I have been on the HCV lifestyle for a year and a half now. I am coming from a background of severe calorie restriction and over exercising. Not surprisingly, I have gained lots of weight, inches, fat; water weight in the last year and a half. I went from 185lbs in April 2010 to 147lbs in August 2010, 27 inch waist, about 25% body fat (through calorie restriction) then went on a slow increase to about 180 ( September 2012), went HCV September 25, 2012, and have gained up until now. My waist is now 35 inches, 39% body fat ( clinically in the obese range :(, and I am growing)
I go on stints of trying to focus on getting lots of greens, or trying to get lots of carbs in (more than 4000, which makes me really tired, then I can't focus, or exercise), get my 30 minutes of exercise, but that cuts into my sleep schedule, and trying to sleep enough cuts into my exercise and throws my schedule off so I can't get enough food in before I have to go to work!
I struggle to get all my ducks in a row - enough sleep, enough calories, enough exercise, enough greens. At the end of the day, if I do one thing really well, another suffers. I know that I have to persist and try to get enough of each, but what do you all think I should focus on? Should I try to get enough carb calories and not worry about greens? Should I sleep as soon as I am the least bit tired, taking naps when I can? Should I try to exercise more, even though it makes me even more hungry?
I eat between 3300-4000 cals/ day. Sleep- 8-9 hours, greens- days go by with none, then I'll have 1 or 2 lbs.
Exercise- 0-30 minutes - always high intensity ( TRX, biking hard, HR between 150-170)
I am 5 feet 7 inches
202 lbs.
I eat raw 80 percent of the time, and if I am running low on bananas, I have brown rice.
I eat 0 overt fats.
Winter Diet :
Bananas (90-100% of diet)
Rest:
oranges
apples
celery
green leaf lettuce
bell pepper ( I'll have one once in a while)
Brown rice
potatoes (very infrequently)
Berries
Mangoes
Corn pasta
fresh tomatoes
canned tomatoes
I have gone through long bouts of eating mostly dates, but they give me heartburn and I'm sick of them.
I had restaurant vegan food (a.k.a fatty food) 4times in December, and probably 4 or 5 other times in the last year and a half.
What do you think? If I have to choose one thing to focus on for now: Am I seriously deprived in nutrients/ variety of food? Am I not getting enough carbs to start releasing fat? Should I exercise more ( I can barely get in the 30 minutes of exhausting workouts as it is...), Sleep more and stop spending so much time on 30bad? Should I just stop worrying, keep doing the same thing and hope the weight comes off eventually?
Replies
I eat as much as I need to not be hungry. I came to this lifestyle through Freelee and Durianrider, and they say 2500-3000 minimum. I have read 80-10-10 and eating less than 3000 leaves me hungry, irritable, I get headaches, and get really upset and can't function. It doesn't matter if I eat juicy fruits or carb rich ones, I still need 3000 as a base. I've tried fewer cals, it ALWAYS goes badly.
Ashanti,
I have been going through what you describe for about two years. Then I saw John Dempsey's blog in 30bad. What he said made sense to me. So I got a copy of Dr. Furhman's Book "Eat to Live" read it an started following his formula of Health = Nutrients/Calories, which is your health is predicated by your nutrient intake divided by your intake of calories. Two years ago when I started HCLF my goal was to lose 150 lbs. I was a morbidly obese out of shape old man and weighed in at 330 lbs. As you can see going from 330 to 313 lbs. over a two year time period, something was not working. I started the program on March 3rd 2014, weighing in at 313 lbs. today I weigh 296 lbs. with no withdrawal symptoms or feeling deprived which I feel is a good start.
Thank you, I will check out Dr. Furhman's work. Do you juice or blend a lot to get a lot of greens in? What does your diet look like?
I use a vita mix for blending. My diet is fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts. Dr. Furhman suggests you eat raw and cooked vegetables. So this week I made a bean soup and added raw kale, onions carrots and mushrooms, raw sunflower seeds and raw cashews to the hot bean soup. Check out John Dempsey's blog he nails it in a nutshell.