Without writing a novel here the Dr wants me to loose 30 lbs before June 17th.
I had a L4-L5 spinal fusion September ‘22. Follow up microdicectomy May of ‘23. Since then things got somewhat better but never even close to feeling good or pain free. The past 8 months or so things have gotten progressively worse. I’ve done hundreds of PT sessions, injections, spinal decompression, etc… You name it I’ve tried it. My disk below the fusion has ruptured and is not only out but out and down. I am scheduled for an L5-S1 fusion. Since they have to tie in to the existing fusion this surgery is higher risk and they will operate from the front on the 17th then from the back on the 19th. Pretty pissed about this whole thing but I have no choice because I can’t walk for more than a few feet. It’s constant shooting pain from my back into my left calf.
Anyway if you were told to drop 30lbs what would you do? For reference I started 6’2” 251lbs last week when I got the Drs orders. Was 283 4 years ago. Did a 3 day fast this past weekend and am at 244 now. My plan is a mix of fasting and carnivore but looking for ideas. Keep in mind any cardio or major lifting is out of the question .
You’re already doing the quickest thing. Water Fast as long as possible, eat high fat and no carbs for a couple days and fast again for as long as possible.
Fasting gets easier the more you do it. Typically you don’t start losing fat until day 3 of a fast, if your doing keto in between it probably has more effect.
I lose 2lbs a day when I fast, I’m currently 9 days into a 10 day water fast and was down 17lbs this morning. I’ll be down about 21-22lbs Saturday morning, about 15-16lbs of fatloss.
Last year my wife and I left on a backpacking trip 5 days into a fast. We went 7 miles one way that afternoon with only water for me, felt awesome and work up the next day and hiked the 7 miles back out. I took food incase I needed it but didn’t and felt great. I’ve been doing Keto for years and eat very few calories while backpack hunting and always feel great. Back when i use to carb load and eat crap I would get hypoglycemic when hunting because i burned way more than i could consume.
Other benefits of fasting are resting bowels, healing damaged cells, injury’s and way better sleep.
Try to work up to a 5 day water fast, eat something like spam and pickles with mayo or sausage for two days and then do 5 more days. Don’t worry about the high sodium, you’ll need it after a fast anyway. If you feel like you need some salt either eat a little table salt or drink some pickle juice.
I work 10hrs a day riding a desk so I tend to put on weight very easily in the off season. Fasting has helped me cut it quickly. However I love to eat and often let myself go for way to long and end up bigger than I want to be, especially over the winter. I currently planning on doing a 7-10 day fast and 3 day eating window then another 7-10 days until I drop my intended weight.
I’ve been fasting off and on for a while. I fasted 90 days total last year. I was born with hypothyroidism and since keto and fasting my levels have gotten to the point that my doctor told me to stop taking the thyroid medication. I also use to have high blood pressure, my father uses a sleep machine and is on high blood pressure med and my grandfather has been since his 40’s. My blood work and blood pressure is the best it’s ever been. My doc told me the last time my blood was drawn that i have some of the best blood work he’s ever seen. I’ve pretty much been on keto for the last 5 years, tons of fat, butter, mayo and red meat, cholesterol is very low and has been for several years. It’s amazing what the body can do if we let it heal itself.
A lot of fasting is trial and error. I did a lot of 2 day on 2 day off fast eating junk in between with zero positive results. When I did the 5/2 for a month I didn’t eat keto between I ate poorly and still dropped 20lbs that month. A person on a mission should 100% stay in Ketosis and they would have much better results.
A lot of people are critics of fasting but most have never done it. I love it and 100% recommend it for everyone. The self control and mental toughness it gives you is also a huge benefit. I cook for my family most night and took my kids out to dinner during basketball districts multiple times last weekend and watched them all eat. People talk about muscle loss but that really doesn’t apply to fat people and even if you lose a little it takes much less muscle to move around a skinny person than a fat one. I backpack hunted in multiple states last year and hauled 3 elk out on my back, one was over 7 miles of packing meat, it felt just the same or easier than any other year.
