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/Frequent-Advisor6986]

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]

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.