Weight Loss is not Easy Anymore (It's Stuck)

[TonyaW]

Another update.  After a couple of more months I am now up to 109 consecutive days of intermittent fasting (16 or more hours a day).  It's simply become my normal way of eating and at this point don't see any reason to ever stop.


I still find it kind of unexplainable that I can continue to gain strength and fitness with my T at undetectable levels.  It seems like that is breaking some rule as all the literature suggests the opposite should be happening.  Sometimes I think there is more going on inside the human body than doctors understand.


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Congrats on the streak.

So the intermittent fasting can be done.
I've tried it a few days in the last 2 weeks and survived.  3 days in row I'm at now so ways to go to catch you. Haven't stepped on a scale yet to check for any results.  Hardest part has been not snacking when I get home after working until 9. 

You are very right about not totally understanding the body processes.  Medicine in really a science based art and then throw in all the differing genetics of every individual. 
 

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[Brooke]

Congrats on the progress. Funny how IF simply becomes part of your regular lifestyle. I'm over a year of daily IF now. Loving it. Every meal tastes absolutely amazing. I too have noticed with time restricted feeding that it doesn't seem to matter how much or little I eat my weight remains pretty stable. I was at a stable weight of 135 pounds for about five months and just recently has my weight started to drop again, though not too quickly. I would definitely agree that your set point has changed. I would actually be quite surprised if you were to gain any amount of weight doing what you're doing. I can say that weight gain with my intermittent fasting and ketogenic diet is near impossible no matter how much I eat.


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[Brooke]

Deborah, I'd be interested to know if you've seen any effect on serum estridiol levels since IF/in a fasted state with blood draw.

My own serum levels have always been low given my dose, but I've also been IF/in fasted state for every blood draw. No baseline to compare to.

Also any changes to breast growth since starting IF, and losing more fat/more lean gains?


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[Deborah]

My estradiol levels were higher this last time with IF (13 hours fasted) and about 15 hours after my last dose.  However, I had also increased my dosage before this last test.  For reference my level previously without IF was 113 pg/ml and this time with IF it was 137.0 pg/ml.  Both times my last dose was the night before the test.  Testosterone remained unchanged at undetectable levels so I have since then lowered my spiro dose by 25% to see what happens.

I have not seen any change to breast growth other than keeping my bodyfat low decreases the size.  Looking at past measurements I could add about an inch and a half if I gained 10 pounds.  I might do that anyway as it would only raise me to about 18% bodyfat.   It puts me at the top end of normal BMI though.

Right now my measurements are:
Upper Chest: 38.5 in (that is a half inch larger since I started this fitness plan)
Bust: 41.5 in (no change)
Ribcage 36 in (no change)

From 18 months ago my bodyfat is down 2% for a total fat loss of 2.25 lbs and my lean mass is up 9 lbs for a total body weight increase of about 7 lbs. 

During that 18 months I had five months of fat gain (25 lbs) from laziness then about 4 months of getting back in shape without changing my diet.  Then about six weeks of calorie restriction followed by about 3.5 months of Keto and then steady since the middle of June IF with generally low carb and little to no calorie restriction.

So, my fitness plan with IF so far has had neither positive nor negative effect on beast size overall.  However, it has made me a lot stronger without getting any bigger, makes me feel really good most of the time, and has made me healthier overall with lower blood pressure and lower fasting blood sugar.  It also gives me a lot of leeway in eating a lot without packing on abdominal fat.


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[Brooke]

My estradiol levels were higher this last time with IF (13 hours fasted) and about 15 hours after my last dose.  However, I had also increased my dosage before this last test.  For reference my level previously without IF was 113 pg/ml and this time with IF it was 137.0 pg/ml.  Both times my last dose was the night before the test.  Testosterone remained unchanged at undetectable levels so I have since then lowered my spiro dose by 25% to see what happens.

I have not seen any change to breast growth other than keeping my bodyfat low decreases the size.  Looking at past measurements I could add about an inch and a half if I gained 10 pounds.  I might do that anyway as it would only raise me to about 18% bodyfat.   It puts me at the top end of normal BMI though.

Right now my measurements are:
Upper Chest: 38.5 in (that is a half inch larger since I started this fitness plan)
Bust: 41.5 in (no change)
Ribcage 36 in (no change)

From 18 months ago my bodyfat is down 2% for a total fat loss of 2.25 lbs and my lean mass is up 9 lbs for a total body weight increase of about 7 lbs. 

During that 18 months I had five months of fat gain (25 lbs) from laziness then about 4 months of getting back in shape without changing my diet.  Then about six weeks of calorie restriction followed by about 3.5 months of Keto and then steady since the middle of June IF with generally low carb and little to no calorie restriction.

So, my fitness plan with IF so far has had neither positive nor negative effect on beast size overall.  However, it has made me a lot stronger without getting any bigger, makes me feel really good most of the time, and has made me healthier overall with lower blood pressure and lower fasting blood sugar.  It also gives me a lot of leeway in eating a lot without packing on abdominal fat.


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Thanks for the update and details. I'm still really quite convinced that you're hacking your body with IF and the hgh levels combined with increased norepinephrine levels is telling your body to put down lean mass when you eat, and increase your metabolism when you aren't. Very much along the lines of the bulletproof exec diet/Dave aspy who claims to have a very toned body working out only a couple hours/week. (Granted he's a cis male, but I imagine the extra time you're putting into strength training has closed the gap hormones play).

I'm on a 2x weekly patch and always get by serum level tested in the trough of my patch cycle, have been resting at around 89 pg/ml but have seen no ill affects regarding how I feel or results.

The research I was able to find in cis girls who have a low body fat percentage while going through puberty says that breast growth isn't stunted per say, just somewhat delayed i.e. The timetable for maximum breast development simply takes longer. This would make sense as not all breast development is fatty tissue, we are also dealing with glandular development.

I will also again add that I have not been able to gain weight with keto + if (or just keto for that matter) no matter how many calories I ingest. Simply seems the more I eat the more energy I have to use. Lastly due to chronic pain I am not doing much strength training, but can say that even without that I am stronger than I was before starting hrt, with a much lower bmi. Can attest to the strength gained being completely usable without bulking up.

So fascinating. I still say "more research is needed!" XD

[Deborah]

I will also again add that I have not been able to gain weight with keto + if (or just keto for that matter) no matter how many calories I ingest. Simply seems the more I eat the more energy I have to use.

According to Dr Fung's book this is normal when insulin and the other hormones are in balance.  Eat too much and your body simply ramps up its metabolism to burn it off and maintain its set weight.  It also signals your brain to get up and be active.

It works the other way too.  Eat too little and everything slows down.   It signals your brain to be sedentary and preserve energy.  That's the main reason most diets fail.



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[Gertrude]

I started with a goal of 165 and right now I'm at about 158.  I don't really have an end goal weight but rather a goal of losing all my abdominal fat and particularly the love handles.  I'm getting pretty close there and  I actually have a visible six pack.  It's visible but could use a bit more definition.  My guess is that I'll end up around 155.  My scale is reading around 13 to 14% bodyfat now every morning so there's not much more to lose.

I'm still doing the low carb/ borderline keto and it's still working great.  I have had a couple of big cheat days though.  Earlier this week I was getting stomach pains late every afternoon that was only relieved by my regular diet plus a bag of Oreos, LOL.  I actually lost some weight the next day.  I think I may be periodically overwhelming my body's ability to make enough glucose to support my activity level which includes a six day a week six mile run, a lot of walking, and three gym sessions a week with barbell squats, deadlifts, and abs work.  All of that usually feels good on the diet but once in a while my body screams for some glucose.

I've also started incorporating fermented foods for gut health and a really rich bone broth for general health.  I eat only twice a day with no snacking and feel little hunger until just before supper.  Even then my mind is in control of the hunger rather than the reverse which was the norm before. 

Overall I feel physically great.  Nothing hurts, my BP is below 120/80, my heart rate at night is regularly in the mid 40s, I recover from exercise pretty quickly, there is usually no lack of energy, my waistline is smaller than it's been since sometime before puberty, and I think my head hair is even losing what grey it had and is recovering its color, It's like discovering the secret of aging in reverse!  And it's all with a T level of effectively 0.  The common knowledge would say it's not possible.

I actually cannot even imagine going back to the old way of eating with all the problems that it leads to.


Conform and be dull. —James Frank Dobie, The Voice of the Coyote

I've been wanting to do more cardio, but I got cuboid tendinitis in my right foot. I ice it at night and I was taking 800mg of ibuprofen 4x a day, but I stopped the ibu as it's hard on the stomach. Ever get that tendinitis in. Your foot?


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[Deborah]

I've been wanting to do more cardio, but I got cuboid tendinitis in my right foot. I ice it at night and I was taking 800mg of ibuprofen 4x a day, but I stopped the ibu as it's hard on the stomach. Ever get that tendinitis in. Your foot?


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A couple of years ago I started running way too much too soon at the same time I was transitioning myself to minimalist running shoes (very thin sole, no heel, and no support).  I managed to break a metatarsal bone, get plantar fasciitis, get tendinitis in both ankles, pull my soleus muscle twice, and get tendinitis in my piriformis muscle, lower back, and shoulder.  I was a walking pain machine, LOL. 

This time around I am pain free because I'm building up more slowly within my own capabilities to recover.  I'm still in minimalist shoes though and do all my running and walking in a pair of thin soled flat sandals.

In my experience the pain will eventually go away but it goes away much faster if you reduce the stress on that body part until it heals and gets stronger.  Just like lifting weights, the foot will get stronger and be capable of much more over time.

What smart runners do when battling an injury like you have is cross train with some other cardio activity.  The usual ones are the elliptical or bike.  Swimming is really good if you have a place to swim. 


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[Gertrude]

A couple of years ago I started running way too much too soon at the same time I was transitioning myself to minimalist running shoes (very thin sole, no heel, and no support).  I managed to break a metatarsal bone, get plantar fasciitis, get tendinitis in both ankles, pull my soleus muscle twice, and get tendinitis in my piriformis muscle, lower back, and shoulder.  I was a walking pain machine, LOL. 

This time around I am pain free because I'm building up more slowly within my own capabilities to recover.  I'm still in minimalist shoes though and do all my running and walking in a pair of thin soled flat sandals.

In my experience the pain will eventually go away but it goes away much faster if you reduce the stress on that body part until it heals and gets stronger.  Just like lifting weights, the foot will get stronger and be capable of much more over time.

What smart runners do when battling an injury like you have is cross train with some other cardio activity.  The usual ones are the elliptical or bike.  Swimming is really good if you have a place to swim. 


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I have a pool, but it's starting to cool down. The thing is I went from a new balance 969 to a 993. I think that may factor in. I put on the old shoes and it hurts a lot less.


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[Deborah]

I have a pool, but it's starting to cool down. The thing is I went from a new balance 969 to a 993. I think that may factor in. I put on the old shoes and it hurts a lot less.


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Other than the adjustment period of strengthening my feet, transitioning to minimalist shoes and sandals lets me run much more free of any pain or discomfort than when I used regular running shoes.  That's particularly true for knee pain which I never get anymore.

The only downside of the sandals is cold toes on cold days.  I got some striped toe socks to take care of that.


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[Deborah]

The weight loss journey is still humming along and while I've been gaining some weight lately my bodyfat is still pretty low.   Mostly I think the weight gain is from eating more carbs and from creatine.

But the real reason I wanted to post is because over the past several months I discovered something.  My glutes had been pretty flat and the reason was that they were not activating and I had become very dependent on quads for everything.  Some research revealed that this is not an uncommon problem and is caused by us sitting too much. 

So I started concentrating on getting the glutes to fire and added some additional body weight exercises to isolate them and wake them up. 

It's working and I think they are finally starting to respond with some growth.    Even my jeans are feeling a little tighter back there.  I'm also really feeling it now in my glutes and hamstrings when I squat and my quads are much less stressed than before.  It had the added benefit of breaking a plateau I was hitting in increasing my squat weight.

The only downside is that they are kind of sore most of the time now.  But if I can get a couple of inches in time then the soreness is a small price to pay.


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