LCHF diet - Has anyone had any muscle loss with the diet?

[Tony2016]

My weight came down from 68.5 to 60 kgs and I noticed my arm is smaller? Maybe I am wrong, any comments?
Also how does one travel on a LCHF diet? It is so hard to find the right food to eat, please advise.
Thank you.

 

[Clivethedrive]

Hi Tony2016, yep your correct if you don't watch it, we need to do as much exercise as poss' i found that using weights up to 140lbs in reps of 10x4 am and pm halted my muscle loss , but i had to up my proteins and fats , keep posting and let us know how your getting on, clive

 

[tim2000s]

When doing LCHF, if you don't eat enough protein and encourage muscle growth, mainly through weights, you do run the risk of muscle loss by consumption and it is something you may want to avoid.

 

[lindisfel]

Hi Tim and Clive What exercises do you recommend? With that kind of weight are you bench pressing?
I have been using a small dumbbell set recently and it appears to help my arms but I probably use too many reps curling and pressing behind neck?
You make a good point about protein and fat.
regards
D.

 

[Clivethedrive]

Hi lindisfel, i bench press 160 lbs 10 x 4 reps and using dumbbell at 18 lbs to do overarm curl and side lifts x 10 of each then 10 miles on exercise bike let us know how your doing, clive

 

[Daffodils1]

Hi, as for travelling on lchf, lots of good suggestions across the forum, for me, so far, I've found jar of almond nut butter, olives, gherkins, baby bels, nuts, dark chocolate, nut bars from the natural low carb store, all good. Tin of tuna/salmon for emergencies! Eating out OK especially if you check out menus in advance!

What I need is a mini electric egg boiler for when I am away from home and don't want to stop for hotel breakfast - lots of models on the market but I want a small one!

All the best
,

 

[Tony2016]

Thanks you, everyone for your posting, Dumbbells and exercise is the way to go, but I heard that we need some Carbs to promote muscle growth in the arms? Like eat more Carbs before workout and after so the glucose can go into muscles rather than protein? Apparently, the Carbs won't turn into fat if the glucose can go into muscles?

 

[Tony2016]

As for travelling especially in Asia, I find most of the food on sale are either rice or noodles. Also lots of sweet tropical fruits and sugary drinks, even the coffee is very high in Carbs. I am thinking of travelling to States and UK which I think is easier.

 

[Brunneria]

Voleck and Phinney suggest calculating protein requirements for your optimum weight and muscle bulk. Eat that, and have enough exercise to prevent muscle reduction through lack of use, and they say muscle loss will halt at that optimum weight.

So you may lose muscle to that point, but not beyond it.

 

[Tony2016]

Thanks, Brunneria

 

[AloeSvea]

I must admit I think about muscle growth in relation to moving the things! . The food is to get enough energy. If you are low-carbing, then your body will tell you if you need more energy - from protein and fat in our case - I can't imagine not getting signals to that effect! (Hunger!) I know the muscley paleo guy Mark whatsit in the daily apple talks about training on an empty stomach - but I get woozy just thinking about it! I grew up with muscley folk in my family who eat like horses. The relationship between eating a hearty meal and going out and doing physical work is a really natural one for me. Your body will tell you what is natural for your metabolism?

 

[Tony2016]

Thanks , AloeSvea.

 

[Enclave]

I have reduced my size all over .. Mostley in arms and legs, but I lost my muscle due to being so inactive health wise due to eating to the nice guidelines ..now I low carb I have to ton of energey..and hope some muscle will return as time goes on.

 

[Totto]

I've always found it easy to build muscle but particularly so on LCHF.

 

[Tony2016]

Hello Everyone, I am currently near to my target weight of 59 kgs. If I keep on my LCHF I will continue to loose more weight. How do I stop the weight loss? Any advice?

 

[Brunneria]

Hello Everyone, I am currently near to my target weight of 59 kgs. If I keep on my LCHF I will continue to loose more weight. How do I stop the weight loss? Any advice?

Simple answer: eat more.

But if you eat more carbs, you may exceed your blood glucose level targets.
So the choice is protein or fat.

(in order to lose weight, you have been using your body's fat reserves as fuel. to stabilise your weight you need to find that fat-energy from food instead, or you will continue to consume your own reserves)

In my case, eating protein in excess of my needs will always halt weight loss, so you can try that (some of the extra protein gets slowly converted into glucose by nucleogenesis - kind of like drip feeding carbs).
Eating extra fat won't, by itself, cause weight gain (says Bernstein), but when combined with the extra carbs or the extra protein it will help you stabilise.

Good foods that contain a suitable combo of protein and fat are things like nuts, pate and cheese.

 

[phoenix]

"nucleogenesis"
Sounds rather more explosive than drip feeding
(methinks that there may have been a mischievous gremlin sitting on the keyboard! )

gluconeogenesis
sorry, not being pedantic, it just made me burst out laughing at the image it created in my mind.

 

[TorqPenderloin]

@Brunneria is pretty spot on. "LCHF" neglects a very important variable: protein intake.

Low protein intake can lead to significant muscle loss. The number on the scale may drop faster, but that's the result of increased muscle loss. Many studies have shown you're not losing fat any quicker (and in some cases fat loss is slowed).

Moderate protein intake (with LCHF) generally leads to maximum fat loss and muscle retention

High protein intake can inhibit fat loss (due to gluconeogenesis as Brunneria mentioned) but it does promote muscle growth.

What I do: Over the last four months my carb and fat intake has stayed the same, for the most part. Depending on what my goal is (fat loss, muscle growth, weight retention), I alter my protein intake.

I've found it significantly reduces the volatility in my blood sugar levels and weight gain is much more difficult (but certainly not impossible) compared to eating carbohydrates.

 

[Brunneria]

"nucleogenesis"
Sounds rather more explosive than drip feeding
(methinks that there may have been a mischievous gremlin sitting on the keyboard! )

gluconeogenesis
sorry, not being pedantic, it just made me burst out laughing at the image it created in my mind.

Thank you @phoenix
I am laughing at my own stupidity.
Well, the stupidity of my fingers, or my keyboard, or... well, it couldn't be me, could it?

(still chuckling!)

 

[Tony2016]

Hi Everyone, Thank you for this important information. Will eat more protein now to halt the weight and muscle loss.