Hi Keto Friends! I’ve been keto for 3.5 weeks. I’m female and have pre-diabetes with metabolic syndrome. I lost 1.6 pounds the first 2 weeks, and I’m back up to where I started this 3rd week!! What gives?? I feel great, I’m not hungry all the time… I’ve had several really lovely NSVs. I’ve even had a couple 24hr fasts so far, which have been unbelievably doable (whaaaa??!). I’m in moderate ketosis based on the strips. I’m just under 5feet tall and weigh 161. Based on my lean body mass, I have about 35 pounds of fat to lose. Based on my macros from a couple keto calculators I used, my 10% carb allowance equals 36g. So far, all my carbs come from greens and maybe 2-4g come from cheese. My macros are 10% carbs, 25% protein, 65% fat per the calculator, but with my fitness pal, I see that I’m usually eating up to 70% fat and 5% carbs. What am I doing wrong??! Your ideas and thoughts are appreciated. I don’t want to give up, but I’m frustrated 
3.5 weeks in and no major changes on the scale
I had a bit of slow down at around that time as well. Was wondering what was gong on.
But stick to your 20g Net Carbs, make sure you don’t eat too much or too little. Plenty of salt and water. Check again in a couple of weeks.
You mentioned 10% carbs but look at the grams not the %, as percentages can play tricks.
If you weight yourself, get an average over the week or once weekly.
I reckon you’ll be okay.
Just wait it out - I lost water weight in the first few weeks, but no real (fat?) weight loss until three or four months in. Your body is adjusting, and healing. Enjoy the food, your NSV’s, and know that the less you have to lose, the slower the weight comes off.
Net Carbs are Total Carbs minus fibre of grams. Both should be available the food labels.
So total carbs might be 7g. Fibre might be 2g. So that counts as 7-2. or 5 g Net Carbs.
At some stage Drs Phinney/Volek used 20g Net Carbs as the cornerstone. But then they switched to about 50Cals Total Carbs.
I found a vid where Jeff Volek was explaining the reason for the switch, in terms of food it is the same thing (it was just easier or something…)
Anyway most of us use Net Carbs (as per the survey we had a few weeks ago).
Keto is this easy (Keto for beloved noobs)
This is for Phase One - the starter phase. It’s still not complicated later, but this is the really easy to explain version which will help you no end.
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Eat under 20g of carbs a day
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Don’t worry about the scale
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Eat plenty of good food - fat and protein - while adhering to 20g/carbs/day. Don’t worry too much about macros and calories EXCEPT carbs. Keep them below 20g/day. (Prioritize the protein - always start with protein in every meal, but don’t panic about it.) Your job is to get fat-adapted, so give your body the fuel you want it to use. Also, your appetite will vary - it’ll disappear, then it’ll come roaring back. Happens to most people, don’t sweat it.
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ELECTROLYTES/SALT - KEEP THEM UP
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Buy the meat you can afford - don’t stress about grass-fed, organic (con), etc… The worst meat is better than the best bread.
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This site has a search function (magnifying glass at the top of the page) and a newbies section - use them both, you’ll get a better variety of answers to your questions far more quickly that way. SERIOUSLY, THIS IS VERY USEFUL.[1]
That’s as difficult as it needs to be for a couple of months.
My good friend Terence (being friends with a Kiwi feels kinda dirty, but there you have it, keto makes for strange bedfellows) tells me this thing I have described above is called “dirty keto.” So yeah, do dirty keto, kids! 
Lots of Love, THE JUICE
Expanded version is HERE
[1]If you can’t find a useful answer after searching and reading for a while, we can help you a lot more if you tell us relevant data about yourself such as your reasons for doing keto, your weight/height/age/gender, a sample menu plan & any relevant health conditions.
Those who posted before me have given good advice. I will just add that 36g carbs seems a bit high to me unless it’s total carbs you are counting. I recommend 20g net carbs per day because the natural sugars in greens and veggies can still be used as fuel. The less fuel options we give our bodies the better chance we have for our body fat being chosen first.
Also, stress and poor sleep can both complicate weight loss. If either of these are in your life, weight loss can be more difficult.
Keep those in mind when you become frustrated. Improved quality of life is just as important as what a scale is going to tell you. 
I’m noticing that the salads and fresh veg I eat have way more carbs than fiber. I thought it’d be loaded with fiber… nope. Should I just eat less fresh veg then?? At the end of the day, I may only be able to subtract 5-6g for fiber from my total carb count, based on what myfitnesspal says. I’m still between 25-30 carbs every day. Too much?? Thanks everyone for your tips and input!! PS… I sleep SO well these days!! Maybe I need to up my activity?? All this biohacking wears me out!! LOL
This may not be the most popular advice, but I did not have luck with the carb counting apps. I would be looking at the app and the label of a product and they were totally different things, same serving size, different number of carbs. I kept a pencil and notebook to jot down my carbs for the day based on actual labels on the food after that and I’m seeing results. I will admit, however, that I didn’t weigh until three months in and the number wasn’t what I wanted, but my boobs are half the size and I’m down dress sizes so it doesn’t matter to me. Plus, I’ve gained muscle doing a squats challenge and being more active overall.
My advice is to use a tape measure on all the parts you care to see changes in every Saturday morning and go on and enjoy the rest of your week.
Some veg are friendlier than others in the carb department. I believe veggies are important to include in our diet so I won’t tell you to eat less, just to choose them wisely. The lower you keep your net carbs the better results you will see.
That’s good news. As long as you have good energy, there’s nothing wrong with uping your activity, even if it’s just walking.
I will try as you say and go about seriously watching my carb intake. It may be a matter of just eating a little less of the veg that I enjoy. Will continue in this very surprising self-study. Thanks again!!
Yes.
Also, MFP is junk if you’re wanting to be serious about this (and it certainly looks like you are).
Couldn’t agree more.
One of the main reasons is that it has a tightly-controlled food database that will only be altered by the staff at the app dev company, not just any nuffie with a phone.
It’s also easy to add your own foods/recipes to, and if you subscribe, has awesome reporting functions.
Thanks y’all. I didn’t realize MFP wasn’t a good resource. I don’t make all my meals, and it’s so convenient having an app that has nutrition information for some of the restaurants and I go to. I’ll check this other app out. I’m so eager for keto to work for me…
That’s the important part there. As I posted above, it’s not hard at all if your attitude is as good as yours is. However, it’s VERY important to remember that the scale changes are an EFFECT, not a cause, as Karl said. (I’ve changed his name spelling because it pleases me to do so.)
Thanks Juice. Wonderful advice. I’m so f*ing obsessed about these damn keto strips and my scale. I think I need to keep it more simple and ride this wave of learning. I just heard about so many people with crazy weight loss their first couple weeks and that didn’t happen for me, so I stressed. I’ll try to #keepcalm
It’s a process. You get the hormones (somewhat) under control and it all flows from that.
But it takes time, and requires some patience.
Fortunately, this is the best diet in the history of diets, so it’s no great hardship. (Goes off to make bacon, eggs, brisket, hollandaise sauce for lunch.)
I told my friend that today!! I’d be upset if I had felt deprived this entire time, but I’m so satisfied by the delicious food (guilt-free bacon and cheese consumption? Yes please!!). If the weight loss is slow but happens eventually, I’m ok with that. But I needed to know what I was doing wrong to have no change after 3 weeks. I’m eager to get my A1c and lipid panel rechecked in a couple months. This is going to be fun!