Hi r/loseit, back again with my story that may be of interest as it goes against some narratives I see here.
I am a 169cm female currently at 64kg. This story starts in summer 2018 when I was 74kg. After maintaining a 20kg weight loss for two years, I decided to push myself to get from the top of a healthy BMI into the middle while reducing body fat.
I went religiously keto for the entirety of June and July. I’ve always liked fat more than sugar so this was pretty easy for me, although I did miss milk, carrots/corn/beans, and whole wheat bread a lot. I read everything I could get my hands on about the ketogenic diet to make sure I understood. While I know they aren’t perfect, ketostix showed me in ketosis every day. 20g carbs was my hard limit but most days I didn’t go over 15g. I did everything right and gave myself plenty of time to adjust, but I was never happy. I was still hungry throughout the day, didn’t lose an ounce, and most critically my endurance dropped dramatically.
I decided to give it up when, halfway through an easy two-hour hike, I felt like death. I was literally reduced to crawling. I know there are ways to do keto with very controlled carb intake for athletes, but I went on keto because it was supposed to be easy! So I added back whole grains and carby veg.
I respect that a lot of people find success on keto and it’s not easy to start ketosis, but it’s not for EVERYONE. Don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t work for you.
The main reason I wanted to write today though is to give my anecdote about walking off weight and eating back exercise calories. The consensus seems to be, ‘walking doesn’t count’ and to never eat more calories just because you exercised that day.
Gods bless those of you who can eat the same amount of food every day no matter what you do, because if I put that restriction on myself I would sit on the couch from dawn to dusk.
For me it is far more compelling to stay in motion as I account for it. If I spend this thirty-minute break walking, I can eat a 150 calorie snack? LET’S GO!!!
I live in a medium-sized city and have access to my university gym but it’s a 20-minute walk away. So if I want to use it, that’s going home-changing my clothes-walking to the gym-using the gym for 40-60 minutes-walking back home-showering and hair and makeup-and then back to my life. That’s like a three hour commitment. Whereas if I spend my lunch break walking along the river for an hour, it takes an hour.
The best exercise plan is the one you actually do.
So from September on, I’ve been walking every chance I get. I use this chart to add back calories past 10,000 steps: https://www.verywellfit.com/pedometer-steps-to-calories-converter-3882595 Everything from walking instead of taking the bus to things within 2-3km, to crossing campus inefficiently instead of lining up my errands, results in most days with 15-20K step totals.
My weight plummeted. I was 74kg on 1 September and 64kg by mid-March. You bet my shrinking heinie that I eat back my extra calories! Otherwise I’d be crawling (again). I actually had to start drinking protein shakes because I need more calories but don’t have the time or mental energy to shop, cook, and clean more. It also means I can spend my lunch break walking, and drink my lunch at my desk.
This summer I have a bit more time in the day so I’m embarking on a muscle-building programme at the gym. But I’m keeping up those steps!
Sure, Fitbit and other programmes overestimate calories burned, and it’s very easy to justify overeating by a trip to the gym. It’s also tempting to call the casual number of steps you accumulate in a day hard work. But you can still achieve your goals if you are sensible about eating back your calories, even from walking!
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from loseit - Lose the Fat http://bit.ly/2w13KaM
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