2 weeks with zero carbs - no weight loss!

#1

Hi, I just started this way of life. I have about 70lbs to lose. I have been eating avocado, beef, pork, mackerel, sardines, butter and ghee. I’ve also drank bulletproof coffee with the ghee, heavy cream and mct oil. I’m drinking at at 4 litres of water daily also. Weighed myself today and I’ve lost NOTHING!! The scale ain’t budged, my clothes and looser and I’m ready to QUIT. This is so darn frustrating. Any help or tips would be much appreciated.

#2

Well it’s pretty normal to me :smiley: Never lost fat in my on/off keto years and I don’t do that on carnivore either, maybe longer term where I learn how to eat even less… :slight_smile: I already have lots of extra rules (close to no added fat, for example. I can’t afford those extra calories, I get plenty of fat from my protein sources, easily too much…), they help, I have fine days where I don’t eat much :smiley: It will happen. Maybe not in 2023… Or 2024… I would love to start to lose in a few years though. But I think I got the hang of it…

I lost nothing in my first 7 keto weeks, that was my longest time on keto (but it was far from zero carb, not like that seem to matter for my fat-loss). But fat adaptation was cool, no more super strong and sudden well-fasted hunger, yay! (I still can be super hungry but I need to eat first). Other people have way more benefits. I got more benefits when I tried out carnivore and I like to stay close to it since. It’s not just about fat-loss and patience is very much needed for many of us.

Of course it helps that I love my food and don’t often get tempted to eat something else (if I do, I eat that). It’s hard if you don’t like your food enough or miss something else badly. But if you love your food (you eat tasty things as I’ve read, of course taste is individual), why is it such a problem that fat-loss may be slow? By the way, slow fat-loss (some carnivores talk about a pound in months) is great. ZERO fat-loss for many years, that is the bad one (I have that. I even gained in a super stressful situation, weird but many people said it’s a thing and I experienced it).

2 week is nothing :smiley: (Except in fasts. It’s long then.) At least give it some months! Fat adaptation may help and that requires about 6-8 weeks on keto.

I never was disappointed as it makes no sense to me to lose weight magically JUST because we eat keto or carnivore or once a day. My body doesn’t start to throw out precious energy for no reason…

#3

For how long have you done this? Are you in ketosis?

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #4

Stay with it.
If you don’t loose any weight on a Keto diet you’ll probably be the first!
2 weeks is too early to decide plus weight loss is not the only health benefit.
I’m down to my ideal weight now (lost 18kg) but there’s no way I’d go back to an unnatural carb and sugar diet.

(Robin) #5

Be sure you are getting enough calories. If not, you are sabotaging yourself.
Otherwise, give it more time. Stay at 20 or less carbs and carry on.
You got this!

#6

I still stay fat on keto forever, apparently but still wouldn’t and even couldn’t go back to high-carb without some apocalypse where one eats high-carb or die… It’s nicer to be fat with little carbs for me than fat on high-carb (and I couldn’t be much fattier on high-carb, I kind of tried. I like my metabolism, I don’t like that I have problems when I eat below that).

That’s why I wrote that it’s not just about fat-loss. There are so, so many other benefits to have! Not everyone gets many of those (I didn’t get energy either and I badly need it. sigh) of so many do and even 1-2 may be something we can appreciate. I LOVE my fat adapted state and I can thank that for my first keto months. It’s not even easy to lose it again! :wink:

(Edith) #7

Are you male or female and what is your age? If you are female, it is not uncommon for the weight loss to take some time to get started due to our lovely hormones. If you are an older female in perimenopause or menopause, that will also cause problems with the weight loss. I’ve seen anecdotal stories online from women who took 6 to 8 weeks before they finally started dropping weight.

You may have to do some experimenting with your fat intake. With a fair bit of fat to burn, you don’t want to be ingesting too much of it. You want to use what is on your body. Maybe play around with adding some more protein and cutting back on the extra fats such as the MCT oil and heavy cream. They add fat without a lot of nutrients.

Also, why are you drinking four liters of water a day? Are you thirsty, or just drinking that much because that’s what you think you should be doing? Over drinking can cause you to flush out electrolytes which we do want to hold onto when following this way of eating. Just drink to thirst, maybe adding a little salt to your water.

Good luck!

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #8

Welcome to the forums!

Your user name gives no indication whether you are a man or a woman. If the latter, you may need a month or so of hormonal re-regulation before fat loss starts.

Two weeks on keto is far too soon to say that it’s not working, in any case. Although many people think of keto as a quick weight-loss diet, it is not. It is a way of eating that restores metabolic health, and any fat loss is a pleasant side effect of metabolic health.

As others have mentioned, be sure not to restrict your food intake. A ketogenic diet works best if we eat enough food to satisfy our hunger. This way of eating works completely contrary to the standard dieting advice of the past fifty years, but it is better-based on human biology.

Don’t fear fat, but you don’t need to be cramming as much as possible down your throat, either. A ketogenic diet works by lowering insulin levels, insulin being the primary fat-storage hormone (among its many other jobs in our body). Fat is not magic, but it has the useful property of not stimulating an insulin response. Eat plenty of protein and fill in with enough fat to satisfy your hunger. Don’t eat until you are hungry, eat as much food as it takes to stop being hungry, and don’t eat again until you’re hungry again. That should sort things out.

#9

Yes, it’s very important due to many reasons, it matters when it comes to satiation too. If I don’t get a somewhat high protein intake, there is no amount of fat that makes me satiated (except maybe A TON of it but massive overeating isn’t what I would like just to keep my protein intake decent) and I have read it as a general rule (some people seem to be exception but maybe they need less protein or have some ED, that’s powerful :frowning: ). You need your protein, @Hketo! Whatever your needs are. Do you know your macros? Your consumption, I mean, you probably can’t know your own needs, I surely don’t know mine even after 13 years, I do have some educated guess due to all my experiments (I usually track and often try out things) but there are so many factors! And a year pass or we change our woe and these may shift…

But of course, you need your fat too. But it’s super easy to overeat fat for some of us… Especially when one put fat into everything needlessly, even fat-gain isn’t out of question then, it makes sense. But if you just eat as much as you feel like, it’s typically not a concern at all. I think I never heard about a single case when one just ate enough to get satiated and gained fat on zero carb or keto. Probably possible but it would require someone like me without my metabolism changes.
But if one really forces some high fat/protein ratio, that’s a bit different.

#10

Hi, I’m eating until satisfied and my carbs have been under 10 per day in total. I also eat organic eggs but that’s it, my diet is full of nutrients and I’m supplementing with beef liver and bone and marrow capsules. If I just left my normal daily diet of bread, fizzy pop, sweets and crisps I’d expect to lose at least some weight in 14 days. Heck, even the amount of water I’m drinking daily should show positive results on the scale. I’m aged 49 and male.

(Mike W.) #11

Did you take any measurements, waist, belly etc before you started? Also you say you have 70 pounds to lose. What is that based on? Welcome to the forum!

#12

I’m about 70lbs overweight at the moment from what I was for many years. I gained extreme weight while unwell and on medication. I’m now off all meds and trying to repair my body from within and reap benefits physically and mentally. If I went 7 days without crisps or fast food etc I’d always lose some weight, even 2lb but after 2 weeks on this way of living I’ve lost ZERO

(Edith) #13

It sounds like your body has some healing to do. Many people come to keto for weight loss but then find out it has healed a host of health problems along with it. We have a section on the forum called non-scale victories. You will find many stories of healing beyond the weight loss there.

Dropping the carbs and going into ketosis is anti-inflammatory. It could be that after another month or so, as your inflammation decreases you may start to drop weight then. Take stock of what is happening with your body now. Are you noticing improved or sustained energy, aches and pains becoming less, better clarity of thought? These are some benefits people notice when they start this way of eating.

One caveat where extra energy is concerned: at two weeks in, your body is still learning to burn fat instead of carbs. Your muscles may feel depleted and lead-like. That feeling with slowly improve over time. We refer to it as getting fat adapted. You will notice improvement with that around the 6-8 week mark, but it is not a sudden burst of energy. You will just notice that you feel less and less lead-like over time. It can take 6 months to a year to become completely fat adapted.

Congratulations on getting off your meds. I could be wrong, I’m not a doctor, but I think you will notice improvement in weight and health given some time.

#14

Sadly, even if we experienced easy smooth fat-loss before, it’s possible that some years pass and the same method (or something even way better) just don’t do the same again :frowning:
I easily slimmed down to 69kg on mere low-carb, eating (low-carb) sweets galore… Now I can’t do the same on a way better and way lower-carb woe with a higher activity and fat adaptation, my energy intake is about the same and I am 75kg now… (I definitely should be somewhere below 60kg, it depends on my muscle mass at the time.)There are just too many factor and even we ourselves change.
Many people talk about interfering items but if you cut out less items and got success, maybe it’s not your problem. Maybe the meds in your near past interfere for a little time, I have no idea but it may happen I suppose.
Your body may do something even more important than fat-loss…

#15

Thanks so much for the reply and information. I’m not looking to quit, just frustrated and looking for words of encouragement from them that have done it before. Thanks for the replies everyone!! X

(Peter - Don't Fear the Fat ) #16

Hketo this diet, this forum, this way of thinking, has taken me on a fast track learning course.
You can get involved and study the science or you can ignore all that and just eat big butter chops and bacon.
Either way it’s a life style change.

(Denise) #17

I’m with Robin on how much are you eating? You have to fuel your body to lose (burn) stored fat. When we lower our carbs, and yours especially at zero carbs, your body has to have time to adjust to being a “fat burner” rather than sugars/carbs being the main source of energy your body is used to.

I didn’t lose any inches for at least a month. The type of weight we lose is important, is it water, is it lean muscle (caused by lack of enough fuel) or fat. Ketosis means you are in fat-burning energy, but I believe in the body going into “starvation mode” for lack of caloric intake.

Mainly, the way I thought about it was how long (how many years) I ate poorly and realized it’s not going to start burning the fat stores, it has to adjust. Keep on what you are doing, as what you listed is all good, and better than I did in the beginning. When Ketosis kicks in, you’ll be amazed! At least I was as I started losing so much fat, I had to get to the gym to tighten up the loose skin :grin:

(Denise) #18

I forgot to mention that I kept a daily diary on myfitnesspal to calculate my macros and total calories. I only had to do that for a couple of weeks, maybe a month, so I was sure I was eating enough of everything and getting my macros on target. You still haven’t mentioned how much you are eating calorie-wise, that would help us to know but I can’t agree more if you are eating enough, it would still take longer than your expectations.

I haven’t seen anyone share their story that was “not” impatient at first :wink: I was also worried as I had been diagnosed with T2 Diabetes, which is now reversed or in remission, my numbers are in the safe zone on my HbA1c’s in other words :wink: Glad you are here, stick with us, give it a chance to work for you :slight_smile:

(Denise) #19

Thank you Virginia, I didn’t know, or maybe heard it and long forgot, that Ketosis is anti-inflammatory. Super good info in your reply;) I put more faith in people here and their personal experiences, than some doctors I am coming in contact with, so thank you again, Denise

#20

I wasn’t. I went to low-carb first (paleo), nothing in the first month. I tracked a bit… Too many calories and way too much carbs, I realized. So I changed these, it was great and I lost fat at a wonderful pace, 0.3kg a week for a longish time. I was SUPER pleased as it took about zero effort.
But then it stopped. I think I am the type who doesn’t get really impatient in the first 1-2 years (and REALLY impatient until 5 or something. I am beyond that already and I feel it) but part of it that I really enjoy how I eat, I couldn’t do it any other way. So I have time.

Maybe I am too patient.