Has anyone here who is trying to lose weight, tried to keep a balance of the old 3rd of a plate complex carbs, 3rd of a plate protein, 3rd of a plate veggies, but just with smaller portions? I know we live in a world of Magic Potions (and magic diets etc), but gradual weight-loss from a sustainable life-style change is far more long-lasting than any rapidly lost weight, and especially from a diet strategy that you'll go off of eventually. When I left home, I managed to put on 25% of my starting body weight, in three months. it took me another five years to get my eating right so that it came off again. I tried a lot of diets. i needed to eat less refined stuff, and less. Cut out the high GI food (except during or immediately after exercise), the colas, cookies, white breads, pizzas and hamburgers, and replace it with steamed veggies, sweet potatoes, steaks etc. and eat small meals, often. And when you get that right, as an athlete, you certainly dont need to starve yourself. I eat a lot - people comment on it. and ive maintained my current weight for several years.
I wont go into the risks of refined food here, as thats a whole new thread, but to keep this one thread relevant; a couple of studies have been done on endurance athletes (maybe not totally relevant, but still relevant) and fat-loading vs carbo-loading. Although they found that they could successfully get the body to burn more fat than glycogen for fuel, the same power output had a harder perception of effort, than when the athlete's energy systems were tapping more into sugar stores. It was determined not to be beneficial, because although there is more energy in fat, and more fat stores in the body, who wants to feel lousy?