BMI/Last few lbs - Broke Stall

(Brian Chandler) #1

I haven’t been on here in a bit, but finally broke a stall, so I wanted to share. Also, I’m eyeballing my BMI so I don’t have any numbers. I still need to order some calipers.

When I finally hit the 175 mark from my original 200 lbs, I looked good and felt great, but I still had a decent layer of belly fat. Fat around chest area is near non-existent now. I was trying to do HIT, but then winter came and I never could get a solid habit going, so that still may have worked pretty well, but isn’t what did it here.

Almost every time something has gotten off on this journey was due to needing to adjust my diet some. Again, that was the case here. First I refocused to be sure I was hitting below <20g carbs per day. Next I incorporated intermittent fasting (lightly). Then I ate really well with plenty of fats about three times spread out over the week to try and get my body firing on all fat burning cylinders again. Then I cut my fat intake way back. That seemed to do it for me if anyone else is looking for ideas to try.

I last weighed in at 169 lbs. I can’t see my abs yet, but can now see the muscle shape around the outer edge of the belly area. I’m now estimating about 1-1/2 inches of body fat over the muscle when I pinch it. :slight_smile: I didn’t realize how much the body tries to conserve these last few lbs of fat. Don’t get discouraged. Even though I broke the stall, I’m still loosing it at a much, much, slower rate while still being anal about my eating for this last bit.

(Rob) #2

Well done on smashing it! :smile:

I have had similar success with the feasting/fasting method to break through a stall. I’d gone for a month without losing any weight (I recognise that other things are happening too), and after doing 3 OMAD fasts in the last 10 days, one of which was completely accidental as I was just too busy to eat, I have now lost another 2lbs.

I’m back on a feast day today and feeling very satiated after eating 2 thirds of a Carlshead Pizza for lunch, which will be followed by a big, fat juicy Sous Vide Rib-eye Steak and cauliflower rice for dinner tonight. I’m salivating just thinking about it!

I’ll be fasting again tomorrow, ready for the weekend feasting :bacon: :bacon: :bacon:

Would love to see some definition in my abs! I know they’re in there somewhere!

(Kelly Mullen) #3

Great job! Love the ideas. I will try them after Xmas! `

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(Brian Chandler) #4

I wanted to update above. The technique that worked for me may not be sustainable when body fat is more in the “normal” range. I’ve seen YouTube vids where eating lean protein and plenty of greens worked well when BMI was higher, but when the body gets down to these lower BMI amounts other dynamics seem to come into play. I noticed that even though it broke the stall, after about a week things stopped again and I was starving. I immediately added in some fats and I’ve returned back to maintenance. Good news is, I haven’t gained back though.

I can only hypothesize what dynamics are in play, but the conclusion I came to is that there’s definitely a point where the body will really try to hang onto some fat. I imagine how much is more a gene thing. Also, I didn’t consider the rate at which the fat can be converted and used. Perhaps at “normal” BMI I should add in just enough fat into my diet to make up for the slow breakdown of the remaining fat (to negate the starving scenario.) Instead of exploring that though, I’m going to switch gears and try to add muscle mass to increase my BMR. If anyone tries adding in a slight fat deficit at normal BMI range I’d love to hear if BMI still decreased without starving, even if was super slow.

Stay calm and keto on. :smile:

(Brian Chandler) #5

Posting side shots for a clear picture of where I got to with just keto and diet adjustments:
(Unfortunately, I don’t have any good “before” pics. I had the stereotypical desk worker/beer belly though. I’m sitting at a steady 168, so just imagine +32 lbs almost completely around my belly area and a slight double-chin.)
Left_ScaledRight_Scaled

(Brian Chandler) #6

Man that sounds good right about now. I’ve been eyeballing some pizza recipes. Check this recipe out if you haven’t yet. It’s rich and has a lot of flavor for deli sandwiches. It does have fried pork rinds in it, so not the best fat, but I love this stuff. Convenient as heck for a grab and go breakfast with some coconut oil coffee.