Hunger Games

(charlie3) #1

I’m six weeks into keto, tracking with Crono and a kitchen scale. Over 30 days I’ve got 30 g net carbs and a 300 daily calorie deficit. For the past 7 days it’s 22.5 net carbs and 437 daily calorie deficit. I’m noticeably lean but want to be leaner.

I’m strength training and doing some cardio for the past few months. I’m near my weight as a young, active, non drinking guy in my 20’s. There also some acceptable muscle development.

I eat a huge salad for dinner with cheese, olive oil and avacado added for calories. That means I’m not hungry in the morning so skip breakfast. For work I take a hard boiled egg, 1.5 oz of cheese and 1.5 oz of mixed nuts. I try not to eat them and increasingly I don’t. They get saved in the fridge for the next day.

Reducing body fat is so easy it’s almost too easy. It appears my fitness and muscle mass is increasing despite the calorie deficit.

How lean can I get before my body starts to interfere?

(Raj Seth) #2

I don’t know why you are eating so keto AND trying to maintain a calorie deficit. That will only serve to sabotage your metabolism. Eat till full. Maybe eat a 100 call or so extra to juice up the metabolism. Then you may find yourself going into IF or even EF. Who knows - you may find your workout intensity increasing while fasted!! Many performance athletes are discovering exactly that.
Calorie deficit serves no purpose that I know of.
Well, other than wrecking your metabolism :flushed:

(charlie3) #3

Why such a negative reply? I consider myself at risk for type 2 diabetes which is nothing special becausee half of american adults fit that description… The first prioriity is to get the fat out of my abdominal cavity. That is waist measurement. I’m down from 34 to 33" with 2 inches to go.

If I’m adapted to burning fatty acids instead of glucose then when I’m not supply enoough fat from digestion my body goes to stored fat without a lot of fuss, right? That is one of the points of this I thought.

The combination of diet and exercise has me feeling as energetic as I can recall over my life time which is saying something since I’m 69 years old. The way I’m eating now is so different than the past I’ve got too watch macros and micross for a while to see what’s really happening and because I’m trying to get leaner than mother nature may be intended and don’t want to over due things. I think my metabolism is doing great. My current work days are 11 hours plus a long commute. Work used to wear me out. Now I rush home to exercise instead of surfing the web. I havce a lot of energy these days.

(Allie) #4

Sorry @charlie3 but @Rajseth is right, lose the deficit as it’s counter-productive on keto, especially with the level of exercise you’re doing.

The leaner you get, the more calories you’ll likely find you need as your body will need the dietary fat when there’s not as much body fat to burn.

(Pete A) #5

Interfere how? Your menu was wonderful to read, all sounds good, you sound good. What concerns you?

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #6

For you. Not everyone is so blessed.

(charlie3) #7

What I understand about reducing fat is at some point my metabolism may decide it’s lost too much fat and take protective measures to perserve it. May be I’m not right about that.

As far as stratagies for reducing fat I find that trying to shave calories off a meal doesn’t work. I want to feel satisfied at the end of a meal. With keto it’s easuer to skip a meal or two or three. The best thing about keto besides the hoped for health benefits is it’s so easy to fast or skip meals.

(Pete A) #8

Whatever facts you’re presented with regarding your questions remember you are an experiment of one.

To monitor and anticipate my progress I keep my head in my macros, regularly check numerous calculators, and am thoughtful about different ways to measure. My goal is overall body composition and I’m enjoying that being an ongoing, long term goal, with a nice ebb and flow. :grin:

#9

You may want to get a fasting insulin done to see if you really are accessing fat stores. If your fasting insulin is too high this will be a problem. Also, the formula that @richard came up with is something like 31 calories per lb of excess body fat is available to supplement each day. So if you are 10 lbs overweight then you have 310 calories available to supplement what you eat

(charlie3) #10

I must be accessing fat stores in some fashion. 2 months ago I was 160 pounds on the scale. I just got on the scale a moment ago and it’s saying 154. That’s 4 pounds more than high school days. What I see in the mirror above the bottom of my rib cage is as well defined as I can remeber. I’m not “overweight”. Besides I don’t like that term. I’d love to be 10 pounds heaviier minus 5-10 more pounds of remaining body fat. May be I can grow that much muscle at my age. Time will tell.

I was a hobby lifter 30 years ago. I could make some nice muscle but never get really lean because I was following bad diet advice, what everybody was told back then. NOW I have a way to get very lean and have some muscle too. This is going to be fun.

I would stick with this diet even if there were no health concerns because I’m feeling so good. This has been a remarkable experience.

(Troy) #11

This
For me, older than OP
However, working out during a fast is awesome

I’m the leanest I’ve been since High School
Taking in more calories now and FAT😀

(Yes, it’s true for meas well, I did start off w CICO…sure, worked w weight loss for a bit.
I was tired , weak, and in a mental fog. Yucky🤕 )

Now, leaner and fat adapted :heart_eyes:
Feeling great!

#12

Yes that can happen on any diet that promotes a calorie deficit including a vegan one. The problem is the long term. If you do not have body fat to draw on and you operate at a deficit, your body will slow your metabolism to compensate. That is why most other diets fail, your body gets used to functioning on few calories and your metabolism adjusts

(charlie3) #13

We are always either burning stored fat or storing it. May be sometimes we do both. Sooner or later I’ll decide to stop trying to reduce stored fat, either to take a break or because my body rebels. Looking in the mirror I think I see more muscle so may be it’s possible for a new lifter to reduce fat and grow muscle at the same time so long as it’s not too agressive.

Another possible benefit of keto, 30 years ago I’d give a muscle group a good spanking and be sore and stiff for the next several days. This time around that’s not happening and it’s a mystery. Instead my worked muscles feel noticably good the day or two after, warm, pleasant, especially good. May be it’s because I’m not using as much weight as the good old days (because I’m not as strong) but I think it’s something else because my intensity is as much or more.

The part of my body most enthusiastic abuot keto is teeth and gums. Carbs were doing them no good even with no junk or sweets.

(Pete A) #14

This is the case with me. I have a modest at home dumbbell routine I do daily (along with other exercise). I’m never sore and it’s results are obvious overall, and specifically my rib-to-hip area which has the final excess fat to draw from.

Of note is I had 3 days in a row of snow shoveling which made me sorer than anything!

Go figure.

(charlie3) #15

I would add, my home gymn is more body builder style with some machines, Olympic bar, dumbell set, etc. I’m up to a split routine twice a week, and hitting muscle groups pretty hard. Even then the delayed onset soreness is little to none. An exception of course is low back. If I over work that area there is noticable soreness. I believe that’s a built in governor to tell you when you might be over doing things. I pay attention to that signal and doing what ever it takes to not overwork my low back or connective tissue,which adapts slower than muscle… The suspense now is, how far can I get the strength I had 30 years ago.