several questions about Slow Carb Diet / Mehdi Fat Loss Tips

[lawdog]

hi everyone,
this is my first post in this forum, so please go easy on me!!! i have been doing SL 5x5 about 2-3 times a week for roughly two months now. i'm 5'10" and approximately 240 pounds (i think i was about 250 when i started) so i'm guessing i'm somewhere in the 30-40% bodyfat range. i have a long way to go... but anyways, i have several questions.

(for background: i'm basically trying to do the slow carb stuff along with mehdi's fat loss tips, with an emphasis on eating lots of Superfoods RX foods such as wild salmon, yogurt, spinach, etc thrown in)

1. beans/lentils. how often can i eat them? all the time? i REALLY like beans, FYI.

2. i looked at that glycemic index/glycemic load spreadsheet that medhi linked to. am i safe in assuming that i can pretty much eat anything that's in the green zone?

3. corn tortillas. good? bad? post workout only? they have a glycemic load of around 11 (10 and under is good) according to the spreadsheet

4. cheat days: how much can i eat? can i eat anything as long as it's in reasonable amounts? or can i eat as much as i want? can i eat an entire tub of ice cream, for instance? (not that i would, i don't really like sweets that much). should i still stick to the several small meals thing? or do i gorge myself?

5. cheat days: is there anything (aside from trans fats and processed/artificial stuff, which i try to stay away from in general) i should avoid?

6. i know that white potatoes are off limits. what about sweet potatoes / yams? pumkpin? squash?

7. fruit: medhi says eat fruit/veggies at every meal, but slow carb says fruit PWO only. which one is better? i really like oranges, bananas, mangoes, and blueberries, so i'd like to eat them as long as it doesn't keep me from losing fat.

8. i've been eating lots of spinach salad. is it ok to put raspberry dressing (35 calories/serving) on it? or should i just use olive oil + vinegar?

9. my general goal has been to eat "beans, greens and proteins" in every meal. does that seem like a good general rule?

10. finally, here are the things i've been eating regularly lately. any critiques?

PROTEIN
plain grilled chicken
canned wild salmon
hard boiled eggs
optimum nutrition gold standard protein powder
non fat cottage cheese
blue cheese (as a topping on salads)
various nuts (as topping on salads or as a snack)
vanilla yogurt w/extra probiotics (trader joe's brand)
flax seeds
beef about 2-3x a week
canned tuna
canned sardines in olive oil

CARBS
lentils
black beans
pinto beans
oatmeal in protein shake, PWO only

FRUITS/VEGGIES
steamed broccoli w/a slice of cheddar cheese on top (SO GOOD)
roasted asparagus
LOTS of spinach (in salads)
LOTS of arugala (salad)
sauteed mixed greens: mustard, turnip, collard (i eat these a lot, mixed into a bowl of beans/lentils or mixed into scrambled eggs in the morning)
bok choy
avocados
pomegranite seeds (as topping on salads)
roasted butternut squash
sweet potatoes
swiss chard (grows in my garden)
tomatoes

LIQUIDS
water
green tea
coffee 2-3x a week

[Demian]

Just a quick one about #7:
I would watch with fruits and only eat them post workout, (one banana here and there won't hurt of course) and stick to berries and veggies on non training days as they have all the good stuff of fruits minus the sugar.

[mpetry]

agree with demian: in general, fruits are inferior to vegetables in many ways. vegetables contain the vitamins without the sugar. I would stick to fruits post workout only and vegetables at every other meal.

[atypical1]

Lot's of great questions. I'll do my best based on my previous experience with losing weight.

1. Are you a vegetarian? I would limit bean consumption somewhat simply because they are not a complete protein. I'd have them with brown rice but I would still cut back a bit I think.

2. Yes, green zone is good.

3. I would only eat whole wheat tortillas and only in limited amounts. First corn tortillas are corn which while not demonic aren't great for trying to lose weight. Tortillas are also processed which is bad. Eat whole foods and not processed ones.

4. I am not a fan of cheat days and find that they only hamper progress. But if you must have them then change your idea of what cheating is. Maybe that's your corn tortilla and black bean burrito day instead of hamburger day.

5. Sweet potatoes are OK but I would still really limit my consumption of them. Maybe only eat sweet potatoes on your cheat day.

6. That's been covered. The exception I think are things like blueberries. I ate as many of those as I wanted and still lost a good chunk of body fat.

7. You can use whatever dressing (especially in those limited quantities) but really check the sugar content.

8. I would eat greens and protein in every meal and limit your bean use.

9. In general your diet is pretty sound. I would just make a couple of small tweaks.

james

[ybeayf]

3. I would only eat whole wheat tortillas and only in limited amounts. First corn tortillas are corn which while not demonic aren't great for trying to lose weight. Tortillas are also processed which is bad. Eat whole foods and not processed ones.

How is "processed" defined? Certainly, tortillas are more processed than just eating plain corn on the cob, but tortillas made from fresh corn masa (or even masa harina) are just ground nixtamalized corn and water, which means they're not any more processed than pickles. I've yet to see a mass-produced wheat "tortilla" that, besides being an abomination to all that is Mexican, didn't have some sort of weird chemical in it. The real issue with tortillas is just their carb content, like any other grain product.

[atypical1]

How is "processed" defined? Certainly, tortillas are more processed than just eating plain corn on the cob, but tortillas made from fresh corn masa (or even masa harina) are just ground nixtamalized corn and water, which means they're not any more processed than pickles. I've yet to see a mass-produced wheat "tortilla" that, besides being an abomination to all that is Mexican, didn't have some sort of weird chemical in it. The real issue with tortillas is just their carb content, like any other grain product.

True. The reason I answered the way that I did is that the OP likes tortillas and wanted to keep them if possible. I don't think that corn has much of place in a fat loss diet and at least the whole wheat ones have a decent amount of fiber in them (at least the ones that I buy on occasion do).

Also, depending upon where he buys his tortillas they might be processed more than you think. That is unless he's buying them from a local merchant who makes them fresh or he himself makes them fresh. But then that's really the only way to buy tortillas now isn't it?

james

[lawdog]

thanks for the tips everyone. i've basically cut tortillas out of my diet (not easy when you're mexican).

[ybeayf]

thanks for the tips everyone. i've basically cut tortillas out of my diet (not easy when you're mexican).

It's harsh, I know. (I've had to go through a similar adjustment.) Just remember that it's more than made up for by the incredible variety of slow/no carb dishes that Mexican cuisine offers, and that chickpea flour can be used to make pseudo-tortillas, too. Now a substitute for pan dulce, that could be a bit more difficult...