psuLemon MFP Moderator

Don't disagree. I somehow don't think most people are gonna have your physique.

You certainly look flat on keto. But you can always run CKD to help address that. Or a program like UD2.

I moved this to the bodybuilding/gaining weight section as you will get more specialized answered. If you are looking to gain weight and focus on muscle gains than a smaller surplus will be ideal. Something like 250-400 calories over maintenance. And you could slowly add calories until you get there. Second, you will want…

I suspect they were just disagreeing with you doing Keto.

If you are feeling good, then it may not be worth spending the $60 for a ketone meter. But at 20g, it would be highly unlikely not to be in ketosis.

The urine strips are not very accurate. If you care about ketosis, get a blood ketone meter like a keto coach. Also, regardless if you are in ketosis or that you have a device showing you are in ketosis, if you restrict carbs, fat oxidation will increase and carb oxidation will decrease. The whole mental clarity or energy…

I found that my chaffles are better with baking powder compared to xatham gum. I generally do 1/2 tsp/serving. It has been pretty consistent with my chocolate chip, peanut butter, cinnamon, gingerbread, and italian savory chaffles.

Taking a diet break this week. Seeing if it helps with some energy issues i have been dealing with.

I just edited my post to add more clarity

Just aim for .8-1.2g/lb of body weight. So 95-140g. That range will be sufficient. ETA: don't freak out if you aren't consistently in that range but rather use it is as a general guide. Given you are a beginner, you should respond to any stimulus. And if you want something more butt focused, look into Bret Contreras…

This applies to every single diet or lifestyle change. Long term weight loss is like 5-10% successful. I did Keto and it worked pretty well. But it kills my gym performance which is why i generally come off of it. But i often run periods of Keto if i gain some weight back. Ultimately, it comes down to what is sustainable.…

Large Norton saw similar results with his work. I believe he had a video on this recently.

Yes! 1/2 cup protein 1 3/4 cup almond milk 1 scoop Kaged Muscle protein 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder 2 tbsp stevia (i like sweet) Topped with Lily's white chocolate chips and fruit. It coule be peanut butter, nuts, raisins/craisens, etc... PEScience has some good tasting proats mixes. But their whey is good too.

When you increased your protein, how did your fiber look? How about fats? Its possible there wasn't enough of one of those causing the issue

I don't think you fully understand gluconeogenesis. On ketogenic diets both fats and proteins are converted to glucose via gluconeogenesis at roughly a 60/40 ratio respectively. But that is a demand driven process and just doesn't happen because you eat protein. A good frame for protein is aim for .8-1.2g per lb of goal…

It was a pretty good book. It has 3 programs which make it easy to get started

Some recent foods.

Kaged Must has good products. They have a new plant based protein powder. If it's anything like their other products, it should taste pretty good

Based on the ingredient list, its a combination of whey proteins, very cheap sugar (maltodextrin) and every non effective "fat burner" supplement.

My best iron "supplement ;)" In all seriousness, where do you get your protein? Meat and seafood have the most and is bioavailable.

I feel your pain. I have been struggling with hunger issues. Been trying to add some cardio to buffer the additional calories. Although, i am trying to stay at 1800 -2000 for a bit higher fat loss rate. Maintenance for me is 2600-2800 ish.

That's good. Keep on going. The rest will follow.

Time and patience. I am about 15% now and i got that *kitten* in my arms, legs and ab region (these came out around 17-20%

To add, the biggest thing and reason for cutting is to improvements to metabolic health. Lifting heavy and running a high protein diet will help with building muscle.

Not sure i agree with that. I've had veins showing in my arms and legs since 20% or a little higher. But i loss in those places first.

I feel you and thanks for the suggestion. One of the major things we are working on is not flexing my back and increasing ROM with my ankles and hip flexors so i am not compensating. I have also deloaded to focus on form and flexibility.

Sorry to hear. My PT goes to my gym, so he gave me a few extra things to try. But if i can't recover soon, i am going back. What's interesting is i can squat 255 with no pain but putting on my shoes is a *kitten*.

You can slowly decrease calories if you prefer. If you keep protein and training volume about the same, then its a non issue for muscle loss. And given you are still new, its not overly likely that you will lose that much strength.

They stem from weak glute medius, over arching of my spine during squats and overall tightness. So when i have shifting or rotation, its caused pain in my lower part of my back. I am working strengthening the supporting muscles and working on flexibility, particularly the hamstrings, glutes, and hip flexors.

A deficit around 250-450 calories per day would be good. Still run their program or switch to a hypertrophy style one. In general, they are pretty knowledgeable and from what i have seen, they have pretty good programming