4 months in, no fat lost? am I doing something wrong?

(scien) #1

Hey guys!
I’m wondering if any of you have similar experiences or any advice. I would be very grateful :).

So, I’m 22, female, 5’7 and about 154lbs. I have been doing keto for 3-4 months now, I started it mainly for health benefits as I am prone to depression and insomnia. Since then, I had trouble falling asleep only once and that was the night before a huge exam so it’s normal! I have been feeling really well, am adapted since I can go skiing or hiking without a problem, eating only keto foods. I have even had 3 outbursts of the keto rash, but it always went away fast. The point is, I am definitely in ketosis.

My period has always been quite irregular, but it went bonkers last year as my cycle was only 14 days long. Since going keto, I have only gotten it once (which is fine by me, but am wondering if my body is still healing or something?). Before keto, I tried handling my period with the pill, but it made me feel awful and I gained 10-15lbs, which I thought would go away after stopping the pill and especially after going keto. WELL, I HAVEN’T LOST A SINGLE POUND nor do my clothes feel different etc. I’ve been tracking with MFP and my stats are 1600kcal, net carbs usually lower than 20g and never ever over 50g, protein varies from 40-60g, the rest is fats. I get 7-8h of sleep and am not stressed most of the time.

I’ve tried excluding dairy, really really upping the fat (200g!!). nothing. It’s a bit frustrating, not losing weight. I know I’m not obese and that I don’t need to lose weight, but it would be really nice to shed a bit of fat.

I have noticed, that I don’t gain weight either, even if I gorge on fat and go over my protein as long as I stay away from carbs. Could it be that my body just needs more time to heal?

Would appreciate any advice :slight_smile:

(Hala) #2

Same story 5 month keto no weight loss 125 pounds 5,4 I knw I have fat even if my weight is good and I was skinner no weight loss 1200 calories per day 1.5 ketones blood sugar 70-100 I’m tired :sleeping:

(Hala) #3

Let’s fast together it’s the only way u ll lose weight

(Roy D) #4

Sounds like you are going down the correct path, a few suggestions/thoughts;

  1. You may need to lower your carbs. There are 2 schools of thought with respect to carb counting; a) count total carbs, and b) count net carbs. Videos are available on YouTube of Dr. Eric Westman (Duke University/HEAL Clinics) discuss the difference between the 2 approaches, his preference/experience is to count total carbs. A daily level of 50g of net carbs may be too high for you.

  2. You may be, for some reason, be Insulin Resistant (IR). If this is the case, then Intermittent Fasting (IF) may help. There are multiple IF schedules, with one of the least restrictive being to limit the number of meals per day (potentially 2 meals/day? with with no snacking between the meals), and more restrictive which includes alternate day/multiple day fasting. The approach here is to allow insulin levels to decrease between the feeding windows, to levels that allow fat (triglycerides) to more easily exit the fat cells into the blood where the energy can be burned by the body.

  3. A true test of if you are in ketosis is to measure ketone levels in your body. There are 3 methods; a) urine strips, b) blood strips, and c) breath. Although there are positive and negatives to each method, it is my understanding that the blood is the most widely used and accepted. For ketone blood measurement, 2 commonly used meters are the Keto Mojo, and Abbott Precision Xtra. The blood measurement meters also have the advantage of the ability to measure blood glucose levels. (Test strips are inserted into the meter each time you take a measurement. The meters have one type of strip to measure ketones, and a different type of strip to measure blood glucose.) The advantage of measuring both ketones and blood glucose is that these measurements may be able to detect (on the outside chance) if there is a metabolic disorder.

KCKO

(scien) #5

hey, thank you for your reply.

I think I am well informed about total vs net carbs, but I might try lowering my carbs. I don’t eat foods high in carbs, but it could be that I am overeating on broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage (lol!) because I really like those.

I haven’t been measuring my ketones, but I can definitely sense my breath. It’s not that it is bad like some people report to experience, but it’s like I can just tell it’s different. For example, I ate 2 meals containing high carb counts since going keto…once it was some chocolate souffle and another time fries and mozzarella sticks (and I even ate those because I was kind of experiencing with how I would be feeling, I don’t even crave foods like that anymore) and I noticed my breath lost the new keto aroma to it. But the aroma was back by noon the following day.

For the IF, I might try fasting for 24h every week.
I have been eating 2-3 meals a day tho, and I don’t snack in between meals.

I guess I will just give things more time and try maneuvering a bit with the things you pointed out.
Thank you lots for the advice :slight_smile:

(Mary) #6

I’m going to follow this thread because I’m in the same boat but with 2 big differences - I’m waaay heavier than you (70-odd lbs to lose) and I already IF (OMAD most days). I’m very curious to see what gets the scale moving for you.
Mary

#7

Based upon your original post I suspect that the body is adjusting, from a very high carb and sugar diet pre-Keto.

I would suggest a very strict diet below 20g net carbs and halving the protein - for one week or longer simply to balance out the body. I recommend a purge of the pantry and buy a weeks worth of walnuts, avocados, butter, some bacon, some ground beef with high percentage of fat - consume nothing else other than water and salt.

During that time you’ll have another outbreak of rash and that might be the end of it, if your tongue is white then you are experiencing a significant die off of yeast in the body and skin. Expect significant gas during this time.

After that you should be able to expand your ingredients as you’ll have the recognized benefits of Keto to help with decisions.

Try it - there are many folks here who are willing to support you.

(scien) #8

Thank you very much, will try decreasing carbs and protein for a while :slight_smile:
The thing is really, that I have been eating quite “clean” before going keto, not at all the so called traditional western diet. It was quite higher in carbs on account of fruit and legumes tho. Beans were my life :’)

(Sheila) #9

Ironically, I have started the WOE 12/20/17 and have only lost 15 pounds and 12 of those pounds were in the first week " Water weight". This is a good question and great feedback. I do the urine strips and I am in Ketosis as well. But something is stalling me or my body is trying to heal.

(Ken) #10

Women’s bodies often appear to run very efficiently on a fat based nutritional pattern. Depending upon your activity level, you may be eating enough calories for Maintenance. Are you hungry when you eat? If not, that’s a pretty good indicator. If not hungry, either adjust your calories down so that you are, or, wait to eat until you have hunger pangs.

(Lynn Flippin) #11

I myself am having the same issue. I’ve been on keto since March 5th. Lost 3.2 lbs the first two weeks, and have only lost .4 since. My macros are 75% fat, 20% protein, and 5% carbs, with my net carbs being at 20g per day. I’ve tweaked my diet every two weeks with no results. My calories are about 1100-1200 daily. I’m 46, 5’4" and weigh 151.2. My goal weight is 133. It’s frustrating as hell not seeing the results that everyone talks about, especially with out strict I’m being on a daily basis and not having cheated once in 9+ weeks. I’m just hoping that maybe my body has so much cellular damage and in need of repair (I’ve been saying for years I’ve felt “toxic”), that the keto diet is healing my body first. Once I’ve become healed internally, and fully fat adapted, then that’s when the pounds will start to come off. Overall I feel wonderful, am having some of the best sleep in years, I’m alert, and sharp, no cravings for carbs, no tiredness, or mood swings, so I know this diet is working. Now if I felt like crap on a daily basis and wasn’t losing weight, I’d just go off this diet. But it seems to be working. One of these weeks I’ll get on that scale and FINALLY get over the 150lb hurdle. Stay strong my keto friends…we can do this.

(Sheila) #12

Oh this is some good information. I was told to start IF and I have been almost 3 weeks. I am now breaking out with rash, white tongue so maybe this is die off for me as well. I was wondering what is going on with me.

(Empress of the Unexpected) #13

Interesting, I’m going to try it too (I love all the food items). How did you arrive at those particular items? Because they are all no carb, high fat?

(Bunny) #14

Thought this complimented your point?

“…If you’ve failed a low carbohydrate diet, I’d suspect you are pretty severely insulin resistant or hyperinsulinemic. You probably never really reached true ketosis. I’d want to have you checked out by your doctor to rule out underlying disease like hypothyroidism, diabetes, other hormone imbalance, etc. …” - Dr. Nally, Common Ketosis Killers

”…How much protein do you need? You’ll need to calculate a “ball-park” protein range from your Ideal Body Weight. It’s pretty easy to calculate and is based on your height and gender. You can see the calculations in a previous post HERE. …” - Dr. Nally, Common Ketosis Killers

“…No, I don’t believe in “Net Carbs.” Net Carbs are a sales gimmick to get you to buy “artificial food” that keeps you coming back for “artificial food” and halts your weight loss (you’ll see why shortly). You’re going to lose the most weight and feel your best when you eat real food. I do allow for the subtraction of real fiber, specifically non-cooked, non-blended, non-juiced leafy greens (If you cook, blend or juice a leafy green, it activates more carbohydrate availability). Leafy greens are real fiber. You can subtract them. In fact, I recommend eating 1-3 cups of leafy greens per day to help bowel function & provide necessary folic acid, but, everything else is “carbage.” Avoid it. …” - Dr. Nally, Common Ketosis Killers

#15

You are describing the same scenario that I am experiencing. Since you posted has anything shifted? My family is looking and feeling great with this life change. I feel great but still an way too round. If something worked for you tia for sharing. :slight_smile: