Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've been tweaking and plateauing for quite some time. Each tweak has put me a pound or two past my plateau, then I spend another week or so at the new plateau (plus or minus a pound or so) before I find out the next hack/tweak to go a bit further. A month ago it was the bigass breakfast + intermittent fasting (all LC paleo) that pushed me 15lbs lighter than my previous plateau.

Because of my latest stall, I've decided to compete with my office workers (who are all substantially leaner/smaller than I) in a 60-day "Biggest Loser" pool. With some shame I can admit that my latest stall isn't due to a mistake in my diet, but in being lax about my lifestyle.

In order to maintain some fairness, we are all using the US Navy BF calculator (not accurate, I know, but better for big guys like myself than using BMI) (BF Calculator). Added benefit is that we can track measurements with this as well.

So currently - there are a few things I know I have to do that I've been neglecting lately. But I am open to additional suggestions to increase weightloss without getting extreme like a PSMF or anything.

The things I need to adjust are:

1. Alcohol - I need to abstain for the next 60 days, as alcohol does stall my progress significantly.
2. Activity - I've been very involved in work lately and spending 12hr a day behind a keyboard, I need to schedule more breaks and get active before/after work if needed.
3. "cheat" meals - Must avoid at all costs for the next 60 days. Including quasi-paleo grey-area foods like Plantain chips... and dairy (which doesn't agree with my gut much anyway).

The diet plan will be my latest iteration, big breakfast (750-800cals) and sparse daily eating, possibly the addition of supplemental protein for it's TEF and for recovery, and being diligent in the very small amount of supplements that I currently take (Vit K in the morning, Zinc/Magnesium/B6 and GABA in the evening). I find snacking impulse is nonexistant when I do start the day with a big breakie, until the evening... but if I make myself physically "busy" in the evening I can beat those urges as well. I personally think that urge mitigation is going to be my biggest hurdle here - I've lost 100lbs since Paleo and I feel like I will need to lose at least another 30lbs in 60 days to win this pool (considering my current weight (330-ish) I don't think it will as hard as I'm anticipating).

What else would you do, if given the chance to win a decent pool of money (our pool is up to $140 right now which would help me get some new clothes)?

flag	asked Apr 18 2012 at 13:05 Joshua 19.5k●2●15●63

Gabriele · Answer 1 · 2012-05-31 13:31:04Z UTC

Joshua, i was in this type of competition at the office last year. There were 30 people, and i WON!!!! I won over $500!!! Every time someone gained more than 2 pounds they had to add money to the pool. My advice to you is exercise and don't go crazy with the dieting. I was VERY vigilant but still averaged 3 pounds a week no matter what i did. A couple of times in the extremely hot weather i overdid it and still didn't lose any more. For you, i would at least try to get in a nice long walk every day. Good luck!

Kitzu · Answer 2 · 2012-04-19 01:24:58Z UTC

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Try a standing desk maybe? As well as exercise, of course.

answered Apr 19 2012 at 1:24

Kitzu
1,425●2●9

I did this btw... it has helped to defeat my stall (we are two weeks away from the goal and I'm in 2nd place, unfortunately by quite a wide margin). – Joshua May 31 2012 at 13:43

JakeA · Answer 3 · 2012-04-18 16:36:01Z UTC

Try adding in heavy compound lifts to maintain/gain muscle mass (squat/deadlift/press/row or pull up) and 15-30 minutes of hard fasted walking. Walk on a treadmill at full incline or outside do power walking as fast as you can. The fasted walking should help a ton.

About fasted walking: http://www.t-nation.com/strength-training-topics/1430

Jodi · Answer 4 · 2012-04-18 16:27:51Z UTC

Sounds like you have the dieting part down pretty well which is the hardest part. Now all i can say is exercise! You mention your desk job and i know it can be hard so just start slow, i promise once you start seeing the results it will motivate you to do it everyday. Start by doing some strength training twice a week and cardio twice a week. Also you mentioned IF. I got past my own plateau by doing the fast 5 for a month. So try skipping breakfast and only eating in a 5 hour window in the evening. Your Gh level which helps you burn the most fat is highest in the morning, so holding off on eating longer allows your growth hormone to stay at a high level, therefore burning more fat for longer. It may sounds a little crazy but it really worked for me. (www.fast-5.com) Good luck with your office pool!

killer Nibs · Answer 5 · 2012-04-18 13:57:46Z UTC

I spend a good chunck of my day on chair in front of a keyboard and it sucks. What has kind of helped, but also a bit of adouble edged sword-i managed to convince mysef that my chair is super uncomfortable. Now i can barely sit down on it for more that 30 mins without getting up, doingafew squats and leg swings to loosen up. Good for mobility and activity levels. Not so good for productivity.

It helps to be convinced about how truly terrible sitting can be for you.

Im not sure what you do workout-wise, but you can really do some serious tweaking here. Alot can be manipulated with the type of training, andhow you eat afterwards. To drop the most fat, you need glycogen depleting training, and then you need to delay refeeding.

Think circuit traing that seriously drains you, then avoid post workout carbs. Think about steadily refuelling glycogen the next day. Empty muscles forces the preferential use of fat, especially great as you are already fat adapted. Depending on how you feel, youcan stretch it out to a cyclical keto diet. Think no carbs and draining exercise on weekdays, refeed and heavy strength work on weekend.

Good luck with your challenge.

Have fun

Hack my office “Biggest Loser” Pool

5 Answers