Answering some very basic questions and clearing confusion

Hi ladies. This is Skye. Michelle will be back later this week with the Fat Loss Challenge update.

I received this email below today and my answers are in red. I normally just delete emails like this because it's obvious the person didn't read the book for comprehension. The only reason I am answering this is because I want to stop receiving these types of inane questions. However rare they are, they still hurt my eyes and make my head spin.

FRUSTRATING EMAIL:

I've read your book and wanted to ask you a few questions to clarify my understanding of the 21 day challenge. (This is not a challenge. I state that it takes a person, on average, 21 days to make something routine. I urge you to try this for at least 21 days to make this a daily routine. Depending on your health and previous habits, it will most likely take longer than 21 days to re-establish homeostasis.)

I have been following the bullet-proof diet by Dave Asprey. (This is not the bulletproof diet).

1. You don't start to exercise until day 10 of the program?  

Please read Chapter 3, page 35, under 'What to do for a Carb Re-Feed' where I write: "Ten Day Carb Depletion at the beginning of the program. Do your short, intense workouts twice a week, three days apart."

Please also read the first page of  Chapter 6, pg 54, under "CARB DEPLETION PHASE: Days one through ten." Note in bold on Day One it says "Workout Day" in parentheses next to it. Same for days five and ten.

2. In the carb depletion phase (first 10 days) you consume only green vegetables for carbs no more than 30g?

Please read Chapter Two, page 23, under the heading "Here's What We'll Eat." There's a list of vegetables there. 30g is net carbs and is only a general suggestion. Some people need way less and some -- depending on their lean body mass -- can handle more.

3. On carb refeed days which coincide on the days you exercise is it best to consume safe starches immediately after exercising or do you wait few hours later until its dinner time or can you consume safe starches immediately after exercise and also at dinnertime?

Again, please re-read Chapter Three. Focus on these bolded topics: "When We Eat Carbs is Crucial," "Why We Eat Carbs Late in the Day,""Why We Carb Re-Feed After a Workout," "Safe Starches" <- this is another reminder of the list of safe starches to eat, "WHAT TO DO FOR A CARB RE-FEED" that is a sample schedule of how your carb re-feed day/night and workout timing should look.

4. How much safe starches can you consume on carb reefed days?

This is something you need to test and determine for yourself. Every single person will be different. If you carb re-feed and still have the water weight bloat by the next carb re-feed then you need to cut back. It also depends on your previous carb dependance, intensity of exercise and protein intake.

5. Do you only consume safe starches on carb reefed days?

No. Nowhere in the protocol does it suggest that. Again, please re-read Chapter Three, "WHAT TO DO FOR A CARB RE-FEED" that suggests you break the fast with fats, proteins and vegetables."

 

6. The bullet-proof program recommends you can have 30g starches plus veges [sic] with your evening meal and 1-2 week do a protein fast and you just eat safe carbs and fat on these days. Is this not good for women???

If you want answers about the Bulletproof diet, you need to contact those people. You cannot force a general protocol onto a whole gender population. I feel pretty certain that if a woman has excessive body fat and is not an athlete, she will not have optimal results becoming fat adapted for the long term by consuming starches daily and then spending one-to-two days a week solely consuming starches. This is something I would recommend to someone trying to bulk up.

Hope these questions are clear. No comment.