Every person should be taking a multivitamin.
Buy stevia to sweeten your shit . My desserts for example on keto is heavy cream + chia seeds + cocoa powder + stevia = like a liquid chocolate sweet pudding. Its fantastic!

Coconut oil, learn to love seeds , nuts , bacon , ghee, butter , meats, cheeeses , etc and eat your damn broccoli & spinach somehow make it work.

OH and if you're low carb, the #1 tip is probably make sure you replenish electrolytes daily to feel your best. I personally use sea salt + Mortons lite salt (50-50 salt/potassium) in all drinks I make such as coffee, cocoa, water drinks etc.

I usually go for like 2-3:1 ratio for salt/potassium.

oh and get a good quality form of magnesium for other electrolyte. You can use chelated, glyconate , citrate , or google good forms.

I personally take chamomile tea + magnesium + valerian root before sleep & it will be the best sleep you've ever had. I GUARENTEE IT xd



ALSO ITS ALWAYS BETTER TO EAT MORE AND MOVE MORE THAN TO EAT LESS AND MOVE LESS.

Ideally the perfect situation is a fair amount of calories depending on size and exercise amount. Since you're a bit bigger of a fella I would aim for 2000-2500 to be completely honest as most bodies need atleast 1500 calories a day just to survive granted you move around a bit. If you're too much in a calorie deficient your body will feel very stressed with cortisol and go into starvation mode and pretty much store everything you eat as fat instead of utilizing it for energy. So make sure you are in a caloric deficit but feel it out to what feels right.

As for the multivitamin, you can look on labdoor for a quality one, but I would personally recommend "Nature's Way Alive! brand. Fantastic ratios, range of ingredients AND AN AMAZING AMOUNT OF HERBS ITS AMAZING !

Here's a link , remember to take your multi with a bit of fat / meal as fat soluble vitamins are a real thing. And don't take 3 a day jesus, I personally take 1/2 of a pill daily and a full one on lifting days.

Just look at the ingredients, they're absolutely fantastic ! and remember the serving size is 3 pills so every % you see just divide by 3 since you only will take 1 , and then if you only take 1/2 daily divide by 6 and you'll see how perfect it is.

https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Way-Potency-Multi-Vitamin-Tablets/dp/B0009F3RO2?th=1

Good luck and I'm proud of you!

I started taking notes when I was reading it, then decided it wasn't really worth the effort. Have a look at this comment thread for one discrepancy that we discussed here recently.

Let me give you an example of why I don't like his book or his methods; this happened to me several times while reading his book. Here is the claim that Fung makes in his book. There is also a version of this on his website. It is in part 2, chapter 5 of The Obesity Code:

>For this experiment, [Sims] recruited convicts at the Vermont State Prison. Attendants were present at every meal to verify that the calories—4000 per day—were eaten. Physical activity was strictly controlled. A funny thing happened. The prisoners’ weight initially rose, but then stabilized. Though at first they’d been happy to increase their caloric intake,[3] as their weight started to increase, they found it more and more difficult to overeat, and some dropped out of the study. But some prisoners were persuaded to eat upwards of 10,000 calories per day! Over the next four to six months, the remaining prisoners did eventually gain 20 percent to 25 percent of their original body weight—actually much less than caloric theory predicted. Weight gain varied greatly person to person. Something was contributing to the vast differences in weight gained, but it was not caloric intake or exercise. The key was metabolism. Total energy expenditure in the subjects increased by 50 percent. Starting from an average of 1800 calories per day, total energy expenditure increased to 2700 calories per day. Their bodies tried to burn off the excess calories in order to return to their original weight. Total energy expenditure, comprising mostly basal metabolic rate, is not constant, but varies considerably in response to caloric intake. After the experiment ended, body weight quickly and effortlessly returned to normal. Most of the participants did not retain any of the weight they gained. Overeating did not, in fact, lead to lasting weight gain. In the same way, undereating does not lead to lasting weight loss.

Pretty specific, right? Lots of numbers in there. I saw that and I wanted to see this study, because I read a ton of studies and this is big. See that [3] up there? That's Fung's citation. I chased it down, and it's a book from 2002, not a primary source. Kind of odd, since he's talking about specific numbers from a specific research paper, but I chased that down, too. Here is the entire paragraph on that research from that book:

>Sims was fortunate to have nearby a ready source of experimental subjects: the inmates at Vermont State Prison, sufficient numbers of whom were willing to gorge themselves for science. At first the prisoners proved enthusiastic trenchermen, as much as doubling their usual daily intake of food. But as they fattened, they became increasingly reluctant to overeat. Most found it extremely difficult to gain weight, and eventually some started to drop out of the study. Only twenty made it through the requisite two hundred days, achieving an average weight gain of twenty to twenty-five pounds. Relieved of the high-calorie, low-exercise regimen, all but two of the inmates quickly dropped the newly acquired ballast. The pair of inmates who found it most difficult to lose weight were those who had experienced the least difficulty gaining weight in the first place. It was later discovered that both of these men had a family history of obesity.

Weird, still no numbers, but these are both pop science kind of books, so they don't need to get into the weeds. The author provides a reference for this chapter, though, and it's actually a primary source! So, I chased that down. This is a paper entitled Adaptation to Obesity and Starvation, and indeed it's by Sims! But wait, this is a review paper, not a paper about prisoners in Vermont; did they reference the original study in here somewhere? Let's read through...72 references, whew!

Fortunately, there are only two references to work by Sims, and one is proceedings of a meeting (non peer-reviewed literature), so that leaves us with one reference. Finally! I can get to looking at the nitty-gritty of this study. Unfortunately, it's not available anywhere, legal, illegal, or gray area. The best I could come up with on the Vermont prison studies are this paper, which is about the number of adipose cells, and this paper, which is about adrenocortical function. It seems that the results of this study were published in a series of papers, based on the titles and numbering. Maybe Fung went to his local university library and was able to pull this off a dusty shelf somewhere, but there is no link to a primary source on PubMed or Google Scholar, so I highly doubt it exists in electronic form.

As a last resort, I went back to the other reference in the first Sims paper I found, notes from the proceedings of the 1968 meeting of endocrinology in France. Here, they finally start discussing some details about their prison study, and even provide some numbers. Damn, the figures are in units of kcal/sq m of surface area. I've never seen that used before, maybe that's an outdated means of determining calorie intake. Off to Google! I didn't have a piece of string handy, so I used the chart to try and estimate the calories given to subjects in the study. There's no easy way to do this, but it's somewhere between 1.5 and 2 times the number given, as the chart is basically a conversion from BMI. I'm pretty big and mine is 2.1; lets go with 1.5 since these guys were normal weight to start. I did find the 1800 and 2700 numbers in this paper, but they are again in kcal/sq m of body surface area, so they are wrong anyway.

By this point, I barely care anymore. This is one reference and Fung could have easily linked to a primary source if one existed. There are many like this in the book and it makes me question how much he really put into this. In the end, I Googled the paper and authors and looked down the first page.. Found it! Looks like Fung just cribbed the idea from Taubes, who wrote about it in his book. I found this in another case as well, where there was an odd reference and where I couldn't find the paper initially; I ended up finding it on a keto forum in an almost identical argument to Fung's, and the poster said that this would be good evidence for Fung's theory. Looks like he took it and put it in his book.

Also! Along with IF I have committed to writing in this health tracker book every single day. I know before I would go to the doctor and they'd ask how I was doing and I couldn't really answer because I didn't track anything and also have a horrible memory. So before bed I use this thing. I don't fill everything out, but I make sure to include sleep, medications and supplements, exercise, and any particular pain or issues. In the comments, I also add in a rating 1-10 of my fatigue level for the day, and check box to check whether or not I fasted for 16 hours, and a "grade" A-E of the contents of my diet. When I go to my next appointment, I hope to make some super simple charts of these so I can have the information handy for my doc. I'm pretty excited about this, and proud of myself for taking the 5 minutes to do it every day. I highly recommend checking it out if you think it's something that would help you! I've tried other methods before (just writing in a plain notebook, symptom apps, etc. and this is the only thing I've been consistent with).

First off congrats on the progress so far.

I'm a very big fan of IF so glad it has worked for you.

Just reading your post, I would like to suggest you research gut health, here's a good book to start:
https://www.amazon.com/Gut-Inside-Story-Bodys-Underrated/dp/1771641495/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518636222&sr=8-1&keywords=gut+giulia+enders

IBS and associated symptoms could be an issue with bacteria in the gut. Good luck!

I don't follow Keto but follow a high fat/low carb diet. I eat beans and some berries during my feeding period but make sure to eat at least 100 grs of protein and tons of healthy fat. Some books that promote other eating styles a bit different from Keto are 'Smart Fat' by Steven Masley and 'Always Hungry?' by David Ludwig. They both have a more relaxed approach to carbs than the Keto diet but they also recommend a higher portion of fat and protein than what you have in the zone diet.

Definitely check out these couple books, big recommend if you have to learn on your own:

Boxer's Start-Up: A Beginner's Guide to Boxing

Fighting Fit: Boxing Workouts, Techniques, and Sparring

Just like everyone else on this thread, I gotta say you're looking great! Keep up the good work!

This is doable, I've worked with someone almost twice that weight. Be sure to find a doctor and nutrition expert that are onboard with your plan. With a person in your weight class monitoring lab work and kidney function while losing weight are important.


If you're looking for a good book from someone in a similar situation I recommend The Elephant in the Room by Tommy Tomlinson. It has some good insight.

Good luck man, keep us posted, we're here for you!

Also recommend looking at books like this 30-Minute One-Pot Meals: Feed Your Family Incredible Food in Less Time and With Less Cleanup https://www.amazon.com/dp/1624142486/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_rJXCCbHKZXJ46.

I borrowed a book like this from my local library and it taught me a lot of shortcuts like using frozen onions instead of dealing with that chopped onions bleeding eyes BS and hoe to use last night's leftovers in tonight's dinner.

There was even a recipe for making lasagne. In a skillet. In thirty minutes. I mean it wasn't pretty like a lasagne but it tasted perfect and was, as promised, one skillet.

Sorry about the wait, my mum had leant them out to someone and no one could remember the name.

Systems and Structures: The World's Best Anatomical Charts (The World's Best Anatomical Chart Series) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1605471046/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_AexKAb9RXMB2D

>After hitting a plateau for about 2 months I’ve decided I’m going to go 5:2! 0 calories 2 days a week (I know I can do the 500cal crutch, but I don’t really feel like I need it) 1,000 calories 5 days a week. I’ll make the fasting days my rest from workout days and just go on long walks or do yoga or something easy like that. Of course I’ll subtract calories burned on workout/eating days, so my end total will be 1,000 calories. What do you guys think?!

1000 cal a day is crash dieting, not really a great plan even if you were doing it 7 days a week. You're hitting the 'CICO as primary' diet plateau, because your metabolic rate has likely dipped down super low to match your intake.

Remember that 3/4 or more of your daily energy expenditure comes from metabolic activity, & very little comes from exercise. Therefore if you compromise your metabolic rate, you will likely hit an unmovable plateau. You're also primed for rapid weight regain when you quit the diet out of plateau frustration (because your BMR is 1000 instead of 1500).

Your body usually tries to lower metabolic rate to match dietary input. Fasting is supposed to help prevent this, but if you've been "eating 1000 calories a day for months" as you said in a comment, and now you're plateauing, this is likely because your BMR is now closer to 1000 instead of 1500

Also the actual 5:2 diet book (The FastDiet) has a couple of protocols, neither of which you are attempting.

The weight loss protocol is 5 days of normal eating (3+ meals a day) without fasting or calorie counting, with 2 non-consecutive days of 500-600 calorie fasting.

The weight maintenance protocol is 6 days of normal eating, 1 day of 500-600 calorie fasting.

https://www.amazon.com/Alzheimers-Antidote-Low-Carb-High-Fat-Cognitive/dp/1603587098/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543050392&sr=8-1&keywords=alzheimers+antidote+amy+berger


Amy Berger has a very interesting book which discusses how the first sign of Alzheimer's is when the brain starts to become insulin resistant (just like how Type 2 diabetes is insulin resistance in the body), so becomes unable to easily take in glucose to power itself. However, it turns out that the brain can be powered up to 70% of its fuel requirements by ketones. So IF and a ketogenic diet combined can help either forestall Alzheimers or some of its effects. Unfortunately, this approach doesn't work in all patients, but does work in many.


Dale Bredesen, who says there are at least 3 different types of Alzheimers, offers a partial explanation why, that there are at least 36 different pathways that can induce Alzheimers, of which some can be treated with IF and a ketogenic diet, but not all.


https://www.amazon.com/End-Alzheimers-Program-Prevent-Cognitive/dp/0735216207/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543050605&sr=8-1&keywords=the+end+of+alzheimers+dale+bredesen

Enjoy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1250303885/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_cvjvDbTYJZ16B

Makes a lot of sense to me. There was/is a method of fixing jet lag that uses the same principles -- "Overcoming Jet Lag" I think it was called, but I believe it was reprinted as "The Cure for Jet Lag".

There's a decent amount out there as well if you google "Argonne Jet Lag" or "Fasting Jet Lag".

Different strokes for different folks for sure.

Found it on amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XMZPZ3H

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002YUX8I/ref=s9u_simh_gw_i1?ie=UTF8&fpl=fresh&pd_rd_i=B0002YUX8I&pd_rd_r=50XZHQ0K4F32MY8DPSA1&pd_rd_w=tiSho&pd_rd_wg=E65MA&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=&pf_rd_r=HC043PMYF1F2CFQS0XMV&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=781f4767-b4d4-466b-8c26-2639359664eb&pf_rd_i=desktop

Buy one of these, only open the door at the times you specify.

Firstly, great work on admitting it publicly.

This is a very predictable response, but I would strongly recommend this book as soon as possible:

https://www.amazon.com/Brain-over-Binge-Conventional-Recovered/dp/0984481702/

The worst thing you can do right now is start to fight yourself. This book helps ground you as well as teaching you techniques to get back to normal.

The last thing you need is to let the habit get its hooks into you, so the sooner you can try to combat the ER the better. Don't fall into the trap of burying your head in the sand until you're in too deep. It sounds as though you may already be justifying the behaviour in your head 'Well it's not that bad because...' or 'It's not a disorder because...'. But remember, this thinking persists no matter how bad things get. That's part of the reason why the prognosis for anorexia is so poor.

Check out the book "the art and science of low carb performance" made for athletes that want to eat ketogenically https://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716

Worth noting, to avoid confusion for others, there is also a very popular 5:2 diet:

>The 5:2 diet is a type of fasting where followers eat about 25% of their recommended calorie needs (about 500-600 calories) on two scheduled fasting days and then eat normally the other five days that week.

It is similar to what you're describing, but is a lower calorie on the 2 off days instead of a full water fast.

Here is the book:

https://www.amazon.com/Diet-Feast-Weight-Revitalize-Health/dp/1612432697

I'm sorry to say this, but working in a bakery may not be right for you. What your describing is addictive behavior. You are using food/sugar to coup with stress.

I know this is probably your dream, but is it worth the damage you are doing to your health? You have a long life ahead of you. Maybe its just not something you can do right now, not to say you couldn't manage it in the future after you break free from this.

Sorry to ask tough questions, but you need to consider a change. Getting out of the bakery will make this way easier, your are fighting against your unconscious mind everyday because you have surrounded yourself with calorie gold that your brain wants.

Last ditch effort before closing shop: https://www.amazon.com/Natures-Answer-Alcohol-Free-Gymnema-1-Fluid/dp/B0002NPB2W/ref=sr_1_12_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1504795836&sr=1-12&keywords=gymnema

Gymnema blocks the flavor of sugar, put a drop on your tongue every time you get a craving.