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Day 1 of a planned 5 day "no solid food fast"
As I start to (try) lose weight again, I decided to look at the data that shows what happened when I gained weight (during my "bulking" period while weight lifting), and when I lost weight:
🤾🏾♂️ Losing Weight (15lbs): July 11th (182lbs) to August 2nd (167lbs) – [23 days recorded]
Average Calories: 707
Average Carbs: 18
🏋🏿 Gaining Weight (13lbs): August 3rd (163lbs) to August 26th (176lbs) – [23 days recorded]
Average Calories: 1,687
Average Carbs: 83
(Note: Because I was fasting and exercising a lot, I actually lost 4 pounds in one day from August 2nd to August 3rd)
My analysis:
⏳ Consuming an average of 1,600 calories a day is not a lot. To ‘maintain’ my weight, It ‘appears’ that I can only consume about 1,200 calories a day. (People will tell me that I ‘should’ be able to consume 1,600 calories a day. The numbers prove that this simply-is-not-true. This is why I advise people to log daily and analyze your *own* numbers)
🍴 Actually, the calories may not matter anyway… Assuming my ‘maintenance weight’ is 1,200 calories a day, when I gained weight, I ‘only’ consumed 400 ‘extra’ calories a day. Over 23 days this comes out to 9,200 total ‘extra’ calories. Could that really account for a 13lbs gain in weight? For example, A pound of fat is approximately 3,500 calories, so during this period I should have gained only 2.6lbs not 13lbs.
🌊 Is “water” the reason for the difference? I am sure ‘water weight’ is a factor. However, keep in mind we are looking at a 23 day period in both situations. I find it hard to believe that I only lost 3lbs of ‘true fat’ from July 11th (182lbs) to August 2nd (167lbs) and gained only 2.6lbs in ‘true fat’ August 3rd (163lbs) to August 26th (176lbs), and that the rest of the weight was only ‘water’.
🍽️ However, looking at the carbs, it makes more sense. To gain weight, I consumed approximately 5x more carbs a day than I did to lose weight! Lets assume that my ‘maintenance carbs’ are 40 carbs a day. This means, to gain weight, I consumed 2x the carbs I would normally consume.
🍩 I believe, my body will create insulin when my carbs are high. The insulin creates fat. Fat makes me gain weight.
🤸🏾♂️ The weight loss can also be explained by my body being forced to burn fat when my carbs are low. When my body burns fat I lose weight.
My Conclusion:
💥 To lose weight I need to consume less than 700 calories and less than 18 carbs a day. Basically, I need to do what worked last time 😊
Let’s see what happens this time…
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 Comments
That's some analysis! I hope you achieve the success your after. I need to look back and analyze as well. I think the RDI I have here on FS may be too high for me to lose sufficiently. Happy fasting☺
27 Aug 18 by member: elsie chag
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or it can just be the carbs in your case. as you noted there were two things that were different 80+ carbs and 400 more calories. what if you were at your 18 to 20 carbs and 1400 calories?? or 1200 calories. It will be interesting to see which it is. or a combo of both. I tend to think you do need more than 1200 calories a day to maintain without carbs. You do workout whether it is running or weight training. It is fascinating to me with myself how certain things interfer with my weight loss even at a deficit!
27 Aug 18 by member: baskington
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Thank you for being my analytical keep us on track guy! I know you are looking forward to being back to fasting and able to do your runs. Hopefully your dedication will continue to carry over to me :)
27 Aug 18 by member: princessvalerie
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So interesting figuring out the hows and whys of our body. These numbers would definitely throw me for a loop, but you're adjusting and figuring it out. Good for you.👍
27 Aug 18 by member: Becc@
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After 10 years into this journey of trying to lose weight, I have found true success in the last two years. I spent a year losing and now a year maintaining a very healthy weight. I have learned calories mean almost nothing. I don’t count them. I know my calories are often very high because I eat a lot of fat. As long as my carbs are low, and I do not snack I don’t gain weight and remain healthy. If I eat carbs, drink alcohol and snack I gain immediately. I eat only 2-3 low carb meals in a 6-8 hour window every day. I only do strength training or yoga. I run occasionally and remain active. Cardio has zero impact on my weighloss or maintenance. So the only thing that keeps me thin and healthy is low carb intermittent fasting...nothing else has worked for me. You are doing a great job analyzing your data and figuring out what works for you. That is the only way to get to the truth with so much old misinformation floating around.
27 Aug 18 by member: 2426girl
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I agree with baskigton—it would be interesting to see what your weight does with more calories via fat and keep the low carbs. Do what works for you but might be an interesting experiment!
I now weigh 125 and can lose weight eating 1800 cals —20g carbs, 45g protein, 170g fat are my macro goals right now. Read the pinned post on the Facebook group Common Sense Keto...they have an interesting philosophy I’m giving a try...lots more fat, less protein and no fasting. I think it’s fun to experiment with different things and find what works and makes me feel the best.
Best wishes to you!
27 Aug 18 by member: momma6224
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@baskington - We may get to find out :) Keep in mind I was 'aiming' for less than 10 carbs a day and ended up at 18! Total fail! :) So while I am 'aiming' for the same again, I may end up with the numbers from your theory...
27 Aug 18 by member: adefwebserver
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@momma6224 - I think the ONLY thing that fasting does for me is to keep my carbs low. I don't think a person NEEDS to fast unless they are like me and cannot-stop-cheating otherwise :)
27 Aug 18 by member: adefwebserver
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@2426girl - Yes, our results are the same. I also agree with you on the cardio. I run because I like how it makes me feel and helps control my hunger. But for weight loss? I think it starts in the 'kitchen' :)
27 Aug 18 by member: adefwebserver
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@Becc@ - It took me about two hours to put all this together.. :)
27 Aug 18 by member: adefwebserver
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ah not a fail Adef, as long as you are under 20 net carbs by our thought process you are golden. I myself stay under 20 total carbs when I am eating keto. right now unless I cheat a little I have no carbs on carnivore. Hard to keep the weight on unless I cheat a little. for me that is having something I have a sensitivity to. water gain. for you it seems more like CARBS period. LOL! You have fun checking things out, your body, your learning experience !!!!
27 Aug 18 by member: baskington
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@elsie chag - I lowered my RDI here on Fat secret to 1200 calories because it was messing with my head to have it saying to me 'hey you can still consume 900 more calories!' each day :)
27 Aug 18 by member: adefwebserver
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Honing that plan more and more all the time - great job analyzing everything you are doing! Do you have a supercomputer available to do all those calculations?
They are really detailed - color me impressed! Just something to note - insulin does not create fat - it bonds to receptor proteins in your cell wall and allows glucose to enter your cell so the cell can use it for energy - if you don't have insulin the glucose cannot enter the cell because the receptor proteins require the insulin to be attached before they open a channel for the glucose to enter. Sorry, my master's degree in biology just went into overdrive there for a moment...lol
27 Aug 18 by member: nikeit
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@nikeit - Thanks, of course you are correct, I was being 'overly simplistic'. The end result is of course the same :)
27 Aug 18 by member: adefwebserver
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Too fast typing - insulin bonds to receptor proteins in your cell membrane - obviously since animal cells don't have a cell wall - must have been thinking I need to water my plants!
27 Aug 18 by member: nikeit
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@chrisw77 - I am sure there is a 'lot going on' but two things remain clear to me: 1) the calorie difference cannot explain the weight gained or lost because it is simply too small a range 2) There appears to be a correlation with the carbs. High carbs weight gain, low carbs weight loss. The actual explanation of this is only a theory I have :) I would love to think my weight gain was partially from all the muscle I built up :)
27 Aug 18 by member: adefwebserver
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Yeah what you did last time definetly worked for you! And you felt good/ comfortable with it! It’s cool to experiment but it’s important to go back to what our bodies want sometimes too. I hate doing the same thing. Love change. If Keto didn’t make me feel so good I would have cycled through at least a few other diet plans by now 😂😂😂
27 Aug 18 by member: CrashtestDawnie
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Great to see that you are on the case, and learn to read your body. Tricky sometimes, but fun too. Rewarding.
27 Aug 18 by member: Diddlee
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The math in all that just made my brain explode. 💣
28 Aug 18 by member: BlueFront
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I gained 16 pounds in 3 days on vacation. Sodium+extra carbs caused a lot of water to be retained. I lost it in 3 days. Like Chris said, it only takes 600-700 calories to build a pound of muscle. Couple that with your muscles retaining more water to aid in the repair process and lifting weights can add a lot of weight in a short period of time, especially in a novice.
28 Aug 18 by member: -Diablo
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