Short Intro Message
All, I am sorry for not updating this post. First, I have lost 37lbs and things are going good. I will explain why I did not return here for a long time and what adjustments I made which resulted in weight loss and serious NSVs.
Failing To Update:
After conducting a self-audit, I realized that one week of dieting will not produce results and undo nearly a decade of poor lifestyle activities. So, I decided not to return here until I had truly made an attempt at lifestyle change, diet and exercise. At the same time, depression set in for about a month when weight loss never occurred. Here’s what I did.
My Hypothesis:
After I left the forum on Jan 20, 2019, I continued on the Ketogenic diet. By February 1, 2019 I still had not lost any weight. At this point, I hypothesized that I was suffering from a hormonal imbalance that was preventing my body from losing weight.
My Research
The first thing I did was start properly recording blood glucose levels. Patterns began to emerge. No matter how much sugar I ate or how little, my Glucose levels remained elevated. I am educated to the extent that I know that Glucose is regulated by Insulin and/or metabolic use for energy. It was obvious that the insulin produced by my body was incapable of normalizing the glucose levels in my body, i.e. insulin resistance.
I began researching the effects of insulin on the body. I finally determined that insulin is the gatekeeper to stored fat reserves. I will not bore you with the science. I will only suggest that you read “Why We Get Fat, And What To Do About It” by Taubes. Taubes mentions Keto but does not push you toward a diet. What Taubes does do is break down the science behind insulin, fat stores and de novo lipogenesis.
Correlations Between Glucose Levels And Weight Loss
So, for over a month I lost no weight. However, at the same time, my glucose levels would never fall to a normal range, fasting or not fasting. Dawn Effect or No Dawn Effect. There is a general scientific consensus that if you are able to lower glucose, you will lower insulin and then weight loss may occur. Among the science I studied, only two methods seemed to work, some form of ketosis and removing excess glucose. Ketosis would ensure that my body did not need glucose whatsoever to function. No glucose = go Insulin = fat Stores will be used. Don’t forget, at this point, I have not been able to lower my Glucose levels which in turn kept in insulin presence high in my blood.
Glucose Lowered, Insulin Normalized
So free roaming glucose is generally stored as fat. Although I was following Keto, my glucose levels were up due to insulin resistance. My research showed that exercise will require the body to burn excess glucose first. So, I started exercising in a fasted state in the morning. Guess what, my glucose levels began to normalize. The day glucose levels went down is the first day the scale went down.
Accidental Intermittent Fasting
I came to the conclusion of intermittent fasting before I knew it was a protocol for dieting. I had learned no matter what I ate, some insulin was required to counteract the food. Remember, if insulin is up fat stores will not release. So, it did not make sense to eat six meals a day, or three meals day. In my mind, the obvious solution was to eat as much as I needed in as little period of time so there would be more time between insulin spikes. Six small meals a day would basically keep my insulin levels elevated 16 hours a day. However, one large Keto meal a day would barely raise my glucose and give insulin little to no time to activate and stall weight loss. I googled this and to my surprise, there are cults of people who have all kinds of protocols for what I was doing. Little did I know I was already engaging in “intermittent fasting” following the 20/4 protocol. Some people call it the warrior diet.
Autophagy
Autophagy is the process by which the body consumes its own unhealthy cells and uses the debris to create new healthy protein. A Nobel Prize was just awarded for this research in late 2018. Little did I know, intermittent fasting forces Autophagy. I believe the hormonal issues and other issues which rapidly cleared up as a result of the 20/4 protocol were due in part to Keto and Autophagy. That is as far as I am willing to go with that claim. I’d encourage you to do your own research.
Results
I have lost 37 pounds over the course of 45 days. My clothes fit better, my skin has cleared up and my attitude has improved. My sleep is better but not perfect. My libido has improved and my energy levels are nearly double. My back and foot pain have decreased and my endurance has increased. My mind seems clear.
Conclusion
It is my personal opinion as a non-doctor that keto plus intermittent fasting normalized a hormonal imbalance in my body which has led to sustainable and ongoing weight loss.
Advice and Thanks
Don’t be me from the Jan 20 post. Do the research, ask why and by all means don’t “diet” and get upset if you don’t lose weight in six days.
I want to thank everyone on this forum who encouraged me. @Slabb actually sent me a PM to check on me when I did not return here. I owe him the biggest thanks. Guilt of failing to respond to his nice message kept me going and prompted me to retun here and update this thread.
really nice job on the research and weight loss.