My Keto/Fasting journey
Figured this would be a good place to talk/vent about my weight loss journey. Not really expecting a lot of activity 😀
Have struggled with weight forever. About 15 years ago I hit my maximum weight of 290 lbs. Through eating right and lots of excersize got down to 235 and stalled out. Stayed in the 235ish range for about 10 years. Then in 2023 bounced back up to 250. I would turn 70 in 2024 and decided I didn't want to be a fat 70 year old. So I cut the calories and maintained my aggressive walking routine (10-12 miles per day) that I had been doing the past 15 years.
I was able to get down to 205 in mid 2023 and hit the wall hard there no matter what. I hung in the 205-215 range for about a year. Then in August 2024 I decided to give keto a shot. From August 2024 to February of this year I ballooned back up to 235!!!!
But I was on keto and eating no carbs? How could this happen? It happened because despite not eating carbs 6 days a week (I had a cheat day) I was eating way too much food. By eating too much food (too many calories) and with a carb heavy cheat day I never really got into any really decent state of ketosis.
So in February I decided to really do keto correctly. I was much more mindful of caloric intake and my cheat day would no longer involve heavy carbs. It would be a low rather than no carb day that allowed more calories. More stuff like macademia nut and baked cheese crisps which are carb friendly but calorie dense.
I also incorporated intermittent fasting. The more I have gotten into the intermittent fasting the more aggressive I have gotten with it. Started with a standard 16:8 where you have a 16 hour fast with an 8 hour eating window. The more comfortable I got with that I started tightening it up buy increasing the fast and decreasing the eating window. Got to the point where a 20 hour fast and 4 hour eating window got easy. So I started going to one meal a day a couple of times a week. When the 24 hour fast became easy for me I decided to try a 72 hour water fast. I did that fast 3 weeks ago and it was not at all difficult and I felt great after the fact. Fasting is a rally good way to get your keytone levels up to where you really want them.
Anyway that 72 hour fast was so encouraging for me I decided to start a very aggressive fasting schedule. I am doing a 3:3:1. This is 3 days of one meal a day, 3 days of 2 meals a day on a tight 4 hour eating window, and one day with no meal at all. So the first week after my 72 hour fast I did a 48 hour fast, and again this week I did another 48 hour fast. I have found these fast pretty easy and really help curb my appetite. When I break fast I am not really that hungry and when I am eating it takes far less food to satisfy me. I am planning another 72 fast starting this Saturday.
I doubt I will keep this kind of routine forever but at least until I kinda get where I wanna go. It is pretty nice knowing I have this fasting superpower in my pocket for when I do go on vacation or over holidays where my diet can really go off the rails. 6 months ago the thought of a 24 hour fast would have terrified me.
Eating too many calories = gaining weight?
This is a shocking development. No wonder I'm fat and sad.
Btw, is following such a fairly complex diet program sustainable or fun for you? Have you tried something a bit more traditional like making sure you don't have many calorie dense foods in your house and eating mainly whole foods?
Eating too many calories = gaining weight?
This is a shocking development. No wonder I'm fat and sad.
Btw, is following such a fairly complex diet program sustainable or fun for you? Have you tried something a bit more traditional like making sure you don't have many calorie dense foods in your house and eating mainly whole foods?
Complex? Whole foods? Do you know what keto is? It is the simplest diet there is. Just don't eat carbs. And most "carb free" foods are whole foods. I live on eggs, avocados, meat and cheese. No preserved or pre packaged crap (except keto bread, I gotta have my keto bread!).
But it does take a while doing keto to fully understand ketosis because ketosis can be a bitch. Hard to get into and once in hard to stay in despite eating very few to zero carbs. But the longer you do keto and are in ketosis the easier it gets to be at a reasonable level of ketosis.
And yeah I have tried everything "more traditional". This is the only thing I have ever done that feels like it has staying power.
The old keto/IF diet regimen. I saw a study quoted by Dr Tro that showed this diet was superior to Mounjaro.
But then again I could come up with a diet better than mounjaro.
1) Eat all you want 1 day, but then eat nothing for 2 days. Repeat.
2) Follow my XYZ diet. Only eat foods that start with those letters, add a multivitamin maybe a protein shake.
3) Eat zero fat except some 30g of essential fatty acids.
Basically those 3 diets the same thing as keto/IF. But whatever diet you adhere to, if it works it works.
I would be on serious cholesterol medication if I tried keto, that's fosho.
But I was on keto and eating no carbs? How could this happen? It happened because despite not eating carbs 6 days a week (I had a cheat day) I was eating way too much food.
You might see refeeds, carbloads, or "cheat days" in keto programs for athletes and bodybuilders. But for most people, it's just going to knock you out of ketosis. There is no "cheat day" for people who aren't on steroids with very high average daily output doing keto. Keto is very suboptimal for this population, but that's another long discussion.
Keto is great for people like you. Do it right. If you aren't carb loading or taking full day cheats this diet will work well for you. I don't know where you live, but it's very likely you can get some very paleatable keto options to satisfy any number of cravings for things like cake/pizza/cheesburgers/ice cream/etc on your online retailer of choice. It's okay to have these from time to time because it prevents you from ever feeling the need to even have a "cheat day".
Combo-ing with IF is classic because generally your appetite ends up being very low on keto anyway.
I'll follow closely and I'm very excited to see this log. I did keto for only 3 months and ended up stripping off weight too quickly and looking really bad because I was doing it for a bodybuilding contest and was already low bodyfat when starting. But for people who are already high bodyfat and don't have any exceptional performance demands, this is a great diet.
Good luck, homie.
Complex? Whole foods? Do you know what keto is? It is the simplest diet there is. Just don't eat carbs. And most "carb free" foods are whole foods. I live on eggs, avocados, meat and cheese. No preserved or pre packaged crap (except keto bread, I gotta have my keto bread!).But it does take a while doing keto to fully understand ketosis because ketosis can be a bitch. Ha
Oof... you may need to dig into what keto is more deeply. 0 Carbs=/= keto and if you don't consume sufficient fats you won't reach ketosis. Based on your posting, you are probably a donk who enjoys a lot of high fat foods so this is unlikely to be an issue for you, so my point is mostly semantic but still important if anyone is reading this.
Ketogenic diets are high fat and 0 to low carbohydrate diets. If your macros are too slanted toward protein, you will not only feel very bad and won't comply with it, but you'll also not even enter ketosis.
While much lower than carbs, protein still stimulates insulin. Insulin suppresses ketogenesis (the production of ketones from fat). Excess protein converts to glucose. Through gluconeogenesis, your body can turn protein (specifically amino acids) into glucose, which fuels the brain and body — reducing the need for ketones. Fat is the main ketogenic fuel. To make ketones, your liver needs a high ratio of fat to protein. Most keto diets aim for 70–80% of total calories from fat to keep insulin low and ketogenesis high. What happens if you eat protein only? Initially: You may experience mild ketosis from glycogen depletion. Soon after: Gluconeogenesis from protein will increase and likely kick you out of ketosis. You’ll also risk low energy, muscle loss, and generally feeling very unwell.
To stay in ketosis, you will need
Low carbs (<30g/day). Moderate protein (0.8–1.2g/lb of lean mass, not bodyweight (pics and maybe we can help you estimate, but just throwing out a ballpark number you're likely around 40% bodyfat so probably around 120-150g of protein). 130–160g fats
Just a ballpark, maybe 25g trace carbs, 140p, 140f, and we're looking at around 1900 calories with around 63% of your calories coming from dietary fats. With an IF 16 hour fast 8 hour eating window you can eat some very tasty low willpower donk foods like 80/20 ground beef, bacon, cream cheese, ribeye steak, chicken thighs, and various processed keto treats you buy from the web/costco/specialty stores if you have any in your area and feel both full and emotionally satisfied eating your donk foods. Throw in around 25mg of ephedrine, 20mg yohimbine, and coffee adding up to around 400mg caffeine in the morning tapering up from around 100mg initially and get 12k steps per day and you're looking at very fast fat loss, easy compliance, and emotional eating donk satisfaction.
Anyway your welcome, that would probably cost you about $150 from a coach.
One of my favorite things while dieting is buying skin on smoked chicken or duck breasts. They can be refrigerated or frozen and if you ever need to go somewhere you may not have food or if you somehow forgot to meal prep, you've got a relatively keto friendly thing that doesn't need to be cooked. Add in a few dozen grams of cheddar cheese and you're hitting most of your micronutrient needs too. EZ and hard to fk up.
Good luck. Will be watching for updates!
Oof... you may need to dig into what keto is more deeply. 0 Carbs=/= keto and if you don't consume sufficient fats you won't reach ketosis.
Yes there is a learning curve involved with keto and ketosis. Initially I was eating too much protien and not enough fat. Ketosis can be tricky. Hard to get in to and real easy to fall out of. One "cheat" day can take a couple of days to get back into ketosis unless you press the issue with a fast.
Luckily I really like avocados because they are a huge boost to the fat column so I eat avocado every day. Using lots of butter and mayo when applicable helps boost the fat intake too. Even something like bacon and eggs is only about 50/50 fat to protein so you need to use ample butter.
But I am really more about the fasting than the keto. Just eating the low/no carb diet with the proper fat/protien ratio still makes getting into a real good state of ketosis difficult. For me anyway. It wasn't until I really starting intermittent fasting with multi day fasts sprinkled in that I really started experiencing good levels of ketosis. And yes the keto diet seems to fill me up better and not be as hungry. And I am hoping that this aggressive fasting program has finally broken my food addiction. I no longer eat just to eat.
It's like the old Jim Gaffigan joke
Gaffigan: Hey you wanna go get a donut?
Friend : No I'm not hungry
Gaffigan: What does that have to do with it!
try a glp1 agonist maybe. dont bother with western medival system just get some research peptide its fine.
Just had a delicious plate of steak and eggs. Now I start a 72 hour water fast and won't eat again until Tuesday. Just water and flavored electrolyte power until then.
What Electrolyte powder are you using?
Do you have a schedule for when you start your 72h fasts?
I have only done one in my life and it was this Easter, approx 2 weeks ago.
I had to prep for that one and make sure I did not have any dinners to go to etc.
On those days it is always hard to track calories and impossible to fast.
Also, what is your starting wt. and what is your goal wt.
Take and post a starting pic. if you can!
count your steps. chances are somebody as drastically out of shape as you doesn't need to fast and can.get ez 2lbs per week lost by just getting 10k steps a day, skipping breakfast, and barely dieting.
i know you wanna be all gung ho and hardcore and all that, but i encourage the approach of picking the low hanging fruit and doing the easy stuff before the 72 hour fasts. ive never done this in my life and it didnt stop me or a multitude of clients from getting exotically lean.
What Electrolyte powder are you using?
Do you have a schedule for when you start your 72h fasts?
I have only done one in my life and it was this Easter, approx 2 weeks ago.
I had to prep for that one and make sure I did not have any dinners to go to etc.
On those days it is always hard to track calories and impossible to fast.
The electrlyte brand I am using is Ultima. Schedule start mid day Saturday and end mid day Tuesday. Have prepared by very aggressive interment fasts for the past 6 weeks.
count your steps. chances are somebody as drastically out of shape as you doesn't need to fast and can.get ez 2lbs per week lost by just getting 10k steps a day, skipping breakfast, and barely dieting.i know you wanna be all gung ho and hardcore and all that, but i encourage the approach of picking the low hanging fruit and doing the easy stuff before the 72 hour fasts. ive nev
Excersize is not and has never been my problem. Steps? I have done 10ish miles a day each and every day for the past 10 years. Typical yearly average is between 3500-4000 miles. Kind of a fitbit addict. And I work out daily either at the health club or at home in addition to my steps.
At my age my body is very weight loss resistant and only very drastic methods will work. It is befuddling to me how difficult it has been because in my younger days I could alway drop weight quickly if I wanted to.
I am getting back on keto too right now. I was doing great last year then had a disastrous winter of eating/drinking/partying.
I think you are too focused on ketones though and not enough on calories.
The old Atkins diet was a hack to ultimately get the average person to improve insulin sensitivity and then consume less calories over time.
One refeed meal every two weeks is what works best for me. If I have a whole free cheat day once a week, I can easily make up for the caloric deficit for the week that one day. At least enough to really slow down the weight loss. The ketones are pretty secondary for me compared to the change in insulin sensitivity keto causes in me and that lets me consume less calories when my blood sugar is not all over the place because I have shitty diabetic genetics. Of course, people with great insulin sensitivity from genetics/environment/lifestyle can not see the point in keto.
Tracking calories in an app causes me to consume less calories also I notice because I start trying to beat the previous numbers.
Weight loss is the thermodynamics of calories in / calories out but if you model calories in separately, there is a huge number of casual variables involved just like with calories out.
Fasting works of course but it doesn't work for me psychologically. It just causes me to over consume calories once I break the fast because I feel like I have done more than I really have.
I can't burn calories either and recover the same way I did when I was younger.
Nope! Very calorie aware. Basically keeping it in the 1000-1200 per day range.
I have been running huge calorie deficits for the past decade but it doesn't seem to matter. But with keto and especially fasting I feel I have found something that actually works albiet slower than I would like.
Fasting, intermittent and multi day, has already had a huge impact on me mentally. I am breaking my food addicition and I am no longer craving the bad foods and I am building myself a framework for when I do go off the rails (which I am certain I will when on vacations) I will be able to right the ship quickly.
Fasting has all sorts of other benefits to weight loss as well. Teaching myself to mentally and physically be able to fast is a game changer for me.
Just a quick FYI. You're clearly not calculating calories/exercise correctly. 1000-1200 calories is basically maintenance for petite, elderly, sedentary women. You're claiming to be a big boi who is very active. You should be losing around a lbs a day on this diet.
I lack any knowledge of keto dieting (work with brain so for healthy weight people side effects are too debilitating), and Guy does this quasi-professionally (he gets paid now?), so I'd just listen to him.
On something I can help you with, if you could photograph and post weights of everything you eat along with details on how you prepared them (butter poached lobster claws and lobster claws aren't really the same thing), I can give you a pretty accurate assessment of how many calories you're actually consuming and potentially point out on any systemic problems in how you're calculating this.
Just a quick FYI. You're clearly not calculating calories/exercise correctly. 1000-1200 calories is basically maintenance for petite, elderly, sedentary women. You're claiming to be a big boi who is very active. You should be losing around a lbs a day on this diet.
Tell me about it 😀 But no, I am counting correctly. My inability to lose weight despite very close attention to caloric intake and lots of activity is extremely frustrating. I think it its mostly a byproduct of being old. I talked to my doctor and he said it gets more and more difficult the older you get. I read somewhere once (could be BS) that once you get past 60 you gain 7 pounds year all else (diet and exersize) being equal.
In my younger days losing weight was easy but the same metrics don't apply any more once you get old.
48 hours into 72 hour and so far smooth sailing. The last 24 will be easy and that is where you really get into autophagy when all the real beneficial stuff happens.
Felt some hunger last night at the 26-30 hour point because that is where I am used to eating on my 24 hour fasts. But once you get over that hump the hunger sort of disappears. Definitely feel some slight hunger but not annoyingly so. More cravings than actual hunger.
Tell me about it 😀 But no, I am counting correctly. My inability to lose weight despite very close attention to caloric intake and lots of activity is extremely frustrating. I think it its mostly a byproduct of being old. I talked to my doctor and he said it gets more and more difficult the older you get. I read somewhere once (could be BS) that once you get past 60 you g
Why are you talking to a doctor instead of an actual expert?
Also that 7lbs is total BS.
Ultimately there isn't anything magical about being old that suddenly means basic scientific laws don't apply. You just move less and eat more.
If you're into science, this may help bring you around: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PM... If you aren't, best of luck wondering why you can't lose weight on a 1500 calorie a day "deficit".
Broke my fast at just after the 72 hour point with a couple of scrambled eggs and a small piece of cheese. You wanna keep it light coming out of a fast. Am fully sated with just that as well and likely won't eat again until tomorrow. But it was a disappointing fast. It wasn't difficult at all but the results were lacking. From Saturday morning weight in only lost 1.4 pounds after 3 straight days of just water. I hope I don't gain it all back with the less than 300 calories I ate today!
Won't do another 72 until late May or early June. But plan to stick to one no eating day per week until I take a trip in mid June.
My ketosis levels got very strong the last 30ish hours. Hopefully they will stay up for the next few days. The first and last day of the fast are the easy ones. The middle day is where you feel the hunger the most.
Gender, age, body type etc can definitely create significant variance to off the shelf calorie calculators but I'm also in the camp of 'no way you're not losing weight on 1k calories per day at your weight'. Your body etc but that's extremely difficult to believe.
why not weigh & measure your food and post for a week or so? Got to be easier than not eating for 3 days!
also yep, I'd be extremely disappointed at only dropping 1.4lbs after not eating for 3 days.
can I ask...did you do any sh its on days 2 and 3?
