Yep. Cutting carbs has been very successful for me in the past. When I do strict keto I really see the weight go down. This year I'm beginning by trying to enjoy carbs in moderation and focus more on overall diet/portion control and healthier habits to see if I can lose the desired weight and then maintain where I want to be. I know it won't be as sudden a drop to start but I'm hoping it will lead to something I can sustain longer, as I've lost 60 pounds in 8 months on Keto before, but after a while I slip and all the sudden gain 30 back over the next year and it just becomes that see-saw mentality.

Todd 02 said:

---

It wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't start out by saying that it's a "fad" or "trendy" diet. It's not for everyone and is sort of condemned by the conventional medical industry.

You eat only fat and protein from animal sources. No carbs. No fruits and veggies. Absolutely no processed foods. Basically terrestrial and aquatic meats, eggs, and some dairy products, such as hard, aged cheeses, butter, and heavy creams. Also often combined with some sort of feasting/fasting program.

A colleague at work lost 60 pounds doing it last year and improved on basically every component of our annual health screening at work.

The idea behind it is that we've been lied to the last 70 years that carbs are crucial to our diet and that it's actually sugars and vegetable (seed) oils that are causing many of the insane health conditions in our society. People that switch to carnivore (or even keto-carnivore) see improved insulin resistance and reduced inflammation and chronic disease symptoms.

Check out Shawn Baker, MD and Ken Berry, MD if you want to learn more. Baker is sort of the pioneer champion of this diet.

---

Where do you get fiber? Seems like a great recipe for constipation.

Coffee does the trick for me.

Maybe the extra fat lubes your colon?

What I'm understanding from the docs promoting this diet and the practitioners who are posting all over social media (circumstantial evidence, I know) is that the gut bacteria in the body adapts to digest whatever it is provided. I understand some folks experience a 2-4 week period where diarrhea and/or constipation is a bit of an issue. After that, your body becomes quite efficient at digesting its new fuel. As I understand it, carnivore advocates generally say you don't need fiber in your diet at all.

Starting Weight (1/2): 252
1/30: 240.8
1/30: 240.2 (-0.6)
Net change: -11.8

Starting Body Fat: 38.8%
1/23: 36.2%
1/30: 35.2% (-1.0%)
Net change: -3.6%

This is a frustrating week. Down only a half pound, despite significant caloric deficits, 6 days at the gym, and averaging 15,000 steps a day. I know my body fat % and body measurements should make me feel better, but I'd still like to see the big number going down. I gained 1/4" in my chest and lost 3/4" from my waist and 1/4" from my hips.

1/01/23: 245 lbs
1/14/23: 239 lbs
1/22/23: 235 lbs
1/30/23: 232 lbs
2/06/23: 231 lbs

Only down a lb despite good week. Great news is clothes fit is definitely becoming noticeably different . I'll take that over scale any day . Plateaus are part of it, consistency is the goal.

Challenge this week with 4 nights of travel. Diet is the priority and movement when I can carve out time . Airports are a great place to get a lot of steps in while waiting.

Congrats String. That's a big accomplishment.

Todd 02 said:

---

It wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't start out by saying that it's a "fad" or "trendy" diet. It's not for everyone and is sort of condemned by the conventional medical industry.

You eat only fat and protein from animal sources. No carbs. No fruits and veggies. Absolutely no processed foods. Basically terrestrial and aquatic meats, eggs, and some dairy products, such as hard, aged cheeses, butter, and heavy creams. Also often combined with some sort of feasting/fasting program.

A colleague at work lost 60 pounds doing it last year and improved on basically every component of our annual health screening at work.

The idea behind it is that we've been lied to the last 70 years that carbs are crucial to our diet and that it's actually sugars and vegetable (seed) oils that are causing many of the insane health conditions in our society. People that switch to carnivore (or even keto-carnivore) see improved insulin resistance and reduced inflammation and chronic disease symptoms.

Check out Shawn Baker, MD and Ken Berry, MD if you want to learn more. Baker is sort of the pioneer champion of this diet.

---

Carnivore works because you're consuming meals that have an amino acid profile that works amazingly well for muscle building and preserving lean tissue (high levels of leucine in order to better promote muscle protein synthesis), and folks like Shawn Baker care very much about that. And it's pretty hard to overeat on just meat because protein is also amazingly satiating. And if you're eating carnivore, you're more likely the type of person who is providing some training stimulus to muscle, which is also the key to your body to not break down more muscle, but break down more fat.

But it's still a matter of how much overall energy you take in vs how much you expend, no matter the macro profile. 1500 calories of meat will hit your protein mark for preserving lean tissue, and you will lose weight. But if you're eating closer to 4000-5000 calories a day of meat, you will gain weight. Your happy middle is somewhere in there. And even if you substitute out some of the meat/animal fat for the non-animal sources of fat and even some carbs, but keep your calorie count lower than energy expenditure, you'll lose weight, and improve all these metabolic markers that these folks claim only carnivore can do

It is correct that carbs are not necessary for life. But for many folks they sure do make physical activity and muscle building much easier. But hey, to each their own

Every type of diet can claim that they're the answer to weight loss. The real answer is they're ALL the answer to weight loss but do it in different manipulations of macros. Losing body fat, preserving lean tissue and improving metabolic health is possible with just about any diet

aggie98infl said:

---

1/16: 257.4
1/23: 250.8 (-6.6)
1/30: 245.8 (-5.0)
2/6: 243.8 (-2.0)
I

---

Total -13.6 lbs

Somehow managed to edit this post rather than reply for my new entry.

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-to-metabolic-flexibility/


For anyone who has 5 minutes. This article really helped me narrow down how to get In shape before I had kids. Holds true (for me ) today.

Hope it helps at least one of you too.

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Starting Weight as of 1/15/23: 257lbs

Goal Weight: 175lbs

Doing IFM six days/week with 20-hour fasts or longer. Running at least 30-minutes/day. No booze. Few, if any, sodas.

---

1/22/23: 253.6lbs (-3.4)

---

1/29/23: 250.2 (-3.4)

---

2/7/23: 248.4 (-1.8)

Missed a couple of runs and a couple of 24-hour fasts last week due to work events, so I'm glad I still dropped some. Back on the bus big time this week.

Corn Pop said:

---

Good luck

Highest weight ever was 530 lbs. When I was playing ball in college I was 300 lbs. My healthy weight is around 250 lbs. I got down to 350 from my heaviest right before Covid in 2020 then **** hit the fan and I've been trending in the wrong direction since. Highest I saw after regaining weight was 470 lbs.

Wife lost 85 lbs last year and is looking damn good. I need to get myself in gear.

Current weight: 440 lbs
June goal weight: 365 lbs
End of year goal weight: 320 lbs

---

how tall are you?

I'm 52 years old 5 foot 7

size 33.5 inch waist

169 pounds

need to be down to about 158 to really be lean

you fatties might think it's easy to lose just 11 pounds -but it's nearly impossible on a small frame to burn through that last 10% of fat.

I am trying to go very low carbs and higher protein/fats as per a Keto diet

but I worry that unless you are 100% in the Keto zone then it's really not going to work unless you have ketosis burning off the protein.

hopefully just cutting out sugar and carbs will help over time.

Started out January 2022 at my heaviest of 280. I'm 5'11 and 34 yo currently for reference.

Got to my lowest weight in the last 8 years of around 193 at the beginning of December 2022, but developed some knee pain that prevented me from running my typical 3 miles/day and couldn't squat or deadlift for about 6 weeks, which lead to me slacking in other portions of my resistance training as I lost focus from having my routine messed with. This also coincided with the holiday season, lots of parties, and family/friend time that lead to overeating. I gained 12 lbs in a month and a half putting me at 205.

Over the last 2 weeks, Ive slowly reinstated running along with squats and deadlifts. I've dropped back down to 199 (where I'm at today). My ultimate goal is to stay around 185-190.

True Anomaly said:

---

Todd 02 said:

---

It wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't start out by saying that it's a "fad" or "trendy" diet. It's not for everyone and is sort of condemned by the conventional medical industry.

You eat only fat and protein from animal sources. No carbs. No fruits and veggies. Absolutely no processed foods. Basically terrestrial and aquatic meats, eggs, and some dairy products, such as hard, aged cheeses, butter, and heavy creams. Also often combined with some sort of feasting/fasting program.

A colleague at work lost 60 pounds doing it last year and improved on basically every component of our annual health screening at work.

The idea behind it is that we've been lied to the last 70 years that carbs are crucial to our diet and that it's actually sugars and vegetable (seed) oils that are causing many of the insane health conditions in our society. People that switch to carnivore (or even keto-carnivore) see improved insulin resistance and reduced inflammation and chronic disease symptoms.

Check out Shawn Baker, MD and Ken Berry, MD if you want to learn more. Baker is sort of the pioneer champion of this diet.

---

Carnivore works because you're consuming meals that have an amino acid profile that works amazingly well for muscle building and preserving lean tissue (high levels of leucine in order to better promote muscle protein synthesis), and folks like Shawn Baker care very much about that. And it's pretty hard to overeat on just meat because protein is also amazingly satiating. And if you're eating carnivore, you're more likely the type of person who is providing some training stimulus to muscle, which is also the key to your body to not break down more muscle, but break down more fat.

But it's still a matter of how much overall energy you take in vs how much you expend, no matter the macro profile. 1500 calories of meat will hit your protein mark for preserving lean tissue, and you will lose weight. But if you're eating closer to 4000-5000 calories a day of meat, you will gain weight. Your happy middle is somewhere in there. And even if you substitute out some of the meat/animal fat for the non-animal sources of fat and even some carbs, but keep your calorie count lower than energy expenditure, you'll lose weight, and improve all these metabolic markers that these folks claim only carnivore can do

It is correct that carbs are not necessary for life. But for many folks they sure do make physical activity and muscle building much easier. But hey, to each their own

Every type of diet can claim that they're the answer to weight loss. The real answer is they're ALL the answer to weight loss but do it in different manipulations of macros. Losing body fat, preserving lean tissue and improving metabolic health is possible with just about any diet

---

I don't see how this is possible when everything I have ever read for 50 years is that the average male burns 1700 calories a day and so if you want to lose weight you better be taking in fewer than 1700 or burning off more

"But if you're eating closer to 4000-5000 calories a day of meat, you will gain weight. Your happy middle is somewhere in there."

a middle would be 2000 - 2500 calories a day.

how can a guy 5'7 consume 2500 calories a day and lose weight?!

unless I would be exercising three hours a day.

Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

---

Started out January 2022 at my heaviest of 280. I'm 5'11 and 34 yo currently for reference.

Got to my lowest weight in the last 8 years of around 193 at the beginning of December 2022, but developed some knee pain that prevented me from running my typical 3 miles/day and couldn't squat or deadlift for about 6 weeks, which lead to me slacking in other portions of my resistance training as I lost focus from having my routine messed with. This also coincided with the holiday season, lots of parties, and family/friend time that lead to overeating. I gained 12 lbs in a month and a half putting me at 205.

Over the last 2 weeks, Ive slowly reinstated running along with squats and deadlifts. I've dropped back down to 199 (where I'm at today). My ultimate goal is to stay around 185-190.

---

when you are my age (52) your knees will be cursing the rest of your body for doing dead lifts

Patellofemoral syndrome (PFS), also known as patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) and runner's knee, is one of the most common causes of anterior knee pain encountered by clinicians. Patients typically complain of generalized anterior knee pain that is aggravated by loading a flexed knee, such as running, climbing stairs, and squatting. PFS is considered a diagnosis of exclusion once intraarticular or peripatellar pathologies are ruled out. The majority of patients with PFS experience a resolution of symptoms with conservative treatments, though in some rare cases may be resistant to therapies and be persistent for years

I had it a few years ago and changed around my exercise routine- it is no bueno to suffer from knee pain in your late 40s just walking around.

LMCane said:

---

True Anomaly said:

---

Todd 02 said:

---

It wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't start out by saying that it's a "fad" or "trendy" diet. It's not for everyone and is sort of condemned by the conventional medical industry.

You eat only fat and protein from animal sources. No carbs. No fruits and veggies. Absolutely no processed foods. Basically terrestrial and aquatic meats, eggs, and some dairy products, such as hard, aged cheeses, butter, and heavy creams. Also often combined with some sort of feasting/fasting program.

A colleague at work lost 60 pounds doing it last year and improved on basically every component of our annual health screening at work.

The idea behind it is that we've been lied to the last 70 years that carbs are crucial to our diet and that it's actually sugars and vegetable (seed) oils that are causing many of the insane health conditions in our society. People that switch to carnivore (or even keto-carnivore) see improved insulin resistance and reduced inflammation and chronic disease symptoms.

Check out Shawn Baker, MD and Ken Berry, MD if you want to learn more. Baker is sort of the pioneer champion of this diet.

---

Carnivore works because you're consuming meals that have an amino acid profile that works amazingly well for muscle building and preserving lean tissue (high levels of leucine in order to better promote muscle protein synthesis), and folks like Shawn Baker care very much about that. And it's pretty hard to overeat on just meat because protein is also amazingly satiating. And if you're eating carnivore, you're more likely the type of person who is providing some training stimulus to muscle, which is also the key to your body to not break down more muscle, but break down more fat.

But it's still a matter of how much overall energy you take in vs how much you expend, no matter the macro profile. 1500 calories of meat will hit your protein mark for preserving lean tissue, and you will lose weight. But if you're eating closer to 4000-5000 calories a day of meat, you will gain weight. Your happy middle is somewhere in there. And even if you substitute out some of the meat/animal fat for the non-animal sources of fat and even some carbs, but keep your calorie count lower than energy expenditure, you'll lose weight, and improve all these metabolic markers that these folks claim only carnivore can do

It is correct that carbs are not necessary for life. But for many folks they sure do make physical activity and muscle building much easier. But hey, to each their own

Every type of diet can claim that they're the answer to weight loss. The real answer is they're ALL the answer to weight loss but do it in different manipulations of macros. Losing body fat, preserving lean tissue and improving metabolic health is possible with just about any diet

---

I don't see how this is possible when everything I have ever read for 50 years is that the average male burns 1700 calories a day and so if you want to lose weight you better be taking in fewer than 1700 or burning off more

"But if you're eating closer to 4000-5000 calories a day of meat, you will gain weight. Your happy middle is somewhere in there."

a middle would be 2000 - 2500 calories a day.

how can a guy 5'7 consume 2500 calories a day and lose weight?!

unless I would be exercising three hours a day.

---

I was trying to use extreme examples to make a point. Hence why the "happy middle" for the vast majority of guys is somewhere in between 1500-5000. Your own specific total daily energy expenditure is what matters above all else

So if you eat only carnivore, and eat way above your TDEE each day, you will have very similar problems with chronic disease simply due to carrying around excess bodyfat.

The point I was making is that it's not carbs or seed oils or some other boogeyman food that is causing these problems. It's excess energy intake, no matter what diet you follow, that causes increased risk of chronic disease

Todd 02 said:

---

I have read here on TexAgs in the past that the average person must consume ~15 calories per pound of bodyweight for maintenance. I think that's pretty widely accepted for a person with average activity levels.

At that level, your standard American 2,000 calorie daily diet would be suitable for an individual weighing ~130 to 135 pounds. Suffice to say that's pretty low for your average American adult male.

---

I've always used Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) as my baseline. That's how much energy I would expend if I did absolutely nothing all day. That's 8.24 calories per pound at my current weight.

Harvard Medical School says 15. It's not one size fits all. If anything, that's prolly the problem with our whole healthcare system in the first place. What works for some doesn't necessarily work for others.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/calorie-counting-made-easy

Dr. Not Yet Dr. Ag said:

---

Yeah, 15 kcal/lb is a gross oversimplification of a more nuanced conversation. 15 kcal/lb assumes the higher end of moderate activity (moderate to heavy activity for 1 hour 3-5x/wk). The average person is not working out that much and most have a fairly sedentary lifestyle. So that recommendation might actually lead to weight gain.

It's really all about total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). There are numerous online calculators that can give you a very rough estimate. For most, their BMR is going to be around 9-10 kcal/lb. Having a sedentary job and lifestyle might mean you are burning only ~200-400kcal above BMR. Light weekly activity (a long walk 2-3x a week, or resistance training 2-3x a week) might mean ~400-700 kcal above BMR. Moderate activity will get you to ~600-1200 kcal above BMR. Heavy activity will typically be 1000-2000+ obviously all these numbers are going to be dependent on age, weight, body fat percentage, height, etc.

---

Spot on

The beauty of dieting is also the older you get-

the harder it is going to be.

losing muscle mass as you age

and a slowing metabolism burn rate.

yay!

although for the doctors and experts on here- why do you see some elderly people lose weight in their 70s?

see Biden, Joseph Robinette who used to be much larger and now is mostly a stick figure although he eats a lot of ice cream.

LMCane said:

---

The beauty of dieting is also the older you get-

the harder it is going to be.

losing muscle mass as you age

and a slowing metabolism burn rate.

yay!

although for the doctors and experts on here- why do you see some elderly people lose weight in their 70s?

see Biden, Joseph Robinette who used to be much larger and now is mostly a stick figure although he eats a lot of ice cream.

---

Not a doctor, but...

Sarcopenia is huge as we age, which I believe is mostly due to two big reasons- not enough food (especially protein), and not enough movement or muscle stimulation to preserve muscle. Yes, metabolism does start to slow about that time, but by that argument you should be KEEPING tissue, not BURNING it for energy

I think we'll start to see more and more generations who understand this and are able to preserve muscle later in life simply by following these two principles

hbc07 said:

---

Late to the party... My homeostasis seems to be 170. Jan 2022 was down to 163, Oct 2022 was up to 180. Trying to get down to 160 as my race weight (though 155 would be better). Trying to achieve this through consistent training; portion control (including not eating food from my wife's plate that she doesn't eat); drink control (going from 2-3 per night to 0-1 per night). The biggest challenge is travelling for work... I had ~30 round trip flights last year and it's real easy to eat and drink like **** on the road. Weighing myself each morning and after each ride (to monitor hydration levels).

2023:
Start: 170.2 @ 5'10"
Goal: 160
Bonus Goal: 155

Max: 171.0 (Jan 18)
Min: 166.4 (Jan 22)

Current: 166.4

---

Feb 11: 166.8

Overall, generally keeping things under 168 despite a few slips in my efforts of portion control and drink control. I think if I hold the line I can get to 165 and keep things there during race season which would be good. 160 would be better, but not sure how feasible it actually will be. 155 would be insane and great for the event I'm doing in Colorado with a lot of climbing, but likely impossible.

Starting Weight (1/2): 252
2/6: 240.2
2/13: 236.6 (-3.6)
Net change: -15.4

Starting Body Fat: 38.8%
2/6: 35.2%
2/13: 36.4% (+1.2%)
Net change: -2.4%

Body fat % is likely inaccurate due to late night hydration caused by going to the gym at 10 PM and drinking 3 liters of water. I was honestly surprised I lost anything because I had a ****ty week and was only able to go to the gym 3 out of 7 days and had to eat out more than normal. Body measurement still going in the right direction, so I'm happy overall.

1/01/23: 245 lbs
1/14/23: 239 lbs
1/22/23: 235 lbs
1/30/23: 232 lbs
2/06/23: 231 lbs
2/13/23: 231 lbs

I'll take steady weight with a 4 day travel week and Superbowl party. Did fairly well on the road diet wise. At least, as best as one can without being given the nutrient information on the menu.

Superbowl party probably didnt help with weigh in timing. Enjoyed it but didn't go overboard. Focused on eating proteins and vegetables only. Had a few drinks. Excited to be back home and know what I'm eating again.

1/1: 258
1/9: 258.6
1/16: 257. 0
1/23: 254.2
1/30: 253.5
2/13: 250.2

CMON! what a tease.

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Marvin_Zindler said:

---

Starting Weight as of 1/15/23: 257lbs

Goal Weight: 175lbs

Doing IFM six days/week with 20-hour fasts or longer. Running at least 30-minutes/day. No booze. Few, if any, sodas.

---

1/22/23: 253.6lbs (-3.4)

---

1/29/23: 250.2 (-3.4)

---

2/7/23: 248.4 (-1.8)

Missed a couple of runs and a couple of 24-hour fasts last week due to work events, so I'm glad I still dropped some. Back on the bus big time this week.

---

2/16/23: 243.8 (-4.6)

Pleased with progress over the past week and have dropped almost 15lbs in one month. My dress shirts, slacks, and jeans are notably looser-fitting.

Heading to Costa Rica for a long weekend with the wife and a few other couples, but planning to maintain some diligence.

I'm at a rough plateau

MarathonAg12 said:

---

I'm at a rough plateau

---

Hard plateau here as well but my fitness seems to be improving so cannot complain too much.