Assesssing Progress

(Jim Lynn) #1

Hello KG Forum. I, 70 year old huey49, am new to the forum but have been LCHF for over a year and a half. Have shed 60 lbs and am about 20 lbs from my goal. Thanks, BTW, to Widebody for the post on diarrhea during EF. Will try lowering magnesium intake.

I have great curiosity regarding how others measure and deal with the rate of progress toward their fat loss goals. Pretty sure I’m not the only one with fantasies of sledge hammering the bathroom scale as I’m pretty sure the madness of scale readings is a common problem. There are so many factors affecting fluid fluctuation that trusting any reading or set of reading seems unreliable. Of course I don’t care so much how much I weigh as long as my body fat continues to diminish; again, probably a common sentiment.
I know the gold standard is the Dexa Scan but, like most, I can’t afford it frequently.
So I fast 5 days per week while staying hydrated with at least 3 liters per day of electrolyte infused water. I exercise at medium intensity aerobic 60 minutes per day and feel strong and sharp headed for an old man.
I also drink coffee with some heavy cream. My research suggests that the heavy cream, which is said to have no impact on insulin level, is not an impediment. But haven’t seen any scholarly research.
Please bestow your wisdom on me regarding any and all.

(Susan) #2

Welcome to the forum; Jim. You seem to be on the right track, as you have lost 60 pounds, so best wishes with the rest of the 20 pounds to go until your goal weight and Maintenance =).

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

Welcome to the forum Jim. I’m curious when you say you Fast 5 days a week are you speaking of IF? I do that myself, usually 18/6 everyday. I too have had great improvements with keto, coming up on a year September 7. I look forward to seeing you around the forum. Lots of cool stuff here. :cowboy_hat_face:

(Robert C) #4

The three best ways of assessing progress I know of are:

  1. Using the scale carefully. Weigh in under the same circumstances to see actual fat differences. This means eating the same foods for 2 or 3 days in a row (the same meals you ate before your last weigh in) and also (most important) drinking the same amount of fluid before the weight in. So, if you weigh in Friday mornings, eat the same size/frequency of meals Wednesday and Thursday and have a big glass or water at 4 PM Thursday - then cut off fluids and weigh at a specific time (the same time) every Friday morning. Keeping exactly the same eating and drinking pattern can make the scale useful. Specifically, don’t weigh after a fast (before refeeding) or after dehydrating yourself and don’t weigh right after a “cheat day”. The numbers can be 2 or 3 (or more) pounds high or low and just mess up expectations. They aren’t a measure of fat change but, instead, a measure of your stomach contents and water retention.
  2. Get your blood work done every 3 to 6 months - a detailed blood workup. This should show all sorts of numbers going in a good direction or simply confirm numbers are already in a good place. (It will also let you know if you are deficient or excessive in anything.)
  3. Use a tape measure monthly - arms, waist, chest, thighs etc. (there are measurement schemes to follow on Google). Be realistic about the measurements - if all of your final fat is around you waist - then an increase in arm size might be due to some new strength training you’ve started but, an increase in the belly measurement - probably not.
(Jim Lynn) #5

Thanks Rob.

#6

I get on the scale every day and it has a BF impedance measure as well. I track those and watch for trends, ignoring the day-to-day blips (both up and down). I also measure once a week. I also try to look at overall trends. Some weeks measurements go up, just like weight. Finally, I use my measurements to calculate and track my BF% via the Navy method. The result is somewhat different than the scale and possibly somewhat more accurate.

A large part of what the scale and it’s BF% are telling me on a daily basis is what’s going on generally with my body. When my weight goes up and BF% goes down, it’s more likely to be that I’m retaining a lot of water from eating too much salty food rather than cause for a panic attack that I’ve gained 2 lbs. of fat.

Anyway, I’m collecting a lot of data daily and weekly, and I try to remember that it’s not even really a solid snapshot of me on one particular day, but just a contributor to an overall picture.

If you are insulin resistant, diabetic, or have other health issues you’re trying to combat with keto, measuring changes in those things can be useful, too. If you don’t have other health issues, those are mainly markers that you’re not killing yourself by eating lots of bacon and eggs.

(Jim Lynn) #7

Thanks Zulelka,
Fortog abot the BF Impedance measure, Will try.
JL