The Great Ice Cream Mystery

[MisterMammon]

Here's a peculiarity I've come across in my work to trim down this summer. I was wondering if anyone could explain what's going on. It's certainly one of the more pleasant mysteries out there.

I started on a self-designed weight loss routine on April 27. I used the first month to reduce my caloric intake and adjust to a more regimented diet, and since then I've been digging in, following the same daily program with almost no variation (give or take dinners with friends). In the past I've always tripped myself up (I've tried to build size and lose fat at the same time, which I've never managed), so this time around I just committed myself to weight loss exclusively by eating well and doing 40-60 minutes of cardio five days a week (HIIT on three days, a steady clip of cardio the other two).

I weigh myself daily, and nowadays even the minor fluctuations have become predictable. However, a couple weeks ago I finished a major summer project and, for the first time in about two months, I gave myself a splurge night. I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

The next day, I'd dropped a pound, and I didn't experience any bounceback--my weight stayed the same or decreased on every subsequent day.

I tried it again this past week, and the same thing happened.

I'm not recommending a Ben and Jerry's diet, but I can't quite figure out the mechanism. Any thoughts on why this is going on?

[Theguns]

thats kinda wierd....i myself had a pint of ben n jerrys....it had like 1,200 calories in it or sumtin

[jack5r]

Its just one meal of one day.. so If your keeping your diet good with all that cardio through out the week its not going to make much of a difference at all. The one pound thing the next day could be down to many things, im 100% sure it wasnt the icecream making you loose that pound. Im only 130 pounds but at different times in the day i can vary a few pounds in weight.

[Caferacer]

Originally Posted by MisterMammon

Here's a peculiarity I've come across in my work to trim down this summer. I was wondering if anyone could explain what's going on. It's certainly one of the more pleasant mysteries out there.

I started on a self-designed weight loss routine on April 27. I used the first month to reduce my caloric intake and adjust to a more regimented diet, and since then I've been digging in, following the same daily program with almost no variation (give or take dinners with friends). In the past I've always tripped myself up (I've tried to build size and lose fat at the same time, which I've never managed), so this time around I just committed myself to weight loss exclusively by eating well and doing 40-60 minutes of cardio five days a week (HIIT on three days, a steady clip of cardio the other two).

I weigh myself daily, and nowadays even the minor fluctuations have become predictable. However, a couple weeks ago I finished a major summer project and, for the first time in about two months, I gave myself a splurge night. I ate a pint of Ben and Jerry's.

The next day, I'd dropped a pound, and I didn't experience any bounceback--my weight stayed the same or decreased on every subsequent day.

I tried it again this past week, and the same thing happened.

I'm not recommending a Ben and Jerry's diet, but I can't quite figure out the mechanism. Any thoughts on why this is going on?

There was a diet that was pretty popular on here a few months ago called the zig zag diet. It pretty much consists of a usual cutting diet but with a day or two a week where you eat a different, dirtier diet. The main mechanism being that when your body adapts to a diet, your weight loss stops, but if you were to throw your body a curve ball (Like ben and jerry's) it assumes you are going to eat that consistently, and your metabolism is then back in a state of trying to adapt. Thats probably what happened.

As well as a few other things, sodium intake could have changed that day, potassium intake, ect ect, all could have affected your weight by a pound. It's not back to take a day or a meal off of a long term diet, not just for your own sanity, but because it keeps your body from fully adapting to a cutting diet.

[MisterMammon]

Thanks for the feedback thus far. I have been pretty conscientious about giving myself a minor caloric uptick every three days or so (swapping out one of my usual small meals for a more substantial healthy meal), but (as theguns noted) a pint of Ben and Jerry's is somewhere in the neighborhood of 1200 calories. When I had that single pint I expected it to come back to haunt me on the scale, but when it didn't, I couldn't puzzle out the connection.

The zigzag principle makes sense, especially if this is a pattern in the offing. However, I just can't imagine accidentally coordinatling the other variables in the same way two weeks in a row to yield the one-pound loss both times. I know there's nothing intrinsic about the ice cream itself that would cause the drop, but it was certainly a surprise to have an anticipated loss turn out to be a net gain.

Any other theories?

[Will100]

i eat mcdonalds 10 times a week and im 215 lbs at 4% body fat...can u beat that?

[dannyboy9]

Originally Posted by Will100

im 215 lbs at 4% body fat...can u beat that?

No, but I can ask you to prove it

[Will100]

Originally Posted by dannyboy9

No, but I can ask you to prove it

obviously kidding lol

[joemomma]

Sounds similar to the keto (?) diet I think? Isn't that where you carb load on the weekends?

[Weee]

Originally Posted by Will100

i eat mcdonalds 10 times a week and im 215 lbs at 4% body fat...can u beat that?

The winner of the junior nationals recently claims pretty much exactly that, and also that he's 100% natural. Micheal Lockett.

Weight fluctuations CAN be predictable, but not perfect. My negative poop thread is gone, but you might get the idea.

Anyways, I found very similar things when I was eating very restricted calories. If I splurged one day, I'd have a kick ass time losing weight for a few days after. In the end I lost a lot more muscle than I should though

[musclesntx]

Simply causing a flood of Leptin when the body is already craving it (and is ultra-sensitive to it).

Zig-Zagging and Carb Cycling (which are the same things, btw) typically don't call for splurging on ice cream. That's flat out cheating - I typically prefer people to remain on clean foods throughout with the occassional splurge food as needed...

[Will100]

Originally Posted by Weee

The winner of the junior nationals recently claims pretty much exactly that, and also that he's 100% natural. Micheal Lockett.

Weight fluctuations CAN be predictable, but not perfect. My negative poop thread is gone, but you might get the idea.

Anyways, I found very similar things when I was eating very restricted calories. If I splurged one day, I'd have a kick ass time losing weight for a few days after. In the end I lost a lot more muscle than I should though

i have a hard time believing that...they must me sponsoring him or something lol

[dannyboy9]

Originally Posted by musclesntx

Simply causing a flood of Leptin when the body is already craving it (and is ultra-sensitive to it).

Do you have a link or information of some sort that elaborates more on Leptin Boyd? I'm interested in learning some more about it. I figured it would be in my best intentions to ask a good source for good sources

Make much sense? LOL

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by dannyboy9

Do you have a link or information of some sort that elaborates more on Leptin Boyd? I'm interested in learning some more about it. I figured it would be in my best intentions to ask a good source for good sources

Make much sense? LOL

I've done quite a bit of my own research on it, but one of the guys over at Avant wrote a pretty impressive series or articles a few years ago entitled "Leptin: The Next Big Thing". I think most of the information is still relevant, but that is the series of articles that got me interested in it.

I happen to have trained a guy who was a huge research bio-chemist from U of TX and he was crazy about the hormone; to the point of which he'd spend his whole training session telling me about his latest research. He is who I'd chat with if I had a question about it.

Edit: My bad, google the title of that article and it will come up. Start at the beginning and read all of it.

[MisterMammon]

Thanks for the new insight; I'll have to do some more digging. This summer has been unusual for me, as I've committed exclusively to bodyfat loss, even if it means I lose some muscle mass along the way. The plan I've set up is working for me very well, but this particular glitch is one that didn't really fall in line with any of the research I'd seen.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by MisterMammon

even if it means I lose some muscle mass along the way. .

You should make sure the muscle loss is VERY MARGINAL.
IN the end, that fat will come back as the less muscle you have, the less calories you burn in a given day
- Thus slowing down your metabolism.

Slower metabolism = more stored body fat

[dannyboy9]

Originally Posted by musclesntx

I've done quite a bit of my own research on it, but one of the guys over at Avant wrote a pretty impressive series or articles a few years ago entitled "Leptin: The Next Big Thing". I think most of the information is still relevant, but that is the series of articles that got me interested in it.

I happen to have trained a guy who was a huge research bio-chemist from U of TX and he was crazy about the hormone; to the point of which he'd spend his whole training session telling me about his latest research. He is who I'd chat with if I had a question about it.

Edit: My bad, google the title of that article and it will come up. Start at the beginning and read all of it.

Interesting...I'm definitely going to look into that article you were talking about. Thanks for sharing my friend. I really enjoying meeting and speaking with interesting, involved people like the fellow you trained from U of TX. We need more brain stimulating people like that in this world. Once again, I appreciate it my friend.

[musclesntx]

Originally Posted by dannyboy9

Interesting...I'm definitely going to look into that article you were talking about. Thanks for sharing my friend. I really enjoying meeting and speaking with interesting, involved people like the fellow you trained from U of TX. We need more brain stimulating people like that in this world. Once again, I appreciate it my friend.

NP - I think they had planned for that series to be just a few articles but it took a life of its own. I haven't read them in a while, but if I remember correctly, there were SEVERAL articles in the series.

More than once I've had clients that have given so much information (business, science, etc) that I should've trained them for free in exchange for that. I don't ask them questions, but I gladly allow them to talk about their work or what interests them to allow them to feel comfortable and it also takes their mind off of the inevitable pain that I'm known for inducing and I've been fortunate enough to train MANY people that were not only helpful, but totally influential on me, both personally and professionally.

[dannyboy9]

Originally Posted by musclesntx

NP - I think they had planned for that series to be just a few articles but it took a life of its own. I haven't read them in a while, but if I remember correctly, there were SEVERAL articles in the series.

More than once I've had clients that have given so much information (business, science, etc) that I should've trained them for free in exchange for that. I don't ask them questions, but I gladly allow them to talk about their work or what interests them to allow them to feel comfortable and it also takes their mind off of the inevitable pain that I'm known for inducing and I've been fortunate enough to train MANY people that were not only helpful, but totally influential on me, both personally and professiona