In my last 5,000 calorie experiment I followed a real foods low carb high fat diet, consisting of eggs, nuts, fatty fish, steak and green vegetables equalling 5,794 calories a day. Using the conventional theory of calories in calories out I should have put on 7.3kg after my 56,654 calorie surplus! However, after those 21 days I put on 1.3kg but lost 3cm from my waist, a 6kg discrepancy! To check out that last experiment and why I didn't get as large as I should have click here :)
For this next 21 day experiment I will be eating 1 calorie less a day than last time at 5,793 calories a day of cereal, bread, pasta, sugary drinks and chocolate! Calories in calories out tells us that I should put on slightly less than last time as I'm eating 1 calorie less, but the conventional prediction is a 7.2kg weight gain. Over the summer my weight and even my body composition has slightly changed due to an increase in my strength training. After the last experiment I had a BodPod assessment which weighed me in at 85.9kg, a lean mass of 75kg (87.4%) and a fat mass of 10.9kg (12.6%). On Thursday 12th September I had another BodPod assessment which weighed me in at 89.3kg, a lean mass of 77.9kg (87.3%) and a fat mass of 11.4kg (12.7%). Quite amazingly I've put on 2.9kg of muscle over the summer which if anything will help keep me in biochemical balance for longer than I would have from the start of the previous experiment. I will be doing another BodPod assessment after the experiment has finished as well to compare my lean and fat masses pre and post experiment.
During the experiment I'll be using the same formula as last time to calculate my basal metabolic rate, amount of calories burned at rest, and calorie expenditure which is the revised version of the Harris-Benedict equation by Roza and Shizgal in 1984. I will be doing the same amount and type of exercise as before, cycling 3 times a week for 40 minutes along with 3 interval training sessions that last 4 minutes which I video and post on this very website, www.SmashTheFat.com/live . This amount of exercise puts me in the moderate exercise category of the Harris-Benedict formula. Along with this formula to work out my potential weight gain I have used the corner stone for conventional weight loss, which is that 1 pound of fat equals approximately 3,500 calories. Therefore in order to gain 1 pound of fat I must be in a calorie surplus of 3,500 calories...apparently. Everyday I will have a video diary on my YouTube channel, www.YouTube.com/SmashTheFat , and a daily blog here where I will also tell you my weight and waist measurement but in written format.
As I mentioned before I will be eating 1 less calorie a day as last time but instead of having a macronutrient ratio of 6% carbs, 72% fat and 22% protein (In Calories) I will be eating 64% carbs, 22% fat and 14% protein of what I consider fake foods, here is the breakdown of what I will be eating every single day:
Although I will be eating the same amount of calories as before it is my theory, and many others, that I will put on more weight than last time despite being in the same amount of calorie surplus because of the biochemical imbalance these foods cause in the body. I predict a weight gain of about 3 or 4 kg compared to my 1.3kg weight gain last time.
Finally, last time one of my biggest regrets was not getting blood tests, but thankfully this time I have had a full blood profile assessment from cholesterol to thyroid and everything else in between. I have not received the results yet but fingers crossed it will be tomorrow so I can post them with all of my first daily measurements and photos. Of course I will be getting my blood tests done after the experiment has finished, but the difference this time is that I am actually worried that my blood work will get worse. With that in mind after these 21 days I will be doing a "rehab" low carb high fat diet for 21 days at calorie maintenance, in order to try and maintain any weight gain that I get. I'll be measuring my blood work after this second 21 day experiment as well to see if the low carb high fat diet helps improve my blood work plus taking daily weight and waist measurements with video diary's and blogs! So really this is going to be a 42 day challenge of trying to get back where I started! :P
If you have any questions, objections or comments please feel free to comment below or tweet me on www.twitter.com/SamFeltham