Inches yes! lbs no?

#1

so here goes I’m 46yo male, moderately active job, i exercise 3-4 times week with weights, walking and i swim between ½ - 1 mile twice a week.

I’m 5’10" and weigh around 255 lbs
my BF% i estimate around 28-30%

i started following a keto plan 6 weeks ago using an app to track my macros, when i set it up it suggested i eat around 2250 calories day
175g fat
125 g of protein
and 25 g of carbs

ive been very consistent in following this guideline I’ve been consuming lots of

meat- chicken red meat, bacon, sausage, and fish
eggs,
hard cheese, and
spinach, iceberg, avocados, coffee, mct’s and coconut oil. very boring

zero sugars and NO processed foods for 6 weeks now. I’ve had a cpl of lite beers only 2 times

i have noticed i moved the right direction on the notches on my belt and pants are slightly baggier but i have not lost much in lbs. the only significant n loss was after a 24 fast, which slowly came back after about 3 days.

i have seen improvements in my energy and I’m sleeping better than i have in decades…

keto strips even show me in the good range most of the time??

one of my questions is I’ve read a lot about possibly eating TOO much protein which I highly doubt that i am (i carry a lot of muscle). how do you get enough fat with out eating meat? one can only eat so many avocados, mct oil and butter?? i would like to think 6 wks is considered being patient but maybe not?? i just don’t want to keep on this track if its not working??. yes my belt has shrunk but most people i interact don’t even realize Ive had a change in life style by now you would think that they would??/

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #2

Let me see if I get this.
You carry a lot of muscle.
You are keeping carbs low and logging food accurately.
Work out and have a physical job.
Turn pee strips purple.
Have better energy.
And better sleep.
And you have moved multiple belt loops in six weeks.

I take it that you didn’t take measurements before, or get your body fat calculated. That’s a shame.

So, here’s the deal. You’re recomposing. Losing fat from your waistline, at the very least, and filling lean body mass elsewhere.

If I asked you would you rather you looked the same but the scale dropped by 50 or look better and feel better but not have the scale move much, I think you can figure where this ends.

As to other people noticing, it takes a 20lbs recomposition before other people who know you will notice a change while you are wearing clothing. Give or take. Six weeks is too soon.

PS- the lite beers are probably not doing you any favors.

(Allie) #3

Forget the scale and carry on doing what you’re doing to get the results you’re getting.

(Alec) #4

You’re doing just fine, and the weight loss will start soon. Inches matter.

I would recommend slightly less protein and more fat. But in general you’re doing fine. Give it time. 6 weeks is still early days.

(Raj Seth) #5

So - was this a post about how well you are doing? It seems that you are replete with NSVs - non scale victories. And this is 6 weeks in! You figured it out.
KCKO
Other changes will come in their own time. The important changes are already happening

As @LeCheffre said above - all is good. Eat more fat and less protein is the only thing I can add. However, with your fantastic progress, maybe don’t change a thing!!

PS. If choosing between losing waist circumference and weight - waist circumference is waaaaay more important- central adiposity is what you want to lose - the fat in and around the organs! I lost 0 pounds but lost 6-8” on my waist from January-April. Couldn’t be happier

#6

well you folks have pointed out some good points health wise so thank you for the feed back. I just get paranoid when i read about people losing crazy amounts and want to make sure I’m making progress. I’m ok with slow as long its working. i guess the biggest unknown for me is the recomposing? I’m active but not going hardcore the way i would think is required to build muscle gains? as for the beer i was on vacation it was only 2 occasions. (2 months ago i drank 3-4 times week) thanks againfor the feedback.

(Raj Seth) #7

Slow? You keep saying that. 6 weeks in, with a high protein intake - you have made great progress so far. You are probably close to being fully ketofied- ie fat adapted!!
Don’t change a thing

(LeeAnn Brooks) #8

It’s an issue of weight vs mass.

Our bodies are actually an object of mass, but we don’t have an easy way to measure mass, so instead we use weight. Weight is arbitrary though. It isn’t a measure of how large we are. It’s a measure of the Earths gravitational pull on an object. Thus even a 10pound dumbbell will weigh more at the Dead Sea and less as the top of Mount Everest.
Mass by contrast is the actual space an object takes up.

THe real goal of a diet is to lose mass. If you could go down 3 sizes but never lose a pound, would you be okay with that?
Or if you lost 10 pounds but actually had to buy larger pants because you got larger, would you think you’ve achieved something?

Right now you are losing mass. It’s body recompositioning. Lean muscle is denser than fat, thus replacing the later with the former will mean you are getting smaller while staying the same weight, or perhaps even gaining.
This shouldn’t be viewed as failing or not working.

(Alec) #9

I’m with @Anniegirl9, I think you are losing some fat (not huge, but some) and building muscle. If you are active, this will just happen.

(Ron) #10

Since no one offered a suggestion I will tell you how I solved this issue.

  • Bought pork belly and with a 10/12 oz steak will add thin cut slices of pork belly 2/4 oz depending on the cut of meat. Pork bellies are high fat %.
  • Grind my own hamburger and add tallow to get a 70/30 to 60/40 ratio fat protein balance.
  • Will put 2 oz or so of Boursin Gourmet Cheese on the finished steak or burger before consuming. Or you can smother it with Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter.
  • Macadamia nuts crushed in sour cream are great for spreads.
  • Green and Black olives will help lots with fat also.
    Hope this gives you more variety.
Can I get some encouragement please?
(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #11

That’s actually volume.

weight is a force, while mass is the property that (along with gravity) determines the strength of this force.
mass can be generalized as the amount of matter in an object.

Volume is the amount of space something takes up. Be it feathers or tungsten. A kilo of tungsten masses the same as a kilo of feathers. They will have the same mass, on the bottom of the ocean, on the top of Kilimanjaro, or on the Moon. They will weigh 2.2 lbs at sea level at the same spot on earth, and their weight will scale regardless of where we move them, as gravity pulls on mass.

The tungsten, being very dense, will take up a lot less room. Less volume.

In our cases, inches are essentially volume. Crude measure of how much space our stuff takes up. If your weight remains constant, but you recompose 5% of your body, you will be denser, take up less space. But mass is unchanged.

(Michelle) #12

I get my proteinless fat in my coffee (2 cups coffee with 1 Tbsp each butter, heavy cream, MTC or coconut oil)
Also in my lunch which typically includes an avocado and a few olives.
I try to eat a small piece of meat with dinner and cook my veggies in lots of bacon grease or butter.

#13

Also - keep in mind that fat-adaptation to the point of 100% takes at least 6 weeks, and depending on midlife hormonal status and any metabolic issues, up to six months or a year.

You asked “How do you get enough fat with out eating meat?”

Easy peasy - via adding 2-4 tablespoons of some combo of coconut oil, butter, ghee, and cream to your morning coffee/tea (it’s also a great appetite suppressant, and may instantly help you skip breakfast). There are many recipes for “bulletproof” coffee and teas online. If you make a smoothie with whole fat yogurt and/or undenatured whey and grassfed collagen (which some of us weight lifters do), be sure to add at least a tablespoon of extra good fat on top of any avocado - as well as to add at least one good pinch of salt for flavor and absorption.

Also, adding avocado and/or raw avocado oil and butter to many meals is very satiating.

You can buy super discounted coconut oil and avocado oil at Costco and on Amazon.

If you haven’t already checked out the classic LCHF books “Protein Power” by Drs. Mary Dan and Michael Eades, and “The Art & Science of Low Carbohydrate Living” by Drs. Phinny & Volek - they are great companions in the keto journey.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #14

I stand corrected. I should have said volume, not mass.

But my point still stands.

#15

YES!!! this ^

#16

And this! ^
Scales can be a helpful tool but it’s so hard to understand that they don’t really measure the things that are important for health (or vanity).

(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #17

Absolutely. We want to do some proportionizing. That is a typical goal. Thinner waist, bigger shoulders for men.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #18

If only body recompositioning deposited fat in the chest for women. Instead it’s the first place I lose it.

Alas, not even Keto can work that miracle.

(Raj Seth) #19

I thought saline fixed that :rofl:. So water and salt is the same thing, right?

(Sarah Bruhn) #20

As for fat- add sour cream, coconut oil, cream, mayo, keto cheese sauce, oil (avacardo/olive) and vinegar dressing, bullet proof coffee, fat bombs, cheese…