4 week weigh in -Disappointing results - Proposed Shake up - First N=1

(Rob) #1

Hello!
I just completed my fourth week on the keto diet and to date, my measurable results are disappointing. I weigh myself every Friday at the same time, and do a few key measurements. The scale went up 1/2 pound from last week. No change in measurement on waistline, what a tailor would call upper waist, chest or neck. A few stats:

Starting weight:192.7
Today’s weight: 191

Macros … calculated using https://keto-calculator.ankerl.com using a height of 5’10" and moderately active: Tend to carry most of my excess weight in my gut.

Calories 1723
Net Carbs 20g (4%)
Protein 108g (23%)
Fat 134g (73%)

I use a keto app on my iPhone (Keto Diet Track - author Mikhail Platonov) to track my daily totals and I’m consistently under the above totals … occasionally struggle to come close to fats total on a daily basis. Net carbs are consistently well under 20g. Protein has gone over on 2 separate occasions.

The Moderately active was chosen as I do 30 minutes of aerobic work 4 times a week (usually elliptical trainer - heart rate in the 130’s) as well as 40 minutes of weight training 3 x week.

OK … so I think it’s time to start tinkering a little. My thoughts went in a few directions. First, I don’t want to change a lot of things at once. I’d like to change things one or two at a time so when results change I’ll have some idea why.

First off, I’m going to do a couple of what I think are call N=1 type studies. I have some glucose strips coming in today for my Freestyle Xtra, and I’d going to measure my reaction to a couple of things to find out if they’re as benign as I think they are:

  • I’m going to do a glucose reading in the morning … nothing but water in my system, drink 8 ounces of Crystal Light (I mix my fiber supplement in Crystal Light - see below) then test glucose again in 30 minutes and an hour and check for any glucose spikes.

  • My total carbs would go over 20g … mostly because I take a fiber supplement a couple of times a day… I’m going to do a baseline glucose reading in the morning … nothing but water in my system, take my fiber supplement and the liquid I drink it in, then do glucose readings 30 minutes and an hour after taking my fiber supplement. By testing Crystal Light by itself the first day, I’m thinking I can factor that in when I check for any impacts due to the fiber supplement.

I’ve read the arguments about Crystal Light and the sweetener used … and lets just say I’ll address Crystal Lite some point down the road … unless it’s giving me glucose spikes.

My first change would be to lower calories slightly and make sure I hit my fats every day. I know people caution going too low on calories but I don’t think I’d be going too low.

I be interested in peoples thoughts … particularly the N=1 exercises to determine my body’s reaction to Crystal Light and my fiber supplement (fiber supplement can add up to 15g of carb - all fiber - no sugars). Will this give me any useful information of the type I’m hoping to find?

Thanks

(Auden) #2

The glucose reading is smart, and I’ve thought of doing that myself (I take some supplements that I think raise insulin). BUT if you’re insulin resistant, wouldn’t your body pump out extra insulin in response to the artificial sweetener and the glucose spike might happen even the next day?

(Ken) #3

You’re over thinking this. If you’re not hungry by the time you eat you’re eating too much. After a month, you’ve gone through the major adaptive phase, so hunger should now be your guide.

(Brandy Fischbach) #4

I strongly recommend only changing one thing a week to see what exactly works and what doesn’t. I personally was gaining some weeks and had to up my fat to see some weight loss. Unfortunately, there is not a one size fits all solution, but you are on the right track with starting to make some changes.

(M C) #5

I agree the testing might be good for you, but I also think you might just be eating too much. Macros are not something you have to feel you have to hit. They are not goals per say. Eat until you are full only and that may take some time on your part to recognize those signals.

So just keep your carbs and sugar low. Keep your protein moderate and your fat as high as you can. I try to always just keep my fat intake above my protein intake. I did not lose a lot of weight in the the beginning and also got frustrated. My husband started at the same time I did. His first month he lost 20 lbs. My first month I lost 4. I am now a year in and 100lbs lost and still losing. Sometimes I still stall for a month! Don’t lose hope! Make your changes gradually and above all KCKO (Keep calm and keto on)

(Ron) #6

While all suggestions are possibly viable solutions, it could be (as was my case) that your body is busy repairing things that were damaged or out of wack from your previous way of eating. It is focusing on correcting and actual weight loss is something that will come after other situations are resolved. After about 9 weeks my weight started falling off and has been steady ever since. (down 25 lbs in 3.5 months) Be patient and stay on course (your eating looks good to me) and it will happen.

(Chris W) #7

Ron has part of it I think(probably most it truth be told) the things my body did in the first few weeks despite me messing up were horrific. Also based on my experience my weight was not falling off after I started to exercise again. I took a full week to register ketosis on pee strips, and I would say based on my memory that is when I started to feel off-better? So the first week of the diet I don’t even count, by the end of the third week Is when all the magic really happened as I made some errors in week 1 and 2. And my god did it happen I was drinking a gallon of water a day and peeing way more than that.

So do you know your BF% before and now? My weight loss slowed to a crawl but my BF was still dropping at I think week 6 (my log is a home right now). I did not see noticeable results in my waist, neck(still not much there) or chest until well in probably 3 months(but when it did start it went quick). I did loose on my back first, then my face and thighs well before the other ones. In fact my spare tire is still there slowly waning.

So why are you adding fiber supplement? @carl was doing that and I believe he stopped.

I do like your approach but I think maybe something else is happening so it worth investigating to rule it out. I have no sway in the crystal light argument but would only say if you suspect it stop using.

Do you have any metabolic issues that could confound or otherwise slow the ketosis process (T2D, IR, chronic inflammation etc.)

#8

When your body isn’t responding the way your expect it to, n=1 experimentation is the only way to find a solution. Test your BG everyday to learn what’s normal for you. Test after meals to determine your carb tolerance level. This varies widely, for example, my sister (4 inches shorter and 30 lbs lighter than me) can eat 2x the amount of carbs that I can.

If weight loss is your goal, weighing yourself everyday will provide feedback on the effects of your eating as well as how much daily weight fluctuation is normal for you. Obviously don’t do this if it will stress you out, but the information can be useful. For example, my weight can change + or - 2 pounds on any given day for no discernable reason.

(Jay AM) #9

We have a few sayings here, “keep calm, keto on” and “trust the process.” Keto isn’t a quick weight loss diet. It’s a health gaining way of eating with fat loss as a side effect. If the scale is an unhealthy obsession, put it away for a couple of months or give it to a neighbor you don’t like.

There are two phases to ketosis and a ketogenic lifestyle.

Nutritional ketosis is phase one. Your body begins to produce and uptake some ketones while dumping the rest. It will still search for glucose to use as fuel. In this phase it’s not an efficient process. It has to work actively to get rid of stored glycogen, clean up excess blood sugar, and turn on the ability to use ketones.

Fat adaptation is phase two. Your body is efficiently producing ketones from intake and stored body fat and is also using them efficiently for energy. It takes around 6-8 weeks of strict keto to achieve for many but not all.

The basic “rules” I go by and many others can agree with especially for beginners are:

*20g net carbs max (you might tolerate more but, starting out, 20g net carbs or less will get you into ketosis.)

*Moderate protein (1g-1.5g per kg of lean bodyweight is a good goal based on the 2 Dudes recommendations.)

*Fat to satiety (add fat to every meal and, if you are hungry, eat more fat. Don’t be afraid of fat. It is energy.)

*Do not restrict calories

*Do not exercise excessively

*Drink plenty of water

*Get plenty of sodium and other electrolytes

Looking For Pointers/Words Of Advice/Etc
(Rob) #10

Hello Auden and thanks for the response! The answer (ok my answer) to your question is … “I don’t know”. I’ve been told by my family doctor and endocrinologist that I’m insulin resistant. I’ve been pre-diabetic since I was 40 with no identifiable risks for diabetes. Five years ago I crossed over into diabetic range with an A1C of close to 7. At the time I weighed about 182# … not real overweight to look at but bad body composition. My endo doc -very highly respected in this area - started me onan alternative solution that involved testosterone replacement therapy, had me weight train 3 days a week, and switch to a low a glycemic index diet … somewhat South Beach. .My A1C dropped back down to 5.7 three months later with no meds, A few years ago my levels started creeping back up. I had stopped trt and seeing the endo doc because of an insurance change and high deductibles. I asked my family doc aboutmy glucose and A1C levels as I had stopped the trt but still at low glycemic index and worked out. She mentioned something about being insulin resistant and if I hadn’t been eating somewhat carefully and exercising, I’d be in diabetic range.

Said all that to say I do think there’s something amiss with the way my body handles insulin. I didn’t ask enough questions at the time. I did a lot of reading about keto before I started eating keto …Some of the writing of Dr. Stephen Phinney is what lead me in the keto direction.

Anyway … that’s my story and I’m stickin to it. I’m early in the self discovery phase and trying to learn as much as I can. One of the reasons I put the original question out there was I wanted to see if I was heading in the right direction.

Thanks again for your response.

(Rob) #11

Hello Ron,
I suspect there’s more than a grain of truth to what you suggested. I initially started researching different diets to lose weight. I chose keto as it went beyond that and seemed to address the underlying issues. Specifically … in my case … there are issues with the way my body handles insulin and sugars.I’ll keep it brief but after thinking about what you said, I think my transition/adaptation/whatever we want to call it may be a little longer than some peoples. Having kept careful records, I’m comfortable that I have been doing my part. I will probably still check my glucose levels as I’m actually more curious about that than I am my ketone levels at this point (Blood ketones levels have only gone above 1 on one occasion).

Thanks for your response. It makes sense.

(Rob) #12

Hello @M_C
A couple I know started keto a few months before I did. one of my frustrations is the husband lost a decent amount of weight the first month … the wife is not doing keto to lose weight but is using it for other purposes.Anyway, I made the mistake of feeling entitled to some level of weight loss the first month and like you I didn’t see the results I expected.

I have made it a point to only eat when I’m hungry … I use the macros basically as guidelines/percentages/.

Thanks for the encouragement!

(Auden) #13

My story is similar to yours! I actually gained 50 pounds on south beach. I was following the conventional, “eat 3 meals a day and 2 snacks”, which made my insulin stay elevated all the time, and I just couldn’t handle the level of carbs allowed on south beach, even though it’s lower carb.

I think you might enjoy Dr. Jason Fung’s blog! Especially the posts on insulin.

Welcome to keto! It sounds like you’re in the right place, especially to lower your A1C to normal levels and other NSVs (non-scale victories).

(Rob) #14

@Auden
Just did a quick search on Dr. jason Fung … looks like some good stuff. I appreciate the heads up!.

Relative to glucose testing … I knew somebody … or more like several somebodies had already thought this through … I just wasn’t sure what to search for. Finally found what I was looking for in the blog of one of the co-founders of this forum: Charting a Glucose Curve. Its actually a little more than what I was looking for, but scaling something back is fairly easy.

.

(Rob) #15

Oh… you had ALL the risks, just none of the symptoms. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye: If you’d tested fasting insulin you would have been able to work out a measure of insulin resistance (HOMA:IR formula), not that it would have necessarily resulted in any different actions since you have to know what it means and what to do with it… and without keto there isn’t much.
Hyperinsulinemia is insidious because it hits all your organs and systems at the same time and it’s the devil’s lottery as to what will fail first. It may be diabetes and a kidney or pancreas but it might be loose plaque in an inflamed artery going to the heart :heart: or brain :brain: . Be super happy you’ve intervened before you number was called :grin: