Health Warning

At this point given that I’ve had posts locked out of a fitness forum for promoting unhealthy diets I think its time I gave the obligatory health warnings.

Protein saving modified fast (PSMF)

The velocity diet is an example of a protein saving modified fast (PSMF). I’ve done a number of these diets over the past few years. The velocity diet is one of the more extreme versions. On the velocity diet you are not allowed any solid food. Refeeds and cheat meals are limited. On other PSMF diets like Lyle McDonald’s Rapid fat loss diet you do get to eat solid food you get some cheat meals. Before attempting anything like this you really need to do your research. Lyle’s books are the best resource I know of. I would never have attempted the velocity diet without the experience of doing the less extreme diets first. I don’t recommend you do either.

Let me explain to you what to expect from a PSMF. The best way is to look at a graph of your daily morning weight through the 28 days. See below, I have graphed 4 different phases of Lyle’s Rapid fat loss diets. By the way, I “fixed” the weights so the graphs can be compared like for like. Don’t worry I didn’t go on a binge and put back on the lost weight every time.

[Click to enlarge]

A few Key points

Glycogen weight: This for me is the first 7lb I lose on the first 3-4 days of dieting. It’s mostly water and glycogen. Glycogen is the carbohydrate stored in your muscles. This is not fat loss; once you start eating normally you will put this back on again within a few days.

Refeeds: Rapid dieting is all about fooling your body. After about a week your body realises it is not getting as much food as it is used to and it starts adapting One of the ways it adapts is by protecting its body fat stores. Your body is designed to keep you alive. Your body is not designed for endless fat loss. Refeeds are one way of fooling your body into thinking its ok to keep burning up its fat stores. I’ll go into more detail in another post called “your body hates you” again this is something that is explained really well in all of Lyle’s books.

The psychology of dieting: As you can see I got my best results in the October 09 phase. This was my first effort and the one I was most focused. You can see from the graph I overdid some of the refeeds in later phases. See what happened in the last week when I was mentally exhausted? The key message here is, if you attempt this type of diet, give it everything. Clear your schedule of all distractions and focus 100%.

Fats: Get your fats right. I have found that using Udo’s oil works wonders. It has a huge affect on mood, energy levels, fullness and concentration. That is hugely important on these diets, especially if you have a day job and live with other people.