Don't Diet Finally Starting to Work

Been following Don’t Diet for 4 1/2 weeks now, and although results were slow at the start, I’m impressed with the overall results so far. I’ve dropped from 15 to just under 12 percent and according to body comp measurements (Lange calipers) and my workouts, I’ve lost no structural muscle and am very close to establishing personal bests in many lifts. I also have been using creatine, which I’ve never had much luck with but I am now using Ian King’s ascending/descending loading method. Didn’t notice much the first two weeks but since then strength has been going up nicely. I’m also using alpha lipoic acid, fish oils and Udo’s Choice, plus the staples: Advanced Protein, Grow, Power Drive and Surge. ECA twice daily. Just began using the cardio recommendations this week, and I’m on 2400 cals/day @ bw of 172. Very good stuff-took a while to notice the results but they are well worth the wait.

I think most people mistake the intial burst in weight loss for real fat loss. Dont diet is a diet that works slower than other diets because the attempt is to maintain glycogen stores and body water while losing fat. It’s not perfect but the weight loss is true fat loss all the way through. Good job on your progress and ability to stick to it.

I was on this for maybe 3 weeks and noticed the fat loss was slow even with every day cardio but that strength gains were as good as ever. Teddy, if it isnt too much trouble, could you post a typical days eating and a typical weeks lifting and cardio (just timing, frequency and duration).

Teddy, wassup my man! Great to hear from you again…you’ve been sparse for quite some time and I hope things are going well for you in other facets of life as well–jobby job, living sitch, etc. Glad to hear that the results are coming around, as far as fat loss, with accompanying maintenance of muscle and gains in strength. Nice to see that ya stuck with the diet and didn’t give up after two days like too many do or cut calories drastically, just to yo-yo up and down. I’d also be interested in your daily routine, particularly your training. Also, any info on your current sitch would be appreciated by Timbo:-)

I also had slow progress outta the gates with Don’t Diet. I went down to 2450 kcals a day, 40 30 30. 250 grams protein, 200 carb, 70 fat. I weight trained 4 days a week, cardio after 3 of those sessions. then cardio the other 3 days first thing in the morning…two days high intensity, 1 day low. I’m now about to drop cals to 2100. JB do you think this would be too low. carbs will be at like 165 a day.I tried this out for the past week and it seems to be ok. Also Teddy great progress…whats king’s ascending/ Descending principle.
To steal a gig from monkey boy Eric

“Mike M searchin for abs since 1998”

Yep, I’m sold on this approach-can’t wait to try it for mass. No more CKD’s and the inevitable carb binges. Okay, here is a typical day in the life of the Russian Mafioso-and I don’t really have anything eye-popping to share, but since you asked…E/C/A upon wakening, then 1/2 hr. later 1 serv. oats, 2 sc. Advanced Protein Vanilla, Splenda, Maple Extract, Cinnamon and Butter Spray (thanks Timbo) w. 300 mg lipoic acid. Meal 2: 2 oz. pasta w. 1/2 c. spaghetti sauce (and either tuna, chicken or Advanced Protein) w. 3 caps Dale Alexander TwinEPA and 300 mg lipoic acid. Pre-workout: Power Drive w. E/C/A. Meal 3: (post-w) Surge. Meal 4: the cottage cheese concoction posted earlier (1 c. c/c, 1/2 sc. Van. Advanced Pro, 1 pkt. Splenda and a handful of chopped strawberries w. 1 tbsp. Udo’s Choice and 2-3 caps Dale Alexander TwinEPA. Meal 5: canned salmon. Meal 6: 2 sc. Advanced Protein w. 1 tbsp. Udo’s. Some days I will substitute a Grow shake w. fish oil or my fave chicken burrito recipe (1 low-carb tortilla, 2-4 oz. chicken, 2 tbsp. salsa, chopped onions/peppers, a dash of cumin, 1 whole egg cooked, a serving of fat-free cheddar cheese, served with 1 tbsp. Udo’s. Workout is a 4 day Ian King split (day one: horizontal pushing/pulling, triceps, abs, 15 min. cardio. Day two: Squats, lunges, calves, abs, 15 min cardio. Day three: 15 min. cardio. Day four: Vertical pushing/pulling, biceps, ext. rotators and rear delts,abs, 15 min. cardio. Day five: Deads, shrugs, rev. hypers on swiss ball, abs, 15 min. cardio. Days 6-7: off. Sets and reps right now are a 5/5 format. The creatine loading method is discussed in Get Buffed and consists of an eight week cycle ex. for a 200 lb. person: Week 1: 10 g/day, Week 2-20 g. day, Week 3: 30 g/day, Week 4: 40 g. day, then work backward. I am only 173 so I use slightly smaller amounts. Works like a charm just like King said it would, but like Don’t Diet it takes a while to notice results. I don’t take it w. carbs either, just 16 oz. warm water (yuck) except for post-workout I take it w. my Surge. I never did the insulin sensitivity tests (sorry JMB) but I have been in the game long enough to know that it isn’t optimal so I use 3 carb-pro meals with 3 pro-fat meals. Cals are anywhere from 2300-2500, although I will likely bump this up a bit since I’m just starting to add cardio. Don’t Diet’s guidelines for me are to be around 2800, but the most cardio I do at once is 15 min. Hope this didn’t bore you all to sleep, but like I said, you asked. What up Timbo! How’s “SB” coming along?

Can anyone help me find the specifics of this Don’t Diet Diet, I’ve been searching the archieves an can’t find it. I know it’s a slight variation of the Massive Eating, but I guess I missed the origional post. Thanks!!!

Teddy…program looks solid as always, my Russian friend:-) Just got back in the gym this week after a week of active recovery. Eating quite massively in attempt to outgrow my SB nomenclature, thanks for asking and I’ll keep you and the rest updated on my progress. Glad you like the recipe, BTW:-)

Steve M…consider doing a search by author using Nate Dogg. He wrote it up a while back.

I think Nate Dogg posted the specifics, and JB talked about cardio in his Appetite for Construction article. Basically it’s Massive Eating with a 25% lower calorie intake (maybe a bit less).

Can anyone explain how to use the search option for the message board. I’m looking for the “Don’t Diet” info and have tried several things…I typed “author” and put in “Nate Dogg” in the subject and several variations there of looking for this post. Half the time I get some search parameters message and the other I get postings that start out talking about finasol. Could somebody help out w/ a “forum search for Dummies” Thanks in advance.

Maxim - type Nate Dogg in the author slot and click on the word author. Or type don’t diet in the subject slot and click on the word subject - DON’T hit enter - Click on the word only. Nate Dogg posts alot so you may have to wade thru some stuff to find it! - Matt

Teddy, awesome job on your progress, don’t know if you caught my post up there but I was wondering what you thought of my plan. The sups i’m taking nw in addition to the info above are:MD6, I take it in the afternoon and evening due to the lack of inulin sensitivity it causes before carb meals, insulene(ala,d-pintol,glucosol), creatine on workout days only and i’m looking to add in T2 once i get very lean.If JB gets a chance to look at this I’d appreciate some feedbck. Thanks a ton guys, Mike

Sorry bout that Mike-I thought you were talking to JB about an opinion of your plan. You didn’t post your weight/b.f. but 2100 seems rather low for Don’t Diet. Also, how long have you been on it? Patience is critical. I posted on here a couple weeks ago wondering how everyone else was doing since my progress was slow. How long are your cardio bouts? I would be very careful about high intensity cardio-I know it burns cals but it can burn up your LBM too. I may or may not add T2 down the road. It is an interesting compound but when I used Triac when it was still legal I dropped 6 lbs. the first week, and I had already been dieting two weeks before starting so it wasn’t just water. Body comp measurements showed a 2 lb. muscle loss and my lifts were down too. Maybe the T2 is better in this regard…I don’t know.

As Nate would say “DAYUM”. Thanks for the rundown, muchos props for a solid looking diet and program, and even more props for sticking to it.

Thanks for the feedback Teddy. Sorry bout those omissons. I’m 5’9 at at 175. bout 10-9 % bodyfat. My high intensity cardio are sprints(all-out)using a step-up program where i add one every session. I am currently at 14 45 yard sprints with 10-15 sec rest in betwen. My weight traning is Staley’s convergent phase , the core exercises are the OH press, deadlift and chin up. I modified the circuit to be 6 reps, that ay I can work up to 8 reos(I thought this would be more suited for fat loss. I haven’t been keeping up with the low intnsity cardio s much because its very difficult after leg day and I thought it might be a bit much with the HIT. I haven’t seen any strength loss really but, my energy levels aren’t the best during the workout. I was wondering if I should carb-up once or twice a week to the tune of 250-300 grams of carbs and loer the fat intake those days. Sorry to be a bother just motivated by your success.Others feel free to chime in . Thanks Mike

I think your cals are way too low, dawg. You’re a little heavier than me (I’m only 5’7 though), and your bodyfat is a little lower. I would try upping your cals-if I recall you said you were on 2100/day. Try going up to 2400-2500. Really you should be a little higher than even this, especially since you’re using high intensity cardio. This will give you extra energy and eliminate the need for a carb-up. Just stick to JB’s food recommendations (low-glycemic/insulin index). Once again, I cannot overemphasize that you have to have patience. Yes, the fat loss is slower but LBM is maintained much better. At 9-10% it won’t take you that long to get ripped. I’d say maybe six weeks tops, maybe less with the T2. Good luck, and keep me posted on your progress.