Rapid Fat Loss Handbook

[badsanta488]

So I'm currently reading "The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook" by Lyle McDonald and would really appreciate any feedback and opinions on it, especially from the guys who have tried this technique before.

For the guys who are not familiar with it:

100% protein and close to zero carbs and fats for 2 weeks straight.

1.5 -2g protein per lb of LBM, so usually under 1000 cals/day total.

Lean chicken, whey protein, tuna, low fat cottage cheese and fish oil caps pretty much make up the whole diet, along with lots of non-starchy vegetables and water.

Other supplementation includes calcium, potassium, sodium, magnesium, and a multivitamin.

The lifting is full body twice per week but the sets are reduced by 2/3. The total sets is only 2 per body part with rep ranges of 4-8.

After the two weeks are up you can either 'carb up' like a keto diet with lots of carbs and calories to get your thyroid etc. back to normal, or you can gradually increase your calories over the course of the week while going into maintenance mode.

I'm not fat by any means, probably around 8-10%, but would really like to be able to lose the last 5+ lbs in a short time. Assuming i have the willpower, is this technique possible to pull off without fucking up my metabolism and/or eating away muscle?

 

[future]

Anything RAPID is most likely gonna burn some muscle. I would just go the slow steady route.

 

[badsanta488]

bump.

c'mon guys, some of you have had to have tried this before

 

[sbt2082]

Anything RAPID is most likely gonna burn some muscle. I would just go the slow steady route.

I'm gonna echo that!!

Especially if you want the results to stick around! Anything done RAPID is more prone to rebound anyways.

 

[SouthernLord]

Yeah. Sounds like a good way to burn up a lot of precious muscle. What's the rush?

 

[fortunatesun]

I've done similar. Not as this specific program, just to see what happens.

IMO this kind of thing can be done for the short time period described. A couple of things I found useful:

Don't shortchange yourself on the greens because they're a vital link in the chain.

Get a high quality fish oil (liquid form is cheaper, a consideration due to the amounts taken) and take between 15 and 20 gr. a day. This will help you burn fat and make you a little less fragile during this time.

Don't kill yourself. If you feel yourself starting to get hammered, an occasional cup of brown rice won't defeat your mission. I little moderation is better than pushing and ending up out of it when d-day arrives.

 

[miplank]

I agree with everyone else. Losing it too fast is gonna burn up muscle, and soon as you quit you'll most likely put all of it if not more back on.


slow and steady wins the race

 

[badsanta488]

I've done similar. Not as this specific program, just to see what happens.

IMO this kind of thing can be done for the short time period described. A couple of things I found useful:

Don't shortchange yourself on the greens because they're a vital link in the chain.

Get a high quality fish oil (liquid form is cheaper, a consideration due to the amounts taken) and take between 15 and 20 gr. a day. This will help you burn fat and make you a little less fragile during this time.

Don't kill yourself. If you feel yourself starting to get hammered, an occasional cup of brown rice won't defeat your mission. I little moderation is better than pushing and ending up out of it when d-day arrives.

nice. this is what im talking about
thanks a lot for sharing your experience with this. how did you return to maintenance? did you do a large carb-up, or more of a slow increase in cals/carbs over the course of the week?

to the rest of the members: i know there is no rush to burn fat, but lyle mcdonald seems to be a pretty respected guy in the industry which is why i didn't just brush off his method. i think something like this can be done safely when it is run for a short time and done correctly

 

[fortunatesun]

If a remember correctly, I had a large meal or two with the space of 5 hrs. and then cut back to almost zero and slowly worked my way back up until I felt comfortable.

True about McDonald. From the. little I've read, his views seem to be mainstream.

 

[Burpees]

I lost a shit ton of weight on the diet in that book. i love all of his books..

I went from 305lbs and made it to 195lbs.. made it back up to 210lbs (my avatar)..been here ever since..

 

[badsanta488]

If a remember correctly, I had a large meal or two with the space of 5 hrs. and then cut back to almost zero and slowly worked my way back up until I felt comfortable.

True about McDonald. From the. little I've read, his views seem to be mainstream.

Did you take any specific precautions to retain muscle? I think Lyle mentioned 200mg caffeine and 20mg ephedrine 3x per day to help, which seems excessive. You're supposed to start off with smaller doses at first though, if i remember correctly.

 

[badsanta488]

I lost a shit ton of weight on the diet in that book. i love all of his books..

I went from 305lbs and made it to 195lbs.. made it back up to 210lbs (my avatar)..been here ever since..

Nice

Which diet did you follow? The Rapid Fat Loss method, UD 2.0, CKD etc...?

 

[fortunatesun]

No programmed diet, just experimenting with what I knew about my personal metabolism. I'd been lax in my eating habits and knew carbs to be the culprit. I wasn't expecting major fat loss but thought if I quit cold turkey it would then be easier to rebuild from the floor up.

I easily lost a couple lbs., but the way I am, it takes a few weeks of effort to get the momentum for steady fat burning. And to be honest, while too many carbs is easily my downfall, none at all starts grinding on me mentally.

 

[Burpees]

Did you take any specific precautions to retain muscle? I think Lyle mentioned 200mg caffeine and 20mg ephedrine 3x per day to help, which seems excessive. You're supposed to start off with smaller doses at first though, if i remember correctly.

you're supposed to start slow with the EC stack.. the bromo helps retain muscle, so does the protein and fat in the diet.