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I am ready to kick things up a bit, and take my body out of this plateau-ish happy place that it seems to love. I don't have a lot of weight to lose (which could be the reason for my body wanting to hold on to it) but it seems I just can't break through the last stretch. So here is my plan. Please comment, make suggestions, offer differing advice if need be... I welcome all of it in the hopes of incorporating further ideas and keeping me motivated!

My goal is to lean out (I seem to be skinny-fat at this point). I look great fully-clothed, but I would never dare put on a bikini because of all the flab and lack of tone.

My plan:

3 days per week will be workout days with IF until noon. Light lunch followed by a workout around 4 pm. Second (post workout) meal will be larger, with lots of carbs and moderate protein/fat.

4 days per week will be non-workout days with IF until noon or longer if I can push it, and meals will be very low carb but more fat.

I am dairy free, keep well hydrated, don't drink coffee (but drink 2-3 teas), and get lots of sleep. I don't eat very much fruit and keep occassional snacks to a maximum of a few nuts with a small piece of dark chocolate.

Any other suggestions to speed things up??

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2 Answers

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I have a better plan, IMO! I'm in a similar position with only a few pounds to lose.

Assuming you have been Paleo for awhile & have no health issues, of course!

IF for no more than 14 hours to keep your cortisol down. (I only suggest this for women.)

Drop your dietary fat significantly & eat mostly lean protein & just enough carbs to fuel your activity. Take a krill oil supplement for Omega 3s and get some coconut water to replenish electrolytes. Drink water! This is essentially a protein-sparing modified fast.

You will create a great fat deficit & your body will use your fat stores for extra fuel.

I'm actually doing this right now and it's working beautifully. I'm 49.

If you are already fat-adapted, you will have few symptoms. If not, you may have some carb-flu for a day or so (I had a headache on the 1st 2 days.)

Do this for as many days as you can and then do a high carb day to replenish glycogen stores (if needed.) When you are at your maintenance level, add back dietary fat.

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 This is interesting as many people have suggested INCREASING fat to promote weight loss. This is why I am sometimes confused.... I guess different things work for different people. – PaleoGal Mar 4 2012 at 2:27
I think the key is cycling and knowing what and when. It's very interesting. Right now, adding fat and reducing protein just got me going again. Lost 10 and had to get smaller clothes though, sides pulled in noticeably. This was without workouts though. I figured the stall was my daily can of tuna a while after breakfast. – DFH Mar 4 2012 at 2:36
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 PaleoGal~ Increasing fat can help with satiety, so you don't eat as many calories. It works really well for those who have 10+ pounds to lose, but when it's just a few pounds, (and you are already adapted to burning fat) then my suggestion is a fast way to drop the last bit of unwanted body fat. – Dragonfly Mar 4 2012 at 2:59
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 dragon and paleogal, I'm in the same spot. and was thinking that increasing my fat would help with the last few lbs, but it seems that dragon's recommendation might work. I'm going to start tomorrow. just to have an aim, what Ratios do you think ? – Paleo4ever Mar 4 2012 at 5:33
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 Dragonfly suggestion is better than adding more fat IMO. If you are that close to your goal I dont think that you need to add more fat. – peter Mar 4 2012 at 7:22
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Do you lift weights currently? Obviously I don't know anything about you, but most all "skinny fat" people I know need to add some muscle.

Maybe you aren't eating enough. Then again, I don't know you.

Here is a current picture of me, by the way. I decided to bulk up a bit recently and I'm very pleased with my results:

alt text

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 Left pec needs a little work. – shtoink Mar 4 2012 at 2:18
Love the pic! I do HIIT 3x per week so it does involve weights, but focuses mostly on short bursts of intense cardio (ie. sprinting). – PaleoGal Mar 4 2012 at 2:29
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 So that is the before shot? Please upload your picture after the bulk up phase. – peter Mar 4 2012 at 7:24

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