Gearheaded’s crazy EXPERIMENTS log

[kelkel]

well shit , I think I'm regressing and going downhill and not getting better at all . just for the F of it I looked at my phone see if I had any progress pics from last year thanksgiving.
not happy with my back thickness last year and this year its probably even worse. wtf
Attachment 177560

You will bounce back because you're disciplined and don't know any other way.

[GearHeaded]

You will bounce back because you're disciplined and don't know any other way.

your right. it just sucks to look back on an entire year and see you've made no progress and if anything you've actually regressed, and its your own damn fault and not because of major injuries or surgeries setting you back (like times past for me).
I need to get refocused and re disciplined and make this next year the year of gains.. thats the thing about the iron game, no matter how many times you fuck up and slack off , the iron is still sitting there waiting for you to get back at it

[kelkel]

thats the thing about the iron game, no matter how many times you fuck up and slack off , the iron is still sitting there waiting for you to get back at it

Because the iron is the real drug.

[GearHeaded]

ok so Fk the Keto diet !! well at least for bodybuilding/gains purposes. I actually really like the keto diet as a tool for a lot of reasons and think it super beneficial in a lot of situations.. however, this 3 or so week little experiment (again I've done keto straight for nearly a year in the past) is all I needed to remember that CARBS build muscle. period. my physique has gone to shit (despite all the benefits to keto).

there is not a pro bodybuilder likely in history that ever stepped on a stage without carbs. if they did, we never heard of them cause they got last place . I'm sure they felt great but they sucked at everything else.

I'd really of like to of given this a much longer run, but I see no point. especially considering my goals right now is I need to gain some size back.
new game plan coming soon

[GearHeaded]

so modified game plan here. not going to be able to put on any size with Keto, so I'm structuring a diet for growth purposes but also to help with lowering inflammation and help my digestive and stomach problems.

most diets are usually something like high protein low fat moderate carb. or super low carb with high fat. well I'm going to do moderate protein, high fat, moderate carb.
now I don't generally suggest a diet with macros set up that way. most people will end up putting on too much body fat with that. but i have different goals and purposes here then merely body composition (I want to gain some size back, I won't to get way stronger, and I want to heal my gut and inflammation issues).

so whats it look like in numbers
200g Protein , 150g fat, 250g carbs = 3150 cals
protein 26%, fat 43%, carbs 31%

these numbers are easy to put down on paper , but how they actually pan out in reality meal per meal may be more difficult. because a lot of the fats I may eat may contain lots of protein , like dairy. if I'm eating 50g of protein with each meal from meat , then I add in dairy at various times for a fat source, theres plenty of protein in dairy as well.. but i'm not going to be that OTC, I'm bulking, if I over shoot protein or carbs a bit here and there thats totally fine.

now why the high fat? a lot of fatty foods happen to be very nutrient dense foods, plus fats contain over twice the amount of calories as carbs or protein so its easy to drive calories up. plus a lot of them are low inflammation foods.
things like Avocado, Olives, Red meat, Salmon, Cottage cheese , are all very fatty but also very nutrient and micro nutrient dense. your getting lots of nutrition and vitamins and minerals with fatty foods.

I've stated this elsewhere, but calories are just a measurement of energy/heat. thats it. calories don't build muscle.. the nutrition itself does, and the micro nutrition (vitamins minerals) are 'co factors' for all the anabolic processes in the body.
if your in a calorie surplus , but you don't have sufficient micro nutrients coming in, then your not going to grow.

so I'm focusing a lot on micro nutrition here.


so here are the main foods I will eat

direct protein
- Red meat, dark meat chicken (ie, mainly whole chickens with skin on), pork (salmon when I can afford it)
indirect protein
- black beans, dairy

Fats
- Avacodo, Olives, Butter, Dairy, Bacon, fatty ground beef, olive oil, eggs, nuts

Carbs
- white rice, potatoes, beans, fruit, fruit juices (select veggies)


foods I'm going to limit
Pasta, grains, bread, flour, wheat, sugar and sweets ... by limit I mean I'm not building the base of my diet around any of these. but they may end up in a meal on an occasion


example meals
meal 1 - whey protein shake in whole milk with some creamer and a spoonful of peanut butter (thrown that in for charger)

meal 2 - 5 whole eggs, 5oz ground beef or bacon or sausage, bowl of cream of rice cooked in whole milk

meal 3 - two 8oz hamburger patties, with cheese, 1 cup white rice

meal 4 - 10oz chicken thighs, mash potatoes with gravy, green beans in butter

meal 5 - 8oz ground beef, 1 cup of black beans, 1 cup of rice , all covered with cheese. tomatoes and spinach. sour cream

thats off the top of my head.. I have not crunched the actual numbers yet on each of these meals

to add in some more carbs and nutrients , after some of these meals I may add in a snack like some fruit, fruit juice, and nuts ..


will see if I can start putting some weight and strength back on with this while limiting some inflammation and digestion issues, idk , like I say I generally do not set up diets this way for clients. but hey I'm all for experimenting on myself

[IronLiver]

Maybe try throwing in some of that deer liver in for the micro nutrition. I wish I could get deer liver around here... I've been adding fresh beef bone marrow to my meals which is another great source of fat and micronutrients that I would definitely recommend. If you get fattier cuts of steaks you can avoid adding in too much extra fats. Black beans will probably not be a good idea for good digestion. Most of the protein is bound by fiber and antinutirents, so it's not very bioavailable. Also, spinach is very high in oxalates and will contribute to inflammation and acne.

[JaneDoe]

GearHeaded, I liked this topic, but one question, how many calories a day are you consuming in your diet?

[GearHeaded]

GearHeaded, I liked this topic, but one question, how many calories a day are you consuming in your diet?

on the new diet it will be around 3100 . the last month on Keto , I don't know what calories were at. I didn't track at all. I wasn't eating planned meals either I was just eating instinctively and when I ate I ate keto meals.
thats what I found to be one of the benefits, mainly for people with busy lives (not bodybuilders) is that you can easily go 6-8 hours without a meal and it doesn't even phase you

[GearHeaded]

Maybe try throwing in some of that deer liver in for the micro nutrition. I wish I could get deer liver around here... I've been adding fresh beef bone marrow to my meals which is another great source of fat and micronutrients that I would definitely recommend. If you get fattier cuts of steaks you can avoid adding in too much extra fats. Black beans will probably not be a good idea for good digestion. Most of the protein is bound by fiber and antinutirents, so it's not very bioavailable. Also, spinach is very high in oxalates and will contribute to inflammation and acne.

I occasionally make my own bone broth , and when in a rush I just use chicken stock. I will cook my rice in it with butter. adds a lot more nutrients to rice being rice is not very nutrient dense to begin with (its mainly just a carb source).

yes I was titter tottering on wither to include black beans or not .. I decided to include them for now and can always pull them out later.
the reason I like black beans for a bulking phase is that its super easy to get a lot of carbs down . much easier to add a bunch of black beans to a cup of plain white rice and triple the carb amount, then it is to eat 3 cups of rice.

plus they do have a decent amount of micro nutrients, like fiber, potassium, folate, vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, vitamin k . and phytonutrients, as well as an important mineral knows as Molybdenum .
thats a lot of bang for your buck in micro nutrients . rice has virtually none of this

as for Spinach . I've heard a lot of Carnivore folks talking bad about spinach as of late. I'm not going to just take their word. I need to do my own research. as of now I've done none at all

[IronLiver]

All of the nutrients your body needs can be obtained in meats and organs.

I used to eat black beans, lentils, pinto beans all the time back in the day. Eventually had to stop becuause I was sick of getting bloated and smelling up my house with farts all the time. Oats might be a better alternative but both legumes and oats are pretty much indigestible by humans and therefore all those micronutrients that you listed, including the Molybdenum, will be going into the toilet.

White rice has no micro nutrients but it's one of the most easily digestable carbs, since the shell has been removed it's far easier for your body to assimilate it more rapidly. Butter will slow the digestion of the rice as well and make you fuller for longer.

Spinach, kale and all the other shitty tasting green leaves all seem have high amounts of oxolates which crystalize in the thyroid gland. This has been known for a long time and there was a study published over 100 years ago An Experimental Inquiry on Poisoning by Oxalic Acid regarding how dangerous oxolate toxicity is. Also seems to be the leading cause of kidney stones. Here's some good information on the topic of you would like to learn more. Risking Oxalate Toxicity - Sally Norton

[Livinlean]

Spinach, kale and all the other shitty tasting green leaves all seem have high amounts of oxolates which crystalize in the thyroid gland. This has been known for a long time and there was a study published over 100 years ago An Experimental Inquiry on Poisoning by Oxalic Acid regarding how dangerous oxolate toxicity is. Also seems to be the leading cause of kidney stones. Here's some good information on the topic of you would like to learn more. Risking Oxalate Toxicity - Sally Norton

I have heard of the kidney stone issue with spinach but correct me if i'm wrong but I thought I remembered reading that if the spinach is cooked then that is not an issue and that it's only an issue with raw spinach.

[IronLiver]

I have heard of the kidney stone issue with spinach but correct me if i'm wrong but I thought I remembered reading that if the spinach is cooked then that is not an issue and that it's only an issue with raw spinach.

Cooking or not cooking wouldn't reduce the oxolate count, since they are in a micro crystalline form.

Here's another great website to check out for more info on the topic - oxalates

[GearHeaded]

I have heard of the kidney stone issue with spinach but correct me if i'm wrong but I thought I remembered reading that if the spinach is cooked then that is not an issue and that it's only an issue with raw spinach.

in a post earlier in this thread, I recommended lightly cooking all your vegetables for better digestion and assimilation.

in regards to Oxalics . I'm uneducated on this topic. but know its risen in popularity along with the 'toxicity' of veggies recently in regards to the whole vegan vs carnivore debate thats a current trend right now .

these are good debates and discussions to have and hopefully drive us all to further learning and information so we can make better informed decisions for ourselves in regards to our nutrition.

[Gallowmere]

Try reading some actual texts on the matter instead of watching wanky YouTube videos and websites that skip inconvenient details. Namely, much like the protein kidney bullshit, this isn’t an issue without pre-existing conditions, unless you’re consuming quantities that aren’t realistically feasible, even for a nutty raw foods vegan.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3710657/

[balance]

While I’m all for learning and that often comes from discussion and debate things can get a bit silly. I can understand wanting to optimize every aspect (training, diet, aas) for best results but stressing over a couple of servings of spinach or kale is seriously getting wrapped around the axle. Things don’t have to be so black or white (like carnivore vs herbivore) it’s like the whole political bs going on currently. Just be reasonable, if you can catch, kill, or grow it it’s extremely likely that eating it in moderation will put you closer to your goals.

Besides there is no way Popeye could have been wrong.


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[GearHeaded]

I'm an all or nothing type of guy . I've been trying to live more balanced and focus on various other aspects of my life and my health the last 6 months or so. AND guess what, ain't got shit for gains and I look like shit in the mirror (not that that even matters).

this isn't working. not happy at all

I'm going to either chose to 'flip the switch' and go all in and get as big and strong as I possibly can at my age, or I'm going to keep sitting here spinning my wheels doing nothing

2 grams of test
1 gram of tren
100mg Dbol
40iu slin
and 5,500 calories .. training twice a day. or nothing. I suck at trying to be balanced and conservative and get no results!

[Obs]

I'm an all or nothing type of guy . I've been trying to live more balanced and focus on various other aspects of my life and my health the last 6 months or so. AND guess what, ain't got shit for gains and I look like shit in the mirror (not that that even matters).

this isn't working. not happy at all

I'm going to either chose to 'flip the switch' and go all in and get as big and strong as I possibly can at my age, or I'm going to keep sitting here spinning my wheels doing nothing

2 grams of test
1 gram of tren
100mg Dbol
40iu slin
and 5,500 calories .. training twice a day. or nothing. I suck at trying to be balanced and conservative and get no results!

I tried balancing my life.
I adjusted my inversion table to 6'2 and was still top heavy.

[GearHeaded]

adding 35 pounds . period

this shit is gonna get huge

[GearHeaded]

been sick as shit the last few days. both with a crapy cold and some sort of stomach bug. but at some point here soon a major bulking phase is going to be under way once I can get some food down again and train hard

[IronLiver]

Just wanted to say thanks for all the good info you've shared. I'm on the final week of my first cycle and put on about 35 lbs. Had to buy a bunch of new clothes... Probably wouldn't have had as good as results if I had gone with what most youtubers recommend doing for a first cycle.

This is my first time eating raw meats for 14 weeks straight and I have to say that my digestion, memory, strength, stamina, energy have never been better. My carb sources where white rice, milk and honey, and a papaya pre workout. Also, I began incorporating 1 month old fermented liver, eyes, brains and kidneys, which give you more energy than any pre-workout I've ever taken. If you are getting colds and stomach issues I would highly recommend giving it a try. There aren't many people out there that eat uncooked meats, which I find to be very strange.

[GearHeaded]

Update regarding diet and digestion issues

well my appetite is through the roof. I'm eating every couple hours and eating a lot.. my digestion seems to be on point as well.

I'm an idiot . I was missing the most obvious simplest thing to try and address but never did. I wasted time with different food changes and all that shit. did keto for 3 weeks, etc..
but the problem was staring me right in the face.

heres what I changed a few days ago.

so for years I've had problems with sleep. mainly falling asleep. I can't turn my brain off and so will be in bed for hours trying to fall asleep. BUT if at night before bed I take in 3-4 shots of whisky it shuts by brain off enough that I can lay down and fall asleep in 20 mins.

well I was sick of depending on that to go to sleep so I quit a few days back. now I can't sleep of course , but damn my stomach feels great and my appetite is through the roof.

I wake up first thing in the morning hungry so I get a meal in right when I get up (that never usually happens).. I eat a meal and an hour later I'm hungry again. my digestion isn't seemingly bothering me.

heck I finished meal 4 just now.
- protein shake in milk
- sweet and sour chicken and rice meal with veggies , 37g protein and 96g carbs.
after that I was still hungry and ate a piece of left over BBQ chicken.
heck, I'm still hungry and looking for desert now.


must of been the damn Whisky . besides the alcohol itself who knows what grains and stuff are in there that may of been totally jacking up my digestion and appetite .
what a stupid simple fix.

now I just need to figure out how to fall asleep

[GearHeaded]

ok desert done , I found a pice of cake . yeah this isn't on my diet but shit I'm taking advantage of this appetite.

you know your bulking when you just got done stuffing 1000 cals and as your eating it your already thinking about and planning your next meal .
going to be a Tuna sandwich and some sort of side. I'll hit that in about an hour or so.. later meal 6 will be italian ground sausage and pasta .
then maybe slam a shake before bed.

hell yeah its on like donkey kong mother Fers !!

[IronLiver]

I haven't been sleeping better than with the diet I'm on now. Usually getting about 8 hours of sleep and then one or two 2 hour naps throughout the day. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I drink 3 or 4 eggs with some valarian root extract and it puts me right back to sleep.

[GearHeaded]

If I wake up in the middle of the night, I drink 3 or 4 eggs with some valarian root extract and it puts me right back to sleep.

wake up in the middle of the night and drink eggs and herbs . lol well shit if I woke up in the middle of the night I'd just take a shot of whisky .
maybe I should give the eggs a try instead !

[Proximal]

Saw Cutler do the egg thing, mixed with protein powder.

Thought raw eggs were potentially dangerous?

[Charlie67]

As long as they're pasteurized eggs, as most liquid egg whites are, they're normally safe raw. I've been drinking we whites for years, most every morning in my protein shake. They're not always tasty, but I've chugged them raw as a quick protein meal.

[GearHeaded]

My blood pressure is so whacky (now that I'm off keto its back to being a bit elevated)

so I'm one of the rare people that experience Post Exercise Hypotension

yesterday morning my BP was 150/90 .. yesterday afternoon I did a pull day with Tbar rows, rack pulls, heavy shrugs etc. for over an hour . now any normal person, 10 mins after a workout like that their BP and heart rate would be very elevated.
what was mine right after the workout.
110/65

and it stayed low for hours after the workout.

shit I guess I'm going to have to do 2 a days to keep my BP on the low end

[99JT]

lol well shit if I woke up in the middle of the night I'd just take a shot of whisky .

was about to do this the other day. haven realy drank since i started using gear how bad actually is it for gains, and health wise?

[i_SLAM_cougars]

was about to do this the other day. haven realy drank since i started using gear how bad actually is it for gains, and health wise?

Can’t lower your testosterone production anymore because you’re controlling it yourself

[GearHeaded]

digestion and stomach issues are way better . I'm consistently nailing 5-6 meals per day and appetite is still rolling (and thats without MK).. I'm mainly eating lots of meat with every meal and then potato and rice as my carbs. some pasta here and there just to see how it effects me. the other day I had ground beef and an entire box of Mac and cheese . didn't have any issues at all from the Mac.

right before bed I've been taking a scoop of Species Nutrition Fiberlyze and a Sena tab. that seems to be helping quite a bit.

I'm up about 8 pounds now that I'm finally able to eat consistently.

just started Pinning some NPP, Mast, and Test at low dosage

[GearHeaded]

was about to do this the other day. haven realy drank since i started using gear how bad actually is it for gains, and health wise?

well from my little experiment ,, just dropping taking shots of whisky before bed to help me sleep has made drastic improvements.
I really thought nothing of it and didn't think it would effect 'gains' much . but it was destroying my appetite and digestion.

so I would not recommend it . maybe once in awhile in limited capacity. but definitely not every night or multiple times per week

[IronLiver]

well from my little experiment ,, just dropping taking shots of whisky before bed to help me sleep has made drastic improvements.
I really thought nothing of it and didn't think it would effect 'gains' much . but it was destroying my appetite and digestion.

so I would not recommend it . maybe once in awhile in limited capacity. but definitely not every night or multiple times per week

I have a friend that used to do the same thing before bed but with Vodka. Then he increased it to several shots. Then it was a half of bottle before bed. One day I went to his house and in his garage he had hundreds of empty vodka bottles. It can be difficult for many people to consume alcohol in a limited capacity...

[GearHeaded]

I have a friend that used to do the same thing before bed but with Vodka. Then he increased it to several shots. Then it was a half of bottle before bed. One day I went to his house and in his garage he had hundreds of empty vodka bottles. It can be difficult for many people to consume alcohol in a limited capacity...

I won first place and $2500 in a body transformation contest that was sponsored by a popular supplement company. I drank whisky every night the whole time. I still got all my meals in though.. I figured getting more sleep was more important then the negative effects alcohol would have on the gains. obviously it did not set me back that much being I won. but looking back, I could of probably been way better.

but now, gettin older I guess. my body and digestion is just way more sensitive and not tolerating that shit anymore. the body changes over time. i'ver heard that basically every 7 years your body is kinda a 'new body'.
7 years ago I could drink and make gains no problem . no longer though

[charger69]

I won first place and $2500 in a body transformation contest that was sponsored by a popular supplement company. I drank whisky every night the whole time. I still got all my meals in though.. I figured getting more sleep was more important then the negative effects alcohol would have on the gains. obviously it did not set me back that much being I won. but looking back, I could of probably been way better.

but now, gettin older I guess. my body and digestion is just way more sensitive and not tolerating that shit anymore. the body changes over time. i'ver heard that basically every 7 years your body is kinda a 'new body'.
7 years ago I could drink and make gains no problem . no longer though

When I started reading this, I thought that my next diet would include alcoholic beverages.


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[i_SLAM_cougars]

I won first place and $2500 in a body transformation contest that was sponsored by a popular supplement company. I drank whisky every night the whole time. I still got all my meals in though.. I figured getting more sleep was more important then the negative effects alcohol would have on the gains. obviously it did not set me back that much being I won. but looking back, I could of probably been way better.

but now, gettin older I guess. my body and digestion is just way more sensitive and not tolerating that shit anymore. the body changes over time. i'ver heard that basically every 7 years your body is kinda a 'new body'.
7 years ago I could drink and make gains no problem . no longer though

So did we just determine that all your digestive issues were cause by the mass consumption of raw alcohol?

[IronLiver]

So did we just determine that all your digestive issues were cause by the mass consumption of raw alcohol?

Alcohol has certain enzymes that help digest fat properly. Normally it's created in small amounts in our body if you're healthy but most people today are not healthy and have trouble doing this. Most people eat only cooked fats and there body can't breakdown the cooked fats properly, so they crave alcohol to help breakdown the fat.

Raw saturated fats (eggs, cheese, butter, bone marrow, etc.) in the mornings helps to restore the thyroid and balance sugar levels. Pineapple and honey with raw fat can supply the enzymes for fat digestion. Eating raw cheese before drinking seems to prevent a lot of damage as well.

[GearHeaded]

So did we just determine that all your digestive issues were cause by the mass consumption of raw alcohol?

too short of time to know for sure. only 9 or so days of not taking a few shots of whisky before bed and my digestion is way way better.
however I still think there is a combination of things going on, and the whisky at night (and then falling right to sleep) was exaggerating the problem big time.
still need to try out more foods and see. been sticking to mainly meat and rice and potato and some veggies as the bulk of my calories.
will see how eating more bread or pastas and grains effects me next

[GearHeaded]

like my post 993 stated ... I won a transformation contest drinking every night and didn't have any issues back then. but now I do have issues. so something else has changed

[HoldMyBeer]

like my post 993 stated ... I won a transformation contest drinking every night and didn't have any issues back then. but now I do have issues. so something else has changed

I still wouldn't write it off. Your body has changed as well. You can't just say because something did/didn't work for you in the past the same thing will happen again (not that it isn't an indicator of what to expect, I'm just saying it's not definitive)

[GearHeaded]

I still wouldn't write it off. Your body has changed as well. You can't just say because something did/didn't work for you in the past the same thing will happen again (not that it isn't an indicator of what to expect, I'm just saying it's not definitive)

yeah definitely, I agree. thats my point actually.. that my body has changed and what I did in the past is no longer going to work for me today.
I used to drink a few shots before bed to help me fall asleep, , then sleep soundly for 8 hours, then wake up and get all my meals in and train just fine and get results.
but now doing that same thing does not work and F's my digestion and my stomach up big time and anything I eat ends up bothering me.

so I simply gotta except whatever has changed, and find another way to help me fall asleep and not rely on a couple shots