Weight Loss Challenges

Keymash

"When it comes to blood cholesterol, cholesterol found in food doesn't appear to have as significant impact on blood cholesterol as certain types of fat"

I was under the impression that for most people cholesterol doesn't have much of an effect but 20% of people are high responders. Am I misinformed?

robeiii

so what affect Cholesterol then, I went vegan 4 months ago and my numbers dropped from 275 to 145? (I used to eat lots of meat, eggs and cheese... now none)

sherbert

To robeiii....Wow that is quite a drop. Did you also loose weight?

robeiii

Yep, 30+lbs in 3 months, . 210 to 180. Now I'm maintaining. Might go lower in future if I want to get into a better BMI.

mnanagrandma

great for you . congrats. be well and happy

sherbert

Yes robeiii wonderful! When you went vegan, did you count protein? And, what were your more likely foods to provide it. I am also an egg, meant and CHEESE lover. Hard to contemplate cutting them out entirely. May have to. Any advise for protein?

gevalia

Beginning my 10th week on Keto. Started at 243 and now at 215 with a 185 target. Easily keeping to a 15(protein), 75(fat), 5(carbs) plan. Not starving, liking my food choices, and doing 12 hour intermittent fasting but working upwards. Walking 13 miles/day when I can. Lot the "even" feeling all day long. And, oh, this is a year after 4-cabbage surgery so it's awesome. Making sure to get proper potassium level, all minerals, and vitamins. New respect for eating liver and liverwurst for it's values. It will be good to be able to do backcountry hiking in the canyons again.
Cronometer helps me keep on track and also try out new foods so I am using it daily!

Susan_RD_101

@Keymash

This seems to be the consensus for the most part. Taking it one step further, it seems that if you are eating a mixed/omnivore diet, what you eat on that mixed diet, doesn't really appear to have much of an impact on blood cholesterol. However, if you completely eliminate all sources of cholesterol (and minimize saturated fat) there will likely be a significant reduction in cholesterol levels for most. Of course, everyone is different, so it's important to know your risk factors when determining the dietary pattern that's right for you.

Susan_RD_101

@sherbert

You are just in time for a plant-based interview I will be doing with the team at Cronometer! Some of my favourite plant-based sources of protein include tempeh, edamame, seitan, lentils, and chickpeas. An excellent recipe database to get you cooking with beans is Minimalist Baker (she cooks too!). And rest assured, plant-based protein can meet 100% of your protein needs.

robeiii

@sherbert
To add to what Susan mentioned. I love adding beans bean beans to everything. I also enjoy Barley which has been wonderful. Even Broccoli has a good amount of protein. 100 cal of broccoli has more protein than 100 cal of steak... now that's a plateful of broccoli vs a 2 inch square of steak but you get my point. Look at all the big strong animals that are "vegan". Horse, cows, elephants, gorillas, etc.

Besides, protein has been a huge buzz word for healthy... and yes... protein is a vital nutrient, BUT the amount we consume in the SAD diet is overkill and even dangers (look up kidney protein issues).

I track all my macros (carbs, protein, fat) via Crono and with my whole food diet I'm never lacking in any of them.

And to your cheese/egg comment. and I had mentioned I love MY cheese, eggs sausage, bacon, steak, hamburgers... on and on and on. Occasionally I miss them but once I decide to element is really isn't hard to go without. It's even empowering!!!

When I do desire a little treat, like once ever few weeks, I will find creative ways to mimic my favs. for example, Look up "Tofu scramble", get some plant based sausage and cheese, a tortilla and by god you have yourself a egg wrapped that could fool the best of them.

Hope this helps!

mnanagrandma

i love the idea of less animal protein,
didnt realize the broccoli content of protein. i have been enjoying roasted cauliflower but will mix it up .thanks for sharing that one. i also use cronometer to track and love love love it.
when you read the art and science of low carbohydtate living by volek and phinney- they state that the recommended guideline for protein is 0.8gms/day per kilo of body weight for adults. even with the stated recommendation , i try to stay below that.

sherbert

Very kind of people have experience to share. Thank you very much! Viva Cronometer!

Amol

My weight was 127 Kg . after a challenge i reduced it to 117. The sad part is after 5 months it is back 127 at the begining of this month.Now i am worried and started the weight loss journey again this time with more tracking and focus on food.
In past i used to walk every day for 1 hour( 6 Km) , swiming for 45 mins and Basic Yoga for 1 hour ( alternate day).Need to go back to same routine.

I personally feel it is comparitvely easy to reduce weight than to maintain the same in long run.The rules we make while weight loss journey should be steady for longer term.....

Did anyone face similar issue of regaining the weight after a loss, what is the best solution?

Susan_RD_101

100% agree with you @Amol

My nutrition practice focuses on sustainable weight loss, which is weight you can lose and keep off long-term.

I have found two things key to achieving sustainable weight loss in my clients:

1. Gradual weight loss will almost always be more sustainable than rapid weight loss. This is because your body HATES losing weight, and the greater the weight loss, the harder your body will try to fight to put the weight back on. When gradual weight loss occurs, it protects your metabolism.

2. Whatever you do to lose weight, you need to do to keep the weight off. In Canada, obesity is considered a chronic health condition since it requires life-long treatment to manage. As such, it's important to find a way of eating and a level of activity that you can sustain long-term.

Hope this helps!

sherbert

Yes, I think it comes down to following your "diet" after the weight loss. Meaning a healthy, calorie count that keeps you where you want to be. I am in the process of loosing weight again. I've been on the forum asking questions about my cholesterol issues. I had lost 15 lbs. 2 years ago but slowly gained it back. I am very slowly loosing again, because my blood pressure has gone up, but very slowly. My PCP told me that I had to follow a "rigorous" diet, not eat after 6:30 pm and exercise. Snack on something like carrots. It did work once, and now It's working albeit more slowly. "Rigorous", I calorie count on cronometer religiously. I fluctuate day to day but follow the trend. Plato often. I do notice after a couple of months that my appetite is less and I seem to be learning to like the leaner diet with hardly any indulging of big portions. So...it may be that discipline at first horrible!!!does catch on. Best of luck. You're in good company that's for sure.

mnanagrandma

i too have challenges loosing weight. i have been following the keto since august 28th with good results. 16 pounds down . the last few weeks , i had no weight loss. so i looked back on my cronometer trends. i did join the gold . so i was able to get a very detailed view of all my macros. i noticed an increase of calories during those weeks i did not loose weight. so back to the beginning. i am following the exact food intake that i did in my first few weeks of keto. and the weight is starting to come off again. i realized that the calorie count for me cannot go above 1200 each day, and i keep in the low protein , less than 20 gms carbs a day as well.
just thought this may help.

sherbert

Interesting. Thanks for confirming this. Not tried the Keto diet, but it obviously works for you. I aim for lower than 1200, but that gives me wiggle room to go up. 1100 - 1200 is probably my average. Even though I read about all the different "diets", I do think it is calorie intake that is the baseline. We're assuming that that's not a load of empty calories. Thanks for your comments! Keeps me thinking!!

robeiii

@sherbert FYI, I posted before claiming 100 cals of Broccoli has the same protein count at 100 cals of steak. I was mis-informed and did not verify. A simple search in Cronometer gets you the actually results. Meat does have almost 3 times the amount of protein per cal that broccoli does. My apologies for passing along mis-information. But I still believe that the protein we get from plant based sources is more than adequate. (check out https://nutritionfacts.org for details) broccoli rocks!

Susan_RD_101

Broccoli does rock @robeiii !

Another benefit of eating plant-based protein is you also get a lot of fibre, which tends to keep us fuller for longer and prevent dramatic spikes in blood sugar levels.

Mariahf

I'm struggling with getting enough fat without getting too much protein

Susan_RD_101

@Mariahf

Many people like to use "fat bombs" to help them meet their fat requirements, while keeping carbs and protein down. You can search Google or Keto groups to find recipes for these. Here's an example to get you started:

https://ketosummit.com/what-are-ketogenic-fat-bombs-recipes-how-to-make

Mariahf

Thanks for the info. I use fat bombs often.

keljam69

@Mariahf - have you tried to incorporate grapeseed oil in your diet? I know some frown on it, but it does provide a good source of fats and you won't have to worry about overdoing it on the protein. I like to use a tablespoon on a salad for the omega-6 fats as well. Best of luck to you!