Weight loss support thread

The good news is it's far easier to lose recently-gained weight than weight that's been around for a decade! You've got this!

Metabolic rate is even capable of rising to help burn through extra energy. All that you'll really need to do is focus on keeping the processed foods down, eating a good amount of fiber, and just maintaining low insulin levels. The most effective methodology is without a doubt daily intermittent fasting, but if nothing else, just try to avoid snacks. If you want to eat all day, stick to a square three meals, and try to make it so breakfast or dinner is high in healthy fats (think animal fats, saturated is perfectly fine, instead of processed crap like vegetable oil) and protein. This will help maintain a low insulin level, allowing glucagon to rise, and increase lipolysis. Also, I know it may sound crazy, but try to limit eating a lot of protein AND a lot of carbs at the same time. Protein intake in a high glycemic state decimates glucagon levels like nothing else, so if you want some carbs, maybe do those during breakfast in the form of a smoothie with lots of greens and, if possible, in-season fruits. Broccoli sprouts are also excellent.

 

Makes no difference to me if this poster reads or responds to me, but I'd like to point out two things:

1) There's no reason to believe you're going to experience muscle catabolism in a low-carb environment. It just doesn't make sense. The body stores fat as a long-term energy source, this is clear to all of us. Why would the mechanisms for energy retrieval then preferentially utilize protein - which can come not just from muscle, but often will actually come from things like loose skin which are also protein! - instead of the massive storehouse it created as adipose tissue in the first place? In extended fasting, there's a minor concern about protein wasting, but considering low-carb tends to mean higher intake of protein along with fats, it's just nonsensical. Our bodies absolutely don't NEED carbohydrate - the only cell that must have glucose is the erythrocyte, blood cell, and we can use non-carbohydrate sources for gluconeogenesis. The brain actually appears to show a preference for ketones over glucose by having a higher uptake affinity for them. That said, it's absolutely possible to have plentiful carbohydrates and be healthy, and we've seen that in the east, Asian countries have been known to eat great amounts of white rice, but they ate rarely, resulting in the same overall low insulin level, and therefore the same general result in a body composition sense as something like a ketogenic diet.

2)I'm all in on seasonings, they make food absolutely wonderful in a whole new way! However, the current dietary guidelines in the US recommend too little, whereas 4-6 grams is absolutely fine and a higher salt intake is correlated to lower risk of death overall, just as higher saturated fat intake trends towards greater health than those trying to attain, say, the 10% or less rule for saturated fat calories.

My intention is absolutely not defamation or anything of the sort, I just believe it's important not only to share information but to try to dispel common myths when we're able to get information that shows otherwise.

 

Does that put you at a 16+ hour fasting window for the day? If so, rejoice in that you've done a great deal for success already! Congrats on doing well so far, keep it up!

 

Thanks for the tips!! I noticed theres a couple different daily intermittent fasting styles when I looked it up (one was not eating all day besides a 4 hour window between 4-8pm with allowance of unprocessed fruits as snacks during the other 20 hours) hmm. I think you mentioned yours was a ahhhh...no eating from 8pm-12pm type thing?

 

I actually change it up through the week and by the month. Sometimes I do OMAD (one meal a day) so I fast for upwards of 23 hours a day. Othertimes I do 16:8 wher yeah, I'd fast from 8-noon. Right now what I do is full-body resistance training a few times a week, and on those days I eat 16:8, and then I try to do OMAD or fasts longer than 24 hours on any other days of the week. From before my memories really even begin a roughly age 5, I was a consistent cheeto and dorito and etc. eater with basically no real food in my diet up until close to 20 years old. So I've got a lot of work to do to repair my metabolic state to a healthy normal, but I've made extensive progress and have a burning passion for health these days.

I do want to bring up that, sad as it is, consuming any carbohydrate, especially fruit or other sugar-containing substances during a fasting window will kill the fast immediately. The spike in insulin is the issue. Theoretically, you could consume pure fat, like a pat of ghee, and that wouldn't break the insulin-lowering portion of your fast, but it will stop any other benefits like autophagy from occurring. It's better to do 16:8 intermittent fasting and eat any carbohydrates in that window than to do 23:1 but consume fruit in the fast, because unfortunately then it's not a fast.

 

Drink lots of water, I aim for a gallon daily. Adding some salt to your water, or just downing an eighth or quarter teaspoon on occasion, can help as well if you're feeling a bit weak. Don't be surprised if you feel like you've got a bit of an adrenaline rush going on, and take it slow when you start up eating again.

 

Haha I've found little bones in canned tuna before, but never scales

 

I've been mostly managing to stick to the "Only eat between 10am-6pm or 12pm-8pm" fast! I've noticed my food cravings outside of the window have gone down a lot Haha.

Been going for more whole foods and avoiding processed things. Still havent completely weened off fountain soda yet, but haaaave been drinking it a lot less and opting for water or Panera bread's payapa green tea Haha.

I attempted to find a scale at a couple thrift stores but.. nope. So I dont know how I am weight wise compared to my last weighing at the doctors, but i feel like my stomach looks and feels noticeably smaller? So hmm!

 

Sounds awesome! Yeah, the cravings really disappear once your body learns it's not going to be taking in energy for a large portion of the day. I've been adapted enough for a while that any time I'm hungry outside my usually-one-meal-a-day window for eating, it's because I'm bored. If I'm busy there's rarely more than a momentary tinge of wanting food.

I saw an interesting study the other day that suggested you can only pull about 31kcal of energy from a pound of body fat in a day; in other words someone with 40 extra pounds can utilize about 1200kcal a day from body fat, and any other energy to reach daily metabolic rate comes from other sources. With that in mind I've begun eating 800-1200 calories a day at my single meal to bring my total energy from food and body fat to approximately TDEE, to see how I feel, and the week I've done it for has gone great.

 

Form of accountability. Keeps you true to yourself. It's like journaling, but the fact that other people may read it helps oneself feel self-responsible. 'tis a good thing.