Back into my (some? one?) 34s (size of pants in inches) after The Croissant Diet (TCD)

(Bob M) #1

After gaining 20+ pounds and going from 34 inch waist pants past many of my 36s and even into some 38s due to the TCD, I realized this morning that the pants I have on are 34s. Now, these are “stretchy” 34s, meaning that there are probably a lot of my other (“thinner”) 34s I can’t get into. I’ll find out once I have the time to try all my pants on.

How have I done it? A (much) higher protein, low fat keto diet.

Sometimes – gasp!!! – with more carbs. Today, for instance, I’m eating 45g white rice for my first meal after my 1:20 body weight workout. Testing a TKD (again). Trying this only after body weight (lifting) workouts, so only 2 days per week.

Am I like Ted Naiman, where I think higher protein is better for everyone? No.

I think Richard Morris’s discussion here is interesting:

UK Low Carb Podcast with Richard Morris

In it, Richard describes how people with T2 diabetes are locked out of burning fat.

But I think for some of us, “high” protein, “low” fat keto works well. (By “high”, I typically eat around 160 grams of protein for my first meal of the day. And I primarily eat meat for dinner, so we’re looking at 200-250-300 grams of protein per day.)

(I’m still not sure about the TKD, as I haven’t tried it long enough, and there’s the real possibility I’m not doing it correctly.)

#2

YUP! Definitely a game changer for me!

(Laurie) #3

I almost didn’t read your post because I didn’t know what a “34” was. Now I’m glad I read it. Thank you for the info! Maybe I need to try the same.

(Bob M) #4

I have revised the title.

Don’t know how men’s pants are “sized” elsewhere, but where I live, our sizes go by waist size in inches and length in inches. So, the pants I have on are 34x32, 34 inches in waist, length of 32 inches.

Of course, I have “fat” 34s, “normal” 34s, and “thin” 34s, as they aren’t all designed the same.

I would quantify my pants today as belonging to the “fat” 34s, but I’m not sure, as I put all my 34s in the back of the closet. I did not realize these were 34s until I read the label today. At some point, I hope to go through my closet/wardrobe and see what fits now and what doesn’t. I’ll see at that time how many 34s fit. Maybe only this one? Not sure.

(Bob M) #5

Do you think it’s because we’re lifters? That’s one hypothesis I have: lifting = more “hungry” muscles, more insulin/carb sinks. I’m not sure this applies to everyone, though I have seen a lot of people experience benefits by reducing fat and increasing protein.

On the other hand, Amber O’Hearn keeps showing the opposite: people who eat fat first then protein, and experience benefits. They seem not to be lifters, though that could be my (mis)perception.

(Jane) #6

And if a man has a pot belly (not talking about the keto men) they wear their pants below the belly so the “waist” measurement in misleading…

But we women have “vanity sizing” to make up for it. :grin:

(Central Florida Bob ) #7

Congrats, Bob.

I think we all have probably experienced different clothes in the same marked size fitting differently.

I started down that most recent attempt to tweak my weight down about 10 or 15 lbs to fit more comfortably into the one pair of pants I have in my newer size 38s, which worked. I since bought another pair of 38 shorts. I can take those off without unbuttoning them.

(Bob M) #8

@Janie That is true. My actual belly size isn’t 34. (Haven’t measured it in…forever though.)

@CFLBob That’s nice about the short, though perhaps not safe (don’t want those falling down while walking!).

#9

I definitely do, I think most people protein starve themselves even when they’re not, but once we start doing it the effects are way more noticeable. I forgot how hungry muscles really got! Between the protein going up and recovery being night and day different, to fat coming down and me actually able to burn it off again, but especially when I switched to TKD and after two days leaving the gym with sleeves that didn’t come back down my arm if I raised it… THAT reminded me how much I was setting myself back for years lifting with no glycogen in the tanks, and clearly visuals aside, I was lifting harder and longer when I wasn’t running on empty.

I think we all fall victim to making keto to much of a cookie cutter WOE and not adapting it to our specific goals.

#10

HAH! 300lb me did that! Think I was at a 44 then, which means it was even worse :nauseated_face:

34 these days… no lookin back! Actually I look back a lot… keeps me in line!

(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #11

As Robert Lustig points out, it’s a sex-linked characteristic. Men put on fat above the waist, on their bellies; women, below, on their hips and butts.

(Robin) #12

This is one reasonI’ve learned not to go crazy buying lots of pants in my new size. I bought almost a whole wardrobe for Easter in Dallas with my family. MY entire closet was too big for me, so I went buy a few outfits and went nuts. And now…. Too big. So now I only buy a few vital articles of clothing that fit the new me.
have fun wearing those 34s!!!

#13

Nice job–even the “loose” 34s means that your progress is real after your croissant diet experiment. Keep it up. The white rice is generally tolerated pretty well without bloating so as you think you need more you can add more.

I think you have mentioned having a CGM in other posts, can you track what BG does with the TKD? I am guessing demand is increased and thus some of your steady state BG numbers will increase. Just a hypothesis, though.

I think it has to do with lifting and lean muscle. Muscle will be a glucose sink even without high insulin levels. Body weight resistance training is great. Make sure you focus on your lower body. Keep it up!