FAT LOSS DIFFICULTY

[bleedy]

My trainer told me the fastest way to achieve a smoking hot body is cremation

 

[BigTex]

Here is an excellent scale that can be used. Because I used mint to officially weight in weight lifters in competition I had to have it certified before each meet. It was always met specs.

TANITA USA Personal and professional weight scales, body composition

Japanese Made Best in Class Professional, Medical & Consumer Body Composition, Weight and Kitchen Scales.

www.tanita.com

I think scales are the wrong approach to losing weight. Learn to see difference in the mirror and in how you clothes fit. Learning how to use a skin fold caliper is also not a bad idea. You body fat: lean tissue measurement is much more important than you weight.

Once again WHO made headlines today. They again have determined that sedentary life styles are the leading cause of death in the world. Obesity is the leading causes of mortality.

 

[Fernando Almaguer]

Another important thing when trying to lose weight is to not allow constipation. You have to pass a stool every day.

One of my favorite parts of the day. Remember, coffee kicks it in high gear!

 

[TorranceFlick35]

Reducing body fat is difficult, but you will achieve this result if you follow a certain algorithm of actions. It would be best to do strength exercises at least 3 times a week.

 

[locutus]

I've been on this boat. the ONLY method which consistently gets my fat down is carnivore/IF. watch protein intake. ZERO carbs. IF. full 24h fast once a week.
most fat is related to insulin resistance as most here probably know. get your insulin levels down, fat will follow. the hardest part in being successful in this is motivation. going through a carb detox. but your body will eventually settle and it becomes easy.
I recommend you check out dr Saladino (carnivoreMD) on youtube.

 

[mcs]

Reducing body fat is difficult, but you will achieve this result if you follow a certain algorithm of actions. It would be best to do strength exercises at least 3 times a week.

why only 3x's/week?

 

[BigTex]

3 x week is a minimum you can go more, its a matter of burning calories through exercise. Here is a study done by a colleague of mine:

Smith MP. Independent cardioprotective effects of resistance and aerobic exercise training in adults. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2020 Dec;27(19):2226-2228. doi: 10.1177/2047487319880631. Epub 2019 Oct 15. PMID: 31610709.

Notice the difference in weight training and aerobic exercise when it comes to burning calories (over weight). Not to mention the added health effects of weight training. Weight training will also preserve and even add lean tissue while you are on a diet. By combining both aerobic and resistance training you will get the best bang for the buck.

 

[mcs]

Update: I have lost approximately 10 pounds since starting this thread. Some of that of course has been fat as well. Strength has gone down maybe a tiny bit. Calorie restriction is difficult but a necessity at this point. The only other thing that I still need to work on is hormone optimization which is a huge player in my case. I have an increased my thyroid hormone dose which I believe helped increase metabolism which furthered fat loss. In my case, training/cardio is essential to keeping fat levels down but preserving lean mass, but is not the main driver of fat loss. Diet (keeping protein intake same as before but dropping calorie-dense fats; carbs @ ~ 75g) and hormones. 100+g of fat a day puts on too much bodyfat for me. At this age, I just am not able to burn it off like in my twenties no matter how much exercise I do. Need the GH and T optimized levels for that.

 

[XXY47]

Stats:
height: 170cm
age: 62
weight: 88kg

Main observations:

• body recomp has been a struggle since my mid 30s.
• weight/fat gain ramped up about 2 years ago
• energy/calorie intake has not changed
• training consistent 5 days/weeks resistance + cardio, but somewhat harder to work around increasing soft-tissue injuries from chronic load on elbow and shoulder tendons
• glucose disposal has slowed; FBG has ramped up over time, although a1c has remained stable (last level 5.1).

Ok. I realize that it's 80% diet and 20% exercise to recomp (lose FAT while retaining as much lean mass as possible). But...

• what about stubbornly elevated TSH (4-5) despite being on thyroid replacement?
• what about if you have "fat gene" SNPs (ACE, FTO, etc) - polymorphisms that predispose me to unwanted fat.
• what if you have below mid-range total T + low free T (not on TRT at this time)?
• if a caloric deficit makes the most sense, what if it reduces lean mass, metabolic output, suppresses T3/thyroid function?
• if I increase carbs for more energy to fuel workouts, I will risk going into diabetic levels with my SNPs. Last a1c was 5.1. I want to keep it there or lower. FBG is now almost always in the low 100s no matter how low carb I go.

See the conundrum I'm in?

The only positive I can say is that I'm the strongest I've ever been on lifts (~25% increase), so must've gained some lean mass, but not without adding significant adipose to the tune of about 18kg. In my case, strength is proportionate to overall weight. 1:1 ratio of body weight to lifting weight (e.g., at 77kg, I could barely curl 45kg. At 86+kg, I can curl 56kg).

Diet:
I have by default been eating a HPKD (High Protein Ketogenic Diet) - avg 2000kcals/day.
Macros @ 30-35% protein/10% carbs/50-55% fats. It's tough to get enough macros and micros with anything <2000 kcals/day for extended periods of time, especially if you train as much as I do. I eat two main meals/day.

Appetite control: hunger pangs late at night before bed.

RMR @ ~ 1500kcals.

CV health - lipids/trigs/Lp(a) - detailed in my recent post here and here.

Insulin resistance/impaired glucose disposal:
PPBG levels are intact and show good insulin response; it's the clearance after last meal that is the issue (drops and then flatlines in the low 100s). If I eat too late and.or snack, glucose metabolism freezes, thus impaired FBG. With these fasting levels, I think it will be impossible to lean out. Taking as many glucose disposal agents as possible (berberine, cinnamon, r-ALA, banaba leaf, etc.)

HRT:
Thyroid: Subclinical hypothyroidism. Taking 90mg NP-Thyroid daily; still TSH hovers >3. See my previous thyroid post for full details.

Getting on a TRT protocol has been a longstanding conundrum due to past clotting issues of unknown cause, hypertension, sleep apnea. But not doing anything has its risks also.

Total T hovers in the low to mid 400s, free and bio T is either subnormal or low normal, SHBG in the mid 40s. E2 in the low 20s, sometimes lower.
Last Total T: 484
Free T: 63.9
SHBG in mid 40s

Should I trial some enclomiphene before considering TRT?

Final Observations:
In terms of body comp, for approx. the last 10 years, I have been an exercise non-responder. This isn't to say that my workouts don't provide me with healthful benefits (i.e. lean mass retention, strength increases, cardiovascular health, stress modulation, etc.). I am talking strictly body composition.

The only time I experienced rapid fat loss was when my metabolism was unnaturally ramped up a few years back even though my calories actually increased. I couldn't believe I had a hard time keeping weight on, just the opposite of now.

CICO. Yes, it does work as a general rule, however, can certain genetic SNPs that affect fat loss make it more of a challenge?

At the end of the day, 2 things remain:

1) Hormone optimization - (growth hormone, estrogens, testosterone, insulin, thyroid)
2) Genetics - what diet is best for my genetics and will help me recomp?

SIMPLE FORMULA:
If energy intake is same or even slightly less (calories) + energy output (exercise) is same or even more + increased fat gain = genetics and hormone issues.

What else can it be?

Possible Solutions:
- bump up the IF, increase CR, OMAD, PSMF?
- cycle carbs (CKD)?
Out of all recomp diets, I like PSMF the most.

Most noticeable increase is in Android Fat.

This stands out as one of more important factors:
Android fat storage is controlled by the male reproductive hormone testosterone. Whilst higher levels of testosterone have been found to correlate well with lower central fat storage, low levels of testosterone have been found to correlate with higher levels of central fatty deposits.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm having a hard time believing the fat/overall weight gain is due to only to a caloric surplus.

Faulty metabolism from thyroid hormone replacement resistance or malabsorption, SIBO.

Other than thyroid and possible SIBO issues, the fact it is difficult to reverse lipid markers, hypertension, resistant recomp (lose body fat), makes me question whether this diet of ~ 55% fats, 30% protein, 15% carbs has been beneficial, neutral and deleterious.

I've been lean before, in my mid-20s. But I was able to metabolize the energy intake (kcals) more efficiently than now. So, if my energy intake is the same or even less than back then and my energy output is the same if not more now, then what the hell else could it be but lack of hormones (GH, thyroid, testosterone, less insulin sensitive)?

I have been incorporating Intermittent fasting and it has really improved my fast loss. Very impressed with my blood work when I have been fasting for a while.

 

[mcs]

Down 12 lbs now. Starting to see the bicep vein gives me hope that fat loss is possible. I still credit this with the slight increase in my desiccated thyroid dose (I believe I was under-dosed). May need to bump the dose a little more so TSH is @ <2.00 (it's around 2.5 now). That and more days of IF and calorie restriction. Workouts remain the same: 5-6 days of 45-50 min resistance training + 30-45 min alternating cardio (stepmill, elliptical, outdoor intervals, walks, bike). Will be trialing some fat loss peptides (tesa-ipa-cjc-aod) and then, metformin or semaglutide before I start seeing my abs come back. That's another 15-20lbs, I'd say.