Question for the guys with highly active jobs...

MissMorts

Hi All
I have a question/request for any highly active job/manual labour guys out there on this WOE....
You see my DH is watching what I'm doing with great interest and has said that he would love to join me but that he's worried what effect it will have on his energy levels at work...
He's a mechanic/welder fabricator (incredibly handy to have around the house!), so a complete opposite to my "sedentary" job sitting on my butt all day in an office... he's tried some of my dietary efforts at kicking the butt of my insulin resistant body but every time he tries anything that I'm trying healthy diet-wise, he finds his strength at work sapped which makes him cheat and food binge...
Are there any guys out there with highly active/manual labour jobs who would be willing to share their stories of how they started, what it was like, what was easy or hard, and what helped?
With much thanks!

Sunny_Bunny_

Replacing sodium starting day 1 would be particularly important for him.
Also he shouldn't attempt any kind of calorie restriction at least while he is adapting.

MissMorts

Thanks Sunny_Bunny_! They would definitely be at the top of the list! This group and those starter pins pulled me out of a bout of keto flu, I actually had a small bowl of a small amount of salt on my desk for a couple of weeks, every time I drank water I'd lick my finger, dip it in the salt and the lick the salt of my finger... my colleagues thought I was a nut bar!

kirkor

I've done keto while doing routed propane delivery in Wyoming during the winter ... not 100% hard work since there's driving time in the truck between stops but there's a lot of intermittent hard work what with the dragging hose, knee-deep snow, chaining up, etc. Once you're adapted it's not too bad. I salt my water and do IF as well. It's cool to have that "clean burning" feeling, and I see my coworkers snacking on twinkies etc. and don't understand why they need to.

SuperCarLori

I'm not a guy, but I work with my guy doing custom restoration, which is glorified mechanic work, fabrication, body work and paint jobs. I'm highly active, it's a very manual labor type job.

There are days in the beginning (which I am a beginner, AGAIN lol) in which I turn into noodle arms/legs during the heavier lifting and stuff like buffing and holding up various heavy car parts being hung (doors, hoods, etc.) But I do find that if I keep my sodium high, supplementing before and after, I can muscle through it. With tiny rest breaks.

It can be done.

P. S. I noodled it up (or bonked, as they call it) in the middle of pushing a camaro around our house (don't ask lol)....I slid in the mud and landed on my face. That was on Day Four, and I didn't prep with electrolytes, so it was my bad.

SuperCarLori

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

Replacing sodium starting day 1 would be particularly important for him.
Also he shouldn't attempt any kind of calorie restriction at least while he is adapting.

I agree...I try to always opt for a lesser deficit even after adapting, because...hard work and the body needs fuel. I lose slower than some, and faster than others, but I also reshape pretty quickly.

MissMorts

Thanks folks!

Sunny_Bunny_

I'm about to embark on my own personal experience on this subject.
I impulsively accepted a part time job in the evenings unloading trucks at UPS!!! Eek!
There goes my weightlifting I just started back up! Not sure I can manage both physically or with the time I have left after 2 jobs.
Anyway, I am going to have to adapt to doing physical work 5 nights a week real quick! If I come up with any tips I'll let you know. I imagine it'll be harder for me in some ways because I'm not used to doing physical work but I might have an advantage by being fat adapted for about 2 years at this point.
Your DH will be adjusting to the diet changes and I'll be adjusting to the level of physical activity.

You'll have to let me know how he does and if he has any tips for me too!

SuperCarLori

Congrats, SB!