Article: How To Get Abs

[Johnston]

You are right in that there is not a vital NEED for carbs in the survival sense, but you're throwing the baby out with the bathwater here, and it's not necessary for MOST people to totally eliminate them. They can have their place and be useful. They certainly are not BAD if used correctly. It's like saying a car is BAD because of all the people killed in them every year. That's mostly down to clueless driving, just as with nutrition where most people are clueless about how much of what they need to be eating.

Ketogenic diets (which I'm familiar and have dabbled with in the past) are no less a 'fad' than IF, although from an evolutionary point of view you can argue for both, given our ancestors would likely have adapted to both. There is plenty of medical research & discussion going on about IF also by the way, so again you can't separate it from the keto approach in that way either.

The far bigger issue here is MODERN WHEAT & GLUTEN. This is the one aspect of peoples diets that in my experience has the biggest impact on health and weight loss. It's perhaps a controversial issue with some, but cutting it out CAN make a HUGE difference. Plenty of documented cases of doctors seeing patients with diabetes cured, and other ailments as well. I know because I've done this myself, and I know plenty of others who have also, with amazing results. Our bodies simply have not evolved to eat this so called 'food', which has very little nutritional value whatsoever, and many detrimental effects. Plenty of research out there on this.

You simply cannot put ALL carbs in one basket here and say they're ALL damaging and must be eliminated! Not only is that untrue and simply impossible for some people, but it's just not necessary. I'm not criticising keto as a lifestyle, as it has its merits, but it's not FAR SUPERIOR to a well balanced wheat/gluten free diet. In essence a paleo approach (aspects of this are a bit iffy, but the core principal is sound). Again, plenty of research from respected nutritional professionals out there on this.

I know about sodium intake being important by the way.

 

[LeeDurr]

Looks to me like we 90% agree. Hopefully there is enough good info. in there for Joe (or someone) to do some further research and then make some informed decisions that impact his ( or their) lives for the better.

I actually like IF also, and think its goes hand in hand with keto in many respects.....obviously they can be very different, but if one drew a Venn diagram I think the middle part would be pretty substantial. I just personally hadn't seen as much medical discussion on it. (Not that its nonexistent, just relatively smaller from what I've seen....but I haven't seen everything).

 

[JoeBrooklyn]

Yes, I think I like Johnston's approach. He mentioned reducing caloric deficit below the 10-15% often told to us and I have had a suspicion that that was correct.
Once when I went to DR, it was so hot it killed my appetite. I was only there for 4 days but ate very lite except for fruit and I began to see my obliques.
My question is, is it true that large caloric deficits slow down metabolism and if I do try this, wouldn't I need appetite suppressants?

 

[Johnston]

My question is, is it true that large caloric deficits slow down metabolism and if I do try this, wouldn't I need appetite suppressants?

Not at 30% it won't. Plus you're not doing this every day, just rest days. You'd be eating to maintenance on workout days, so net calorie deficit per week won't be massive, but certainly enough to see fat loss. Depending on the individual, and what their calories are at beforehand though, it can sometimes be advisable to drop the calories in increments, rather than a massive swing. If you're about 10% bf already, you probably want to achieve around 1-2lb fat loss per week (this isn't going to be consistent necessarily, but on average). Much more than that and you risk muscle loss too, which we obviously don't want. 2lb may even be a tad high, it all depends on your exact bodyfat now, as I don't know how accurate your 10% figure is.

A 10-15% deficit really isn't enough in my experience. Personally, 30% with the 16/8 approach has seen results for me. All you can do is give it a go, but go all in, stick with it for a while and see how it works for you. As for the hunger aspect, this is an individual thing. Sometimes I feel hunger, sometimes not. It was certainly harder when I first started out, but my body adapted. Same with my workout... first few sessions after I went on my cut, I felt a bit light headed and not my usual self, but a week in it was all fine. The body is an amazingly strong, tough and adaptable machine, and therefore benefits from a strong tough approach if you want to see results.

Entirely up to you whether you go keto, try 16/8, cut out wheat/gluten etc. But go with something and stick to it. Don't faff around, trying one approach one week, and another the next. That won't work. Be CONSISTENT. You need to find something that suits your lifestyle and that you can enjoy.

 

[JoeBrooklyn]

Not at 30% it won't. Plus you're not doing this every day, just rest days. You'd be eating to maintenance on workout days, so net calorie deficit per week won't be massive, but certainly enough to see fat loss. Depending on the individual, and what their calories are at beforehand though, it can sometimes be advisable to drop the calories in increments, rather than a massive swing. If you're about 10% bf already, you probably want to achieve around 1-2lb fat loss per week (this isn't going to be consistent necessarily, but on average). Much more than that and you risk muscle loss too, which we obviously don't want. 2lb may even be a tad high, it all depends on your exact bodyfat now, as I don't know how accurate your 10% figure is. A 10-15% deficit really isn't enough in my experience. Personally, 30% with the 16/8 approach has seen results for me. All you can do is give it a go, but go all in, stick with it for a while and see how it works for you. As for the hunger aspect, this is an individual thing. Sometimes I feel hunger, sometimes not. It was certainly harder when I first started out, but my body adapted. Same with my workout... first few sessions after I went on my cut, I felt a bit light headed and not my usual self, but a week in it was all fine. The body is an amazingly strong, tough and adaptable machine, and therefore benefits from a strong tough approach if you want to see results. Entirely up to you whether you go keto, try 16/8, cut out wheat/gluten etc. But go with something and stick to it. Don't faff around, trying one approach one week, and another the next. That won't work. Be CONSISTENT. You need to find something that suits your lifestyle and that you can enjoy.

Thank you