Thinking about starting this to speed up weight loss
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JAT74
Posts: 1,078 Member
I have been on MFP since January 5th and initially lost a few pounds but then it slowed down and I was stalled for a while. Since mid-Feb I have been doing 5:2 fasting so I eat 500 calories 2 days a week and on the other days I was eating at around 1650 but didn't lose much weight (only 2lbs in 2 months) so now I am trying to eat closer to my sedentary TDEE of 1450 and have started lowering my carbs to around 100g or under on my fast days. I'm happy doing the fast diet as I like eating a bit less twice a week and I have been feeling good generally even though I exercise daily.
In addition I have added in 16:8 fasting and my appetite has shrunk in the last couple of weeks since I started that and the weight seems to be moving again which is great, though I have only lost around 3% body fat since I started dieting and am now about 30% which is very disappointing considering I've lose nearly 14 lbs in weight.
Ideally I'd like to get to 20% or under and I want to get there in the next couple of months if I can. I am guessing this will also mean I will lose around another 18 or 20 pounds so my goal weight is 115lbs.
I think I could comfortably manage getting as low as 50g of carbs per day and this is important for me to be able to stick at a way of eating. Lower than than I'm not sure as I would be more likely to give up. I do have some concerns though, firstly I've read about having to replace potassium and magnesium and this seems fine, but I'm a little worried about all the salt I'd need to eat.
I don't have very high blood pressure but even so it's usually on the slightly higher side of normal and though I personally have no problems, I do have a family history of polycystic kidney disease.
I usually salt my food using low salt but I do eat out a lot and usually eat foods containing a high sodium content anyway, Should I be at all concerned about eating in this way (ketosis) and would I still have to add extra salt to my diet?
Also, in terms of fat loss, do any of you who do this see fat loss results from eating around 50g carbs per day or would I have to go lower to lose fat faster than I have been?
Another concern I have is what would happen if I have a day or meal when I go over on my carbs and eat a little more or have a higher carb drink? Would this make me gain weight and body fat or would I be able to get away with it once or twice a month?
I really want to find a way to speed up my fat loss as even now I am losing 1-2 lbs a week after being stuck for a while and the fact I exercise daily there doesn't seem to be much of a shift in body fat.
Any advice or tips?
In addition I have added in 16:8 fasting and my appetite has shrunk in the last couple of weeks since I started that and the weight seems to be moving again which is great, though I have only lost around 3% body fat since I started dieting and am now about 30% which is very disappointing considering I've lose nearly 14 lbs in weight.
Ideally I'd like to get to 20% or under and I want to get there in the next couple of months if I can. I am guessing this will also mean I will lose around another 18 or 20 pounds so my goal weight is 115lbs.
I think I could comfortably manage getting as low as 50g of carbs per day and this is important for me to be able to stick at a way of eating. Lower than than I'm not sure as I would be more likely to give up. I do have some concerns though, firstly I've read about having to replace potassium and magnesium and this seems fine, but I'm a little worried about all the salt I'd need to eat.
I don't have very high blood pressure but even so it's usually on the slightly higher side of normal and though I personally have no problems, I do have a family history of polycystic kidney disease.
I usually salt my food using low salt but I do eat out a lot and usually eat foods containing a high sodium content anyway, Should I be at all concerned about eating in this way (ketosis) and would I still have to add extra salt to my diet?
Also, in terms of fat loss, do any of you who do this see fat loss results from eating around 50g carbs per day or would I have to go lower to lose fat faster than I have been?
Another concern I have is what would happen if I have a day or meal when I go over on my carbs and eat a little more or have a higher carb drink? Would this make me gain weight and body fat or would I be able to get away with it once or twice a month?
I really want to find a way to speed up my fat loss as even now I am losing 1-2 lbs a week after being stuck for a while and the fact I exercise daily there doesn't seem to be much of a shift in body fat.
Any advice or tips?
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Replies
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I'm pretty new to Keto, but I've read a lot on it. My friend started me on it, and I only eat 20g of net carbs a day. Sometimes less. I've had fantastic results, I've lost 7 pounds in my first 10 days. This diet is all about your macro percentages. Mine are 74% fat, 21% protein and 5% carbs. If you go over 50g of carbs your body is no longer in ketosis, and it takes about 24 to 48 hours to get back into ketosis after that. The best way to start is with a keto calculator to get your correct macros.0
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Lots of questions there - here are my views on a few. I am not a doctor though, just from my experience - others' views may differ. I wasn't really clear whether you eat keto/low carb now? 100g carbs usually isn't low enough for keto though is usually seen as low carb compared to standard western diets.
I don't really worry about salt (NaCl), but I do supplement magnesium to avoid cramps and potassium as well (low dose for potassium as too much can be a problem apparently). I find I get enough normal salt in the things I eat, but others drink broth to ensure they get enough - everyone is different I guess. LoSalt is good for keto as it has potassium as well as sodium. You can't really tell until you take the plunge - but make sure you do get salt as otherwise for some the transition can be rough. I do not get 5g a day of sodium salt or whatever is recommended on keto and seem to be OK.
I used to do 16:8 fasting on keto but have read a bit about fasting and lots of exercise increasing cortisol which can have a negative effect on sleep (although I still sleep badly!) and weight loss because of the extra stress on the body. For me, keeping cortisol low seems to be key. I do exercise, but mainly focus on strength with a few cardio sessions a week (one zumba and other is just trying to fit in a bit more walking every day). You might want to think about taking a bit of a break from exercise if it is really intense every day. Exercise isn't necessary for losing weight, but it is good for you on lots of other levels. Phinney and Volek (art and science of low carb living) recommend strength training as best or most compatible with weight loss.
I also used to do IF (one day 500 cals and the next day eating "normally") back when I was high-carb - it did take weight off, but I gave up eventually after about 3 or 4 months as I felt I wasn't healthier as tended to eat anything at all on the "normal" day, plus I was fed up being quite hungry every other day. I wasn't focused enough on the quality of my foods, eating lots of sweets etc on my "normal" day.
If I go too high carb >50g then I stall weight loss. If I eat more I put on weight, particularly water weight. Doesn't take too long to come back off, but it does stall me while it works through. You will have to make your own decisions about whether it is worth it or not and you might want to read threads about carb refeed etc as this appears to work for some. Everyone's limits are different, but from what I understand 20g a day and you'll definitely be in ketosis after a while - seems daunting at first, but you get used to it.
Good luck!0 -
I am staying under 25g net carbs per day for the last 3 months.
The only health problems runs in my family is diabetes, my dad is type 2, i don't want to follow his steps and that's one of 2 reasons i've gone low card (the second is to drop 20lb, i have 4 or 5 to go)
I did take sodium (broth, salt) when i first started because once you enter keto state, you will have to drink water by gallons, literally, with that, you electrolytes will be flowing away with ketones and you will have to supplement.
Now, three months later, i do occasionally supplement with magnesium, as i get leg cramps here and there, i eat NoSalt or Lite Salt which contains half mag. and half sodium. So far it's been great, my go to potassium is avocados, that is if you love them.
You will have to read and educate yourself about the subject, weight all the cons and pros of this way of eating and see what works for you. Everyone is different, some people need more carbs to do well, while others can strive on 0, it's very individual. I'm a carnivore, i love my meat, and i can live without carbs.
Read, and ask questions, there are lots of people who have done this for a long time.
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I've been a keto girl for a while, I love it and it has it's pros and cons, First, drink a gallon of water a day, this optimized the flushing of excess ketones and your water weight as well, second stop weighing yourself regularly, I found it better to take photos and do bodyfat percentage tests once a week (on the morning of my carb up before eating breakfast). Thats the 2 main things, second go to IIFYM.com it has a calculator to tell you what you should be eating for a calorie deficit, I do the extreme one (1400 cals a day for me) and do 5% carb(34g), 70%fat(105g) and 20% protein(67g) daily. on carb day I swap the fat and carb percentages.
The reason I say don't step on the scale is because at some point you won't see a scale change but you will continue to see changes in the mirror. I started keto at 32%BF and dropped to 24% in about 2 months. I was 145 when I started, but didn't drop under 136lbs when I hit 28%BF and below. So take weekly photos of your front/back/side and you will see your results!
Eating out isn't bad, but keep your keto in mind, keto has a incredible selection of foods you can have. and for those you can't, you can eat them once a week (carb day, for me is 300-400 carbs and high protein/lowfat day), I always eat my cake that day ;P. I have gotten so used to not eating breads and rice it's normal for me now. I also only use butter or coconut oil for additional fats. I don't do milk and other dairy because it's too high in carbs to stay in ketosis, I'm also about 90% paleo on the regular so I tend to stay away from dairy anyway (being paleo has really made it easy to transition into keto since it's a alot of the same foods)
also to really make it better I recommend 30-45 minutes of light cardio a day (or at least 3 days a week) I do the treadmill at incline 13-15 at 3-4mph, weightlifting really works with keto and you should as muscle depletion is a concern on this diet, I try to lift 4-6 days a week, 3 at minimum. I usually do either 400 cals on the jacobs ladder or my usual treadmill routine if it's not available, my goal is to increase my deficit by burning 300-500 additional cals with my cardio.
I supplement every 4 weeks with Cellucor L2 (water loss pill) and use Cellucor D4 2x a day for energy and as a thermogenic, and use their C4 preworkout at the gym daily too (other companies make similar products but I am a cellucor addict, love their stuff)
I also use a women's 1 a day, a calcium and a magnesium supplement daily.
I hope it helps and if you have any questions please message me!
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