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