Keto/LC And Intermittent Fasting-Down 70 lbs in 18 Weeks
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PaulChasinDreams wrote: »This is awesome! I just started IF and Keto 3 days ago.
Looking to replicate your success!
please share best practices!
Congrats! My lifestyle is pretty simple now really. I eat low carb every day. Some days as low as 10 grams, other days from 10 to 30 grams and some days I treat myself and get up to 40 grams. But I test with a blood keto meter to make sure I always stay in ketosis and I don't ever put two 40 gram days in a row. Everyone is different how or if they stay in ketosis and you will have to play around with your macros to see how little carbs you need to eat to stay in full ketosis. I make sure I get between .4 to .7 grams of protein a day and eat around 60 to 65% fat a day. I have mixed in a few groups of extended fasting along the way too. Two, two day water only fasts, and two three day water only fasts so far. I have approx 18 to 20 lbs more fat to lose. I am now in my 40th hr of a water only fast and am considering doing a 10 day water only fast to see how much of this last fat on me will burn off in that time.
Feel free to ask me any questions along your journey. I have also weight lifted for about 2 months during this 5 months but I injured my back so haven't exercised over the past 5 weeks but will be staring up again soon.
What do you recommend for testing ketones? What things have you done/eaten in the past that you were surprised that kicked you out of ketosis? Why such low protein? Everything I've read says that I want to do more than that! I've been back in the gym, trying to find what's best for me. I hope to get onto a 2 day a cardio/2 days weight routine.
I use a blood ketone monitor. There are a few different brands out there. Mine is a Precision Xtra. Blood ketones are better to go by than urine test strips cause the urine ones just test for excess ketones... https://www.perfectketo.com/a-guide-to-testing-ketone-levels/
Alcohol has a very rapid (at least with me it did) affect of kicking me out of ketosis. I am not a big drinker of alcohol to start with so it hasn't been a big issue for me to cut back on that. I like to have a couple beers a week with supper some times if I am eating foods that go well with it or a glass of dry white wine. So I have cut back even on that small amount too. I will have an alcoholic bevy once a week or so now. Two at the most.
I have been pretty fortunate with how much carbs I can eat and stay keto adapted but I think the OMAD lifestyle also helps with that. I can't prove that but from my own experience I think it helps cause I have done Atkins in the past without intermittent fasting OMAD and I bounced out of ketosis much quicker than I do now. Once a week or so I will let my carbs get to around 40 grams to treat myself with a bun or rice or bit of potatoes and I still stay in full ketosis. But I never do two of those days in a row. I have lot's of days I eat around 10 grams and other days between 20 to 30 grams. We are all different so you gotta see where you fall into the proper macro formula for yourself. That's why a blood ketone tester is so helpful in that way. In the first two months of me getting into keto I was testing my blood ketones almost every day. Ya it was expensive lol. Now that I know my metabolism pretty well after 5 months I am not testing it nearly as often. Around once every 8 days or so now lately.
Regarding the protein a lot of newer science is showing there isn't a need for large amounts of protein in order to maintain and/or build muscle mass while eating Keto lifestyle. As long as I get between .4 to .7 grams of protein per pound of body fat then I am happy with that and it still makes it relatively easy for me to get the right amounts of fat and carbs in to keep me in full ketosis. I do Dexa scans every two months to see if I am retaining my lean mass and/or gaining some as I lose the fat and although I am still in my early stages of Dexa scans it seems I am doing well in the lean mass department so I am happy with my current diet ratio of protein intake. But I suggest you eat the amount you feel is right for you and what works for you. I started at .4 grams per and now have increased it a bit to the .5/.6 more recently and that was from advice from my doctor and my dietician.
I am not too concerned with gaining lean muscle mass until all my fat is gone to a level I am happy with so If I can just maintain my lean mass right now then I am very happy with that. Gaining any while losing fat is an added bonus if it happens. Do some reading on body "recomp" to get more in depth detail on that while doing keto.
When all my fat is gone then I will get more focused on the putting on more lean mass and can adjust my macro's appropriately. For me my health markers all suggested that my main priority should be focused on getting the fat off of my body so that is my main concern right now. But being a former gym rat when I was younger that muscle building/strength building mentality is always there in the back of my mind so I can't wait to really go hard at the weights again. Have a lower back injury right now and a pinched sciatic nerve has really messed that up for me though currently.
Different studies, advice by doctors, dieticians etc vary seemingly between the .4 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. So I usually average myself in around .5 to .6 per pound of body weight daily in my one meal I eat.
I was a power lifter in my late teens and early 20's and back then the school of thought was to eat massive amounts of protein and hammered back tons of amino acids daily. But newer evidence shows such high amounts are not really necessary. I read and research tons about that kind of stuff in my free time but I don't really save articles or study results etc so if you do some google searches about it the info is pretty quick to come up in the search results. I usually do a subsequent search after reading articles/study results etc to see if they are from reputable resources. I suggest everybody does the same. Also please consult with your doctor while you are doing drastic changes to your diet/lifestyle cause we all have different health things going on with us and we are all really just strangers on the internet so you should always have a professional on your side line advising and supervising you in your weight loss journey.
This video isn't keto specific but the figures he discusses is pretty much in line with most of the research I have read regarding the protein needed. ie. the different amounts needed with different goals in mind; maintenance, fat loss, muscle mass gaining:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFSad9BqWRM
And some more keto specific write ups about it:
https://www.ruled.me/comprehensive-guide-bodybuilding-ketogenic-diet/
https://www.ruled.me/mythbusting-training-on-keto-diet/
https://ketodietapp.com/Blog/lchf/ketogenic-nutrition-and-exercise-protein4 -
Wow, well done you! Its very hard to deal with health issues on top of weight so you have done an amazing job and I bet your general health will have improved too. Inspirational keep doing what you are doing and we are all here to support you.
Thank you very much for the kind words Yes I'm super happy with my general health improving across the board. Feeling very happy and healthy and motivated. Lot's of great folks here on the forum and it's a pleasure sharing my journey with others. 2 -
Hello everyone. Just bit of an update.. It's now been 6 months or 180 days or 25.7 weeks (however you want to calculate it) since I started eating low carb and intermittent fasting. I weighed 274 lbs on Feb 2nd 2018. Today, July 1st 2018 I now weigh 186 lbs. A loss of 88 lbs so far. Which is an average of 3.42 lbs lost per week. As I noted before all my health markers are perfect now. I am no longer pre diabetic, I no longer have to worry about a fatty liver and I feel amazing with loads of energy every day.
Just thought I'd post up a few more pictures with hopes that they may inspire others out there to lose fat to benefit their health.
Day 1, Weight=274 lbs....Feb 2nd 2018:
Day 146 (20.8 weeks in) Weight=195 lbs... June 28 2018
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Congrats on your weight loss!! True inspiration for me so I can keep doing what am doing, thank you for sharing your amazing results!!! 1
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Did I see you on reddit/keto pics? You look great!1
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Congrats on your weight loss!! True inspiration for me so I can keep doing what am doing, thank you for sharing your amazing results!!!
Thank you so much! I'm so glad to hear it can be an inspiration for others. Keep doing what your doing and keep that positivity up and that nice smile going! 2 -
jjfreebird59 wrote: »Did I see you on reddit/keto pics? You look great!
Thank you! No I've never posted any pics of myself on reddit. Maybe someone else did? Do you have a link to where you think you saw them?
I am a member of some other weight loss groups online and a private one with doctors and dieticians but I'm not aware of anyone posting my pics anywhere other than where we post regularly.2 -
Wow. Really inspired! Hope. Now I know keto really works. You look great! Thanks for sharing.2
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Great journey!1
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Paul, WOW! You are such and inspiration! So pleased to hear this way of eating is helping you in so many ways!1
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CrystalConsults wrote: »Paul, WOW! You are such and inspiration! So pleased to hear this way of eating is helping you in so many ways!
Thank you very much. That means a lot to me.
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Inspiring Paul, Great Job!
I started Keto a few weeks back and lost weight the first 2 weeks then went into a stall. I was about to try IF then saw your post. I'm still unclear on a few things especially on my macros.. Do you still hit your macro's when you're IF? I used a Keto Calculator to figure out macros but starting to wonder if it's right, I have a caloric deficit hit my % of Fat/Carb/Pro and still stalled for 2 weeks straight.1 -
jjfreebird59 wrote: »
Did I see you on reddit/keto pics? You look great!
Thank you! No I've never posted any pics of myself on reddit. Maybe someone else did? Do you have a link to where you think you saw them?
I am a member of some other weight loss groups online and a private one with doctors and dieticians but I'm not aware of anyone posting my pics anywhere other than where we post regularly.
Really? Hmmmm, I could be wrong. You look familiar to me, I suppose. I do go on the Reddit/Keto and look at the before and after pics often though. It's so inspiring. Everyone looks so much younger and alive in the before and after pics. I love it! Thanks for posting your progress pics, you are doing so awesome!1 -
xrsize4dad wrote: »Inspiring Paul, Great Job!
I started Keto a few weeks back and lost weight the first 2 weeks then went into a stall. I was about to try IF then saw your post. I'm still unclear on a few things especially on my macros.. Do you still hit your macro's when you're IF? I used a Keto Calculator to figure out macros but starting to wonder if it's right, I have a caloric deficit hit my % of Fat/Carb/Pro and still stalled for 2 weeks straight.
Hi there and thank you for the kind words! Are you testing your ketones with a blood meter to ensure you are in ketosis every day? With some people it can take a bit longer to get completely keto adapted and switch your metabolism over to fat burning instead of glucose burning and there are some folks that need to take in less carbs than others to get into and stay in ketosis. That would be my first suggestion then it would be to see if you may need to also concentrate more on your caloric intake because some folks also need to get into a deeper deficit than others to start seeing constant drops in the fat. And are you weighing your food with a very accurate gram scale and not calculating by volume? This is a very common thing where people get stuck because they think they are eating less macro's and calories than they actually are.
Everyone is different so hormones, calories, macro ratios etc can all affect the rate at which we metabolize and burn fat or store fat. There can also be cases where too much protein intake can get converted to glucose but it isn't common and the amount has to be pretty high and constant to have that affect so it's not usually a concern if being watchful with your macro's.
Yes if you are in ketosis every day and you find you are in a stall a bit of a fast can certainly boost things. Another thing could be that you may have lost a lot of water for the first couple weeks and now your body is transitioning into getting keto adapted. Cutting a lot of carbs will release a lot of the water your body has been holding on to. Also another big thing is to ensure you are getting in adequet electrolytes every single day. Not having enough can also have an impact on fat loss and can create stalls in fat loss. I take electrolyte powder as well as ensuring I get around 3000 mg of salt a day. I prefer the Himalayan Pink salt myself. I find it less strong and easier to supplement.
For my macro's it is a bit custom to myself as I've been experimenting a lot with that over the 6 and a bit months so far. I don't do the exact same macros every day. 4 out of the 7 days a week I eat very little carbs at around 5%, one of the days I do around 7% and the other two days I am up around 10% of my macros. But I don't do any of the higher carb days in a row. I break them up with lower carb days. Playing around with my macros while testing ketones every day I found this keeps me satiated the best while still keeping me in ketosis. But just cause it works for me doesn't work for everyone. I really suggest trying to figure out what those macro numbers are that will work best for you while keeping you in ketosis. At the different macro %'s you will probably find your carb grams will fall somewhere's between 10 to 50 grams per day while still keeping you in ketosis. When I do treat myself to the couple days of higher % carbs I will take those in the way of treats of a little bit of homemade ice cream, little bit of fruit, or little bit of rice, potato, or bread. But saying that it took me awhile to figure out what I could get away with while still staying in ketosis and dropping the weight. If you are anal about weighing every single gram of food you eat and tracking everything perfectly then you will start to see a pattern of what macro's keeps you in ketosis all the time and where that line is that bumps you out of ketosis. But as mentioned that can only be figured out if you religiously weight your food and test your ketones with a blood monitor.2 -
Thank you. My pleasure sharing the info and pics. It's very nice to hear when it inspires others. I am often going on those sections of the forums to look at peoples progress pictures. I get a lot of my motivation and inspiration from so many others too.jjfreebird59 wrote: »jjfreebird59 wrote: »
Really? Hmmmm, I could be wrong. You look familiar to me, I suppose. I do go on the Reddit/Keto and look at the before and after pics often though. It's so inspiring. Everyone looks so much younger and alive in the before and after pics. I love it! Thanks for posting your progress pics, you are doing so awesome!
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PaulChasinDreams wrote: »xrsize4dad wrote: »Inspiring Paul, Great Job!
I started Keto a few weeks back and lost weight the first 2 weeks then went into a stall. I was about to try IF then saw your post. I'm still unclear on a few things especially on my macros.. Do you still hit your macro's when you're IF? I used a Keto Calculator to figure out macros but starting to wonder if it's right, I have a caloric deficit hit my % of Fat/Carb/Pro and still stalled for 2 weeks straight.
Hi there and thank you for the kind words! Are you testing your ketones with a blood meter to ensure you are in ketosis every day? With some people it can take a bit longer to get completely keto adapted and switch your metabolism over to fat burning instead of glucose burning and there are some folks that need to take in less carbs than others to get into and stay in ketosis. That would be my first suggestion then it would be to see if you may need to also concentrate more on your caloric intake because some folks also need to get into a deeper deficit than others to start seeing constant drops in the fat. And are you weighing your food with a very accurate gram scale and not calculating by volume? This is a very common thing where people get stuck because they think they are eating less macro's and calories than they actually are.
Everyone is different so hormones, calories, macro ratios etc can all affect the rate at which we metabolize and burn fat or store fat. There can also be cases where too much protein intake can get converted to glucose but it isn't common and the amount has to be pretty high and constant to have that affect so it's not usually a concern if being watchful with your macro's.
Yes if you are in ketosis every day and you find you are in a stall a bit of a fast can certainly boost things. Another thing could be that you may have lost a lot of water for the first couple weeks and now your body is transitioning into getting keto adapted. Cutting a lot of carbs will release a lot of the water your body has been holding on to. Also another big thing is to ensure you are getting in adequet electrolytes every single day. Not having enough can also have an impact on fat loss and can create stalls in fat loss. I take electrolyte powder as well as ensuring I get around 3000 mg of salt a day. I prefer the Himalayan Pink salt myself. I find it less strong and easier to supplement.
For my macro's it is a bit custom to myself as I've been experimenting a lot with that over the 6 and a bit months so far. I don't do the exact same macros every day. 4 out of the 7 days a week I eat very little carbs at around 5%, one of the days I do around 7% and the other two days I am up around 10% of my macros. But I don't do any of the higher carb days in a row. I break them up with lower carb days. Playing around with my macros while testing ketones every day I found this keeps me satiated the best while still keeping me in ketosis. But just cause it works for me doesn't work for everyone. I really suggest trying to figure out what those macro numbers are that will work best for you while keeping you in ketosis. At the different macro %'s you will probably find your carb grams will fall somewhere's between 10 to 50 grams per day while still keeping you in ketosis. When I do treat myself to the couple days of higher % carbs I will take those in the way of treats of a little bit of homemade ice cream, little bit of fruit, or little bit of rice, potato, or bread. But saying that it took me awhile to figure out what I could get away with while still staying in ketosis and dropping the weight. If you are anal about weighing every single gram of food you eat and tracking everything perfectly then you will start to see a pattern of what macro's keeps you in ketosis all the time and where that line is that bumps you out of ketosis. But as mentioned that can only be figured out if you religiously weight your food and test your ketones with a blood monitor.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for the info. Yes, one of the things I've invested in was a good scale to weigh my food but I think that I need to get the blood meter as I've not been testing to see if I'm in ketosis. Likewise I'm not sure that I'm getting enough electrolytes.. I actually have been keeping my carb's to less than 5% ( 20g or less).
Thanks for the help!1 -
No problem @xrsize4dad my pleasure 1
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3 Lbs to go to get to my next mini goal then carrying on to the next goat which will be at 174 lbs. That will put me at 100 lbs lost at that point
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amazing!1
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Great Job Paul. I am on my journey as well. Starting weight of 260 June 1st and down to 227.5 this morning Aug 14. I am 6'2" so I would probably not look great under 200# but I do plan on getting around 210#. Keep up the great work and I hope you reach that 100# mark soon.2
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Right on @KowboyKraka ! That's awesome you are dropping lot's of weight. Thank you for the kind words and same to you. Great to see others sharing their journeys here. 1
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KowboyKraka wrote: »Great Job Paul. I am on my journey as well. Starting weight of 260 June 1st and down to 227.5 this morning Aug 14. I am 6'2" so I would probably not look great under 200# but I do plan on getting around 210#. Keep up the great work and I hope you reach that 100# mark soon.KowboyKraka wrote: »Great Job Paul. I am on my journey as well. Starting weight of 260 June 1st and down to 227.5 this morning Aug 14. I am 6'2" so I would probably not look great under 200# but I do plan on getting around 210#. Keep up the great work and I hope you reach that 100# mark soon.
6'2" here and I started at 208 on 7/10/18 (My highest was 228) and am now at 194. I seem to do best at 185. I got down to 173 once and people started asking if I was well. I have a little beer gut left to eliminate.0 -
6'2" here and I started at 208 on 7/10/18 (My highest was 228) and am now at 194. I seem to do best at 185. I got down to 173 once and people started asking if I was well. I have a little beer gut left to eliminate.
I agree, with the low weight. My lowest was 170 when I was about 23 and people questioned me on my health. I just wasn't eating a whole lot at that time in my life. Probably the lowest healthiest weight I was around 185. I was running 6 miles a day and only eating one meal a day. Was drinking about 1.5 gals of water a day as well. Once I get to 210, I will see how I look and feel and go from there.
224.3 this morning.0 -
KowboyKraka wrote: »6'2" here and I started at 208 on 7/10/18 (My highest was 228) and am now at 194. I seem to do best at 185. I got down to 173 once and people started asking if I was well. I have a little beer gut left to eliminate.
I agree, with the low weight. My lowest was 170 when I was about 23 and people questioned me on my health. I just wasn't eating a whole lot at that time in my life. Probably the lowest healthiest weight I was around 185. I was running 6 miles a day and only eating one meal a day. Was drinking about 1.5 gals of water a day as well. Once I get to 210, I will see how I look and feel and go from there.
224.3 this morning.
It's funny, My original goal was 210 but I was having success and wanted to be gut free. When that happened I got a bit carried away and wanted a cushion. I was running 30+ miles a week, going to the gym three times a week and doing planks for 15 minutes daily.1 -
Paul, you look great! Congratulations on your progress so far! My husband and I switched to keto last fall for essentially the same reasons. His blood tests came back in October saying he was on the very bottom rung of being diabetic. After only three months for him, his triglycerides were way down. He has now lost over 35 pounds and the belly is disappearing. I don’t think either of us has been as strict with ourselves as we need to be but we are getting there. His A1C went down to 5.5 in just three months puttinghim back in the non diabetic range which is the most important thing for us. Keep it up! You are worth this effort!4
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@1Nana2many That is awesome news!!! Thank you very much for sharing you story here. Great to hear other success stories with health markers getting so much better. 2
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thanks for sharing and truly inspiring. I started this journey 3 months ago myself after being diagnosed at Type 2 Diabetic. Seeing this is helpful and reinforces my own resolve.0
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