Help me figure this out

[Audacious1]

Ok, this is something that is gonna sound like one of those too good to be true things, but i is happening to me and i don't know why.

2 or 3 weeks ago i just got this whole f*** my clean diet mentality because i had reached a platau in terms of fat loss and muscle gains for so long and started eating stuff like cookies and donuts and just everything in site that was off limits to me for so long. Now what i don't understand is that in these 2-3 weeks, i have dropped fat...not gained, but dropped, even though i am eating this crap. I actually have definition in my abs which i never thought possible and my arm definition is awesome along with my butt and thighs. I am still eating every 2-3 hrs and do eat clean stuff once and a while like eggs and tuna and chicken and i am still on a strict training schedule. Nothing has changed except for the diet.

Now i am just confused at to why i seem to be dropping fat and adding more muscle. Is it maybe a shock to my metabolism and my body is working over time, or the fact that i am still eating small portions every few hours. I had also realized like 6-7 yrs ago when i never exercised that i dropped a lot of weight when i moved into my dad's house who always had donuts and cake around and i ate that shit like crazy, but munched small portions here and there, where as when i was living with my mom, i ate healthy all the time and never lost anything. Am i one of the lucky souls who's body reacts differently to this stuff, or will it catch up to me sooner or later?

 

[Audacious1]

Yeah, i had realized before when i was eating a clean diet, i wasn't getting enough calories and my body was probably holdin on to the fat for dear life.

i know today is my last day of eating this crap, then i am back to my clean diet tomorrow...UHHHH, but i am gonna enjoy myself tonight with a southwest chicken sub from subway and a caramel sundae...mmmmm. Then back to the gool ol chicken, oats and eggs.

Oh and BTW they were blueberry cake donuts

 

[Audacious1]

I am sure the blueberries weren't real, they tasted too much like candy

But i had kept a food journal for a while when i was eating clean and would be shocked at the end of the day to find that i was only eating between 800-1000 calories a day! Which i know was way too little for me. So i upped it for a while to 1800, but would always fall back into the low range b/c of forgetting to eat (yes i would forget to eat b/c of chasing after my 2 yr old all day and takin care of him and realizing a few hours later that i forgot to eat) That's when you know you have mommy brain. But i would rotate it from day to day, like on my leg days i'd up the calories and carbs for that day just to have enough energy to make it through my intense session. And on non training days, i'd just stick to eggs and chicken and tuna and lots of fiber and keep any carbs i did eat for the morning only. But now i realize i need a lot more calories b/c of the muscle i am gaining...my body is constantly starving! And i sweat like a pig when i eat b/c i think my body and metabolism is on overdrive.

 

[VeggieLifterChick]

Same thing has happened to me! Veggieburgers and fries and shit lately, and I lost an inch off my abs!

 

[lexi]

From my personal experience, at first I can eat whatever and my body burns it, but it does catch up with me in the long run if I eat like that too long. Everyone's body is different though!!

 

[MS]

And once again you've rediscovered the incredible anabolic substance called food! Geesh, women are such strange creatures. I guess the fear of gaining fat far outweighs the possibility of gaining muscle and losing fat by putting yourself in an anabolic state instead of a catabolic one. It is not rational and it's not healthy, but it seems to be the modern western mentality. The key to optimal drug free bodybuilding in my opinion is to spend as LITTLE time as possible in diet mode, not as MUCH time as you can. Of course this doesn't work so well for your average couch potato or folks who like the high rep pink dumbell training method. But if you're lifting intensely then you should be eating intensely most of the time.

 

[Audacious1]

MS, i could understand what you are saying if someone went overboard on normal clean foods and just ate and ate and ate the good stuff, but like i said i am eating high calorie, high fat, high carb foods and losing fat. I still doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Audacious1]

Yeah, back to clean for 2 days now...it's hard after all those days of tasty food...now i just close my eyes and pretend my eggs are donuts...but it's just not working

 

[MS]

In spite of all you may have heard or read, your body doesn't know the difference between "good" and "bad" food. If you've been restricting your calories, carbs, fats or all 3 for a while then you're body will crave these things and put them to good use. Have you ever watched a child grow up?? They play, they get hungry and eat, they sleep and they GROW. We're no different except we don't have as many natural growth hormones floating around. For sure if you ate junk all the time it might catch up with you. But if you could just learn to listen to your bodies (rather than your taste buds or television) and eat like a child eats you might find gaining muscle and keeping fat gain low is......child's play.

What I eat changes every day as it should. I don't expend the same amount of energy every day, and my hormones change through each month, as do the seasons and many other things. I eat MOSTLY clean foods in unlimited quantities as my body demands. After I've filled up on "good" foods (and I mean full to the brim) I almost never have room or desire for other stuff. But if I do have a craving then I indulge it without guilt or feeling that I have to work it off later. I admit that not everyone can get away with this because you need to take time (months/years) to reprogram the way you relate to food so that it's not a reward or a sin. It's just fuel. I remember after my last competition my body wanted junk 24/7. So I gave it junk until it didn't want it anymore. Yes I put on some fat, but that's inevitable post competition diet unless you maintain an eating disorder. This should be considered healthy, and I gained a lot more muscle than I did fat. Eventually my appetite returned to normal.

Now, I've got a pot with some Boston baked beans left over from last night that I need to slam down with some mexican rice before I hit the sheets.

 

[Audacious1]

Thanks MS!!!