Down nearly 2 inches in the waist line.

Restarted lazy keto on Dec 4. Down 8 lbs as of today. Mostly water, but mental focus has definitely returned.

irish pete ag06 said:

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Down nearly 2 inches in the waist line.

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Excellent. It will be a challenge through Christmas, but well worth it.

Yeah, I've basically planned on being out of ketosis during those times. I'm gonna eat some carbs, but I'm not going to OD on them like usual.

Quick question, what's your carb intake like on the weekend when you eat at the slight surplus? Or do you eat a surplus keto on the weekends also?

Also, anyone using supplements of any kind on this diet outside of whey protein?

I'm lifting 3-4 times per week and only drink a protein shake if I've finished my 2 meals and still haven't quite hit my protein #s.

I took magnesium at night sometimes since I tend to get constipated on keto/low carb.

TMG, zero-carb Isopure, MCT oil and occasionally pickle juice for electrolytes.

Thanks.

You mind expanding a tad on what those are for? I've googled and read up on them, but would like some firsthand info.

irish pete ag06 said:

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Quick question, what's your carb intake like on the weekend when you eat at the slight surplus? Or do you eat a surplus keto on the weekends also?

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Hard to say because it has been somewhat erratic and I haven't really tracked my weekend intake. A bad weekend might include 6-10 pale ale's and 3 slices of pizza between Friday and Sunday. So that would add 150-200 grams of carbs. So on average I'd say I'm still low carb but that definitely goes above my keto threshold. Now that I'm thinking about it the pizza example is quite rare for me, but the beer is most weekends so I probably average an extra 30-50 grams per Friday and Saturday each and that's it. I've learned to not eatake my kids' leftover cinnamon rolls and pizza crust like I used to do. Just toss it before I even think about it.

I don't take any supplements. I haven't really touched my whey since I started. I really feel like if I get 80-100 grams of protein then I'm fine and that's pretty automatic for me with keto.

So I've officially been eating a keto adjacent diet for the last 3 months and I've lost 25-30 lbs. I say keto adjacent because I know my protein intake doesn't match up quite, but my net carbs/day is under 20. Only cheated a couple times but it was worth it, Thanksgiving primarily. I used to hover normally between 195-200 and the other day I weighed in at 169. I haven't been this weight since college and I'm back in a 32 inch waist. I can't remember the last time I was in jeans smaller than 34. I always exercised between 4-5 times/week and I haven't changed any of that with the exception I now do a lot more bodyweight work than just weights.

I definitely can see that this diet isn't for everyone, but it works for me. The crazy thing is I think the restrictions are what make it work for me. I don't count calories at all either, all I do is make sure carbs are low because anything I eat with a high fat/protein content will keep me full for a really long time And if I'm hungry I eat, I'm definitely not starving myself to lose this weight. It's difficult to do because I'm alone in this, my wife has not even tried it and she's seen me drop this weight. The bonus is even though she won't really change her diet she started going to Orange Theory almost daily so that's a huge deal, I just wish she's cut out the junk food.

Anyone considering this a few tips:
-The beginning is hard, no doubt, but if you get through hell week this is a nutrition program that you can stick with if you plan accordingly.
-Invest in some electrolyte pills, those fixed my headaches at the beginning, no headaches for a long time.
-Plan your week so you know what you're cooking for breakfast/lunch/dinner. A lot of times I only end up eating twice a day. Work schedule sometimes forces me to eat a late lunch.
-Snacks: nuts, pork rinds, beef sticks, charcuterie.
-Google fat bombs, so many solid recipes out there to keep your fat grams up.
-If you have a sweet tooth there are tons of great recipes out there you can bake up that you can safely eat.

Some websites I've found helpful specifically for food ideas:
https://www.ketoconnect.net/
https://www.ruled.me/
https://www.ibreatheimhungry.com/recipes/
https://ketodietapp.com/

That's freakin awesome man. My goal is to get my waistline and body fat down to a certain goal then I'm goin to transition to lazy keto and not track as much and continue lifting really heavy. Hoping to get the lifts up to new heights this spring.

Any idea what your body fat is now?

Thanks, no idea what that number is currently, never had it checked. I still have some fat I'd like to drop, probably another 10 lbs. I know that though most of what I've lost is fat I've lost some muscle as well because I changed up my workout activity. I do get in more sessions per week now, but since I'm primarily doing calisthenics instead of lifting that has made a difference. I'm not real concerned about that though because my primary goal was dropping pounds, which I've done. What I do now is mainly interval training.
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Monday/Thursday I stick with pull ups and add in some bicep work and abs.
Tuesday/Friday are pushup variations, triceps, shoulders.
Wednesday/Saturday are legs, either I do 500 kettlebell swings at my house or hit the gym to do squats/deadlifts. I don't go heavy on leg day anymore because it's hell on my knees.

I'm just recently onto the kettlebell bandwagon, and I'm a fan.

My gym membership is only $30/month so I can justify paying that to do legs alone due to how much it would cost to get a rack and the weights to go with it

Max Power said:

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Thanks, no idea what that number is currently, never had it checked. I still have some fat I'd like to drop, probably another 10 lbs. I know that though most of what I've lost is fat I've lost some muscle as well because I changed up my workout activity. I do get in more sessions per week now, but since I'm primarily doing calisthenics instead of lifting that has made a difference. I'm not real concerned about that though because my primary goal was dropping pounds, which I've done. What I do now is mainly interval training.
.
Monday/Thursday I stick with pull ups and add in some bicep work and abs.
Tuesday/Friday are pushup variations, triceps, shoulders.
Wednesday/Saturday are legs, either I do 500 kettlebell swings at my house or hit the gym to do squats/deadlifts. I don't go heavy on leg day anymore because it's hell on my knees.

I'm just recently onto the kettlebell bandwagon, and I'm a fan.

My gym membership is only $30/month so I can justify paying that to do legs alone due to how much it would cost to get a rack and the weights to go with it

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Nice. I have everything for my home gym but the bar. My biggest decision is to stay with Wendler or switch to a PPL split. I am a fan of power lifting routines just because of the progression of chasing the numbers. Makes it more competitive and mission oriented. May just switch them in and out every cycle to mix it up.

I switched from SL 5x5 to Phraks Greyskull variant a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure how much a I like it, yet. I'm like you, Pete, I like chasing numbers. I'm pretty new to the lifting game (only 6 months) but I really like the linear progression in 5x5 and Phraks. Is there a recommended LP program that is 4 or 5 days?

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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I switched from SL 5x5 to Phraks Greyskull variant a few weeks ago, but I'm not sure how much a I like it, yet. I'm like you, Pete, I like chasing numbers. I'm pretty new to the lifting game (only 6 months) but I really like the linear progression in 5x5 and Phraks. Is there a recommended LP program that is 4 or 5 days?

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I've mentioned it before, but Wendler's 5/3/1 is awesome. I highly recommend reading his book. Not too expensive on amazon. The book is a must in my opinion before doing his workout. He explains the nuts and bolts and has really tried to make his program as adaptable as you can imagine. Even if you don't use his program, the knowledge you glean from his book will help in other programs. Plus, he's pretty damn funny sometimes.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00AJ8CIQM/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Cool. Thanks. I've seen that 5/3/1 For Beginners Program recommended before.

I might try that after new years.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/531-beginners

Lt. Joe Bookman said:

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Cool. Thanks. I've seen that 5/3/1 For Beginners Program recommended before.

I might try that after new years.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fitness/wiki/531-beginners

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Also Wendler has a ton of articles on t-nation explaining most of his programs.

Awesome results!

Irish Pete,

How are the holidays working out? My reward for doing so well this fall was having Christmas off and amazingly I've pretty much maintained my weight. Of course, I'm in the middle of a half marathon training program so it's hard to gain weight running that much.

I will go back full throttle keto tomorrow until I hit my final goal of 200 lbs. At that point, I want to stabilize through the spring and summer to make sure I can maintain that weight. I may try to go lower, but I want to see how I look and feel at that weight.

wbt5845 said:

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Irish Pete,

How are the holidays working out? My reward for doing so well this fall was having Christmas off and amazingly I've pretty much maintained my weight. Of course, I'm in the middle of a half marathon training program so it's hard to gain weight running that much.

I will go back full throttle keto tomorrow until I hit my final goal of 200 lbs. At that point, I want to stabilize through the spring and summer to make sure I can maintain that weight. I may try to go lower, but I want to see how I look and feel at that weight.

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Actually it went pretty well. I didn't track a single thing from the 23rd to the 25th (all of my family Christmas dinners were during this time). And although I ate plenty of carbs to knock myself out of ketosis, I never truly gorged myself. Been back on the wagon for the last 6 days and the waist is still slowly but steadily shrinking. This morning puts me at 2.7 inches down.

Keep up the good work.

Nice job, Pete!

Ho boy NYE was definitely un-keto but it was a good time. Boy my head was pounding in the morning (I've read that keto makes this worse)... Reading up on keto has taught me to respect electrolytes, so this is what I did to remedy. Drank 2 cups of coffee and put salt and No-salt (potassium) in both cups. Felt right as rain about 30-45 minutes later. Highly recommend doing that to kick a hangover.

Also, this guy's website is quite helpful.

https://mrskinnypants.com/

The booze hits you much faster. Two Jack & Diet Cokes leave me wasted. I didn't even drink anything last night.

wbt5845 said:

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The booze hits you much faster. Two Jack & Diet Cokes leave me wasted. I didn't even drink anything last night.

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It's unreal. Saves a lot of $. Haha.

Pete, my apologies for just now getting around to replying to your question. I am no expert by any means, but I will give you my take.

TMG (Betaine) is an amino acid derivative, and is touted as being able to provide greater endurance while lifting, thereby increasing muscle gains. I did notice an improvement when I started taking it early last year. Placebo effect? Possibly, but it is fairly inexpensive and easy to take.

MCT oil - I take it for energy prior to a lift, and for cooking / salad dressings. Ease into it because it can cause some gastro discomfort when you first use it.

Isopure for convenient protein intake. I am lazy when it comes to cooking and eating quality protein, so this is my go to for a post lift protein shake.

Forgot to mention creatine. I also take it with the Isopure.

For reference, I am 57, 6' 9", 250 lbs, and estimating 22% bodyfat. I have dropped 12 lbs since restarting keto on Dec 4, with a majority of that being water. Last year at this time (and on keto), I was at 223 and probably 17%. I will get back to those numbers within 3-4 months. My macros are: Carbs=20g, Protein=160g, Fat=160g, which puts me at 2160 kcals, about 500 less than what I calculate to be my TDEE.

Hope this helps somewhat. Good luck with your K journey.

Thanks for the response. I've heard MCT oil mentioned a lot as a pre-workout.

I started creatine back up this week and have continued to supplement potassium by just chugging some no-salt. 2nd phase of 5/3/1 has gone better now that I'm managing electrolytes. Felt weak the first round. Now I'm feeling strong (for me)

Just an update/bump since it fell off the first page.

Been supplementing Creatine, potassium, and sodium. Lifting 4 times a week. I definitely can tell sometimes that my strength is not quite what it used to be. So far down 3.1 inches and have 1.4 more to go.

I graphed all of my weight and waist measurements today. I used the navy body fat calculator (it's simple and is the choice of the ketogains guy) to get a quick body fat reading at every checkpoint.

Body fat has dropped from roughly 25% to 19.6% according to the navy calculator... all the while the lean body mass has stayed right about the same.

If I can get down to my goal waist line with minimal lean body mass loss, I should be around 17% body fat

At that point, I'm likely to up my calories to a small surplus (200 calories give or take) and increase my lifting volume to see if I can add some slow lean mass without putting on much fat.

Impressive results. Congrats.

Are you male/female? If you previously stated I skipped through this thread...

I went keto on 1/2. Picked up some test strips today to check my ketone levels and I'm between 80 and 160 mg/dL according to the test strip.

Guess I'm doing it right. LOL