Chrissy's-Modified RFL (Cat 1 w/ Cat 3 Cheat Meals)

Well, I figured now is the time to jump right in and get the advice of others. I've been reading a lot of female logs and I really think that the support here is unmatched (as well as the honesty).

So, here is my plan...I read Lyle McDonald's Rapid Fat Loss Handbook and I think it's fabulous; HOWEVER, I know myself quite well and my adherence to such a restrictive diet/minimal working out would not be very high. I've decided to do RFL as a category 1 but I will be utilizing the 2 "cheat meals" as per the category 3 guidelines. I don't claim to know more than Lyle but I do know myself. I am trying to reach my goals by doing what will work for ME--this means modifying the diet in a manner that will ensure success.

Here is my plan:

RFL style eating 3.5-4.5 days
= 1.5 to 2 grams of protein x 88 pounds LBM = 132-176 grams (tuna, egg whites, protein powder = 700 calories maximum)
= 6 grams of EFAs (54 calories maximum)
= spinach, leafy greens, mushrooms (150-200 calories maximum)
= 1-2 servings dairy (as per the guidelines), I'll be using nonfat yogurt for this (200 calories maximum)

TOTAL CALORIES: Not to exceed 1200 but I will be aiming for 900-1000 daily (a few more if hunger gets the best of me--I'll just consume more protein)

The 3.5-4.5 days will be followed by a "cheat meal" as per category 3 guidelines

**the cheat meal will be composed of a comparable protein intake to my usual RFL days with ~125-150g net carbs and minimal fat. I figure that this will allow me to maintain my intensity in the gym as well as have the mental wherewithal to continue the diet for just that much longer.** (the total for this day will be 1800-2000 calories)


Workout wise:
=45 min SS jogging/elliptical each day (okay'd in the RFL handbook)
= 2-3 strength workouts each week / 15-20 work sets per workout (I'll do strength after my carb up day--If I can't get hack it on the 2nd workout day (pre-carb up) then I won't do it but I might just do machines for a couple sets instead)


Now for the stats:
I'm 4'11, 107.6 pounds, 24, 18% bodyfat or thereabouts. I gained about 10 pounds during the summer and I'm just lacking confidence these days.

So, my goal is really to just shed 3-4 pounds TOTAL (3 from fat). I don't want to crash my metabolism in the process or lose loads of muscle mass so that's why I've implemented the "cheat meals" but in a controlled manner. I figure that I have about 20 pounds of fat..losing 3 of them will make my final BF ~16% which is still higher than it was this summer but more maintainable in the long run.

I am open to suggestions and I plan to weigh in weekly or bi-weekly. I don't like freaking out over scale fluctuations--especially considering I'll have higher and lower carb days.

Some background--Saturday was REFEED--to restore all hormones. I was cutting slightly--eating 1800ish calories a day (I maintain on 2100-2200 based on all my estimates) and wanted to ensure that I was off to a good start. I ate A TON. Probably gaining a pound or so in 1 day (ate 5000 calories ...literally).

So, Sunday I fasted most of the day --then had a meal before bed.

yesterday's macros:
536 calories. 11 fat/ 41 carbs (11 fiber --so 30g net carbs) / and 71g protein

Today:
I've logged my food already (and I use a food scale):

TOTAL CALORIES: 975. 17g fat/ 54g carbs (25g fiber --so 29 net carbs) / and 156 grams of protein.

*Note I add psyllium husk to my diet which increases the fiber content but skews the calorie total so if it's off that's likely why.

I'll weigh in on Thursday morning (first cheat meal) so that I can see where I stand after I lose some of this water weight.

A maintenance of 2100-2200 seems a little high. As a guy, my (sedentary) maintenance is a little under 1800 -- even factoring in workouts, I'm only at 2250.

[QUOTE=Voxmusculus;960904663]A maintenance of 2100-2200 seems a little high. As a guy, my (sedentary) maintenance is a little under 1800 -- even factoring in workouts, I'm only at 2250.[/QUOTE]

I've been tracking for SEVERAL years--It's consistent with scooby's workshop, katch mcardle, and i have a bodymedia fit...according to it I currently burn ~2600-2800 on average; however, in March i did a little experiment--I ate at 75% of my BMF and maintained (during this time I was burning more like 2800-3000 on average according to the BMF) which was approx. 2100-2400 on any given day.

I run 5-10 miles per day USUALLY and lift 3x a week, no car either so I walk to/from the store for errands, to/from class, clean, cook, etc.

Hope that makes sense.

[QUOTE=chrissy1988;960909223]I've been tracking for SEVERAL years--It's consistent with scooby's workshop, katch mcardle, and i have a bodymedia fit...according to it I currently burn ~2600-2800 on average; however, in March i did a little experiment--I ate at 75% of my BMF and maintained (during this time I was burning more like 2800-3000 on average according to the BMF) which was approx. 2100-2400 on any given day.

I run 5-10 miles per day USUALLY and lift 3x a week, no car either so I walk to/from the store for errands, to/from class, clean, cook, etc.

Hope that makes sense.[/QUOTE]

So currently I figure 75% of 2700 calories is 2025 on a moderate day--some days my burn is nearer to the 3000 level.

I thought this might help:

Sedentary maintenance ~1450 calories
Cardio (minimum calorie burn) ~ 375 calories (5 mile run)
Weights (20-30 minutes) ~100-150 calories
Errands/walking (usually 60-90 minutes per day) ~150 calories

= 2075-2125 on a moderate day

On the days when I'm doing 7-10 miles my burn is somewhere between 2250-2400 calories, so it averages out to 2100-2200 for the entire week.

[QUOTE=chrissy1988;960909223]I've been tracking for SEVERAL years--It's consistent with scooby's workshop, katch mcardle, and i have a bodymedia fit...according to it I currently burn ~2600-2800 on average; however, in March i did a little experiment--I ate at 75% of my BMF and maintained (during this time I was burning more like 2800-3000 on average according to the BMF) which was approx. 2100-2400 on any given day.

I run 5-10 miles per day USUALLY and lift 3x a week, no car either so I walk to/from the store for errands, to/from class, clean, cook, etc.

Hope that makes sense.[/QUOTE]

That does, and it makes a lot of sense. :) If you're running a lot daily, I can see how that would matter. I love running (when I cut) and it always amazes me at how many calories it burns.

I actually put together a spreadsheet with the formulas (Harris-Benedict, Mifflin-St Jeor, and Katch-McArdle), and I just track calories a little differently -- I just calculate my TDEE and add/subtract workout calories separately.

I'm fu@king hungry. Moments like this make me wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing instead of just being happy with where I am, enjoying the winter months, and cutting sometime in March/April like a "normal" person. Lol. I'll see just how long I can last on this. Will not break, will not break.

[QUOTE=chrissy1988;960937083]I'm fu@king hungry. Moments like this make me wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing instead of just being happy with where I am, enjoying the winter months, and cutting sometime in March/April like a "normal" person. Lol. I'll see just how long I can last on this. Will not break, will not break.[/QUOTE]

LOL. Well, that's why I started bulking in Fall -- and will resume my cut in Feb/March. ;-)

And oh, I love Greek yogurt, not the non-fat kind but the ones with 2% fat. I find that they have a higher satiety than most other things out there. Well, not including cheeseburgers with fries, of course.

Well, I really really really wanted to break and eat all the foods. I did no such thing-- I kept to low fat, low carb foods (mostly egg whites) but I also went on an hour long walk to burn a few more calories. My deficit won't be so extreme after this but I really wanted to put a dent in the 3500 surplus from Saturday. I should be back to square one (deficit wise) by Wednesday morning but I will have the added bonus of a few pounds down from pure water weight.


**I'M A NUMBERS JUNKIE BY THE WAY--IT'S ALL THEORETICAL BUT PLANNING HELPS ME TO STAY ON TRACK**

(i realize some people think it's futile and I respect that but I really just like making a plan and assessing what actually happened, then modifying the plan according to real-life results)

So at the end of today-- If I control myself--I will be at 1272 calories, 225 grams protein, 34 net carbs, 15g fat. This should be a deficit of 1020.

Yesterday's deficit was 1839.

So that will put me at 2859 (total 2 day deficit) by tomorrow.

3500 (surplus from Saturday) - 2859 = 641 (minimum target deficit for tomorrow).

I'm thinking of eating about 75 calories worth of mini 3 musketeers before I lift on Wednesday for the glucose/energy. Anyone have any thoughts as to how long before my lift I should do that?

Good luck with your cut.

I just started a 3 Week RFL cut myself today as well.

I'm following the guidelines for Category 2 in everything.

[QUOTE=TheNormalMan;961075253]Good luck with your cut.

I just started a 3 Week RFL cut myself today as well.

I'm following the guidelines for Category 2 in everything.[/QUOTE]

Thank you! Good luck to you as well!

Alright so weights + low cal on Sunday = extreme hunger yeaterday.

I did a bit more exercise to keep 1000 cal deficit but I ate more protein before bed.

Today's workout LISS cardio, breakfast was a low carb protein bar--5 net carbs total. I know it's not allowed but it was a better "bad choicel as I was having some serious cravings.

Today I have class so I'm out of the house from 1:50-6:10 which is GREAT because I can stick to my plan a bit easier when I am away from temptation.

Cals are logged at 1068, fat =27, carbs = 10g net, protein = 159.

Tomorrow I lift so I'll try to behave but will allow some carbs/more cals around my workout instead of on Thursday.

Still playing with the rest of my week after that--i might skip a workout (maybe friday) and move it to saturday or something since i want carbs low thurs/fri after eating more on weds.

I guess I'll plan it by feel. I know that I want to be leanest by Friday morningS what are your thoughts? This is already my 3rd day and I feel like I'm looking pretty lean--so 2 low days should suffice (weds/thurs).

I do know that on Friday morning ill do a Depletion workout. Then start my refeed for 3 days. Then come off it with a pure protein day with higher cals to flush out any excess water. Resume moderate deficit till November first.

Grrrr..I hate feeling like a quitter because I'm NOT...this is day 3. I feel meh, hungry but okay I guess. I was just asking a friend who had done it what he thought...he seemed anti RFL and I asked whether a week would be advisable..his advice:

"It's been a little while since I did it, but this is what I wrote up in a forum post afterwards of some of my symptoms:

"1. Small headache at around 4-5pm each day building slowly into a splitting headache at around 10-11pm each night, even though I'm drinking over 5 litres of water every day.
2. Struggle to actually get to sleep even though I'm exhausted.
3. Waking up almost every single hour, 6-8 times during the night.
4. COMPLETE lack of energy. Getting up off the couch is a serious effort, let alone the few weights sessions I've attempted. A half hour walk had me completely drained and exhausted.
5. During weights sessions, even lifting at 60-70% of what weight I normally do, doing 2 sets instead of 3-4, I felt nauseous, struggled to lift it, and almost passed out at one stage.
6. Bowel movements from one extreme to the other. Yeah folks, that's from constipation for days in the beginning right through to diarrhea.
7. I'm a complete grumpy bum. My family is suffering due to me being so grumpy and short with them all the time.
8. Concentrating is hard and I've been slightly worried while driving, especially coming home from work one night. "


Hmmmmm..
In theory; yes I think it would work.
However I don't think the symptoms would be minimised; they were worst from days 2-7, then for days 8/9/10 everything seemed to be getting a bit better.
I'm not sure if the strength losses would be as significant if you kept it to shorter 3-5 day periods; but at the same time I think that most of the results came from days 5-10, so cutting it at 5 days would reduce it's effectiveness.

But is it feasible... it depends on how strong you are mentally.
It's just not worth it though. Especially if you're working or studying. The same results can be seen in 3 weeks and you'll be a much better off person for it."

Well, I think the jury is out...my BF would be really pissed at me if I went through with this (since I'm having some hormonal issues due to overtraining and low BF%) and I feel like I could wind up causing myself harm. I LIKE TO WORKOUT...so maybe I'll just have spurts of higher DEFICITS/low carb (as per RFL) and maintenance days.

So, my plan for the rest of this week:


Tuesday (today): have a 750 deficit, low carb (35g net or less), fasted cardio

Wednesday (tomorrow): higher carbs (200g), lifting AND cardio [[0 deficit]]

Thursday: moderate carbs (100g), fasted cardio, [[250-375 deficit]]

Friday: higher carb (200g carbs), lifting and cardio [[250-375 deficit]]

Saturday: moderate carb (100g), fasted cardio, long run (10 miles) [[375-500 deficit]]



Sunday: rest day, low carb (50g net or less), maintenance [[0 deficit]]

Monday: higher carbs (200g), lifting AND cardio [[250-375 deficit]]

Tuesday: moderate carbs (100g), fasted cardio, [[250-375 deficit]]

Wednesday: PRE-WORKOUT CARBS ONLY, lifting AND cardio, [[250-375 deficit]]

Thursday: **ULTRA LOW CARB** (20g or less) [[375-500 deficit]]

Friday-Monday: Done, refeed for a few days.


TOTAL deficit: 3050 (MAX) but as few as ~2000 ---> ~.6 to .87# down, hopefully all fat. That would mean only 2-3 pounds to go.

Weighed myself today --with water loss, I'm now at 106.4. UGW = 100-105 (versus my once easily maintained 95-100 pounds). So if I can get to 102 I should be at 105 once water weight returns.

Gosh..the BF thinks I'm "dumb" for wanting to lose weight--maybe he's right. Thinking of taking it easy. After today I'll return to a moderate approach. The desire to lose weight is partly just a numbers obsession for me. I started lifting REALLY heavy, gained about 7-9 pounds or so. I am wanting to be a certain weight for no REAL reason other than I was once lighter (with less muscle mass) and want to be back there. I feel like I've failed myself by gaining weight.

The scale plays fu*king mindgames. UGH! So..this will be my "LOG" for whatever I'm doing at the time. I flip-flop a lot, change plans, and reassess frequently. The things that don't change...

1) counting my calories burned
2) counting my calories consumed
3) lifting heavy 2-3x a week
4) doing cardio 5-6x a week

Even with a changed plan I always know the NUMBERS...I can always look back and see what did/didn't work.

[QUOTE=chrissy1988;961371453]Grrrr..I hate feeling like a quitter because I'm NOT...this is day 3. I feel meh, hungry but okay I guess. I was just asking a friend who had done it what he thought...he seemed anti RFL and I asked whether a week would be advisable..his advice:

"It's been a little while since I did it, but this is what I wrote up in a forum post afterwards of some of my symptoms:

"1. Small headache at around 4-5pm each day building slowly into a splitting headache at around 10-11pm each night, even though I'm drinking over 5 litres of water every day.
2. Struggle to actually get to sleep even though I'm exhausted.
3. Waking up almost every single hour, 6-8 times during the night.
4. COMPLETE lack of energy. Getting up off the couch is a serious effort, let alone the few weights sessions I've attempted. A half hour walk had me completely drained and exhausted.
5. During weights sessions, even lifting at 60-70% of what weight I normally do, doing 2 sets instead of 3-4, I felt nauseous, struggled to lift it, and almost passed out at one stage.
6. Bowel movements from one extreme to the other. Yeah folks, that's from constipation for days in the beginning right through to diarrhea.
7. I'm a complete grumpy bum. My family is suffering due to me being so grumpy and short with them all the time.
8. Concentrating is hard and I've been slightly worried while driving, especially coming home from work one night. "


Hmmmmm..
In theory; yes I think it would work.
However I don't think the symptoms would be minimised; they were worst from days 2-7, then for days 8/9/10 everything seemed to be getting a bit better.
I'm not sure if the strength losses would be as significant if you kept it to shorter 3-5 day periods; but at the same time I think that most of the results came from days 5-10, so cutting it at 5 days would reduce it's effectiveness.

But is it feasible... it depends on how strong you are mentally.
It's just not worth it though. Especially if you're working or studying. The same results can be seen in 3 weeks and you'll be a much better off person for it."[/QUOTE]

I don't think everyone will experience the way he felt when doing this diet.

I did 8 full weeks on a near liquid diet with only a few cheat meals and solid meals scattered throughout the whole time and I never felt as bad as that guy posted.

Now granted, I had my restless nights and hunger pangs, but nothing that wasn't unbearable.

Can't say for sure how I'll feel on this RFL plan, but I don't think it'll be bad at all, at least for me.

Going to have my free meal Thursday night, for my mid week break and then my refeed on Sunday as outlined for Category 2 dieters.

I'm doing it IF style so I don't have my first meal until 2 PM in the afternoon then spread out my calories over 3 meals so I get about 65-70 grams of protein + veggies every four hours until bed.

Not saying it won't be different on this diet than the Velocity Diet was, but there's a lot of similarities between em.

Just take it one day at a time and time your free meals and refeeds effectively so you get the most benefit from them.

I think that's the key to success for this diet.

[QUOTE=TheNormalMan;961474573]I don't think everyone will experience the way he felt when doing this diet.

I did 8 full weeks on a near liquid diet with only a few cheat meals and solid meals scattered throughout the whole time and I never felt as bad as that guy posted.

Now granted, I had my restless nights and hunger pangs, but nothing that wasn't unbearable.

Can't say for sure how I'll feel on this RFL plan, but I don't think it'll be bad at all, at least for me.

Going to have my free meal Thursday night, for my mid week break and then my refeed on Sunday as outlined for Category 2 dieters.

I'm doing it IF style so I don't have my first meal until 2 PM in the afternoon then spread out my calories over 3 meals so I get about 65-70 grams of protein + veggies every four hours until bed.

Not saying it won't be different on this diet than the Velocity Diet was, but there's a lot of similarities between em.

Just take it one day at a time and time your free meals and refeeds effectively so you get the most benefit from them.

I think that's the key to success for this diet.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for your input. Thinking of carb/calorie cycling. LM says that RFL can be done for 4 days to get rapid results or plan for something. I'll just view this mini stint as that. I don't function well without exercise and he doesn't recommend MUCH. So I think I should take a hint and modify it --BASICALLY ABANDON IT--to suit my needs. Maybe incorporate 2-3 days at a time every 2 weeks or something.

hey, just checking in cause i'm also on day 3 of RFL (or psmf, w/e) and also feeling like chit lol. but i hear the 3rd day is the worst and you start to feel better on the 4th, so i'm just kinda trucking on through. only doing this until next thursday so i figure a week and a half of suffering is worth jump-starting the last leg of my cut. definitely looking forward to bulking more than ever before right about now though haha.

what foods are you eating? i'm pretty much exclusively working with extra lean ground turkey and fat free cottage cheese, and then protein shakes to make up the protein i need w/o extra fat/carbs. link to my log is in my sig if you're interested. i'm gonna try to lift in a little bit but no idea how that's gonna work out.

[QUOTE=earthshieldlol;961497213]hey, just checking in cause i'm also on day 3 of RFL (or psmf, w/e) and also feeling like chit lol. but i hear the 3rd day is the worst and you start to feel better on the 4th, so i'm just kinda trucking on through. only doing this until next thursday so i figure a week and a half of suffering is worth jump-starting the last leg of my cut. definitely looking forward to bulking more than ever before right about now though haha.

what foods are you eating? i'm pretty much exclusively working with extra lean ground turkey and fat free cottage cheese, and then protein shakes to make up the protein i need w/o extra fat/carbs. link to my log is in my sig if you're interested. i'm gonna try to lift in a little bit but no idea how that's gonna work out.[/QUOTE]

Eating egg whites, tilapia, canned tuna, and greens. I planned on having some yogurt but the carbs are too high. I need a refeed desperately. I did too much working out today (about 90 minutes plus walking, plus 8 minutes of abs)...I wanted to be able to eat MORE without ruining my 1000 calorie deficit. It's so hard for me to shake this mentality. Since my calorie needs are in the low 2000s I have to exercise in order to eat 1200ish calories a day.

Sooo I ate 1500 calories but worked out like a mad woman. Deficit was 834 so I'm in the clear for Saturdays mishap.

Today I forgot my journal at home--so fasted cardio and then around lunchtime I'll lift and do 15 minutes elliptical. I'm eating more carbs today :) yay!!!

Calories will be 0-250 deficit. That should be 2100 calories minimum.

So yesterday I worked out A LOT and I needed to replenish my lepton after 3 days of intense "dieting" so I ate ~2550 calories (50g fat, 160g net carbs, and 287g protein).

today I has a pre-workout snack for 400 calories and I'll eat a 300 calorie dinner. My deficit should be 1500, so an average of 750 between today and yesterday. I think that's awesome!

Tomorrow I'll resume the plan I laid out yesterday.

I am no longer even attempting the rfl diet. it's just too extreme for me and I dont have the willpower. Instead, I will implement the principles a few times a week when I'm feeling strong.

With that...im PLANNING 3 RFL (ish) days at 1000 calories (sun/mon/tues) however if Tuesday I am too hungry I'll have a 1500 calorie day and a lower day on Thursday.

So my cals will be:

1000/1000/1000/2000/1000

Or

1000/1000/1500/1500/1000

4 of 5 days will be 35g or less net carbs, one day will be 100+ net carbs (likely Wednesday).

The average intake is 1200 total but the higher days should help with leptin levels and adherence.

Come on girl, don't give up now. You've barely been going for a week. Keep fighting.

If you're doing the plan exactly based on what you said, you should be having at least two free meals a week.

I'm on day 7 right now and have my 5 hour refeed for later tonight.

Make the diet work for you. If I can do this, so can you. Make your mind up and make it happen.

This diet is tough but results are always the greatest motivator.

Don't quit now.

[QUOTE=TheNormalMan;963935913]Come on girl, don't give up now. You've barely been going for a week. Keep fighting.

If you're doing the plan exactly based on what you said, you should be having at least two free meals a week.

I'm on day 7 right now and have my 5 hour refeed for later tonight.

Make the diet work for you. If I can do this, so can you. Make your mind up and make it happen.

This diet is tough but results are always the greatest motivator.

Don't quit now.[/QUOTE]

I find it so difficult not to workout and I figure that I can have a comparable deficit working out and eating slightly higher cals. Thanks for the encouragement!

I'm doing RFL and I'm still going to lift at least 4-5 days per week with some intervals.

I'm not really scaling back my volume of working out even on RFL. I'm just decreasing the length of time each session a tiny bit and upping the intensity.

If anything, I find I'm getting stronger and working harder while on RFL than before.

Sooo I've been taking these hormones to try to induce my menstrual cycle--medroxyprogrsterone--apparently the "medroxy" portion stimulates appetite. No freaking wonder this has been like IMPOSSIBLE for me. I didn't even think about how hormones would impact my normal appetite.

I'll give some plan an honest shot once these are out of my system. I'm eating at a slight deficit and I'll be cutting basically all carbs tomorrow and Thursday--aside from an already planned froyo trip tomorrow--keeping the carb total to about 30g between the 2 days should flush out any water weight. Taking a mild diuretic as well.

My goal is just a flat stomach, a calorie buffer to prevent any overall weight gain this month (since I'll be eating lots of "treats" this weekend), and then starting the 23rd or so I'll make sure I get a deficit equivalent to my surplus from this weekend--shouldn't be too hard really.

I'm thinking that my upper limit will be 2500 calories for the 4 days--which will be a 750 surplus or so each day since my training volume will decrease. only 3000 calories total and I'll have 9 days to work it off--400 calorie deficit will leave me in a better place than before the indulgent 4 days :)