Staying at goal weight on keto

(betsy.rome) #1

My hubby has been doing keto with me for a year now.
6’ tall and naturally thin, over the years he had been slowly putting on some weight & had a bad sugar habit. From eating keto, he’s now at 148 lbs., and getting razzed at work by concerned co-workers who say he’s getting too skinny.

He wants to stay keto for the health benefits, including preventing Alzheimer’s and diabetes, which run in his family. His BS can bounce up to the 140’s/150’s if he cheats, otherwise stays in the “pre-diabetic” range. He knows he needs to build muscle but is not into to working out; he does try to do 10k steps daily. We are in our early 60’s.

How should he modify his keto diet to stabilize his weight, now that he’s at /below goal? Should he just eat larger portions? What about adding in higher-carb unprocessed fruit & veggies, like sweet potatoes, corn, peaches?
I know on Atkins they would add in more carbs, is that how to approach keto “maintenance”?

#2

I’ve heard Dr. Phinney and Dr. Westman refer to being stable for over a decade from time to time. Seems this isn’t usually a big problem for a lot of people, as they will naturally start eating more as their fat stores decrease or something, including with keto food. But, that may not work for everyone. If he has concerns about diabetes, but wants to eat more, he could try adding a bit more protein rather than carbs, just don’t go overboard. What’s his bodyfat %?

(Adam Kirby) #3

Sounds like he needs to do resistance training! You wouldn’t ever hear a very lean dude with some muscle be referred to as “too skinny”, only lean guys without muscle.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #4

No, not really.

If you ask Phinney, he’d say that as body fat declines, it will naturally be replaced by more plate fat. Perhaps your hubby has some reluctance to increase fat consumption? Perhaps he could try upping his fat intake?

I would definitely not recommend adding higher-carb fruits and veggies, as those are apt to spike insulin, and while that might lead to weigh gain, it may not be the best way to go about that.

You might also do a search on the term “maintenance” in the search box at the top of the page, and see what other folks have said on the topic.

(Adam Kirby) #5

This is where I cannot reconcile “fat as the lever” vs “insulin as the lever”, as Richard went into in the latest podcast. He makes a compelling case for insulin as the lever, but if that is true then for someone who is clearly insulin sensitive and naturally skinny like the OP’s husband, additional dietary fat would make no difference in keeping his weight above whatever set point it wants to be at. Only raising his insulin would change that. And yet many well respected people make the argument for additional dietary fat to affect weight maintenance, even though it’s kinda at odds with insulin as the lever.

How can these two ideas be reconciled?

(G. Andrew Duthie) #6

The question is whether you assume demand-driven, or supply-driven model.

Phinney, as I understand what he’s said (@richard may be able to state it more clearly), suggests that as body fat decreases, if one eats to sateity, one would naturally increase plate fat to compensate for a decrease in energy coming from body fat, until one reaches what I’ve referred to as one’s “Phinney Weight”.

But if, for some reason, someone isn’t eating to sateity (perhaps through a lingering aversion to “too much” fat), but has driven insulin low through keto, it’s possible they might lose additional body fat.

That’s the demand-driven model.

The supply-driven model assumes that the person is already eating to sateity, and that they are being told to eat more fat to put on weight. In this case, the result would potentially (I’m not an expert on this) be an increased metabolic rate, or at least that’s what I would think based on the studies @richard has discussed around overfeeding.

Whether a given person looking to maintain their “Phinney Weight” is eating to sateity or not is the open question, I guess. For some, it may be that their “Phinney Weight” means being pretty lean. Clearly, it will vary from person to person, and I’m guessing that the variation is probably driven in part by how much insulin that person is producing, both as a basal rate, and in response to various foods and other stimulants.

(James storie) #7

I don’t think there is much reason to worry about it. His body will stabilize when it hits that magic spot. It’s sounds like he’s lucky and his basil insulin isn’t too high. Remember, the lower his body fat%, the more he will have to compensate with plate fat. Only 30 or so calories available per pound of body fat per day.

(Linda) #8

I’m now at my maintenance weight and when people who haven’t seen me for a while tell me I’m too skinny, I respond by saying that my doctor calls me her ‘poster girl’ and is happy with my weight. She said that people are so used to seeing ‘overweight’ being the new ‘norm’ that they’ve forgotten what a healthy weight/body looks like.

His body will select its own optimal ‘healthy’ weight and if he’s eating to satiety, keeping his carbs under 20g and protein moderate, I’d be ignoring his co workers comments and continue with his goal of trying to prevent Alzheimer’s and diabetes.

I doubt they’ll be paying his medical bills if he gets sick!

(Christopher John Howson) #9

ive been at 73 / 74kg now for as long as I can remember.
I just eat when im hungry and if im not, I don’t.
I seldom monitor what I eat.
needless to say I do not count calories, or even do macros.
(only on special occasions)

I might add that, i exercise a lot too.
so technically, if you ask any “normal” person or a doctor for that matter - the calories don’t add up and I should weigh zero kilograms by now.

its like magic!!!

#10

Being thin doesn’t necessarily mean that he is insulin sensitive. The OP stated he has pre-diabetic glucose even in keto, and worse when cheating, with a family history of T2D. He may be a TOFI (Thin Outside, Fat Inside) and needs to supplement his limited supply of adipose tissue with more plate fat at this point to meet his energy requirements.

An actual insulin test would provide some valuable information.