NFT: My plan for losing weight - Thoughts

Terrific exercise plan. However you don't mention
food intake. You don't have to go on a strict diet
like Weight Watchers or anything like that, BUT unless
you cut back in some significant way on what you eat and
how much you eat you won't be happy with your weight loss
program.

Eating 8 hours fasting 16. If you workout first thing eat from 8-4 and then fast until the next morning. Or eat from noon-8 only. I found I had more energy and focus. Also make sure you are getting at least seven hours of sleep per night as that impacts hormones linked to hunger

I'm 5'-11" and now weigh about 178. It wasn't exactly what I planned to do but here are some things that worked for me, plus additional thoughts.

Disclosure: I'm Type 2 diabetic so I have to sort of wrestle with blood sugar levels and the side effects of medication. Some promote weight gain, some promote weight loss. So your mileage may vary.

I started shedding weight pretty easily when I did a few things:
1) Cut out dairy. Found out I was intolerant to milk protein. If you cut out milk, cheese, cream and butter, and almost everything that contains them, you'll cut a ton of calories out of your diet.

2) Cut way, WAY down on starches (bread, pasta, potatoes). Fresh fruit is my main source of carbs most days.

3) Replace carb calories with fat calories. If you look at the emerging science on the effect of insulin on weight gain, and on how the body metabolizes dietary fat and its own fat, this makes sense. Carbs are processed differently from fat. More fat, less carb. Tuna salad with hard boiled eggs instead of on bread. Avocados. Lots of nuts. Just don't eat the extra fat without cutting carbs, because that combination of fat and carb is very unhealthy. (I'm looking at you, French fries!)

4) Intermittent fasting. I try to go 16 hours between end of dinner and next food. No snacking. Eat "normally" in the window of time you are eating. Some people do 14. Some people don't do that at all, but instead do something like fasting entirely 2 days a week.

The theory is that insulin promotes your body storing energy as fat, and you can't really burn stored fat while your body is secreting insulin. So you want to let your insulin levels fall by not eating carbs or protein for a period of time. That lets your body break down stored fat and stops it making new fat. I don't think the theory is fully accepted medical science yet, but it makes a lot of sense and it's working for me.

It's also supposed to be more natural to have "feast" and "famine" -- our species didn't evolve in an environment of full refrigerators and 7-11s. Supposedly it triggers some beneficial processes in the body when you fast now and then.

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It goes against the whole "Eat less, exercise more" theory of weight loss, but eating differently is more important than eating less. Ketogenic or modified keto is good for weight loss. More fat and protein, more plants, less carb, and longer fast overnight.

Also, diet is more important than exercise for losing weight. Exercise is good for you, it keeps your metabolism up and burns some calories, and it's especially good if you can gain muscle. But bottom line: You can exercise like mad but if you don't change your diet, you won't lose much weight. On the other hand, if you change your diet and don't exercise much, you can still lose weight.

I'm still losing weight even though my doctor had me stop most exercise for a while due to a back problem. Looking forward to getting back in the pool soon, and hopefully lifting weights to gain muscle, but I don't think it's essential to my fat-loss program.

Restrictions looks tough. Might want to go every other week on that or find some low cal foods that will hold you.

When I want to lose weight I use the LoseIt app and track calories. It forces you to make good choices and the rest follows.

I also exercise about 6 hours a week in winter, more in summer.

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I eat from 12-6PM or thereabouts, then nothing from 6PM until noon the next day.

Very easy to do once you get used to skipping breakfast.

dropping carbs and adding protein was key for me.

In comment 14208881 Bold Ruler said:

Quote:

dropping carbs and adding protein was key for me.

Thanks!

Agree about protein. I've read that most Americans eat too much protein, but at the same time, I'm reading that you need to increase the proportion of calories that come from protein as you get older. I'm finding more protein is helping.

However, if you're trying to avoid triggering your pancreas to make insulin, you have to be careful not to eat TOO much protein. Your body can convert protein to glucose, which triggers insulin. Your body can't turn fat into insulin, however, which is why the ketogenic diet is high-fat, low-carb.

BTW I tried a 5-day fast a while back. (My doctor doesn't believe in this approach, and strongly recommended I stop, so I did.) You really do shed weight at a ridiculous rate when you do extended fasting, but most of that weight is water, not fat.

You use up your glycogen stored in your liver and muscles, and glycogen bonds with water. When it's converted to glucose, that water gets released and you pee it out. But as soon as you start eating again and start storing glycogen, you gain all that water weight back. I think that's part of the scam of these extreme diet plans where people say "I lost 20 pounds in 10 days." Well, yeah, but how much of that was fat? For a normal person, I would guess maybe 3-5 pounds.

I had just gotten into full ketosis when I started eating again. Might try it again soon. Interesting experience. But it does require some planning and careful supplementation to avoid electrolyte problems and "refeeding syndrome," which can be quite dangerous.

meant to say your body can't turn fat into glucose.