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Shortly after the fatigue began I had a hockey tournament away from home, and knowing that I would benefit from eating some carbs in the game as well as the difficulty of maintaining that type of diet on the road, I allowed myself to cheat a little bit. There were a few days where I actually thought I was getting sick because I was so exhausted for no reason. But outside of the gym I felt fatigued all the time.
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I was doing fine with my performance in the gym and, to my surprise, I actually saw some increase in weights on some of my lifts which was nice. It wasn’t until the 3rd or 4th week when my body started to really take a toll. I was pretty determined to stay on track though so I was able to manage my cravings.
#Figure 8 fitness for beginners mac#
After the first two weeks I started to crave carbs BAD! It wasn’t terrible but when you have four roommates cooking ramen and mac and cheese for every single meal, it gets quite tempting. And by cutting carbs I had a little more leeway when it came to fattier meets like beef and sausage, and I didn’t feel as bad for putting some cheese on my food (I love cheese!). I was motivated and staying on top of my diet and I saw immediate results. In the first two weeks it really wasn’t too bad. This method actually worked very well for me, although it was the most challenging diet Ive even partaken. But for the most part I was strictly eating proteins and fats. I wouldn’t say it was a no carb diet because I did eat foods with minuscule amounts of carbs in them such as some vegetables, a little cheese, and the occasional few beers on the weekend.
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I have most recently tried a no/low carb diet for the first time. I even go as far as adding a whole cardio and abs day to the schedule! But I find that ramping up the amount of cardio in my regimen shows great results when I am trying to slim out. I’m also an athlete so I engage in cardio on a regular basis, regardless of if I am cutting or not. When you sleep is when your metabolism is lowest, so your body will simply store those extra calories and that is not what we want. The later you eat the less time your body has to metabolize the calories you intake. Also be aware of what time your eating at night. I start by cutting my carbohydrate intake to about half of what I usually do, and I don’t partake in the burgers and fries anymore. As far as when I’m cutting weight, I will typically consume around 2000 calories a day give or take. Although its hard to resist the occasional burger or wings with some fries! But thats ok when your “bulking,” or trying to gain muscle mass. And by this I mean sticking to just complex carbs and leaner meats. I’ll consume around 3000 calories or so a day of clean food during this time. My diet, even in the bulking season, is particularly lean compared to most people as I like to maintain a cut look no matter what time of the year it is. It also makes it a little harder on me when I am trying to slim down for the summer season. But if I am not, I tend to accumulate fat faster as well. If I am on a good schedule in the gym and eating a reasonably healthy diet, I see muscle gains much faster then most people. I tend to put weight on faster then a lot of my peers. This for me tends to be a blessing and a curse. I personally would put my metabolism as slightly below average for the normal person. While others need to cut back to 1-2 thousand a day in order to see any weight loss. Some people may not have an issue with this at all, in fact some people need to force 4-5 thousand calories or more a day to see any significant muscle gains. Now this topic may differ from person to person as each of our bodies metabolize at different speeds.