Low carb ?’s

[VAHunter01]

I’ve been working my ass off since July 1st on losing weight and getting in shape again.

I’ve always been in decent shape, but hurt my back a few years ago and got lazy. Have been eating horrible(lots of fast food) and lots of alcohol for a couple years. Blood pressure was really high and I was getting In pretty rough shape.

On July 1st I weighed 284 lbs. I’m 6’7”, so I wasn’t super fat or anything. Started running, biking, and watching my diet and dropped 20 or so by the end of August. Had cut out all soda, alcohol and fast food. Was lifting weights(lightly) 3x per week.

wanted to take it to the next level, so my wife and I started keto. I did it for a month, stopped last Friday, and I absolutely felt like crap 100% of the time. Hit a wall one day on a moderate (25 mile) bike ride, and wasnt sure if I could make it back to the truck. Last week, on Monday evening, I was dropping my climber in the woods and scouting a bit and I absolutely crashed. I have never been like this before, if I had of been in cell service I would have called for help for sure. Almost a 911 situation.

anyway, since last Friday I have been eating “normal” again. Yesterday was the first day I felt good again.

I do really well on strict diets, and I’m not that good at just “watching” what I eat. I guess I’m afraid if I try an easy, or lenient diet I’ll fall back into old habits.

II’m just looking for suggestions on what I can try possibly try next. I have no interest in the carnivore diet, and keto is out.

I weighed myself the last day of keto and I weighed 240. 46 lbs in 3 months, but I can’t keep it up. Feel so bad I’ve stopped running and lifting. Going on a quick vacation this weekend, plan to return to the exercise after that.

sorry for the long read, but I’m pretty dumb when it comes to nutrition, just looking for some guidance.

 

[Idaho Sandman]

Tried Keto for 4 months. Lost 12 lbs. Didn’t really need to lose a ton as I’m pretty lean as is. HATED it. Weak in the gym and out. Didn’t feel real well. I also did it under close supervision of a nutritionist. Just wasn’t for my body.
Went back to my normal eating of carb cycling.
Couple low carb days followed by a med carb and then a moderate carb day. Regained my strength and stamina. Started feeling like normal in 4-5 days. You need to figure out your carb intake for your own body.
No sugar. Sugar is the devil. Lol.
No alcohol during the week. I only drink vodka and soda water on the weekend if i want a cocktail.
Keep the calories down, burn more than you intake.
Good luck man.

 

[TheShootist]

I’m not trainer or a nutrition guru, but I have recently lost 50 pounds.

I’ve tried various diets in the past, but my greatest success was fairly simplistic- eat less and exercise more. I used MyFitnessPal to track calories in, and combined with my fitbit watch, had a pretty good idea of calories out.

I always struggled with the forbidden things that were apart of many diets (I like sweets and beer), so by keeping it simple and not depriving myself of things made it much easier to keep up with.

If I know I’m going to go get some beers later in the day, I’ll push myself a little longer and farther during my morning workout to allow for it.

 

[swampthing]

I have run the low carb off n on for about a year now. It actually makes me feel better! My arthritis doesnt hurt as much and I just plain feel better! I havent felt a crash like you guys but when hunting/hiking all day I do eats a few carbs in apples, granola bars and a sandwich. Back at camp I go low carb again. When I cheat and hit mcdonalds I feel a bit nauseous and have a hard time sleeping. I guess we all react a bit different to such things

 

[Outlaw99]

To the OP, it sounds like you’ve come a long way and got your body right and healthy again. I don’t think you need to stick to a certai diet to both maintain your gains and still have the endurance to perform in the gym or on the mountain. Instead of worrying about carbs, start focusing on eating clean. Get your carbs from whole foods like raw fruit and black beans and nuts. Eat plenty of vegetables and what ever meats you want in a non fried form. You can still cheat with sweets and sugars every once in a while, but as a whole, avoid all fast food, processed foods, and juices and soda/beer. Keep up with your exercise routine and over time, it will just become a habit, and part of your lifestyle.

 

[Dustin the wind]

I have done more diet yoyoing in my past then most and I feel your pain. Please take this with a grain of salt since I'm just a guy on the internet, but once I discovered intermittent fasting and O.M.A.D. (one meal a day) I realized it is not so much what you eat, but when you eat. I try to eat well, but if I pig out, all I have to do is make sure I eat within a narrow eating window and the benefits of fasting always overcome the detriments of the garbage I ate. This obviously works better with a good diet, but when you eat for only a few hours out of the day, you just can't afford to eat low calorie food, so it works out really well for my life style. High protein and high fat with a moderate amount of carbs in an 8hr eating window is good, do it in a 6hr window and it's even better and so on until you possibly want to take it to an extreme level of a 24hr fast. I love to pig out and I don't like eating early in the day so it's easy to start the eating window by just skipping breakfast and progressing from there. You will retain and even gain muscle mass even if your not working out very hard at all. It stimulates cell regeneration and promotes anti-aging. I'm not selling any products, no magic bullshit supplement, it's just choosing to eat in a narrow window at whatever time of day you want. You mind will be sharper throughout the day and you will not even feel hungry once you develop a routine. When people eat every few hours during a day it's constantly giving your body insulin spikes making you feel tired/hungry/tired over and over, this stops all that. We have developed eating habits now in modern day times that are vastly different from how we used to be long ago, food always at our disposal at any time we want. It really is the way to go for me. Forget all that low fat garbage, it sucks and it's high in carbs. Drink that whole milk, eat the fatty hamburger. It just works is all I can say.

 

[VAHunter01]

Wow, a lot of good replies a s stuff to think about.

I will look into the carb cycling as well as intermediate fasting. Not sure if I could give up breakfast entirely, but I think I may give it a shot.

I just ordered a bigger dehydrator, and plan to start making more and more of my own food. We used to can a ton of stuff before my granny passed away, my wife has talked about doing that again as well.

So convenient to eat like crap, we both work long, varying hours. Trying to make lifelong changes, it’s not as easy or simple as it sounds.

November is a grind for me, so I’ll probably wait until December to start something aggressive. Again, thanks for the replies, hearing differing views helps a lot on figuring this stuff out. I wish we had started this in our mid 20s vs mid 30s...

 

[renagde]

I've found that keto can work like a charm for some, and for others it's just not meant to be. I love keto. I feel better on it, perform better, sleep better-everything. I tend to lean more towards a carnivore diet, lots of fats, meats, eggs with little veggies. The one thing I did learn you have to pay attention to your electrolytes. If i didn't watch my salt/electrolyte intake, I would often feel like crap. Similar symptoms as you've described.

This fall I did keto while in the backcountry and I was able to pack 1/2lb less food per day and never got hungry. For me, the benefits are hard to give up but I realize every body reacts differently to it.

Exercise is about 20%, diet is 80%. Take the advice from Dustin, intermittent fasting is a great way to add some discipline into your diet, while not necessarily restricting what you can and can't eat. Obviously eating clean will help, but only eating for 8 hours out of the day allows you to eat high calorie and carb foods. I find if I eat my last meal at 6 in the evening, I have no problems skipping breakfast then eating again at 10am. Give that a shot then work your way up to a 18 hour fast, 6 hour eating schedule.

 

[VAHunter01]

After this weekends vacation, going to give the 12-8 eating schedule a shot.
Morning protein shake is going to be the hardest for me to give up I think.

 

[*zap*]

Maybe you got the keto diet wrong? For me....I have transitioned to almost all natural foods since 2/1/19. Slowly eliminated processed foods, then limited sugars, now I am cutting down on carbs. By sugars I mean sugar content in my natural foods. I eliminated processed sugar and pop a long time ago. 6' and was 215# now #185 and my strength is back now to what it was before in lifting and above prior in many exercises....lean and mean..
The thing is that July 1 is really not that long ago in the big picture. For me sustainable diet changes, sustainable fat loss and my fitness program is a marathon not a sprint. I think in terms of years or a year....nutrition that you cannot sustain is really of no use in the long run as is a fitness program you cannot sustain.
Now I started a ruck program by Mike Prevost that will take me about a year to complete.....actually to be at the starting level he suggests will take me until the end of this year because I am not cutting my strength training and adding the new program will take time to acclimate too....but as long as I keep grinding it will happen....planned, slow gains really add up...patience and a good plan is a good plan...

So, generally speaking my daily diet now is: 6 eggs, 1/2# of chicken covered in raw honey OR 1/2# of organic 7% fat grass fed beef with organic ketchup instead of the chicken(and some days I have both), 1 cup blueberries, 3/4# or so of Oikos no fat/high protein/low calorie yogurt...very low sugar in the plain which is what I use, 2 heaping tablespoons of raw almond butter and 2 heaping tablespoons of Smuckers natural peanut butter(only ingredient is peanuts), sometimes 2/3 cup of plain old steel rolled oats(oatmeal), sometimes one or more foil tuna packets, sometimes 1-2 cups of broccoli with organic alfredo sauce, 2-3 good protein shakes and other recovery supplements, a big avocado or two, 2/3 of a pot of coffee with no sugar added chocolate powder, I think that is about everything......
I lost 30# gradually changing to that diet and then maintained that weight for about 6 weeks with that diet. Now I dropped 5# by cutting carbs......was eating a lot more blueberries, oatmeal and broccoli daily.....plus I started the ruck pre program a few weeks ago.

That's all I can say because I know the results I have had from that......I certainly am not starving myself. I just took time and gradually phased out bad nutrition and phased in good nutrition. Being pretty low body fat% and still pretty strong is something that will make it e-z for me to stay with what I am doing. I was very happy too see my dumbbell bench get back to what it was last February for my workout last evening.
If things go as planned I should be at my end goal of strong and below 10% body fat by 12/1. Just a little lower belly/lower back fat left to trim off but that stuff is pretty stubborn.... BTW, I turned 63 six weeks ago. I wish you good luck with this.

 

[Bigjay73]

Jesus, diets and fads come and go so quick. Low this, high this, blah blah blah, and those of us trying to slim down are caught in the confusing middle. Calories in, and calories expended are the nuts and bolts of weight loss. Pick a way to ingest the calorie amount you need on a regular basis, set reasonable goals, and give your self a shitty, dirty cheat to feed your soul from time to time. I will say that I have also switched to unprocessed foods mostly, and like eating that way. Lots of eggs, rice, oats, meat etc. have helped me put on a few pounds of "clean" muscle the last few months. Dont personally buy into the organic, all natural crap, but to each their own. Good luck and keep motivated

 

[Outlaw99]

I will also add that 95% of the meat I consume is deer or elk....it doesn’t get much healthier than that, and I eat it till I’m full, I don’t count calories with it, I just eat it, and a whole lot of it. We are hunters after all, and the meat is hopefully what we’re all after in our endgame. Other than that, I eat chicken and fish from time to time, but the majority is venison in some form. Eliminating alcohol, sugar and most processed food took me from 195 to 152 in around 6 months and somewhere around 8% body fat. That’s with working out 5-7 days a week pretty religiously. Good luck and stick with it

 

[Bigjay73]

That's awesome outlaw

 

[Outlaw99]

Big Jay, blah blah blah is so right! There’s no magic anything out there. U either put good stuff in your body and work hard to build it up, or you don’t. It’s pretty basic and pretty simple

 

[Mike Islander]

One of the biggest negatives shown for the keto diet is the lack of ability to stay on it long term. Much easier, and still very effective, is a diet of meats and veggies, with limited carbs. Basically you eat a decent portion of meat (fat is fine), all the veggies you can stand, and not many carbs at all. I've been doing this for most of my life, but more stringently for the last four years. I'm 5'8", 58 years old, and a fairly lean 165 pounds. The nice thing about the diet is you don't crave food. If I start to eat more carbs, my portions quickly explode and I crave more and move of them.

 

[*zap*]

The way I see it is that just counting calories in/out does not cut it because you need the correct amounts of proteins, fats and carbs to sustain what you are doing and become more than what you are today. A guy could get a happy meal and a large coke daily and get the right amount of calories but that is not going to cut it for me.....I try to be aware of macros but not obsessed with macros...and I pay attention to how I feel and my recovery's and what I have been eating so I can adjust something if I think it is necessary. As far as organic or natural foods goes grass fed organic beef is going to have triple the omega 3's that regular beef has and organic sauces have a lot less processed food in them if any than regular sauces. 100% natural nut butter is so much healthier than regular nut butter there is no comparison because of all the sugars and other processed ingredients in regular nut butters...it's a good idea to read ingredient labels always.

 

[Bigjay73]

The way I see it is that just counting calories in/out does not cut it because you need the correct amounts of proteins, fats and carbs to sustain what you are doing and become more than what you are today. A guy could get a happy meal and a large coke daily and get the right amount of calories but that is not going to cut it for me.....I try to be aware of macros but not obsessed with macros...and I pay attention to how I feel and my recovery's and what I have been eating so I can adjust something if I think it is necessary. As far as organic or natural foods goes grass fed organic beef is going to have triple the omega 3's that regular beef has and organic sauces have a lot less processed food in them if any than regular sauces. 100% natural nut butter is so much healthier than regular nut butter there is no comparison because of all the sugars and other processed ingredients in regular nut butters...it's a good idea to read ingredient labels always.

I've been training for 30 years, damn I'm old, and have eaten on every area of the macro spectrum. I have always had good blood numbers, gained a ton of muscle when bulking, and kept my body fat decent, yes even when filling up on 4000 calories a day of pizza, burgers, and protein powder. To each their own, but I believe most of the organic, natural, cage free labeled foods are bogus. I will repeat that eating non processed foods has giving me the best results though, but I ain't spending 8 bucks a lb for organic chicken thighs, or 10 bucks for a lb natural nut butter. How is less ingredients more expensive lol? Such a scam

 

[*zap*]

I've been training for 30 years, damn I'm old, and have eaten on every area of the macro spectrum. I have always had good blood numbers, gained a ton of muscle when bulking, and kept my body fat decent, yes even when filling up on 4000 calories a day of pizza, burgers, and protein powder. To each their own, but I believe most of the organic, natural, cage free labeled foods are bogus. I will repeat that eating non processed foods has giving me the best results though, but I ain't spending 8 bucks a lb for organic chicken thighs, or 10 bucks for a lb natural nut butter. How is less ingredients more expensive lol? Such a scam

As long as our happy with your results. I know I am and yes some things are bogus that's why I read the ingredient label and purchase what meets my standards. I eat a $10 # of raw almond nut butter a week, just got 10 #'s of Trader Joes today. Obviously I do not think they are scamming me.

 

[zacattack]

I’ve been working my ass off since July 1st on losing weight and getting in shape again.

I’ve always been in decent shape, but hurt my back a few years ago and got lazy. Have been eating horrible(lots of fast food) and lots of alcohol for a couple years. Blood pressure was really high and I was getting In pretty rough shape.

On July 1st I weighed 284 lbs. I’m 6’7”, so I wasn’t super fat or anything. Started running, biking, and watching my diet and dropped 20 or so by the end of August. Had cut out all soda, alcohol and fast food. Was lifting weights(lightly) 3x per week.

wanted to take it to the next level, so my wife and I started keto. I did it for a month, stopped last Friday, and I absolutely felt like crap 100% of the time. Hit a wall one day on a moderate (25 mile) bike ride, and wasnt sure if I could make it back to the truck. Last week, on Monday evening, I was dropping my climber in the woods and scouting a bit and I absolutely crashed. I have never been like this before, if I had of been in cell service I would have called for help for sure. Almost a 911 situation.

anyway, since last Friday I have been eating “normal” again. Yesterday was the first day I felt good again.

I do really well on strict diets, and I’m not that good at just “watching” what I eat. I guess I’m afraid if I try an easy, or lenient diet I’ll fall back into old habits.

II’m just looking for suggestions on what I can try possibly try next. I have no interest in the carnivore diet, and keto is out.

I weighed myself the last day of keto and I weighed 240. 46 lbs in 3 months, but I can’t keep it up. Feel so bad I’ve stopped running and lifting. Going on a quick vacation this weekend, plan to return to the exercise after that.

sorry for the long read, but I’m pretty dumb when it comes to nutrition, just looking for some guidance.

Calo

The way I see it is that just counting calories in/out does not cut it because you need the correct amounts of proteins, fats and carbs to sustain what you are doing and become more than what you are today. A guy could get a happy meal and a large coke daily and get the right amount of calories but that is not going to cut it for me.....I try to be aware of macros but not obsessed with macros...and I pay attention to how I feel and my recovery's and what I have been eating so I can adjust something if I think it is necessary. As far as organic or natural foods goes grass fed organic beef is going to have triple the omega 3's that regular beef has and organic sauces have a lot less processed food in them if any than regular sauces. 100% natural nut butter is so much healthier than regular nut butter there is no comparison because of all the sugars and other processed ingredients in regular nut butters...it's a good idea to read ingredient labels always.

Organic is a lie but whatever.

To the OP There’s no secret to losing weight except that calories in need to be less than calories you are using, and don’t consume a bunch of empty calories like alcohol or candy

 

[afalcone]

Keto is not for everyone, people react differently to sudden carb starvation. It’s not for anyone but a low carb + high protein diet can be good for many people. You may want to try again but slowly remove carbs over time. Starting at say 50g carbs per day over the first two weeks and slowly dropping 5-10g per week. Your body will adapt better than cutting the vast majority out from the beginning.