Review of my "Skipload".....(So far)

[areya2005]

Well, I made a post in this section a few days ago about wanting to try a "Skipload" as my progress has been stalling.

For anyone who's not familiar with what it is, it's a version of "**** loading," but with lower fat, and specific carb-up windows. You're encourage to utilze higher GI carbs, lower in fiber, protein and fat.

Since it's my first time, I'm still testing my tolerance and being 6 weeks out, I didn't want to go drastically overboard. While you're told not to count your carbs, and just eat until satiated, I still have this "black and white" mentality as I've been consistenly hitting specific numbers for 19 weeks now. For this reason, my first "Skipload" is only a 6-hour window where I'm aiming to hit my carb target in 3 meals. I've made a tentative goal of 30f/500c/175p. If I'm still hungry after meals, I'll eat a little more. If not, I won't. The key is to honestly listen to yourself. Don't use this as an opportunity to eat more than you need and go for food you've been craving.

So far I've had:

Meal 1:
1. Homemade Pancakes 2/102/25
2. 3/4 cup Low-Fat Ice Cream 4.5/30/3
3. S/F Syrup 0/10/0
4. 1/8 cup M&Ms 4.5/15/1
5. 1/2 cup Oats 3/27/5
6. 6g PB2 .5/3/2
7. Pita Chips 1.5/7/1.5
8. 1/2 Pop Tart 3/17.5/1
9. Caramel Rice Cakes .5/26/1
10. 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt 0/4.5/10

Totals for Meal 1: 19.5/242/49.5

Meal 2:
1. 3 1/4 cups Spaghetti 4.5/140/26
2. F/F Pizza Sauce 0/14/4
3. 4 Tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese 3/0/4

Totals for Meal 2: 7.5/154/34

Totals (so far): 27/396/83.5

Musings:
Being on a diet of 60g carbs during the week keeps you damn limited. I orginally thought that coming into this Skipload, it would be extremely easy as it will let me stick to a plan that is conducive to my prep while allowing me to indulge into cravings I've had. That was true about halfway into the pancakes....Then it got difficult. Not only is my body not used to this amount of carbs in a single sitting, it's not used to this much volume of food. Half-way into both meals, uncomfort set it and I felt my body temperature rise. While it's not comforting in any way, it's doing exactly what it's supposed to....refilling glycogen stores while stimulating the metabolism. In addition, keeping up with the water intake is extremely difficult as you're stomach is so damn full.

I have one more meal in my 6-hour load to go, where I'll be getting the rest of my carbs through low-fat cereal and a little bit of milk. For the rest of the day, I will be consuming about 12oz of grilled chicken breast so I can make my protein requirement.

By tomorrow, I should know if I have spilled over or not. Another reason this method is excellent is because it allows you to assess how many carbs you can take until you spill over. If I spill tomorrow, I'll know 500 is too much, and the next week I'll go lower. On the other hand, if I don't spill, I'll eat more next week. Come peak week, I'll know the precise number of carbs I'll need to fill out without spilling.

I encourage everyone to go to Skip's website (Google "Skipload") to read up more about this method.

[areya2005]

Just an update:

I was still hungry after my load, and ended up eating some more low fat carbs. Ended the day at approx 40/700/175

Boy, do I feel good today. Somehow I snagged a little cold, but body and mind wise, this beats the hell of the small 300g refeeds I was doing before. Not to mention that this morning, I look full and leaner :-) Excited to see where the weight goes within the next few days. I started my Skipload at 169.6, and after my load, I was about 173. I'm not gunna weigh myself today at all as whatever the scale says, I'd be on my regular diet anyways; nothing would change. I look very forward to stepping on the scale around Tuesday or Wednesday expecting to be 169 or lower. If I'm about a pound or two down by next Saturday morning (beginning of next load), it means this week was a success!

[TheNaturalOak]

Just an update:

I was still hungry after my load, and ended up eating some more low fat carbs. Ended the day at approx 40/700/175

Boy, do I feel good today. Somehow I snagged a little cold, but body and mind wise, this beats the hell of the small 300g refeeds I was doing before. Not to mention that this morning, I look full and leaner :-) Excited to see where the weight goes within the next few days. I started my Skipload at 169.6, and after my load, I was about 173. I'm not gunna weigh myself today at all as whatever the scale says, I'd be on my regular diet anyways; nothing would change. I look very forward to stepping on the scale around Tuesday or Wednesday expecting to be 169 or lower. If I'm about a pound or two down by next Saturday morning (beginning of next load), it means this week was a success!

Interesting.

Funny thing is, after my first comp I skiped my weekly refeed b/c of the post comp. binge and the fact that I had another comp following it 4 wks. I took a smaller refeed half way (last week) and hit an all time low weight the day after!!! The body is a crazy thing m8

Make sure to keep us updated.

Also, I'll read the sight u suggested but u plan on doing this weekly? I faily to see the difference in this than a regular refeed... (But basically its jst lower fat/pro and eat **** ton of carbs)

[GetNbigger]

Just an update:

I was still hungry after my load, and ended up eating some more low fat carbs. Ended the day at approx 40/700/175

Boy, do I feel good today. Somehow I snagged a little cold, but body and mind wise, this beats the hell of the small 300g refeeds I was doing before. Not to mention that this morning, I look full and leaner :-) Excited to see where the weight goes within the next few days. I started my Skipload at 169.6, and after my load, I was about 173. I'm not gunna weigh myself today at all as whatever the scale says, I'd be on my regular diet anyways; nothing would change. I look very forward to stepping on the scale around Tuesday or Wednesday expecting to be 169 or lower. If I'm about a pound or two down by next Saturday morning (beginning of next load), it means this week was a success!

I've been skiploading this entired 15 week prep for an upcoming show. The results I have had have been great. 1 week out from my competition and this prep has been easier from a sanity standpoint due to the weekly loads.
I'm by no means skip, however I have read most of what he has written over on intens************ Don't worry about trying to meet your protein requirements. If you eat enough carbs you should end up with plenty of protein for that day. For example, my typical diet is 54 carbs per day and 285 grams protein. On my skipload day last week, I added my macros out of curiousity, not because I needed to, and had 1,750 carbs, 135 fats, and 240 protein.

You are 100% correct about trying to meet your baseline weight by Wednesday. Good luck with the skipload addition.

[areya2005]

Interesting.

Funny thing is, after my first comp I skiped my weekly refeed b/c of the post comp. binge and the fact that I had another comp following it 4 wks. I took a smaller refeed half way (last week) and hit an all time low weight the day after!!! The body is a crazy thing m8

I'm by no means Skip, but the way I understand it is if you're low(er) carb consistently through the week, i.e. no carb cycling, come the beginning of that Skipload, your body is way more interested in refilling glycogen stores rather than putting on fat. A double wammy is that you're eating so much, your metabolism needs to keep up, thus raising itself to process the crazy amount of carbs you've ingested.

I faily to see the difference in this than a regular refeed... (But basically its jst lower fat/pro and eat **** ton of carbs)

I'm by no means Skip, but I would say it's just carb-cycling/refeeding to the extreme. Skip says that you shouldn't be counting the number, and lets your hunger dictate if you should eat more or less during your load. Basically, you're giving your body what it's craving for the duration of the load, which in this case happens to be carbs. Paraphrasing what Skip would say, "Ever been on a low-fat diet? How bad did you want peanut butter of all things."

I've been skiploading this entired 15 week prep for an upcoming show. The results I have had have been great. 1 week out from my competition and this prep has been easier from a sanity standpoint due to the weekly loads.
I'm by no means skip, however I have read most of what he has written over on intens************ Don't worry about trying to meet your protein requirements. If you eat enough carbs you should end up with plenty of protein for that day. For example, my typical diet is 54 carbs per day and 285 grams protein. On my skipload day last week, I added my macros out of curiousity, not because I needed to, and had 1,750 carbs, 135 fats, and 240 protein.

You are 100% correct about trying to meet your baseline weight by Wednesday. Good luck with the skipload addition.

Well I had "planned" to eat about 500g, which is about 200g over my usual refeeds, just to see how I'd respond. Ended up with 700g, look and feel good today, and probably will need more next week.

The hardest part is honestly accepting that this is conducive to success. Technically, it just doesn't make sense. I'm stuffing my face pretty much to the point of uncomfort, yet I'm making progress? WTFFF? Also, I just came across this concept and have already been prepping for 19 weeks the traditional ways. Sure, I've had a few cheats that made me look better than before (who knew?), but have stayed to my plan for the most part. It's hard to just say, "okay....don't track a thing. Just eat!" For good measure and just out of curiosity, I will be tracking what I eat, but I won't stop at any point and let my hunger dictate if I should consume more or not. This past week I set my "target" at 500g....I ate 700g lol

[Rypt1]

any updates?

[areya2005]

any updates?

Unfortunately, nothing to really write home about. I haven't re-reached my lowest of 162 since it last happened, but I'm not too concerned as I'm weighing in around 163-164 in the mornings and the slight increase and lack of scale movement could be caused by a number of things such as: I'm on Yohimbine, which has a side of water retention, did legs the other day (which holds water), haven't had regular bowel movements (all that food just sitting in my GI tract), have a very high sodium intake, etc. My calories are about the same at 1350-1400, which I don't feel comfortable lowering them anymore. I have however added slightly more low intensity cardio. Physiologically, it's close to impossible that I'm not losing fat; the scale just isn't showing it.

Just to be on the safe side though, I'm reducing my Skiploads to ~550g as I'll be 2 weeks out tomorrow. I think I can come in at 158 or so, especially the last week as I spend the week removing water (not decreasing intake) by eating a little less sodium than normal, coming off the Yohimbine, etc.

I've done all I can do at this point and the show is too close for anything drastic to happen. I've had a great prep and just want to go out there and have a great time and reap the benefits of all my hard work, no matter what the results. I will enjoy my weekend, then it's grow time!!!

[TheNaturalOak]

awesome mind frame, & by the side/tri pic I saw a few days ago.... u shld do great on stage.

I'll be interested in seeing some day of pics!!!

[Rypt1]

Thanks for the update. Sounds like you are "staying the course" and your pics show you to be coming along very well.