I'm on 17 blocks (one block more than the block calculator says for me) and I routinely add a block or two of fat to my meals and snacks. I was also adding an extra carb block to my meals (my 5 blocks were 3 vegetable blocks and 2 berries blocks). As an experiment, I dropped the extra berry block and ate meals that were protein/carb balanced. I felt the same and had no increase in hunger between meals but I pretty quickly lost 5 lbs (161 to 156). I look leaner and am okay with this weight.

What's the best way to stop right here at 156? I'm thinking I should add a little more fat instead of putting the carb block back in. ???

Yes, add more monounsaturated fat.

Try doubling the fat blocks for all meals and snacks (example, add 8 fat blocks to a 4 block meal instead of the typical 4 fat blocks). If you're still losing stored fat, try tripling the fat blocks (example, add 12 fat block to a 4 block meal instead of 4).

Thanks, Sue. I started doubling the fat blocks. My extra fat is all from macadamia nuts to keep the omega 6 real low.

Sounds good Larry.

BTW Larry, you quickly began losing more stored fat because dropping the extra carbohydrate block gave you better insulin control.

Thanks, Sue. I was wondering about that.

I've had a bitter, metalic taste in my mouth for a couple of days, especially in the morning. That's a pretty well-known sign of ketosis but I don't have any other diet-induced ketosis symptoms. In fact, I'm thinking much more clearly and my neck pain is quite a bit better. BTW, I also upped my fish oil dose from 8 to 12 capsules on Monday, July 30th. I'm taking it in liquid form mixed with Sea Health Plus. It's a little gross tasting but not too bad.

[quote]
Posted By Sue on 31 Jul 2012 12:22 PM
Try doubling the fat blocks for all meals and snacks (example, add 8 fat blocks to a 4 block meal instead of the typical 4 fat blocks). If you're still losing stored fat, try tripling the fat blocks (example, add 12 fat block to a 4 block meal instead of 4).
[/quote]

I'm still losing weight so I'm eating triple fat blocks starting today.

Larry, it's still pounds of body fat at you're losing and not pounds of LBM, correct?

My thought is that any loss you see on the scales in the last couple of days might not be the loss of stored body fat at all, but instead may very well be due to a release of retained fluid that you are experiencing since improving your insulin control when you dropped the carbohydrate block and increased at blocks.

Thanks, Sue. I don't think I'm losing LBM. My waist is about 1" smaller but the rest of me looks about the same in the mirror. The release of fluid would make sense. I'll keep an eye on the scale and if I find I'm gaining I'll go back to 2X fat. I know that I look gaunt and get depressed if I fall below 150 so I want to avoid that.

Larry, in addition to looking at the scale, to decide what you're really losing, track pounds of body fat and pounds of LBM with the body fat calculator.

Hi Larry,

I'm curious. That's all. Like, you're very tall, aren't you? Etc. So 156 lbs or whatever it is sounds like it's too low for you.

I'm 29% fat at 140 lb, but I'm not tall, etc. I only have 10 lbs to lose to get to the ideal female 22%.

Just curious ... I'd have thought you'd be 180 or something given your height? No?

Sarah/Alexy

Hi Sarah - I am 6'1" and have the classic ectomorph (skinny) build. My BMI is 20.3. The normal BMI range is 18.5 – 24.9. I would be considered underweight on the BMI scale if I weighed 140 lbs and overweight if I weighed 189.

Just an update - going to 3x fat seems to have stopped the unwanted weight loss. I gained 2 lbs.

It's been a little over a week since I upped my fish oil from 8 capsules to 1 TBS (same as 12 capsules). I felt pretty crummy all week and felt like I was having trouble digesting the fish oil but I had no diarrhea. Now, I'm feeling good again. I think the extra fish oil along with getting my meals more in the zone by dropping the added carb block may have caused a release of AA last week. I'm glad I'm feeling better, now. Also, even though I've tripled my fat intake, I've kept the Omega 6 the same by getting all the extra fat from macadamia nuts.

I have not noticed any difference in my neck pain and curing the pain there is the reason I upped my fish oil. Maybe it's too soon. Does anyone know how long it takes?

It takes 30 days to receive the full benefit of any given fish oil dose.

Does Dr. Sears/Zone Diet have a current chart or similar list like this, that shows: Arachidonic Acid levels in foods?

http://riskfactor.cancer.gov/diet/f...able4.html

That was suggested by other folks here, nothing from Zone Labs, yet.

I looked at that table and this is similar to what I would like to see here. However, some ways to improve it, just list the ingredient based on its block portion size, so that it compares to what we use in the Zone.

Also, I see on that chart that chicken seems to have a high amount of AA. I was not aware of that, and would love to hear more input.

regular chicken or grass-fed chicken?

The table does not specify which type. Probably grain fed, is my guess.

Grain-fed, as in cooped up with about 1 sq foot each chicken, fed grains,
and probably ant-biotics, and possibly hormones fro fast growth.
VS. Pastured Chickens.
(Do not be fooled by the label "Range-Free." )

John - I get 'file not found" when I click on your omega 6 link.

Regarding the chicken question -the omega 6 is only in the fat so the very lean stuff we eat shouldn't have much.

Larry;
It's not my link, it's Slim's.
And when I click on the link in his post, it works for me.
Some one else also posted a link to another listing.
I only reposted the same link.

I couldn't find Slim's post. Anybody have the link to it?"

I did find this table showing omega 6 & 3 amounts in several foods

http://fanaticcook.blogspot.com/200...foods.html

One interesting thing in it is that grass fed beef has only slightly less omega 6 than grain fed. On the graph you can see that the difference is insignificant, just like the difference in omega 3 that I've talked about before (also insignificant).

And chicken breast has a lot less omega 6 than chicken leg.

I was buying grass-fed chicken ... I stopped because of the expense. It's over $2 for 20 grams of protein roughly.

I could buy grass-fed beef instead, it looks like a better option, and it's not just becuase of the omega-6s ... because it's obvious there's no real difference between grass-fed and grain-fed beef that way. It's to avoid all the extra stuff that's not good for me.

Thanks, the table was useful!

I (We) do not buy grass-fed beef for just nor for mainly the Omega-6's/3's.
We buy it because it is do much better and healthier for us over-all.
And yes the pastured chicken we but is at $5.00 per pound.
BUT, by purchasing a whole side of beef this year, we were able to get enough meat to last 1 year,
and it worked out to a little over $5.00 per pound for all cuts combined.
So, we really have some good high quality beef, and we are now not spending any money at grocery store for meats.
So, the savings is going towards organic fruits and vegetables.

I concur re: buying grass-fed beef. :-)

It's a great way to manage costs ... I don't have a big enough freezer here etc, but, eventually, I'd like to do it that way ... 5 dollars per pound sounds good ...