Keto made easy

205 to 266, One Pound at a Time

2017-07-31

July 2017 — 225 on the scale, 266 in the rear-view mirror

The story

I didn't get heavy overnight.

I weighed 205 at the end of college. Then I was 210. Then 215, then 220. I hung out in the 230s for a while. I slid into the 240s and stayed there for a while too. And once I was in the 240s, I slid right through the 250s to 260, and somewhere around 266 I had one of those moments where you look at it and say, nope, I don't like this anymore, I'm changing it (video Ewo-C_Cc4hU).

Here's the part people skip when they tell their story: keto isn't how I lost the first chunk. The first set came off from kicking my sugar habit and getting active, joining MMA. Keto was how I meant to do the rest (video Ewo-C_Cc4hU). By the end of July 2017 I was around 225, six foot, moderately active (video xyEZL0HuejI).

I told that ladder in a video aimed at people in the group who were 25 days in, five pounds down, and upset about it. My point was: think about when you last weighed your goal weight. Yesterday? Last week? Or five, ten years ago? It took years to put on. Probably five or ten pounds a year, like mine. It isn't coming off in a month (video Ewo-C_Cc4hU).

The doctor part. At about 265, I had a conversation with my doctor, who told me my weight wasn't a medical concern, though losing some would be good. I pushed back. I said, I'm fat. The answer was they wouldn't call me fat. So I asked how the BMI chart looked, and by BMI I was past overweight and into obese. BMI has its problems, and I'm a more muscular guy, big thighs from soccer, MMA, some weights, so my number skews. But I asked my doctor to be straight with me: what weight would actually be too light for me? The answer was that I could safely lose a hundred pounds without it being a medical concern (video xyEZL0HuejI). A hundred pounds. From someone who'd just told me my weight wasn't a concern.

And I'll be honest about keto itself, because I was honest about it then. In a video answering friends who were worried keto was dangerous, I admitted the weight loss hadn't been anything amazing, and that I really, badly missed potato chips. I even said a lot of people probably lose weight on keto because they've started paying attention: tracking, meal prepping, thinking before they eat. It might have nothing to do with keto (video 1m1hPgaRIg4). I was doing it for my blood sugar, and I was willing to pay for that with chips.

About those chips. At a party, I wanted chips. So I had three barbecue potato chips. People say you can't eat just one. I've done it. Have a chip; just don't have the plate. People who aren't on low-carb sit down with a bag and eat close to a pound of them. An ounce of food can't hold more than 28 grams of carbs, because that's what an ounce weighs, so a small handful isn't going to blow up your day (video xyEZL0HuejI).

If there's one thing I'd want you to take from my ladder, it's this: it came on slowly, and it was going to come off the same way. One pound at a time, with some going back up in between.

What I'd tell you now

"Hasn't been astounding" holds up better than a lot of what got posted in keto groups back then. Head-to-head trials mostly find keto and low-carb ahead early, then close to level with low-fat by a year. In DIETFITS, 609 adults lost 6.0 kg on healthy low-carb and 5.3 kg on healthy low-fat at 12 months, not significantly different (Gardner et al., 2018). In Foster's 2003 trial, low-carb lost more at 3 and 6 months, but the gap wasn't significant at 12 (Foster et al., 2003). A pooled look at 13 trials of a year or more found very-low-carb about 0.9 kg ahead of low-fat (Bueno et al., 2013). So pick the way of eating you can actually keep, and give it months, not weeks (keto vs low fat; realistic goals). My later videos settled on 50 grams of carbs as the number that matters for most people, which is roomier than the 20 I started on (the 2018 keep-it-simple video; how many carbs). If you have a history of disordered eating, the "just three chips" move may not be safe for you; talk to your therapist and your doctor first (keto and eating disorders). And if your doctor brushes off your weight, ask the same question I did (talking to your doctor).

Watch the originals: setting realistic goals, beginner questions, and keto is dangerous.

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