Fat-loss coach here ! Ask me anything :)

Like the thread title says:

Ask me anything related to fat-loss.

There seems to be a lot of misconceptions around this term.

To this day people cannot distinguish the meaning behing fat-loss and weight-loss.

 

Keto does work for many people because it does indeed control the body's main anabolic hormone: Insulin.

However, even though the weight-loss experienced can sometimes be significant, it is though to say how much of it is actually fat-mass because people just weigh themselves instead of tracking muscle gain and fat-loss during a certain period.

It does help people adhere to a "diet" more easily, because the fats and proteins are satiating (Coupled with IF, it reduces the caloric load greatly).

Again, I've never seen any significant FAT-LOSS in people eating Keto. Just weight-loss and they usually tend to put a lot of it back.

It is not sustainable in the long-term (in my opinion).


I congratulate you on actually losing those 30 Lbs and getting off insulin

I still think that people would benefit from a more varied diet of complex carbs, healthy fats and plenty of protein (mostly animal).


I've used Keto myself and although the weight-loss happens quickly, most of it is water weight (you use up the glycogen stored in the muscles and therefore lose the water as well).

Then, you can end up losing muscle in the long-term because you aren't eating carbs. This is for two main of reasons:

- When you are not ingesting glucose, your body can still convert some of the protein you eat into glucose by a process called "gluconeogenesis" even when you are eating plenty of fats. Remember: Your body always strives for a stable glucose blood level even in the absence of actual dietary glucose. Converting that protein into glucose for energy means less protein for muscle recovery (less muscle-mass).

- Also, even though insulin can make you fat, it can also speed up recovery post-workout. Strategically raising insuling to moderate levels by eating unprocessed carbs can be beneficial for recovery and general hormonal balance. And, eating complex carbs in the early morning hours won't hurt you that much because your muscles are much more insulin sensitive at those hours. This means that your body won't release that much insulin for a certain quantity of carbs (a certain quantity of glucose) if you eat them in the morning. This is, of course, if you are adhering to a training regimen and all other diet parameters are in check.

In short, Keto works for rapid weight-loss but I personally don't use it on myself or clients.

A diet with some amount of each macro is necessary: Fats for your hormones (and satiaty), carbs to sustain training/performance and proteins for muscle gain or muscle maintenance during a fat-loss regimen.

Hopefully I answered your question to an acceptable degree Let me know if you want to know anything else !

 

Forgot to mention that Keto works well because it eliminates processed sugar and you start eating real food.


Any starchy carbohydrate can be used if you can tolerate it well: Whole-grain bread, whole grain pasta, brown rice, etc...

It all depends on your current body-fat and general health.


If you already had a fatty liver, you were insulin resistant which means that any glucose eaten will mostly be stored as fat because your body has to secrete more insulin to store that quantity of glucose. Whereas someone healthier would need less insulin to store that same quantity.

This all depends on the situation. Most of my clients are generally healthy. For someone with high liver enzymes, I would definitely eliminate processed sugar and high-fructose fruits.

Then, slowly reintroduce complex carbs (glucose) to see how you feel. Training does indeed play a role indeed If you train you can uptake more glucose into your muscles.


You will need to look up the nutrition values of each food you eat and see what ratios of glucose, fructose and sucrose they have

 

I am no fan of cardio for muscle gain and fat-loss. Usually, priorities are as follows:

- Diet first
- Strenght training second
- Cardio only as a last resort to speed up stubborn fat-loss

My advice would be to get a gym membership and start strength training (if your condition allows it).

Of course, keep doing what you are doing diet wise if you think it works

I would also not focus so much on weight-loss but fat-loss. Do not weight yourself... Instead, take weekly pictures of yourself from the front, side and back (I do this with clients). It is a much more accurate way to gauge fat-loss than the scale.

 

Losing belly fat will be a matter of losing overall body fat. You need to lower your body fat percentage and then the belly will disappear.

Walking is certainly a good start. However, with regards to food:

- You do need some fats for hormonal balance and overall well-being. Not all fats are equal.

- Lower sugar is certainly good as well. Get more low-fructose fruits if you want to burn more body-fat. Fructose goes straight to the liver and if you eat too much it converts to body fat. You will also need to know exactly how much you are eating. "One banana" could be a big one or a small one (up to 18 grams for a big one and 12 for a small one). Therefore, I would personally weight the fruits if your goal is to burn body fat

 

Very interesting question !

You actually made me ponder about what is "optimal" or not. I do think that people tend to confuse the terms health and fitness.


Being healthy and being fit are two different things. You can still be healthy and have a little more body-fat.


However, for a lot of people: Being fit = being healthy (because excess body-fat as you see it today is the cause of many modern diseases, especially in the USA).


Also, too much body-fat means that your Testosterone will aromatize into Estrogen (body-fat contains aromatase).

This means that you will have less Test and more Estrogen. When you are leaner, you have higher Testosterone. Just from this example you see how belly fat (or too much body-fat) could hinder you from a hormonal stand point.


Now, if the "pudge" is bothering you from a cosmetic stand-point, this will be a matter of dieting and lowering overall body-fat.

About what you are eating:


You are not eating that much from what I see. Do you know your ratios of proteins, fats and carbs ? What's your body-weight ?

In my opinion, you need more meat, more healthy fats and more complex carbs in the right ratios.

 

It sures takes time It took me 10 years to get where I am

What do you mean you literally can't eat more protein ? If it's something health related I understand.

You will have to look up Testosterone and Estrogen.

Of course men have Estrogen as well (in fact it is Neuroprotective).

However, lower Testosterone and Higher Estrogen is no bueno (skinny-fat physiques are an example).

Dietary fat is indeed a source of energy.

Body-fat is a stored form of energy that your body can use when you are in "starvation" times.

Your body will convert some foods more easily into body-fat because different foods affect the body differently metabolically (the rise of obersity in the USA is a good example, it is not just moving less and eating more).

 

Gotcha ! Combine beans and rice for a complete panel of amino acids (complete protein such as meat)

Good luck on your research !

 

That's a great question that I love to answer

It's a pretty common question because many people that try to lose fat usually end up finding information about "weight-loss" in general (calorie counting).


A lot of the information on the Internet is wrong or incomplete.

To lose body-fat without losing muscle you will need to:

- Eat enough fat to sustain your hormonal levels when dieting. I personally hover around 0,4 grams of fat per Lbs of bodyweight when cutting.

I use the same rule for clients and follow their progress when dieting and adjust the grams if necessary.


- Eat 1,5 grams of complete protein per Lbs of bodyweight. Many people will say you don't need that much but I disagree.

You need protein for hair, nails, etc.

When you diet, you want even more protein to be able to sustain as much muscle-mass as possible. Your body is constantly turning over protein.

If your amino acid pool gets empty, it will use up existing muscle to restore the "pool".

Women might need a little less grams, but for men I've seen great results with myself and others with 1,5 grams.


- Eat complex carbohydrates strategically to sustain activity level and exercise (to lower the stress response to working out).

Depending on the person, this numbers of grams of carbohydrates varies. If I am not losing fat, I lower them slightly.

If I see losing myself too quickly, I might increase them a bit. You need to experiment

 

It is kind of a bodybuilder diet, because it works

You can say what you want about bodybuilders, but they have specialized knowledge about gaining muscle and losing body-fat.

1) You should have plenty of fiber if you mix up complex carbs, fruits and vegetables. I don't look at a certain amount of fiber number that I need to reach when creating plans, but fiber usually comes out at 40-50 grams.

Fiber is pretty much useless for body composition changes. If you are having problems being "regular", then a supplemental form of fiber might come in handy. Otherwise, fiber serves not much purpose except filling you out so you don't get as hungry between meals.

It does play a role in insulin control but if you are eating real food you shouldn't have problems being deficient in fiber.

2) There is no set number for water. Drink enough so you aren't thirsty, then drink a little more. Yes, you do need more water for the extra protein and to gain muscle, but if you don't have health problems then setting a certain number of liters for water is useless in my opinion.


I don't take extra amino acids and haven't recommended them to clients so I couldn't help you with regards to taurine and glutamine.

There are studies showing benefits. I personally get them through my Whey and meat.

3) Hard to say with regards to fat-loss because I only look at the mirror when cutting. I don't weigh myself.

My clients do the same. They take weekly pictures and I can assess their progress.


Do you know how much of those 700 grams is fat-loss ?

It will be though to say without a thorough analysis (DEXA scan for example).


I would therefore (if I was you), take weekly pictures and see how much of the weight-loss was fat, muscle and/or water.

Over 24 hours ? Though to say... But looking at clients' fat-loss progressions, I don't like to see more than 10ish Lbs of weight lost in a month (depending on their goal). It's mostly fat, but with a little water as well.