An important lesson I’ve learnt in life, that applies most especially to weight loss, is “what got you here won’t necessarily get you there”.
This week my weight loss stalled for the first time since I began. I have seen my weight go up on occasions, like last week’s business trip to Paris where I put on 6.1lbs – but this was just water weight, and getting back on track reversed this immediately. I lost that 6 lbs in just three days with my very next 36hr fast.
But since then I’ve had two 36 hour fasts, while maintaining my diet and exercise, and lost no further weight this week. It would be easy to get disheartened and feel like all your hard work is for nothing, but it’s important to be pragmatic about these things.
The changes I initially made to my diet, exercise and fasting habits were great. From where I was at the beginning – 18 St 3.3 lbs (255.3 lbs / 116kg), these were very aggressive steps for combating type 2 diabetes and losing weight fast. And they worked. They were enough to see me lose over 26lbs (12kg) in 11 weeks.
But as you’ve seen if you read my glossary of dieting terms and concepts page, the primary determinant of losing weight is a calorie deficit. Despite what many proponents of fasting, keto diets and exercise will tell you, there is no real magic to any of them. They only work because they bring you into a calorie deficit.
Your calorie requirements are defined by your base metabolic rate or BMR, and by consuming fewer calories per week than you need to maintain your current weight, you cannot help but lose weight. Your body simply consumes the stored body fat to make up the deficit.
Think of it like a bank. You make deposits in your savings account when you are flush with cash (storing body fat) and then maybe you are out of work for a week, so you withdraw your cash to survive (burning body fat).
While a calorie deficit is the ‘withdrawal,’ keeping my insulin low through my keto diet and fasting is what keeps the ‘bank vault’ unlocked so I can actually access those fat stores easily.
You can increase your deficit through exercise to an extent, since exercise raises your BMR, but there is only so much you can do. It’s a sad but true fact that exercise makes you hungry. Your body craves protein, vitamins and minerals to repair the damage done by progressive exercise. So it’s a balancing act – maintaining sufficient nutrition to support your body’s needs, while keeping the calories to a minimum.
By losing weight, I’ve naturally reduced my BMR. It takes less energy for me to walk, stand, even sleep, with a body that weighs 16 St 7.8 lbs (231.8 lbs / 105.4 kg) than it did when I was 26lbs / 12kg heavier.
Even though I’ve increased my activity somewhat, this is offset to a large extent by the additional efficiency of my cardiovascular system. So effectively, because of my BMR reduction, I now need 200-300 calories fewer per day than I did at the beginning.
By continuing to eat the same meals week in and week out, I have naturally seen a gradual slowing of my weight loss.
The only way to kick start this and keep my weight loss up is by reducing my calorie intake again. So over the next week or so, I’m going to be looking at ways to cut calories. There are some easy and quick wins for me. My breakfast omelette was often a 3 or 4 egg omelette, served up with 2 heck 97% pork sausages and 2 rashers of Finne Brogue Naked bacon (no nitrates). This always leaves me very full – maybe too full – so I’m going to be dropping this to 2 eggs and 1 slice of bacon/1 sausage. I also usually have mushrooms, red onions, spinach and a whole avocado with my omelette, as well as some cheese. I’m going to be reducing all of these as well.
I also would have a smoothie on my eating days – 0% fat greek yogurt, frozen berries, a scoop of whey protein powder, flax and chia seeds, and another whole avocado! I’d also often add a spoonful of cashew butter and some dark chocolate. Most of this is fine, but my plan is to split my whole avocado – having half with my omelette and half in my smoothie (it makes for a really creamy texture!). I’ll also remove the cashew butter and dark chocolate. I generally have my smoothie with some keto hana granola, which is very healthy, but I’d often add a handful of mixed nuts – very healthy but very calorie-dense. So I’ll be reducing the nuts considerably.
My dinners are probably the one thing that doesn’t need to change – typically an air fried chicken breast with veggies lightly fried in some Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce (remembering to keep Worcestershire to a light splash as it does contain some sugar).
But I was getting to a point where my snack habit was a problem – I have been buying double-fried pork crackling, which is super keto-friendly, but also very calorie-dense. For texture, I’d also have a few slices of vintage cheddar cheese. I’m going to have to start reducing these, and I’ve recently bought some new Keto Hana granola bars, so these may replace my more caloric snacks entirely on some days.
Just a few tweaks like these should result in a significant reduction in my weekly calorie intake, which in turn gives me a greater calorie deficit and should keep my weight loss moving at the same rate.
I know I’m already fasting 3 x 36hrs a week, which is a lot – and these are the biggest contributors to my calorie deficit – but there’s no point in maintaining so much fasting if I then undo all that work by over-eating on my non-fasting days.
So I just need to remind myself – what got me here won’t necessarily get me where I need to be – and adjust accordingly. As you’ve seen if you’ve been following my blog this is the first time I’ve considered reducing my intake in 3 months so it’s not something you need to do too often – but as you start to lose weight and get past 20-30lbs lost you should definitely keep track of your weekly weight loss and make sure you are still losing at the rate you want to.
And the important thing is – it’s not about depriving yourself! You aren’t cutting calories to make you suffer! You are cutting calories because you’ve EARNED a new lighter body, which naturally needs less food to maintain its current weight, and therefore needs less food if you want to continue losing as rapidly as you have been. That is your BMR in action, and it’s what you want/need to meet your goals.
It’s perfectly natural for weight loss to slow as you get nearer your target, but by keeping an eye on your new BMR, you can prevent this from becoming a frustrating weight loss plateau.
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