I started keto the beginning of September. I lost 3 lbs quick and have stayed the same weight ever since. I hardly EVER cheat, yet still, nothing. I’ve researched a lot and all the “keto mistakes” write ups never pertain to me. What the heck am I doing wrong? Husband dropped 20 doing the same thing and cheats constantly. Typical foods are omelet in the morning with tomatoes, spinach, cheese, a little bacon, coffee with heavy cream no sugar, lunch is usually salad w avocado, shredded cheese, egg, sometimes chicken (my own dressing no sugar) dinners are a meat dish with side dish like zoodles, roasted broccoli, kale chips, side salad, zucchini chips, or cauliflower mash. Rarely drink alcohol - if so it’s a glass of wine or a vodka soda lime. What am I eating wrong?
6 weeks no weight loss
Thanks for the advice. I’ve tried eating only 1-2 meals a day, still no sugar or carbs, and still not even a half a pound. I do however feel much less bulky and clothes are fitting better which is why I have continued. (Also not sure how that’s possible without the scale moving at all). Just frustrating when I can’t figure out what food is keeping me at a standstill.
Describe “hardly ever” & what’s involved in a “cheat.”
Describe his cheats. One of the great inequities of life is that men are generally bigger, have faster metabolisms, and can seemingly eat twice as much with half the deleterious effects. Don’t compare.
It doesn’t sound “wrong,” per se, but I can’t really tell how much fat you’re eating. Tracking is good at first, to make sure you’re fat percentage is right, and counting calories TO SEE IF YOU’RE EATING ENOUGH. I can’t tell if you’re eating enough from your description. Have you read the “How-to” section? See if you’re doing everything it says. Are your omelette 2-egg? 3-egg? 5? What’s it cooked in? “A little bacon?” How much dressing is on your salad, and what’s it made of?
Again, I can’t tell by your description of dinner if you’re eating any fat at all. And if, after nearly two months on keto, you’re still eating 3MAD, I would bet you’re not eating enough. What you add probably needs to be FAT.
If you’ll give more details about yourself and your food, maybe we can help. Start with age, height, weight, and another swipe at your daily intake, including details about FAT.
Do you know how many calories were in the day you described? We actually look at calories in keto, but NOT to restrict them. The WORST thing you can do when starting keto is calorie restriction.
Looking forward to helping you. KCKO!
If we had an idea of your macro breakdown and daily calorie intake it would help us like Candy mentioned
I am (nearly) in the same boat as you @Jeanettedeut. 5 1/2 weeks in and I had lost 8 lbs (in the first 2 weeks ). I am trying IF and I’m on day 3 and I am up 2lbs today 
. I haven’t felt any difference in my clothes so far either. Also I woke up with a severe headache yesterday and I still have it today. It’s severe!! Keto headache I’m sure. I drank salt water yesterday, chicken stock with extra salt and lots of salt in my food. I am doing the same today inthe hopes of getting rid of it. @That_Fat_Guy its motivating to hear that you were in the same boat and then got results. After 2 months stall what happened with your weight loss?
Ok so I haven’t been counting anything, and maybe cheese is my issue. I will describe my specific meals so maybe it would help? Sorry I know this is annoying. Husband usually drinks an ipa or wine every single night.
I am 5’8” started at 166 and now at 163. Lost 3 the first week. I have never considered myself very overweight, but gained 25lbs in the past 3 years so this is the most I have weighed except for pregnancy. I used to have a very high metabolism and then after 40…a screeching halt. My cheats are 1 glass of wine or a vodka soda 1-2 nights a week, a week ago I had 7-8 candy corns that I couldn’t resist, one day I licked the spoon of a muffin recipe I made for the kids (had honey not sugar - I know same thing - full disclosure I left more on the spatula than necessary before licking), and the other night at dinner I ate a 1” corner of a piece of bread. I really don’t snack (I’m a picky eater and finding a keto snack I like is usually hard and I can’t tolerate the taste of any sugar substitutes. One big plus on keto is that I’m very rarely hungry. Usually only at dinner time.
I exercise 2-3 times a week (sports and walking)
Omlet - 2 eggs, 1 avocado, 1/4 tomato, fresh spinach, about 1/8-1/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1 slice pre-cooked bacon (not fat and greasy but thin and dry) also a coffee made at home with espresso, steamed watered down Heavy cream, and homemade whipped cream (w stevia or occasionally a few of agave)
Salad - about 1/2 grilled chicken breast (not marinated), Romain and arugula, grated Parmesan cheese (1/4 cup or less), grated mozzarella (1/4 or less), 1 slice bacon, 1 egg, 1/2 avocado, 1/4 cup tomatoes dressing is fresh squeezed limes, avacodo oil, spices and 1tbs apple cider vinegar (makes a whole jar)
Dinner (last night as example) dry rubbed baby back ribs (ate 4-5 rub was my own spices), roasted broccoli (w garlic olive oil and salt/pepper), creamy cheese zoodles (zucchini shredded with cheddar cheese, butter (grass fed) and heavy cream sauce
That’s a typical day. Some days no omlet just hard boiled eggs (2). Sometimes I just have an avacodo for lunch. Sometimes a salad with no chicken. Sometimes egg salad made with mayo (3/4 cup portion)
I’m thinking too much dairy?? If I ate like this 5 years ago even if I included sugar, I would have dropped a pound a day! Grrrrr
Oh and I eat almost no processed foods anymore. I pretty much cook everything I eat so I know exactly what is in everything. I also eat fat head dough recipes a couple times a week (have made pizza w homemade Alfredo and veggies on top and “breadsticks”.
Aaaaand an occasional snack I eat is homemade cheese crisps (just shredded cheese baked).
One more question - is there any such thing as keto desserts that do not have any sweetener substitutes? I HATE them all and I’ve tried everything. Maybe a dessert sweetened only with berries?
Thank you again everyone for all the help/feedback. With holidays approaching I’m nervous that I will give up when I still don’t see any scale movement.
It sounds like you are on the right track and just need some tweaking. I bet you are a lot closer to your goal weight than your hubby, another reason to not compare.
I think you should:
- start weighing instead of using cup measures - you will be shocked at the difference. Get a digital scale, not a manual. I love my OXO because my plate or bowl doesn’t block the display. Yes it’s a PITA. Carry on.
- read the topic/posts in the forum about “hidden carbs” to make sure you are counting every carb (err on the side of more not less.
- Use the macro calculator in the “How-to” section to calculate your macros AT MAINTENANCE, not for a loss. Once you’ve tracked a few days, see if you should back off on protein at all, and I think you may be overdoing carbs (I know I did because “everyone knows green veggies can’t hurt anything, even if you overindulge!”). Don’t pay attention to fat except to make sure you’re eating to satiety.
It may help to count full carbs & not net if you are overdoing, at least for a while - and go easy on dairy; lots of folks stall or just flat fail to lose with dairy.
It [spoiler]SUCKS[/spoiler], don’t It?? 
and yes, dairy can drag a lot of folks down because it’s inflammatory.
I’m sorry you can’t find a sweetener that works for you. You’ve tried pure sucralose (NOT Splenda)? Or allulose? I assume stevia, erythritol, monkfruit, xylitol are off the table. It’s certainly NOT the end of the world to not eat sweets. I am a sugar addict, so I have to be very careful with treats, especially around the holidays. I’m not going to make much at all this year, because I will inhale all the leftovers like a Dyson. 
you might try recipes with coconut products and let the coconut oil/butter be the sweetener. I usually don’t sweeten fat bombs containing coconut at all.
Check ingredients - many of them have maltodextrin (which spikes glucose worse than sugar), and many folks object to ace-k (acesulfane potassium -sp? - I avoid it when I can but it hides a lot of places). Ingredients on store brands are often better. I’d say once in a while is OK but not constantly.
Just checked out the Cronometer app and it seems really great! Thank you for recommending it.
I’m having the same issues 8 weeks in. My husband has lost 15lbs,me nothing. But I am feeling great and clothes are fitting better. So maybe fat is turning to muscle or something like that.
Logging is part of the learning process, IMHO. So many things that look safe are in fact not. It’s also a very good planning tool.
I use Cronometer because it has an official database that is controlled by the company, rather than one that anyone can add anything - no matter how incorrect - to. If I’m doing tracking to ensure I’m doing it right, I want to be sure I’m doing it right.
Generally speaking, this is a HORMONE control diet rather than a CALORIE control diet. (“Diet” being used to mean “the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats” not society’s current usage.) Tracking also puts us in ballpark to show us if we’re not eating enough (and thereby driving down the metabolic rate).
If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend The Obesity Code by Dr Jason Fung. It’s a mostly good and easy read.
Agave may be natural but has more calories per tsp than sugar so be sure you are counting it in your carb totals.
Cronometer also has a pie chart. The top section with your stats has four sections, swipe left for the macro pie chart.
You may not be getting enough calories[1] when first starting out, it may take a while for the weight to come off; 6 weeks is not going to tell you anything! Yet! As you lose weight the metabolism slows down[4].
Here (below) are some things that I think will help, if in the future the weight simply will not budge.
Trying to burn fat can be very very tricky, elusive and frustrating even when in ketosis so I thought I would share some foreknowledge as a guide for you to investigate further possibilities in the future!
- THE TOP 10 KETOSIS MISTAKES AND HOW TO PREVENT THEM (very in-depth; goes much deeper than your typical mistakes)
I am in same boat and I am frustrated … I don’t feel like typing a book but I will say I have tried all the ideas everyone has and it will work for few days then… gain back a pound or whatever… I am close to throwing in the towell on this one… I have been so strict for 7 weeks and I am only down 3 pounds, maybe less today… didn’t weigh… I like this WOE for the most part but I am also missing some things…if it was working I probably wouldn’t miss things so much… but when I am not eating so many things I used to eat etc. and still not losing… insane. the last ditch thing I am trying now is way less dairy, I have been decreasing it but now I am really working harder… anyway, if you figure it out let me know!!!
There are some really nice people that have been trying to help me!! so super thankful for them and I am not quitting yet but I am not sure how much more I can put in and not get results…