Too much fruit? And transition to recomp/maintenance.

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

1.Kind of a If It Fits Your Macros IIFYM question. If I am able to keep within my carb goals does it matter if I get most of them from fruits? I generally stick to higher fiber fruits like strawberries and blackberries. But my other staple are apples and pears (with a banana before workout).

Admittedly I have been overshooting carbs and this is part of it. But want to make sure that it’s just a total calorie issue and not a problem as far as the sugars go.

Part of this is being scared of carbs from bread, pasta, rice, etc. That’s a whole seperate psychology things I need to figure out. As a former low carb dieter, I am still trying to undo some of my old thinking.

  1. On transitioning to recomp, do you have any guidance about how to change the though process? My calorie reduction RPE is getting too high and I’m just bored with my food options right now. I am getting some binge urges, but I am keeping them mostly in check (probably just hitting my maintenance calories - weight has held steady). Goal 2100 calories, but I am probably actually eating closer to 2200-2250 for an average week.

I am trying to slowly add 100 calories/day every week or two (starting this week). My struggle has been a fear of rebound. Catastrophizing wont help, so I am trying to shift my expectations/focus away from food to perfomance under the bar.

I may just need a break from weighing, measuring, and logging everything. I can give myself permission to take a diet deload for a week. As long as I stick with single ingredient foods, and not go crazy with portions things shouldn’t get too out of hand. Need to remember that this is about lifestyle change and 1 week wont make or break anything. Focusing on the habits I have built matters way more.

This whole post feels like I am asking permission to take a diet break before dissipating diet fatigue before reengaging and getting down to the 34in waist goal. I am in control, and am giving myself the permission. Keep an eye on the scale and waist circumference, if anything starts creeping up, then it’s time to start refocusing to avoid a rebound. And as far as the binging cravings, obviously need to talk to someone about that to make sure I figure out what’s driving those.

Sorry for the stream of conciousness. Trying to answer my own questions a bit, as I see you try to reinforce people’s self-efficacy on posts at times.

37yo male, 185lbs 5’8"
Waist is somewhere between 36-37in.
(lost 40lbs in 6 months on Beginner Prescription, TBAB, and PowerBuilding)

Lastly, thanks for everything you guys do. While I have had a tough couple days, I feel so much happier, healthier and stronger. I think to myself every so often that Barbell Medicine has helped me save my life and be around longer for my family. Cant thank you guys enough.

2

Adam,

Thanks for the post. Let’s see if we can provide some answers:

  1. Doesn’t matter at all. Don’t be scared of whole grains, as they tend to improve weight loss/maintenance and health outcomes.

  2. I would just add 500-600kCal and see what happens, though I probably wouldn’t advise removing all objective metrics of food quantity. You can definitely overeat on single ingredient foods.

Finally, you can definitely take a diet break if you want. I’d prefer there to still be some objective metrics in there to help guide the way, however if this increases some unhealthy feelings/behaviors towards food- I would recommend working with/seeing a professional about this, e.g. a psychologist and/or RD.

1 Like
3

AdamP,

I’ll share my experiences with a popular commercial weight-loss through habit change program in hopes that it may help you reframe some thoughts. n=1, your milage may vary, I’m not a doctor.

  1. Remember that no food is ‘forbidden’ or ‘bad’. It just needs to fit into your budget. I found it very helpful to insert some ‘less efficient’ foods into my budget in the morning so that I didn’t feel bad eating them later in the day. It helped me plan the rest of my day so that they fit into my other nutritional goals. Then, I was rewarded with my desired food guilt-free.

  2. Forgive yourself for over-budget days. You’ve already lost 40lbs! That’s amazing work. However, forgive yourself AFTER you make a non-budget friendly choice. Personally, I found it very difficult to get back on track if I ‘took the weekend off’ as it ended up really just being an excuse to be lazy. However, if I KNEW that I was going to be traveling or going to an event where keeping right on my macro/calorie count was going to be difficult, I’d plan ahead for what I thought would be there so I wouldn’t accidentally eat 2x calories for a few days. I’d still be over-budget, but it was a managed splurge. Staying in complete control at all times was very important for me to not drop the habit. That said, going to every-other day logging/weighing could have some great benefits for your quality of life.

  3. Are you just ‘mouth hungry’? Find low-calorie ways to satisfy mouth hunger. For me, I was able to cut out a bunch of calories from after-work drinks by adding flavored bitters to 0 calorie flavored seltzer. I was in a habit of having some flavor after work. Can you find a way to satisfy your need for flavors without binging on the food?

I admire your progress. You’re doing great.

1 Like