Calorie restriction?

calories
#22

There’s a differance

#23

But the key is, you do fill up.

Fortunately, most of mine have. At least enough so I can control what I eat. Before keto, there was little control once I started eating. Not eating was far easier than stopping.

Now, at least I forget about eating most of the time. I can have my breakfast at 7 am and pretty much not consider eating again until about 3 pm (I live in a retirement community and those are the two meals I get from them).

(Running from stupidity) #24

When you’re saying things like that, it’s good idea to quote the thing you’re disagreeing with.

And that was two hours ago…

Fast AND wedge that fact into non-fasting threads, you mean :slight_smile:

:+1:

(Allie) #25

You have to give your body the nourishment it needs if you want it to perform as you want it to. Calorie restriction / deliberate deprivation does not do this, always eat to your appetite as keeping yourself hungry will harm your progress.

(Jenny) #26

I dont think it’s fair to say calorie restriction always means you will be hungry. That is not true in my case, anyway. I’m saying the whole satiety thing doesn’t work for everyone. calories are not the whole story. but they do make a difference. that’s why most people here agree after one is fat adapted they need to eat less fat from their plate. your body needs a chance and a reason to draw from fat stores.
I know many people want to say "eat to satiety " here… there also many threads asking “why have I stalled”. I need data to go along with my satiety signals.

Believe it or not, I am not trying to change anyones mind. if satiety works for you as a measure, fine. but to say calories don’t matter…that eating more will cause fat loss…and God forbid anyone have a low calorie day or the body will assume starvation mode/its a famine…that’s just inaccurate. (I actually discovered Dr. Fung years ago while reseaching starvation mode is a myth).

I have lost over 100 pounds so I have seen alot of success. maybe the appropriate way to view a calorie is as a tool. it’s not “wrong” to eat to eat 2,000 calories a day of keto food. if I did that, I would not lose weight. I would need to reevaluate alot of things. sleep levels, stress levels, what I’m eating (carb creep? processed food?) and CALORIES. maybe that level of caloric intake is just too much for me.

that being said, op, I’m sorry for getting your post off track. I do SL 5x5 and cardio everyday, probably a day off 1x a week. a six pack is an amazing accomplishment :heart_eyes: congratulations! for me, the key to noticeable toning/definition is a short fast with sufficient calorie intake after and eating 1:1 fat and protein ratio or more protein. Its almost crazy amazing the definition and toning I will see after eating.

I have learned that I have to do what works for my body no matter what people on the internet say. am I supposed to say “look here belly fat the internet says you shouldn’t be here cuz I did _____” lol. That doesnt help. some other important things that work for me… is the 1850 you calculated on a heavy work out day or on a no exercise day or just an average? we tend to eat alot of the same foods over and over (simplicity is a great key to weight loss and maintaining)…if you look back to when she was “dialed in” was there a food you weren’t eating often then you are now? could your workout need a change up? my body is extremely lazy…it acclimatedms so quickly to food and exercise habits I really have to change things up alot. reddit has a few good subs for stronglifts and leangains and several ppl do keto, maybe a good resource (I assume you’re lifting due to the six pack) if you dont lift, jogging also helps my definition. and I dont do it much but, my body does get leaner when I do.

my apologies again and good luck!!

(Jenny) #27

OP, maybe post your question here?

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/c/exercise/ask-coach-allan 5

here’s the original thread:

and some info:
To get a six-pack, you’ll have to do two things:

  1. Cut your body fat to less than 9% (even better if it is around 5%).
  2. Dehydrate yourself.

after seeing this,
I’m curious if the 9% is true! oh man I may never get there! lol

(Allie) #28

If you’re not hungry then you’re not deliberately restricting calories, you’re eating to satiety. This is what is supposed to happen.

(Robert C) #29

The opposite problem is also a problem with calorie restriction.

It is 8 PM and you are not hungry and you still have 300 calories to get down.

You feel obligated to get the calories to the body (as you are restricting) instead of just hitting satiety.

(As well, if you avoided carbs all day - you might make a late-night bad food choice.)

(Allie) #30

Yes living by set macros and religiously following numbers from a calculator, really not ideal.

(Randy) #31

I think the difficulty with threads like this is that everyone has to figure out what works for themselves. What works for one person may not be adequate for someone else’s success. But once locked in to their own personal truth, it’s expressed as a fact. It’s not. We must all tweak what we do to find what works.

n=1 rules the day.

(Jenny) #32

this has not happened to me. restriction doesnt mean eating up to an amount.

(Jenny) #33

what? if I am “restrcting” calories to say, 1500 calories a day, and I’m not hungry at say, 1475 calories, then I’m not restricting? ok. we will call it calorie “counting” then. even better…calorie measuring:)

(John) #34

I have not measured macros or calories since starting this new lifestyle. I used to do Weight Watchers back when you had to carry little pre-printed forms for tracking points, and I really don’t want to have to do that again with some phone app.

I get why it helps - it teaches you to be mindful of what you are eating and to not forget about things you eat on auto-pilot. Also helps learn portion and meal sizes.

So maybe from doing that long ago, I internalized enough of it to where I do that automatically now. I have some set rules that I follow that makes it easier - no snacking, almost no processed foods so no labels to read carefully.

I try to eat when truly physically hungry (versus mentally hungry), only enough to provide a satisfying but not overfull feeling, and try to choose nutrient-rich foods. Some days I end up eating fairly little, some days more. My ratios of carbs/fats/proteins are not consistent each day. Some days are more carby, some days are nearly zero carb.

I know that I am eating much less overall than I used to, but it is more of a natural outcome of changing my approach to food and my food choices, and not an intentional restriction. It feels like I am eating quite naturally now, whereas before I was eating un-naturally.

So am I eating a lower calorie diet? Probably. Am I intentionally counting and restricting calories? No.

(Jenny) #35

a great description:)

(Allie) #36

Tracking yes, but unless you are deliberately stopping yourself eating when you want to eat, not restriction. I track, but I limit nothing. Some days I eat maybe 1000 calories, other days I hit 3000. All depends what I need each particular day.

(Jenny) #37

well we are really fine tuning here. ok, I’m in.

some days I calorie restrict, using your definition. I would love to eat a ton of calories that day cuz I’m bored, hormonal, angry, sleepy, tired, or need to poop…who even knows lol. I don’t eat a ton if calories, because it will not help me reach my goal of weight loss. I may exceed what I aim for that day, cuz life requires flexibility. But I will not go crazy. so I am restricting. I desire more food, I am not consuming it, based on my caloric measurement for that day being too high. I would never eat 3,000 calories, because that won’t help me reach my weight loss goal. But I can occasionally eat more than my goal amount of calories. If I did that every day, I wouldn’t lose weight.

some days, I am not hungry. I may fast that day, I may eat 500 calories. I refuse to eat when I am not truly hungry (like boredom), as that also will not help me reach my goal. I still measure my calories. why? I know I’m in a deficit. because this data will help me look back and correct/plan if I need to. without this data, I’m just going by how I “feel” and that doesnt work, for me.

anyway, as already stated, if satiety works as a measure for people who dont need so much data…that’s great :slight_smile:
eta: also, everyone has different goals. the op wants tone/definition which is partly based upon weight.

(Randy) #38

I’m just going to leave this here. :wink:

(Alex ) #39

I keep reading this thread, starting a reply, then deleting the reply.

No one very specific blueprint will ever fit every single person with a specific goal and it work perfectly.

I find a blend of several “approaches” seems to work for me. A lot of keto, a fair amount of calorie control, exercise created deficit, and just as much as sensible living as I can handle. (sleep, water, reduced alcohol etc etc)

At the end of the day, you can’t compare someone in their 30s who is hitting the gym with a six pack goal and a rigorous training regime, to someone who is retired and sitting at home knitting looking for autophagy and enlightenment, it just doesn’t work like that.

I always say its best to find a plan that works for you, see how it goes, make small changes if you need to, and largely stay as consistent as you can.

(mole person) #40

I agree with you. there are at least two threads on the forum right now where someone is complaining that keto has stopped working. In both cases the stalled person is not tracking. Not everyone is successful at recognizing and stopping eating at physical satiety, and we need to keep that in mind when offering advice.

Most of us, in order to get to our goal weight, have to apply little hacks to the basic keto diet. We may not call it calorie restriction, because we’re not hungry, and perhaps we’re not even tracking, but that still amounts to what it is.

I stopped losing fat on basic keto 15 pounds shy of my current maintenance weight of 108 lbs. In order to get here, I had to add using OMAD intermittent fasting, and avoid nuts and nut butters, as well as most dairy. If I don’t do these things, I will eat too much and gain weight, not because I’m hungry, but simply because I want to eat more.

I don’t track calories, but I do the same thing as @jennytoy1 in a different way. I look at my weight loss successes and failures and identify where the calories are leaking in and it’s never because I’m hungry and need to eat extra food. Instead it’s because I like lunch, nuts, ad libetum creamy coffee, and Jarlsberg cheese. If I eat any of these it’s mostly NOT because I’m physically hungry but instead, just because I like them too much.

(Jane) #41

Well two outta three ain’t bad!!!

:laughing: