I apologise if I insulted you--that's not what I meant at all...the only reason you don't count is that men are notorious for having the weight just melt off (even when you cheat). But I hear what you're sayn' about the spare tire/"beer" belly.

The 3 days you felt crappy--do you think it's because your carbs were so low--lower than or as low as induction levels, or just because you were used to regular food and now you started substituting shakes?

Sarah--thanks for the clarification re: weeks 1-2/3-4 then repeat.

Mer--maybe this has gotten things moving and shifting for you.

Mama--4# in 10 days. To me, that's a great loss. I guess I've never been one of those people who are disappointed that I didn't lose 20 million gillion pounds during induction--nope, just 3#

I'm going to go do some reading on Luecine. I'm wondering if just the liver cleansing part would be beneficial just for general health--I drink alcohol, i espresso in the morning, Ibuprofen when I've been on call and my back is bothering me.

I'm going to still lurk and follow you guys--this is the most interesting thread going.

Lisa

Oh, I forgot to ask...for everyone

How are you taking the luecine--powder form or capsule form.

and where did you get it---Vitamin World? Iherb? your corner health food store?

12 grams seems like alot??

Maybe I will just have to breakdown and buy the book---it can go with the rest of the low carb, cholesterol, grain, gluten library.

I'm going to add it to my shakes. 2.5grams per heaping tsp. I got it from iherb... I think it's NOW foods brand. There's some in Whey powder too.

I thought the book said 2.5g 3x day. That'd be more like 7.5grams

True, but some people were saying their protein powder already had leucine in it, so should they add some - and I think that was when he came up with the 12g a day. Which makes me realize I was probably having more than that when I was doing the three shakes. And now that I've cut back to one shake it's probably LESS, so I may need to add more powder to the one shake.

but merpig, he also said that you're getting something like 1g of leucine per 1lb of meat (or something like that).

It's why the directions for the skinniest person still leaves them with like 7.5g per day (from shakes) and then the rest from meat.. or something...

Obviously it doesn't have to be exact.

But I did read someone's post elsewhere where she saw she was losing less week from one week to the next and realized she'd lowered her leucine a lot. She upp'd it again and lost a couple that day...

Sarah

oh and our leucine (the husband's and mine) is in our shakes.

but I've ordered some BCAA powder for next week when we hit meat weeks

maybe, but if 12g is a good number to shoot for I'm hardly going to eat 12 lbs of meat a day! And doesn't the book say to add leucine in the meat weeks too, and that the Eadeses mix theirs with water and keep shaking it around to try to dissolve it? I think I'd rather have the one shake a day and add the extra leucine to that. Gotta get the xanthan gum though. Maybe at Whole Foods, I think I've seen it there. It's not at my regular supermarket.

Are you using whey? Even just plain whey has quite a lot of leucine in it. I'm using plain whey, nothing added and it has quite a bit (seems like it was over 2g). I'm not sure how much egg protein has, but I'll look when I get a chance.

Was the 12g perhaps an upper limit to a range?

I'm very much with you here. They said it tasted disgusting the way they drank theirs. I've ordered BCAA powder so I'll add that to one shake a day to up the max. I've also ordered some tablets in case we can't get a shake in. I'm wondering if he said 1g per oz not lb. Cause I know you're not eating 12 pounds of meat! oops!

And Nancy asked if 12g was a limit or something? I think it was more like a goal. And I've not heard there's a problem with having too much.

I've only done a wee bit of reading and googling on Leucine - but it definitely helps with keeping and building muscle and burning fat. And I can use all of that!

Ooo - I finally found an article with some guesstimates on Leucine content in various foods if you're interested. Includes:
red meat 3.6g per 6oz
chicken 3g per 6oz
turkey .7g per 6oz
pork 1.9g per 6oz
nuts 1.8g per cup (peanuts are higher, almonds lower)
peanut butter 4.2g per cup (a cup of peanut butter! mmmm )

And of course this article concludes with warning you about consuming saturated fat. leucine counts article

On bodybuilder sites they're talking about taking in as much as 20g leucine - just through supplements.

Sarah

Know what you mean...

Just wanted to say that I lurve the name of your plan!!!

How's it going?

amanda

[QUOTE=Merpig]Also works much better with an added agg - but I can't do that often as they say not to use an egg unless you plan to drink it immediately, and two of my shakes are taken at work - made in the morning and then brought in a thermos to be consumed hours later, so I have hesitated to add an egg to them - and of course by the time I get to drink them they are thin and more watery, rather than thick or creamy, which I think also affects my satiation levels.
QUOTE]

I take a shake for breakfast, then make the other two up at work, bringing the ingredients separately in a shopping bag. I keep the eggs in the bag, wrapped in paper in a zip-loc, as they are to be drunk (just the yolk) the same day and won't have time to go bad, and I only bring coconut milk, in a resealable box, never cream, so that won't go bad either. Works for me so far, this is only day one of starting over after being sick, though.

I was in a silly mood when I posted that - not offended in the least. I just had to laugh when I realized that I am the *only* male in this thread.

As to feeling crappy - well, I was drinking probably 3-4 liters of diet coke daily. I went cold turkey and suffered from massive caffeine withdrawal.

I was already doing induction level carbs for 2.5 months and my carb level didn't really change that much. In fact, until I got a zero carb powder, the whey protein alone added 18 carbs/day. And ribose is sugar - until I cut back on that, figure another 7-8 grams. Plus veggies, cheese, eggs and a couple of times I had a little fruit (frozen blueberries & cream). Come to think of it, my carbs actually went up a little bit, at least at first.

The other macronutrients did a pretty big swap. Protein increased by ~1000 calories and fat decreased by maybe 1200-1400 calories.

I use BCAA powder, which includes leucine. Got it from the Vitamin Shoppe.

12g may seem like a lot and remember, he said at least 12g! But 1 scoop of the whey I use has almost 4g of luecine. 3 shakes x 3 scoops x 4g = 36g!!

I probably didn't need to add any - but I didn't get his response until I started the meat weeks. I am still having 1 shake/day to get the leucine and cuz I like 'em! If it slows me down, I may drop it and try to more of a purist on the plan.

Today is the first day of Week 3 for me. I only did 5 days of shakes, then moved to Meat Only, and it works great. I have lost 4.5 lbs so far. Absolutely fantastic. I'll keep doing the same thing.

Congrats Fauve!

We'll join you on meat soon! Start week 3 on Sunday.

Sarah

Congrats Fauvre!

My blood sugars were running a little high during the shake weeks (110-130). Back down to 70-95 now.

I don't think I was in ketosis much, if at all. Only checked a few times. I'm in ketosis now (light pink).