Week 7 Slow progress


(CyndiL) #1

Hi all, I’m in week 7 now and have only dropped 4 pounds. I’ve lost almost 2" from my waist, and maybe another inch between hips and chest. In fact, this week’s weigh in had me back up to my starting weight - assuming water fluctuations because my measurements were the same as last week.

I am 5’5" and weigh 182 pounds, so I definitely have a minimum of 30 pounds to lose, preferably 40. I am 50 years old. I am good on macros, under 20 net Carbs per day and in tracking with Myfitnesspal a few days a week, I’m always right around 1,200-1,400 calories and sometimes I go over on fats, but just barely hit the protein macro. I would really prefer to do lazy keto as tracking gets triggering for me.

I’ve been IF most of these weeks, 16:8 with a bulletproof coffee most mornings to hold me over until I eat a meal around noon. I have now eliminated the fat in the coffee hoping to prompt some results. Over the weekend I experimented with a 20:4 fast and that worked well for me.

Any other suggestions for what I can do? I’m reducing fat intake now too. I was just hoping to ‘see’ more results beyond the initial ‘bloat drop’ that I notice but no one else notices. I am at moderate risk for diabetes and insulin resistance and had some sub-optimal but ‘normal’ thyroid readings when I started this. I am hoping this way of eating will lead down into a healthier A1C and fasting glucose range and away from ‘moderate risk’ labels. (all my labs are within normal but near the ‘high’ side, and I did flirt with pre-diabetes a few years back)

I do exercise… HIIT workout twice a week (Orange Theory) and I do those fasted. OTher than that, slow run/walks for about 30-40 minutes 2-3 days a week, and a yoga class here and there.

Would really like to see some fat melting off soon! Any suggestions are appreciated.


(Liz ) #2

Unless there’s something you are eating that is one of the typical problems some folks on here can have (artificial sweeteners, whey protein, a sensitivity to dairy) then you sound like you are doing super! Hang in there, it is early days yet. Keep calm & Keto on!


#3

Sounds like you’re definitely on track! This is a process of metabolic healing and physiological transformation - and I would give yourself a whole year to adapt to the LCHF/Keto way of eating - and try to suspend linear time

Like some others, I recommend ignoring the scale or only weighing every three months - as this is about body recomposition, not just weight. Sometimes energy is going to cellular cleanup/autophagy (for those maintaining super low carbs and/or fasting efficiently), other times through incremental improvements in organ function and metabolism that will mean more fat is burned next month or medications are greatly reduced or eliminated. And of course, for those of us who are lifting weights aiming towards hypertrophy of muscle, we are transforming pounds of fat into pounds of muscle with the goal of longterm leanness which the scale will not take into account.

Many females also have hormonal calibrations and toxin release going on as estrogen and other things are released from stored fat and put into the bloodstream for the body to either use or eliminate. Also, how we manage stress impacts our cortisol levels - and if we’re not managing well, the body will plateau in order to hang on.

One thing I just learned about and seems really legit is the argument that IF on a regular basis defeats the metabolic challenge that is sought, because the body just adapts to it rather than responds metabolically. Jason Fung MD and Megan Ramos talk about the importance of variability with a well-satiated, LCHF/keto adapted context (such as IF every other day, or 4-5 days on 2-3 days off which are days of max intake, 3 meals, etc) and the value of keeping the body metabolism increases going. This is more aligned with the majority of human history’s genetic experience (gathering & hunting cultures) who were deeply synched with life as a cycle rather than a constant feast or constant famine :wink:

Fung also points out that the fasting state is about refraining from carbs and protein - not about refraining from fats, and not about calories. Apparently for most physiologies, putting good fats in your coffee just feeds the brain and enhances the metabolic process. For females, there is also the argument that we need to take in just a couple carbs (via a little half and half) in order to prevent our bodies from lurching into fat storage survival mode which is def a premenopausal female tendency on behalf of reproduction. Leanne Vogel talks about that in terms of her anecdotal experience and that of other women. I have found it true for myself that IF feels more functional that way and the lost inches confirm it.

So, maybe check out the different approaches to fast/feast cycling - and there are other posts about it here on this forum about these fascinating things…

There are also some books I’m going to be ordering soon: “Delay, Don’t Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle” by Gin Stephens, and “The Complete Guide to Fasting: Heal Your Body Through Intermittent, Alternate-Day, and Extended” by Jason Fung MD and Jimmy Moore.

For me, the metabolic wonders of a 30 min home strength-training practice 1x per week (incredibly effective, based on slow lifting to near fatigue so that the mitchondrial energy gets ignited in the type of muscle fiber relevant to that) is perhaps the most exponential complement to LCHF/keto, as long as you’re coping well with stressors, and are pretty established in keto-adaptation. The authors of the book Slow Burn Fitness Revolution are also aligned with LCHF/keto food ways. Fred Hahn has stated elsewhere that muscle development is 99% eating lifestyle - and that the 1% input of resistance training does a great job at enhancing thermogenesis and lipolysis as well as improving mood via the endorphins that happen if our stress cortisol is low enough to train well. It has some differences with Orange Theory I believe, worth checking out - Hahn doesn’t recommend fasted lifting, it’s a fat/protein shake before and feasting after with some carbs (the book was published in 2002 so some current standards might be different - there’s an argument that protein feeding in the days before a workout matter, so if one is doing a 4 day fast 3 day feast, the workout would be ideal in the second day of feasting I suppose).

This dovetails well with the principle that we’re wired like ancient humanity and that exertion while fasted has a tendency to reduce fat burning - and it may be esp relevant to female biology!


(CyndiL) #4

Thank you so much for taking the time to address my question! Lots of great info and resources here. I do my heavy workouts 2 days a week and I will not fast on those days. The remaining days I will do variable IF methods… weekends are easier for me to do the longer fasts. I do notice that when I get lots of fats in, my blood ketones stay consistently higher.

I will stay the course and keep tweaking as I go. I think keeping carbs at 25 or below should almost guarantee some success with this!

Thank you again!


#5

You’re very welcome!

I’m so glad good fats are tasty - it makes these eating lifestyle and life cycle changes SO do-able ~


(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #6

Dr. Phinney, in several of his lectures, mentions that women often lose fat but not pounds, especially if they have been restricting their caloric intake for a long time. The reason is that the body uses the abundant energy to add lean muscle mass while burning off excess fat. From the fact that you’re losing inches, I suspect that this may be happening to you. So concentrate on your measurements and ignore the scale for a while. If your waistline is shrinking, that’s the point anyway, isn’t it?


(CyndiL) #7

Thank you Paul, and yes indeed! Today actually one of my close coworkers told me my pants look like they are falling off , so that’s some good ‘outside’ feedback finally! I even ‘see’ changes that aren’t necessarily at the traditional ‘measure points’ and so now I know that just going by how my clothing feels and looks is probably the best confirmation of progress.

I have the Phinney book on my kindle and suppose I should read that haha…

I do have another question. I have added collagen protein to my regimen. I used to use it a couple of years ago and just got out of the habit. I loved how my skin looked then and I know that is why. I think it will also help me recover quicker from harder workouts (at age 50, I am starting to ‘feel’ them more haha) I also want to prevent ‘loose skin’ as I shrink so I have added it back in. If I have this 11 grams of protein in my coffee with MCT oil, is that considered breaking the fast? I know the debate is big around this topic. I have my last meal around 6:30 pm and don’t eat a ‘meal’ until 12-1pm usually. (Except on workout days, I eat 3 meals normal)

Thanks again!


(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

There is a phenomenon called “autophagy,” in which the body tightens up loose skin and recycles dead cells, etc., and it really kicks in at a certain point during a multi-day fast. If you search for autophagy on these forums, you’ll find lots better descriptions of how it works than I could give you. I haven’t gotten into fasting yet, but there is a wealth of information on these forums about how to do it effectively.

I have found, however, that at the rate I am losing fat, the skin is staying pretty tight. I have a belly scar from when an umbilical hernia was corrected early this year that is my indicator—the ends of the scar will start to stick out a little bit as the belly shrinks a little, and then they will soon start lying flat again. It’s kind of fun to watch! (When they stick out, they’re not as obvious as they were right after the operation, but just enough for me to be aware. The behavior of the body can be really fascinating.)


(CyndiL) #9

Very interesting! With that in mind I will keep an eye on my scar at my belly button from gallbladder surgery in April. :blush:

I have not tried multi day fasting but I have done 20:4 and I liked it. It’s easier on the weekend because I am moving around more but I don’t know how it would go at work.

Thanks for this info!


(Liz ) #10

I have read that protein breaks a fast so I’ve been taking my collagen with meals for that reason.


(VLC.MD) #11

What do you eat ?
Roughly.


(CyndiL) #12

A typical day for me usually looks like this:

Morning: 2 cups coffee, 1 Tablespoon coconut oil or MCT oil (on weekends I have butter etc, BPC)

Noon-1PM: 4-5 cups of salad (spinach, arugula, kale, broccoli, cauliflower,)
A protein: 3-4 ounces of chicken, or tuna, salmon, or salami
2 Tablespoons shredded cheese, 2 T seeds
1 HB egg
1/2 avocado (sometimes a whole avocado)
1 T olive oil and fresh squeezed lemon

                 Or I'll have leftovers from the dinner yesterday.

Dinner: A keto recipe from a cookbook

I don’t do ‘keto-fied’ foods like breads or desserts. I have done fat bombs occasionally in the beginning to satisfy sweet cravings .

I do 16:8 fasting most days, but am changing that up now day to day just to keep the metabolism guessing. I believe I am in good ketosis now because my hunger and cravings are gone. Blood ketones measure anywhere from .5 to 2.0 depending on the time of day, workout schedule etc.