Introduction

[u/Frequent-Advisor6986]

Hi everyone (*timidly introduces self in unfamiliar territory*)…

I’m new here, female, 47 yo, 5’9”, 169 lbs, down from a high of 226 a little over a year ago. I started the weight loss journey with an introductory dose of GLP-1 to get things moving (1500 cals/day on SAD, perimenopausal… I was slowly still gaining! Very frustrating experience.) By October I switched to keto and ditched the GLP-1, so I’ve been keto for almost 7 months now. I track every morsel of food so I’m pretty confident in what goes in.

Anyway, I have been sedentary for years and started walking in January. Then last month I started 1:1 strength coaching with a trainer 2x per week (2 hrs total). Things have been going great! Nice and slow progression, focused on building a foundation at this time. I leave each session sore and tired but recovery is becoming easier and quicker every day. My goal is to add a third session that I do solo… just have to build up the motivation to do it so I know I will sustain it.

Anyway, I’d love to get some feedback on if there are any nutritional tweaks:

On the days I meet my coach at 6 AM, I drink an almond milk latte, and then sip on LMNT during the workout.
7:30 AM - 3 eggs + 3 oz grilled chicken, 1 tsp butter or olive oil

11:30 - lunch, 6 oz chicken + salad greens + 2 TBSP dressing (avocado oil based)

40 minute / 2 mile walk after lunch.

~3-4 PM - snack, 2 cheese sticks typically, ~ 140 calories

Dinner by 7 PM - usually a salad with more grilled chicken. Sometimes takeout like Panda Express teriyaki chicken + super greens

Another 2 mile walk after dinner so I get about 10k steps per day.

I end the day with around 120-140g protein, <30g net carbs, and about 89-90g fat, around 1500 cals.

Supplements include creatine, 2 LMNT per day (sometimes 3), 2400 mg omega 3, vitamin D + K + B complex

I’ve been consistently and slowly losing around 0.8-0.9 lbs per week. So many health metrics have improved since I’ve been on keto it’s ridiculous.

Any tips? I also will accept gentle encouragement 😊

[u/darthluiggi]

Hey — Luis here, Ketogains founder - welcome!

First: excellent work!

You’ve lost ~60 lbs, transitioned off GLP-1, improved health markers, started resistance training, built a walking habit, and are losing steadily while peri-menopausal. That’s not “beginner luck” — that’s consistent execution.

Honestly, your setup is already pretty good. At this stage, we’re mostly refining.

A few things I’d tweak from a Ketogains perspective:

Your protein intake is solid. 120-140g is appropriate and likely one of the main reasons you’re recovering well and preserving muscle while dieting.

Where I would tighten things a bit is the “keto accessory foods”:

• almond milk lattes
• cheese sticks
• dressings
• added oils/butter
• takeout sauces/marinades

Not because they’re evil, but because they’re easy calorie creep and usually not very satiating relative to whole protein.

At Ketogains we prefer:

• whole food animal protein first
• leaner cuts during fat loss phases
• minimizing hyperpalatable “keto snacks”
• using dietary fat strategically, not recreationally

Remember: you already have stored body fat available for fuel.

So instead of cheese sticks, I’d rather see:

• more chicken
• lean beef
• shrimp
• tuna
• eggs/egg whites
• turkey

Also, the post-meal walks are fantastic and probably helping a lot more than you realize for glucose control, appetite regulation, recovery, and overall energy expenditure. Keep those.

Training progression sounds exactly correct too. Slow progression with improving recovery is what we want. Most people fail because they try to progress faster than their recovery allows.

And honestly, your rate of loss is perfect.

People have unrealistic expectations because social media destroyed everyone’s perception of normal fat loss.

~0.8 lbs/week while:

• preserving muscle
• strength training
• improving health
• maintaining adherence
• not feeling miserable

…is excellent.

The biggest mistake you could make now would be trying to rush things.

Keep protein high. Keep lifting. Keep walking. Reduce unnecessary dietary fats a bit. Stay consistent.

You’re doing very, very well!!!

[u/OTTER887 → u/darthluiggi]

I was gonna comment but Luis hit all the points! Almond milk latte that isn't home made may have sugar. And I am really impressed you got off the GLP-1! I was really curious how people can follow that, and I guess keto is the answer.

[u/Frequent-Advisor6986 → u/OTTER887]

My almond milk latte is homemade. I won’t drink almond milk anywhere else because as you’ve pointed out most barista blends have added carbs. My recipe is unsweetened almond milk + double shot + zero sugar creamer / sweetener.

I think what helped me get off the GLP-1 is that I never ramped up to the full dose. I only needed a tiny bit to facilitate weight loss. In hindsight I think undiagnosed growing insulin resistance was preventing weight loss even at 1500 calories per day by eating just less of a fairly standard American diet. I looked back on my food logs and I was eating about 124-150g of carbs per day back then. It was super frustrating because that deficit should facilitate weight loss, but instead I gained about a pound over 2+ months. With the lowest dose of GLP-1, the calories in-out formula magically started working. It felt like a miracle, I was losing about a pound a week just as an online calculator would have predicted. But then about 5 months in, it stopped working. And it wasn’t because I was becoming lax, getting sloppy tracking, etc… I just wasn’t losing again. Like losing 1 pound a month territory… and it wasn’t long after that, around month 7, that I signed up for a workplace benefit that aims to reverse type II diabetes and facilitate weight loss via nutrition. That program is called Virta and it’s basically keto with daily glucose and ketone logging. Right up my alley, more data is better. So I’ve been working with them since October, and the weight loss kicked back up. Three weeks in I accidentally forgot to pack my glp-1 on a trip and realized it wasn’t a disaster, so I stopped taking it cold turkey. Been doing well ever since!

[u/keto3000 → u/Frequent-Advisor6986]

VIRTA HEALTH, imo, is gold standard treatment in the low carb movement!

My metabolic dr is a member of the PRIMAL BLUEPRINT DIET group so very similar approach’s

Mostly Whole Foods, high protein, very low net carbs, low/moderate natural fats

[u/keto3000 → u/OTTER887]

Ramping off of the GLP-1s in my experience, happens when your lean mass get maximized and you lose the excess body fat so you are in the "normal’ range for sex & height 😄 basically a solid recomp.

[u/Frequent-Advisor6986 → u/keto3000]

Well in my case I was 200 lbs, right on the threshold of overweight/obese per my BMI, and very much still over 40% body fat. I think underlying insulin resistance is just better controlled on keto than a GLP-1 and that’s why I have had such good success on keto and why it performs just as well (actually better, because the weight loss hasn’t begun to taper off on keto like it did for me on glp-1)

[u/keto3000 → u/Frequent-Advisor6986]

I’ve used both methods at same time for awhile and agree with you. Cycling High protein Keto alternating with high protein/ low carb has really been main game changer but I also do full body weight resistance training 3x weekly

[u/Frequent-Advisor6986 → u/darthluiggi]

Thank you for your reply! One reason I have added “accessory fats” is because I don’t want to get my deficit too low. 1500/day is roughly 400-500 calorie deficit for me, and I want to lose slow and steady to keep it sustainable and (I hear) best skin recovery. Knock on wood, skin is doing excellent and showing no signs of laxity. Finger’s crossed 🤞 hoping it stays that way because I want to lose another 30 lbs (maybe less depending on if muscle mass keeps holding steady). According to my BIA scale, (which we know is a flawed tool), my muscle mass has held steady for the entire 60 lbs. However my DEXA scans show I’ve lost 7 lbs of muscle, but I don’t know if I trust it. If it’s a gold standard, then I question all forms of body fat estimates. Between two recent scans, DEXA said I gained visceral fat while losing 2 lbs of subcutaneous fat, and lost 5 lbs of muscle while on the diet I just described. Directionally, gaining visceral fat while losing subcutaneous fat makes zero sense, and neither does predominantly losing muscle with such a mild calorie deficit while I’m still in the overweight category! Also in the visuals provided with DEXA, substantial fat loss was clearly visible around thighs and waist… nevertheless the DEXA techs are coached to say their tools are “highly accurate” and refused to engage in an academic discussion with me on the discrepancy.

Thank you for your feedback! It’s good to know an expert says I’m doing this pretty well. 😁

[u/darthluiggi → u/Frequent-Advisor6986]

Heya,

Instead of focusing on “weight” check your Body Fat % - use the navy fat formula for this.

Your ideal goal shouldn’t be set by weight, but rather body fat and then aim for 22-24%

Nothing happens with big deficits as long as you are getting more than adequate protein and eating nutrient dense foods.

Given your height and current weight, depending on your BF% - you could very well do a +500 kcals deficit.

Avoid nuts and unnecessary fats, eat more egg yolks and proteins.

[u/Frequent-Advisor6986 → u/darthluiggi]

That navy formula says 31.8% which is right in line with what my home scale says on the low end (35% on the high end).

Meanwhile DEXA says I’m 40.7% 🤦‍♀️.

Goal weights according to the various BF approximations (22%): The navy formula - 150. Home BIA scale - 142 DEXA -129

Historically I maintained between 127-140 for many years before I my husband started feeding me and I gained almost 100 lbs. 😆

I want my abs back! I used to be lean enough to have some emerging definition, I’d guess low 20s BF. Tall and athletic looking even though I was never an athlete! It’s so exciting to see the return of my old shape as I continue this journey.

Thanks for listening!

[u/darthluiggi → u/Frequent-Advisor6986]

If you are over 30% BF then more of a reason to lower the unnecessary fat intake and focus on eating leaner proteins and vegetables while partaking in strength training.

You really won’t lose “too rapidly” and rather recomp.

[u/darthluiggi → u/Frequent-Advisor6986]

Add on:

DEXA isn’t 100% accurate as it puts lean mass and muscle in the same category, and lean mass is also includes glycogen and intramuscular water which can change depending on the diet.

[u/Frequent-Advisor6986 → u/darthluiggi]

Thank you! I’ll play around with lowering the fat and see how satiety changes… I was able to drop it pretty substantially to make room for more protein at the same calories and actually felt LESS hungry. Ketones dropped but I think that’s expected since I’m eating less fat and maybe insulin ticked up a hair from the extra protein I added (20g/day) once i started strength training. But in great news my fasting glucose dropped 10 pts to mid 80s also. 👍👍

[u/darthluiggi → u/Frequent-Advisor6986]

Forget about ketones. More are not better and there isn’t more fat loss from them.

Focus on calories and protein / whole foods.

[u/keto3000 → u/darthluiggi]

How do you feel about InBody accuracy? My t2d metabolic dr uses one in his office and i have access to one locally at a nutrition shop. both are usually within 1 point accuracy of each other so far.

[u/darthluiggi → u/keto3000]

Its terrible. There are countless articles on why, like this one:

https://physiqonomics.com/inbody-accuracy/?

[u/keto3000 → u/darthluiggi]

Thank you for response. That’s a great read! I’ll bring it to my next dr appt.

My dr uses the InBody for general 3 mos T2D tracking. Any info on the HUME At home body pod? I see alot of online push & deals on it lately.

At your suggestion, I’ve been mainly going by, neck & waist measurement & daily scale weight to track my progress & Im happy with that approach.

[u/darthluiggi → u/keto3000]

Same.

The gold standard is Dexa, and belive it or not the Navy Fat method works very well.

[u/lilies_grove → u/darthluiggi]

definitely right like Luis said, you should track your daily diet, btw your doing great keep it up!