Rob C's V-Diet Log (Gulp!)

OK… Monday, May 8 was my official start date. I received all of my stuff several weeks before, but was “easing into it“. I’m now IN.

Disclaimer: I’m a pretty active dude… I play and practice golf obsessively, I have a garage gym that I built so that I could do linear strength training, and have recently gotten myself back into speed skating and distance skating (inlines). That being said, I am an absolute undisciplined disaster by nature. And even worse, an obsessive foodie. If anything is going to be a huge hindrance, it’s that…

Last September I did Optavia, and went from 175lbs down to 164 in one month. The problem was it was so calorie restricted that I couldn’t do any activities without getting lightheaded, or in some cases, flat out vertigo (which I’ve never experienced before).

So this Velocity Diet appeals to me for a variety of reasons. Mainly that I can work out, skate, and play golf without feeling like I’m going to pass out. Optavia puts you in touch with a coach, but I really like the idea of this forum. About 10 years ago I joined up on a strength training forum called StrongLifts, and if it wasn’t for the encouragement from those dudes and the frequent logs, I would never have reached the goals that I did….

So here we go!
Monday I weighed in at 171. It is now the beginning of day 4 and I weigh exactly 171.

Strength and muscles aside, I mainly want a flatter belly.

I appreciated reading some of the other logs and the repeated encouragement along the lines of “Don’t worry about the damn number on the scale, but rather focus on how you feel and look“.
…so I’m going with that.

I’ve been fairly consistent, but I’ve fallen off a little bit with the meal. I love to cook. I’m a really good cook. So eating whole foods, is never a problem. But I’ve noticed after a full day of drinking these semi sweet liquid shakes, I am climbing the walls for anything savory, crunchy or salty. So, by the time the HSM comes around, I can’t really say that I’ve kept the portions down, even though they‘ve absolutely been whole and fairly healthy. So I’m working on portion control…

I’ve started to get into a good routine of a good skate first thing in the morning. Usually between 2 and 4 miles. Following it up with strength, or TUT training (squats, bench, deadlifts, etc.).

When I first wake up, I keep going back-and-forth between making my normal latte (with 2% milk), or pouring a double shot of espresso into a vanilla shake. I haven’t seen any correlation as to which one makes me feel better, but I sure love my lattes!

It’s also been a real struggle to get in 4 shakes. 3 seems to be plenty, and I keep going to bed feeling pretty full. (Probably from dinner!) I have since knocked the shakes back to a scoop and a half… And I’m still only getting in three shakes per day.

I’ve been pretty good at taking the horse pills (flameout)… And I’m really trying to get in the water requirements as well. But I usually only get in around 50oz.

Here’s my biggest struggle tho…
Sleep.

And I’ve never really been good at it. I’m usually surprised if I get anywhere over 5 hours of sleep.

I just ordered a couple of bottles of ZMA. We shall see…

Sorry for such a long first post… I will try to do brief posts every three or four days, or so.

I can offer this… There are two syrups that are money in the bank… Salted caramel by Jordan’s Skinny Syrups (to go with a vanilla shake plus the espresso shot) and DaVinci’s Cherry syrup (to go with the chocolate shake). Both have zero sugar. One thing that’s helped me to combat all of the sweet stuff, is doing a chocolate shake with the salted caramel syrup.

Both syrups are easy to find on Amazon.

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Glad to have you here!

Your modifications look great.

And by the way, feeling a little full is awesome. As I always say, “Being full is the best diet!” (Yes, I just quoted myself.)

Don’t sweat the extra water intake too much. It’s okay to get a little less than that. Go by feel and don’t force it.

And measure your belly if you haven’t yet. Beats the scale. I like a simple measurement:

Tape measure across the belly button, 1-2 inches above it, and 1-2 inches below it.

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Thanks Chris. Will do on the measurements.
Appreciate the feedback. It means a lot.
I just ran across your article “One-Rule Diets…”
Sent it to my wife and son declaring “We ain’t eating late dinners no more!” We’re pretty bad about that.
Last night I made a killer stir fry: short rib meat, red and green bell peppers and shiitake mushrooms over white rice. Only problem was we sat down to eat at 9:30!

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Okay, so I came here for your Velocity Diet, but staying for more info on this!

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Too funny. Your avatar. I see it…
Well - in my 20s I lived on in-lines. (I’m 54) From pub crawls to street hockey to league hockey to eventually skating distance events made for cyclists. In TX we have the MS150 each spring. It’s a 2-day ride from Houston to Austin (170miles). I’ve recently gotten the bug again and bought some legit Bonts and getting back into form (after nearly 2 decades).

This FB post was in February. Today, I’m cruising a few miles easier each day. Technique is getting back to automatic.

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Wow! That is super cool. Pumped that you are getting back into it, and those skates look badass.

I haven’t done much inline in, well, decades too, but my kid has started playing hockey, and we’re looking at some inline skates for him to skate around off ice. Might be time I get a pair, as well.

I can’t get past 170 miles as a concept, and probably can’t get past 20 miles in real life. :joy:

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but my kid has started playing hockey, and we’re looking at some inline skates for him to skate around off ice. Might be time I get a pair, as well.<<

Heck yeah! Do it! I still have my Bauers. Everything above the rail is exactly like their ice hockey skates. They still roll great!

FWIW – I’ll be super-stoked to get back to a 20 mile skate.

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I have these. Try to control your jealousy.

Seriously, I bought inlines in the 90s. I was terrible.

And I seriously had those metal skates as a wee lad. I think they were antique even then.

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Legit.

I posted this an another member’s log, but thought I would add to it here:

My go to in the morning is pulling a double shot of espresso and throwing it into a vanilla shake with the salted caramel syrup.

Trust me when I say the shakes start to actually taste pretty good after the first week. That whole “re-wiring your taste buds” claim is legit. I drank a straight up chocolate shake just now without adding any syrups, and I’m all “Damn! Tastes pretty close to McDonald’s shake”.

On Day 1, I wouldn’t have said that. haha

Also - to Chris and any of the other awesome coaches who might have a say… I bet I’m not alone when I say that I would pay extra for the Metabolic Drive powders to come in a plastic canister rather than the bags? Just a thought to further streamline the process…

Today I dumped out some old (lesser brand’s) protein powder to clean out and salvage a canister.

Something like this, also looks pretty good…

I agree. Any supps I use that have the zipper bags are hit or miss whether they will close properly or not. I usually end up transferring mine as well after a spill whilst traveling.

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The taste changes are kicking in! Nice! Love the espresso idea. I do that sometimes, but I just use an instant powder made for making things like tiramisu. (Don’t hate me for using instant.)

I dig those containers. Good suggestion.

As for Metabolic Drive bags vs. plastic tubs, I think the choice was made for a few reasons: less expense on Biotest’s part, thus keeping the cost down for customers. Our price for the high-end proteins keeps increasing, and we’re not about to use lesser proteins as most company’s have done, so the bag choice helped keep costs in check. Shipping costs for us went down too with the bags. Also, they’re easier to store, both in our warehouse and for customers who buy 5-6 at a time. I can now fit 2-3 bags in the space that used to fit 1 tub. Lastly, there’s less waste. Call it “environmental impact” or just “makes less trash.”

I hear that Biotest is coming out with larger bags soon, like a 5 pounder.

Makes total sense, esp the “makes less trash” bit.

Hey - let’s start a movement… “Redeem the other brand’s tubs!” Best of both worlds… haha
Surely I’m not the only one with half-filled tubs of crappy tasting protein powders collecting dust in the bottom of my pantry… no?

Ok, maybe it is just me…

Ship the Biotest with an extra label to “rebrand” the other tubs.
:rofl:

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HA!!! Yes! Love it Gentz

Come on, Chris… let’s do this! That’s hilarious, right there!!

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