Kyle Estle
Disrupting Homeostasis
Posts: 5253
Age: 47
Loc: CA
Registered on 04-01-04
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02-02-05 04:01 PM - Post#71643
Hello IOL. Although this is my first post (and it's long), I've done a lot of reading here and thought I would share my tuna & water experience. Dave's recent newsletter on the subject was timed perfectly for me. I just started my first cutting phase after a three-month bulk. First a little background.
I'm 41 and have been lifting religiously for a little over two years. The first year was a lot of trial and error, flailing but not failing, and slow progress. Year two brought more trial and error, better form and intensity, and better results. I normally carry 185lbs on a frame of 5' 11". I started bulking in late September and peaked at 198lbs in mid January.
My split right now consists of weight training every other day, cardio, stretching, and a 12-15 minute ab routine on days I don't lift.
I started the diet on a Monday and allowed myself a couple of modifications. First, I train in the morning and need early energy. The thought of a can of tuna at 5:30am didn't sit well, so I started my day with a 23-gram scoop of whey protein mixed with water. I also allowed myself one cup of black coffee. Supplements included my regular multi-vitamin/mineral tablets, 500mg of calcium, an 81mg baby aspirin (cv disease runs in the family), and starting on day two, 3-tblsp of fiber laxative. As it turns out I ate six cans of tuna each of the three days.
For variety, if that's possible, I alternated chunk light and solid white, some packed in oil, most just water based. The water part of the diet wasn't a problem. I am a notorious water guzzler and just made sure to keep a glass, mug, jug, or trough close at all times.
Monday: Did my normal chest, shoulder, arm workout. Uneventful really, the lack of carbs doesn't manifest until later. By mid-morning the energy level begins to wane, so I munch down a half can. This helps for about 15 minutes. The morning goes quickly; a full can and 30-40 oz. of water get me to late afternoon. The low energy level morphs into grumpiness so I close my office door rather than pick a fight with a co-worker. Any of you who have been carb-deprived can probably relate. Hunger hits: another half can, another 15-minute respite from this "daze" I have been feeling for a few hours.
After a hearty dinner of tuna & water, I try to do some reading but have trouble concentrating. An early bedtime was planned but sleep doesn't come easily. My brain's foggy but doesn't want to shut down. When sleep finally arrives it is interrupted twice by a bladder full from the gallons of water.
Tuesday: Fumble through the ab routine and think about coasting through my cardio work, but after about five minutes I'm feeling chipper and give it a good push. I normally get a decent sweat but today I am drenched. A 20-minute full body stretch completes the workout and I feel great.
During my drive to work I felt almost euphoric - at one point the hair on my arms raised up with excitement. This is going to be a great day! I climb the stairs to my second floor office, just like every other day, only today I feel somewhat winded. It's only two stories for Pete's sake; I must be worn down from the excellent cardio work.
Around 10:00am it hits. "It" is a solid brick wall and I've hit it head first. A day and a half without carbs, coupled with two hard workouts has taken its toll. My eyes are droopy, my brain is on auto-pilot, and my attention span compares favorably with that of my 4-year old son. This isn't what I signed up for.
A half can of tuna, another 15-minute respite from what feels like impending brain damage. After lunch I had a quick meeting with a couple of clients. It was quick on my account; with tuna breath and an IQ about 20 points lower than it was two days ago, I didn't want to stick around too long. After a lovely dinner of tuna & water, sleep comes easily but is interrupted repeatedly by the over-worked bladder.
Wednesday: Legs and back day. I've learned my lesson and decide to scrap the normal routine for today and try my hand at "instinctive" training. I lighten the load and flow through a decent workout, moderate exertion with a decent pump. Overall energy levels improve today, but the foggy brain syndrome persists. Without a doubt day two was the worse.
Thursday: Cardio & abs today. Substituted oatmeal for my morning can of tuna. The best oatmeal I ever ate. Took it easy of course - gotta save my energy. Lunch is tuna, a salad with extra virgin olive oil, and a quart of water. Dinner is the same. I still can't fully engage mentally but the energy level is up.
Friday: I am officially done with tuna & water and look forward to getting all my faculties back. While bulking I kept my daily calories at about 3,200, maintenance for me is around 2,700. My plan now is 2,200/day, with a focus on protein and good fats.
Results: The first day of the diet I weighed 195lbs. My weight the following Monday (7 days) was 190.5. My energy and focus are back - no permanent brain damage. I have a rope that is cut to my preferred waist size. I wrap it around my waist at its largest point, and if the ends touch I'm happy. At the end of the bulking phase, the two ends were a good inch apart when wrapped around my now larger mid-section. By the end of the tuna & water week the two ends are just a hair away from touching.
These are excellent results for one week, but it certainly wasn't easy. My mental state is well documented, but I need to add that I was never "hungry". Whenever I felt the need I just popped open a can and ate it. The protein and fat kept my insides happy.
If I try this again I will lower the workout intensity and begin my intake of laxative fiber prior to starting the diet; my bowels went on holiday for three days as my bladder worked overtime. Live and learn.....
Kyle E.
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Stingo
??? Heavy ???
Posts: 13500
Age: 54
Loc: Milwaukie, Oregon
Registered on 04-01-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 04:16 PM - Post#71644
Great narrative Kyle! It's been a long time since I've heard anything like this on IOL... I could relate to the "Best Oatmeal" from my first show-prep last year... Yams tasted pretty darn good too... ;~)
Praying for *** DAN MANOR ***
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Laree
(Rhymes with Marie)
Posts: 21436
Loc: Santa Cruz, CA
Registered on 03-25-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 04:21 PM - Post#71645
Thanks for taking the time to write that up, Kyle.
It's a head trip, isn't it? A major victory when you hit Wednesday night and realize you did it, finished a really tough project that few others will do, and that you could have easily bailed on numerous times the previous couple of days. Congrats.
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Ken Friberg
At home here
Posts: 383
Loc: Stanardsville, VA
Registered on 04-08-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 04:26 PM - Post#71646
Yes, anything that isn't tuna tastes SO good aftward.
And I vividly recall wanting to leap atop my cubical and shriek "give my high fructose corn sweetener, or give me death!!!". But I was always afraid my cow-workers would oblige. Either by force feeding me a Mountain Dew or killing me.
Ken F
| Ken F
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Is there something wrong with eating three pounds of bacon at one sitting? |
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zim or sarah
sleds n deads
Posts: 975
Age: 51
Loc: montana
Registered on 04-07-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 04:57 PM - Post#71647
Kyle, congrats on the tuna n water, i started doing these almost 3 years ago after reading one of Daves articals on the wonderful things that happen to someone durring 72 hours of tuna and water. Watch out you can get hooked on them very easily. Any time that i need a jump-start on my training I go back to the tuna. This happens several times a year. If there is a "secret weapon" for dieting and geting your mind off of the food fixation that many of us struggle with, i am convenced that you just experienced it. great job!! zim
| "The stress of impatience squeezes the life out of time." Dave Draper 2003 |
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lawpal
Settling in pretty good
Posts: 91
Registered on 02-01-05
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 04:57 PM - Post#71648
I am on my third day of Tuna and Water. Tobasco sauce helped A LOT. I am also eating at least one package of Metamucil wafers per day (actually - they are pretty tasty) for some fiber.
So far, so good. My energy levels have been fine, but we shall see how the legs workout tonight will go. My ability concentrating on reading is tough for some reason.
I am down from 250lbs to 243lbs as of this morning, and I suspect more tomorrow.
I did substitute some tuna steaks for tuna out of the can last night. It was a great decision. Tuna Steaks, with peppercorns and salt, grilled rare. Very very tasty with some lemon juice. Plus, they taste a hell of a lot better than Tuna straight out of the can.
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Lisa
Grand Pooh-Bah
Posts: 1864
Age: 50
Loc: New Hampshire
Registered on 04-04-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 07:28 PM - Post#71649
Nice narrative, Kyle - congratulations! I've been meaning to try tuna and water - just to try it - no other reason....
Keep checking in to let us know how things go!
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t-roy
gradually progressing
Posts: 1122
Age: 28
Registered on 04-11-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 07:36 PM - Post#71650
Quote:
lawpal said:
Tobasco sauce helped A LOT
I hear ya there. I load my tuna down with a vitamin T. Oh yeah, and my eggs. And chicken. Ok, if it isn't red meat, it gets tabasco'd. Gotta be the most versitile flavoring out there.
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Kyle Estle
Disrupting Homeostasis
Posts: 5253
Age: 47
Loc: CA
Registered on 04-01-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 09:36 PM - Post#71651
Quote:
Laree said:
It's a head trip, isn't it? A major victory when you hit Wednesday night and realize you did it, finished a really tough project that few others will do, and that you could have easily bailed on numerous times the previous couple of days. Congrats.
Thanks for the comments. I really didn't realize what I was getting into at the start. How hard could three days be? I will definitely slow the workouts down next time.
Kyle E.
| Performance, Health, and Longevity |
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Kyle Estle
Disrupting Homeostasis
Posts: 5253
Age: 47
Loc: CA
Registered on 04-01-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 09:39 PM - Post#71652
Quote:
Ken Friberg said:
And I vividly recall wanting to leap atop my cubical and shriek "give my high fructose corn sweetener, or give me death!!!". But I was always afraid my cow-workers would oblige. Either by force feeding me a Mountain Dew or killing me.
Ken F
I really didn't want to say anything to anybody. I was afraid I would just be babbling incoherently.
| Performance, Health, and Longevity |
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Kyle Estle
Disrupting Homeostasis
Posts: 5253
Age: 47
Loc: CA
Registered on 04-01-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 09:42 PM - Post#71653
Quote:
Stingo said:
I could relate to the "Best Oatmeal" from my first show-prep last year... Yams tasted pretty darn good too... ;~)
Everything tasted great the first couple of days after. My salad at lunch with plain olive oil dressing was incredible.
Kyle K.
| Performance, Health, and Longevity |
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Kyle Estle
Disrupting Homeostasis
Posts: 5253
Age: 47
Loc: CA
Registered on 04-01-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 09:46 PM - Post#71654
Quote:
zim or sarah said:
Any time that i need a jump-start on my training I go back to the tuna. This happens several times a year.
I doubt that I could handle it "several times a year", but would definitely do it again.
Kyle E.
| Performance, Health, and Longevity |
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Displacedtexan
Carpe Ferrum
Posts: 3654
Age: 47
Loc: Oklahoma City
Registered on 04-06-04
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 10:02 PM - Post#71655
Good to hear about your experience, Kyle. I've decided to give the tuna and water diet a go next week to clean up after 3 weeks of less than strict low carb, so your post was very timely. BTW, I, too, started lifting at 39 and have been at it for 3 years. It's still some trial and error, but the experience is great. Keep at it.
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Anonymous
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-02-05 10:37 PM - Post#71656
Kyle...thanks for sharing that with us....good job.
The first time I did the Tuna and water I started the Metamucil the day before...I read Dave's suggestion and took it to heart.
If Tuna Tony ever comes back he can tell some stories about tuna dieting....I'm not sure but it sounded sometimes like he was on a perpetual tuna diet...lol. He loved the stuff.
As a verity you can drain the tuna very very well and then ad back in olive oil..and a touch of Hot Sauce....
Art V
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lawpal
Settling in pretty good
Posts: 91
Registered on 02-01-05
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Re: Diary of a Tuna & Water Experience
02-03-05 09:41 AM - Post#71657
Ok, I finished my third day of tuna/water. Really not that bad. It helped to accent the tuna with Tuna Steaks on the grill at the end of the day.
I am down 10 lbs. after 3 days. Mostly water weight I suspect, but still pretty good. I am going to stick with the Tuna for the foreseeable future, and add in some salads and some chicken and meat after a week.
I don't know what it is, but it just felt like instinct to stick another 6 cans of tuna in my lunch bag today.
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