Suggestions for a Slump Buster?

Okay…

SO, long story short I had a really crappy part of my life just hit me; house caught on fire, job transition, girlfriend and I broke up. Sob story aside, the point of the matter is that I completely de-prioritized my health goals for the aforementioned mixed with a dab of “lack of motivation”.

Recovery… I gained an unwanted 20 lbs. or so during the process, and I am WELL aware that I can’t work through a shitty diet. I have decided to jump start it with a hybrid V-Diet/Pulse Fast regiment for 3 weeks then follow it up with another. Here is my debacle:

  1. It’s been over a week on this V-Diet hybrid and I’ve only lost about 5 lbs. I’m sure some of that is water/glycogen, so I’m not convinced I’ve lost a whole lot of weight at all. My fear is that I’ve been so inconsistent with my dieting through this year long mess that I’ve numbed my body to the effects of strategic nutrition/supplementation; is this possible??

What I mean is that during the “stint” I would try to diet, having calories low, using a workout plan that supported low cals (i.e. heavy lifting, some alactic stuff, and lots of walking) and using HOT-ROX, then I’d fall off the wagon, rinse and repeat. If I did screw the pooch on this one, how would I remedy it?

  1. I was really thinking of doing something like the Paleo diet for now. I know I’m too fat for a lot of carbs (5’6’', moderately muscled, 190 lbs., probably 22% body fat), and my friend seems to be having good progress with it… I don’t think I can take another one of these V-Diets in the near future! I’m looking more toward a diet I can use for longevity. I know they’re out there and I’ve looked at them, but between carb cycling for fat loss, paleo, and precision nutrition, there are just SO many choices. Any feedback of where I might start from someone who has been in or about my shoes in the past?

I’m just a little thrown; I’ve never really been UNABLE to lose weight. I know I MAY be gaining muscle at the same rate that I’m losing fat, but that just seems a little improbable. I guess next time I really will heed the warnings that one should measure and take pictures before a major planned body transformation :P.

Thanks and sorry for the long explanation

Edit: I started the diet on Tuesday of last week, so it’s been almost a week and a half, and the first 5 lbs. came off in 4 days with no further progress, even following 2 pulse fasts for clarification.

You should probably read the the fairly recent article (may have been a training lab snippet) about how a shotgun/clusterfuck approach of combining dietary strategies often just fucks things up.

Pick a style and stick with it until your body starts tell you what needs tweaking.

I will indeed have to check that out. I guess I kinda knew that this diet barrage was going to be too good to be true. I figured that short-term incredible will power would trump the poor choices I made at a bad time. I just didn’t think it’d come to a screeching halt!

Thanks

[quote]Smartass99 wrote:
I will indeed have to check that out. I guess I kinda knew that this diet barrage was going to be too good to be true. I figured that short-term incredible will power would trump the poor choices I made at a bad time. I just didn’t think it’d come to a screeching halt!

Thanks[/quote]

I did the same thing when I started dieting earlier this year, I was like, fuck yeah, let’s take some of this, and this, and this, and OOHH that’s shiny! I want that, too!

And for what it’s worth when life hands you lemons, freeze them and throw them through life’s windshield, then get more jacked.

Good luck.

Sorry to hear about the bad times.
If I were in your shoes, I’d just put away “diet” plans for a while and focus on changing your basic eating habits. Load up on the veggies, protein and water kind of deal. Cut out all the processed stuff & fast foods and focus on whole foods. Get your training habits back on track, no excuses or missed planned days. Try and be patient about it, once you make small changes that stick, bigger ones will be a lot easier.
Hope it all works out for you!

Thanks for the encouragement. Truth be told I have to drop some of this weight to be classified “within standards” for the Navy Reserve physical assessment coming up. After that, I think I’ll go to a paleo/minimal carbs style diet for a while and follow one of DeFranco’s strength programs. They worked pretty well for me while I was using them. After everything settles out I’ll once again start to take steps toward long term leanness.

Thanks for the encouragement :slight_smile:

[quote]dianab wrote:
Sorry to hear about the bad times.
If I were in your shoes, I’d just put away “diet” plans for a while and focus on changing your basic eating habits. Load up on the veggies, protein and water kind of deal. Cut out all the processed stuff & fast foods and focus on whole foods. Get your training habits back on track, no excuses or missed planned days. Try and be patient about it, once you make small changes that stick, bigger ones will be a lot easier.
Hope it all works out for you![/quote]

Perfect advice right there.