6lbs of weight loss in 3 weeks. (Lost 5lbs in the first week)

#1

I started at 226lbs. I am now at 219-220lbs depending on the day I weigh in.

Typical foods…

Breakfast: 3 eggs, 2 turkey/pork sausage patties.
Lunch: Salad with ranch dressing, bacon bits or chicken breast.
Dinner: Flank Steak with broccoli or green beans.
Snacks: Fat Bomb, almonds, pepperoni, cheese.

I usually only have 1 or 2 snacks a day and drink close to a gallon of water a day. I am not working out currently as I hear that can reduce weight loss.

I have stayed around 225lbs for the past 4-5 years pre-keto, I am a 6’ tall male. I am fairly sedentary and my eating has always been pretty much in check my whole life. I do computer work for a living so I sit all day and then I have two kids that keep me active/busy.

Goal is 200lbs. The only time I have ever been able to lose weight is working out using body weight resistance type training (P90x type stuff, lost over 30lbs in 2 months). I decided to try keto as my brother has lost 60lbs in little over a year. He was 290lbs and is down to 230. I have tried keto in the past without any real results either. Just trying to see if my food is in check or if there is something else I can do. I do not do any sugar/carbs. I stopped drinking etc.

(Bob M) #2

Personally, I’d eliminate snacks, add intermittent fasting, reduce fat intake. I’ve found exercise to be beneficial.

(Susan) #3

Welcome to the forum, ahumbleone

That looks like way too much food to me… I would gain weight if I ate what you mentioned above.

I would try to eliminate all snacks and try and do 18/6

Eat lunch and eat supper. It looks like you are eating too many proteins, carbs and fats.

#4

If I ate only lunch or dinner I would be under 1000 calories a day… That’s not possible. I barely have enough energy to function already. I work at a hospital and require labs every year. I have worked there 11 years now and my labs have ALWAYS come back great, no matter what food/diet I have been on.

I can’t eliminate snacks, I have tried and I feel light headed and want to puke. I am not trying to perform a diet, I am trying to perform a food lifestyle change.

(Susan) #5

If you eat less then 20 grams of carbs a day, and enough proteins and fats that are healthy, then within a few days your body will adjust and feel satiated. It does not take long. We are all here for a lifestyle change.It is essential to eliminate all sugars. The point in not eating anything for a number of hours is to let your body burn the remaining sugars in your system then it will start using fat to burn.

I have never seen a ranch dressing that doesn’t have sugar or bad oils in it, and you mentioned you had that. The bacon bits might have sugar too, unless you read the label. The snacks you mentioned all have carbs, and carbs add up fast and we are trying to have 20grams or less of them in a day. Reading labels is so important with Keto.
Your body will feel rotten for a few days, but that will quickly turn into feeling great.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #6

@ahumbleone I’m going to go all contrarian here. I don’t think you’re eating enough food. Now, of course, I might be wrong because you have not listed the amounts of food you’re eating. But feeling light headed and wanting to puke between meals is not good. That suggests you’re not getting enough energy to function.

If you overdo calorie restriction the problem is your metabolism slows down to to match the income and to reduce overall energy requirements. That’s not good when you’re trying to get your metabolism to consume your own body fat. It tends to hang onto that fat even more tenaciously.

So you need to reach a balance between intake and energy output. On keto that means getting your energy from fat: a combination of both plate fat and body fat. You only have to restrict overall calories by a couple hundred per day from the plate to mobilize body fat for action. You also have to maintain an ‘adequate’ protein intake so your body has the raw materials to replace/repair normally. The amount of protein that is ‘adequate’, of course, must be determined individually. There are multiple online sources to help you figure it out.

As always, per @Momof5 keep carbs sub-20 grams per day.

#7

Ketosis is driven by carb restriction. Weight loss is driven by caloric restriction (which is slow and non-linear). For many, ketosis just makes caloric restriction easier because hunger is no longer being driven by carbs and insulin. But being in ketosis is no guarantee of weight loss.

Most short-term weight fluctuation is going to be a simple change in water retention and digestive tract contents, which can be large early on.

Two primary goals:

  • Keep net carbs under 20, as that’s what keep you in ketosis
  • Make sure you get enough proteins, because your body needs them. Better too many than too few.

After that, ideally, fats (and thus calories) should be based on hunger. Early on, before your body becomes fat adapted, most hunger is simply the body having a “temper tantrum” because it’s not getting the carbs it’s used to. If you are hungry, feed it something that is primarily fats, a few proteins, but as few additional carbs as possible. Early on, it’s OK to go over a caloric goal. After you get fat adapted, the hunger should go down.

#8

I agree. It really didn’t look like too much food to me, especially for a 6-ft.-tall man. Without very specific amounts and total macros it’s a bit hard to tell, but chicken breast, turkey, flank steak are all fairly low fat, so you might be under eating a bit. You’re still early days, but gradually trying to eat more at meals and skip the snacks will help. Don’t worry about TRE (18:6, etc.), skipping breakfast, and so on yet. Basic keto, done right, should serve you well.

Make sure you’re not hungry, drinking lots of water and getting enough sleep. Exercise isn’t necessary at this point, but if you want to do something, playing with your kids or some moderate walking is good. You can increase this over time, after you’re fat-adapted in a few weeks.

(hottie turned hag) #9

Must agree. As a 6’ man, you’re eating far less than I do as a 5’2" postmenopausal, very small framed sedentary female. I easily eat a 1lb of bacon, 8oz pepperoni, big steak, AT A SITTING on my OMAD. My loss was rapid and sustained; I am now 114lbs.

And this. I was shocked to discover how many carbs were hidden in even vegetables like cabbage of which I can and have eaten a head at a sitting.

I’d say eat a lot more: meat meat and more meat and no snacks.

#10

Thanks for the feedback. I love meat, but to a degree… Using fitday my macros are 70-75% fat daily, the rest in protein and under 20g carbs. I think I am just going to switch to paleo after this month as it looks easier for us to stick to as a lifestyle. I will give that a go for a month and see what happens.

Thanks for the feedback.

(Carl Keller) #11

I went from eating three meals and two snacks a day to eating once or twice. I’ve discovered that my appetite has adjusted to larger meals by keeping carbs low and focusing on protein and fat. It took some time for this to happen but it is possible and very empowering.

There is no animal on this planet, that has access to nutrient dense foods, that needs to eat three times a day.

#12

I think this is a good, sustainable long-term option. Generally, it’s more of a maintenance way of eating, but some people who are physically fit and do a lot of serious lifting get some great body re-comp with it, which may be just what you’re after.

#13

Yeah, I am overweight by BMI standards… However I am in pretty good physical shape. I can bike 20 miles a day or run a 5k pretty easily. I can do 50 pushups in under a minute etc. I think I just need to tone down a bit. I have always hovered around 215-225lbs depending on how active I am for the most part of my life. I can see that I have somewhat of a 6 pack currently, I just need to lose more weight. So I really think working out is what its going to take to get more tone.

I was just hoping keto would help me lose weight quickly.

I think my brother did so well because he was obese. He ate and drank badly for many years. So when he stopped and started doing keto he saw drastic results. Since I have been eating fairly clean for years I think my results are just going to be less drastic.

Thanks again for the opinions.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #14

For now I would replace the fat bombs and lean meat with fattier cuts like 70/30 ground beef, ribeye brisket or other fatty beef, chicken thighs with skin, salmon and fatty pork. Try go eat enough at meals to eliminate snacks all together. When you’re comfortable with that try two meals per day. Start the closing the gap between those meals finally arriving at a four hour eating window. Mix up your routine and if you aren’t hungry don’t eat. I have been doing this for 10 months and it becomes apparent that mixing up your daily habits keeps your body from falling into a predictable groove and adjusting to be stable at that routine slowing weight loss.

:cowboy_hat_face:

(traci simpson) #15

If you do this, then you will not be able to get all your calories/proteins/fats in. Then what? I can’t eat a whole bunch in one sitting.

(Michael - When reality fails to meet expectations, the problem is not reality.) #16

Smart aleck! :sunglasses: Don’t you know the mantra: eat to satiety and don’t sweat the small stuff? You’re not one of us mavericks who actually weigh and count, I hope.

PS for those who need it: /sarc>

(traci simpson) #17

The small stuff matters. If I’m not eating enough it matters.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #18

@Diygurl19 I have only done OMAD once and decided my stomach was too small. And soon that may be possible for me with sufficient fat at that meal.

I am continuing to experiment and tweak my routine and started an accountability thread yesterday to put my n=1 out there. But I adjust the amount I need to eat down as my body looses mass so I don’t level out.

Being in ketosis isn’t a guarantee for weight loss, you still need to keep a deficit in calories to loose weight. I’m not talking CICO here. I’m talking about undercutting your nutrional need for fat and protein a little to access body fat and when you get to 18/6 IF you’re getting some autophagy daily to help your skin shrink with the fat. There’s a lot of people into unlimited protein here, I gave it a go at 1g. per pound lean body mass and it stalled me out, and I’m back to a gram per kg. I also stopped nuts and HWC recently. I wasn’t a big nut eater but they ran out and I’m not replacing them. Same with the HWC. Two days of Fat Fasting has broke my stall and given me a new low weight.

I’m not advocating just jumping into it hardcore, there’s a progression that I laid out to do as you can to progress. First step is eating enough at 3 meals to not need to snack in between. Eventually you aren’t hungry at breakfast or lunch so you just skip it. Then try to make your eating schedule two meals at say 8 hours apart, start closing that window to 6 hours when you’re comfortable and so on.

:cowboy_hat_face:

(squirrel-kissing paper tamer) #19

Smaller animals with faster digestive tracts have to eat more often than larger animals. If I gave my ferret a ONE nutrient dense meal (carnivore because she is an obligate carnivore) a day she would be dead. They eat numerous times a day. (Not to argue, just to point this out. :grin:)

(Susan) #20

Our guinea pig is very hungry all the time! She eats a head of romaine a day, along with carrots, apples, cucumbers, broccoli, Timothy Hay, “Gourmet Guinea Pig Food” (I buy at Walmart, it is actually called that), Guinea Pig Pellets, and guinea pig treats I buy her. I think she eats more food then an average cat, and she is large to us, but well still way smaller then a cat! She screams when she is hungry though, hehe. So, we feed her!