurt" mode of thought. For some people, that's okay. My observation, however, has been that it is not okay for the majority of people. They end up opting for convenience and falling off their plan, gaining their weight back.

Your body will rebalance its electrolytes, and it usually doesn't take longer than a week or 2. It has to do that, or risk death. The diuretic effect in the beginning can disrupt your electrolyte balance, because you will find yourself thirsty and drinking more fluids. As your body adapts to ketosis, the excess thirst will pass. Unless you force yourself to drink large amounts of fluids after you reach that point, you should be fine. You will need to be careful to watch what you eat, to make sure your foods contain plenty of the necessary minerals, though.

I can't answer your 3rd question, but you can find a lot of information on the Exercise forums.

Thanks for the info. The recipes I've printed off from these forums all look good, and a good portion of them are induction friendly. My current diet isn't all that varied anyways (lack of $$ and imagination, I suppose)
I'm looking forward to cooking more, and I'm getting sick of ready-made food.

Keep some back up stuff at the house. Eggs are allways good; so is canned tuna. Know what you can eat at fast food joints. Go to thie sites and build meals. Most of them will break down each item and list the carbs for each. Wendys double cheese burger -tom, -onion, and -ket is awesome. Just remove the top un and eat it off of the bottom bun. Swap the frys for a cesar salid and you out the dook for under 5 carbs. Spend some time looking a labels of salad dressings at the store so you can choose low carb when eating out.

Good Luck!

I would buy Morton's lite salt or salt substitute and some epsom salts, and exercise less during the 1st week unless you feel up to it.

howdy.

the main issues for me with maintaining under 20 grams is avoiding the hidden carbs in things I love. I limit myself to under 5 grams of carbs per feeding but eat as many meals a day as I like , usually spaced about 3 hours apart. I try to keep my muscle mass and even add to it while dropping body fat. I know that my goal weight is somewhere between 250 and 235 so i am carrying a good deal of muscle mass. I have a big appetite so having to prepare my meals every day (or cook huge quantities of eggs and meat for a couple days at a time is a big deal). being prepared with portable protein is essential. Nuts, cheese, pepperoni and sausage snacks ...portable protein is a good thing to have around.

dont sweat the diuretic effect, if you eat enough meat youll get what you need. I have never taken supplements of any kind. I do know some folks get cramps from dehydration mainly if they dont drink enough water and continue to consume coffee and diet sodas. get your multi vitamin if you feel more at peace doing that. I go mainly for meats, nuts, berries (maybe once every week or two), cheeses. no problems at all.

Regarding wt training and running. If you do not consume enough calories you might feel weeker (at first) under the weights and you might feel heavy legged on your runs. I have found that by eating every 3 hours those things are not a problem. cutting the carbs is a common way to show the chiseled six pack (I carry a keg at the moment) for most body builders so you can smile about that. good luck and have fun with it.

Thanks for all your responses! One other thing; I have some weakness in my hands that makes it hard to do heavy deadlifts, rows, etc (my poor computer posture doesn't help things). But I've since found testimonials from people whose carpal-tunnel symptoms reduced or went away completely since starting LC...so I will make that one additional thing to be hopeful for! (P.S. one post I read said that carpal tunnel happens about a decade before diabetes onset, and type II runs in my family...so make that ANOTHER reason to permanently change my eating habits.

Only 1 1/2 days' worth of trash-o-hydrates left! :D