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My 22 pound fat loss in 6 months. How I did it (the short version).

I lost quite a bit of fat over about 6 months (over 10kg. More than 20 pound) and I keep getting asked for the short version of what I did. This is an attempt to do that.

Trust the fat loss process.

Fat is stored by the body constantly. It is also picked up to be used by the body constantly.

My goal was to use more than I stored.

Lowering my carbohydrates to less than 20 grams a day forced my body to start converting stored fat into ketones to be burnt.

It also levelled out my blood sugar level. Carbohydrates spike insulin levels, and it is insulin that drives fat storage. Keep your insulin low and your body won’t store as much fat. Fat won’t spike insulin. Protein won’t either when it isn’t combined with Carbohydrates. I found I still had to moderate my protein levels though.

Initially one loses a lot of water (for a week or so) with the sudden loss of carbohydrates and so hydration and electrolyte replenishment is key. I used mostly coconut water. This made me feel pretty rotten and has the term ‘keto flu’.

I did a calculation of how much energy I needed in the day, then aimed to make about 80% of that requirement come from the fats in my food. Avocado, oils, fish, bacon, butter, cream, dripping, cheese.

Fat is very energy dense (9 kilocalories per gram) so one doesn’t have to eat a lot of fat to get to the energy target.

I aimed for a 500 calorie deficit per day. Plenty of online calculators to let you work out your energy needs.

I walked more and went indoor climbing.

I only ate when I was hungry enough to really feel like eating. Just nibbly wasn’t enough. Nibbly meant drink some water.

I ended up only eating twice a day and mostly wasn’t hungry.

I avoided my comfort foods and habit foods, as well as the triggers to eat them (movies).

You’ll need to research how to do a ketogenic diet. The key for me was a $20 ketone meter so that I knew when I was and wasn’t in ketosis. This also let me raise my carbs a bit. (Raise by a bit each couple of days till you see ketones start to drop. My threshold was about 70 grams a day.)

You’ll need to eat a lot of fibre, like above ground greens, otherwise all the fats (cheese, dripping, meat fats) can make you constipated.

I also took magnesium supplements. Chelated versions mostly. Not Magnesium oxide heavy. This helps keep the bowels moving. It also helps with sleep and stress. (Lack of sleep and stress raise cortisol levels and contribute to weight gain).

I used a tape measure to assess my size and didn’t get on scales more than once a month.

A litre of water weighs a kilogram, so most people’s weight will fluctuate a lot just from water variations while they are losing weight. Don’t stress about that. Fat loss is not a straight line.

It took about 6 months of up and down but in the end lost a bit over 20 pound. It stayed off too. I think because I am still very conscious of the insulin spike thing. I am not full time keto, but I am very conscious of my carbohydrate intake. Both quantity and type (low vs high GI).

I hope that helps. If I think of anything I’ll edit the article.

Good luck.

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Weight Loss
Fat Loss
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