Should I be concerned about losing so much body fat?

[TheBrain]

I’m 5’1” and small boned. A good weight for me is 103-105 lbs, although 100 lbs is okay. During the day, after getting hydrated and eating breakfast and lunch, I’m weighing 94-95 lbs. My scale also measures body fat. I’ve been watching it come down ever since I started the Ketogenic Diet. Now I’m at 7% body fat. I’m continuing to use BowFlex for weight training, and I’ve been able to maintain the same amount of weights, which suggests to me I’m not losing muscle. In fact, I’ve maxed out on the leg press; I’m using all the bars. To increase my weights for the leg press, I’d need to go to a gym.

I can see the loss of fat all over my body, including in my face and arms. In fact, my upper arms are looking like the skin is hanging off of me. That might just be aging catching up with me, but it seems like the loss of body fat is at least playing a role.

I do think I’ve been hypocaloric, although I haven’t been tracking my calories. With my treatment for hydrogen sulfide SIBO, my restricted diet has become even more restricted. However, I’ll soon start food reintroductions.

Should I be concerned or do you think I’m doing okay?

[mike]

I'm not a doctor, but it seems like 7% body fat is too low. It is my understanding that a bit of a fat reserve is good if you ever get sick. I don't remember what you are restricted to eating, but adding calories is probably a good idea.

[TheBrain]

I'm not a doctor, but it seems like 7% body fat is too low. It is my understanding that a bit of a fat reserve is good if you ever get sick. I don't remember what you are restricted to eating, but adding calories is probably a good idea.

Thanks, Mike. Yeah, 7% seems too low to me, too, but I thought I'd reach out and ask in case I was being a worry wart.

I've been adding in more coconut products but just revisited the wiki page on ketosis and re-read Dr. Gundry's and Dr. Bredesen's recommendations about them. So I have to back off.

I'm not one of those people who can eat only 8 foods, but my gut issues have been going on, at least symptomatically, since 2000. I've had leaky gut and SIBO a long time, which leads to food sensitivities. I hope that most of them will go away when I finally heal my gut, which I'm in the process of finally doing now (I think, I hope).

I wish I liked olive oil and avocado oil enough to eat it by itself by the tablespoonful, but I don't!

[ru442]

I struggled with this also... I had to add some carbs and Tincup indicated that Grundry was ok with Basmati rice if you can tolerate it. Cook it and then cool it so it becomes a resistant starch.

[mike]

I wish I liked olive oil and avocado oil enough to eat it by itself by the tablespoonful, but I don't!

I myself do not follow a plant-based keto diet, but rather more on the animal side of things, and I eat more protein than most here, but I do try to get more Olive and Avocado oil by cooking with them. I've also heard that folks use salads as an oil delivery method. If you do add basmati rice, I would check to see what that does to your ketones - some can get away with more carbs, and some even do better, depending on genetic makeup etc. If you are 4/4 then I would try to limit carbs as much as you can. Are you not allowed animal protein? If you can, and the other options are not working, then I would try to introduce some pasture raised eggs. Without carbs, this protein should not raise your blood sugar very much, and they have good things for 4/4s.

[TheBrain]

I struggled with this also... I had to add some carbs and Tincup indicated that Grundry was ok with Basmati rice if you can tolerate it. Cook it and then cool it so it becomes a resistant starch.

Thanks, ru442. I have been adding in more carbs, and my ketone levels have, of course, dropped. I've been mostly measuring below 1.0, going as low as .2. However, I'd like to get to a point where I can have two higher carb days per week in order to feed my gut bugs better.

The last time I tried Basmati rice, it caused my blood glucose to skyrocket (even with eating protein and fat with it). However, one thing I'm noticing since eradicating the SIBO is that I'm better tolerating sweet potatoes (cooked, cooled, then reheated; I'm guessing that resistant starch diminishes with reheating). So maybe I should try to Basmati rice again.

I've been cautioned against adding in too much resistant starch at this point due to concerns about it being consumed by any lingering SIBO in my small intestine. But I don't know how long I need to be concerned about this. In fact, these are questions I can ask about on my call this week with my doctor. I appreciate you bringing this up. I don't have much time left in my GI program, so I want to get as many questions answered as I can now.

[TheBrain]

I wish I liked olive oil and avocado oil enough to eat it by itself by the tablespoonful, but I don't!

I myself do not follow a plant-based keto diet, but rather more on the animal side of things, and I eat more protein than most here, but I do try to get more Olive and Avocado oil by cooking with them. I've also heard that folks use salads as an oil delivery method. If you do add basmati rice, I would check to see what that does to your ketones - some can get away with more carbs, and some even do better, depending on genetic makeup etc. If you are 4/4 then I would try to limit carbs as much as you can. Are you not allowed animal protein? If you can, and the other options are not working, then I would try to introduce some pasture raised eggs. Without carbs, this protein should not raise your blood sugar very much, and they have good things for 4/4s.

Yes, I do need to limit carbs. They tend to spike my BG, though as I mentioned in my previous post, I seem to be tolerating sweet potatoes better, but my ketones definitely drop when I eat them (even dropping below the range that Dr. Bredesen recommends).

Per Joseph Cohen's SelfDecode online subscription program, which evaluates one's SNPs, I have a grade of F when it comes to diabetes risk (and Alzheimer's, of course).

I also eat more animal protein than most, but I could definitely go higher. The only animal proteins I'm sensitive to are beef and eggs. Eggs are high in sulfur, so I'm hoping my problem with them is because of the hydrogen sulfide SIBO, for which I'm avoiding high sulfur foods, including eggs (but I've been avoiding them for a few years because of symptoms they've caused). The first food sensitivity I'd like to get rid of is EGGS. I love eggs. Being able to eat them would greatly enhance my nutrition and my life.

I do some cooking with olive and avocado oil, but could seek out recipes that use them more liberally. I've mostly used them with roasting cruciferous vegetables (which are high in sulfur), but also with cooking white fish and scallops on the stove. I've been using avocado oil in my almost-daily smoothies, but I could easily double my serving from 1 to 2 TB.

When I eat salads, which isn't often enough, I do go with 2 TB of a homemade salad dressing (apple cider vinegar, EVOO, and stevia; it sounds boring but is surprisingly good).

Thanks for all these ideas! Much appreciated.

[mike]

[quote="TheBrain"Yes, I do need to limit carbs. They tend to spike my BG...I also eat more animal protein than most, but I could definitely go higher.[/quote]
Carbs and Protein together can spike BG more than either alone. Protein alone seems not to raise BG short term (would be curious what you find). You might try some chicken heated up (not too hot) with Avocado.

[TheBrain]

Thanks, Mike. Somehow, I missed the fact that carbs and protein together can spike BG more than either alone. I've been thinking that protein curbs the BG spike from carbs.

[mike]

Thanks, Mike. Somehow, I missed the fact that carbs and protein together can spike BG more than either alone. I've been thinking that protein curbs the BG spike from carbs.

Fat can slow the spike from carbs, but protein AND carbs give a higher spike than just the carbs. There is debate about protein alone. Some will argue that most is converted to glucose eventually and will raise glucose over a longer period. I've seen research that it is more demand driven - protein is converted to glucose as the body needs it. When doing an extended fast, my body keeps my BG high even though I'm not eating anything! I follow a way of eating where MINIMUM protein is set based on sex and height so as to not lose lean body mass, and it is much higher than most here follow. Likewise there is a max carb allowance. Fat is a range, depending on what you are trying to achieve - if you have your own stores of fat, then you consume less fat and use your body stores, whereas if you are skinny, then you eat more fat to maintain or increase weight.