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  • #386848

    Diane Moore
    Participant

    Hi All,

    I’m Diane and I’m new to CNS. I started on May 31st at 344 lbs and have had 2 carb nites(Saturdays). The inital water drop was nice and now, as expected, things have slowed down. I don’t know how fast I’m supposed to be losing, so I guess slow is good. Current weight 333 (lowest was on Saturday before Carb Nite 331). Oh, I guess height and age relevant, I’m 5’6″ and 50 years old.

    As dumb as this may sound, I’m a little worried, I’m not getting enough food.

    My average macros are Fat=106g, Protein=105 and >30g carbs. But that only comes out to less than 1500 calories a day. I know I need a deficit and that’s fine, I’m not hungry, but I don’t want my body going into starvation/eat all the muscle mode either. I’m not really doing exercise at this point; sadly, moving through life is exercise for me.

    Am I fine and worrying for nothing? Or should I be pushing myself to eat a little more? What should I be aiming for?

    Thanks in advance for your thoughts, insights, and expertise.

    #386852

    Steve Cauffiel
    Participant

    Yeah I don’t think that’s nearly enough – though I’m not sure/confident on how much higher you should go either. I’d think you’d be better off with the semi-kinda-informal rule of thumb of .8g of fat and protein per pound of body weight for a start. You’re down there at the .3g per pound right now and I don’t think that’s gonna be anywhere near optimal. As you drop weight you can re-evaluate and possibly try 1g of fat/.5g of protein per pound of body weight or vice versa (1g protein/.5g fat) to see how you respond; some people do better with one versus the other but it takes experimentation to figure that out.

    And there’s no real need for exercise at this point though simple short regular walks might help in other regards for your health.

    Hopefully others will chime in. Stick to it, it’ll happen. šŸ˜‰

    Steve

    #386853

    Makoto Tomizawa
    Participant

    From the stats you’ve given, I think it would be wise to increase the amount of food in general a little bit. While people with more to lose can get away with being in a relatively large deficit, ~100 grams for both protein and fats is a little low. Knowing your body fat percentage would help be more accurate, I would suggest the following:

    Protein: ~170 grams
    Fats: ~170 grams
    Carbs: As close to 0 as possible

    That comes out to around 2200 kcals. You don’t need to worry about going into “starvation” mode. Plus, you’re getting a refeed from time to time. I would start there and experiment, adjust by increasing/decreasing fats and proteins. You could probably even get away with slightly lower protein and higher fats, since you’re body has plenty of fuel. Plus you mentioned you’re not exercising, so I wouldn’t worry about your muscle being broken down either.

    Another thing is, perhaps you might want to be doing Carb Nite every two weeks, if you haven’t already been doing so.

    Training Log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vuwHRdBaPVILxxLhXly_N1Ys66Hcwk4j-bM7nvKSLrI/edit?usp=sharing

    #386984

    Richard Schmitt
    Moderator

    I’ve listened to podcast about people who are overweight and able to achieve a calorie deficit just fine, especially sticking with the macros you’re using. I understand that things have slowed, but I would also watch what your Carb Nites are actually like as well as what you’re consuming during your Ultra Low Carb week.

    #387141

    Diane Moore
    Participant

    Yeah I donā€™t think thatā€™s nearly enough ā€“ though Iā€™m not sure/confident on how much higher you should go either. Iā€™d think youā€™d be better off with the semi-kinda-informal rule of thumb of .8g of fat and protein per pound of body weight for a start. Youā€™re down there at the .3g per pound right now and I donā€™t think thatā€™s gonna be anywhere near optimal. As you drop weight you can re-evaluate and possibly try 1g of fat/.5g of protein per pound of body weight or vice versa (1g protein/.5g fat) to see how you respond; some people do better with one versus the other but it takes experimentation to figure that out.

    And thereā€™s no real need for exercise at this point though simple short regular walks might help in other regards for your health.

    Hopefully others will chime in. Stick to it, itā€™ll happen. 😉

    Steve,

    Thank you for the encouragement. It’s helpful at every step of such a long journey. The fat and protein grams that people are recommending are per pound of goal weight, right? So if I’d like to weigh around 145 when I’m all done then I should look at those ratios in terms of where I’m headed and not where I am, yes?

    Protein: ~170 grams
    Fats: ~170 grams
    Carbs: As close to 0 as possible

    That comes out to around 2200 kcals. You donā€™t need to worry about going into ā€œstarvationā€ mode. Plus, youā€™re getting a refeed from time to time. I would start there and experiment, adjust by increasing/decreasing fats and proteins. You could probably even get away with slightly lower protein and higher fats, since youā€™re body has plenty of fuel. Plus you mentioned youā€™re not exercising, so I wouldnā€™t worry about your muscle being broken down either.

    Another thing is, perhaps you might want to be doing Carb Nite every two weeks, if you havenā€™t already been doing so.

    Yre (I wish I had something better to address you by. šŸ™‚ )
    I was originally trying for around 2000 kcals a day, but I find that I’m less and less hungry, but my meals also dropped from 3 to 2 a day, so I will go back to trying to fit in 3 and hopefully that will bump me back a up a bit. Thank you for allaying my concern of my muscle decreasing. I did have two 10 day stints as opposed to 10/7/7, because I was aligning my carb nites with family, who are joining me on CNS in solidarity. Yay for family! I will consider what you say about only doing carb nite every two weeks especially if the scale keeps playing coy with me.

    Iā€™ve listened to podcast about people who are overweight and able to achieve a calorie deficit just fine, especially sticking with the macros youā€™re using. I understand that things have slowed, but I would also watch what your Carb Nites are actually like as well as what youā€™re consuming during your Ultra Low Carb week.

    Big Tex (Love that name! I get all kinds of pictures in my head of caring but tough father figure. It’s the romantic in me.)

    My first carb night I prolly went overboard a little. But this last one was better, I think. Although I did notice an interesting thing, this time the day after carb nite I didn’t have much weight increase only like 1/2 a pound. But the next day I was up 2lbs. I wonder if that means I’m not hydrating enough or something. This carb nite I had a butter pound cake muffin (costco) and a yoplait strawberry yogurt. Dinner was out a Red Robin: a cup of clam chowder to start, 2 or 3 onion rings, 1/2 a genysis burger (I just couldn’t eat the whole thing) and fries. Dessert was 2 scoops of Basking Robins. 251g carbs, 126g fat, 66g of protein, total kcals 2420. But that was my food for the whole day. I was prolly a little heavy on fat and light on Protein for the day. Still learning how to eat this way and I’m not very good at balancing it all…yet.

    Again, thank you everyone for your help and guidance. It’s good to not feel alone.

    #387213

    Steve Cauffiel
    Participant

    Yeah I donā€™t think thatā€™s nearly enough ā€“ though Iā€™m not sure/confident on how much higher you should go either. Iā€™d think youā€™d be better off with the semi-kinda-informal rule of thumb of .8g of fat and protein per pound of body weight for a start. Youā€™re down there at the .3g per pound right now and I donā€™t think thatā€™s gonna be anywhere near optimal. As you drop weight you can re-evaluate and possibly try 1g of fat/.5g of protein per pound of body weight or vice versa (1g protein/.5g fat) to see how you respond; some people do better with one versus the other but it takes experimentation to figure that out.

    And thereā€™s no real need for exercise at this point though simple short regular walks might help in other regards for your health.

    Hopefully others will chime in. Stick to it, itā€™ll happen. 😉

    Steve,

    Thank you for the encouragement. Itā€™s helpful at every step of such a long journey. The fat and protein grams that people are recommending are per pound of goal weight, right? So if Iā€™d like to weigh around 145 when Iā€™m all done then I should look at those ratios in terms of where Iā€™m headed and not where I am, yes?

    You’re welcome – we’re all in the same boat here. šŸ™‚ Definitely hydrate VERY well during CN; I can feel dehydrated after my first spike which is typically around 125g of carbs so if you’re going to 250-300 without drinking enough water you’re gonna feel it and you’ll probably gain more water weight later.

    IMO I think I’d shoot for something more like yre mentioned and go for a ~150-170g per first and do it in steps. Once you’re down to around the 300lb mark, then shoot for 280lbs – and adjust macros to around 130-140g per. When you hit 280, level down again to 250 and so on and so forth. Baby steps: that weight didn’t go on in a month, it’s not gonna come off in a month. šŸ˜‰

    #387223

    Makoto Tomizawa
    Participant

    Actually I wouldn’t change the macros until you stall again. By stall, I mean no change in weight/body composition for 3-4 weeks. If you’re losing, which you should be for a while with the initial macros, there’s no need to change anything. When you’re on a fat loss, you want to be eating as much as you can while still losing fat.
    It’s a marathon, it’s long and takes time and patience, and this needs to be kept in mind. Don’t lose sight of your goal, and if you’re consistent, you will see progress. Good luck, ma’am.

    Training Log: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vuwHRdBaPVILxxLhXly_N1Ys66Hcwk4j-bM7nvKSLrI/edit?usp=sharing

    #387242

    Richard Schmitt
    Moderator

    With your CN, I would suggest starting off something lower in fat, doesn’t have to be completely “no to low fat”, just lower, with some protein and carbs. I really do recommend getting protein in during your CN, don’t strive to hit a certain number but be conscious of having it. Chicken is a great option, even steak. Potatoes and white rice are awesome choices to start off with a dinner, or even some type of high glycemic cereal. The end of the evening, after a dinner maybe another small dinner, have some dessert. I wouldn’t suggest having a whole bunch of desserts, but something you were craving during the week.

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