Originally Posted by
atrp2biz
Here's my experience to date on keto and intermittent fasting.
I'm 6'3" and I've only been on this new way of eating for 2.5 weeks. I'm down from 228 to 215 lbs as of this morning. I'm a bike commuter with a round-trip distance of 33 km and play hockey once a week year round (goalie). My commute is my only riding since I have a young family at home so I can't commit to longer weekend rides. My eating window is between noon and 6 pm. The only thing I have in the morning is a coffee with cream and a packet of erythritol and monk fruit extract. I just had a chicken shwarma salad for lunch. For tonight's dinner, I think I'm having more chicken with some vegetables which I'll likely finish off with some nuts and an avocado sprinkled with lite salt (mainly for the increased K, not necessarily to lower Na) and sesame oil.
I'm hoping that this is a new and long-term way of eating for me and not a diet. It's been extremely easy and I didn't experience the typical keto flu. I did feel weak on the bike for the first 3 days but I increased my salt intake which seemed to help. I'm no longer hungry and generally crave only keto foods like toasted keto bread topped with fried egg and an avocado or simplyo keto bread with PB (I use the 90-second recipe).
I'm targeting 185 lbs which I haven't been since my early days of high school. I have little doubt that I can achieve this goal and if weight loss plateaus, I'll likely transition to one-meal-a-day (OMAD).
I feel like I'm back to 90% strength on my bike. All-in-all, I feel great and look forward to my continued progress.
Keto is a great diet for anyone but it works best for those that have a lot more fat than you. Your goal weight is on the very light side for someone your height, but I assume you're going for the shredded look? May I suggest you tell all your friends (and especially your family) about your goal so they know not to tempt you with food -- although holidays like today can be a good reason to take a break.
Family can be notorious for derailing your diet especially when they're all eating foods you need to stay away from, and that tempts you to stray from your diet. Continuous photos are also a good idea as they remind you of your progress, and help keep you on track. I use photos and only get on the scale every couple months or when I go to see the doctor.
One more thing in relation to your fast. Some might argue the inclusion of cream in your coffee (which does add calories) might cause some people to claim you've broken your fast. However, there's an alternate reasoning that under 50 cal won't cause any significant disadvantage.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For comparison sake, I started at 215 (all belly fat) and dropped to around 182 within 5 weeks on a crash diet of 500 cal/day (zero exercise) which I don't recommend. I'm now 193@ 6'4, with a bit more muscle after an arduous dieting protocol. I just got my blood work results and everything was in the green (except vit D).
On a personal note, I get compliment on my leanness from total strangers all the time which boost my confidence and help keeps me going. Nevertheless, I still have that final layer of stubborn belly fat that holds on for dear life. I'm pretty sure its genetic, but in order to lose it I'd need to assume another crash diet and at this point that would sacrifice too much hard earned muscle. Good luck with your diet.