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The ever elusive "Sweet Spot"!
miltbrophy2463
Posts: 30 Member
I would like to know how you have manipulated your macros to facilitate weight loss?
Low & Slow
I realize that what works best for some may not work well for others but I will continually strive for that elusive spot. I have been on Keto for a year, eating 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbs with a 26 pound loss but nothing in last 4 Months. I know that I must change my set point, Funny thing is, I have been attempting to lower my fats to 65% and up my proteins to 30% but my body would rather have the old macros. The struggle is real to claim a just reward, in it for life! Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!
Keto On!
Low & Slow
I realize that what works best for some may not work well for others but I will continually strive for that elusive spot. I have been on Keto for a year, eating 70% fat, 25% protein, and 5% carbs with a 26 pound loss but nothing in last 4 Months. I know that I must change my set point, Funny thing is, I have been attempting to lower my fats to 65% and up my proteins to 30% but my body would rather have the old macros. The struggle is real to claim a just reward, in it for life! Any thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated!
Keto On!
1
Replies
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Congrats on the weight loss!
How many total calories are you consuming? With a 26 lb drop, your energy expenditure will have also dropped so you may need to lower total calories (while keeping the same macro ratios).3 -
ccrdragon,
Thank You! I am 6'1" 240lbs eating 1,400 calories daily with 16/8 intermittent fasting and weight training.0 -
the TDEE calculations for you (assuming a sedentary lifestyle) put your daily expenditure at roughly 2400 calories a day. How are you measuring your daily intake (I ask because I am surprised that you would stop losing weight with a 1000 calorie deficit).
Also, have you taken measurements or before/after pix to see if maybe your body composition is changing even tho you are not losing weight? I see a lot of people who will stall, but it's because their bodies are sorting things out (like re-balancing hormones, converting white fat to brown fat, etc) and the only real way to tell that's happening is with metrics beyond the scale.
Personally, I have stalled a couple of times but measurements were continuing to change (legs getting smaller, clothes fitting better, etc), so I wasn't really bothered by the stalls.6 -
Ccrdragon's comment is really insightful. A 1000-cal deficit is probably enough to put you in 'starvation mode', so it really might work best for you to up it.
I know some people also go for a carb day which supposedly 'resets' them, but I've not had a need to so I don't know much about it. Maybe the same principle could work for your IF by changing around the pattern for a while.
The body adapts
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miltbrophy2463 wrote: »ccrdragon,
Thank You! I am 6'1" 240lbs eating 1,400 calories daily with 16/8 intermittent fasting and weight training.
I agree with @ccdragon . My guess is that you are either eating more than you think, due to eyeballing food rather than weighing it, or you may have a health issue like hypothyroidism which is slowing your metabolism a bit.
Perhaps try weighing all food this weekend?
The measurements advice is great too. We've had a few members post pictures during their stalls where it is obvious that they have lost fat and inches, and probably gained some lean weight. A very real possibility for you if you are weight training.
A few years back I was weight training quite seriously but then I had a back injury and had to stop everything for a few months. After about 10 days of inactivity I suddenly lost about 10 lbs within days. My guess is that my muscles finally had a chance to recover and they let go of some water weight they were holding onto while healing/trying to keep up with my weight program. Your weight training could be affecting the scale even though you are losing fat.3 -
Ccrdragon's comment is really insightful. A 1000-cal deficit is probably enough to put you in 'starvation mode', so it really might work best for you to up it.
I know some people also go for a carb day which supposedly 'resets' them, but I've not had a need to so I don't know much about it. Maybe the same principle could work for your IF by changing around the pattern for a while.
The body adapts
This is exactly what I thought too. I'm a 5' 6.5" woman, and when I was in the weight-loss portion of my journey, I was eating roughly 1400 calories a day and losing weight. I'm now in maintenance and am eating roughly 1600 calories a day but the number of cals per say keeps going up (this is actually a good thing for me) because I'm weight & strength training to build muscle and tone up. I expect the next body fat test I have will justify another 50-100 calorie increase. Anyway, my point here is this: you are a 6' 1" man (which means you have more muscle mass to maintain than I do) and you re clearly not eating enough so I too second what @errigrg said above.2 -
ccrdragon, eerigrg, nvmomketo, ladipoet, I really appreciate your assist on this as I have always felt that I have not been eating enough to lose but feeling totally satiated. I do not have hypothyroidism nor do I measure my food. I realize this is a scientific diet so I will be purchasing a scale. I must say that in the 70s I went from 250lbs to 178lbs in 6 months. I guess old habits die hard but happy those habits are long gone. I ruined my metabolism about the only issue I have at this point is a genetic issue called hyperlipidemia. I would have thought that I would be losing more than 1/2 a pound a week for 52 weeks. I guess it took 53 years to wake up. I will not waiver because of the blood numbers and benefits. I knew that I could count on you guys for the assistance. Thank You!0
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You are still losing. Just slowly. They say slow and steady wins the race, right?
Keep playing around with it. you'll eventually find a sweeter spot. I think changing things, like calories or macros or meal timing, does help keep the body on it's toes. I often seemed to lose a bit better when I changed something up.
My tastes tend away from higher protein too. I tried to increase to 25% and it was a struggle. I fall back to around 20%/80g protein every time I stop watching it. Now I just leave it there. When I lower calories my percentage of protein is higher but its still about 80g. Same with when I go to maintenance levels. It is still 80g but it is a lower percentage.4 -
Thank You nvmomketo,
I guess that I was thinking about lowering my fat intake due to my condition. I will attempt to up my calories slowly for a few weeks to see if that does the trick or maybe carb cycling. As I see it I have nothing but time so if takes a few years, so what! It's a double edged sword for me as hyperlipidemia and gout go hand in hand with fatty protein. I believe that the only answer for me would be higher fat intake. Your thoughts and responses are helpful and appreciated. TY!0
This discussion has been closed.