My plan was to eat fewer carbs while maintaining less than 1,500 total calorie intake. The good news is that I managed to lose 2 kilograms (4.4 lbs) in the past 12 days. That is a little better than my original goal of losing 1 kg (2.2 lbs) per week. The bad news is it wasn’t exactly a low carbohydrate diet. Let’s see what happened.
What I interpreted as low-carbing is eating fewer carbs with your meals. I usually start the day with a low-fat cheese sandwich and I have rice with my lunch. To close my eating window which is not necessarily at dinner time, I often have an egg sandwich. So to do a low-carb diet, I stop eating sandwiches and rice. That’s my understanding. The result is promising. On May 31, 2022, my result was 86.70 kg (191.14 lbs). These are my results today.
| Item | Measurement, June 12, 2022 | Measurement, January 24, 2022 | Healthy Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight1 | 84.65 kg (186.62 lbs) | 98.7 Kg (217.6 lbs) | 55.3-68.0 kg (121.9-149.9 lbs) |
| BMI2 | 31.0 (Obese) | 36.2 (Obese) | 18.5-24.9 |
| Waist (circumference)3 | 108 cm (42.51 in) | 122 cm (48.03 in) | < 102 cm (40 in) |
| Hip (circumference)3 | 109 cm (42.91 in) | 120 cm (47.24 in) | |
| Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) | 0.99 | 1.01 | < 0.9 |
| Blood Pressure4 (Systolic/Diastolic) | 118 mmHg/ 79 mmHg | 137mmHg/ 95 mmHg | 110/70 mmHg- 145/90 mmHg |
Here are the additional measurements:
| Item | Measurement, June 12, 2022 | Measurement, February 5, 2022 | Healthy Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body Fat | 31.4% | 36% | 17.5%-20.6% (Good)4 |
| Visceral Fat Level | 15 | 17 | <13 |
So far it looks great. I lost body fat, my waist is smaller, and I weigh less than 12 days ago. If you haven’t noticed, my visceral fat level got better, too. Last month it was still 16, and now it is 15. It is still a long fight to reach 9, but at least there has been some progress.
Then I tinkered with the calorie intake numbers. Here’s what my record looks like for the past 12 days.
| Date | Calorie Intake | Excess (Deficit)* | Calories from Carb-Rich Food | Weight (kg/lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, June 1 | 1,354 | (146) | 20 (1,4%) | 86.05/189.70 |
| Thu, June 2 | 980 | (520) | 208 (21.2%) | 85.80/189.15 |
| Fri, June 3 | 1,540 | 40 | 692 (44.9%) | 85.60/188.71 |
| Sat, June 4 | 1,396 | (104) | 1,140 (81.6%) | 85.90/189.37 |
| Sun, June 5 | 1,914 | 414 | 576 (30.1%) | 85.85/189.26 |
| Mon, June 6 | 1,330 | (170) | 520 (39.1%) | 85.80/189.15 |
| Tue, June 7 | 1,134 | (366) | 268 (23.6%) | 86.65/191.03 |
| Wed, June 8 | 1,327 | (173) | 775 (58.4%) | 86.20/190.03 |
| Thu, June 9 | 1,459 | (41) | 517 (35.4%) | 85.70/188.93 |
| Fri, June 10 | 1,392 | (103) | 766 (55.0%) | 85.10/187.61 |
| Sat, June 11 | 1,483 | (17) | 835 (56.3%) | 85.30/188.05 |
| Sun, June 12 | 1,492 | (8) | 537 (36.0%) | 84.65/186.62 |
| TOTAL | 16,801 | (1,199) | 6,854 (40.8%) | 2.00/4.41*** |
*Based on a 1,500-calorie daily diet; **Food in which carbs have the highest percentage of content.
***Difference between the highest and the lowest weights measured during the period.
I managed to notch a nearly 1,200 food calorie deficit. I overate and underate (980 calories, anyone? I would be lying if I said I wasn’t starving) a couple of times. The fact that I lost 2 kilos between the highest and the lowest weight in the period showed that on top of the food deficit, my energy spending was sufficient to create an additional 12,800 calorie deficit.*
But after separating food in my diet that is carbohydrate-rich, I found that on average my calorie intake from carbs was still roughly 40% of the total calorie from the food that I ate. In retrospect, there were days when I seemed to ‘forget’ that I was on a low-carb diet and made it a majority of my food.
Honestly, I don’t think I was low-carbing at all. To be sure, let’s compare with a previous 12-day period between 1-12 May.
| Date | Calorie Intake | Excess (Deficit)* | Calories from Carb-Rich Food** | Weight (kg/lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, May 1 | 1,961 | 461 | 1,081 (55.12%) | 89.40/197.09 |
| Mon, May 2 | 1,937 | 437 | 1,109 (57.25%) | 89.55/197.42 |
| Tue, May 3 | 1,270 | (230) | 1,049 (82.59%) | 89.85/198.08 |
| Wed, May 4 | 1,272 | (228) | 728 (56.76%) | 89.65/197.64 |
| Thu, May 5 | 1,757 | 257 | 1,036 (58.96%) | 89.10/196.43 |
| Fri, May 6 | 1,452 | (48) | 467 (32.16%) | 89.20/196.65 |
| Sat, May 7 | 1,893 | 393 | 1,067 (56.36%) | 88.85/195.88 |
| Sun, May 8 | 1,391 | (109) | 1,258 (90.43%) | 88.55/195.21 |
| Mon, May 9 | 1,323 | (177) | 803 (60.69%) | 88.35/194.77 |
| Tue, May 10 | 1,366 | (134) | 862 (63.10%) | 88.45/194.99 |
| Wed, May 11 | 1,535 | 35 | 764 (49.77%) | 88.90/195.99 |
| Thu, May 12 | 1,354 | (146) | 595 (43.94%) | 88.55/195.21 |
| TOTAL | 18,511 | 511 | 10,819 (58.44%) | 1.30/2.86*** |
*Based on a 1,500-calorie daily diet; **Food in which carbs have the highest percentage of content.
***Difference between the highest and the lowest weights measured during the period.
On average, 58% of my calorie intake came from carbohydrate-rich food. There is an 18% difference compared to the same period in June and there is one instance where the consumption of calories from carb-rich food was less than 50%. 18% is quite significant, but I don’t think consuming 18% fewer carbs calorie means you’re low-carbing.
These findings do not directly mean that I should go back to having significant carbs with every meal. The data shows that consistent eating of carbs for several consecutive days contributes to weight gain. The only time when that didn’t happen (or even happened in reverse) was when the carb-loading took place during days of deficit in the food calorie budget.
This requires more data and statistical tests. However, at this point, I am inclined to conclude that intermittent fasting and carb reduction do have a positive impact on weight loss. So, yes, I will continue my carb reduction.
*Theoretically, it takes a deficit of 7,000 calories to lose 1 kg of body weight.
Life At Slow-Mo 
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