For those who don’t know the Velocity Diet is a ridiculous diet where you basically drink nothing but protein shakes for 28 days. Why you may ask, am I doing this? Because I’ve battled my weight all my life and I’ve been winning for the most part; but it’s time to end the game. Get below 10% or to whatever BF level it takes to see my abs.

Quick background: I have fat genes. Everyone in my family is big; none are morbidly obese, but all are overweight. I was the chubby kid in 1st grade. I went on my first diet in 4th grade, and have pretty much been on a diet since. I played football in high school (DE) at 6’ 225, but once football was over I started gaining and eventually reached 240 by the end of my freshman year of college. I got pissed about being fat, and lost 55 pounds the summer before my sophomore by eating around 1000 cal. and jogging everyday, and I have stayed between 180 and 195 pretty much ever since (11 years ago).

It hasn’t been easy; in fact it’s a constant battle. I’ve done every diet out there, (low fat, low carb, PC/PF, AD, PN, etc.) I’ve also done all the workouts: HIIT, LISS, SGX, Waterbury Summer Project, Cosgrove’s Afterburn II, etc. I can count on one hand the number of workouts I’ve skipped in the last 3 years (I’m quite anal about lifting.) I have been able to keep the weight off, but I’ve never broken that last plateau. I’m thirty now, and while I look fairly thin in clothes; I want abs for once in my life. So I’m gonna do the Velocity Diet.

My current stats are:
6’ 195 ~14% bf

I test my body fat twice a month with the seven point FatTrack Pro Digital calipers like John uses. I’m also so anal that to make sure they were accurate, I went to the hospital and had the DEXA scan done. Calipers said bf 13.3%; DEXA said 14.5%. Either way, I don’t care; I just want to see the abs. I’ll post before and after pics when I’m done.

I’m officially starting on Friday, but I started to transition into the diet on Tuesday; 3 whole food meals, and 2 shakes, 1700 calories. I weighed 198 on Tuesday Jan. 1 (due to massive pigging out on New Years Eve,) and 195 this morning, so I already lost 3 pound the first day! (all water weight, but fun none the less) My diet will consist of basically nothing but protein shakes, flax meal, and one serving of natural PB. 1400 calories on non-workout days; 1740 on workout days. Workout program will be a 3-day full body plan by Waterbury, and I’ll walk a few miles on off days.

I’m keeping this journal to hold myself accountable and make sure I complete the 28 days, but I am giving myself a little wiggle room. If the shakes make me sick, I’ll complete the 28 days with whole foods, while maintaining the same calories per day. The only reason I include this disclaimer is because I did SGX last year, and you drink a lot of protein shakes on SC’s plan. I was using a cheap brand protein because I didn’t know any better, and sometime during week 3 or 4 my stomach revolted. I’d get awful cramps every time I drank the whey protein, it was so bad I would literally double over. So I dropped the shakes and keep the macros with whole food. Anyway, I’m using a quality blend this time so I don’t think that will happen, but if it does, I plan on finishing with whole food.

This has been a hell-of-a long opening post, but I’m pretty nervous and excited at the same time! I plan on posting daily updates, with measurements after weeks 2 and 4, and finally I’ll post before and after picks at the end. Wish me luck!

Good luck :gl:

Good luck :gl:

Thanks! I'm gonna need it!

good luck arbitrage!:tucool:
although i don't think the way you've chosen is perfectly healthy, i completely understand your need to go to extremes to finally reach your goal. i'll be watching closely, and would also like you to, within your daily updates, write a bit about how you feel in the process, both physically and mentally, if that's ok. :-)
28 days is not a long time, so all you need to do is be consistent and you'll make it:nod: we're here to support you.

good luck Arbitrage!!!

Weight 194.2. I’m down almost 4 pounds in the past 2 days, but this is to be expected as I’ve been consuming only 1700 cal a day and basically no carbs, and I pigged out every day between Christmas and New Year. The last 2 days have been 3 whole food meals and 2 shakes at 1700 cals, today will be 3 shakes and 2 whole meals for a total of 1500 cals, and tomorrow will begin the shakes only plan that I’ll follow for 28 days.

For lifting I did upper body on Tuesday, lower body yesterday, and today I’m gonna do 45 minutes of LISS. Also, I haven't mentioned that I've started taking a fat burner, so I've been peeing nonstop the last 2.5 days.

good luck arbitrage!:tucool:
although i don't think the way you've chosen is perfectly healthy, i completely understand your need to go to extremes to finally reach your goal. i'll be watching closely, and would also like you to, within your daily updates, write a bit about how you feel in the process, both physically and mentally, if that's ok. :-)
28 days is not a long time, so all you need to do is be consistent and you'll make it:nod: we're here to support you.

I appreciate the support.

As you mentioned, this plan is certainly not healthy, but this isn’t about health, this is about VANITY baby!

I will definitely update my moods and cravings, in fact, that’s why I wanted to start this journal. I’m not telling any of my coworkers what I’m doing, but they won’t notice because I never eat the junk food they bring in the office anyway. My wife thinks I’m crazy for doing this in the first place (but she’s naturally thin), so anonymous internet posters are the only real support group I can find!

As you mentioned, this plan is certainly not healthy, but this isn’t about health, this is about VANITY baby!
:lol: i thought so:neener:


My wife thinks I’m crazy for doing this in the first place (but she’s naturally thin), so anonymous internet posters are the only real support group I can find!
i was just having dinner with my boyfriend. i grilled chicken breasts and prepared boiled veggies, but he had the meat with french fries and ketchup. :rolleyes: i quit my attempts to make him start a healthier lifestyle, i kind of just feel sorry for him now. *sigh* so you see, we all seek support here:)

It is certainly much healthier than eating fried bar food and drinking a lot of beer like M@ and I did at the Ravens/Steelers game this past weekend.

Seriously, with 28 days, it is not going to do you any permanent damage. I lost 78 points on my cholesterol in 24 days (there was bar food and beer to drink on day 25...what can I say!

Good Luck!


Jk0 and I start on Monday.

It is certainly much healthier than eating fried bar food and drinking a lot of beer like M@ and I did at the Ravens/Steelers game this past weekend.

That sounds like me the week between Christmas and New Years! To many bowl games and parties; hell my body may appreciate the Vdiet!

Weight 195.4

After a 3-day break-in I begin the full-fledged plan today. Yesterday all I consumed was 2 grilled chicken breasts, a bag of steamed broccoli, and 3 protein shakes, yet somehow the scale increased by 1.2 pounds. That’s why I hate the scale! I usually only weigh every 2 weeks, but I figured I’d do it everyday in Jan. since I’m doing this journal.

Anyway, I don’t care if the scale says 247 on Jan. 31 as long as I can see my abs.

On another note, I was pretty hungry yesterday, and that was including two whole foods meals. This diet isn’t going to be fun…

And I told him I was on day one of the Vdiet, and explained to him what I had been doing. He told me that I was actually on day 4, because in my “break in” period I used the same calories from whole food as from shakes. So…..

To avoid confusion going forward, I will say this is day 4 of the diet. But I'll do the diet for 31 days instead of 28 (which was always my plan to begin with, go until Jan. 31.)

This diet isn’t going to be fun…
not for you...:D
seriously, i admire your intention. i don't think i'd ever be able to go to extremes, i'm just not brave enough.
and don't use the scale, use tape measure and mirror. :)

The scale is moving! Yesterday was my first day of “all shakes” and believe it or not, it was MUCH easier than I imagined. I don’t know if I was just mentally prepared for it, but I was never once hungry. In fact, I was less hungry than I was during the previous 3 days when I was eating whole food. Kind of weird.

As for my mood, it was great. I did the first of the Waterbury workout, which was 7X3 for 3 exercises with 30 seconds rest, and I was finished with the whole workout in like 13 minutes (not counting warmup.) I then did planks and 20 minutes on the elliptical.

This morning I got up at 7:00 and walked for an hour wearing a 40 pound vest. It was very easy, just cold and boring. I think I prefer HIIT. Anyway, I’ve been told by my better half that I have to take down the Christmas tree and other decorations today, so my Saturday will pretty much suck. No food and work. Good times!

but instead of a Mon. Wed. Fri., I'm doing Fri., Sun., and either Tue. or Wed.

I leave work at 3 on Fridays, but Mon-Thurs I never know when I'll be home, so its much easier for me to workout on the weekends.

For "cardio" I'm just doing fast walking with a weighted vest.




PHASE I: V-Diet, 4 Weeks

Loading: Use the heaviest load you can manage with perfect form for all sets.

Tempo: Perform the lifting and lowering phases as fast as possible while maintaining perfect form.

Monday

A1 Wide-grip pull-up for 3 reps
Rest 30 seconds

A2 Overhead squat for 3 reps
Rest 30 seconds

A3 Dip for 3 reps
Rest 30 seconds and repeat A1-A3 six more times

Two sets of side plank hold for 60 seconds on each side

Note: As an advanced gym goer, you probably know this, but here's a quick review. Those A1, A2, A3 designations mean that you perform one set of the A1 exercise, then one set of the A2 exercise after resting, and finally the A3 exercise. After one more rest, you perform all three exercises again for the required number of sets.

In the Monday workout above, you do a set of pull-ups, rest 30 seconds, a set of overhead squats, rest 30 seconds, then a set of dips. After another 30 second rest you repeat those exercises six times. At the end of the workout, you perform the side plank holds.

If you see B1, B2, B3 etc. that means you perform that circuit of exercises after you're completely finished with the "A" movements.


Wednesday

A1 Dumbbell shoulder press with forward lunge for 4 reps
Rest 30 seconds

Note: This is a combo lift -- two exercises performed together. Press the dumbbells overhead as you lunge forward. Lower the dumbbells as you return to the start position.

A2 Dumbbell hang clean for 4 reps
Rest 30 seconds

A3 One-arm dumbbell row for 4 reps
Rest 30 seconds and repeat A1-A3 three more times

B1 Close-grip bench press for 4 reps
Rest 30 seconds

B2 Standing barbell curl for 4 reps
Rest 30 seconds

B3 Front squat for 4 reps
Rest 30 seconds and repeat B1-B3 three more times

Two sets of plank hold for 90 seconds

Friday

A1 Power clean for 6 reps
Rest 40 seconds

A2 Clap push-up for 6 reps
Rest 40 seconds

A3 Chin-up for 6 reps
Rest 40 seconds and repeat A1-A3 three more times

B1 Standing dumbbell side raise for 6 reps
Rest 40 seconds

B2 Bent over barbell row for 6 reps
Rest 40 seconds

B3 Reverse crunch on slant board for 6 reps
Rest 40 seconds

B4 Reverse lunge with hammer curl for 6 reps on each side
Rest 60 seconds and repeat B1-B4 three more times


Phase I Progression


Each week you'll make the workout harder by adding a circuit, resting less, or adding a repetition. Here's how to progress in the advanced program:

Monday: Add one circuit to each workout. So by week 4 you'll perform 10 circuits of A1-A3. Increase the side plank hold by 10 seconds with each workout.

Wednesday: Add one repetition to each set. So by week 4 you'll perform 7 reps for each exercise. Increase the plank hold by 10 seconds with each workout.

No scale movement, but thats ok by me. As noted above, I hate the scale. My weight on Jan 1 was 198.2, so 5.4 pounds in 5 days is certainly nothing to scoff at.

Believe it or not, I haven't been hungry at all. I have no idea why, but I haven't.

I walked for 45 minutes this morning, and will hit the weights this afternoon. I know I'm still very early in the plan and I have to go until Jan. 31, but so far this has been really easy. I hope it stays this way.

I'm late for work, will post about my mood later (it's been good.) So far this has been easy, no hunger, and only mild cravings.

I did the 2nd of Waterbury’s Vdiet workouts yesterday, and let me tell you, it was at least 10 times harder than the first workout. It took about twice as long to complete, and I was panting for breath. Definitely a good fat burning workout.

As for my mood, it’s been much better than I expected. I’ve done low carb many times in my life, and I don’t get the brain fog or headaches some people complain of. The only thing I really notice is that my energy is pretty low, and I’m getting really tired at like 8:00 at night (I usually go to sleep between 11:00 and 12:00.)

Also my sleep quality has totally gone to shit. I have no problem falling asleep initially; I just wake up ever hour or 2 after that and have a hard time falling back to sleep once I wake up. This was expected though; every time I go on a low cal/carb diet and take a fat burner my sleep is bad for a while. It usually returns to normal after a week or 2, so I look for this problem to go away in the near future. I’m taking ZMA and Melatonin, but I personally don’t think that either one does anything other than drain your wallet.

I mentioned in a previous post that during my 3 month run on SGX, that my stomach basically revolted from all the protein powder. I read an article by John Berradi about this, and he said to avoid this problem you should cycle your protein brands, so I’ve been using Nitrean, Metabolic Drive, and ON Casein. So far so good, but I’d like to mention one thing. For diversity, I ordered different flavors of Metabolic Drive, and one I got was the Orange.

DO NOT EVER BUY ORANGE METABLIC DRIVE!

It is the 3rd worst supplement I’ve ever sampled; #1 being straight greens plus, and #2 being Isopure pineapple/banana. Now I love surge, and I think that their chocolate is better than any other brand, but just don’t buy the orange. I’m going to try and drink it for breakfast everyday, just to get myself fired up for the daily battle that is the Vdiet. There are 14 shake in the tub, so I only have 12 left; wish me luck!

I hear you about the supplements. I never feel like many of them do anything for me, especially the fat burners.

As for the whey, on this diet, I would say that one of the biggest pre-diet things you can do is find a mix that has all the correct protein types and flavor that you will be able to palate for 28 days straight.

People always ask me if my shakes taste good. My response is that is not that they taste good, it is that they don't taste bad. It is not like I crave a protein shake. But, it provides what my body really needs in terms of nourishment. (The psychological aspect can just hold off for 28 days)

I hear you about the supplements. I never feel like many of them do anything for me, especially the fat burners.

As for the whey, on this diet, I would say that one of the biggest pre-diet things you can do is find a mix that has all the correct protein types and flavor that you will be able to palate for 28 days straight.

People always ask me if my shakes taste good. My response is that is not that they taste good, it is that they don't taste bad. It is not like I crave a protein shake. But, it provides what my body really needs in terms of nourishment. (The psychological aspect can just hold off for 28 days)

I did a lot of research before I started this, and I knew from reading several articles and workout logs that the shakes had to have Casein, and all of my powders do.

I, like you, don't care if it tastes good, so long as it's not awful. Orange metabolic drive is awful. Just horrible.

The flax meal and fiber wafers have been working overtime today.

While meal plan on this diet isn't fun, stepping on the scale every morning certainly is! 7 pounds in 7 days is outrageous to me. My top 2 abs are standing out a lot more than they were 7 days ago; hopefully their other 4 friends will come out of hiding by Jan. 31.

I'm about to make my last shake of the day, and so far everything's great in Vdiet land. It's been much easier than I anticipated; not really hunger, no strong craving yet, etc. I've walked for 45 minutes everyday and haven't cheated any yet. I want to maintain perfect compliance as long as I can, because I'm scared if I cheat once it will snowball.

Stay strong and keep up the good work!:tucool:

Stay strong and keep up the good work!:tucool:

Thanks for the support! It's really not that bad yet, but everyone says the second week is much harder than the first, and I'm just now getting there, so we'll see.

Day 9 190.8

Down 4/10 since yesterday. This is where the weight loss has to slow down. I thought I'd drop at most 15 pounds, and I'm already half way there, and less than 1/3 through the diet!

The easy part is probably over (as zen would say!) From here I expect:

1) Cravings to increase
2) Scale to slow
3) Motivation to decrease

So far I haven't really been tested, and my first test will be Friday night. My wife and I are going out to dinner somewhere and I'll get to order my "diet" whole food meal. I plan on getting a small filet and veggies. Hopefully I won't feel the need to follow it up with a blizzard and a six pack!

I must have jinxed myself with my post this morning.

I get to the office this morning and we have a special sales meeting in the conference room. My manager brought in Chick-fil-a for breakfast. There are about 50 chicken biscuits and 2 trays of cinnamon rolls with icing all over them sitting on a table 2 feet from my face. I can't remember the last time I had a cinnamon roll, but I imagine it has been since 1996 when I first got "thin."

Anyway, I wanted to dive into the plate of cinnamon rolls and roll around and rub them all over my body. I'm serious, it was that bad. I have no idea what the presentation was about, all I was thinking about was cinnamon rolls.

The story does have a happy ending though. I got a big cup of black coffee and sipped it (and I hate coffee, I don't drink it) and thought many evil things that I can't mention here, but I survived it without caving.

I'm now sipping on an orange death protein shake to punish myself for my impure thoughts of food porn.

I must have jinxed myself with my post this morning.

I get to the office this morning and we have a special sales meeting in the conference room. My manager brought in Chick-fil-a for breakfast. There are about 50 chicken biscuits and 2 trays of cinnamon rolls with icing all over them sitting on a table 2 feet from my face. I can't remember the last time I had a cinnamon roll, but I imagine it has been since 1996 when I first got "thin."

Anyway, I wanted to dive into the plate of cinnamon rolls and roll around and rub them all over my body. I'm serious, it was that bad. I have no idea what the presentation was about, all I was thinking about was cinnamon rolls.

The story does have a happy ending though. I got a big cup of black coffee and sipped it (and I hate coffee, I don't drink it) and thought many evil things that I can't mention here, but I survived it without caving.

I'm now sipping on an orange death protein shake to punish myself for my impure thoughts of food porn.
i think this was the funniest post i've read in the last 6 months.:lol: i have no idea what cinnamon rolls are, or chicken biscuits for that mater, but i could see the scene perfectly. :lol:
you made it, that's the important part. keep it up!:claphigh:

i think this was the funniest post i've read in the last 6 months.:lol: i have no idea what cinnamon rolls are, or chicken biscuits for that mater, but i could see the scene perfectly. :lol:
you made it, that's the important part. keep it up!:claphigh:

I tried to copy a picture from their website, but I couldn't make it work. Do this for me though:

Go to www.chick-fil-a.com

then click on Our Food
then click menu
then click on Breakfast items

then you can select chicken biscuit or cinnamon cluster. You will see for yourself the hell I had to endure.

I am going to have to stop reading this journal if you keep this up. I went to the Chick-fil-a website.....I hate you!:drool:

cccciiiiiinnnnnaaaamon cluuuuuusters:drool:

I must have jinxed myself with my post this morning.

I get to the office this morning and we have a special sales meeting in the conference room. My manager brought in Chick-fil-a for breakfast. There are about 50 chicken biscuits and 2 trays of cinnamon rolls with icing all over them sitting on a table 2 feet from my face. I can't remember the last time I had a cinnamon roll, but I imagine it has been since 1996 when I first got "thin."

Anyway, I wanted to dive into the plate of cinnamon rolls and roll around and rub them all over my body. I'm serious, it was that bad. I have no idea what the presentation was about, all I was thinking about was cinnamon rolls.

The story does have a happy ending though. I got a big cup of black coffee and sipped it (and I hate coffee, I don't drink it) and thought many evil things that I can't mention here, but I survived it without caving.

I'm now sipping on an orange death protein shake to punish myself for my impure thoughts of food porn.

That's hysterical. I immediately thought of Ben Stiller's character in Dodge Ball. He's watching a cooking show about pizza and smelling a slice of pizza. He gets so worked up he stuffs it down his pants.

Those types of meetings suck. Completely, don't they? Sometimes, it's so hard to concentrate because of the food that I don't hear a damn thing in the meeting.

I am going to have to stop reading this journal if you keep this up. I went to the Chick-fil-a website.....I hate you!:drool:

You think you hate me for just sending you to the website; picture this:

I walk into the conference room 3 minutes late, so the only seats left are on the first row. I take a seat, with out noticing what in front of me. The table with the food is at the front of the room, literally 2 feet from me. You know how strong the smell of cinnamon is, and i could hear everyone behind me smacking and licking their fingers and quietly going "mmmmm." I literally almost had a panic attack. I got up while my manger was talking an poured myself some black coffee to have something to get that smell out of my head. I know it makes the story funnier, but I really have no memory of one single word he said in the presentation. I know what it was about, because I have the powerpoint hand out, but I literally remember none of it. I was in sheer craving hell.

I just finished the 3rd of the waterbury workouts (the friday workout) and it was tough. The first exercise in the circuit is a power clean, and it's a lift I never do. I've done it before, but its been a long time, and my form is AWFUL. I guessed and used 135. The first set was I was fine, but by the last set my form was breaking down terribly. I stopped one rep short on my last set because I almost fell over backwards on the 5th rep. Maybe next week will be better.

Day 10 Weight 190.6

Yesterday morning's post will from this day forward be referred to as the
"day 9 jinx." I predicted stronger craving and slower scale movement, and boy did I get it.

I wish I would have predicted that my bf would drop in relation to the amount of pizza and beer I consumed, and that I would be the next powerball winner.

I tried to copy a picture from their website, but I couldn't make it work. Do this for me though:

Go to www.chick-fil-a.com (http://www.chick-fil-a.com)

then click on Our Food
then click menu
then click on Breakfast items

then you can select chicken biscuit or cinnamon cluster. You will see for yourself the hell I had to endure.


omg, imagine you work for a company that sells that kind of food - the death of any plans for low bf numbers :eek::eek::eek:

omg, imagine you work for a company that sells that kind of food - the death of any plans for low bf numbers :eek::eek::eek:

You would think that would be the case, but I have a client that owns several domino's pizza places. He's in his mid-40's and sub-10% bf.

I asked him how he does it and he said that he hates pizza, he eats it maybe once or twice a year. He said when you make it all day and work around it, you don't want to eat it. Maybe I should start working for him!

You would think that would be the case, but I have a client that owns several domino's pizza places. He's in his mid-40's and sub-10% bf.

I asked him how he does it and he said that he hates pizza, he eats it maybe once or twice a year. He said when you make it all day and work around it, you don't want to eat it. Maybe I should start working for him!
i used to love one type of chocolate candy produced in Cro, but lately all my clients are bringing big boxes of it as presents to everyone in the office and we're all sick of them:blank:

how are you feeling today?

i used to love one type of chocolate candy produced in Cro, but lately all my clients are bringing big boxes of it as presents to everyone in the office and we're all sick of them:blank:

how are you feeling today?

I don't know about Arbitrage....but dammit, you peeps are killing me.

Buttersweet! Are you talking about the little individually wrapped gold paper and shaped like a Aztec pyramid? Gawd! I loved those when I was living in Macedonia. The little walnut crunch was excellent. Oops, time for a tastey protein shake followed by some flax meal. Yum!

how are you feeling today?

I feel great. My mood is good, and I still haven't been truly hungry yet. I obviously experienced very intense cravings yesterday, but I've never really been hungry.

I don't have an excessive amount of energy; I've been going to sleep like 2 hours earlier than normal. I'm a night person, and usually have to force myself to get in bed every night, on this diet I'm fighting just to stay up late enough just to finish my final nighttime shake.

The only real down side so far has been my digestive system. Without going into details, the flaxmeal and fiber made the first few days interesting, but I think (hope) I'm past that now.

All in all my mood is much better than i thought it would be. I can honestly say that I will use this diet again in the future if I feel I need to (hopefully I won't have to, but I know I have fatboy genes)

I don't know about Arbitrage....but dammit, you peeps are killing me.

I can handle people talking about food, and seeing pictures really doesn't bother me that much. It's when I can SMELL and TOUCH the food that it really "Grinds my Gears."

Buttersweet! Are you talking about the little individually wrapped gold paper and shaped like a Aztec pyramid? Gawd! I loved those when I was living in Macedonia. The little walnut crunch was excellent. Oops, time for a tastey protein shake followed by some flax meal. Yum!
:confused: crunch? i'm not sure, i was referring to these
(http://www.kras.hr/images/ourproducts/ourProduct_img_1_hr.gif)


The only real down side so far has been my digestive system. Without going into details, the flaxmeal and fiber made the first few days interesting, but I think (hope) I'm past that now.

ouch:)

Buttersweet! Are you talking about the little individually wrapped gold paper and shaped like a Aztec pyramid? Gawd! I loved those when I was living in Macedonia. The little walnut crunch was excellent. Oops, time for a tastey protein shake followed by some flax meal. Yum!

Do you mean Toblerone? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toblerone)

Do you mean Toblerone? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toblerone)

I recognize the first one. I will have to see I can find a pic of the other one. Yes, those in the first were great as well. I actually found some in the States several years ago.

I recognize the first one. I will have to see I can find a pic of the other one. Yes, those in the first were great as well. I actually found some in the States several years ago.
these? (http://minosimports.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/novela.jpg)

My traps are absolutely fried. As I mentioned yesterday, I haven't done power cleans in a long time, and I can really feel it today. I haven't been this sore in a long time.

On another note, my wife told me that I have "ketosis" breath today. I'm going to store tonight to get a few tins of those sugar free altoid minis. They have half a calorie per piece, so I doubt that will spoil my diet. If I have "funny smelling" breath I have to mask it with something, I don't want people thinking I have poor hygiene.

these? (http://minosimports.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/novela.jpg)

BINGO!!!!!! Hazelnut, not walnut. I loved those!

My traps are absolutely fried. As I mentioned yesterday, I haven't done power cleans in a long time, and I can really feel it today. I haven't been this sore in a long time.

On another note, my wife told me that I have "ketosis" breath today. I'm going to store tonight to get a few tins of those sugar free altoid minis. They have half a calorie per piece, so I doubt that will spoil my diet. If I have "funny smelling" breath I have to mask it with something, I don't want people thinking I have poor hygiene.

You know, I was noticing my breath today when I got home from the gym.

You know, I was noticing my breath today when I got home from the gym.

Get some of these

http://www.amazon.com/Altoids-Curiously-Strong-Peppermint-0-44-Ounce/dp/B000FKQD60/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=grocery&qid=1200011726&sr=8-1

its only 1 calorie for 2 of em, and it will mask damn near anything.

:confused: crunch? i'm not sure, i was referring to these
(http://www.kras.hr/images/ourproducts/ourProduct_img_1_hr.gif)



hey, a Slovenian consultant used to bring these to our office whenever he came up north....we had them around a lot! delicious but indeed, they start to get a bit boring after a while. I thought they were Slovenian...

Day 11 Weight 188.8

Huge scale move yesterday! I guess I finally shed the weight I gained through osmosis from the cinnamon rolls. Top 2 abs are really popping out (though my love handles are still kickin.) My wife said this morning "it looks like you lost 10 pounds yesterday." Can I get a Hell Yea!?

I like what banditfist does in his journal with the "shakes to go" so I'm gonna add that. I figure I have 21 more days at 5 per day less 3 solid meals; I got about 102 shake to go. My first solid food meal since the 3rd is today, and I haven't decided if I want to go to a restaurant or just get take out. I'll likely get take out, because I think the temptation to order bad stuff will be too strong if I eat in. I'm probably just gonna order chili's to go since its half a mile from my house. To be honest, I'm really not dying for the solid food meal. I could go at least a few more days without it, but I'm not going to complain.

On a related note, it was too cold to walk out side this morning, so I stayed in and did 45 min. on an elliptical. I have a cheap POS elliptical at my house that I despise, but I use it in a jam. I'll go to my gym this weekend to do morning cardio if it doesn't warm up.

I just finished the last of the orange metabolic drive. It actually got a little better as time went on, but it's still horrible. Thank goodness I never have to drink that stuff again.

I'll likely get take out, because I think the temptation to order bad stuff will be too strong if I eat in. I'm probably just gonna order chili's to go since its half a mile from my house. To be honest, I'm really not dying for the solid food meal. I could go at least a few more days without it, but I'm not going to complain.

you know, this really puzzles me, i'm not sure if you're from the States too, but it seems that everyone living in North America has problems when going out to eat, to a regular restaurant. i'd really like to see those menus, because there's nothing easier for me than to eat clean at a restaurant: seafood, eye round stakes (i think that's what it's called in English), grilled veggies, olive oil... i just don't get it:confused:

congratulations on your fat loss! sounds like a real motivation booster, and t5he fact that the ugly orange is gone...:)

you know, this really puzzles me, i'm not sure if you're from the States too, but it seems that everyone living in North America has problems when going out to eat, to a regular restaurant. i'd really like to see those menus, because there's nothing easier for me than to eat clean at a restaurant: seafood, eye round stakes (i think that's what it's called in English), grilled veggies, olive oil... i just don't get it:confused:

I think there's two sides to this. On the one hand, you have these enormous portion sizes served at restaurants, and many items of the menu are just dripping with unhealthy fat. On the other hand, the restaurant chains in the States (and I'm not referring to McD's and the like, but sit-down restaurants like Applebee's, the Outback Steakhouse etc.) often offer "healthy" items on their menu too (for those "whackos" who think that that ingesting 2000 kcal and 100 g fat in one sitting is not a great idea :rolleyes:), so at least you have a choice. Here, it's hard or impossible to get "clean food" at restaurants, let alone the nutritional info on the menu items (which some chains in the U.S. will provide).

Here, it's hard or impossible to get "clean food" at restaurants, let alone the nutritional info on the menu items (which some chains in the U.S. will provide).
well that sucks big time. i guess here in Dalmatia food at restaurants is pretty simple (if you want to have a clean meal that is), you just ask for some grilled fish (which is always exquisite) and veggies, sparkled with some olive oil, and veggies on the side, most usually steamed swiss chard with some boiled potato. actually, depending on what kind of fish you choose, but this type of meal is common to all restaurants, and usually pretty cheap as well. the portion size depends on the restaurant, but i don't think they're 'huge'. :confused: on the continent however (Zagreb where i'm from) common food is not healthy at all and portions are pretty big:lol: EDIT: but you still have the option of having a clean meal, and decide on the portion size

Jan. 1 weight 198.2
Jan. 12 weight 189.8
Shakes to go 98

I gained a pound yesterday, but I kind of expected that, as yesterday was my "solid food non-cheat" day.

I had a grilled chicken breast with corn, rice, and veggies. I actually had slightly less calories yesterday than I do on a normal workout day because I skipped a shake, but the carb-up I'm sure has made me retain water.

On another note my workout yesterday was about a 2 on a scale of ten. I had no energy, and barely made it through it. It was the first of the waterbury workouts, the 8x3, and it's by far the easiest and shortest of the workouts. I don't think I could have made it through the 3rd workout (the hardest one) yesterday.

I went to bed at 10:00 last night and just got up (7:25) so I should be well rested. I'm about to go on my morning walk, and when I get back I'll post some more thoughts.

you know, this really puzzles me, i'm not sure if you're from the States too, but it seems that everyone living in North America has problems when going out to eat, to a regular restaurant. i'd really like to see those menus, because there's nothing easier for me than to eat clean at a restaurant: seafood, eye round stakes (i think that's what it's called in English), grilled veggies, olive oil... i just don't get it:confused:

congratulations on your fat loss! sounds like a real motivation booster, and t5he fact that the ugly orange is gone...:)

You are correct in that I am from the states. Here is my answer about dining out. If I call in the food and get it to go, that's all I'll eat, because that's all that's available. If I go to the restaurant, I'll also want to get a salad and an appetizer, plus most restaurants bring out a bread bowl or chips or something. It is much more tempting to eat extra food if you are in the restaurant than at home; simply because more is available.

Also, and this is a personal thing, I'm not a big fan of dining in at a "chain" restaurant. You can't really call me a food snob, because I like the food, but if I'm going out to dinner on the weekend, I pretty much only go to locally owned places. I think they have much more character and better food, plus I'm supporting local people rather than a publicly traded company. While the food from Chili's is fine, dining there is hardly an "experience" as they are all the same from Miami to Seattle. So... If I'm ordering chain food, I prefer to get it to go. If I'm going out to eat, I'll go to a local place.

Hope that makes sense. I don't know how many "chains" there are in your part of the world but here there are tons and they are soulless. You probably get a much better restaurant "experience" where you are than most do in the US.

I think there's two sides to this. On the one hand, you have these enormous portion sizes served at restaurants, and many items of the menu are just dripping with unhealthy fat. On the other hand, the restaurant chains in the States (and I'm not referring to McD's and the like, but sit-down restaurants like Applebee's, the Outback Steakhouse etc.) often offer "healthy" items on their menu too (for those "whackos" who think that that ingesting 2000 kcal and 100 g fat in one sitting is not a great idea :rolleyes:), so at least you have a choice. Here, it's hard or impossible to get "clean food" at restaurants, let alone the nutritional info on the menu items (which some chains in the U.S. will provide).

It's not THAT hard to get clean food at restaurants, you just have to be careful (which is no fun!) Yesterday my solid food meal was the guiltless chicken platter from chili's. It has 580 cals, 85 carb, 39 pro, and 9 fat. This has a 2/1 carb/pro ratio and little fat, which is ideal PWO. I eat it once or twice a month PWO. The numbers are accurate too; it's just a grilled chicken breast with rice and veggies. You can look on their website for the nutritional info.

The main reason I choose not to dine in is simple; if I'm going out to dinner, it's not going to be to a chain restaurant, it's going to be somewhere local. I can't get nutritional info from local places, so since I'm counting cals pretty strictly, so I decided to get chili's to go.

Next week I'm probably going to a local steakhouse to get a small filet, but they cover it in butter (and it's AWESOME.) I've ordered it "dry" there several times, but they never fail to put the butter on it anyway. They also bring out a plate of homemade bread and that stuff is impossible to resist. On second thought, I might be better off sticking with chili's!

It's not THAT hard to get clean food at restaurants, you just have to be careful (which is no fun!)

I don't live in the States. By "here" I was referring to Austria. I said it's easier to get healthy items in the U.S.

I don't live in the States. By "here" I was referring to Austria. I said it's easier to get healthy items in the U.S.

I wasn't disagreeing with you, as I think everything you said was spot on. I was just trying to add some info to your post for buttersweet.

I did assume you were from the states though. This is my first experience at a posting an online journal, and one of the coolest things about it that I didn't expect was getting perspective from people from not only the US, but all parts of the world!

Thank you for posting in my journal and please keep it up!

I wasn't disagreeing with you, as I think everything you said was spot on. I was just trying to add some info to your post for buttersweet.

Ah, gotcha! I thought you were under the impression that I had said it was hard or impossible to get clean food at restaurants in the U.S.

I did assume you were from the states though. This is my first experience at a posting an online journal, and one of the coolest things about it that I didn't expect was getting perspective from people from not only the US, but all parts of the world!

Thank you for posting in my journal and please keep it up!

I will :D. I have the urge to follow the experiences of anyone hardcore enough to try the V-Diet.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 13 190.0
Shakes to go 92

For some unknown reason the scale has decided to reverse course and go the other way the last 2 days. The scale is a fickle little SOB.

On Thursday I'll take my measurements and 7 point bf test, and then I'll have a better idea of where I stand. I'll tell you what, my 188.8 weight on Friday sure felt better mentally than 190 does today. Oh well.

Mood is still good, no really bad cravings except for chick-fil-a last week, and energy was exceptionally high yesterday. I walked outside all bundled up for an hour and 10 minutes instead of 45.

I'm about to go walk for 45, and then I'll lift this afternoon.

I'm bored waiting for the playoff games to kick, so I decided to try and post some pics.

As I said in my first post, I have fat genes. I know everyone claims that, but the proof is in the pudding. I give you exhibit A: my 3.5 month old 20.2 pound son (thats off the charts in weight btw)

Fortunately for him, when you're a baby its cute to be chubby, and considered "healthy."

He's on the Vdiet also (breastmilk style), no chewing for the men in this house!

he is cute, that must be in those genes, too;)

he is cute, that must be in those genes, too;)

Thanks for the compliment, I'll tell him what you said!

My workout this afternoon was about a 4. My energy on this diet is pretty low, and it's hard to lift heavy with 30 second rest periods when you have no energy. I remembered this workout (the 2nd one) being hard last week, but this week you add one rep (from 4 to 5) and I was really sucking wind the whole time. I don't think the workouts would be that tough if I wasn't in an extreme calorie and carb shortage, but I am and it's pretty nasty.

Still not really hungry, just tired and bored with my meal selection.

On a positive note the Giants beat the Cowboys, so my mood has increased slightly.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 14 190.2
Shakes to go 87

This is shaping up to be a really crappy day, and I've only been awake 10 minutes. The scale didn't move again, in fact my weight is up for the 3rd straight day on vdiet . I've had 100% compliance on this diet so far, I have walked 3.5 miles every morning, I've busted my ass in my workouts, and the scale just seems to be moving much slower for me than others who do the same diet. I guess I can take small pleasure in knowing that if we were all still starving cavemen I could outlive 99% of my peers.

Now for the bad news, I woke up this morning and I have a horrible sore throat. I'm prone to getting ear infections, and hopefully that's what it is, I'll just get some medicine and won't have to quit the diet. I'm going to the doctor this morning so we'll see what he says. Even though its likely a bad idea, I'm still going to get on the elliptical this morning. I'll update later with the doc's advice.

how about ignoring the scale for a while?
hope the doc's appointment goes well;)

OK, 45 on the elliptical helped me to gain some perspective. I've lost 8 pounds, If I assume 5 of those are fat and 3 are water/glycogen, then 5 pound of fat in 13 days is still pretty damn good. If I can get 10 pound of fat off my body by Feb 1, I still think my abs will show fairly well (the top two are ready, but below the belly button is pure flab.)

As to the sore throat, once i got up and drank about a liter of water it feels 100% better. It still hurts and my voice is hoarse, but I think I'm going to use the typical male cure and ignore it unless it gets worse. My workout is Fri, Sun, Wed, instead of MWF, so I have 2 days off coming up. I'll skip the morning cardio tomorrow and wednesday, then hopefully by wednesday afternoon I'll be ready to lift. I hate the doctor, and I'm not going unless I absolutely have to.

The Vdiet continues until I'm deathly ill or its Feb 1!

I'm definitely on the verge of getting sick. My throat is still sore, and I feel very rundown. I came home from work, mixed my shake and got in bed at 5:20. I'm only getting up to mix another shake at 8:30 and go to the bathroom. Hopefully the rest will beat this before it gets worse.

Still 100% vdiet compliant!

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 15 190.0
Shakes to go 82

I weigh basically the same thing that I did on day 10, so 5 days of the vdiet with perfect compliance and no weight loss. Try and figure that one out!

Throat is not as sore this morning, I might do the elliptical this afternoon if I continue to improve.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 16 189.8
Shakes to go 77

I'm not pleased with the scale movement, but I'm very pleased with my discipline thus far. I can't control how much fat I lose, I can only control how much I eat and how hard I exercise. On those counts I get a big gold star.

I ended up walking on the elliptical for an hour yesterday afternoon, as my throat felt better. I'm about to do that again now, and I'll lift again this afternoon.

I'll have my bodyfat tested either this afternoon or tomorrow and I'll post the results.

I did the third and hardest of the workouts tonight, and again I couldn't complete the 4th set of power cleans. That exercise will really get your heartrate going!

I couldn't get my bf test this afternoon, so I'll do it tomorrow afternoon. When I started this journal I said I'd update my mood and feelings. Well believe it or not, my mood has been very good the whole time. I was pretty tired at first, but that has gone away. Also, I still haven't had any bad cravings and haven't been that hungry. In summary, I'm very pleased with every aspect of the diet except the scale movement. I am losing fat though, so I'm anxious to get my bf tested tomorrow.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 17 189.4
Shakes to go 72

Nothing of note to report. BF test this afternoon.

bf test says 11.8. It said 13.3 on Jan 1.

I've lost 8.6 pounds so far. I appears 3 were fat, so assuming 3.5 were water/glycogen, then the 2 other pounds had to come from muscle loss. So it appears I'm losing at a ratio of 60% fat and 40% muscle. Not what you hope for when you bust your ass lifting. At any rate, I'm sticking with this thing till Feb. 1.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 18 188.8
Shakes to go 67

Thank God it's Friday! My journal this week appears fairly negative. That is not an accurate reflection of my mood the past few days. I did have a sickness scare, which concerned me, and I am displeased with my weight loss thus far. I weighted 188.8 last Friday. Seven days with 100% compliance and no weight loss on the Vdiet would frustrate Job; so I don't think I've been overly pessimistic.

All that being said, I'm still pleased overall with the diet thus far. The best part about it that I haven't mentioned yet is that it is so easy. There are no considerations of "what to eat" and food prep time is less than 60 seconds (I don't use a blender.) I haven't been hungry either. It's shockingly filling. Before this diet if I drank a shake as a meal I thought I was hungry immediately afterwards. I guess it's mental, once you grasp that a liquid can satisfy your hunger, you are good to go. This will be a very powerful tool in my weight loss arsenal that I've never really had before. When this is over I'll likely continue with 3 small meals and 2 shakes until I get to my desired bf% (I hoped the vdiet would get me there, but it appears it's not.)

Finally, I took my measurements this morning. My waist around the widest part (below bellybutton and around love handles) is down 1 3/4 inches since Jan. 1. Thats alot, and a much more than I thought. My bicep measurement was only down 1/4 of an inch. My bodyfat test made me think I was losing alot of muscle along with fat, but this tells me that may not be the case. At any rate, almost 2 inches off my waist in 17 days is nothing to sneeze at! So place me back on the "happy" train.

Here is a chart, as I'm stealing ideas from Banditfist again!

Here is a chart, as I'm stealing ideas from Banditfist again!

keep going, man! :bow:

i might be doing this insane velocity diet next. i have been busting my ass and not seeing anything i really like, too, so if this works for you, i'll be following in your footsteps.

keep going, man! :bow:

i might be doing this insane velocity diet next. i have been busting my ass and not seeing anything i really like, too, so if this works for you, i'll be following in your footsteps.

Well the scale movement the past week has been tough, because I'm not eating and the scale hasn't moved. That being said, almost 2 inches off my waist since Jan. 1 is all the progress I need to see to keep going!

Here is a chart, as I'm stealing ideas from Banditfist again!

I am embarassed!
What was that spike for on day 4ish?
I was chicken crap to journal my first experiment with the V-diet. I was too afraid of failure and did not trust myself from staying the course. But, like your post above, there is no thinking involved. The temptations to add more food to it are not there. I mean, do I really think that added another half scoop of protein powder to my shake going to make me feel more full or better?

Well the scale movement the past week has been tough, because I'm not eating and the scale hasn't moved. That being said, almost 2 inches off my waist since Jan. 1 is all the progress I need to see to keep going!

I happen to check the slack in my jeans this morning. The belt has already moved one notch for me.
It is a bit strange that you plateaued. Perhaps, you should read up on the diet again and make sure that your calculations are correct?

It is a bit strange that you plateaued. Perhaps, you should read up on the diet again and make sure that your calculations are correct?

My calculations are correct, in fact, they are almost exact. My daily intake has been:

10 Scoop MD 1040 cal
4 flameout 50 cal
2 flaxmeal 140 cal
2 tbsp PB 180 cal
4 fiber tabs 32 cal

cals 1442

Of course I have the surge with workouts which adds 340 cals on workout days.

I haven't even been drinking diet drinks, I've been super strict! The sad fact is my body is just damn good at holding on to that belly fat. I'll get it, it's just gonna take a while.

another thing, Shug said in one thread that when people on the vdiet have a slow weight loss week, it's usually followed by a rapid one, so that's what I'm hoping happens to me!

For my solid food meal I just had a 7oz. filet medium rare and a plain baked potato. And it was the best #$*%ing steak and potato I've ever had!

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 19 189.0
Shakes to go 63

Yesterday was my solid food meal, and I'm quite pleased that I didn't gain much weight. I ate a baked potato, so I know I had some glycogen replacement. This leads the optimist in me to believe that I may have lost some more fat to keep the scale from moving more than it did.

I've found the weekends to be much harder than than the work week on the Vdiet, simply because all the free time makes you want to chew something. My Alma Mater will be crushing Banditfist's today in college bball, so I'll of course watch that, but other than those 2 hours I've got to find something else to occupy my time.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 19 189.0
Shakes to go 63

Yesterday was my solid food meal, and I'm quite pleased that I didn't gain much weight. I ate a baked potato, so I know I had some glycogen replacement. This leads the optimist in me to believe that I may have lost some more fat to keep the scale from moving more than it did.

I've found the weekends to be much harder than than the work week on the Vdiet, simply because all the free time makes you want to chew something. My Alma Mater will be crushing Banditfist's today in college bball, so I'll of course watch that, but other than those 2 hours I've got to find something else to occupy my time.

Auburn has a basketball team? I am also a big Tennessee Vols fan. The do have a BBall team (ok, it is their first team in years though)

Go get some Trident gum and chew the crap out of that to stave off the temptations. It also sucks being home because generally there is food around.

Auburn has a basketball team? I am also a big Tennessee Vols fan. The do have a BBall team (ok, it is their first team in years though)

I'm not a big bball fan actually, we just happened to be playing AU so I thought I'd insert some smack (since I haven't been able to do it in the fall since Obamanu dropped the ball in 03.)

I'm well aware of UT's team, as thats our only loss of the year. I think us and UT will play for the SEC championship in March.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 20 189.2
Shakes to go 58

Well my plateau is 9 days long now. I have no idea why the scale moved up again yesterday, other than the fact that is is possessed by the devil and I'm being repaid for all the food sins I committed as a teenager.

On a positive note, yesterday was great for me mood wise, and the easiest weekend day I've had on the vdiet thus far. After my 1 hour morning elliptical session, my wife sent me to toys-r-us to get some stuff for the baby. Right beside toys-r-us is guitar center. I've played guitar on and off since I was 10, but I haven't touched it since before my son was born (I've had a broken E string and haven't gone and bought any new strings.) Anyway, I ended up playing for several hours yesterday and really enjoying myself. Since I haven't played in so long, I don't have calluses on my fingers anymore, so they are pretty sore today. They'll get lots of rest today, as I plan on absorbing every play of both championship games today from the comfort of my couch.

Anyway, the point of this story is that the vdiet is much easier if you have something to do (work, play, watch, etc.) If you are bored, the vdiet is pretty tough, because all you will think about is food.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 21 187.4
Shakes to go 53

What a glorious day! I finally broke my 9 day plateau! Plus I have today off for the holiday! I'm off to get on the elliptical, and I'll probably go longer than usual since I have nothing to do today!

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 21 187.4
Shakes to go 53

What a glorious day! I finally broke my 9 day plateau!

Congratulations! It must be tough, sticking to a diet like that and not seeing the scale budge for the longest time. And then you drop almost 2 lbs in a day. Crazy how that works.

Crazy how that works.

That's why I only weigh once a week normally when I cut. Looking at the scale daily can drive you insane. The only reason I'm doing it now is because this diet is so extreme that the scale is supposed to move down so fast that it serves as further motivation.

It IS very motivating when it moves; but when it doesn't it's pure hell!

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 22 188.0
Shakes to go 48

The scale turned on me again. I thought this might happen since it dropped so much yesterday. Hey, at least it didn't go all the way back up! I can sniff the finish line, and while I haven't lost a much as I thought I would, I'm still quite pleased with the diet. The weight loss might not be as fast as I had hoped, but it's still faster than anything else I've ever done, so I'd certainly recommend it to anyone that asked.

you have less than two weeks left, just hang in there, the weight will drop again:tucool:

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 22 188.0
Shakes to go 48

The scale turned on me again. I thought this might happen since it dropped so much yesterday. Hey, at least it didn't go all the way back up! I can sniff the finish line, and while I haven't lost a much as I thought I would, I'm still quite pleased with the diet. The weight loss might not be as fast as I had hoped, but it's still faster than anything else I've ever done, so I'd certainly recommend it to anyone that asked.

Are there going to be pictures? :spaz:

Are there going to be pictures? :spaz:

Yea, I'll post them when I'm done on Feb. 1st. Unfortunately, I haven't lost as much as I thought I would, so I'm still going to have some work left before I get to the coveted "six pack." That being said, I think you'll see a good bit of progress.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 23 187.8
Shakes to go 43

9 days left. My initial goal was 180, and I'm obviously not going to get there. I should be able to get to 185, and that would be fine with me. 183.2 would be better, but I digress...

Last night I did workout #3 for the 3rd time. It is by far the hardest as I've mentioned both other times I've done it, and it lived up to its rep last night. I'll be more glad to finish this weight plan than the vdiet!

On a mood note, everything has been great. The diet is a joke now, no cravings, no hunger, my mood is good, my energy is almost normal (still down but that is to be suspected), I'm sleeping like a baby now, and my body has adjusted to the flax intake. Now I may feel differently 9 days from now, but I think I could do this a good bit longer than a month. I'm not going to, as it's not super healthy, just saying I think I could.

Quick update

I've been taking 5g of creatine everyday since I started the vdiet (plus the 3 months before.) I know Berardi and Waterbury recommend taking creatine during a cut, but some people say it causes them to be bloated. I'm going to quit taking it today, so that should give me and extra 2 or 3 pounds of weight loss. I realize this will be all water and not fat, but I don't care, I'm trying to make that scale say 180 ASAP, and this will help in that aspect.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 24 186.8
Shakes to go 38

Big scale move yesterday, and it wasn't creatine related. I take creatine first thing in the morning on non-workout days, so I had it yesterday (I'm not taking it from now on.) After further research, I don't think I'll actually have that much water loss from stopping it, because I've been taking a fat burner and it is a diuretic, which generally keeps creatine from making you retain water (or working at all for that matter.) We'll see, either way I'm not sure it works for me anyway.

I think my life would be simpler if I dropped all supplement use except a multi, fish oil, and protein powder. In fact, thats what I'm going to do, it's just so easy to pay $20 for a bottle of "hope."

I posted this in Banditfist's journal, but thought I copy it and put it here for those who didn't read it. Here's my food plan for Feb. 1 and beyond.

I'm currently running on ~1400 cals on non-workout days. 4 shakes with flax and fish oil caps @ 250 calories, and one shake with natty PB at 400 cals. I drink at around 7:30, 11,2:30, 6, and 9. I'm making 7:30am and 6:00pm 400 calorie solid food meals and keeping the rest shakes for one week. This will only be increasing my intake by 150 cals a day to 1550, so I should keep losing. The next week I'll make lunch a 400 cal meal, so now only 2:30 and 9 are shakes, and I'm at 1700 cals a day. I'll run on that till I hit my goal of having abs (I'll likely have to add some HIIT.)

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 25 186.4
Shakes to go 34

Only 7 more days to go! This diet has been much easier than I anticipated, but I will admit that I am ready to eat again. Today is my solid food meal day, and I think I'm going to have steak again. My wife and I have to go out of town this afternoon to go to one of her friend engagement parties. Since I won't know a lot of the people, I typically would take this opportunity to ingest as much beer as possible, but unfortunately tonight, I'll have shake hand and socialize with strangers while sober. This likely won't be too awesome. One good thing is that we're staying in a hotel tonight, so I won't be able to weigh in the morning. Why is this a good thing? Because every Saturday after my solid food meal I seem to gain at least a pound, and I won't have to see the scale the day after this time. Next update will be on Sunday.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 25 186.4
Shakes to go 34

Only 7 more days to go! This diet has been much easier than I anticipated, but I will admit that I am ready to eat again. Today is my solid food meal day, and I think I'm going to have steak again. My wife and I have to go out of town this afternoon to go to one of her friend engagement parties. Since I won't know a lot of the people, I typically would take this opportunity to ingest as much beer as possible, but unfortunately tonight, I'll have shake hand and socialize with strangers while sober. This likely won't be too awesome. One good thing is that we're staying in a hotel tonight, so I won't be able to weigh in the morning. Why is this a good thing? Because every Saturday after my solid food meal I seem to gain at least a pound, and I won't have to see the scale the day after this time. Next update will be on Sunday.

I am ready to eat too!!!!!

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 27 185.6
Shakes to go 25

More scale movement which is good. Friday night I had to go to a party and had my second worst cravings since I started. My wife and I went out and had a steak dinner before hand, and I was really full, but for some reason I just wanted to eat all the junk food once I got to the party. I know it's supposed to be easier to resist craving when you're full, but I was rationalizing, "hey, I just at a steak, eat some chips and dip, drink a beer...." I made it out of the party having only consumed a boatload of diet coke and a hand full of mixed nuts.

My diet ends on Thursday, and I'm gonna eat really clean/low cal on friday and sat, then have a full blown cheat/carb-up on Superbowl Sunday. I can't wait.

I was looking through the fitness challenges and saw the sober January challenge. While I wasn't "playing," I should have been, as I haven't had a sip of booze since Dec. 30. I'm not going to drink anything until the superbowl, and I just realized that this is the longest I've gone without drinking anything since I was about 17. Seriously, I haven't gone 5 weeks without drinking since I was in high school. While I don't think drinking in moderation every now and then is a bad thing at all, I've never abstained this long from it since I started.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this, just making an observation.

posted twice for some reason

hey arbitrage! you seem to being doing GREAT on the vdiet... i'm sure with the kind of self control you are showing you'll eventually see that sixpack.

congrats on taking a break from the booze too.... amazing what a difference that can make on fat loss for some people. i know the times i've abstained for awhile its just made following proper nutrition a little easier. and its always a plus when it only takes 2 drinks to do what quite a few used to! :lol:

can't wait to see result pics .... good luck with the last week!!

hey arbitrage! you seem to being doing GREAT on the vdiet... i'm sure with the kind of self control you are showing you'll eventually see that sixpack.

congrats on taking a break from the booze too.... amazing what a difference that can make on fat loss for some people. i know the times i've abstained for awhile its just made following proper nutrition a little easier. and its always a plus when it only takes 2 drinks to do what quite a few used to! :lol:

can't wait to see result pics .... good luck with the last week!!

Thanks for the support. I'm discovering 2 things as I slim down:

1) I'm going to have to be lower than 10% to have "abs." Probably 8% or less. You can see my top 2 abs, but below my belly button is still pretty flabby, and it doesn't appear to be budging. Unfortunately, I carry absolutely no fat on my ass or legs, it's all belly and love handles.

2) With my shirt on, I look absolutely no different at 15% bf vs. 10%. While I'm not at 10% yet, I have lost 13 lbs. in the last 3 weeks and not one single person has noticed. Not one. I don't think this is a bad thing, this is a good thing. I'm fortunate in that when I put on weight, it doesn't really show in my face and neck. Even at 240 my face wasn't very fat. So when I lose, you can't really tell either. I carry my fat fairly evenly in "spare tire" form, so even with more fat my belly doesn't really "stick out" like the traditional beer gut.

So essentially, I'm doing this to try to look good with my shirt off, and I'm seen in public that way what, 10 or less times a year? I still want visible abs and I'm not stopping till I get them. It's only now that I get close that I realize I'm doing a whole hell of a lot of work for a few days on the beach in the summer. I still think it's worth it, but it's a whole lot of suffering for not a lot of pleasure. I guess as I get close I'm beginning to realize how vain and crazy I really am!

So essentially, I'm doing this to try to look good with my shirt off, and I'm seen in public that way what, 10 or less times a year?


JStone has mentioned that once he got a "beach body" he found more and more opportunities to go shirtless... washing the car, cutting the lawn, going to the grocery store...

So essentially, I'm doing this to try to look good with my shirt off, and I'm seen in public that way what, 10 or less times a year? I still want visible abs and I'm not stopping till I get them

You and me both my friend

My sister is getting married in Italy in summer 09' so I've roughly 18 months to make it happen :cool:

JStone has mentioned that once he got a "beach body" he found more and more opportunities to go shirtless... washing the car, cutting the lawn, going to the grocery store...

You have a point, but then you're "that guy" that's always walking around shirtless at inappropriate times!

You and me both my friend

My sister is getting married in Italy in summer 09' so I've roughly 18 months to make it happen :cool:

You definitely have time to make it happen. I'm not fighting time, I'm fighting motivation (it's pretty low right now.) It's going to be really hard for me to drop the last little bit, and I don't know if I'm up for the battle or not. I'm gonna try, but I have no idea what will happen.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 28 186
Shakes to go 20

Only four days left! The scale went back up again on me yesterday for some reason. It's amazing how that thing plays with your mind. Yesterday morning I looked in the mirror, and was pleased with my progress, today I look and appear bloated. 4/10 of a pound. I can't see that, it's mental, but it sure appears that I can. I'm not going to be as thin on Friday as I thought I'd be when I started, but it also wasn't nearly as hard to follow as I anticipated, so I guess that's the trade off. Hopefully I'll get one more big drop in weight before friday, but from looking at my chart, I bet this is the beginning of another plateau.

I am ready to eat solid food again though. I was reviewing my journal yesterday, and last week I said I felt like I could keep going. I don't feel that way anymore. I don't have cravings or hunger, just a deep down desire to eat. Must eat solid food!

Only four days left! The scale went back up again on me yesterday for some reason. It's amazing how that thing plays with your mind. Yesterday morning I looked in the mirror, and was pleased with my progress, today I look and appear bloated. 4/10 of a pound. I can't see that, it's mental, but it sure appears that I can.

Geez, how I know that feeling! I don't believe in the mirror anymore because I know it only reflects my mood which is influenced by stupid things like the scale or the tightness of my pants (which in turn depends on when they were washed - when they need to be put in the laundry they make me feel the best of course!) :rolleyes:

I am ready to eat solid food again though. I was reviewing my journal yesterday, and last week I said I felt like I could keep going. I don't feel that way anymore. I don't have cravings or hunger, just a deep down desire to eat. Must eat solid food!

I always get this when a training/diet cycle is about to end. I put it down to the fact that the end is near and that I know that I'll be able to eat "normally" again soon, whereas in the middle of a cycle I don't allow myself that kind of thoughts because there's still a long way to go. in my words I think you're "smelling the end" - it's your mind playing tricks with you again :D

I always get this when a training/diet cycle is about to end. I put it down to the fact that the end is near and that I know that I'll be able to eat "normally" again soon, whereas in the middle of a cycle I don't allow myself that kind of thoughts because there's still a long way to go. in my words I think you're "smelling the end" - it's your mind playing tricks with you again :D

I think you nailed it. Last week I wasn't even thinking about solid food, but this weekend, all I did was think about my meal plan when I finished, when to do carb-ups, what my calorie/carb count should be each day, etc. I basically obsessed over what I get to eat from Friday on. I finally settled on a plan. In the month of Feb. I will not go above 2000 calories for 6 days a week, and one weekend day (be it Sat. or Sun.) I'll ease up. I'm going to try to not hit 10,000 calories or anything crazy like that, just eat normally. Hopefully this will keep me from gaining back any weight.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 29 186
Shakes to go 15

The end is near. I've clearly started a new plateau, and I don't know if I'll break it in the next 3 days, but it doesn't really matter. If you'll review my journal, I did a 3 day break-in for the vdiet, 3 solid food meals and 2 shakes. I lost 3.2 pounds the first day, just because I totally pigged out on Dec. 31. So my starting weight was actually around 195, so I'll actually be losing about 10 pounds in 28 days. While this is slower than most, I'm happy with it. 2.5 pounds per week is pretty damn fast! I'll post my overall summary of the vdiet in the next 2 days.

One thing of note, I'm not as lean as I thought I'd be when I finished this diet, so I've got more work to do, and I'm going to do it. The vdiet workouts are low volume/high intensity, on very low cals. My cals can go nowhere but up, so to continue losing I have to up the volume. Since I hate waking up early and doing liss, I'm going to start the last 4 weeks of Waterbury's Summer Project on Feb. 9. I did the whole thing last summer, and the last 4 weeks are the toughest part. It's a much higher volume of work than I'm currently doing, and it's hiit 3 times a week. Since I'll be upping the cals from 1400/1750 to 1700/2050 this is the only way I know to continue to lose. I'll journal it in case anyone cares.

I'll journal it in case anyone cares.

Of course we care :nod:

I just finished my last shake of the day, and let me tell you, it feels good to know that I only have 10 of those SOBs left!

I also completed my final vdiet workout tonight, the one I've complained about all month with the power cleans, anyway, I'm also glad I never have to do that 4 week cycle again!

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 30 185.8
Shakes to go 10

Still on plateau, but I really feel I have one more big drop either tomorrow or Friday morning. Even if I don't, I'm going to carb up/cheat on Sunday, so hopefully I'll be lower a few days after that. Will post my vdiet summary later tonight. Gotta go hop on the elliptical for 50 minutes of fun!

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan. 30 185.8
Shakes to go 10

Still on plateau, but I really feel I have one more big drop either tomorrow or Friday morning. Even if I don't, I'm going to carb up/cheat on Sunday, so hopefully I'll be lower a few days after that. Will post my vdiet summary later tonight. Gotta go hop on the elliptical for 50 minutes of fun!

Isn't it interesting that we call it a plateau after two days while on other diets, it is like two weeks?

Isn't it interesting that we call it a plateau after two days while on other diets, it is like two weeks?

That is funny, but the scale hasn't gone down in 4 days, so in vdiet land that is a plateau! If your not eating anything, then scale better be moving!

My Vdiet summary

I’m going to post a summary of the diet before I have my final weigh-in, bodyfat test, measurements, and photos. Since I have no idea what the measurements (other than weight) will be, I don’t want the final outcome to cloud my opinion of the diet as a whole.

The first thing I would like to quickly mention is that I lose weight much slower than the average bear. I signed up for SGX last year, did it with 100% compliance for 3 months, and lost 9 pounds. I did not miss a single liss session or workout for 90+ days (over 10 hours per week of exercise,) had 100% eating compliance, and lost less than a pound a week. Most everyone else was losing 2 or more pounds per week. SGX is a good plan and worth the money, I’m not knocking it, I’m just trying to show that I lose fat slower than most. Anyway, as for the Vdiet…

1) Fatloss- While mine has been slower than some others, it’s still WAY faster than anything else I’ve ever done. If you want to drop weight fast, there is no faster way on the planet that I am aware of.
2) Energy- My energy was pretty low for the first week or 10 days, but it’s pretty much back to normal now. While I have been going to sleep earlier than normal, I’d say my energy on this diet was much better than I expected, and probably about 90% of non-diet/normal energy
3) Strength- This is where the vdiet surprised me. I thought my strength would tank, but it didn’t. In fact, even though every workout session is based on progressions, I was able to do them all (except for the power cleans.) I’m certainly not going to say I gained strength on this plan, but I didn’t lose it, and I’m positive my work capacity increased with all the 30 second rest intervals.
4) Difficulty- This, like strength, was a big surprise to me. I must confess that I had absolutely no idea if I could do this or not. That’s the main reason I did a journal, because I knew if other people were following my progress I’d be more likely to stick with it. Before beginning, I thought the difficulty would be about a 9 or 10, and in reality I’d put it at about a 4 or 5. I thought hunger would be at a 9 or 10, but believe it or not it was about a 6 or 7 at first, and fell to about a 3 by the end of week 2. Now don’t misinterpret this and think I’m saying that the vdiet is easy, because it certainly isn’t. I’m just saying it wasn’t anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be.
5) Cost- I reviewed everything mentioned on the internet I could find before I started, and one of the most common things I saw mentioned was how expensive it would be. What I want to know is what in the world are these people currently eating? Ramen noodles and potatoes? The vdiet is SO much cheaper than my normal eating, it’s no comparison. I usually eat 96% ground beef, chicken breasts, fish, and veggies. Meat is expensive. If you eat a lot of meat like I normally do, I can guarantee the vdiet is cheaper.
6) Ease- This is the best aspect of the diet. It is mind numbingly simple. 5 shakes a day, 4 with flaxmeal, one with peanut butter. That’s it. No snacking or overeating. If it’s not a shake, don’t put it in you mouth.

The only bad thing about the vdiet to me was the fact that it did play hell on my digestive system at first. For the first 3 days, I was constipated, so I upped the flax and added the fiber tablets, then I had diarrhea for the next 4 or 5 days. After that, my system adjusted and everything was fine from about day 8 or 9 on.

In closing, as far as diets go, in my opinion the vdiet is where it’s at. Hopefully I won’t have to anytime soon, but I’m almost positive I’ll be doing the vdiet again at some point in my life.

Jan. 1 198.2
Jan 31 185.4
Shakes to go 5

Today is my last day. I get my bf% test this afternoon, and I'll take pics and measurements in the morning.

Preliminary results are rolling in!

I had my bf% test done twice this afternoon, the results, 10.0% and 10.4%. We’ll say 10.3% since on Jan. 1 my pinch test said 13.3%. So I lost approximately 3% bodyfat in a month. Not too shabby. My 7 point test is reading too low, as I had a DEXA scan on Dec. 27 that said I was 14.5%, I ate like shit for the next four days, so I probably started on Jan. 1 at 15.3% bf, and the pinch test said 13.3. Either way, I’d say I’m about 12% now. I’ll have lost around 13 pounds this month, of which 6 was fat, maybe 5 was glycogen/water and the rest muscle. I’ll take it!

This is not as thin as I want to be (still have small spare tire), but I’m as thin as I’ve ever been, so I can’t complain. I still have about 6 or 8 pounds of fat to lose, but I’ve got 4 months before summer, so I don’t have to really rush.

Pics and measurements coming tomorrow.

Pics and measurements coming tomorrow.

:claphigh:

:claphigh:

Don't get too excited, I'm not quite there yet!

Jan. 1 198.2
Feb. 1 184.8
Shakes to go 0:moon:
Total weight loss 13.4 pounds

OK folks, I'm finished. I lost 2.5 inches off my waist last month, and 3/8 of an inch off my bicep. I'll take those results anytime. The only bad thing about the vdiet is that your calories are so low they have no where to go but up. To continue losing I'm going to have to really ramp up my exercise volume, but I got no problem doing that. Eating is worth it!

I can't believe I'm posting pictures of myself in my underwear on the internet. I'm making my next journal in the private section. I'm still not where I want to be, but I think this is good progress for 1 month. Before pics are at about 15%bf, after at about 12%. Sorry that the lighting sucks. My camera isn't very good either, and you can't really see any definition in the upper abs like you can in normal light. Oh well...

Congrats on sticking it out and thanks for your thoughts on the diet and for the pictures. There's definitely a noticeable difference. You have more definition in your arms and have obviously dropped fat from your waist. :nod:. Your quads are popping, too.

I think of all the things I'm most disappointed with, it's the lighting in my bathroom! Seriously, I lost 2.5 inches off my love handle area, and you can't tell it from those pics.

I started a new journal in the private area and will post more picks in a month. These love handles will be gone by summer!