Rate my routine

(Andrew Larson) #1

Looking for honest and constructive criticism. I want to do this right.
I’ve lost around 20 lbs since the beginning of the year but seem to have stalled out.
Please let me know if there are any red flags in my routine.
Fast from around 8PM to 9am
Break my fast with keto coffee: 1 k-cup, 1tbs cacao, 1 tbs mct, 1tbs ghee, dash of pink sea salt, stevia and (this is the big question for me) 1 scoop whey protein powder with 30g protein and 3g carbs

Then typically keto stuff for meals throughout the day keeping total carbs to around 20g. (Canned tuna/salmon with avocado mayo or just avocado directly) ground beef, chicken breast, shrimp, broccoli and a few other in various combinations.

I suspect I’m a little high on protein and not high enough on fats.

Also I started walking and running at the end of my fast and before my keto coffee and taking boron 9mg before my coffee.

Am I stalled out or is my scale just being kind of a “B”?

(Brandy) #2

Welcome to the forum Andrew.

Before I chime in with my two cents, may I ask a couple of questions? How many times are you eating during the day, meals and snacks? How much weight are you looking to shed and how long have you held it? Does your personal history include several incidents of yo-yo dieting with dramatic weight losses and regains? Although I’m not a proponent of calorie counting, it’s a decent metric to ensure you’re getting enough food. How many of those do you think you’re eating a day?

(Ken) #3

It’s waaay too early to consider yourself to be in a Stall. Your body is going through major adjustments. A stall is more like 4-6 weeks of no loss, normal loss rates being 1-1 1/2 pounds per week, averaged over time. To speed things up, just make sure you’re actually hungry whenever you eat.

The majority of the weight you lost was water/glycogen. Now, you’re actually losing fat, which will be at a much slower rate.

Progress is better measured in months rather than days or weeks.

(mole person) #4

There is nothing wrong with 20 lbs in a couple of months. But if you want general advice I’d say ditch the keto coffee. Drinking calories is a general source of stalls on keto. I’d take that coffee black and extend the daily fast by a few hours, preferably to 16 hrs if you can manage it to get your fasted insulin nice and low.

(Marianne) #5

Wow, twenty pounds in a month is great! I wouldn’t consider this a stall. Make sure you are getting enough calories so that your metabolism doesn’t slow. Are you running because you like it, or are you doing it to accelerate your weight loss? If so, this isn’t necessary on keto and may work against you. You need to fuel your body sufficiently so your metabolism remains active. Keep the carbs as low under 20 as you can so that you burn fat instead of carbs.

I’d get rid of the whey protein and eat some food instead - bacon, eggs, butter, cheese, breakfast sausage. In a nonstick pan, this could not be easier. Ours was all scratched up, so I got a new one when starting keto and it made a huge difference in clean-up.

I’d also amp up the fat a little bit, for satiety. Chicken breast and shrimp are pretty low fat. Whenever we have those, I supplement them with some sort of fat - butter or rich sauce of some sort. Shrimp scampi, or shrimp or chicken in a cheese or alfredo sauce with heavy cream. When we have burgers (a favorite), I get the 73/27, add a piece of american cheese, and put a dollop of bacon grease on top to melt. May sound too rich, but we can eat that on keto and it is delicious!

(Lazy, Dirty Keto 😝) #6

20 lbs lost in a little over a month doesn’t equate to a stall.

Focus on under 20g net carbs a day, adequate protein based off of body weight, and the rest fat to satiety. Protein macro is a minimum, not a maximum. Carb macro is a maximum, not a minimum.

(Andrew Larson) #7

With my work schedule I don’t really have a set time or pattern of when an how I eat.
I’m looking to lose about 50 more pounds. (Started at 240, now hovering around 221 or so.)
There was pretty much only one incident of major weight loss. It was about 10 years ago, I started at 217 lbs and did a couple rounds of P90X and after a while I got down to 180 or so. I started putting it all back on when I met my wife (you know how is goes when the motivation is FINDING the girl).

(Andrew Larson) #8

So overall what I’m getting from this is
-Don’t worry much about the scale at the moment
-Whey protein powder is no good

(Bunny) #9

Not something I would do or try if I did not have a lot of body fat depending on how long your fasting?

(Ashley) #10

He said he’s 221lbs so he has plenty of body fat atm.

(Andrew Larson) #11

For an instant I was insulted… then I realized oh wait you’re right and I do, that’s the whole point of me being here lol
And yeah I have about 50 lbs of stored up fuel.

(Ashley) #12

Hey I’m a 200lb 5’2 female, I meant in no way to insult you.

(Andrew Larson) #13

It’s all good. Just new to talking about my weight. It really was only for an instant. No big deal.

(Brandy) #14

KThanks for the added info! My two cents then:

Perhaps try picking an eating window that stays within 6 to 8 hours of a 24 hour period and avoid grazing or snacking during those hours. Instead, eat two larger meals, to satiety. If your work schedule is wonky, all the better! Changing up your eating window and keeping your body guessing a bit is prime!

To reach and maintain satiety, make sure you’re getting adequate protein (seems like you’ve got that down) but make sure those shrimps and chickens have added fat as well. That fat is going to carry you through to your next meal nicely. We’re not counting calories of course, but on eating days, just make sure you’re getting enough, so as not to wreck your metabolism. That’s why I asked you about your diet history. Many of us have restricted calories so many times that we’re super metabolically ill, which presents us with some added challenges.

Fast when you want, for as long as you’re comfortable doing so. Fasting is a controversial subject I know, but if you feel good and it’s giving you desired results, fast on. I’ve been eating this way, coupled with IF and EF for two years in March. Some of that time extended fasts have felt great, other times I let it go because it felt like suffering- but when all is said and done, I keep having improved health markers.

I’d agree to ditch the protein powder. I might add though some collagen. Collagen has improved things drastically for me. I started out drinking homemade bone broth every morning- but soon found that I was too lazy to keep making it, so now I add it into my coffee every morning and get the same results (less brittle nails and hair, no dry skin). I use a tasteless, grass fed beef brand called Great Lakes. Other people use Vital Proteins but there’s been a scuttlebutt about declining quality and poor customer service with that one.

All in all, it sounds like you’re doing great. When we’ve got quite a bit to lose, the initial whoosh of weight loss can be fast and dramatic- which can leave us feeling kind of bereft when it slows down. I didn’t see scale movement for five months! With a little tweaking I got it moving again, but it was a long time. Which brings me to my last bit of advice- as you move down your path, don’t be afraid to tweak things as you see fit. The prerequisite to doing that effectively is a healthy mind-body connection. First comes trust in the way of eating itself. Even if the scales aren’t moving, your way of eating IS healing you. Second comes a clear confidence that you can trust your own intuitions.

(Andrew Larson) #15

Thanks for the thorough reply. I appreciate your time. I have found, for me, knowledge and curiosity are what is driving me to stick with this whole thing. I am an inquisitive person and the gaining of knowledge is keeping me interested. I guess I’m a science guy.

Let me ask you this, if I could take another few moments of your time, do you want any of the more popular youtube channels for your information or mostly stick to these forums?

(Ashley) #16

I’ve watched some of them, their great in the beginning for help and tools to stay on track. I avoided ones that would make a lot of “keto desserts as I wanted to avoid artificial sweetners.” After awhile you get on a routine, you get things figured out for you personally, we are all different, what works for someone may or may not work for others. It’s trial and error. Once you get in the hang of things you just kinda do it. If you want videos to watch, watch ones that show you the science. Don’t follow someone else’s macros, find what works for you. The ones that explain why it works and how it works and are best. For me, eating 20 grams or less of total carbs is what I did. Moderate protein and high fat. Now I just eat fatty meats and butter and eggs and small amounts of cheese. You will get to know what works for you in time!

(Brandy) #17

I do watch videos on occasion but I don’t subscribe to any channels. For me, it’s been more of a, “hey- there’s this topic that’s applicable to me right now, let’s see what people have to say about it”, kind of thing. Throughout that time, I’ve learned which docs, scientists and experts I want to hear more from and return to for help in seeking answers, as well as those I’m not interested in hearing talk anymore. I always double check myself, to ensure I’m not tuning someone out due to confirmation bias. I find that whether I continue to engage in someone’s content is dependent not on their science, but things like personality, whether they’re hocking expensive supplements to desperate people, etc.

My subscription based consumption is all about the Podcasts. For Keto content I love the 2 Keto Dudes, from the very first episode as well as The Fat Emperor with Ivor Cummins. There are a couple more I subscribe to that are geared toward the ladies.

As I became more comfortable with the Ketogenic way of eating as a lifestyle, I found that my my curiosity and thirst for information only grew. Problem was, aside from gathering knowledge relating specifically to adjustments I can make to address the types of issues that women in their forties face (a big part of my long stall), content seems recycled to me now. So I had to expand- now I spend my time writing content and recipes for my family and friends- and devouring books and papers on regenerative farming, colonialism and it’s consequent first contact dietary genocide, the history of the sugar industry, stuff like that. Heavy man.