maintainable body fat %

[Nonerz]

Re: Re: Re: Re: maintainable body fat %

THANKS !!
It's called Athletic Fitness and is like a figure competition with chins and dips max out and some kind of obstacle course ( sp ? ).
I'm carbloading right now and beginning to get tired of white rice...

NF

Hey that competition sounds pretty fun! You say you're tired of white rice? Man, I miss my rice...haven't had much lately at all...and I grew up with it as an everyday staple.

 

[Ceebs]

In my experience, leptin cravings from dieting too hard too long are the worst. PMS munchies can be managed by taking extra 5-HTP during the luteal phase, and simply putting down enough food (why do you gals think I eat such ungodly amounts of broccoli?), but when low leptin rears its ugly head, eating something high calorie and high glycemic is literally all I can think about. It's so intense a feeling, I can't even put it into words - it's a survival response. Starts happening when I hit around 14% bodyfat, or have been training really hard without adequete calories. Me no likey.

Good luck with your comp, NorwayFitness.

 

[Nonerz]

Hey Ceebs, seems I keep running into you around this time at night! I recently purchased some 5-HTP and was wondering when the "luteal phase" occurs. Under what circumstances do you take 5-HTP (timing wise).

Broccoli is my friend. I successfully ate 1 1/2 pounds of broccoli in 2 days...not bad for a new broccoli fanatic. I don't go for that much broccoli these days, but I am consistently eating it (at least once a day). It's great to "fill the hole."

Leptin cravings...sounds interesting. I don't know anything about that, but I have been taking a good look at PMS symptom relief including curbing cravings, etcetera.

 

[Ceebs]

Hey Nonerz! We're really night owls, aren't we?

"Luteal phase" is just a fancy way of describing the week before one's period when one typically gets PMS symptoms. During it, the body makes less of a neurotransmitter called serotonin - resulting in cravings and crankiness. (There're other hormonal factors responsible for PMS, but serotonin is chiefly at fault for the "shovel food into your mouth with one hand and give somebody the finger with the other hand" urges.) 5-HTP is the precursor to serotonin, so by supplementing it where you body fails, you get less PMS symptoms... you probably know all that already, I'm just re-hashing it for any lurkers.

I take 150 milligrams on an empty stomach 45 minutes before my first meal every day, and take an additional 100 milligram bump mid-afternoon as far away from meals as possible when I'm PMSing. These doses might be a little high for you if you're just beginning to take it - too much 5-HTP can put you to sleep if you're not used to it - though some folks use it to treat insomnia, so this can be a good thing.

I've also got my (post-menopausal) mother on the 5-HTP train; she takes it for stress management when her job occasionally gets crazy, and has dropped a considerable amount of weight because she's not eating to feed emotions anymore.

 

[woof]

? for Ceebs

Hi Ceebs,
I was wondering if you still experience the "luteal phase cravings" that you described above, if you are on birth control. After much research on this site, I have chosen Allesse and have been doing well on it for several months. I do get cravings, however, I need to actually keep track of WHEN I get them and see if they are cyclical. Thanks.
Woof

 

[Nonerz]

"shovel food into your mouth with one hand and give somebody the finger with the other hand"

hey thanks for the explanation...I didn't know that! Now I can take it at the right times! Say, to help you sleep, when would you want to take it? An hour before bedtime, or still first thing on an empty stomach? I am such the night owl, but I neeeeed to get more sleep so I don't feel so overwhelmed/tired throughout the day.

 

[Ceebs]

Re: ? for Ceebs

Hi Ceebs,
I was wondering if you still experience the "luteal phase cravings" that you described above, if you are on birth control.

Cravings were the least of my problems when I was on hormonal birth control, but yes, I did experience them cyclically. I didn't know about 5-HTP yet at the time, so I wasn't taking it.

You might find it helpful to make up a chart, and every day record your mood, level of cravings, and anything else you think is pertainent on it. After several months, you'll probably see patterns - like, from the 15th-21st of every month, you're very calm and not craving anything, while the 22nd-28th is your luteal phase (assuming you menstruate on the 29th or 30th), et cetera.

You really learn a lot about yourself if you keep notes like this. And it's always been immensely comforting to me to know that if I'm in a bad mood, it's just an elaborate ballroom dance of hormones and neurotransmitters, and it is not because the world is ending.

 

[Ceebs]

Say, to help you sleep, when would you want to take it? An hour before bedtime, or still first thing on an empty stomach?

An hour before bedtime, on as empty a stomach as possible. (Tryptophan is an amino acid, and could compete with other amino's in your stomach for uptake.) It doesn't knock you out like Melatonin - it's subtle, you just feel relaxed and blissful.

Wish I could laugh at the , but I've been guilty of it. It's like that Carl's Jr. commercial - "don't bother me. I'm eating."

 

[Nonerz]

Thanks Ceebs...tried to give you karma, but I gotta "spread it around" more...

 

[woof]

Thanks Ceebs,
I think that I will start just such a log. I have been wanting to do that for a while - it should be interesting.